Time and Tides Archives

Edge checked his gear one last time as he spared a glance for his companions. He couldn't have asked to be on a better team. Between them, they encompassed a complete team, capable of toppling the creature within.

He took a deep breath and stepped into the cave with a nod towards Tidus, hoping to spare the ladies from any possible injury. He was taken by surprise the immediate lobs of water that came crashing from the depths of the cave. It was only his ninja toned reflexes that spared him great injury as he quickly raised a katana to deflect the onslaught, only to be doused by the dispersed water.

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Rydia was likewise perfectly at ease with her chosen group. Their strengths and weaknesses were known to her, and though she could see possible personality clashes, she knew they were all aware of the importance of their mission. No one would risk failure, not for something so vital to all their fates.

Upon checking her gear, she withdrew a rod and walked over to the cave, automatically placing herself in the back. Mages behind, physical fights in the front. That was the way it had to be. Before they could go any further, she used her rod to give them all Protect and Shell. If Eiko wanted to layer on any other buffs, she was welcome, but Rydia knew the young girl needed to conserve her magic as much as possible, for the inevitable healing that would be needed.

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Eiko knew from her last trip here that magic conversation was a must. She'd brought along a pouch of ethers as a precaution, but the child knew all to well that running out of magic and pausing to quaff one could make or break the outcome of a battle. Still, certain precautions needed to be taken. She pulled an emerald out of her pocket and held onto it, summoning forth Carbuncle. The little Eidolon popped out from the ground, flipped into the air, then bathed the party in green light, bathing them all in a strong and long-lasting Haste spell. After waving goodbye to the vanishing summon, Eiko began to Concentrate, so her magic would be more potent when needed.

Without further ado, Eiko marched ahead into the shrine, only to find one of the traps in the floor. It rose up in the air underneath her, threatening to squash the child against the cavern's top. She ran and jumped off the far edge, and only once her feet left the elegantly carved flooring, it lowered to the ground again. "Don't dawdle or you'll get squished!"

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And the moment Tidus set foot in the shrine, something shimmered at the ceiling. Catching the reflection out of the corner of his eye, he glanced up-

Just in time to see the giant ice bullet shooting straight at him.

"Look out!" he yelled, dashing ahead as quick as he could and grabbing Eiko by the back of her shirt to pull her along. Proprieties be damned, they needed to get the hell out of that tunnel before any of them got creamed. As he ran, Tidus concentrated himself and brought up an old skill of his that had followed him from Spira - Cover. He'd take the damage for his other party members; he was built for it, after all.

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Edge nodded at all the advice being given by his compatriots as he jumped to the side so as to not be hit by the shattered ice.

Cover? Did all these guys feel the need to jump in front of him and take a hit? First Cecil and now Tidus. Rather than get aggravated, Edge just grinned and shook it off.

"So where exactly is this so called guardian?" He was itching to get this battle started!

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Rydia's eyes widened as she noticed the source of Tidus' warning. Not about to attempt anything foolish, she just ran and followed them. What was the point in remaining there, after all? Plus, she didn't want Tidus to Cover for them more than need be.

Once they were clear of the ice bullet, the green-haired summoner immediately looked to Tidus. "Are you alright?" She was interested in the answer to Edge's question, but first things first.

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Eiko was a breath away from screaming to be let go so she could fight the monster, when she realized: Tidus had saved her from getting killed by that chunk of ice. Rather than jump right into the fray, or yell at him for not treating her like a lady, she froze in place watching him with unabashed admiration. "You saved me!" Which meant he was in grave danger of having this ten year old develop a raging crush on him.

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Yes Edge, because you fall over with a leaf hitting you in the head. The less that's done, the better.

Once clear of the tunnel, Tidus stopped to shake his head and get his brain back together after the mad dash - fortunately no one had gotten hit, but the real fight was only just beginning. Tidus turned and grinned at the girls, giving them a thumbs up and reassuring them at the same time. "No problem! Gotta be good for something, right?"

Ahead of them lay the shrine itself and the pedestal for the mirror. Where this guardian was, he didn't know, but he was ready to take a few whacks at it.

"Ready?"

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Edge turned his attention to Tidus with a quick nod of the head as he pulled out some shurikens. Of course he was ready, but even he knew to let the pure warrior lead the way. He peered down the cave wondering how tough this creature could possibly be. He spared a glance to Rydia and Eiko as if to tell Tidus that their safety was paramount and he would find someway to survive the impending battle.

"Ready!"

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Rydia saw that glance and could guess well enough what it meant. She would have rolled her eyes, but there was a reason why she and Eiko were in the back and not on the front lines. Powerful summoners though they were, they still needed the protection offered. As long as Edge didn't let that go to his head or try to overprotect them, Rydia was fine with conceding to practicality.

She glanced to Eiko, then nodded to Tidus. "Ready." She didn't reach for her whip, intending to use her magic as soon as they saw the Water Shrine guardian.

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Ready or not, the guardian was. Spotting Eiko among the intruders, Kraken began to laugh. "Come to play again little girl?"

Eiko glared at the monster, goaded into action without waiting for the boys at all. Rather than summon, she cast Holy on it. "I'm here to beat you up again. Take that!"

