Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ A New Threat To Spira ❯ Out of the Frying Pan... ( Chapter 8 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Neon Ronin 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.04.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 271 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.04.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.5K | Visits: 271 | Status: Completed
[A/N: Insert usual disclaimer here re: Square Enix. Recap of spheres in use last session: Yuna- Gun Mage. Tidus- Gunner. Rikku- Alchemist. Paine- Berserker. Showtime. ^_^ ]
8: Out Of The Frying Pan...
"Any success on calming the faithful down?"
Baralai leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Enough so that there isn't risk of a riot, but there's still a lot of talking going on, Nooj. People are beginning to suspect there's something out there that we haven't told them-"
"Which we still can't tell them about, not yet." Nooj drew in a long breath and adjusted his glasses. "Fiends and storms is one thing, but someone who is behind them both is another. It really chews me up that we have to keep this under wraps."
"Yeah, but we both know the dangers of mob mentality as well." Baralai stood up and began pacing in the Council chamber. "I just wish we could get further into the Plains so that we could confirm the size of the threat here."
"What I'm concerned with is how well Yuna and her cohorts are faring," Nooj replied. "I hope that ship of theirs is faster than this maniac's minions."
"So, the Great High Summoner Yuna and her associates the Dullwings are off to save our collective derriere again, eh?" said a haughty and highly recognizable voice. Nooj smirked and turned to face the entrance.
"It's not like they were planning to come out of retirement so soon, LeBlanc," he said as she sashayed into the room, flourishing her ever-present fan.
"Oh, I knew they hadn't planned on this," she replied. "But it just seems soooo unfair; the moment they got wind of what was afoot, off they went without even a second thought- and without contacting ME!! The Great LeBlanc!!" She threw herself into a chair beside Nooj and brushed a hand up and down his right arm. "Don't you think they should have offered me a piece of the action, dear Noojie-Woojie? After everything I did for them when they faced off against that ugly Vegnagun, after all?" She looked up at Nooj with a pleading puppy-dog look on her face that was so silly Baralai had to stifle a guffaw.
"It just ain't fair!" bellowed Ormi as he and Logos entered the room. "Here's the boss, all ready to do her part, and those kids don't bother ta call and ask for help!!"
"Perhaps they had forgotten what little manners they have left," Logos mused.
"Or perhaps they're trying to make sure no one else gets hurt in the process," Baralai piped up. "I don't suppose you considered that, did you? Do you know how many times they've put themselves on the line for the good of other people, especially Yuna? She's put the welfare of others before her own happiness so many times it's baffling. She was willing to die to vanquish Sin, she and her friends put themselves in jeopardy during the Vegnagun incident, and now that they're putting other people's safety- including your own- before theirs, once again, you think that's considered bad manners?"
Nooj stared at him. I've never heard Baralai snap at others like that, he thought to himself. But he is right. LeBlanc certainly can hold her own in a fight, but they wouldn't want to risk more people- that's not how the Gullwings work. Logos was glaring at Baralai, while Ormi just stood there with his mouth open.
"Well... even so," LeBlanc began, "it still isn't right that she should go running off without even bothering to ask. That girl may be tough, but she'd be even tougher with me and the boys watching her back." She shot a quick glance to Logos, who was smiling a bit. "YOU know what I mean, cretin."
"I think it's all for the best if we let them do things their way, for the time being," said Nooj. "After all, there are four Gullwings now, rather than three."
"Ah yes, I'd almost forgotten. That young warrior-Blitzer, what was his name again?"
"I think it was Tie-dye or something like that, Boss..." boomed Ormi.
Logos promptly slapped him on the back of his head. "Tidus, you insipid buffoon."
"Yes, that's the one," LeBlanc said. "Say... Wasn't there something special that happened between him and Yuna not long ago, Noojie? Some sort of... ceremony, was it?" she purred, lightly toying her finger across Nooj's chest.
Baralai saw Nooj visibly tense up and start stammering. Noojster, you're gonna have to get around to it at some point, she's got her hooks in you now. Man, if only Gippal hadn't had to leave for Bikanel this morning; he'd love this... He held a hand up to his face and chuckled.
************************************
The chamber they had entered was covered with phosphorescent lichen, most of which had been crushed by the King Vermin or devoured during his tenure. What lichen remained gave off a surreal blue-green light, giving the walls a bizarre appearance of aquamarine tiger stripes. This was further accentuated by the ambient green aura that emanated from a spot in the middle of the floor. Cautiously at first, Rikku approached the source of the light and bent down to look closer. There was a section of floor that was clearly worked stone, a circular slab about a foot in diameter with a small hole in the center. Resting in the hole was a bright emerald lens-like crystal.
"Did we get it?" Tidus asked, discarding his Gunner apparel for his usual clothes.
"I think so; it kinda matches my eyes!" Rikku replied as she lifted the crystal out of the hole. It began to glow with greater intensity, prompting Rikku to put it back on the floor and step back a pace.
A beam shot from the crystal up to the ceiling with an intense whine, causing everyone to shudder and cover their ears. The beam shrank and its edges warped, molding and shaping itself into the form of a man. His skin and eyes were brilliant emerald, what passed for hair on his head resembled waving grass, and he wore what appeared to be trousers molded from solid rock. A smile emerged on his face.
