Final Fantasy: Rise of Despair
When we last left off, Cole and Syack landed in Deila Dunes. After meeting and subsequently beating a group of bandits lead by the fearsome Toxin, Syack is tended to while Toxin reveals being one of the forsaken 'others' to Cole. After Syack awakens, he, Cole, and Toxin in tow head for Materia Woods. What will this group encounter?
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy: Tactics Advance, I do own the characters and plot.
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Trials
"Why call yourself Toxin? That'll just scare people you know." Syack asked Toxin.
"Simple… I want to be feared." Toxin said. The group was traveling through the dunes, up and down the mounds of sand.
"Really?" Syack asked.
"Well, I want to be feared in one way. I want to be feared for my personality, and for my skills. Therefore Toxin seems like the perfect name for me." Toxin said.
"I know a few scary people who use their birth names you know." Syack said.
"I thought you hardly left your bog before traveling with the rest of the group?" Cole addressed.
"I was referring to that group. A few scare me for their skills, the others scare me with their stupidity." Syack said.
"This sounds like such an interesting group of people, you simply must tell me more about them." Toxin said.
"Well let's see… Mendoza, a bangaa, and Monty, a moogle, pal around a lot but they always seem to do something stupid. Gilbert, a nu mou. Well he's alright." Syack started.
"Casey, the Racemaster of the Bangaa enjoys battle but is not a war-monger, Matt enjoys making light of just about everything, but he's very useful when you come right down to it." Cole continued.
"Hunter… well at first I thought he was just annoying, but we've partnered up once or twice and he can be quite an excellent strategist." Syack said. "Um… well Harris and Heidi are probably the most sane ones in that group and very strong…" Syack said, now growing more and more nostalgic. "Oh great… I'm starting to miss the whole lot of them." Syack said.
"Now now… I'm sure you'll see them again shortly." Toxin said coyly.
"By the way Syack… I'm surprised, normally by now you're complaining about walking this much." Cole said.
"Bah! This time I have no time for complaining." Syack said.
"Good, good." Toxin said. "Yes complaining will not get anything done, I had to learn that the hard way." Toxin said.
"How so?" Syack asked.
"Oh… just a little something and so-forth." Toxin said.
"You know, there's another person in the group who's blind." Syack said.
"Oh… well…" Toxin had to gather herself for a moment. "I'd rather not take any more chances as to showing why I wear this blindfold." Toxin swallowed and then responded."Well, that should be most interesting."
"Oh despite him being blind he's one hell of a fighter. Although I must say he has an odd opinion on what is a good memory and such."
"You mean those training regiments Casey put Adam through?" Cole asked.
"Yes, how does anyone take that kind of punishment?" Syack asked. "When did you learn of those? I never heard him mentioning them."
"Casey told me about them the night I joined you all." Cole said.
"What kind of training?" Toxin asked.
"Well…" Syack was telling Toxin about all of the training regiments he heard of Adam going through while Cole told her a few more, and at each one, Toxin's ears perked at each of them. If you could see the rest of her face, you would probably see her face twitch.
"This Adam fellow… must be very hardy." Toxin said.
"When I knew Casey he used to do things like that before breakfast every morning." Cole said.
"But I thought you Racemasters didn't have to eat?" Syack asked as he took a sip of water from a canteen.
"That doesn't mean we don't." Cole said.
"…" Toxin stopped walking and put a hand on her katana.
"You feel it too?" Cole asked.
"Yes." Toxin said.
"Feel what?" Syack asked. Suddenly antilons and jawbreakers popped out of the sand all around the group. "Whoa!"
"Soil Evidence." Cole tapped a foot and yet caused a massive earthquake, followed by the sand around the group clustering together, and then causing said sand to rise up and batter all of the antilons and jawbreakers to death.
"You know… you really ruined a good fight there." Toxin said disappointed.
"Relax, I saved about twenty for you under the sand." Cole said.
