He stumbled backward when the ground lurched, falling behind the others on his rump as an arm, richly tan with fire coming off the elbow, pulled up a furious-looking man. He trembled at the sight of the man, muscular and brimming with power his eyes filled with living flame, and Lucy and Rebecca stepped in front of him. He hardly noticed the lack of one arm, more intimidated by the large, vicious-looking black claws on the other hand and the feet and the tattered pants that burned around his waist. Black hair dissolved into a fiery mane that covered the back of his neck and shoulders, and two large black horns were sticking out of his head, curving like a bow. He flinched when the man roared loud enough that rocks fell from the top of the volcano and splashed into the lava.
“Children sent by Rikkin, no doubt. I will roast you! Feel my power!”
He brought his arms up at the outcry, and he was unfortunate enough that the man swiped at him first. He staggered back at the impact, alarmed as the blood seeped through the large gashes.
“Desmond!” he heard Lucy cry, and he panicked.
He had never been injured like this before. It always happened to Lucy or Rebecca. He could see the blood oozing and dripping onto the ground, coloring it dark red, and he whimpered. Still, he pulled himself from it when Shaun hollered him, and he summoned the Wyrdhare. The healing spell the creature used closed his wounds over nicely, and he stepped back to let it take his place. It didn’t last long before the man picked it up and cleaved it neatly in two with a claw. Desmond was petrified that his ally had just been brutally ripped in two as he stepped forward again, preparing to summon Leonardo, and when he did, it was a matter of seconds before he was baked alive when the man unleashed a fire and rock storm on his allies with another powerful roar. Desmond swallowed, summoning Rauf, who healed them all quickly—but sent the powerful man into an uncontrollable rage.
He watched as the man froze when he first saw Asura, then scowled. Desmond was standing back as he watched his allies hop back up, and the man’s eyes went from being filled with living flame to being flame. Desmond yelped when the demon lit himself with fire. He watched as Lucy attacked, doing considerable damage, but the flames grew steadily higher and hotter. He noticed how Rauf’s angry face was showing, and he was casting magic to give them a green aura, and a pink aura, and a red aura, and all other kinds. But the man wasn’t attacking, just getting more covered in flames until he saw the man inhale deeply, and he cried out as he watched a large column of fire sweep over his allies, his demise blocked by Asura. He was horrified as he saw all three of them fall and Rauf vanish into a million different pieces. He stepped forward tentatively.
“You, why do you come?” the man growled, and Desmond’s response was frozen in his throat.
He was building what energy he had to summon Shiva, his last ditch chance. He could see the man getting angry. He lifted his fingers to his mouth, trembling. He had had some semblance of hope when they started, but now he was pretty damn sure he was going to die here, baked alive, and he would never be able to help Kadar.
“Was it Rikkin who sent you?”
He whimpered, shaking his head, as he closed his eyes. The man roared again, and he flinched as he heard the rocks come crashing down, the hot swirl of fire surrounding him and leaving a nice burn on his face. He was having so much trouble concentrating, and he yelled in pain when he felt those claws sink into his arm and leave more gashes.
“Answer me, you insolent fool!”
“Shiva!” he cried, throwing his hand up and looking to the heavens.
He could feel the ground shake as the three humongous ice crystals pounded into the ground behind him and the refreshing gust of freezing air surround him, making him feel slightly more courageous. He didn’t open his eyes though, too afraid of seeing the ice god be destroyed. He felt Shiva move him gently to the side and wrap him in his cloak, and he stepped back, watching and hoping he wasn’t going to die.
“You are such a brute, Malik.”
Desmond cracked open an eye, still terrified.
“Desmond, meet Ifrit. Call him Mal or Malik, if you like. This is my brother.”
He flinched at the narrowing of the man’s eyes.
“This is your summoner?”
“Take it easy on him, brother. I have been watching him. He was very… sheltered, but he is talented. Worthy, indeed, of our power.”
