Chapter 4
Before they got to the next area, Bartz stopped with his head bowed. Zidane, Squall, Laguna, and Vaan looked at him, puzzled.
"What seems to be the problem?" Squall asked.
"N-no...It's nothing , really. I just kept thinking about the feather that I used to have."
Oh, would you stop whining already? Squall thought.
"A feather? From what?" Laguna queried.
"It probably was from a Chocobo or something." His face brightened. "Wait a minute, that's it!"
He told them about his two closest friends: Boko and Galuf. He once saw a Chocobo seperated from its flock and they were both companions. He then rememberd Galuf, who was the old man who arrived on a meteor at a city named Tycoon. He was one of the Warriors of Dawn who once sealed Exdeath in a monstrous tree. He told him that his father was also a Warrior. Since then, they became best friends and Galuf came with Bartz to stop the monster from wreaking havoc over the world as the Crystals lost their later passed on after Exdeath defeated him. He started to reminisce about his parents, Dorgann and Stella, and his homeworld, Lix.
He took out hs crystal and murmured "I will return to you all, someday." referring to the people who will be waiting for him to return.
"Come on, Bartz. We can't wait forever." Zidane said anxiously.
"Coming!" Bartz ran to catch up.
They came to a deep, dark chasm as a sharp, cold wind fills the air. A wide bridge and a tunnel waited for them but before they crossed the bridge, a monstrous, bare-skinned troll appeared from the depths and hollered, "This bridge is mine! It'll cost you a gold coin to get past me."
Firion stepped forward, bowed his head, took out a coppercoin he found earlier and handed it to the troll's giant hand as he said "Very well."
The troll examined it, scratched his face, and laughed silently. "Mwa ha ha. The toll has just been increased to two gold coins." It showed its yellow fangs.
"What!?" Laguna outraged.
"You're trying to double-cross us!?" Zidane protested.
"Stay alert, Firion! This could be a trap! Get out of there!" Squall shouted.
Everyone drew their weapons, except Firion who handed the troll two of his remaining face turned beet red. "Hey! What's this? It isn't gold! Are you trying to cheat me!?"
Firion stuttered "B-but that's all I have-"
The troll picked up the bridge but just before it fell, Firion disappeared in a flash of light.
"FIRION!" Everyone cried for their lost friend.
Just when all seemed lost, he was teleported to their side of the chasm, with Cecil holding him.
"Cecil! Y-you've learned-"
He nodded "Yes, I remembered Teleport and Cure, thanks to Terra's incantations."
"Oh, Cosmos bless her." Firion grinned.
The Paladin took the offense and his eyes squinted as he looked at the concentrated and there was a vision of a target surrounding it. It was his White magic spell, Libra, to analyze the enemy's stas such as its strengths and weaknesses. According to Cecil, it was weak against Dark magic. So he instantly turned into his Dark Knight form. He first used Soul Eater to weaken it. "Darkness! Drink of anguish!" he chanted.
The troll tried to swap him off the cliff but he jumped in the air and landed on his feet.
"Now, Bartz!"
They both used Dark Flame and the troll fell silently to the abyss below. They listened, but there was no crash.
"Wow! You did it!" Zidane cheered.
"No...we did it." Cecil said.
"Yeah! We're on a roll! There's no way the warlock can stop us now!" Bartz bluffed.
"That may be, but we still have a long way to go."
A squeal was heard in the distance.
"Thanks for getting rid of the bridge, guys! Now how do you expect to get across!?" It was a foul-mouthed Prishe.
"We could stiill use Firion's hookshot." Vaan said with confidence. "Or, what we could use is-"
"You're luck to you have a Dragoon at your side." It was Kain.
As he folded his arms he recommended to use his Jump ability to carry the warriors to the other side of the chasm. Soon the heavy heroes used the hook's chain, while the lighter ones were lifted and brought to the other side. It was less exhausting for the Dragoon.
When everybody was accounted for Luneth said "We are all here."
"Because we're not alone." Squall added.
"Let us move forward!" Cecil led the team.
Tthe moon illuminated the courtyard with its silvery glow and an old, vast well made from stone and mortar stood at the left corner. The party heard a low growl and Prishe thought it was her stomach growling.
She put her skinny hand over it and felt nothing, realizing it could be something else making all that ruckus. In the distance she saw two red eyes in a dark doorway, and there emerged a cyclops ready for battle, with club in hand. It let out a war cry and charged toward her.
"Alright! Time for some fun!" She put her dukes up and flipped forward.
"EEEEYYYAHHH!" She landed a Howl Fist square in the groin and it retailiated by knocking her backward with its devastating club.
She recovered and landed on her hind legs. She looked back at Cecil, watching the fray. "It's time you should learn some pointers!" she said, referring to her White magic.
She healed herself, wiped her lips with the back of her hand, and challenged it by saying "I'm just getting warmed up!"
Her body turned white when she used Protect, to minimze herself against physical blows. Then she turned red as she casted Haste on herself, last she used Slow on the monster.
"Errrrrggh!" She stretched her back leg, focused her energy, leapt with her clenched fists and spinning body. It was so fast that no one could hardly see her.
"HYAHHH!" She used her 360-kick and made contact with its thick skull. The cyclops collapsed to the grass and she sensed that it's down, but not out.
"Now for the grand finale!" She stretched out her arms, raised them, and her hands illuminated with white energy. She held it over her chest and it enlarged until it was six feet in diameter. The ball shined across the battlefield, almost blurring everyone's eyes.
She screamed "Holy shi-takee!" as she released the spell toward the unconscious cyclops. As it made an impact it exploded, shaking the ground like a 6.5 earthquake.
When everything fell silent, Prishe puffed out her chest as she cheered "Thought you had me, didn't ya? Think again!"
The monk looked at the well and turned the crank. It spun rather easy and a bucket came up, hanging by a thick rope. "Oooo! I winder what this could be!"
Thinking to herself, she hoped it would be full of scrunchous food. However, there were gold gauntlets inside and Prishe clapped happily. "Hell yeah! Even better than food!"
As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. She held it embarassingly. "Ooopsie! I spoke too soon." She put on the guantlets and rushed ahead.