Chapter 5: Into the Abyss
Jiro yawned, and opened his eyes. It was actually light out. He blinked, and got up. Getting to his feet, Jiro slammed his head on his shield. "Ow!" He yelped. Jiro retrieved his shield, and walked over to the 24 hour Mobile Store.
"Morning," He said, seeing his friends both awake, and asleep.
Miho hadn't fallen asleep, yet she still looked calm. "I can't hold this form for too long..." She said. "Forgive me for what happens..."
Miho stood up, and begun walking back to where everyone was at.
Diana slept peacefully, and was waken up by Jiro's noise. "Hey" She said, slowly making it to her feet. Razain managed two hours of sleep after his meeting with his mysterious friend. Vanishing from his perch, Razain appeared behind Jiro. "One hundred Unagis, fifty Red Beans, one Hundred or so Fried squids. About one-hundred Pure Waters, for sure. Each." Razain said.
Jiro jumped when Razain spoke. "Where'd you come from?!" He asked, spinning around. "Are you sure about that list? I'm short on cash."
"That'll come to... Roughly... 600,000 mesos." He said. "I'm giving you a discount for buying in bulk. Good luck down there."
"Thank you. Okay, everyone, split the materials equa---- Where's your girlfriend, Jiro?" Razain asked, not seeing her. Akitan, with her name being mentioned, woke instantly, and jumped to her feet.
"You rang?" She asked.
"Split this evenly amongst yourselves, everyone."
Diana interrupted. "I don't need the Unagis, or Squids. Instead, let me buy my own potions. I'm a Cleric. Let me heal you."
"I don't need anything, either." Miho said.
"Very well then." Razain said, collected some items, and waited for the others. He seemed more alert than normal, perhaps from his conversation that night, or maybe from his lack of sleep. Whatever the case, Razain was up tight.
As the group gathered their materials, the warrior begun to regain consciousness. Slowly, he opened his eyes. His vision was extremely blurred, and he almost went blind from the sudden exposure to the light. Slowly, the warrior started to rise to his feet. Completely light headed, he stumbled into a rock. A gashing wound broke out just under the 'helmet' he wore. Groaning, the warrior regained is balance. "...Am I... Dead?" He asked, curiously, looking around.
Diana turned around, to see the warrior standing. "Hey Welcome back. No, you're not dead. We made sure of that." She said, smiling. "Oh, your head... its bleeding!. Let me take care of that."
The warrior moved away, as Diana tried to help him. "No thanks, I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" he snapped. "Besides, I don't even know you."
"..." Diana tried to keep her smile, but it was hard. The ungrateful little punk. Diana quickly turned away, red with a hint of anger.
"You little jerk! She saved you from near death, and that's how you repay her?" Akitan snapped, backhanding him. "Apologize, NOW"
"Never." He said, and stormed off. Quickly, he stopped. "Where's my axe?!"
Akitan grinned, and waved the warriors axe. It was quite light, and she was obviously trying to anger him. "Want it? Say sorry."
"Screw you, and give it back!" He snapped, and lunged at her.
Miho quickly moved her bow into his line of movement, causing him to take a blow to the chest. Spitting up, the warrior backed off and fell to his knees. "What is your name, boy?" She asked, in a serious tone.
"...Yoshimitsu..." He said, weakly. "I'm... Sorry..."
Akitan smiled, and threw the relatively large axe at Yoshimitsu. It stuck into the ground, right next to his knee. He looked up at her, and stared. "There you go. Don't be so suicidal."
"Psh, I don't need your concern." He said, and stormed off back towards Sleepywood.
"...You're too mean, Aki." Jiro said, with an emotionless tone. He mumbled, and moved towards Razain's direction. "Everyone ready?"
Miho, Akitan, and Diana all nodded, confidently. The group set out for the Cave of the Evil Eye. The cave begun to lose its light as they went farther down...
The Evil Eye corpses, that sat over night smelled horrible. Both rotten eggs and droppings at the same time, smell of barbeque was present. The charred remains were still smoldering.
"This way," Razain said. "Watch your step." Razain walked, dodging the corpses and crater. He made his way for a crude ladder, made of bone and flesh!
"...Hold crap, Razain! Are you insane?!" Jiro asked, not believing the ladder.
"Don't be a coward. Just don't look at the ladder, then." Razain replied.
Akitan shifted her eyes, and moved in front of Razain. "Screw that." She said, and lunged off into the abyss. She landed on the cliff face below. "All clear down here.
Miho copied Akitan's movements, but in a more professional, graceful movement. She landed silently, with no noise at all. Miho's bow had been slung around her arm.
Diana jumped down, with a silent thump, as she almost lost her balance. Akitan snickered. Miho moved over to Diana, and grasped her hand. "Are you okay?" She asked. Diana smiled, and motioned for Miho to release her hand.
"I'm okay." She replied.
After the girls were down, Jiro gripped the ladder, and slowly moved down. His armor would have forced him to fall faster, and harder. half way down the rope, Jiro heard something. He looked up and to his surprise, the ladder was coming undone.