The man’s gaze swept over his comrades. “Then I suppose I went too far with the others.”
Kadar nodded disapprovingly. “Desmond, why don’t you bring Rauf back out, hm? He can take care of them. No need to dismiss me. I’m staying right here. I won’t leave you alone, I promise.”
“He’s still alive?” Desmond whispered.
Kadar laughed, and Malik scowled. He flinched.
“I see what you mean. Did they not give him any schooling in his own powers?”
“He grew up amongst the most asshole-ish monks I’ve ever seen!” Kadar cried, throwing his hands up in the air before smiling at Desmond. “But yes, kiddo, they are all still alive. They just need a bit of time to rest. Do you have someone else you could summon for healing?”
He blinked. The only one he hadn’t tried was the Wild Onion he had obtained. He curled his lip in indecision before slamming his staff into the ground. “Wild Onion!”
Much to his surprise, he got not one, but five of the crazy little things that came running to his summon. One had the head of a pumpkin and a purple shirt, another with a tomato as a head and super long and sharp teeth with a striped suit, another with an onion head and a red shirt, a purple thing with blood-red eyes and a bean shoot sticking out of its head, and a fifth one with a drill coming out of its head and a dark purple body. They ran around, arms flailing as they figured out what they were doing, then all of a sudden, all of his allies were stirring and the five different plants were climbing up his cloak and his wounds were healed. Kadar was laughing, and even the fire god was watching.
“How adorable! You must have really impressed them when you were playing with the Wild Onions!”
Desmond tilted his head, scrambling to catch the purple one with the horn as it screeched from falling off his head. “What do you mean?”
“That’s the Mandragora family! The one with the horn is the Alraune King, and the Onion Queen, the Mandragora Prince has the sprout on his head, the Topstalk is the tomato, and the Pumpkin Star! Oh, just look at you go! Such a powerful young thing!”
He glanced at Ifrit for just a second, seeing something akin to approval in his eyes, and he swallowed as the Topstalk screamed, sending chills down his spine and making him shiver violently. Ifrit snorted.
“He still has a long way to go.”
“We still have a long way to go. So, are you coming? We’re heading over the wall next, and he’ll need both of us and that wind demigod he favors.”
He found himself hugging Lucy when she rose. She was trembling, ever so slightly, not used to thing quite so powerful.
“And the others?”
“They will have to stay here,” Kadar murmured. “They cannot handle the sleeping fog—well, perhaps the…” he gestured flippantly at Shaun, sighing, “him. He can. That kid.”
“Would it not be smarter to send that girl he likes so much?”
“No—honestly, Malik, this is Ezio we’re talking about. A god like him, I can guarantee you that no beast will be able to resist his sleeping spell.”
“No breast will be able to resist him, you mean,” Ifrit hissed.
Desmond frowned. He didn’t want to take Shaun with him. He jerked when Ifrit threw his head back and laughed.
“There, see, Kadar! Even the summoner doesn’t like the idea of working with the bookworm or sending his lady to deal with a pervert. Send him by himself. He can do it, if he is as powerful as you preach.”
Kadar puffed up, looking irate. “Fine! Desmond will do it by himself, and—”
“H-hey! Don’t we get any say in this at all?” he yelped, wrapping his arm around Lucy’s waist and pulling her close.
“Yeah!” Rebecca chimed in. “I wanted to see the cave of the water crystal!”
Malik snorted, and Desmond watched as smoke came from his nostrils. “No—”
“But Rebecca said there were something called Tonberrys there! There’s no way I’m fighting one of those frightening beasts without Lucy, at least!”
“Tonberrys?” Kadar asked, falling silent, then chuckling. “Desmond, there is so very much you still have yet to learn. Trust me: if you want Ifrit to join you, you will do this alone. If you are as powerful as I think you are, a Tonberry will be no problem.”
He shrank down slightly, giving Kadar a worried look, and the man came over, hugging him tightly. “Don’t worry, Mal will be right beside you the entire time.”
