Author Kirby here.
I've been attempting to play writers catch-up, but it hasn't been working that well. Once my schedule finally cleans itself up, then I'll start picking up the pace with the chapters. Right now though… the future is looking kinda slow.
Anyways, thanks for the reviews. If you haven't noticed yet, I renamed Sara to Nikki. I always had my doubts about that name; I just needed to see how reviewers reacted to it, okay? Anyways, time for you guys to read the chapter.
Disclaimer: OH FORGET IT.
Chapter 8: Cargo Ship, With ED to Spare --------------------------------------------------
"Just a bit more fellas." Edd ordered.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Eddy asked.
"Positive, on 3... 1... 2... 3!" Edd shouted and slammed into the side of his box, while the 4 others did the same. A slight splintering sound could be heard as the wooden barrel cracked in two. Ed, Edd, Eddy, Nikki, and Vivi tumbled out of the barrel and landed in a heap on the ground.
"Lungs... crushed... cant... breathe!" Edd gasped out. He was on the bottom... which meant he had four other people on top of him. One of them being Ed, which made it even worse.
Vivi hopped off the top of the pile and dusted himself off. "Sorry about that Duo" he said and glanced around. "It looks like we're outside the village."
"Finally. That place gave me the creeps," Eddy said, getting off of the others. Nikki followed closely and Ed got up afterwards. Edd felt as flat as a pancake as he was helped up by Ed.
"Now... if we only knew where Steiner and Zidane were, we could leave." Edd stated and stared across the field. A slight breeze was blowing, sending a wave effect across the grass. He smiled to himself and enjoyed the moment of peace from his busy life.
-Ed stared intently across the field, looking for 'Mr. Whatever his name is' [I may make this a running joke with Ed, depending on what you guys think.] and Steiner. He was bored out of his mind... nothing really happened around here. He eventually dosed off while standing up. -
-Eddy folded his arms, as he saw nothing but grassy plains all around him. He was tired of just waiting around... he wanted action. He took out his lance and began absentmindedly twirling it in his hands. -
-The five heroes waited for a few moments before getting really anxious. The cargo ship was going to leave soon, and if Zidane and Steiner didn't come soon, they would have to leave them. With about twenty minutes until the ship was going to leave, the five spotted a two figures running towards them on the other side of the field. As they came closer, the two were recognized as Zidane and Steiner. The five sighed in relief as Steiner and Zidane finally met up with them. -
"Where were you guys? We looked all over the village and couldn't find you." Zidane said, a bit out of breath.
Edd shrugged. "We had a small rescue mission we had to take care of, but it's taken care of."
Steiner scratched his head. "Rescue mission. Did some bandit attempt to capture the princess Master Duo?"
"Nah, some dudes thought Vivi was someone else. Don't worry about it, nothing important." Eddy stated. The seven exchanged info about they were going to next when another figure was spotted zipping across the field at high speeds. Ed and Zidane instantly recognized the blue-feathered wings, steepled hat, and glowing red eyes to know this guy must be related to the first Black Waltz. They jumped to a battle position and pulled out their respective weapons. The rest of them just tilted their heads in confusion.
"Anyone want to explain what's going on?" Vivi asked.
"This guy looks like what attacked me and Ed in the ice cavern." spat Zidane. The group nodded their heads and pulled out their own weapons. Vivi, Edd, and Nikki got behind the rest of the gang while the others formed a wall between them and the approaching enemy. He kept coming towards them until he was 10 feet away. Finally, he stopped.
"I am here for the girl," The Black Mage simply stated.
Steiner pulled up his sword. "What do you want with the princess you scoundrel?"
"I'm here to take her back to the castle. You shall not get in my way." Said the Black Mage.
Zidane flipped his daggers into fighting position. "Oh, you don't know how wrong you really are" he grinned. "Lets see what you got."
-Ed and Zidane rushed the Black Mage as a double assault, thinking he would be an easy takedown. They both slashed right at him, but their swords seemed to cut through thin air. -
"Looking for something?" Came an icy voice from behind them. Ed and Zidane swiveled around to see the Black Waltz just hovering there.
"How did he... I could have sworn..." Zidane started. He shrugged and went in for another attack. He swiped again, and his blade went right through him. The Black Waltz was about 3 feet to the right of him.
Black Waltz shook his head. "Tisk tisk, having trouble hitting me? What a shame." he said. Before Zidane knew what had hit him, he was knocked into the air by the Black Waltz, and landed about 10 feet away. Zidane struggled to get up after he landed, and his arm had scrapes all over it.
Steiner, Vivi, Edd, Eddy, and Nikki watched on wide eyed as Zidane was pummeled by the black mage who seemed appear out of thing air. Even Ed was helpless as he attempted a back attack on the black mage. Finally, Zidane was down for the count, and he was going after Ed.
