Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

FFVIII: Final Cry (Ishu and BlisteredBlood)

She nodded quickly while trying to keep concern from pouring out of her pores, R-right, heh... um, which way should we go? She looked at the few paths they could take. There was the one behind them that led back to the entrance and three in front of them; the one to the left went through a wider path that was more leveled and it would be easier to see their opponents but also provided more movement for larger monsters. The one in the middle went down next to a waterfall and eventually ended into a cave and the one to the right went over the water and would take them to a more rainforest type of area.
 
"Which way, indeed." Alphonse answered as he then looked over their decisions. The one in back of them led back to the entryway while the other three led off in all sorts of crazy directions and each one of them seemed as though they had their own set of challenges ahead of them. After thinking it over a bit, Alphonse thought that maybe the middle path would be the better option at the moment, nodding his head in that direction. "How about this way? At least there's a cave and waterfall over there, so we can lay low for when things get too heated and cool off when we need to. Whaddaya say to that?" He asked.
 
That... actually sounds like a great idea! She found the waterfall to be rather beautiful and majestic. Even though they would be fighting, she liked the idea of having an icon of beauty nearby. She walked forward with him across the open flatland and took the steep turn down towards a cave. What do you think we will find in there? She leaned back as she stepped down and soon found herself at the entrance, looking in at the darkness that seemed never ending.
 
"Not sure, to be honest with you, but at least we'll have a little rest stop in our training." Alphonse answered as he continued to lead her down the middle pathway, pausing every once and again to help Ishu down the steep pathway and ultimately came to a stop at the mouth of the cave with the sound of the waterfall nearby.

"However," Alphonse spoke again as he also looked into the cave. "I'm gonna need you to stay close to me if we go inside of there." He added as he pointed inside of it also then turned towards her as he spoke.
 
She smiled at him, grateful for his help, and looked around at the floor of the mouth. It was wet from the waterfall sprinkling over onto the rock. There wasn't a lot but she would have slipped and fallen without his help. Ishu nodded when he told her to stay close and decided to ask, just to be sure, Should I stay behind you? She didn't know if that was the best place to stand or not. If she was infront of him, he could still see her but there was the risk of hitting her with his weapon. But she didn't know his preference so she left the decision to him.
 
It was a bit of a hard choice to make if she should stay right beside him, for that meant he couldn't use his claymore at a close distance if she was in the vicinity of where his blade might be starting from. But if she were at a relatively close distance, that might also present a problem, for any monster would have a wide open opportunity on her if she got too far away from him, especially if she were ahead of him. A little bit of thought went through Alphonse's mind as he stood there, trying to think about what would be the best option for the both of them at this point, but no matter how he would do it, something would have to do at one point.

"Hm." Alphonse answered, not really sure of what to do. "Not really sure on on that front, Ishu." He added as he raised a hand up to the back of his crimson maned head and itched it pensively, his green eyes closing in thought while a brow was raised upward.
 
She was looking into the cave and she was fully taking in just how dark it was inside. Her hand instinctively reached over and held onto his. This was when she realized she might have found their answer, Maybe... I could hold your hand? He could swing the sword with one hand, er, maybe. If he needed both hands, he could let go of her and she could duck down immediately. I mean, until we run into a monster. She thought it was a decent idea and it was better than just hoping he could see her and wouldn't accidentally hit her with the sword.
 
When Ishu gave him that idea for consideration, Alphonse's eyes popped open for a second before turning his eyes over to her with the same pensive expression for a moment as a smile now became noticeable on his lips. Yet another good idea was give to him by Ishu, he thought to himself before holding a hand out to her with the same smile on his face. "Alright, that one gets my vote. Besides, I'm pretty good with it in one hand. Depending on what one I use, anyway." Alphonse responded with a nod of his head. "As long as you keep your hand in mine, we should be OK. But if there's something that needs me to use both hands, let go when I tell you to and get back a bit, alright?" He added instructively. Not for nothing, but considering he was wielding a handmade claymore of all things, it would have quite the extensive reach.
 
Smiling up at him, she squeezed his hand in hers and nodded, Alright! Carefully, she walked into the cave with him. It was a bit warm but damp and humid. It was like walking into the mouth of a large creature except nothing was soft, the walls and floor were made of stone and the floor wasn't too slippery. What kinds of monsters would come down here? Did they use it to sleep? Did they use it to hide? Did something live here at all times? She couldn't tell for sure but they would find out at some point. How far did the cave go? Did it open out somewhere? Would the pure darkness end?
 
As the two entered the cave, Alphonse's hand felt Ishu's give it a squeeze, an indicator to him that she entrusted him to their current path as they walked into the darkened cavern, unaware of what was waiting for them within. To tell the truth, he didn't know know what was in here, but he figured that soon enough, all would be revealed to him in time. But the one thing that mattered as of right now, was that they needed to explore the cave, even with the darkness encroaching them.
 