“I will?” the fire god deadpanned.
“Yes, you will, Mal. He’ll need a light, and you are just the thing he’ll need. So, why don’t you teleport us all out of here, and we’ll take off while you three go to greet the king for us, okay?”
There was uproar from his allies, but he was still smooshed in Kadar’s hug, unable to protest. He flinched when Ifrit roared, clinging to Kadar momentarily, and silence reigned.
“Our decision is made,” Malik growled, “unless you would like to stay in here.”
He swallowed when he heard the others agree hesitantly, and he watched as the scenery faded to the castle’s throne room. Kadar let go, taking his cloak back and wrapping it around himself as he straightened.
“Your majesty!” he exclaimed as loudly and obnoxiously happy as he could.
The king jerked from his trance, and Desmond smirked. He was going to rub it in. He looked when he felt Malik’s hand on his shoulder, and he was entranced by the man. What he lacked in beauty compared to his brother he made up for with the sheer promise of power, and he inhaled sharply when the god looked at him just briefly. He swallowed, and the god’s lips curved up, just the slightest, in amusement. He tore his gaze away to look at the king, who Kadar was harassing.
“Ruler of these lands, who I have blessed with fertile soil and prosperity, who I have protected from the evils of the world beyond with the wall, I am taking this boy. You are to care for these three children who will remain and give them the best.”
The king narrowed his eyes, clearly not wanting to, and being mad for such improper treatment. Malik snorted smoke out again, and Desmond swallowed when he narrowed his eyes.
“If you do not, I will be forced to replace you. You are human, not god, nor will you ever be, and I have graciously not wiped your village from these lands as I was so tempted to do at first, so you will obey me.”
The king straightened, alarmed, and nodded cautiously.
“Desmond, let’s go.”
Desmond opened his mouth to protest, only to close it when he realized that the god wasn’t kidding, and if he was actually going to be of any help, he would follow what Malik told him. He deflated, running a hand through his hair as the tight feeling in his gut came back.
“Do we have to today?”
“Yes. The sooner we free Titan and Anima from their binds and rid the world of Rikkin, the better we will be. The man acts quickly from his immunity to the sleeping fog, and we must rally the other crystals quickly before he reaches the heavens.”
Desmond sighed, hugging Lucy and Rebecca goodbye, and he jolted when he felt the thief attach the bag that made everything disappear to his belt. She grinned and winked at him.
“Get me something good, you hear?”
He grinned, trying to ignore the tightening of his belly. He was terrified of the Tonberrys that Rebecca mentioned. They were big, ugly, monstrous creatures that lived in the shadows and sucked out souls from the bleeding lanterns they carried. He waved goodbye to Shaun, who rolled his eyes, before following the two crystal gods out. When he looked over his shoulder one last time, he felt like vomiting as he tried to send them a smile. As he summoned Valefor, he almost couldn’t. He wanted to say, “No, I’m not a hero,” because this was more than he had ever asked for, and he just wanted to take a nap right now. He didn’t even have a tent to sleep in if the journey took forever.
He stroked the feathers on Valefor’s neck as he took off, watching as Shiva skated on frozen wind and Ifrit ran on molten lava. He settled down, trying not to be afraid as he saw the green fog appear over the wall. Valefor flew higher and higher, until Desmond was hugging his face as he watched the green fog sail by below them. He didn’t want to do this by his lonesome, and he was afraid of what would happen otherwise, but it was time for him to face up to it. After all, he had wanted adventure, and here he was, getting a free pass for it, as well as new friends and a chance to strike back at all the people in the village that had held him captive for so long.
But that still didn’t stop the cold chill of dread he got when thinking about the Tonberrys that waited for him.