"Run, trouble, bad!" Ed said as he sprinted in circles, dodging Black Waltz as he popped up in front of him every three seconds. Ed eventually fell to the speed of the mage and was hit right in the face with a blizzard spell, knocking him out cold. [Literally] Black Waltz began advancing on Steiner next, and all he could do was defend him from the onslaught. Edd, Eddy, Vivi and Nikki went into a quick huddle to think of something.
"Guys, this is REALLY bad. How are we going to slow this guy down?" Asked Edd.
Nikki shook her head. "I don't know. I can't go help Ed and Zidane right now because this mage will probably snatch me the moment I step out of here."
"There's GOTTA be a weakness to this guy. Everything has a weakness." Vivi said.
Edd began thinking for a moment. "I may have something here... just hold him off for a few more seconds, alright?" The group nodded and went back to defending the princess.
Edd sat back and began to concentrate. (Now, I know I had felt something on my armor earlier today when I was standing around... I just couldn't put my finger on it... Come on... where are those abilities.)
Steiner was slowly losing his defense and was sliding back slightly. His sword was knocked out of his hand and landed a few feet away. With a few more quick blows, he was down for the count. Eddy and Vivi looked at each other.
"You're up Vivi." Eddy said and got in front of Nikki. Vivi concentrated for a second and then pointed his staff at the sky. Dark clouds began to gather and a storm blew in quickly. Thunder began to jump from the clouds and came closer.
"There's no way you can dodge them all... THUNDER!" Vivi shouted. Thunderbolts rained down from the sky and began striking around Black Waltz. He tried to dodge, but eventually, one hit him, then they all homed in on him. He was zapped with about 15 thunderbolts before the storm dissipated. Black Waltz was still standing, and smirking slightly.
"You think a little rainstorm will defeat me. This is how you use thunder!" the mage shouted and pointed his hand out at Vivi. A rather large bolt of lightning flew from his hands and blasted Vivi back a good 20 feet. Vivi was ashen faced and fried from the attack, and fainted.
Eddy looked around franticly as the mage turned to him. "Double-D... hurry it up please..." he whimpered.
-Edd was lost in thought. He had become frantic in his search for the ability, and with the time crunch he was in, things were not looking good. He took a deep breath and let himself go. One word drifted across his mind and his eyes snapped open. -
"I'm ready Eddy." Edd simply stated. He held out his staff and pointed it at Black Waltz. "I think it's time you took things down a bit." Edd said with a smirk. "SLOW!" He shouted. The world seemed to go gray around him as the spell went into effect. Clocks began surrounding the mage and the hands began to spin slower and slower.
Finally, the world regained its color and Edd got to his knees. "He's all yours Eddy!" Eddy gave him a nod and went in for an attack. The mage was moving 10 times slower than normal so Eddy didn't even have to try and attack. A few stabs with his lance, and a few swipes and Black Waltz fell down to the ground, beaten. That last words from him were 'You'll never beat number three' before he turned to dust in the wind.
Eddy walked over to Edd and gave him a pat on the back. "Gotta hand it to ya sock head. That was a nice spell you pulled through with."
Edd smiled a bit "Yeah. I knew it was there, because I had felt it while we were standing around in the village."
"Always one to think ahead, huh?" Eddy said.
"He always thinks too much. Its like his brain never stops thinking about thinking and his thinking thinks about thinking while he... uh..." Ed said.
Eddy slapped his forehead. "Just stop before you hurt yourself AGAIN big guy."
-While Edd, and Eddy were talking, Nikki had gone around and healed Vivi, Ed, Zidane and Steiner of their battle wounds. Ed had been the first one to be brought to his feet, so he had went over to talk to his two buddies. Nikki was still healing the other three, while the Eds began conversing about other things. -
"Hey... uh, guys, when are we gonna get on the ship?" Ed asked. "I wanna ride on the ship Eddy!"
Edd looked behind him and saw the engines to the ship powering up. The propellers began to rotate, and a whirring sound could be heard. Edd felt a bead of sweat run down his neck. "Guys, there's no time, get the others, and Ill try and stall the ship!" he commanded. The three nodded at each other and ran off in two directions. Edd took off towards the back of the ship and scurried up the ladder on the back of it. He scrambled from the top through a door in the back, and sprinted past the engine crew, not even paying attention to who they were. He scrambled up another ladder, popped open a hatch door, jumped outside, and dashed over to the bridge.
"PLEASE WAIT FOR A MOMEN... what the..." Edd said, and looked at the bridge crew. The bridge was run by the same black mages they had seen earlier underground.
Edd scratched his head for a moment. "Ooo... kay. Didn't see that coming," he mumbled. Just then the ship gave a lurch from under his feet and he fell out onto the deck.
"Crap... there's no way they could have gotten on the ship yet!" Edd said. He shook his head and sighed.
------------3 minutes ago with Ed and Eddy--------------
"Alright Ed, you grab Vivi and Nikki, and Ill grab Steiner and Zidane." Eddy ordered and they split, going to gather up their respective people. Ed and Eddy nearly flew over to the others, and wound up dragging them to the back of the slowly warming-up ship.
