Shades of Wings:
Chapter 4: White Wings
Sorry it took so long folks, but Chapter 4 IS here!
Everyone: ABOUT TIME!
Okay then! Here we are with the fourth chapter, full of action and surprises! Enjoy!
"Wow!" Juka laughed as the group entered the bright blue forest of Macalania. Tress around them shined brightly and the crystal like shrubs and plants made a jingling sound as they passed, "This is amazing!"
"The temple should be this way," Adrian walked down the path of trees, the guardians following her.
"Why are we in such a hurry?" Juka asked.
"I agree," Tai nodded, "We've been busy all day, don't you think you should rest?" Adrian shot him a cold look, "You're probably exhausted."
"I'm fine!" Adrian insisted.
"Stubbornness never got any summoner anywhere," Kevi sighed and walked into a clearing, "We rest for the night."
"Bu--" Adrian started but Ashnigh put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. Adrian sighed reluctantly, but nodded and the group walked into the clearing of Kevi's choosing.
"Ooooo!" Juka smiled and ran over to the large lake that sat shining in the middle of the open space. Its glossy waters gleamed and reflected the gigantic tree in the middle of the pond. Stars overhead were mirrored in its shiny surface. "Pretty!" She took off her shoes and knee socks and stuck her feet in the water. "It feels nice too! Hey if we had bathing suits we could go swim--" She turned around to see that all the other guardians were sitting solemnly against tree trunks and she quickly took her feet out of the water and put on a mature air. "Of course we haven't the time for such frivolous matters as swimming."
"You know," Kevi eyed her, "Pretending to be grown-up doesn't make you so."
"Hey, lay off!" Tai snapped, "So what if she's having fun!" His voice became barely a whisper, "A talent that some people here don't possess."
Kevi didn't say anything in return, perhaps because he hadn't heard Tai or he just didn't care. Luna's loud snores broke the awkward and tense silence and Tiffa smiled.
"Let's turn in," she told them, "It's pretty late."
"Uh huh," Spiler nodded.
"I'll stand guard!" Juka stood up, waving her sword around to show the fierceness that she would exhibit to any fiends that crossed their path.
"Not alone you won't," Tiffa told her, "There may be fiends that you can't handle alone," she nodded her head to Briu, "Stand guard with her for a few shifts."
"Okay," He nodded and stood up, "I'll wake you and Spiler up in a couple of hours."
Everyone soon settled down and the rhythmic breathing of the group showed Juka and Briu that they had all fallen asleep. Juka held her sword at the ready for a few minutes, Briu sitting near the lake, looking at her with mild amusement. Juka then, seeing that no fiends were coming any time soon and she was just wasting her breath, sat down next to him. "Hey Briu...?" she asked the Guado man and he turned his head.
"Yeah?"
"Do you have any cool powers?" she asked him, "Like flying or something weird like that?"
"I'm not an alien," he sighed, looking at her with eyebrows raised, "But I do have one. He touched her shoulder lightly, and she almost recoiled before he muttered, "Copy Image." In a second, Juka could have been looking in a mirror. The other Juka, smiling widely took her – she meant his hand off her shoulder and a couple seconds later turned back into Briu. "Fun huh?"
"NO!" Juka blushed, "MORE LIKE CREEPY!"
"It only lasts for a minute or two if I concentrate hard enough," Briu nodded, "But still quite useful. I even inherit the traits of my copy."
"I guess that's cool," Juka sighed, still eyeing him accusingly, "But still creepy!"
"I can't wait to try it out on a fiend!" he smiled, "Too cool!"
"Hey...think that we'll run into any fiends down here?" Juka asked.
"Perhaps," Briu sighed, "There's really no way to tell unless we run into one."
"I guess..." Juka sighed heavily, lightly scratching her head, "But it just seems like this place is too serene for fiends..."
"Think again, DUCK!" Briu threw Juka to the ground as a stream of fire passed over their heads. Juka looked up to see a floating gelatin-like structure with a seed implanted in the middle of it. It had no eyes, but a feeling of menace came from the monster all the same...
"What is that?!" Juka asked, eyes wide at the glowing structure.
"Dunno..." Briu scowled, "I'll hold it off, wake up the others!"
"R-right!" Juka nodded and sprinted toward the sleeping forms of her companions. She seriously considered letting Adrian fry in the monster's flames but thought better of it. "Guys! Wake up, we're being attacked!"
"Wha--?" Tiffa woke up with a groggy start, "Five more minutes please..."
"If you wanna be barbecue then sure!" Juka screamed as the group finally woke themselves and saw the creature.
"Uh...Kevi?' Spiler asked his goggle-eyed companion, "Status Report?"
"I...I don't know how to attack it," Kevi admitted, "I've never seen that kind of fiend before."
"Great!" Tai rolled his eyes, "Then how are we supposed to beat it?"
"Trial and Error!" Juka yelled and ran to the creature, sword unsheathed and gave the monster a slice! Again, like the jelly before, it had almost no effect.
"Resistant to Physical attacks," Briu sighed, scorched after battling the monster while Juka was acting as a human alarm clock. "And it uses Fire..." he thought for a second, "Luna! Cast Blizzard!"
"Coming right up!" Luna laughed and cast the spell with the help of her doll, "BLIZZARD!"
The Jelly thing winced as the spell did major damage! "Do it again!" Juka yelled but then noticed the jelly changing colors rapidly, then returning to normal blue, "What was that...?"
"Blizzard!" Luna yelled once more.
"No, stop!" Juka called, but it was too late! The spell had been cast and the monster came larger and gained power! The spell had healed it, "Oh crud..."
"It changed elements!" Briu called and the monster fired a few ice spikes in Luna's direction.
"Eeeks!" she tried to cover her head but heard a crash and breaking of ice as the spikes shattered against the broad side of Kevi's axe.
"Damn," he spat, "It changes elements after each attack." He winced slightly, "Every attack is a gamble."
"Not necessarily!" Briu pointed out, "I've got a plan!"
"You..." Juka looked at him, eyes wide, "You can't be serious, it's too dangerous!"
"But it's the only way," Briu told her.
"What's the only way?" Tiffa asked him.
"No time," Briu sighed, "You'll see!" He turned his spear toward the form and ran with all his might! "ARGGH!" he screamed, and, hand outstretched, stuck his hand straight into the monster!
"Eww!" Luna yelled, "THAT'S GROSS!"
"GET OUT OF THERE YOU IDIOT!" Kevi screamed to him.
"It feels...disgusting..." Briu winced, but closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, "COPY IMAGE!" Like the last time, in a moment, Briu became the floating gelatin, in miniature, everything right down to the sickly blue color. "It's Blizzard right now!" his voice came from the smaller gel, everyone looking at him with utter disgust. "Use fire!"
"Dude...are you going to STAY like that?" Spiler asked him.
"OF COURSE NOT YOU DIMWIT, NOW ATTACK!"
"Oh right!" Spiler nodded then turned to Luna, "Cast fire on my blitzball!"
"Okey-dokey!" Luna nodded and prepared the spell, aimed at the ball, "FIRE!" The blitzball became engulfed in flames and Spiler kicked the ball toward the gelatin form. It was driven back, major damage being done.
"Score!" he laughed as the blitzball came back to him, not on fire anymore. Again, the gelatin flashed colors, as did Briu. He paused for a few seconds, then spoke.
"It's Thunder! Trust me!" he told them, "Guys! We need a powerful spell! There's no way I can keep this up for more than a minute more! After that I'll be completely out of energy! We've got to finish it off with the next blow!"
"But how?" Tai asked, "We don't have a spell that can do that!"
"But Bahamut does!" Ashnigh told them, "Adrian," she nodded to her companion, "Have Bahamut cast Waterga."
"But that's the highest level magic!" Adrian insisted, "There's no way that I could do that yet! It's impossible, I can't do it!"
"WE'RE NOT HERE TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU CAN OR CAN'T DO!" Juka screamed to her, and Adrian's eyebrows raised in confusion and shock, "We're asking you to use that spell! Summon Bahamut now!"
Adrian scowled, "If it doesn't work, we'll all be killed!"
"That means if it does work then we won't be killed." Adrian's eyes shot up and she looked at Juka with an expression of utter befuddlement. Juka smiled at her with a large grin, "That's a chance I'm willing to take."
Adrian paused for a second, then nodded. "Step back everyone," she told them, "I'm going to summon Bahamut."
Everyone stepped back and Adrian stepped into the middle of the clearing, raising her black and white ivory and ebony staff above her head. She twirled it decoratively, as if in a dance and kicked in the air. The twirling of the wand mesmerized the guardians, in awe of the concentration it took for her to keep this up. Finally, a blue and gold symbol appeared underneath her on the ground, and out of the sky landed...Bahamut. The giant black titan, decorated with a rainbow colored breastplate of feathers and large wings with the symbol of the Fayth floating on its back. A large black beak-like nose protruded from its face and claws in its muscular arms and legs would intimidate anyone who dared cross his path.
"BAHAMUT!" Adrian focused her power as the blue energy gathered in her wand. She winced, as if in pain by the amount of concentration she had to endure. "CAST WATERGA!"
Bahamut paused, then, raised his claws, gathered energy, and FIRED! "WATERGA!" Adrian screamed and the spell fired from Bahamut!
The gel writhed and fidgeted, as if having a small seizure and in a moment, it melted into a blue blob that evaporated before their eyes. Bahamut turned to Adrian, and Adrian bowed. Bahamut gave a small bow to her, and flew back up into the sky and into Adrian's wand. "You did it!" Ashnigh laughed and hugged the exhausted looking Adrian, "You really did it!"
"Ye-yeah...I did..." she turned to Juka and laughed, "Eat...that!" With that, she fainted into Ashnigh's embracing arms.