He looked when he felt Ifrit land on Valefor, and he grunted as the man smooshed him down, and then his beloved bird-god was doing a nosedive toward the water, and he couldn’t help the scream he let out. When the water grew even closer, he squeezed his eyes shut, realizing he couldn’t avoid it, and he sucked in a huge breath as he felt the water try to rip him from Valefor’s back. He didn’t open his eyes, covering his mouth and nose with his hands and trying not to breathe out. It grew harder and harder to not breathe in, and he felt as if he were going to die by the time that Valefor screeched, emerging from the waters in a small alcove.
Final Fantasy XXVII-8
“Children sent by Rikkin, no doubt. I will roast you! Feel my power!”
He brought his arms up at the outcry, and he was unfortunate enough that the man swiped at him first. He staggered back at the impact, alarmed as the blood seeped through the large gashes.
“Desmond!” he heard Lucy cry, and he panicked.
He had never been injured like this before. It always happened to Lucy or Rebecca. He could see the blood oozing and dripping onto the ground, coloring it dark red, and he whimpered. Still, he pulled himself from it when Shaun hollered him, and he summoned the Wyrdhare. The healing spell the creature used closed his wounds over nicely, and he stepped back to let it take his place. It didn’t last long before the man picked it up and cleaved it neatly in two with a claw. Desmond was petrified that his ally had just been brutally ripped in two as he stepped forward again, preparing to summon Leonardo, and when he did, it was a matter of seconds before he was baked alive when the man unleashed a fire and rock storm on his allies with another powerful roar. Desmond swallowed, summoning Rauf, who healed them all quickly—but sent the powerful man into an uncontrollable rage.
He watched as the man froze when he first saw Asura, then scowled. Desmond was standing back as he watched his allies hop back up, and the man’s eyes went from being filled with living flame to being flame. Desmond yelped when the demon lit himself with fire. He watched as Lucy attacked, doing considerable damage, but the flames grew steadily higher and hotter. He noticed how Rauf’s angry face was showing, and he was casting magic to give them a green aura, and a pink aura, and a red aura, and all other kinds. But the man wasn’t attacking, just getting more covered in flames until he saw the man inhale deeply, and he cried out as he watched a large column of fire sweep over his allies, his demise blocked by Asura. He was horrified as he saw all three of them fall and Rauf vanish into a million different pieces. He stepped forward tentatively.
“You, why do you come?” the man growled, and Desmond’s response was frozen in his throat.
He was building what energy he had to summon Shiva, his last ditch chance. He could see the man getting angry. He lifted his fingers to his mouth, trembling. He had had some semblance of hope when they started, but now he was pretty damn sure he was going to die here, baked alive, and he would never be able to help Kadar.
“Was it Rikkin who sent you?”
He whimpered, shaking his head, as he closed his eyes. The man roared again, and he flinched as he heard the rocks come crashing down, the hot swirl of fire surrounding him and leaving a nice burn on his face. He was having so much trouble concentrating, and he yelled in pain when he felt those claws sink into his arm and leave more gashes.
“Answer me, you insolent fool!”
“Shiva!” he cried, throwing his hand up and looking to the heavens.
He could feel the ground shake as the three humongous ice crystals pounded into the ground behind him and the refreshing gust of freezing air surround him, making him feel slightly more courageous. He didn’t open his eyes though, too afraid of seeing the ice god be destroyed. He felt Shiva move him gently to the side and wrap him in his cloak, and he stepped back, watching and hoping he wasn’t going to die.
“You are such a brute, Malik.”
Desmond cracked open an eye, still terrified.
“Desmond, meet Ifrit. Call him Mal or Malik, if you like. This is my brother.”
He flinched at the narrowing of the man’s eyes.
“This is your summoner?”
“Take it easy on him, brother. I have been watching him. He was very… sheltered, but he is talented. Worthy, indeed, of our power.”
The man’s gaze swept over his comrades. “Then I suppose I went too far with the others.”
Kadar nodded disapprovingly. “Desmond, why don’t you bring Rauf back out, hm? He can take care of them. No need to dismiss me. I’m staying right here. I won’t leave you alone, I promise.”
“He’s still alive?” Desmond whispered.
