Chapter Twelve: Going through the cave

"What is it, grandfather?" Red asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Come with me. You need to see this rather than have me explain it," he replied. He then turned to Cloud. "Cloud, this will be dangerous. I must ask for your assistance along with one other person. Who will do it?"

For a few seconds, people were silent. They weren't sure if they wanted go up against what Bugenhagen said was so dangerous.

"Please someone volunteer?" Red asked in a sympathetic voice.

"I'll do it," a voice came.

Everyone looked at Hobbes who was standing up. He had volunteered.

"Are you sure you want to do this Hobbes?" Bugenhagen asked. "The creatures that await us are far more dangerous than you can think."

"My parents would have done it," Hobbes said with pride. "Therefore, I will do it. It's what they would have wanted."

"You know, I like your attitude," Cloud replied with an encouraging tone. "I think it's a great idea that you come. Besides, it might be something you want to see."

"Very well," Bugenhagen said. "If you are ready, then I suggest that we get going."

With those words, Cloud, Red XIII, and Hobbes followed Bugenhagen up the canyon once again. Halfway up the mountain, Bugenhagen stopped at a door that was sealed off.

"Now, before we go in, I must ask to make sure you're all prepared. I'm not joking when I say this place is extremely dangerous."

"I'm ready," Red XIII replied anxiously.

"Wait a minute," Hobbes said. "I have materia, but I don't know how to use it. Can you teach me quickly Cloud?"

"Well, there's not much to it, really," Cloud began. "All you have to do is focus on the spell that you want to cast, really focus, then you'll know when you're ready to cast it."

"How will I know?" Hobbes asked.

"Trust me," Cloud smiled. "You'll know."

"Very well. Let's get going, shall we?" Bugenhagen suggested.

With those words, Bugenhagen pulled a secret lever that opened the door.

"Follow me and don't let your guards down for a minute," Bugenhagen warned.

The four of them entered the door and saw a hole that a ladder hanging from it. The hole was so deep that the bottom could not be seen. The ladder looked like it went on forever. Cloud went first to see if it was safe at the bottom if there was a bottom. After a minute or two, Cloud finally called for the next person to come down. Bugenhagen went next, and Red XIII and Hobbes jumped to the bottom.

"We need light if we're going to find the next room," Bugenhagen said.

"We don't need light," Hobbes replied. "A tiger has eyes that can see even in the darkest night. I can find our way in no time."

After ten minutes had passed and Hobbes had ran into the wall fifteen times, Cloud finally cast a fire spell on a piece of wood he found and used it as a torch.

"Is this the door?" Cloud asked, pointing at a rock that looked like it had been moved before.

"It may be," Bugenhagen replied and observed it. "Try pushing it."

Cloud had Red XIII hold the torch while he gave it a good push. The rock rolled aside and a passageway was revealed to them.

"Where does this lead?" Red XIII asked.

"This is a secret passageway that leads into the canyon. People of the canyon used this passageway to secretly enter the canyon in case they were being chased by someone or something. It leads to the outside to answer your question. Now, let us continue on, shall we?"

"I almost found it," Hobbes said, still rubbing his head. "My eyes just weren't working right is all."

Everyone just rolled their eyes and entered the passageway.

The next room was dark, but not nearly as dark as the entrance. There was a source of light coming from somewhere, but they couldn't really find where.

"This was where some of the army was entering when the battle started. The army had found someone sneak into the entrance from outside and got some of his best solders together to make a sneak attack on our tribe. However, they never got this far." Bugenhagen explained.

"How come?" Red XIII asked.

"Let's continue and you will see."

"Where do we go from here?" Hobbes asked. "I don't see a door that leads to anywhere."

"If I recall," Bugenhagen pondered, "there was a switch somewhere around this part. Let's split up and look for it, but be VERY careful."

Soon. The four of them were searching different parts of the cave, looking for a switch that may activate a hidden door. Cloud was checking every rock, Bugenhagen was searching for the door itself, Red XIII was sniffing the ground for something, and Hobbes was looking in caves that existed in the cave that weren't very big.

"If I were a hidden switch, where would I be hiding?" Hobbes asked himself as he sat down on a rock.

Suddenly, the rock shifted a little which caused Hobbes to jump up immediately. He watched in amazement as the rock moved itself back into a hole in the wall.

"Guys, I found it!" Hobbes shouted excitedly. "It's right..."

But Hobbes never got to finish the sentence. Before he knew what was going on, three monsters had jumped him from within the hole. They were beasts that stood on all four legs and were about the same size as Red XIII and they were biting ferociously at Hobbes.

"HELP!" Hobbes shouted desperately. The beasts were scratching at Hobbes and trying to spit a poisonous gas into Hobbes' mouth.

Cloud came running into the cave and began slicing the beasts with his gigantic sword. With each strike, the three monsters were blown off of Hobbes, but were still alive. They came rushing at Cloud, but were pounced by Red XIII and Hobbes.