It felt like they had been walking forever. The darkness around them became almost as familiar as their own heartbeat. She stepped over a few rocks without even knowing they were there until the front of her foot hit another heart, sending it skidding across the floor. She stopped when she heard it, the sound echoing on the walls of the cave. They could hear the echo rush down both sides, ahead and them and a little bit behind them. There was a silence that followed it and soon the scuffling of feet. The scuffling didn't last more than a few moments, but they weren't alone.
 
In the silence of the cave, Alphonse continued to walk along with Ishu, the sounds of their footsteps about as familiar as the feeling of their hands grasping each other's. He head the sounds of the rocks being kicked around a bit in the caves, stopping suddenly when he heard Ishu kick out other rock ahead of the two, sending it further ahead of them into the cave. The silence was nerve-wracking to say the least, but it would be short-lived when he began to hear scuffling of feet. Someone was here. To say if it was human was pretty far fetched, but it wasn't without possibility.

Alphonse remained still and silent for a little longer before he turned his head in Ishu's direction as he kept a tight grip on her hand. His voice would then drop down to a whisper before he spoke. "Hey... Ishu... Can you make us a light?" He asked her quietly.
 
Her eyes shifted around the room for a moment before she heard him, her ears homing on his words. She nodded slowly and her voice sounded at him, whispering as well, I... can try. She licked her lips and furrowed her eyebrows together, focusing her energy until her skin emitted a subtle glow. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to help them see around them. The light bounced off of anything that was remotely wet, as well as some mushrooms that absorbed the light and began to glow on their own. Oh... isn't that neat? The mushrooms became a deep blue color and continued to emit light on their own and would until she left.

The scuttling sound came again, though it sounded... higher. It stopped and a clicking noise sounded followed by a low hiss.

Ishu gulped and moved closer to Alphonse's back, but she was still holding his hand. Doing this made it harder for him to see, but the mushrooms infront of them still had some light to them. There was subtle movement across the ceiling followed by a low hiss.
 
Alphonse narrowed his eyes when he heard Ishu was at least going to give it a try. Well, a try is better than nothing, he figured at this point. Soon enough, a subtle glow came from behind his back, making Alphonse glance back to Ishu as he saw that her body was making that light. It wasn't exactly much, but now Alphonse could now see ahead of him a bit. As a result, he could now see that there were mushrooms that also began to resonate the same glow, allowing him to see further into the cave slightly more.

That same scuttling sounded out again, causing Alphonse to look around from side to side as he heard it coming further up, towards the roof of the cave. Then came a low hiss. Something was here alright, and it seemed as though it didn't seem too pleased over the fact that both Ishu and Alphonse were in its territory.

"Ishu..." Alphonse spoke in a quiet voice once again. "You had better stay as close to me as you can. I don't think we're in here alone." He warned.
 
She nodded quickly, Ok. Her voice was still quiet like a whisper. She looked around without moving her head, keeping the glow subtle. She heard the scuttling come across the ceiling and the hiss coming louder. It was followed by a clicking sound and another hiss. She could see something moving along the ceiling towards them, twitching as it click. Ishu swallowed and pressed herself against Alphonse's side.

The monster came closer into view, a Grand Mantis hissing and waving it's spear-like claws in the air infront of it. It couldn't see them until it saw her glowing and it's hissed became louder, it's aggression becoming more obvious as it's tail flailed up behind it.
 
As Alphonse saw the Grand Mantis come into view, Alphonse's eyes widened a bit as he saw those spear-like appendages waving around in front of itself in a clearly aggressive stance, even as he saw that tail begin to whip up behind it. Apparently, something about the light Ishu was giving off was drawing it towards them. If he can get Ishu to douse her light, then perhaps it could get the Grand Mantis to back off.

"Ishu!" Alphonse hissed to her. "The light! Kill it!" He added.
 
She panicked when he yelled at her and the Mantis screeched, rushing at them from the ceiling. Her feet moved her back in an eager attempt to escape but her hand still held onto his. The light started to brighten as she tried to control it and snapped off when the Grand Mantis hit the ground right infront of them. It's spear arms jabbed out in the dark, trying to flay them.
 
Right when he heard the Mantis screech at them, Alphonse's hand holding Ishu's tightened purely out of reflex, unknowingly holding onto her hand before glancing back as she pulled him back a bit as her body glowed slightly brighter for a moment then shut off when the Grand Mantis dropped to the ground. "Shit!" Alphonse sounded out as he then brought his claymore out just in time to catch one of those spear like arms, the other one slicing into his side, getting a pained reaction out of him.