Kadar laughed, and Malik scowled. He flinched.
“I see what you mean. Did they not give him any schooling in his own powers?”
“He grew up amongst the most asshole-ish monks I’ve ever seen!” Kadar cried, throwing his hands up in the air before smiling at Desmond. “But yes, kiddo, they are all still alive. They just need a bit of time to rest. Do you have someone else you could summon for healing?”
He blinked. The only one he hadn’t tried was the Wild Onion he had obtained. He curled his lip in indecision before slamming his staff into the ground. “Wild Onion!”
Much to his surprise, he got not one, but five of the crazy little things that came running to his summon. One had the head of a pumpkin and a purple shirt, another with a tomato as a head and super long and sharp teeth with a striped suit, another with an onion head and a red shirt, a purple thing with blood-red eyes and a bean shoot sticking out of its head, and a fifth one with a drill coming out of its head and a dark purple body. They ran around, arms flailing as they figured out what they were doing, then all of a sudden, all of his allies were stirring and the five different plants were climbing up his cloak and his wounds were healed. Kadar was laughing, and even the fire god was watching.
“How adorable! You must have really impressed them when you were playing with the Wild Onions!”
Desmond tilted his head, scrambling to catch the purple one with the horn as it screeched from falling off his head. “What do you mean?”
“That’s the Mandragora family! The one with the horn is the Alraune King, and the Onion Queen, the Mandragora Prince has the sprout on his head, the Topstalk is the tomato, and the Pumpkin Star! Oh, just look at you go! Such a powerful young thing!”
He glanced at Ifrit for just a second, seeing something akin to approval in his eyes, and he swallowed as the Topstalk screamed, sending chills down his spine and making him shiver violently. Ifrit snorted.
“He still has a long way to go.”
“We still have a long way to go. So, are you coming? We’re heading over the wall next, and he’ll need both of us and that wind demigod he favors.”
He found himself hugging Lucy when she rose. She was trembling, ever so slightly, not used to thing quite so powerful.
“And the others?”
“They will have to stay here,” Kadar murmured. “They cannot handle the sleeping fog—well, perhaps the…” he gestured flippantly at Shaun, sighing, “him. He can. That kid.”
“Would it not be smarter to send that girl he likes so much?”
“No—honestly, Malik, this is Ezio we’re talking about. A god like him, I can guarantee you that no beast will be able to resist his sleeping spell.”
“No breast will be able to resist him, you mean,” Ifrit hissed.
Desmond frowned. He didn’t want to take Shaun with him. He jerked when Ifrit threw his head back and laughed.
“There, see, Kadar! Even the summoner doesn’t like the idea of working with the bookworm or sending his lady to deal with a pervert. Send him by himself. He can do it, if he is as powerful as you preach.”
Kadar puffed up, looking irate. “Fine! Desmond will do it by himself, and—”
“H-hey! Don’t we get any say in this at all?” he yelped, wrapping his arm around Lucy’s waist and pulling her close.
“Yeah!” Rebecca chimed in. “I wanted to see the cave of the water crystal!”
Malik snorted, and Desmond watched as smoke came from his nostrils. “No—”
“But Rebecca said there were something called Tonberrys there! There’s no way I’m fighting one of those frightening beasts without Lucy, at least!”
“Tonberrys?” Kadar asked, falling silent, then chuckling. “Desmond, there is so very much you still have yet to learn. Trust me: if you want Ifrit to join you, you will do this alone. If you are as powerful as I think you are, a Tonberry will be no problem.”
He shrank down slightly, giving Kadar a worried look, and the man came over, hugging him tightly. “Don’t worry, Mal will be right beside you the entire time.”
“I will?” the fire god deadpanned.
“Yes, you will, Mal. He’ll need a light, and you are just the thing he’ll need. So, why don’t you teleport us all out of here, and we’ll take off while you three go to greet the king for us, okay?”