Eddy pushed Steiner up the ladder first. "Hurry up, we've only got like, 30 seconds!" Steiner quickly climbed up, followed by Ed with Vivi riding on his shoulders. Nikki climbed up next, followed by Zidane. The ship gave a sudden lurch forward and it began to pick up speed. Eddy was forced to sprint after it and take a running dive towards the ladder. He caught onto the lowest rung with one hand and began to dangle helplessly in midair.
"I know you guys are enjoying the fact that we made it on the ship in time, but I'm dangling 5,000 FRICKEN FEET IN THE AIR HERE!!!" Eddy shouted up to the rest of the crew. Zidane climbed back down the ladder and grabbed Eddy by the back of the shirt and threw him up onto the deck. He climbed back up and folded his arms.
"Happy now?" Zidane asked. Eddy gave him a look and walked through a nearby door. The rest of the gang followed him and shut the door. They proceeded through the engine room, where there were black mages manning the engines, but they couldn't get a word out of them. They just kept on working in complete concentration. The gang shrugged and continued past them to the ladder. One by one they filed up and went through the hatch. Eddy and Ed went up first to find Edd leaning over the rail with his head hung low.
"Oh man... what am I gonna do when I get to wherever this ship is going." Edd muttered to himself. "I have no money, no knowledge of this world, nowhere to live. It might take days for me to get back to the village, but by then, everyone else would be gone... its a hopeless situation."
"Do not worry Double-D... we didnt leave you behind!" Ed shouted. Edd swiveled around to see Ed and Eddy standing behind him. He smiled to himself and sighed with relief.
"You couldn't wait for us sock head, could you" Eddy said with a grin.
"Actually, no. Take a look at who is piloting this thing." Edd said, and pointed to the bridge where the black mages were.
Eddy scratched his head. "Those things were working the engine room too."
"So, these guys are piloting the entire ship..." Edd mumbled.
"Boy do I feel a whole lot safer on this thing." Eddy said sarcastically.
-Zidane, Vivi, Nikki, and Steiner popped up from the hatch and came out to the deck. Zidane gave the three Eds a quick smile before heading over to the bridge. The Eds gave each other an 'I dunno' look before the ship gave a sudden lurch to the left, nearly sending the three Eds over the side. All six of the heroes rushed over to see Zidane piloting the ship, and about four black mages standing and watching as Zidane turned the entire ship around. -
Steiner rushed up to Zidane and shook his fist at him. "Just what do you think you are doing?" he shouted.
"I'm turning this ship around towards South Gate, what does it look like I'm doing?" Zidane simply stated, and kept turning the steering wheel. Steiner just sighed and shook his head. Little did the seven know that they were being watched from afar.
"Soon... very soon I shall eliminate all of you..." The voice said and jumped from its ship. It flew straight for the cargo ship and landed on the deck.
Edd popped his head up. He was sure he had heard something. He glanced around to see the black mages going out onto the deck where there was...
"Good lord... when will it end!" Edd moaned. Out on the deck stood Black Waltz number three, with the normal two red slits for eyes, blue feathered wings, and a staff that stood a good 5 feet high.
"Guys... we may have a slight problem." Edd muttered and pointed out onto the deck. Everyone groaned when they saw their newest foe standing out on the deck.
-They were about to make battle plans when the black mages began to attack first. They all charged up a fire spell, but Black Waltz got his attack off first. Every black mage out on deck was struck with a thundara spell, and was sent flying in every direction. Like bowling pins after a strike, they landed everywhere, and some even flew off the side of the deck. Some of the lightning struck the cargo hold and barrels began tumbling into the mist below. That was the last straw for Vivi...-
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vivi screamed and ran out onto the deck. Edd ran after him, and the same went with Ed, Eddy, and Steiner. Zidane hung back with Nikki, who was controlling the ship.
"You better stay here and steer the ship Nikki." Zidane said. "Its up to you to decide where we are going from here." he finished, and ran out with the rest of the gang.
"So, you think you will be able to stop me?" Black Waltz asked. "I am much stronger than my brethren."
"Yeah, whatever. Now, lets see if you can put the money where your mouth is!" Eddy shouted, and charged Black Waltz with his lance. "DOUBLE STRIKE" he shouted, and attempted to hit with the tip of his lance, but Black Waltz was too quick for him. He merely grabbed the rod, and stripped it away from Eddy, leaving him defenseless.
Eddy put his hand on his neck and smiled. "Err... best two outta three?" he said, before being smashed in the face with his own lance. He flew across the deck and landed in an unconscious heap. Black Waltz simply turned back to the group and grinned maliciously. "Does anyone else dare to challenge me?"
Edd slapped his forehead. (I'm really gonna need to work with him on that 'Fools rush in' thing if we get out of this alive.)