The smaller gelatin form quickly formed itself back into the usual Briu, and Briu felt himself over, making sure he wasn't slimey.
"Well...we should probably leave before more of his kind show up," Kevi told them and started to walk out of the clearing.
"Hey!" Tai called after him, "Don't try to act as though you won this battle! We didn't need you!"
"No..." Kevi laughed and turned to face them, "You didn't." Kevi continued walking out of the clearing, Tai looking slightly annoyed that he couldn't provoke the ice cold warrior. But all he did was follow him, as did the rest of the guardians, Ashnigh carrying Adrian on her back.
"We can sleep here!" Luna pointed to an ice wall and the group looked at her oddly.
"But...that's sealed up," Tiffa told her, "We can't go in--"
"FIRE!" the wall quickly melted and Luna walked on into the clearing. "Ooo look! It's mossy and cool!"
The group shrugged and walked on in to gasp at the beauty of the place they found themselves in. It had a giant tree in the middle of a shallow lake that was led up to by a mossy and icy path that seemed to float on water. As they followed Luna into the area they saw her bending down, looking at something on the ground. "Look!" she smiled, holding up a blue video sphere, "It's a Sphere! Let's watch it!"
"Should we?" Juka asked, "It may not be our business...something about this place too..."
"I don't know..." Tiffa sighed, "I wanna get out of here as soon as possible."
"WATCH OUT!" Spiler grabbed Tiffa and Juka's shoulders and as a blast of water blasted between the group. They looked up...and gasped. It was the same gelatin-thing from before, and it was back for some more action.
"What's it doing here?!" Briu yelled, "I thought we beat it!"
"There's no way we can beat it again, RUN!" Tiffa yelled, "I'll hold it off!"
"No way, you'll be killed!" Ashnigh insisted.
"What else is there to do?!" Tiffa asked her, "GO NOW!"
"CHAAAAAAAARGE!" In a blinding flash of light, the gelatin had dissolved into the air. When the guardians refocused their vision and collected their thoughts, they saw two Red Orange figures standing with one very small red orange figure.
"Mission accomplished!" one figure slapped hands with the other, the two were now seen to be young ladies dressed in short sleeved red orange billowing shirts, fingerless gloves and long knee shorts. Tall boots and backwards caps completed their look along with nametags that read "Official Yevon Attack Dog Trainers". The dog, a dog with pointy ears and a blackish brown coat wore a red orange back-cloth that had the Yevon Symbol implanted on it. The first woman, the one who had spoke had blonde hair and freckles, the other dark brown hair in a pony-tail and creamy brown eyes. "We have saved another set of travelers with Tala here!"
"Good Tala," the other woman, the one with brown hair patted the dog, who lapped up some water.
"But...how could that dog have defeated that gel so easily?" Ashnigh asked.
"Well...ahem..." the blonde woman looked away slightly, "That gel was a much weaker one then the usual ones..." The guardians eyed her accusingly, "WHAT?!" she bent down and scratched the dog's ears. "She's a new recruit..."
"Yeah, you could at least thank us for saving your butts!" the other woman nodded, "We ain't getting paid for helping you out you know!"
"Who...who are you?" Tiffa finally asked, and the two woman struck a pose with their dog companion.
"Karolynin!" the woman with blonde hair spoke.
"And Leindsaya!" the other woman told them.
"And this is Tala!" they said together, hugging their dog, "We're professional Yevon attack dog trainers!"
"We were on our way to the Calm Lands when we ran into you!" Leindsaya said to them, "Good thing we were around! Your summoner looks blitzed out of her mind!"
"SHE ISN'T DRUNK!" they all yelled at once, making the two fall back from shock.
"She just performed a very high level spell," Ashnigh explained.
"Ahh, that's cool," Karolynin nodded, "I guess! Well, we must run! But we hope to see you along the way!"
"See you!" Leindsaya waved and the group, including cute ol' Tala walked out of the clearing.
"We should leave too," Kevi nodded, "Who knows what'll show up here? Adrian can sleep at Macalania temple. It's not far from here."
"I suppose," Ashnigh nodded and one by one, they filed out of the clearing. Luna was the last one to get up, still looking at the sphere. "Luna!"
"Coming!" she called to them and looked above her. Floating above her capped head was another gelatin-like monster, this one much more powerful then the last. But she just smiled at it, and it did not attack. She took the sphere that she had found on the ground and threw it up towards the creature, which immediately formed itself to grab it and suck it inside itself. "Give that to whom it belongs to, okay?" she asked and the creature wiggled slightly. She waved and ran out of the clearing, "See ya!" But before she left, she turned around, focused on the wall that she had melted and muttered, "Blizzaga!" The wall closed up as it had before and she nodded at her work, "Things that are broken must be fixed," she laughed to her doll and ran to catch up with the others.
OOOOO suspense, NEW CHARACTERS AND MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE! . I hope you all liked this chapter!