Final Fantasy Short Stories | (2016-2017)

Story thirty six: Danger? (2020)

"Please, tell me. Why the hell are we here again?"

Lightning's eyes squinted in annoyance at the cracking stone walls, basically holding them captive for the rest of the precious evening. It made no sense at all, to be back at this abandon castle. They hadn't set foot in here since the Dissidia war ended, since when they needed to be here . . . And now they're just dropping back in like Sunday's newspaper? For what really?

Yuna's green eye looked at Lightning from over her shoulder. She held her staff sideways across her waist and morphed her lips into a sympathetic smile of sorts. "Warrior is just worried, Light," she attempted to justify. "I'm sure once we're done here, he'll start to rest easy."

Right. The whole reason they were wasting their time tonight was because Warrior of Light had some random suspicion there was danger afoot. But Lightning knew better. Warrior had a knack for overreacting over every little thing these days. She and several others just witnessed him break out into a karate pose the other morning, just because he heard the slightest clank of a dish in the sink. How was anyone seriously supposed to believe, after all this time, something would be lurking around this good-for-nothing castle just because Sir Karate Striker said so?

 Instead of searching for an enemy that's not even here, we should be working on bulldozing this damn place.

Familiar clanks of armor sounded between the castle walls. Warrior of Light's blue glinting shoulder pads came into view as he turned a corner. "I am done scouting the perimeter," he announced to the ladies, plain and stoic as usual. "If you need me or wish to join, I'll be keeping watch on the third floor balcony."

Lightning snorted, pressing her back into the wall's chilly grains. "Yeah, no thanks. I think I'll just stay down here where it's barely warmer, reeks of dust, and is crawling with absolutely nothing besides spiders and diseased rats."

Warrior only blinked. Then blinked one more time. After a quick downward glance of his eyes, he continued his trek past Lightning and Yuna, and up the creaking staircase.

Yuna stretched her mouth to the side as she watched Warrior leave. There was a moment of silence before she darted her attention back to the pink-haired soldier, who had her arms crossed tight. "Light, if you're going to be like that—"               

"Then I should leave?" Lightning cut her off with a snap of her tongue. "Fine. Gladly." She pushed herself off the wall with her heel and set off for the cobweb-painted double door. Yuna tried to call her back, but the words hardly even reached halfway between them before Lightning countered with words of her own again. "Trust me, you're better off splitting too. If Warrior wants to waste time calming his nerves in this way—of all ways—he can do it himself."

Her more-than-willing hand flung out to snatch the door handle. Lightning curled her fingers around the cold, chipping metal and yanked on it until the door came swinging towards her in a dramatic open.

Except, well, the door didn't open.

A serge of confusion went through Lightning's blood like a snake. She tugged on it again, only getting the pathetic sound of door against door. She tried the other handle on the left door. No dice there, either.

"Dammit," she spit. "Did Warrior lock us in?"

In the midst of several more loud, hinge-damaging pulls on the handles, Lightning didn't notice Yuna approach from behind until she felt gentle fingers touch her arm. "I wouldn't think so," Yuna said. She pushed Lightning a couple steps away from the door and wiped her head right, then left. "We could be in trouble after all."

...

Upstairs, on the third floor balcony, Warrior of Light was on high alert. Nothing would escape the scan of his sight. No sound would bypass the drums of his ears. He stood still in the chilly night winds, quieted his breathing so he could listen. He didn't dare move his head to look around him, for the armor he bore on his head would clink in response and disrupt the air of its natural noise. He had to be and not be at the same time.

So I can protect this world and its glorious lights.

Warrior's sword was held at the ready, pointed straight down his side and grasped firmly by his fist. He loosened the tension in his fingers, ever so slightly, as they stayed glued to the blade's handle. The posture in his back almost begged to give out, but he refused to let it fall. Vein scattered eyes were drying out from the breeze and grew tired of staring at the chipped stone railing and cloud filled sky, so Warrior finally let them close. It was all right. He could just listen. Feel the area surrounding him. He'd gotten a long enough look at it to know where to turn, where to strike, if the slightest sound of danger were to come.

Like a sudden bolt of light in the sky, there was finally something—the terrible noise of a broken door being shaken on its hinges. Warrior's eyes sprung open, his mind immediately clanked and turned in several different ways, analyzing intensely before his impulses kicked into high gear. It came from the bottom floor, so it could've easily been Lightning or Yuna going outside. But then the same crash of hinges repeated over and over, and at the very core of his ear, he could've sworn he heard Lightning's voice echo through the cracks in the walls. She sounded in distress.

That was all he needed to hear. Now he kicked into gear.   

"Lightning! Yuna!" Warrior cried, spinning on his heel and lunging himself forward. He practically flew down the stairs, skipping a step and sometimes two. His armor played an insane tune of clattering as he rushed down the stairs' spiral, his cape blew back behind him in random yellow waves.

I knew it, he strained the thought, huffing through gritted teeth. Danger still lurks.

01/2020

End of story thirty six, discontinued