Zidane readied his daggers and stepped up to the 'challenge' offered by Black Waltz 3. "Looks like its up to me to take this guy down." he mumbled to himself, and sprang into action. He attacked fast and furiously, swiping right, left, up, down, switched blade positions, double sliced, but it always seemed like Black Waltz 3 was always one step ahead of him. Finally, Black Waltz blocked the left slice, and grabbed Zidane's right arm. He twisted both arms behind his back, nearly breaking both of them. He then tossed Zidane aside like a rag doll and went back to the four who were left.
Edd and Vivi were behind Ed and Steiner, who were sweating nervously. Finally, when things began looking bad, Edd came up with an attack plan.
"Guys, hold him off for a moment... I need to get something ready." Edd said, and pulled Vivi back to whisper his plan to him.
"Master Duo... I don't know how long we can hold this fiend off..." Steiner said.
"Please Steiner... one minute is all we need." Edd said. Steiner gave Edd a nod and motioned for Ed to get next to him. Black Waltz began attacking both of them, but they were holding steady. Meanwhile, Edd was telling Vivi of a possible plan.
"So... you know the sword magic we used on Steiner's sword?" Edd whispered.
Vivi nodded. "Are you thinking of using that... we cant even hit this guy."
"Trust me, we don't need to hit him... if this works how I want it too." Edd said.
"Alright. So what's the plan?" Vivi asked.
Edd took a long breath in. "You know how if two elements hit each other, on is usually stronger than the other, and a chain reaction begins?" he began. "Well... If I use Fire on Steiner's sword, and you use Blizzard on Ed's sword, then maybe a big enough reaction will take place to get Black Waltz!"
Vivi thought for a moment. "Alright... but I think you should use Blizzard on Ed's sword... you know him better." Edd nodded.
"Master Duo... we cannot hold this beast off any longer!" Steiner shouted.
"Yeah... what he said!" Ed said.
"Hang on guys... just one more second." Edd said. "All right... get ready, and do exactly what I tell you to do!" he continued. "Ready Vivi?"
Vivi nodded. "You bet... FIRE SWORD!" he shouted, and infused Steiner's sword with fire magic.
"BLIZZARD SWORD!" Edd shouted, and an icy chill swept over Ed's sword. Ed nearly dropped his sword from the unexpected chill, but held on tight.
"GUYS, HIT YOUR SWORDS TOGETHER!" Edd shouted. Ed and Steiner looked at each other and shrugged. The smashed their swords together and the reaction began. A hissing sound could be heard, then a huge wave of steam swept over Black Waltz. Popping could be heard as the steam began to turn a dark violet color. The steam caught on fire, iced over, and then dissipated, leaving a worn and torn Black Waltz number three. He shook his fist at Edd and Vivi and took flight back to his air car. Edd jumped up and punched the air in victory as Ed, Vivi, and Steiner began to cheer.
"Excellent idea Master Duo. Now, shall we get your friend and that monkey and go to the bridge to see how the princess is doing?" Steiner said. Edd gave him a quick nod and Steiner went over and grabbed Eddy and Zidane. Ed and Edd went back to the bridge while Vivi stood out on deck. There was a black mage hat hanging on the side of the ship and Vivi was staring there with his head down. Edds eyes shifted from him to the approaching South Gate and then his jaw dropped. South Gate was slowly closing and they were still far away from it.
"Guys. South Gate is closing on us." Edd said. "We gotta make this thing go faster." He began playing with various switches in the bridge until he found one that made the engines rev up.
"Sit back and hang on tight people... this is going to be a bumpy ride!" He shouted.
-The airship sailed through the sky as South Gate closed more and more. The engines were working double-time as the airship hurled itself towards their ever shrinking window of opportunity. Closely behind them followed Black Waltz number three in his quick little air car. He was not going to let them get away so easily. He fired off a few rounds of thunder at the airship, missing by inches each time. Vivi took notice to this and blasted him with his own round of fire. This knocked Black Waltz off course and allowed for the cargo ship to continue its mad dash through south gate. They slipped through the first gate by inches and began speeding for the second gate that was also ready to slam shut. Black Waltz slipped in right behind them and continued his pursuit. He fired off one more shot and this time it hit home. The entire ship was knocked left as the spell made impact. Vivi was nearly thrown off the side of the ship, but Ed rushed out to grab him in the knick of time. With Vivi hanging over the side, the ship hurdled towards their ever-shrinking window of opportunity. With one last fire spell, Vivi blasted Black Waltz right out of the sky. The cargo ship flew right out of the gate, just as it slammed shut, leaving Black Waltz to slam headfirst right into the wall. -
Chapter End ------------------------------
Well... that certainly went well. Two fights in one chapter, a new spell, a new combo (Interesting to say the least :P). And it only took me about two weeks to write it. I swear, marching band and school sucks the free time right outta ya.
Coming up next chapter: The Eds explore the big city of Lindblum... after meeting the regent of course. Then they get ready for the upcoming festival of the hunt.
Be sure to read the next chapter, "ED in the big city"
You know the drill people... you read, then review... I get more chapters written, and everyone is happy.
This is Author Kirby, over and out.