Not just undone, but ripping. Snapping completely from Jiro's armor's weight, the flesh rope tore, and fell. ...And Jiro with it. He fell, shouting obscene phrases that were not like him. Smashing his leg on the 'platform' they stood on, he kept falling. One hundred feet... Two hundred... Three... At four hundred feet, Jiro came to a loud thud. The cave was unusually empty this far down.
Slowly, Jiro begun to stir in the dark. "Ow... My head... My leg... I think I broke a rib..." he muttered, attempting to get up. One eye closed, and covered in blood, he groaned. Jiro coughed, and blood splurted from his mouth. He groaned, and fell back, hitting the wall that supported the platform above him. Jiro couldn't even see a thing. He decided to wait for everyone to get down thee. While doing do, he passed out...
Akitan screamed as he fell. "JIRO!!" She screamed, watching him fall. She tried to go after him, but got held back by Diana. "Let me go! Jiro!"
Razain stared, and watched Jiro as he fell. He didn't say a word as it happened. After twelve seconds, he heard a silent thud. "I estimate he's only half way down.. Damn, I hope he's alive..." Razain thought.
"Will you three be okay on your own getting down?" He asked.
They all nodded, but Akitan was in tears. Miho's face didn't show any emotion at all. Diana was a bit uneasy, having seen Jiro be lost in the abyss.
Razain, too, nodded, lit a stick and went down after Jiro at a swift pace. Razain was actually worried as he moved into the abyss. Finally, Razain found the limp, bloody body of Jiro Uzumaki. He signed, and gave himself some light. Shaking his head, Razain kneeled down next to Jiro. "Don't you dare die on me, you're too important to the future of this world." He said. Razain repositioned himself so he was along the same wall as Jiro. He decided to wait in the darkness for the others to show up.
Ten minutes. It took ten minutes for Miho, Diana, and Akitan to get down to their position. Akitan rushed to Jiro's side, and shook him vigorously. She attempted to shake him awake, but couldn't. Diana slowly walked towards Jiro. "Is he still breathing?" She asked.
Razain nodded, "Yes, but barely." He said. Razain quickly moved away, grabbing Akitan's arm as he did so, so Diana could do her job. She raised her Lama Staff, and the immediate area begun to glow a phosphorous green. The glow begun to slowly concentrate around the Lama staff, Diana, and the fallen warrior, Jiro. The green light moved around Jiro, completely and was absorbed by the warrior. His wounds healed, and he would be fine in a little bit. Until then, the group would have to rest it out here.
"You know... Its eerily quiet down here. What happened to the Evil Eyes?" Akitan asked, randomly. She sniffed the air. "It smells like smoldering bodies, just like near the surface... Did we take a wrong turn?"
Razain shook his head. "They probably migrated. Remember those Curse Eyes? They're simple Evil Eyes, which have adapted to the surface. Farther down, you may see some pale white Evil Eyes. Those are Cold Eyes. They have not seen day light in their life time. They are adapted to the freezing temperatures down there." Razain stated. "How many of you have been down this passageway before, anyways?"
Miho was the only one to raise her hand. "...I have, sir.." She said, silently.
"I see. And how did it turn out for you?" He asked, but Miho never responded.
The conversations continued to go on for roughly fourteen minutes, then motion from Jiro caused the group to silence up, and turn their attention. Akitan had regained her nerve, moved towards Jiro, and kicked him. "Get up, lazy bum!" she yelled. Her voice echoed through the caverns. It was amusing how Akitan was just seventeen, close to eighteen. She seemed like a fully grown woman; but with the attitude of a 13 year old girl.
Upon being kicked, Jiro grunted showing sign of life. Razain nodded, as Jiro reacted to the impact of Akitan's foot. Miho started to head down the ladder, deciding on her own to go ahead as a scout. Diana saw her movement, and quickly followed after.
Jiro's vision was dark, with no sight of anyone, or anything. Slowly, he started to see a hint of light. It was pink, but fading. He took that as a sign, and his eyes quickly shot open. Jiro started to gasp for air. He shook his head, still gasping.
"Am I dead?" he thought, having a field of vision finally. "No... Aki and Razain are here. I can't be dead. But... The archer and the Priestess... Where are they?"
Slowly, Jiro got to his feet. A sharp pain sparked to life and shot though his body. He nearly collapsed again, but Akitan was quick to prevent that.
Jiro's sword was gone, his shield lay next to him. Regaining strength, he swept in with one fluid motion, and grasped his shield. Staggering, Jiro started to walk towards Razain, but suddenly found himself on the ground again, as Akitan had tackled him. Holding back tears, Akitan struggled to speak, and smothered her face on Jiro's armored chest. "Don't ever fall like that again! You had me worried, jerk!" She demanded, and smacked Jiro in the head. Akitan could never reveal how she truly felt for Jiro, so she was quick to get up, and move towards the cliff side, which the other two girls had already gone down.
