Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 1: Arrival

FORTY-TWO

I braced myself as Corneo's monstrous pet charged at us, its barbed tail whipping around it. The thing's roar split my eardrums, but I didn't waver. I kept my fists up as Cloud and Aerith readied their weapons. A large tattoo on the monster's left shoulder read "Abzu" over a red heart with a sword running through it. Abzu's hoofed, cloven feet stomped at us across the stone floor as it got close.

"Spread out!" Cloud ordered. "Surround it!"

Aerith and I did as he said, fanning out to either side of him so we could come at Abzu from three different directions and keep the thing off balance as much as we could. Aerith sped to the left while I dashed over to the right and Cloud took the middle. Abzu swung a huge fist at him, but he dodged it easily, rolling aside and countering with a pair of quick slashes to the monster's arm.

At the same time, I focused my energy, ran in, and let loose with a brutal chain of punches and kicks into Abzu's blackened and burnt side where Jessie had blasted it with her grenade two years ago. Then I kept the pressure on with a charged fist followed by a pair of diving kicks to the monster's ribs. Abzu snarled in pain and swiped at me with its fists, but I backflipped out of range as Aerith scorched its horns with a blast of fire magic from her materia.

Abzu staggered back, then roared and jumped, clinging to the wall for a moment and eying us warily. Lifting my right arm, I let loose with an ice spell that bit into the monster's hide with a piercing shot of cold. Cloud got the same idea, shouldering his sword and shocking Abzu in the back with a fork of lighting while Aerith continued burning it with more fire. Abzu grunted, writhing under the magical assault, and then gathered itself as it prepared to spring at us.

"It's gonna jump!" I called.

Abzu leaped, faster than I'd thought possible with its huge bulk, as we backed away. It caught Aerith before she could escape, pouncing on her and driving her to the floor. She shrieked as the monster snarled at her and slammed a clenched fist toward her face. But although she got her mythril staff up above her just in time to block the assault, she still couldn't roll away. She was trapped.

But then Cloud was there, leaping through the air with his massive sword held high. He came down on Abzu's back with a yell, slicing and dicing for all he was worth. And I was right behind him, showering the beast with blow after blow from my fists and feet and the occasional ice spell until finally Abzu fell back with a roar and stumbled away. Cloud kept the pressure on while I went to Aerith.

"You okay?" I asked, helping her get to her feet.

She nodded. "I'll be fine, Tifa. Let's go!"

We shared a determined glanced, then ran after Cloud. He was still trading blows with Abzu, blocking what attacks he could with his huge sword while cutting at the monster again and again. Aerith unleashed a tempest of magical energy, flower petals floating all around her, while I backed Cloud up with a focused strike into Abzu's other side. I added a quick chain of jabs, hooks, and spinning kicks for good measure while Cloud followed up with more lightning.

Abzu growled, driving us back with a sweep of its arms, then came right at me, totally enraged now. Its heavy footsteps were like thunder, making the floor tremble as it charged. I tried to get out of the way, but Abzu was faster, sending me skyward with a brutal headbutt and a pair of quick punches that hurled me into the wall.

I cried out, pain exploding everywhere at the impact, and fell into the murky water at the base of the wall with a splash and a groan as tile shattered around me. I coughed on the dust and struggled to stand up, somehow making it out of the narrow channel and onto my knees. But Abzu was still coming, practically berserk as it bore down on me, and I braced myself for another blow.