"AHH!" Alphonse shouted out as he then dropped onto his knee.
 
Alphonse! She heard the spear tear through flesh and she felt him move down onto his knee. Alphonse! Alphonse! Are you ok!? She put her other hand on his shoulder in her panic, unsure of what to do.

The Grand Mantis hiss as it's tail vibrated. It was pleased that it found flesh and put the one spear into its tiny mouth, clicking as it tasted his blood. The Grand Mantis' body clicked as it took a few steps forward, sending one spear out again to the same place it hit just before.

Ishu clung to him and shut her eyes tight as the attack came... but nothing happened.

The Grand Mantis hissed from annoyance and drew the spear back, clicking as it stepped from side to side and hissed menacingly.

The barrier that came up slowly began to faded. Alphonse, can you move? Are you alright?
 
There was no doubt in his mind that Alphonse was in a great deal of pain from when that spear like appendage found its mark on his body, and there was no doubt that the wound was going to hurt later on. But as long as he was still able to able to breathe, then Alphonse was still able to fight. He just needed to get back onto both feet in order to make that happen.

Alphonse glanced up with one eye opened to the Grand Mantis as it prepared to attack once again and moved his sword around once more to guard against those spear arms with that same eye closing. However, nothing happened. Looking up at the Mantis once more, he saw that spear like appendage once more drawing back from the two, moving from side to side.

"I'm still alive, ain't I?" Alphonse answered as a painful grimace was on his face. "Just try to keep that barrier of yours up while I try to gather my bearings." He added.
 
Ishu nodded quickly and removed her hand from his shoulder. She swallowed and focused on the barrier. Although, despite her focus, the barrier was still fading. She jumped when the mantis hissed again and she moved behind Alphonse, Are you sure you can do this? She didn't want to push him into something he thought he could not do.

The Grand Mantis hissed and jabbed both spear arms forward. The attack failed but the barrier was fading and it hissed again. It readied another attack while scuttling to and fro.
 
"I just need enough time to get up to my feet." Alphonse answered with a strain in his voice as he struggled to get up onto his feet, despite he had a bit of a rough time doing so as he heard the Grand Mantis continue to scuttle around and attempt to attack again, only to be denied that when the barrier held up against another one of those attacks, despite he could visibly see that the barrier was fading. If he was going to get back up onto his feet, it had to be quick before that thing got in another cheap shot on either him or Ishu.

Another valiant effort was given by Alphonse as he dug the tip of the claymore once more into the ground before straining hard as he got up onto his feet slowly before letting go of Ishu's hand and then brought it up to grasp the handle of the weapon and pull it out, holding it out in front of him in a defiant stance.
 
Ishu stepped back behind him and clasped her own hands together. She watched while chewing on her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowing tightly together.

The Grand Mantis continued to scuttle back and forth, hissing and swiping at the air as it waited for the barrier to go down. The barrier soon faded and the mantis vibrating, its tail flailing as it sliced through the air again and rushed forward at the two humans.
 
A now angered Alphonse was now standing there, his claymore held firmly within his hands as his face was now wrenched in rage as he stared at the Grand Mantis that had now begun to scuttle back and forth, swiping at the air and the barrier in front of both him and Ishu. All he needed to do was to just be given an opening and then this bug-eyed bastard would be as good as dead. Come on... Give me an opening, you little bastard... Alphonse thought as he watched the thing continued to dance around as the barrier progressively began to fade on them.

When it finally did fade, Alphonse's eyes shot wide open as a wave of anger finally ripped through Alphonse's body and the air around them began to drop sharply, the energy being channeled through the claymore itself. Finally, Alphonse charged forward as the barrier completely faded, the now nearly frozen blade held back.

Once the two collided, Alphonse deflected one of the spear arms of the Mantis then the other in one smooth motion this time around before going on the attack, unleashing a violent series of slashes at the Grand Mantis directly. But from there, Alphonse continued the assault on it even as he scored 10 hits on it. Cocking his claymore back above his head, Alphonse brought the claymore directly down over the Mantis's head savagely first before winding it back over his left shoulder now and then unleashed one last slash, this one slashing through the middle in a horizontal manner. Once the attack was finally completed, the Grand Mantis would find itself encased in a hardened sheath of ice, freezing it in place.
 
The mantis shrieked as it was hacked at and eventually frozen to the floor. It shivered and clicked while pulling upward from the ground but could not remove itself from the iced floor. It hissed at Alphonse and snapped at him, though it was unable to reach.

Ishu exhaled a relieved breath, collapsing to her knees. She inhaled sharply from holding her breath, which she did not realize she was doing, and looked over at Alphonse, You did it. Smiling, she pushed herself back up and moved over to Alphonse, helping him away from the flailing monster, How do you feel? She looked him over for more wounds but did not find one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom