O.O Phew! This one was…a beast. Sorry it took me so long to get this next chapter posted! I also apologize for any grammar or spelling errors that may be scattered about; I kind of finished writing this on very little sleep. The water caverns are finally over! At last…I was getting sick of those caves… Well, here we go onto the last chapter of the caves and then into Damcyan. Enjoy! And also, thanks to all who've been reading and reviewing!

………………………………………………………….

Part X: A Watery Exit

They crossed the valley in a few hours, and then rested before their descent into the final section of the cavern.

Rydia tried to gather her wits. She had never fought anything that even Cecil thought he couldn't handle. She glanced in his direction and saw that he was tightening the sword around his waist. He looked so imposing in his black armor; the spikes, the horns, the overall darkness he exuded. But Rydia could tell he was not looking forward to this fight despite his powerful armor.

Tellah seemed to be in another world entirely, probably still thinking what he would do once he found his daughter. He had been muttering about some bad feeling in his gut from about halfway across the valley, and Cecil had decided it was just indigestion. Rydia wasn't so sure, though. She too felt that something was wrong up ahead, she just couldn't figure out what.

In their own ways, they readied themselves for what was ahead, and then Tellah led them down again into darkness.

………………………………………….

This section of the cavern led immediately into water. Rydia sunk up to her waist, Cecil up to his knees.

Rydia could hear the sound of rushing water and felt a current tugging at her. She clung to Cecil so she wouldn't get dragged away.

"Up ahead a bit farther now," Tellah explained, and walked on.

They eventually came to a small outcropping of rock where all three of them stood and looked down. They stood just at the edge of a waterfall with no visible way of climbing down to the bottom.

"He's down there!" Tellah announced. "The only way to get there is to follow the water."

Cecil turned incredulously. "What? How are we supposed to survive a fall like that?"

"It's really not that bad. The water is deep enough to drop into without hurting yourself, but not deep enough that you could get stuck down there. If, however, you find a way to sink and not get back up in that armor, I'd be delighted to assist you with my magic," Tellah reassured him with a quick grin before hopping into the water and following the current over the edge.

Cecil stayed where he was and waited for the old man to surface down below. Once he was certain Tellah was still alive, he nudged Rydia forward.

"It might be best if you go first. I don't know how long it will take for me to come back up, and something tells me I'd rather have you helping Tellah remember his spells if something should happen."

Rydia looked up at him puzzled, but agreed, and warily entered the water. The current was stronger here than at the cave entrance, and she felt herself being pulled closer and closer towards the edge and over the waterfall. She had never much liked heights…

She shut her eyes and felt her heart jump up to her throat as the ground slipped away beneath her and the water carried her down. The impact with the cold water at the bottom knocked the wind out of her and she frantically paddled for the surface, wanting to gasp for air. She burst through the surface and opened her eyes. Tellah was standing on a half-submerged rock smiling, and she slowly splashed her way towards him.

"How's that for a refreshing swim?" he asked, amused.

She climbed onto the rock and stood next to him, looking at Cecil and waiting for him to come down next. He seemed very hesitant to go down, though, and for a moment Rydia was very concerned.

"What about his armor. Won't he sink straight down?" she whispered to Tellah.

"Nonsense, he'll be just fine," the old man assured her.

Cecil finally entered the water and came to the edge of the waterfall. He looked down, paused, and jumped. He hit the water like a rock, and the fall jarred his armor, making it sound like the knight had cracked in two. Rydia had to shut her eyes, and then peered through her fingers to see if he was alright.

At first he didn't surface, but then with a violent inhalation, he burst through. Rydia leaned forward, and stared wide-eyed to make sure Cecil was really alright, but he waved to reassure her and then clumsily swam towards them.

"I'm fine," he sputtered. "Just waited a bit too long to take my breath."

"Good. I'm glad you didn't drown. Now let's keep moving," Tellah insisted, then picked up his long robes and walked across a few more half-submerged rocks to reach a path over the water.

Cecil pulled himself out of the water and shook his arms. Water came out by the bucket load, and Rydia stifled a giggle.

"This armor wasn't meant for water," Cecil muttered as he let the rest of the armor drain before moving.

"Is it very heavy?" Rydia asked. "It must be with all that water in it."

"It is. Rydia, do me a favor and never go swimming in armor," he told her, before following Tellah on the path.

Rydia followed after him, confused. Why would anyone want to swim in armor anyway?

………………………………………………….

Tellah led them through three different chambers, all with more chests to be opened. Cecil acquired new pieces of armor that were darker--more imposing than his first. He gladly shed his old armor, as it was uncomfortably wet, and put on the new pieces. It was the first time Rydia ever saw his face, and it was only for a brief moment as it lasted as long as it took for him to remove his old helmet to replace it with a new one. He had his back turned when he did it, but she had still stolen a peek.

From what she could tell, he had a handsome face, but it seemed troubled and tired. She wondered what exactly he was thinking about; if it was Rosa, the other man, Kain, or even if it was Mist. But then he turned his head, and all she could see was the back of it. Then what caught her attention was his hair; how unusual it was with his dark armor. It was so fair it was nearly white, and fell almost to his shoulders. She had never seen hair like it before, and it intrigued her. That was all the looking she had time for before the new helmet covered his face again, and there were only the dark holes for eyes to stare at.