"Good." Toxin said as the monsters all crawled out of the ground. "Hiyah!" Toxin drew her katana and dashed through nine of them, slicing them in half after she dashed past all of them.
"Prominence!" Syack created fissures in the ground that released blasts of flame to torch ten of the monsters in one blast. "Heh heh…" Little did Syack realize that a jawbreaker was behind him with its jaws wide open.
"Look out!" Toxin jumped at the jawbreaker and stabbed her sword through its head. "There… all taken care of." Toxin said.
"You… you saved my life…" Syack said in awe.
"Truly, it was nothing. I was just having a little fun." Toxin said.
"Well, I should at least give you my thanks. So thank you." Syack said.
"Well… you're welcome then." Toxin said.
"Heh… Syack is warming up to this girl. Unusual considering how bitter he is towards newer people." Cole thought. "Hmmm… I wonder how he'd react if he knew… oh… it's best he not find out about her then."
That night…
All three of them were around the campfire eating, except for Cole, figuring he had best save the food for the other two. "Well, I'm about to go to sleep." Syack said groggily.
"Before you do, I had best warn you two of something." Toxin said.
"And what would that be?" Cole asked.
"We're going to enter a portion in between both deserts that is claimed by the Desert Hares." Toxin said.
"Desert Hares?" Syack asked.
"Yes, a clan of thieves headed by a very cunning leader. Sierra." Toxin said.
"Who is this Sierra?" Cole asked.
"She is a viera that will sacrifice any of her followers to attain treasure, and she is merciless." Toxin said.
"Okay… anything else?" Syack asked.
"Yes, I will grant her that she is good in a fight and a cunning tactician, but she is also very sadistic. She enjoys any suffering she puts her victims through." Toxin warned them.
"Hmmm… I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Cole said.
"We're more likely to run in to her lackeys than her, she almost never leaves a formation of rock spires. Rather that's where she lures victims that require more tact to take down so that she can lure them in to traps." Toxin said.
"You know a lot about her." Syack said.
"She and I are rivals of sorts, I was the first to escape from those rock spires. But let me warn you, warriors far stronger than she and I have fallen for her traps in the area of those spires. She's right at home there." Toxin said in a foreboding tone.
"We'll keep that in mind." Cole said. "With any luck we won't even go there."
"Thank you for… the warning… zzzzzzzzz…" Syack said before drifting off to sleep.
The next morning…
"Are you up yet?" Toxin asked impatiently.
"Mmmmmmm… too early…" Syack moaned.
"I'm ready to go." Toxin said.
"Oooooooggghhh… ten more minutes…" Syack mumbled.
"Uuuuugggghhh…" Toxin groaned.
"You'll have to get used to it. He's like that every morning since I've known him. And according to the others he is like that.
"I hope I'm not like that when I reach my one-hundreds." Toxin said. "Although… I'm more than halfway there."
"Hm?" Cole raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sixty-eight." Toxin said.
"You've got a good bit of life ahead of you." Cole said.
"Okay… I'm ready to go… if someone will carry me." Syack grumbled.
"Oh fine. If it gets us going. I'm ready for a new day and adventure!" Toxin griped. She picked up Syack and hoisted him on to her back rougly.
"Whoa! Slow down!" Syack shouted.
A little while later…
The three of them were making less distance today, a sandstorm was making travel mildly difficult. "Gah! Blasted sand!" Syack bellowed.
"You'll have to get used to it." Toxin said calmly.
"Well you can say that easily. After all sand isn't getting in to your eyes or mouth." Syack said.
"Cole isn't complaining." Toxin said.
"He's a Racemaster… they seem to be exceptions to everything." Syack said.
"Believe me… not everything." Cole thought sadly. "Hmmm… although, this sandstorm seems a bit… unnatural." Cole then stopped walking abruptly. "Look out!" Syack ducked and avoided an arrow that came from his right.
"Whoa!" Toxin tossed Syack in to the air and ducked.