I've been attempting to play writers catch-up, but it hasn't been working that well. Once my schedule finally cleans itself up, then I'll start picking up the pace with the chapters. Right now though… the future is looking kinda slow.
Anyways, thanks for the reviews. If you haven't noticed yet, I renamed Sara to Nikki. I always had my doubts about that name; I just needed to see how reviewers reacted to it, okay? Anyways, time for you guys to read the chapter.
Disclaimer: OH FORGET IT.
Chapter 8: Cargo Ship, With ED to Spare --------------------------------------------------
"Just a bit more fellas." Edd ordered.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Eddy asked.
"Positive, on 3... 1... 2... 3!" Edd shouted and slammed into the side of his box, while the 4 others did the same. A slight splintering sound could be heard as the wooden barrel cracked in two. Ed, Edd, Eddy, Nikki, and Vivi tumbled out of the barrel and landed in a heap on the ground.
"Lungs... crushed... cant... breathe!" Edd gasped out. He was on the bottom... which meant he had four other people on top of him. One of them being Ed, which made it even worse.
Vivi hopped off the top of the pile and dusted himself off. "Sorry about that Duo" he said and glanced around. "It looks like we're outside the village."
"Finally. That place gave me the creeps," Eddy said, getting off of the others. Nikki followed closely and Ed got up afterwards. Edd felt as flat as a pancake as he was helped up by Ed.
"Now... if we only knew where Steiner and Zidane were, we could leave." Edd stated and stared across the field. A slight breeze was blowing, sending a wave effect across the grass. He smiled to himself and enjoyed the moment of peace from his busy life.
-Ed stared intently across the field, looking for 'Mr. Whatever his name is' [I may make this a running joke with Ed, depending on what you guys think.] and Steiner. He was bored out of his mind... nothing really happened around here. He eventually dosed off while standing up. -
-Eddy folded his arms, as he saw nothing but grassy plains all around him. He was tired of just waiting around... he wanted action. He took out his lance and began absentmindedly twirling it in his hands. -
-The five heroes waited for a few moments before getting really anxious. The cargo ship was going to leave soon, and if Zidane and Steiner didn't come soon, they would have to leave them. With about twenty minutes until the ship was going to leave, the five spotted a two figures running towards them on the other side of the field. As they came closer, the two were recognized as Zidane and Steiner. The five sighed in relief as Steiner and Zidane finally met up with them. -
"Where were you guys? We looked all over the village and couldn't find you." Zidane said, a bit out of breath.
Edd shrugged. "We had a small rescue mission we had to take care of, but it's taken care of."
Steiner scratched his head. "Rescue mission. Did some bandit attempt to capture the princess Master Duo?"
"Nah, some dudes thought Vivi was someone else. Don't worry about it, nothing important." Eddy stated. The seven exchanged info about they were going to next when another figure was spotted zipping across the field at high speeds. Ed and Zidane instantly recognized the blue-feathered wings, steepled hat, and glowing red eyes to know this guy must be related to the first Black Waltz. They jumped to a battle position and pulled out their respective weapons. The rest of them just tilted their heads in confusion.
"Anyone want to explain what's going on?" Vivi asked.
"This guy looks like what attacked me and Ed in the ice cavern." spat Zidane. The group nodded their heads and pulled out their own weapons. Vivi, Edd, and Nikki got behind the rest of the gang while the others formed a wall between them and the approaching enemy. He kept coming towards them until he was 10 feet away. Finally, he stopped.
"I am here for the girl," The Black Mage simply stated.
Steiner pulled up his sword. "What do you want with the princess you scoundrel?"
"I'm here to take her back to the castle. You shall not get in my way." Said the Black Mage.
Zidane flipped his daggers into fighting position. "Oh, you don't know how wrong you really are" he grinned. "Lets see what you got."
-Ed and Zidane rushed the Black Mage as a double assault, thinking he would be an easy takedown. They both slashed right at him, but their swords seemed to cut through thin air. -
"Looking for something?" Came an icy voice from behind them. Ed and Zidane swiveled around to see the Black Waltz just hovering there.
"How did he... I could have sworn..." Zidane started. He shrugged and went in for another attack. He swiped again, and his blade went right through him. The Black Waltz was about 3 feet to the right of him.
Black Waltz shook his head. "Tisk tisk, having trouble hitting me? What a shame." he said. Before Zidane knew what had hit him, he was knocked into the air by the Black Waltz, and landed about 10 feet away. Zidane struggled to get up after he landed, and his arm had scrapes all over it.
Steiner, Vivi, Edd, Eddy, and Nikki watched on wide eyed as Zidane was pummeled by the black mage who seemed appear out of thing air. Even Ed was helpless as he attempted a back attack on the black mage. Finally, Zidane was down for the count, and he was going after Ed.
"Run, trouble, bad!" Ed said as he sprinted in circles, dodging Black Waltz as he popped up in front of him every three seconds. Ed eventually fell to the speed of the mage and was hit right in the face with a blizzard spell, knocking him out cold. [Literally] Black Waltz began advancing on Steiner next, and all he could do was defend him from the onslaught. Edd, Eddy, Vivi and Nikki went into a quick huddle to think of something.
"Guys, this is REALLY bad. How are we going to slow this guy down?" Asked Edd.
Nikki shook her head. "I don't know. I can't go help Ed and Zidane right now because this mage will probably snatch me the moment I step out of here."
"There's GOTTA be a weakness to this guy. Everything has a weakness." Vivi said.
Edd began thinking for a moment. "I may have something here... just hold him off for a few more seconds, alright?" The group nodded and went back to defending the princess.
Edd sat back and began to concentrate. (Now, I know I had felt something on my armor earlier today when I was standing around... I just couldn't put my finger on it... Come on... where are those abilities.)
Steiner was slowly losing his defense and was sliding back slightly. His sword was knocked out of his hand and landed a few feet away. With a few more quick blows, he was down for the count. Eddy and Vivi looked at each other.
"You're up Vivi." Eddy said and got in front of Nikki. Vivi concentrated for a second and then pointed his staff at the sky. Dark clouds began to gather and a storm blew in quickly. Thunder began to jump from the clouds and came closer.
"There's no way you can dodge them all... THUNDER!" Vivi shouted. Thunderbolts rained down from the sky and began striking around Black Waltz. He tried to dodge, but eventually, one hit him, then they all homed in on him. He was zapped with about 15 thunderbolts before the storm dissipated. Black Waltz was still standing, and smirking slightly.
"You think a little rainstorm will defeat me. This is how you use thunder!" the mage shouted and pointed his hand out at Vivi. A rather large bolt of lightning flew from his hands and blasted Vivi back a good 20 feet. Vivi was ashen faced and fried from the attack, and fainted.
Eddy looked around franticly as the mage turned to him. "Double-D... hurry it up please..." he whimpered.
-Edd was lost in thought. He had become frantic in his search for the ability, and with the time crunch he was in, things were not looking good. He took a deep breath and let himself go. One word drifted across his mind and his eyes snapped open. -
"I'm ready Eddy." Edd simply stated. He held out his staff and pointed it at Black Waltz. "I think it's time you took things down a bit." Edd said with a smirk. "SLOW!" He shouted. The world seemed to go gray around him as the spell went into effect. Clocks began surrounding the mage and the hands began to spin slower and slower.
Finally, the world regained its color and Edd got to his knees. "He's all yours Eddy!" Eddy gave him a nod and went in for an attack. The mage was moving 10 times slower than normal so Eddy didn't even have to try and attack. A few stabs with his lance, and a few swipes and Black Waltz fell down to the ground, beaten. That last words from him were 'You'll never beat number three' before he turned to dust in the wind.
Eddy walked over to Edd and gave him a pat on the back. "Gotta hand it to ya sock head. That was a nice spell you pulled through with."
Edd smiled a bit "Yeah. I knew it was there, because I had felt it while we were standing around in the village."
"Always one to think ahead, huh?" Eddy said.
"He always thinks too much. Its like his brain never stops thinking about thinking and his thinking thinks about thinking while he... uh..." Ed said.
Eddy slapped his forehead. "Just stop before you hurt yourself AGAIN big guy."
-While Edd, and Eddy were talking, Nikki had gone around and healed Vivi, Ed, Zidane and Steiner of their battle wounds. Ed had been the first one to be brought to his feet, so he had went over to talk to his two buddies. Nikki was still healing the other three, while the Eds began conversing about other things. -
"Hey... uh, guys, when are we gonna get on the ship?" Ed asked. "I wanna ride on the ship Eddy!"
Edd looked behind him and saw the engines to the ship powering up. The propellers began to rotate, and a whirring sound could be heard. Edd felt a bead of sweat run down his neck. "Guys, there's no time, get the others, and Ill try and stall the ship!" he commanded. The three nodded at each other and ran off in two directions. Edd took off towards the back of the ship and scurried up the ladder on the back of it. He scrambled from the top through a door in the back, and sprinted past the engine crew, not even paying attention to who they were. He scrambled up another ladder, popped open a hatch door, jumped outside, and dashed over to the bridge.
"PLEASE WAIT FOR A MOMEN... what the..." Edd said, and looked at the bridge crew. The bridge was run by the same black mages they had seen earlier underground.
Edd scratched his head for a moment. "Ooo... kay. Didn't see that coming," he mumbled. Just then the ship gave a lurch from under his feet and he fell out onto the deck.
"Crap... there's no way they could have gotten on the ship yet!" Edd said. He shook his head and sighed.
------------3 minutes ago with Ed and Eddy--------------
"Alright Ed, you grab Vivi and Nikki, and Ill grab Steiner and Zidane." Eddy ordered and they split, going to gather up their respective people. Ed and Eddy nearly flew over to the others, and wound up dragging them to the back of the slowly warming-up ship.
