Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 2: Aftermath

FORTY-SEVEN

"Run!"

The others didn't need to be told twice. As the Midgarsormyr shot toward us as if it had been fired from a cannon, I leaned forward in the saddle and urged my chocobo into a gallop. Aerith gripped me tightly around the waist as the giant snake closed in fast behind us. Barret and Tifa raced toward the line of trees just past the southern end of the lake while Red sprinted just ahead of us. And in the midst of the chase, rain started to fall from the dark, overcast sky.

As we splashed across the muddy ground, the wind picked up, and the rain started to fall faster. There was a rumble of thunder not too far away, but it wasn't loud enough to drown out the Midgarsormyr's deep, roaring hiss as it closed in. I glanced behind us and saw it slither out of the lake barely fifty yards away, its fangs bared.

I whipped my head around a moment later when Tifa suddenly let out a startled cry. Her chocobo had run right into a wide patch of mud that must've looked more solid than it was. The bird went down with a loud squawk, and Tifa shrieked as she flew forward over the chocobo's head. She was able to right herself in midair, getting her hands and feet under her, but she still came down waist-deep in the mud with a splat, sinking right into it as soon as she landed.

Tifa's chocobo wasn't any better off as she struggled to pull herself free from the muck. Barret had managed to stay on, but quickly got off and made it firmer ground as I brought my own bird around and raced back toward them, calling to Red as I did. When Aerith and I got close, I jumped right off and quickly grabbed Tifa's outstretched hands. She'd sunk further in, and now the stuff was halfway up her chest. I pulled as hard as I could while Aerith and Red threw spell after spell at the giant snake to slow it down and cover us.

While Barret fought to free his and Tifa's chocobo, I pulled harder to try and get Tifa out. But the ground was slick, and I began to slide as the rain came down faster. I had to crouch to reach her now, and as she fought to escape the muck, it pulled her further in, nearly down to her neck, even as I tried to lift her out of it. I risked a quick glance over my shoulder and saw the Midgarsormyr looming right behind us, lunging at Aerith and Red with unbelievable speed.

There was a flash of green light from the middle of Red's feathered headdress as he unloaded on the snake with a blast of cold from the Ice materia he'd gotten from Tifa earlier in our journey. It was the one that she'd been using, but she'd wanted to give the Enemy Skill materia a try and see what it was like. So she and Red had swapped orbs for a while. We'd also bought another one before leaving Kalm, and as Aerith rode our chocobo, she made good use of it.

As thunder split across the sky and a forking bolt of lightning blew apart one of the nearby trees, Aerith lifted her staff high with her right hand while holding the reins with the left, and the ground underneath the Midgarsormyr suddenly rose up in a small earthquake. Heavy slabs of rock struck it on all sides as Aerith let loose with her Earth materia's magic while Red kept hitting it with ice. The snake was huge and tough and barely even flinched, though. It just kept coming, biting at them as it lashed its huge tail around like a whip.

But what got my attention at that moment was the patch of ground where Aerith had cast her spell. It had been wet and muddy before, but now, after its upheaval by the magic, it was dryer and firmer. Suddenly I had an idea, and as I fought to hold onto Tifa, I looked at Aerith, who was still riding our chocobo around the area and firing off spells at the snake while Red jumped and tore at it with his claws. As he and Aerith fought to hold that monster back, they avoided its own attacks as much as they could amidst the wind and rain.

"Aerith!" I shouted. "Your earth magic! It'll dry the ground! I need it to get Tifa outta here! Hurry!"

She turned toward us. "On my way! I'll—"