"AAAAAHHH!!!" Syack shouted, he fell through the air, his hands flailing to grab on to something.
"Oof!" Syack landed on Toxin, causing them both to fall over and tumble through the sands.
"Wild Tornado!" Syack cast a spell that caused a very very large tornado to form. Not only did it clear up the sandstorm, but it also caught several archers and gunners waiting with a bunch of antilons, carried them up and sent them flying through the air. "Ugh… are you two alright?" Cole asked as he turned and walked for the other two.
"Oh… Toxin you dropped your… your… you…" Syack started stammering as he turned to Toxin, holding her blindfold.
"!!!" Toxin wasn't aware for a second that she was without a blindfold, but as soon as she did, she quickly shut her eyes.
"Oh no…" Cole said quietly.
"You… you… you're… y-you're one of them!" Syack shouted in fear.
"Syack… please…" Toxin nearly begged.
"No… no no no… just… just… just stay away!" Syack shouted fearfully.
"Syack… I'm just…" Toxin said, her eyes starting to tear up.
"NO!!!" Syack shouted as he turned around and ran away.
"…" Cole looked at Toxin, this was the first time since he's known her to see her start to cry.
"sniff… I'm sorry then." Toxin said as she turned around and started walking, picking up her pace.
"Toxin…" Cole started. Toxin only started walking faster. "Toxin."
"Just… leave me be." Toxin began to break in to a run, getting faster.
"Toxin!"
"Leave me be!" Toxin shouted now going full sprint. Cole teleported in front of her and grabbed her around the waist. "Just leave me alone!!!" Toxin shouted.
"Toxin! Please calm down!" Cole shouted.
"Just let me go!" Toxin shouted at Cole.
"Toxin you need to calm down! Listen to me for a moment…"
"Just leave me alone!" Toxin shouted.
Meanwhile…
Syack kept running and running until he finally tired out. "Ooooohhh… oh what have I done?" Syack asked. "How could I…? Oh I'm such an old fool!" Syack shouted. "GAH!" Syack picked up sand and started throwing it all around. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry!" Syack sobbed.
Meanwhile…
"I can't believe that he just…" Toxin sobbed on Cole's shoulder.
"I know I know. Syack is a good person he is… but you must understand. You can't hold what he was taught against him." Cole said.
"Oh… you don't know how long I've… I've…"
"Shhhhhh… shhhhhh…" Cole comforted her. "She's held in her feeling for far too long." Cole thought.
"I… always thought… if I were to be feared, it shouldn't be for what I am. I… I just…"
"Toxin… I'm asking you to find Syack." Cole said.
"But…"
"You can do it."
Toxin pulled herself together and the two went to find Syack. They followed his tracks as best as they could, but… when they reached the end of the tracks. "Hm?" Cole observed the indention in the ground. "He… kneeled down here." Cole said.
"But… where did he go?" Toxin asked. "Wait… what's that?" Toxin asked.
"His hat." Cole pulled Syack's half-buried hat out of the sand, inside of it was a slip of paper. Cole's eyes scanned over the paper for a moment before he put the slip of paper in his pocket. "I'm going southeast."
"Southeast… wait… that'll lead to that spire formation I warned you about." Toxin said.
"I have to go, Syack is in danger." Cole said. "You may come, or you may stay." Cole said.
"Cole, I know you are one of the Racemasters, but I've been around those traps before." Toxin said. "I only escaped by sheer luck, and those warriors that were far stronger than I, they didn't even know what was coming at them. I'd say those traps could even be a threat to someone of your caliber."
"Toxin, you don't have to come." Cole said as he changed shaped to that of an ahriman and flew off.
"…" Toxin looked on. "That old man… ooooohhh… why should I? He… he fears me because…" Toxin let her head hang low. "But…" She looked at the indention on the ground, and the small bits of wet sand. "What did… what did these tears mean?" Toxin wondered.
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Well, what do you think?