"Are you sure Skan wouldn't mind?" Thom asked nervously. Kitra gave him a cool glare.
"Thom, we are using this to save his life, ok? And the lives of many others. I'm sure he'll cope."
Thom scowled at being talked down to like that, but didn't say anything. "Fine. Let's go."
Kitra followed Thom up the ramp that lead to the entrance of the airship. Thom knew his way around pretty well, after a few rides. Soon, he was sitting in the cockpit seat, Kitra seated next to him.
"OK," Thom said, waving at a panel near Kitra. "Just input the coordinates to where I need to go there. Don't forget to label the X-minumum and maximum of the axis."
"Right," said Kitra, her hands hovering over the panel. "Ummm..."
Thom glanced over. "Well?"
"I don't know how to do this!" Kitra said in frustration.
Thom sighed. "Fine. Just point out which way I need to go through the front window, OK?"
Now Kitra was embarassed. "Fine."
Thom revved up the enginers of the Apocalypse. The back engines flared to life, and fire roared through them. The airship took off like a bullet.
"Go that way," pointed Kitra. "How fast can this thing go?"
"A maximum of several kilometers per second," said Thom. "The rate needed to send a missile into space."
"A missile into space?"
Thom nodded. "This ship was one of a trio that sent the pod of the Sorceress Adel into space. You know about that, right? Good. Well, the Erghiez was never seen again. The Ragnorak was found by the Sorceress Rinoa and her friend Squall, heros actually. And the third, Apocalypse, was found crashed and revived by the Guild."
"That's nice," said Kitra, uninterested. "Go that way, now."
Several hours passed. Hours of flying straight, with no breaks and no events. "This is boring!" Thom muttered.
"We're almost there. Go down towards that cliff."
There was a cliff, a rock wall, overlooking the ocean. Thom landed on the top of it. There was barely enough space for the airship to land between the cliff end and a copse of trees.
Thom stopped the engines, and waited several minutes before opening the ramp and door to let himself and Kitra out.
"OK, now where to?" asked Thom. "Into the forest?"
Kitra shook her head. "No. Over there."
Thom followed the line Kitra's finger was pointing to. The cliff edge. "What!?"
Kitra walked over to the cliff end and began tying a rope around a jagged rock near the edge. "Yes. There is a cave on this cliff, which leads to the temple of Cancer."
Thom was dumbfounded. "And just HOW do we get down there?!"
Kitra hefted the rope. Then, tying it around her waist, leapt off the cliff, backwards.
Thom gave a cry of alarm and ran over to see Kitra rapelling down the cliff. She was far down by the time she reached her destination. With one jump, she was in the cave. She untied the rope, and Thom pulled it up.
Thom sighed, tying the rope around his waist. Then, HE leapt off.
"This is creepy..." said Kitra, as the two made their way down a hallway in the temple. It was a large hallway, with dark red walls and ceiling. Along the walls were scrawled pictures of the Zodiac Sign of Cancer.
"This is exaclty like the other two temples..." mused Thom. "I wonder if I can find myself an Anima Relic?"
"Don't hold your breath..." Kitra muttered. Then she froze, and jerked up. "Thom!" she hissed. "Get your spear ready!"
Thom obediantly unslung his spear. He drew a very small bottle from a pocket and poured the green contents onto a small rag. He rubbed the rag onto his spear tip. Very lethal poison.
Kitra held her hand out in front of her. Her Ken'Oh flashed white, and a katana magically appeared in her hand. "Any minute now..."
Thom and Kitra waited several minutes in silence, both standing back to back, eyes searching for the unsees threat. Finally, a loud screech broke the silence.
From down the hallway, in front of the two, sped a Tanaski. The Tanaski was a snake from the waist down in all aspects. Like a naga. From the waist up, a different story. The Tanaski was female, with six muscular arms. The bottom four arms each held a different, hand held weapon. A sword, a small adze, a machette, and a mace. The upper two hands both carried a very large axe. The Tanaski's face was far too human, that of a comely woman.
Kitra held her sword out in front of her. It pulsed blue, and a purple fireball streaked towards the Tanaski. The demon deflected it with a swipe of it's axe weapon.
Thom met the demon with a roar. His spear moved quickly, but the multiple arms of the Tanaski very quickly drove him back.
Kitra held her hands out in front of her. "Crimson lightning!" she yelled, and a bolt of red lightning struck the demon in the shoulder. It screeched, but Kitra wasn't done. She lifted a hand into the air. "Aurora beam!"
Several soft colored, blue and white beams of light beamed down from the ceiling and struck the Tanaski. It's eyes dropped, and it leaned over, instantly asleep.
"Ha! That was easy!" said Thom.
"Thom!" Kitra warned in a hars whisper. "Shut up, or you'll wake it!"
It was too late. As soon as it was asleep, Thom's cry had awakened it. With a cry of rage, it surged towrds Kitra.
Kitra's ability with the sword was amazing. She met all five weapons of the Tanaski's, and though she couldn't attack herself, was defending very well. Thom was impressed.
As the Tanaski focused her attention on Kitra, Thom drove his poisonous spear into it's back. The demon screeched and turned to face Thom, but Kitra took the opportunity to stab it in the abdomen. Her Ken'Oh flashed a very, very dark black. "Nightmare syndrome!"
The Tanaski's skin turned dark, and she screeched very loudly. Not a death scream, or one of rage, but on of pure terror. Not just her life was being taken away, but her very soul.
Kitra removed her sword, and the Tanaski slumped down, Thom's poison taking effect, green pus bubbling from the wound. Kitra's sword vanished in a white light.
Thom knew what had happened. "It was only protecting itself and it's treasure!" he said. "Why did you have to destroy it's soul?"
Kitra met Thom's glance for several moments before answering, "To survive. Come one, Thom, let's go."
Thom shivered as he followed Kitra down the hallway, into the room that held Cancer.
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