Cecil turned back around to find Rydia staring at him, but only paused for a moment, and paid it no attention. After he had walked past, Rydia wondered why he still kept his face hidden from the world; what secrets he was keeping…

……………………………………

As they continued toward the other exit of the cavern, they fought more fish that seemed to be increasing and becoming more voracious with every step. Rydia had nearly exhausted herself from fighting and defending from their bites, and her leather tunic was scarred from teeth and barbs.

She had sharpened her casting of the lightning spell from the frequent attacks, though, and could even match Tellah in the strength of her spells. The old man seemed surprised, but only nodded now and again when she successfully dispatched a group of malicious fish or other foe. She was proud of herself. Maybe now the old sage could see her as a little more than just a child.

They finally came to the end of the path, and it once again plunged underwater. Cecil seemed less than thrilled, and was even less thrilled to see another waterfall waiting for them farther ahead.

For a few moments all they could hear was the rushing of the water from the waterfall, but suddenly Tellah stirred and pointed to the base of the crashing water.

"There! There he is!"

No sooner did Tellah shout those words that eight enormous red tentacles erupted from the water and lashed out at them.

"Watch out!" Tellah shouted, but Cecil hadn't needed a warning to see them coming. He drew his sword and hacked at one of the tentacles as it swung toward him. As strong as he was, he just couldn't sever the limb and it came back for another pass, which Cecil deflected. The other tentacles writhed and thrashed in the water, sending droplets flying through the air, and Rydia ducked to avoid getting the water in her eyes.

One tentacle reached out and grazed Tellah's shoulder, knocking him off balance, but he quickly recovered. It was chaos with the eight splashing limbs. Rydia couldn't tell where the body of the monster was, and strained her eyes trying to find it in the thrashing water.

"It's an octomammoth!" Tellah shouted above the roar of the water to both her and Cecil. "Rydia, send a lightning spell at it, and we'll try to slow it down while Cecil goes after the tentacles!"

She nodded hurriedly, and tried to break away from the struggle long enough to concentrate on the spell. Tellah leveled one spell on the creature, but it merely shuddered and paused before continuing its assault. The pause was long enough, however, for Cecil to take his chance and go after one of the arms. Finding the one he had half severed, he finished the job and the tentacle fell bloodied into the water.

The monster shrieked in pain and struck back, this time striking Rydia and breaking her concentration. It hit her on the leg, and where it had impacted, it stung. Frustrated, Rydia stopped and watched the two older men combat the creature. Cecil was making good progress on one of the other tentacles, but the octomammoth had grown wise and refused to keep the tentacles within his reach for long, making it difficult for Cecil to go after any which one.

Tellah's spells simply weren't strong enough, and the tentacles that weren't engaged with Cecil were busy deflecting the spells away. Nothing was fast enough; it was simply too strong and too fast.

Rydia set her jaw in determination and wondered if there was anything she could do that would be fast enough to break through its defenses. And then it came to her.

She narrowed her focus once again, this time performing a different kind of spell than before. It took her longer than she thought, but she hadn't done it for some time, and finally she finished it and said the final words.

For a moment the cavern flashed white and everything disappeared, only to correct itself in the blink of an eye, with a golden yellow chocobo appearing in front of the three of them. It squawked expectantly, and Rydia pointed behind it to where the octomammoth was waiting.

The chocobo turned and clawed the water, then charged, racing between the octomammoth's tentacles and pecking at the body, causing the whole creature to bellow in pain and rage.

Tellah released a lightning spell as the chocobo finished its pecking, and Cecil once again went after the tentacles, cutting off three more while it was distracted.

With half of its tentacles lost, the octomammoth began to considerably lose speed and energy. Rydia performed lightning spell after lightning spell, helping Tellah to weaken the creature's body and allowing Cecil to remove the remaining tentacles.

The octomammoth sent a few last attacks their way, vicious attempts at revenge, but in the end, after the whole tedious battle, the creature groaned and moved its last, collapsing into a ruined pile of battered flesh.

Rydia found that after the battle she couldn't move. She was too stunned to move. The remnants of the battle were everywhere, and it made her sick to her stomach. Cecil and Tellah moved closer to what was left of the octomammoth to make sure it was really dead, and then beckoned Rydia over to them. She didn't want to go any closer to the evil creature, not at all, but she knew she'd eventually have to if they were to get out of the caverns and help Rosa.

"You summoned that creature?" Tellah asked quickly, turning on her once she got closer. "Very nicely done. I didn't know that the summoners of Mist began their training so early, but I'm glad. You truly helped us defeat this vile creature, Rydia," he admitted, smiling.

Despite her disgust at the carnage around her, Rydia was strangely proud. She had helped a sage and a dark knight, two men that were greatly beyond her skill and understanding, and she had done something neither of them could. She had also been praised by the one man who never seemed to give out any praise except to himself, and it made her stomach jump with excitement.

Tellah looked from her to Cecil and then his expression hardened. "Thank you both for helping me defeat this demon. Damcyan is now only steps away, and soon I can retrieve my daughter and go home again. Come now, the exit is just beyond the waterfall," he said, leading the way through the cascading water and away from the darkness of the caverns--the carnage of the fight.

As Rydia followed after him, eager to leave, Cecil caught her shoulder and she turned.

He looked down at her and Rydia waited for him to say something.

"Good job," was all he said, but Rydia was almost certain he was smiling, and that was all she needed to know.