Eddy pushed Steiner up the ladder first. "Hurry up, we've only got like, 30 seconds!" Steiner quickly climbed up, followed by Ed with Vivi riding on his shoulders. Nikki climbed up next, followed by Zidane. The ship gave a sudden lurch forward and it began to pick up speed. Eddy was forced to sprint after it and take a running dive towards the ladder. He caught onto the lowest rung with one hand and began to dangle helplessly in midair.
"I know you guys are enjoying the fact that we made it on the ship in time, but I'm dangling 5,000 FRICKEN FEET IN THE AIR HERE!!!" Eddy shouted up to the rest of the crew. Zidane climbed back down the ladder and grabbed Eddy by the back of the shirt and threw him up onto the deck. He climbed back up and folded his arms.
"Happy now?" Zidane asked. Eddy gave him a look and walked through a nearby door. The rest of the gang followed him and shut the door. They proceeded through the engine room, where there were black mages manning the engines, but they couldn't get a word out of them. They just kept on working in complete concentration. The gang shrugged and continued past them to the ladder. One by one they filed up and went through the hatch. Eddy and Ed went up first to find Edd leaning over the rail with his head hung low.
"Oh man... what am I gonna do when I get to wherever this ship is going." Edd muttered to himself. "I have no money, no knowledge of this world, nowhere to live. It might take days for me to get back to the village, but by then, everyone else would be gone... its a hopeless situation."
"Do not worry Double-D... we didnt leave you behind!" Ed shouted. Edd swiveled around to see Ed and Eddy standing behind him. He smiled to himself and sighed with relief.
"You couldn't wait for us sock head, could you" Eddy said with a grin.
"Actually, no. Take a look at who is piloting this thing." Edd said, and pointed to the bridge where the black mages were.
Eddy scratched his head. "Those things were working the engine room too."
"So, these guys are piloting the entire ship..." Edd mumbled.
"Boy do I feel a whole lot safer on this thing." Eddy said sarcastically.
-Zidane, Vivi, Nikki, and Steiner popped up from the hatch and came out to the deck. Zidane gave the three Eds a quick smile before heading over to the bridge. The Eds gave each other an 'I dunno' look before the ship gave a sudden lurch to the left, nearly sending the three Eds over the side. All six of the heroes rushed over to see Zidane piloting the ship, and about four black mages standing and watching as Zidane turned the entire ship around. -
Steiner rushed up to Zidane and shook his fist at him. "Just what do you think you are doing?" he shouted.
"I'm turning this ship around towards South Gate, what does it look like I'm doing?" Zidane simply stated, and kept turning the steering wheel. Steiner just sighed and shook his head. Little did the seven know that they were being watched from afar.
"Soon... very soon I shall eliminate all of you..." The voice said and jumped from its ship. It flew straight for the cargo ship and landed on the deck.
Edd popped his head up. He was sure he had heard something. He glanced around to see the black mages going out onto the deck where there was...
"Good lord... when will it end!" Edd moaned. Out on the deck stood Black Waltz number three, with the normal two red slits for eyes, blue feathered wings, and a staff that stood a good 5 feet high.
"Guys... we may have a slight problem." Edd muttered and pointed out onto the deck. Everyone groaned when they saw their newest foe standing out on the deck.
-They were about to make battle plans when the black mages began to attack first. They all charged up a fire spell, but Black Waltz got his attack off first. Every black mage out on deck was struck with a thundara spell, and was sent flying in every direction. Like bowling pins after a strike, they landed everywhere, and some even flew off the side of the deck. Some of the lightning struck the cargo hold and barrels began tumbling into the mist below. That was the last straw for Vivi...-
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vivi screamed and ran out onto the deck. Edd ran after him, and the same went with Ed, Eddy, and Steiner. Zidane hung back with Nikki, who was controlling the ship.
"You better stay here and steer the ship Nikki." Zidane said. "Its up to you to decide where we are going from here." he finished, and ran out with the rest of the gang.
"So, you think you will be able to stop me?" Black Waltz asked. "I am much stronger than my brethren."
"Yeah, whatever. Now, lets see if you can put the money where your mouth is!" Eddy shouted, and charged Black Waltz with his lance. "DOUBLE STRIKE" he shouted, and attempted to hit with the tip of his lance, but Black Waltz was too quick for him. He merely grabbed the rod, and stripped it away from Eddy, leaving him defenseless.
Eddy put his hand on his neck and smiled. "Err... best two outta three?" he said, before being smashed in the face with his own lance. He flew across the deck and landed in an unconscious heap. Black Waltz simply turned back to the group and grinned maliciously. "Does anyone else dare to challenge me?"
Edd slapped his forehead. (I'm really gonna need to work with him on that 'Fools rush in' thing if we get out of this alive.)