There was uproar from his allies, but he was still smooshed in Kadar’s hug, unable to protest. He flinched when Ifrit roared, clinging to Kadar momentarily, and silence reigned.
“Our decision is made,” Malik growled, “unless you would like to stay in here.”
He swallowed when he heard the others agree hesitantly, and he watched as the scenery faded to the castle’s throne room. Kadar let go, taking his cloak back and wrapping it around himself as he straightened.
“Your majesty!” he exclaimed as loudly and obnoxiously happy as he could.
The king jerked from his trance, and Desmond smirked. He was going to rub it in. He looked when he felt Malik’s hand on his shoulder, and he was entranced by the man. What he lacked in beauty compared to his brother he made up for with the sheer promise of power, and he inhaled sharply when the god looked at him just briefly. He swallowed, and the god’s lips curved up, just the slightest, in amusement. He tore his gaze away to look at the king, who Kadar was harassing.
“Ruler of these lands, who I have blessed with fertile soil and prosperity, who I have protected from the evils of the world beyond with the wall, I am taking this boy. You are to care for these three children who will remain and give them the best.”
The king narrowed his eyes, clearly not wanting to, and being mad for such improper treatment. Malik snorted smoke out again, and Desmond swallowed when he narrowed his eyes.
“If you do not, I will be forced to replace you. You are human, not god, nor will you ever be, and I have graciously not wiped your village from these lands as I was so tempted to do at first, so you will obey me.”
The king straightened, alarmed, and nodded cautiously.
“Desmond, let’s go.”
Desmond opened his mouth to protest, only to close it when he realized that the god wasn’t kidding, and if he was actually going to be of any help, he would follow what Malik told him. He deflated, running a hand through his hair as the tight feeling in his gut came back.
“Do we have to today?”
“Yes. The sooner we free Titan and Anima from their binds and rid the world of Rikkin, the better we will be. The man acts quickly from his immunity to the sleeping fog, and we must rally the other crystals quickly before he reaches the heavens.”
Desmond sighed, hugging Lucy and Rebecca goodbye, and he jolted when he felt the thief attach the bag that made everything disappear to his belt. She grinned and winked at him.
“Get me something good, you hear?”
He grinned, trying to ignore the tightening of his belly. He was terrified of the Tonberrys that Rebecca mentioned. They were big, ugly, monstrous creatures that lived in the shadows and sucked out souls from the bleeding lanterns they carried. He waved goodbye to Shaun, who rolled his eyes, before following the two crystal gods out. When he looked over his shoulder one last time, he felt like vomiting as he tried to send them a smile. As he summoned Valefor, he almost couldn’t. He wanted to say, “No, I’m not a hero,” because this was more than he had ever asked for, and he just wanted to take a nap right now. He didn’t even have a tent to sleep in if the journey took forever.
He stroked the feathers on Valefor’s neck as he took off, watching as Shiva skated on frozen wind and Ifrit ran on molten lava. He settled down, trying not to be afraid as he saw the green fog appear over the wall. Valefor flew higher and higher, until Desmond was hugging his face as he watched the green fog sail by below them. He didn’t want to do this by his lonesome, and he was afraid of what would happen otherwise, but it was time for him to face up to it. After all, he had wanted adventure, and here he was, getting a free pass for it, as well as new friends and a chance to strike back at all the people in the village that had held him captive for so long.
But that still didn’t stop the cold chill of dread he got when thinking about the Tonberrys that waited for him.
He looked when he felt Ifrit land on Valefor, and he grunted as the man smooshed him down, and then his beloved bird-god was doing a nosedive toward the water, and he couldn’t help the scream he let out. When the water grew even closer, he squeezed his eyes shut, realizing he couldn’t avoid it, and he sucked in a huge breath as he felt the water try to rip him from Valefor’s back. He didn’t open his eyes, covering his mouth and nose with his hands and trying not to breathe out. It grew harder and harder to not breathe in, and he felt as if he were going to die by the time that Valefor screeched, emerging from the waters in a small alcove.