"Welcome, wanderers," the man said. "Let me guess; the Immortal has broken free and it's time to go to work again, right?"
Yuna nodded. "No beating around the bush for you, I guess."
"You could say that," he replied, gazing at the four of them with a studious eye. "Ferro, Keeper of the Earth Crystal, at your service. And it looks as though you've already located Naia, so I won't need to tell you who we're up against."
"Yep, she pretty much got us filled in on this Malar jerk a while ago," said Rikku. "The guy who can't die and can't be Sent, all that fun stuff."
"Well, it's not like nobody tried. The problem is the source of his power, whatever it was he tapped to gain a hold over Chaos magic," Ferro replied. "We never found out what it was, exactly, when we fought him last. So we settled for sealing him away, which we hoped would be sufficient..."
"But it wasn't enough the first time," said Paine. "Which is why we're going to have to do it again."
"Exactly." Ferro looked at them all again. "Hmmmmm. I sense great determination from all of you- loyalty, perseverance, all solid qualities- but only one of you can gain my powers." He furrowed his brow, his eyes glowed brighter and look like they might burn a hole through somebody. Rikku shivered involuntarily.
"Ah-ha. I see it now. The perfect match- direct, to the point, pure dedication. A born warrior."
Ferro turned and faced Tidus directly. "Will you accept my power?"
Tidus shrugged and thrust his right hand forward. "Let's get to work!"
Ferro chuckled slightly. "A bit on the blunt side- but I like that," he said as his form became indistinct. The light became a series of tendrils, just as before with Naia, pulling the crystal off the ground and bringing it to the back of Tidus' hand. A quick flash of light, and the crystal was joined with the black glove he always wore, along with what appeared to be emerald knuckle studs.
Suddenly the ground and the cavern walls began shaking, as a sound akin to thunder rumbled along the rock. "What's going on? Is it an earthquake?" Rikku stammered. The rumbling occurred again, and this time repeated in a set rhythm. Dirt and rocks began to shake loose from the ceiling.
"That's no earthquake, something's pounding the ground above us!" Yuna shouted as a stalactite crashed to the ground no less than three feet away. "We'd better get out fast, or we're going to be buried alive!!" She grabbed Tidus' hand and made a dash for the main cavern passages, with Rikku and Paine hot on their heels. No sooner had they extracted themselves from the cave room, when the room's ceiling collapsed inward, ejecting rocks, dust and mangled lichen in all directions. The tremors were getting steadily worse, with a definite rhythm that was getting faster by the second.
Cracks began to shoot along the cave walls as the Gullwings threaded themselves through the cavern, dodging rocks and falling debris as best they could. Paine lunged to the front of the party, pounding towards the exit tunnel at breakneck speed. Suddenly, the cave floor in front of her heaved upwards as a lone Hug Bug breached the surface, a look of disorientation on its insectoid face. "We've got no time for this!!" Paine shouted, spinning in a complete circle and slamming the bug across the cavern with a spinning backfist. The vermin gave a mangled whine and passed out, leaving the four to make a rapid escape. They sprinted as fast as possible, only slowing down to negotiate a turn or a rock in the road. Yuna was unavoidably reminded of the dream she had once had, where she had been in Lenne's place running for her life in the Bevelle underground. But this was no dream, and it was no mere armed squad that was after them.
All at once, her foot jammed into a short chasm in the ground and she toppled forward, pulling Tidus down alongside her. Rikku, who was paying too much attention to her map of the cavern, couldn't stop in time and crashed right into both of them. Paine skidded to a halt and turned back. "Are you okay?" she asked in rushed tones as she grabbed Rikku and hauled her up. Just then a massive cracking came from directly over their heads. Everybody looked up as a monolithic slab of stone broke free from the ceiling and began to descend on top of them. Rikku screamed. Paine slammed her eyes shut and braced herself. Yuna threw her arms around Tidus and held on for dear life. Tidus threw his left arm around Yuna's shoulders and at the last second, shoved his right hand up in the air.
**************************************************< br>
"Are we... dead?"
There was no answer to Rikku's question. All was silent.
"Doesn't feel like it..." said Paine.
The two of them opened their eyes a crack, then wider.
The rock was hanging menacingly above their heads, not moving, not breaking apart, just hanging there. It took a moment for them to notice there had been no crash and that there was apparently nothing supporting the slab. Then they noticed the green glow that was shining off to their side. The crystal on Tidus' extended hand was shining with a vengeance, almost touching the slab above their heads. A look of grim determination was set in his jaw line and sweat was starting to run down his temples. A closer look would have revealed a network of fine emerald lines extending from the crystal, across the entire surface of the monolith.
Yuna looked up at him in amazement. "You... You did it! You tapped into the crystal's power just in time!" She tightened her arms around him and breathed a sigh of relief. "You saved us..."
"Well, I wouldn't be a very good Guardian if I didn't figure something out," he replied, a smirk toying across his face. Yuna giggled.