Zidane readied his daggers and stepped up to the 'challenge' offered by Black Waltz 3. "Looks like its up to me to take this guy down." he mumbled to himself, and sprang into action. He attacked fast and furiously, swiping right, left, up, down, switched blade positions, double sliced, but it always seemed like Black Waltz 3 was always one step ahead of him. Finally, Black Waltz blocked the left slice, and grabbed Zidane's right arm. He twisted both arms behind his back, nearly breaking both of them. He then tossed Zidane aside like a rag doll and went back to the four who were left.
Edd and Vivi were behind Ed and Steiner, who were sweating nervously. Finally, when things began looking bad, Edd came up with an attack plan.
"Guys, hold him off for a moment... I need to get something ready." Edd said, and pulled Vivi back to whisper his plan to him.
"Master Duo... I don't know how long we can hold this fiend off..." Steiner said.
"Please Steiner... one minute is all we need." Edd said. Steiner gave Edd a nod and motioned for Ed to get next to him. Black Waltz began attacking both of them, but they were holding steady. Meanwhile, Edd was telling Vivi of a possible plan.
"So... you know the sword magic we used on Steiner's sword?" Edd whispered.
Vivi nodded. "Are you thinking of using that... we cant even hit this guy."
"Trust me, we don't need to hit him... if this works how I want it too." Edd said.
"Alright. So what's the plan?" Vivi asked.
Edd took a long breath in. "You know how if two elements hit each other, on is usually stronger than the other, and a chain reaction begins?" he began. "Well... If I use Fire on Steiner's sword, and you use Blizzard on Ed's sword, then maybe a big enough reaction will take place to get Black Waltz!"
Vivi thought for a moment. "Alright... but I think you should use Blizzard on Ed's sword... you know him better." Edd nodded.
"Master Duo... we cannot hold this beast off any longer!" Steiner shouted.
"Yeah... what he said!" Ed said.
"Hang on guys... just one more second." Edd said. "All right... get ready, and do exactly what I tell you to do!" he continued. "Ready Vivi?"
Vivi nodded. "You bet... FIRE SWORD!" he shouted, and infused Steiner's sword with fire magic.
"BLIZZARD SWORD!" Edd shouted, and an icy chill swept over Ed's sword. Ed nearly dropped his sword from the unexpected chill, but held on tight.
"GUYS, HIT YOUR SWORDS TOGETHER!" Edd shouted. Ed and Steiner looked at each other and shrugged. The smashed their swords together and the reaction began. A hissing sound could be heard, then a huge wave of steam swept over Black Waltz. Popping could be heard as the steam began to turn a dark violet color. The steam caught on fire, iced over, and then dissipated, leaving a worn and torn Black Waltz number three. He shook his fist at Edd and Vivi and took flight back to his air car. Edd jumped up and punched the air in victory as Ed, Vivi, and Steiner began to cheer.
"Excellent idea Master Duo. Now, shall we get your friend and that monkey and go to the bridge to see how the princess is doing?" Steiner said. Edd gave him a quick nod and Steiner went over and grabbed Eddy and Zidane. Ed and Edd went back to the bridge while Vivi stood out on deck. There was a black mage hat hanging on the side of the ship and Vivi was staring there with his head down. Edds eyes shifted from him to the approaching South Gate and then his jaw dropped. South Gate was slowly closing and they were still far away from it.
"Guys. South Gate is closing on us." Edd said. "We gotta make this thing go faster." He began playing with various switches in the bridge until he found one that made the engines rev up.
"Sit back and hang on tight people... this is going to be a bumpy ride!" He shouted.
-The airship sailed through the sky as South Gate closed more and more. The engines were working double-time as the airship hurled itself towards their ever shrinking window of opportunity. Closely behind them followed Black Waltz number three in his quick little air car. He was not going to let them get away so easily. He fired off a few rounds of thunder at the airship, missing by inches each time. Vivi took notice to this and blasted him with his own round of fire. This knocked Black Waltz off course and allowed for the cargo ship to continue its mad dash through south gate. They slipped through the first gate by inches and began speeding for the second gate that was also ready to slam shut. Black Waltz slipped in right behind them and continued his pursuit. He fired off one more shot and this time it hit home. The entire ship was knocked left as the spell made impact. Vivi was nearly thrown off the side of the ship, but Ed rushed out to grab him in the knick of time. With Vivi hanging over the side, the ship hurdled towards their ever-shrinking window of opportunity. With one last fire spell, Vivi blasted Black Waltz right out of the sky. The cargo ship flew right out of the gate, just as it slammed shut, leaving Black Waltz to slam headfirst right into the wall. -
Chapter End ------------------------------
Well... that certainly went well. Two fights in one chapter, a new spell, a new combo (Interesting to say the least :P). And it only took me about two weeks to write it. I swear, marching band and school sucks the free time right outta ya.
Coming up next chapter: The Eds explore the big city of Lindblum... after meeting the regent of course. Then they get ready for the upcoming festival of the hunt.
Be sure to read the next chapter, "ED in the big city"
You know the drill people... you read, then review... I get more chapters written, and everyone is happy.
This is Author Kirby, over and out.