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Oh thank you so much, Eiko. At least Tidus still had Cover running - and that was precisely what he did when Eiko started the fight right away. Swearing under his breath, he took three running steps and jumped in front of the little summoner, ready to take any retaliation the thing in front of them dished out. "We're all gonna kick your ass!" he yelled, starting to run directly at the monstrosity before them, sword ready to strike - welcome to your worst nightmare, buddy. Mind the gap and prepare to lose. Tidus let loose a Shock that sent shockwaves across the ground, straight at their opponent, trying to stay in front of the two girls in the meantime.

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Overprotect Rydia? Was there any such thing? Besides it wasn't like he was Cecil or anything. Following behind Tidus, Edge flung a dagger at the creature. "Take that!"

While Eiko was ok for a kid, he was still more concerned about the sexier summoner and planted himself safely in front of her.

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Rydia glared at the Kraken as it mocked Eiko. As everyone did their part, so did she. The green-haired summoner remembered what Eiko had said about Kraken's weakness, and so she took full advantage of it. Concentrating, she then summoned Ramuh. The elderly man raised his staff and a wide bolt of lightning descended to strike the creature.

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The problem with this monster was that not only was there the mouthy guardian to deal with, there were also those nasty tentacles. Tidus could well protect the girls from physical attacks, but the tentacles had a different approach to plaguing the company. One launched a Water spell at the weakest link in the party, Eiko. The other smacked at her, attempting to inflict her with Trouble.

Eiko screwed up her face at getting hit with the wet spell. Fighting soggy always stunk. Now she remembered why her and Dagger had hated this place so much. Her solution was to cast Regen on the whole party and leave the offensive moves to those who had them.

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Great idea, Eiko - and those tentacles needed to die. With a yell, Tidus jumped in front of the nearest two in front of the little girl, making a quick sweeping attack that cut the head off the nearest one. The second one evaded - barely, but it did evade. Tidus was fast, but he knew when to bow to the masters.

"Edge! Get those things!" he yelled, shifting his shield further up his arm and taking aim at the main body of the Lich again. This time it was a slice and dice as he pulled off moves that Edge would probably like to claim as his own, flipping completely head over feet to bring his sword slamming down.

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If it were any saner, Edge would have sat in awe over the slice and dice while inwardly getting jealous over the attack. Instead he pulled out a few of his prized knives sharpened for such a time, loosing two at tentacles following quick behind with his rapier.

A look of satisfaction show as he watched one of the heads splash into a puddle. "That good enough for you."

A tentacle he hadn't seen slipped through his defenses and tripped him. He was a little worried until he felt the warm glow of Regen revitalize him as he prepared his defenses.

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Rydia glared at the tentacles, more than happy to go on the offensive. She focused once more, seeing no reason why Ramuh couldn't make another appearance. The Eidolon did a moment later, providing more devastating lightning as a result.

The guardian was definitely hurting now, though of course it was far from done with them. A tentacle reached for Rydia next, smacking her in an attempt to knock her off her feet. She staggered back...just in time to get hit with a blast of Water.

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With the fabulous job being provided by the guys to keep the ladies from getting hit, Eiko pulled her flute up to her lips then cast Curaga on the group. Better to be safe than sorry. "You okay, Rydia?" she asked of her fellow summoner, who now looked just as drenched as herself.

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"Damnit!" Anything getting through was too much in Tidus' book, and he threw out a Cover again to draw more rage onto him - he could take it, at least a lot better than the rest of them. A couple good attacks like that and Rydia and Eiko would be squashed flat.

And that may have been tempting fate - because the next attack was a Freeze attack, and as the damage sponge it went straight for him. The blitzer froze, literally, in place, a perfect statue of ice paused in mid-running step. He hadn't learned the skill to prevent that - something he'd be fixing quickly after this fight was over - and needed to be thawed out. Quickly.

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Edge couldn't believe this creature had knocked him over. As he stood he watched Tidus freeze in place. That may have been enough to spur him on to further drive but seeing Rydia knocked him over really ticked him off. He called out to as he felt the anger well up from within himself. Channeling his anger, he launched his Blitz attack lightning filling the creature.

"Don't you ever touch my girlfriend!"

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Eiko's Curaga helped a great deal and she was able to nod to Eiko without feeling as though her answer was a lie. "I'll manage. Thanks." There was no time for more talking, as Tidus was Freezed before her eyes and then...Edge went berserk.

Well. It was nice to see the ninja's protectiveness being channeled to productive ends. Rydia watched Edge's very effective Blitz attack take place with some pride, but Tidus needed help and she couldn't ignore that. Quickly, she cast a low-level Fire spell at him, hoping that would snap him out of it.

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Thankfully Rydia was the smarter of the two of them. The Fire spell worked like a charm; Tidus remained frozen one moment more, then the ice cracked and shattered around him, dissolving instantly and freeing him from his prison. Momentarily disoriented, Tidus stumbled, shook his head quickly, then picked himself up and charged straight at the thing.

"Let's finish it!" he yelled, jumping to kick off the balustrade of the shrine's walkway and plow straight into the Kraken with all the force of his body behind his sword.

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