"Right now, I think we'd better get out of here." He gritted his teeth together and made a short, sharp gesture with his right hand. The slab slowly but surely floated away from their heads, descending at a diagonal until it came to rest on the ground behind them. He dropped his hand and sank to one knee, the crystal's light fading. Yuna promptly dove into her equipment pouch and produced an X-Potion before Rikku even had a chance to dig one of hers out. She snapped the cap off and put it to his lips. Shudders began to echo through the cavern once again, and they were on their feet and sprinting forward almost before Tidus had a chance to finish downing the potion.
As they rounded another corner, the tremors began to intensify just as they caught a glimpse of daylight at the far end of the passage. More rocks started to fall from above, creating a roadblock and forcing the Gullwings to slow their pace. Rikku yanked a low-grade explosive out of her satchel and hurled it towards the rubble; the burst shoved most of the rocks aside and enabled them to pick up the pace. Soon only a dozen yards separated them from the tunnel entrance, but just as they were about to reach the surface, the tremors ceased and a horde of black shadows began descending into the cavern in front of them. The lighting difference obscured their physical forms at first, but once inside it became painfully clear what they were.
"Wrathfangs!!!" shouted Paine. "And I'll bet you anything those tremors were their doing!"
A voice crackled over their headset radios. "This is Brother! The valley along the Highroad is ripped to shreds; it looks like those fiends have been jumping around on the cliffs even more than Rikku!!"
"This is not the time for jokes, Brother!" Rikku grumbled. "Those things are coming into the tunnels pretty fast; they were probably trying to turn us to jelly by collapsing the cave on us!"
"Brother, get Shinra to fix the transporter onto our signals and get us out of here!" yelled Tidus.
"Not possible; that cave is too far down to get a lock! You're lucky the radios are reaching down there!"
"Ur, knayd! HUF fryd yna fa kuehk du tu???" Rikku lamented.
[Translation: Oh, great! NOW what are we going to do???]
"We do it the hard way," growled Paine, fire seething in her eyes as she let the primal nature of the Berserker sphere take hold. She raked her claws against each other, snarled and leaped into the fray. She rolled right between the legs of one Wrathfang, skidded to a halt in front of the one behind it and jumped up, gouging massive furrows into its chest. Yuna took two steps forward, then twisted a knob on her gun and let loose the fury of a Heaven's Cataract charge, tearing the fiends' armor to bits. Rikku produced a Chocobo Wing from her satchel and snapped it, feeling the adrenaline surge through her veins. Tidus charged forward and began swinging Caladbolg with a passion that was only outdone by the speed of Paine's claws. The Wrathfangs regrouped and began surging towards the four with renewed zeal, blue flames leaping forth from their draconic maws...
************************************************
"Gullwings, come in!" Brother shouted into his transceiver. "Rikku! Yuna! Anybody, are you there?" He paced back and forth frantically, occasionally dashing to the front of the cockpit and staring down at the Highroad. The radio had gone static seconds after his last transmission- no screams, no return messages, nothing at all. With the fiends all descending below ground, the valley had gone deathly silent. Shinra tapped at his workbench nervously while Brother continued to try and hail the team. Buddy stayed in his control chair, not saying anything but staring ahead blankly. His eyes were unreadable behind his goggles.
"Gullwings, do you copy?!?" Static was the only response. "Tysh ed, cusaputo yhcfan sa!!"
[Translation: Damn it, somebody answer me!!]
A low thud echoed from the valley below. Brother dashed to the front and stared down; a cloud of dirt and smoke was rising up from the approximate position of the cave entrance. He gasped and dropped to his knees, his eyes never leaving that one spot. "No... this cannot be!" he moaned. "GULLWIIIINGS!! RESPOND!!!" he bellowed into his transceiver.
A slight crackle in his earpiece caused him to jerk his head up. Shinra and Buddy turned in their seats towards him.
"...This is Yuna. Sorry about the delay, Brother, but things got a little hairy in here. All our radios got knocked out when the fiends stormed the cave." Brother hardly heard most of what she said; he was too busy whooping and flapping his arms with joy.
"Then you are all okay? Excellent!!" he crowed.
"We'll be on the surface in a moment. Get the transport ready." There was a pause over the radio. "And you'd better get some first aid equipment ready too..."
************************************************ **
"Look, I'm not saying it wasn't a good idea, Rikku. I just don't think you should have flung the entire bomb satchel at them."
"Okay, so I panicked! It was the best thing I could think of to get them at once, Paine, I just forgot how many of those charges I brought!"
It was drawing towards dusk. The Celsius had landed in Luca for the evening to resupply with fuel and medical equipment. The Gullwings had returned to the ship covered in contusions and lacerations, along with trace burns on various parts of the body. Rikku had tried desperately to close their wounds by donning the form of a White Mage, but she was far less experienced at healing than Yuna and consequently did little to help. Barkeep had scrounged what potions he had left, but it wasn't much.
The four of them sat at the table in the main cabin, eating one of Buddy's latest excuses for food. No one seemed to mind that it wasn't a taste explosion, it was hot and there was plenty to go around.
"Personally, I'm just glad I didn't get flash-blinded when that package went off," Paine said, rubbing the bandages on her left forearm.
"I don't think I can recall a bigger blast that wasn't produced by magic," quipped Tidus, chuckling a bit and then wincing. "In all honesty, though, I probably would've done the same thing; that horde was getting too thick for us to take out one at a time."
"Yeah, we were doing pretty well at first, but when they started surrounding us it got out of control," said Yuna.
"I thought it was going to be over in five seconds once you started using the crystal again, Yunie."
Yuna shook her head. "It took a bunch of them out, Rikku, but after I used it on them twice I started feeling sick again."
"Yeah, me too," said Tidus. "These may be powerful, but they really take it out of you if you overuse them." He looked at his glove and sighed.
"Still, you were able to crush about five of them with one wave of your hand; that gave us a real edge for a moment or two," said Paine. "Maybe once you get used to them, we can use their powers more often."
"I hope so," Yuna replied. A crackle over the intercom made them all look up.
A sharp twinge shot across Paine's forehead. She gritted her teeth and began massaging her temple with her right hand.
"Paine, are you okay?" Rikku asked. "You need me to mix up a potion or something?"
"Don't bother getting the Alchemist gear, I'll be alright."
"You get hit by a rock on the way out?" asked Yuna.
"I don't think so... Maybe I'm not sleeping enough, I've had headaches off and on the last few days..."
Buddy's voice emerged from the intercom. "Hey guys, we won't be fully restocked until morning, but Shinra's got a lead on another crystal signal already. It's gonna take all morning to get there, though."
"So where's our next stop, then?" Tidus asked.
"Looks like the Bikanel Desert. I've already called ahead to Brother, he's getting extra water supplies in case we need them."
"Lovely. We get to go dig in the sand again," muttered Paine, still massaging her temples.
"On the bright side, we're not going to be completely alone out there. From the looks of it, it's not too far from Nhadala's base of operations; we might be able to enlist her help."
"How are we going to do that without making anyone suspicious?" Yuna asked.
"Well, from what I gathered just a moment ago, Gippal's down there too, so he might be able to come up with a decent story." At the mention of his name, Rikku groaned and slumped down in her chair.
"What's the matter, Rikku?" Paine drawled, raising an eyebrow.
"Just what I needed... You know he's just gonna be making fun of me again; he never treats me as anything except a little kid!" Rikku pouted.
"I'm pretty sure Gippal knows enough to be serious when he needs to be," said Yuna.
"Yeah, right," Rikku muttered. She pushed up from the table and headed across the cabin to her bed. "Maybe if he would take things seriously he'd notice a few things..." she mumbled to herself, flopping down on the covers.
Tidus blinked and shook his head a few times. "What was that all about?"
Yuna smirked. "Probably just something she doesn't want to admit yet."
"I heard that, Yunie, and I don't have any idea what you're talking about!!"
"Maybe we'd best leave the matter and get some rest," said Paine, standing up and heading towards her own bed. "It's going to be a long day in the desert tomorrow, and I don't want lack of sleep giving me more headaches."
"You're right, Paine. Let's get some shut-eye," Yuna replied. She and Tidus got up from the table and started down the cabin, when suddenly Yuna stopped. "Wait a minute... Something's not right."
"What's the matter?" Tidus asked.
"Okay, you two, where did you move my bed?" she asked in a mock-angry tone. "I'm not really in the mood for practical jokes." Rikku stuck her hands behind her head and pointed to a door across the cabin.
"Sorry, Yunie, but this cabin is now officially for single Gullwings only!!" she giggled. "Your new sleeping quarters are down there; we cleaned out the spare cabin Clasko used for a while." She pulled the covers over herself and shot her and Tidus a grin. "See you both in the morning!"
Yuna put hand over her mouth to stifle nervous laugh; her face was turning as red as the Celsius' paint job. She turned to Tidus, who was sporting an identical flush and scratching the back of his head. "Well... This is something I wasn't quite expecting," she chuckled.
"Me neither," Tidus replied, taking her hand and leading her down the stairs to the lower level. "But I suppose we'll just have to make the best of it," he said in his best put-upon tone. Yuna took one look at the goofy expression on his face and burst out laughing; he dropped his composure and laughed right along with her.
"Well then, shall we take a look at these so-called 'new quarters'?" she asked with a playful smirk.
"Your wish is my command," Tidus replied as he opened the door. With one quick motion he swept her into his arms and carried her, giggling, over the threshold and into their cabin.
On the upper level, Rikku smiled to herself. "Told you I'd make it up to you guys," she said quietly to herself.
***********************************
Th e barrier that enclosed the Thunder Plains shuddered. A lone patrol officer who was standing watch snapped to attention and raised his rifle. His eyes grew wide as the violet miasma parted, forming an archway of sorts through which a solitary figure could be seen. "Who are you? Stay where you are!" he shouted, flipping the safety catch off. The figure said nothing, but took a step forward.
"Identify yourself!!"
The figure took another step.
"If you don't stop, I'll fire!!!"
Another step. The officer gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. The bullet screeched through the air and tore a vicious furrow in the figure's shoulder.
A violet glow began to emerge from a point within the figure's chest. Blood stopped flowing from the wound and the skin began to seal itself up rapidly. The officer stared, then grabbed his radio. "Captain, we've got a problem!! There's a..."
The figure shot its right hand forward and a bolt of lightning tore across the clearing, engulfing the soldier and ripping his body to pieces. The figure lowered its hand; the lifeless husk of the guard collapsed to the ground, his rifle clattering on some nearby rocks.
An angry sneer crossed Malar's lips. "That stung a bit, you worthless excuse for a human." He brushed his shoulder casually, then brought his gaze to bear on the darkening sky. "I suppose if you want something done properly, you've got to do it yourself."
To Be Continued...
8: Out Of The Frying Pan...
"Any success on calming the faithful down?"
Baralai leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Enough so that there isn't risk of a riot, but there's still a lot of talking going on, Nooj. People are beginning to suspect there's something out there that we haven't told them-"
"Which we still can't tell them about, not yet." Nooj drew in a long breath and adjusted his glasses. "Fiends and storms is one thing, but someone who is behind them both is another. It really chews me up that we have to keep this under wraps."
"Yeah, but we both know the dangers of mob mentality as well." Baralai stood up and began pacing in the Council chamber. "I just wish we could get further into the Plains so that we could confirm the size of the threat here."
"What I'm concerned with is how well Yuna and her cohorts are faring," Nooj replied. "I hope that ship of theirs is faster than this maniac's minions."
"So, the Great High Summoner Yuna and her associates the Dullwings are off to save our collective derriere again, eh?" said a haughty and highly recognizable voice. Nooj smirked and turned to face the entrance.
"It's not like they were planning to come out of retirement so soon, LeBlanc," he said as she sashayed into the room, flourishing her ever-present fan.
"Oh, I knew they hadn't planned on this," she replied. "But it just seems soooo unfair; the moment they got wind of what was afoot, off they went without even a second thought- and without contacting ME!! The Great LeBlanc!!" She threw herself into a chair beside Nooj and brushed a hand up and down his right arm. "Don't you think they should have offered me a piece of the action, dear Noojie-Woojie? After everything I did for them when they faced off against that ugly Vegnagun, after all?" She looked up at Nooj with a pleading puppy-dog look on her face that was so silly Baralai had to stifle a guffaw.
"It just ain't fair!" bellowed Ormi as he and Logos entered the room. "Here's the boss, all ready to do her part, and those kids don't bother ta call and ask for help!!"
"Perhaps they had forgotten what little manners they have left," Logos mused.
"Or perhaps they're trying to make sure no one else gets hurt in the process," Baralai piped up. "I don't suppose you considered that, did you? Do you know how many times they've put themselves on the line for the good of other people, especially Yuna? She's put the welfare of others before her own happiness so many times it's baffling. She was willing to die to vanquish Sin, she and her friends put themselves in jeopardy during the Vegnagun incident, and now that they're putting other people's safety- including your own- before theirs, once again, you think that's considered bad manners?"
Nooj stared at him. I've never heard Baralai snap at others like that, he thought to himself. But he is right. LeBlanc certainly can hold her own in a fight, but they wouldn't want to risk more people- that's not how the Gullwings work. Logos was glaring at Baralai, while Ormi just stood there with his mouth open.
"Well... even so," LeBlanc began, "it still isn't right that she should go running off without even bothering to ask. That girl may be tough, but she'd be even tougher with me and the boys watching her back." She shot a quick glance to Logos, who was smiling a bit. "YOU know what I mean, cretin."
"I think it's all for the best if we let them do things their way, for the time being," said Nooj. "After all, there are four Gullwings now, rather than three."
"Ah yes, I'd almost forgotten. That young warrior-Blitzer, what was his name again?"
"I think it was Tie-dye or something like that, Boss..." boomed Ormi.
Logos promptly slapped him on the back of his head. "Tidus, you insipid buffoon."
"Yes, that's the one," LeBlanc said. "Say... Wasn't there something special that happened between him and Yuna not long ago, Noojie? Some sort of... ceremony, was it?" she purred, lightly toying her finger across Nooj's chest.
Baralai saw Nooj visibly tense up and start stammering. Noojster, you're gonna have to get around to it at some point, she's got her hooks in you now. Man, if only Gippal hadn't had to leave for Bikanel this morning; he'd love this... He held a hand up to his face and chuckled.
************************************
The chamber they had entered was covered with phosphorescent lichen, most of which had been crushed by the King Vermin or devoured during his tenure. What lichen remained gave off a surreal blue-green light, giving the walls a bizarre appearance of aquamarine tiger stripes. This was further accentuated by the ambient green aura that emanated from a spot in the middle of the floor. Cautiously at first, Rikku approached the source of the light and bent down to look closer. There was a section of floor that was clearly worked stone, a circular slab about a foot in diameter with a small hole in the center. Resting in the hole was a bright emerald lens-like crystal.
"Did we get it?" Tidus asked, discarding his Gunner apparel for his usual clothes.
"I think so; it kinda matches my eyes!" Rikku replied as she lifted the crystal out of the hole. It began to glow with greater intensity, prompting Rikku to put it back on the floor and step back a pace.
A beam shot from the crystal up to the ceiling with an intense whine, causing everyone to shudder and cover their ears. The beam shrank and its edges warped, molding and shaping itself into the form of a man. His skin and eyes were brilliant emerald, what passed for hair on his head resembled waving grass, and he wore what appeared to be trousers molded from solid rock. A smile emerged on his face.
"Welcome, wanderers," the man said. "Let me guess; the Immortal has broken free and it's time to go to work again, right?"
Yuna nodded. "No beating around the bush for you, I guess."
"You could say that," he replied, gazing at the four of them with a studious eye. "Ferro, Keeper of the Earth Crystal, at your service. And it looks as though you've already located Naia, so I won't need to tell you who we're up against."
"Yep, she pretty much got us filled in on this Malar jerk a while ago," said Rikku. "The guy who can't die and can't be Sent, all that fun stuff."
"Well, it's not like nobody tried. The problem is the source of his power, whatever it was he tapped to gain a hold over Chaos magic," Ferro replied. "We never found out what it was, exactly, when we fought him last. So we settled for sealing him away, which we hoped would be sufficient..."
"But it wasn't enough the first time," said Paine. "Which is why we're going to have to do it again."
"Exactly." Ferro looked at them all again. "Hmmmmm. I sense great determination from all of you- loyalty, perseverance, all solid qualities- but only one of you can gain my powers." He furrowed his brow, his eyes glowed brighter and look like they might burn a hole through somebody. Rikku shivered involuntarily.
"Ah-ha. I see it now. The perfect match- direct, to the point, pure dedication. A born warrior."
Ferro turned and faced Tidus directly. "Will you accept my power?"
Tidus shrugged and thrust his right hand forward. "Let's get to work!"
Ferro chuckled slightly. "A bit on the blunt side- but I like that," he said as his form became indistinct. The light became a series of tendrils, just as before with Naia, pulling the crystal off the ground and bringing it to the back of Tidus' hand. A quick flash of light, and the crystal was joined with the black glove he always wore, along with what appeared to be emerald knuckle studs.
Suddenly the ground and the cavern walls began shaking, as a sound akin to thunder rumbled along the rock. "What's going on? Is it an earthquake?" Rikku stammered. The rumbling occurred again, and this time repeated in a set rhythm. Dirt and rocks began to shake loose from the ceiling.
"That's no earthquake, something's pounding the ground above us!" Yuna shouted as a stalactite crashed to the ground no less than three feet away. "We'd better get out fast, or we're going to be buried alive!!" She grabbed Tidus' hand and made a dash for the main cavern passages, with Rikku and Paine hot on their heels. No sooner had they extracted themselves from the cave room, when the room's ceiling collapsed inward, ejecting rocks, dust and mangled lichen in all directions. The tremors were getting steadily worse, with a definite rhythm that was getting faster by the second.
Cracks began to shoot along the cave walls as the Gullwings threaded themselves through the cavern, dodging rocks and falling debris as best they could. Paine lunged to the front of the party, pounding towards the exit tunnel at breakneck speed. Suddenly, the cave floor in front of her heaved upwards as a lone Hug Bug breached the surface, a look of disorientation on its insectoid face. "We've got no time for this!!" Paine shouted, spinning in a complete circle and slamming the bug across the cavern with a spinning backfist. The vermin gave a mangled whine and passed out, leaving the four to make a rapid escape. They sprinted as fast as possible, only slowing down to negotiate a turn or a rock in the road. Yuna was unavoidably reminded of the dream she had once had, where she had been in Lenne's place running for her life in the Bevelle underground. But this was no dream, and it was no mere armed squad that was after them.
All at once, her foot jammed into a short chasm in the ground and she toppled forward, pulling Tidus down alongside her. Rikku, who was paying too much attention to her map of the cavern, couldn't stop in time and crashed right into both of them. Paine skidded to a halt and turned back. "Are you okay?" she asked in rushed tones as she grabbed Rikku and hauled her up. Just then a massive cracking came from directly over their heads. Everybody looked up as a monolithic slab of stone broke free from the ceiling and began to descend on top of them. Rikku screamed. Paine slammed her eyes shut and braced herself. Yuna threw her arms around Tidus and held on for dear life. Tidus threw his left arm around Yuna's shoulders and at the last second, shoved his right hand up in the air.
**************************************************< br>
"Are we... dead?"
There was no answer to Rikku's question. All was silent.
"Doesn't feel like it..." said Paine.
The two of them opened their eyes a crack, then wider.
The rock was hanging menacingly above their heads, not moving, not breaking apart, just hanging there. It took a moment for them to notice there had been no crash and that there was apparently nothing supporting the slab. Then they noticed the green glow that was shining off to their side. The crystal on Tidus' extended hand was shining with a vengeance, almost touching the slab above their heads. A look of grim determination was set in his jaw line and sweat was starting to run down his temples. A closer look would have revealed a network of fine emerald lines extending from the crystal, across the entire surface of the monolith.
Yuna looked up at him in amazement. "You... You did it! You tapped into the crystal's power just in time!" She tightened her arms around him and breathed a sigh of relief. "You saved us..."
"Well, I wouldn't be a very good Guardian if I didn't figure something out," he replied, a smirk toying across his face. Yuna giggled.
"Right now, I think we'd better get out of here." He gritted his teeth together and made a short, sharp gesture with his right hand. The slab slowly but surely floated away from their heads, descending at a diagonal until it came to rest on the ground behind them. He dropped his hand and sank to one knee, the crystal's light fading. Yuna promptly dove into her equipment pouch and produced an X-Potion before Rikku even had a chance to dig one of hers out. She snapped the cap off and put it to his lips. Shudders began to echo through the cavern once again, and they were on their feet and sprinting forward almost before Tidus had a chance to finish downing the potion.
As they rounded another corner, the tremors began to intensify just as they caught a glimpse of daylight at the far end of the passage. More rocks started to fall from above, creating a roadblock and forcing the Gullwings to slow their pace. Rikku yanked a low-grade explosive out of her satchel and hurled it towards the rubble; the burst shoved most of the rocks aside and enabled them to pick up the pace. Soon only a dozen yards separated them from the tunnel entrance, but just as they were about to reach the surface, the tremors ceased and a horde of black shadows began descending into the cavern in front of them. The lighting difference obscured their physical forms at first, but once inside it became painfully clear what they were.
"Wrathfangs!!!" shouted Paine. "And I'll bet you anything those tremors were their doing!"
A voice crackled over their headset radios. "This is Brother! The valley along the Highroad is ripped to shreds; it looks like those fiends have been jumping around on the cliffs even more than Rikku!!"
"This is not the time for jokes, Brother!" Rikku grumbled. "Those things are coming into the tunnels pretty fast; they were probably trying to turn us to jelly by collapsing the cave on us!"
"Brother, get Shinra to fix the transporter onto our signals and get us out of here!" yelled Tidus.
"Not possible; that cave is too far down to get a lock! You're lucky the radios are reaching down there!"
"Ur, knayd! HUF fryd yna fa kuehk du tu???" Rikku lamented.
[Translation: Oh, great! NOW what are we going to do???]
"We do it the hard way," growled Paine, fire seething in her eyes as she let the primal nature of the Berserker sphere take hold. She raked her claws against each other, snarled and leaped into the fray. She rolled right between the legs of one Wrathfang, skidded to a halt in front of the one behind it and jumped up, gouging massive furrows into its chest. Yuna took two steps forward, then twisted a knob on her gun and let loose the fury of a Heaven's Cataract charge, tearing the fiends' armor to bits. Rikku produced a Chocobo Wing from her satchel and snapped it, feeling the adrenaline surge through her veins. Tidus charged forward and began swinging Caladbolg with a passion that was only outdone by the speed of Paine's claws. The Wrathfangs regrouped and began surging towards the four with renewed zeal, blue flames leaping forth from their draconic maws...
************************************************
"Gullwings, come in!" Brother shouted into his transceiver. "Rikku! Yuna! Anybody, are you there?" He paced back and forth frantically, occasionally dashing to the front of the cockpit and staring down at the Highroad. The radio had gone static seconds after his last transmission- no screams, no return messages, nothing at all. With the fiends all descending below ground, the valley had gone deathly silent. Shinra tapped at his workbench nervously while Brother continued to try and hail the team. Buddy stayed in his control chair, not saying anything but staring ahead blankly. His eyes were unreadable behind his goggles.
"Gullwings, do you copy?!?" Static was the only response. "Tysh ed, cusaputo yhcfan sa!!"
[Translation: Damn it, somebody answer me!!]
A low thud echoed from the valley below. Brother dashed to the front and stared down; a cloud of dirt and smoke was rising up from the approximate position of the cave entrance. He gasped and dropped to his knees, his eyes never leaving that one spot. "No... this cannot be!" he moaned. "GULLWIIIINGS!! RESPOND!!!" he bellowed into his transceiver.
A slight crackle in his earpiece caused him to jerk his head up. Shinra and Buddy turned in their seats towards him.
"...This is Yuna. Sorry about the delay, Brother, but things got a little hairy in here. All our radios got knocked out when the fiends stormed the cave." Brother hardly heard most of what she said; he was too busy whooping and flapping his arms with joy.
"Then you are all okay? Excellent!!" he crowed.
"We'll be on the surface in a moment. Get the transport ready." There was a pause over the radio. "And you'd better get some first aid equipment ready too..."
************************************************ **
"Look, I'm not saying it wasn't a good idea, Rikku. I just don't think you should have flung the entire bomb satchel at them."
"Okay, so I panicked! It was the best thing I could think of to get them at once, Paine, I just forgot how many of those charges I brought!"
It was drawing towards dusk. The Celsius had landed in Luca for the evening to resupply with fuel and medical equipment. The Gullwings had returned to the ship covered in contusions and lacerations, along with trace burns on various parts of the body. Rikku had tried desperately to close their wounds by donning the form of a White Mage, but she was far less experienced at healing than Yuna and consequently did little to help. Barkeep had scrounged what potions he had left, but it wasn't much.
The four of them sat at the table in the main cabin, eating one of Buddy's latest excuses for food. No one seemed to mind that it wasn't a taste explosion, it was hot and there was plenty to go around.
"Personally, I'm just glad I didn't get flash-blinded when that package went off," Paine said, rubbing the bandages on her left forearm.
"I don't think I can recall a bigger blast that wasn't produced by magic," quipped Tidus, chuckling a bit and then wincing. "In all honesty, though, I probably would've done the same thing; that horde was getting too thick for us to take out one at a time."
"Yeah, we were doing pretty well at first, but when they started surrounding us it got out of control," said Yuna.
"I thought it was going to be over in five seconds once you started using the crystal again, Yunie."
Yuna shook her head. "It took a bunch of them out, Rikku, but after I used it on them twice I started feeling sick again."