Razain and Jiro were quick to follow the three. They also caught up pretty quickly. It was steady sailing on the way down, with surprisingly, no Evil Eyes in the area. Although, nobody even said a word, the impression was that they needed to be far more careful than before. Jiro's close call was more than the group could handle, and Razain knew, that if Jiro died, the world would, indeed be doomed.
When they finally reached the bottom, a large clearing was revealed. In the center of the clearing, Jiro's Hero's Gladius was impaled on solid rock. Along the surrounding walls were small caves. Jiro, Razain, Miho, Diana, and Akitan stood together, united. Miho, however, was unusually uneasy about the place. She was trembling, like something had happened. None of the others realized it, either. Miho clenched her bow, and her eyes darted around. Shadows started to move around the clearing.
After a full scan of the area, Razain knew exactly where they were: The Drake's Hunting Ground. Razain's left arm vanished, and re-appeared holding three of his precious ilbis throwing stars. Akitan noticed his movements, and mimicked them. Jiro was oblivious to their movements, and walked towards his sword. As he reached for it, roaring echoed through the caverns. With virtually no thought, and on pure instincts, he lunged for his Gladius, yanked it from the ground, did a complete barrel roll, and was ready for battle, with his shield and sword at the ready.
Diana's eyes widened as she, too prepared for battle. Her stance was bizarre, but effective. Her calaf seemed to flow with her movements. Diana's Maple Staff, too, looked fierce.
From the caves, roughly 9 feet in height, and 13 feet in length, dinosaur-like creatures strode towards the group; Jiro in particular. Their skin, scaley with a teal tint, was cobalt blue. Two blunt ended horns behind their eyes, and a single horn on their snout. They had a long, blue massive tail, with plate-like scales pointed up from the neck to the end of the tail.. The creature had two massive hind legs, and two stubby arms with razor sharp claws. The creatures' heads were like that of a raptor with layer upon layer of razor sharp teeth, but a dumbfounded, and yet, pissed off expression. They were the Drakes.
Gliding passed the main group, the Drakes went at Jiro, snapping. He had little time to react, since the creatures ran at a fast pace. You would have never suspected they would be so fierce in such a large group. Jiro raised his shield, and blocked the first set of jaws. While his shield, itself held the Drake's mouth open, he took the chance to impale the skull, by thrusting his Gladius into the Drake's mouth; A critical shot. The Drake squealed, then fell limp, in a pool of blood.
Two more came at Jiro, and Miho was already in action; a volley of arrows pelted one Drake, causing for it to retreat, and regroup with the others. Razain and Akitan begun throwing their stars at the other Drakes in the area, taking them down slowly, but surely. Razain's damage was significantly higher than Akitan's, although he tried his best not to show his true skills.
Diana revealed a skill she had not yet shown; she teleported to Jiro's side, and begun using a magical, ranged slash on the incoming Drakes from behind. Jiro realized the truth; he had real friends he could depend on. In a matter of seconds, the other Drakes disbanded, and went for individual targets. Be it Miho, Razain, Akitan, Diana, or Jiro, the initial targets, none the less, it was a futile attempt, as the Drakes, which started the conflict, were slaughtered. Standing in the middle of a bunch of dinosaur corpses, Jiro's Gladius was covered in fresh blood; as was his shield.
"Is everyone okay?" He asked his friends. Nobody responded verbally. Razain was collecting, and cleaning his ilbis. Akitan was looting any notable items from the Drakes, and Diana stood next to him.
Miho, however, collapsed to the ground. She had taken an injury to her arm, and blood was gushing. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and rushed to her side.
"Miho!" Jiro shouted, when he got to her side. Her face was going pale, but she had a weak smile.
"Tell him… I love him. Tell Ge…" She said, and lost conciousness.
Diana tried, frantically to heal her, but to no avail. Tears accumulated in her eyes. Miho was gone… She couldn't save her! Everyone but Razain begun to cry. Razain kept a straight face. Strangely, Miho's blood disappeared. A pink light floated for a second, and vanished in a haze. "Thank you, friends…" echoed a eerie voice.
Miho's body slowly begun to fade away, vanishing completely. There was no sign of her ever being with the group. Even the arrows, which were imbedded in the Drakes were gone. Though the Drakes remain dead. Everyone was still crying. Diana was especially shocked, since she couldn't save Miho's life. It was bizarre, but the healing should harm the undead, yet heal the living. Why didn't it heal her? Unless she was… Could she be? Diana looked up, to see where the haze had vanished. "Could you have…?" she whispered.
The group had a moment of silence for Miho. Even Razain was courteous enough to lower his head, as well. They stood, silently, remembering the short time they were with her. Miho's quiet, full-of care attitude made her a valuable asset for the team, even if they didn't know it. And now, she was gone…
Deeper in the Icy Blue, crystal-like caves, a Ranger and Sniper stood, over a pile of Wild Cargo corpses. "Hey, something's up." The Sniper pointed out. The Ranger, however, pretended not to hear him, and kneeled down.
"Miho… What happened…? I told you to stay with Athena…" He thought to himself. They were covered in a shadow from the darkness, but a small amount of light shone through the now charred black crystal-ice.