One beast had managed to escape Hobbes and Red XIII and ran towards Cloud. It stopped just in front of him and began to roar madly. Just as Cloud was about to finish the creature, a skull-like image appeared over his head and bit down on him. He felt the bite, but it didn't really hurt. The skull had vanished and Cloud was ready to finish the beast when he felt a sudden pain in his body and fell to the ground.

"Nanaki! You must help Cloud now! He has been cursed by the monsters! If they're not killed quickly, he will die!"

Red XIII left the beast he had badly wounded and ran to Cloud's aid, leaving Hobbes to fend the two beasts for himself.

"Okay, don't panic," Hobbes told himself. "I'll use magic." With those words, Hobbes began to focus.

"Ice, ice, ice, ice, ice" he continued to chant, but nothing came. The two beasts had surrounded Hobbes and Hobbes was starting to really become nervous.

"Forget the magic!" he shouted and pounced both creatures.

Meanwhile, Cloud was getting weaker every second from the monsters curse. Red XIII was fighting the monster off as best he could. Finally, he jumped back and shouted, "Stand clear everyone! I summon the burning flames of the earth to gather and become stronger to attack all foes! "FIRE 2 ALL!" With those words, each monster was surrounded by a giant flame of fire. The blaze finished all three of them off.

Hobbes was a little sore from the back attack the beasts used on him and Cloud was finally getting his balance back.

"Is everyone okay?" Bugenhagen asked worriedly.

"I could use a tuna sandwich," Hobbes replied.

"What was that attack?" Red XIII asked.

"Death Sentence. When the user casts that spell, the victim is cursed with a curse that will take the victim's life if the caster is not killed in time." Bugenhagen replied. "We were lucky this time. We need to be careful for that attack."

"How come you didn't use magic?" Cloud asked Hobbes.

"I tried, but nothing came. I tried to focus, but I was too scared by those things when they surrounded me."

"Listen, next time, you have to forget those creatures and just focus on the spell you want to cast. If you do that, then the spell will come and it will work."

"Never mind," said Bugenhagen. "I just remembered where the switch was. It's in the third cave from the entrance. It's another rock just like the one Hobbes used only it will open the door. We put in these other ones for traps in case anyone DID make it this far."

The four of them found the switch and a door up a cliff opened. The four of them made their way through the door into the next room, which had lava flowing underneath the path in which they had to walk.

"This part of the cave was designed like this to slow down the attack of any enemies we had. If the enemy came charging through the door at the other end and didn't see the lava, the first few lines would have fallen in and burned. They had to walk carefully over the narrow path. If they didn't, they would fall and be burned."

"This may be a case where I don't want to use the speed of a tiger," Hobbes said, eyeing the lava with fear in his eyes.

"Did the enemy during the battle make it this far?" Red XIII asked.

"No. The warrior that came down here to fend them off fought with such strength that the enemy didn't make it this far."

"Warrior? What warrior?" Red XIII asked.

"You will see at the end of this journey," Bugenhagen replied in a gentle voice. "Now, let's cross this path and be very careful."

The path was indeed narrow. It was just wide enough so the four could cross at a normal walking pace and not lose their balance. Hobbes went slower than normal but stopped at the middle and looked at the lava.

"This would be a good time to practice my ice attack," he thought and started concentrating again.

His only thought was the ice spell. He focused on nothing but casting the ice spell. Soon, he felt a gentle breeze blowing around him and felt a power surge through him.

"Hobbes!" Cloud shouted. "Move it or lose it!"

This caused Hobbes to lose his concentration and the surge he felt had vanished. He sighed and finished crossing the path and went into the next room.

"The warrior made his way through these caves, fighting off all monsters that tried to stop his mission. Of course, the monsters didn't stand a chance against him and his skill in battle. Because of this warrior's courage and strength, the enemy even didn't make it this far."

"How long is this cave?" Cloud asked.

"The next room is the entrance to the cave," Bugenhagen replied. "We are almost there."

They began to make their way to the door that led to the entrance of the cave when a giant spider fell before them and it looked hungry.

Hobbes nearly passed out at the sight of this spider and the others jumped back about three feet as the spider came for them.

Hobbes quickly recovered and began to focus again on casting ice. He knew what to look for when concentrating this time. He knew the surge to be felt when the spell was almost ready to cast. He began to feel the surge again when he felt something hairy and pointy strike him, sending him flying back into a wall. The spider had struck Hobbes and was now closing in on him.

Cloud acted fast. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Soon, the spell was ready.

"Curse this monster with the ultimate curse! Death Sentence!"

Like before, a skull appeared over the spider and bit it. The spider gave a small yelp and fell to the ground, twitching.

Hobbes rubbed his head and walked over to the others.

"You all right?" Red XIII asked.

"Fine," Hobbes winced. "How did you cast that spell Cloud?"

"I'll explain another time," he answered. "Let's just get out of here first."

"Agreed," Hobbes said.

The four made their way to the room where the entrance of the cave was. However, when they got there, they saw that there was no entrance. Instead, the wall before them had a strange figure engraved into the wall.

"What is this?" Bugenhagen asked in shock. "What IS this...THING...DOING HERE?" he was starting to sound scared.