"Yeah, me too," said Tidus. "These may be powerful, but they really take it out of you if you overuse them." He looked at his glove and sighed.
"Still, you were able to crush about five of them with one wave of your hand; that gave us a real edge for a moment or two," said Paine. "Maybe once you get used to them, we can use their powers more often."
"I hope so," Yuna replied. A crackle over the intercom made them all look up.
A sharp twinge shot across Paine's forehead. She gritted her teeth and began massaging her temple with her right hand.
"Paine, are you okay?" Rikku asked. "You need me to mix up a potion or something?"
"Don't bother getting the Alchemist gear, I'll be alright."
"You get hit by a rock on the way out?" asked Yuna.
"I don't think so... Maybe I'm not sleeping enough, I've had headaches off and on the last few days..."
Buddy's voice emerged from the intercom. "Hey guys, we won't be fully restocked until morning, but Shinra's got a lead on another crystal signal already. It's gonna take all morning to get there, though."
"So where's our next stop, then?" Tidus asked.
"Looks like the Bikanel Desert. I've already called ahead to Brother, he's getting extra water supplies in case we need them."
"Lovely. We get to go dig in the sand again," muttered Paine, still massaging her temples.
"On the bright side, we're not going to be completely alone out there. From the looks of it, it's not too far from Nhadala's base of operations; we might be able to enlist her help."
"How are we going to do that without making anyone suspicious?" Yuna asked.
"Well, from what I gathered just a moment ago, Gippal's down there too, so he might be able to come up with a decent story." At the mention of his name, Rikku groaned and slumped down in her chair.
"What's the matter, Rikku?" Paine drawled, raising an eyebrow.
"Just what I needed... You know he's just gonna be making fun of me again; he never treats me as anything except a little kid!" Rikku pouted.
"I'm pretty sure Gippal knows enough to be serious when he needs to be," said Yuna.
"Yeah, right," Rikku muttered. She pushed up from the table and headed across the cabin to her bed. "Maybe if he would take things seriously he'd notice a few things..." she mumbled to herself, flopping down on the covers.
Tidus blinked and shook his head a few times. "What was that all about?"
Yuna smirked. "Probably just something she doesn't want to admit yet."
"I heard that, Yunie, and I don't have any idea what you're talking about!!"
"Maybe we'd best leave the matter and get some rest," said Paine, standing up and heading towards her own bed. "It's going to be a long day in the desert tomorrow, and I don't want lack of sleep giving me more headaches."
"You're right, Paine. Let's get some shut-eye," Yuna replied. She and Tidus got up from the table and started down the cabin, when suddenly Yuna stopped. "Wait a minute... Something's not right."
"What's the matter?" Tidus asked.
"Okay, you two, where did you move my bed?" she asked in a mock-angry tone. "I'm not really in the mood for practical jokes." Rikku stuck her hands behind her head and pointed to a door across the cabin.
"Sorry, Yunie, but this cabin is now officially for single Gullwings only!!" she giggled. "Your new sleeping quarters are down there; we cleaned out the spare cabin Clasko used for a while." She pulled the covers over herself and shot her and Tidus a grin. "See you both in the morning!"
Yuna put hand over her mouth to stifle nervous laugh; her face was turning as red as the Celsius' paint job. She turned to Tidus, who was sporting an identical flush and scratching the back of his head. "Well... This is something I wasn't quite expecting," she chuckled.
"Me neither," Tidus replied, taking her hand and leading her down the stairs to the lower level. "But I suppose we'll just have to make the best of it," he said in his best put-upon tone. Yuna took one look at the goofy expression on his face and burst out laughing; he dropped his composure and laughed right along with her.
"Well then, shall we take a look at these so-called 'new quarters'?" she asked with a playful smirk.
"Your wish is my command," Tidus replied as he opened the door. With one quick motion he swept her into his arms and carried her, giggling, over the threshold and into their cabin.
On the upper level, Rikku smiled to herself. "Told you I'd make it up to you guys," she said quietly to herself.
***********************************
Th e barrier that enclosed the Thunder Plains shuddered. A lone patrol officer who was standing watch snapped to attention and raised his rifle. His eyes grew wide as the violet miasma parted, forming an archway of sorts through which a solitary figure could be seen. "Who are you? Stay where you are!" he shouted, flipping the safety catch off. The figure said nothing, but took a step forward.
"Identify yourself!!"
The figure took another step.
"If you don't stop, I'll fire!!!"
Another step. The officer gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger. The bullet screeched through the air and tore a vicious furrow in the figure's shoulder.
A violet glow began to emerge from a point within the figure's chest. Blood stopped flowing from the wound and the skin began to seal itself up rapidly. The officer stared, then grabbed his radio. "Captain, we've got a problem!! There's a..."
The figure shot its right hand forward and a bolt of lightning tore across the clearing, engulfing the soldier and ripping his body to pieces. The figure lowered its hand; the lifeless husk of the guard collapsed to the ground, his rifle clattering on some nearby rocks.
An angry sneer crossed Malar's lips. "That stung a bit, you worthless excuse for a human." He brushed his shoulder casually, then brought his gaze to bear on the darkening sky. "I suppose if you want something done properly, you've got to do it yourself."
To Be Continued...