Okay, I got bored and decided to go ahead and write this. I'm trying to write this one better than the original. There may be some OOC, and this story will have a lot more Sci/Fi in it than the last.
- Enjoy
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Chapter 1: Call
It had only been one month. One short month since it had ended. Since me, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine had defeated my greatest enemy and obsession: Stigma.
My life was looking pretty good. I no longer needed to worry about the war against the Fallen and Stigma, the greatest threat to human civilization, was gone. I had retired, in a sense, on Spira. I quickly fell in love with this world. It was beautiful, simple.
Those weren't the only reasons.
I had someone that I cared about, that I loved. And she loved me. Yeah, I said she. If you have a problem with that then you're free to leave.
It seems that while I get along really well with Paine, Yuna and I . . well . . I'll tell you later.
All this started on what seemed to be an average day. Tell me, what doesn't start on a seemingly average day?
I opened my eyes slowly, still wanting to sleep and not wanting to wake up just yet. The sunlight from the windows above seemed blinding to me after hours of pleasant darkness. I sighed and turned onto my stomach to bury my face in the pillow. My eyes caught the sleeping form beside me.
Rikku had curled up on the other side of the bed. The reason she wasn't curled up against me was the pillow I had stuck beside us last night. Now I normally didn't mind her cuddling up against me, but last night she practically attacked me in her sleep.
So I stuck the pillow in between us.
She was cute, and seemed fragile, but that girl was a wolf in sheep's clothing when she wanted to be. Not to mention her diabolical sense of humor.
Paine had decided to wait to tell me about that.
I stuffed my face into the pillow and tried to go back to sleep. I guess I did because what seemed like a few seconds later I felt something hit me, jolting me from my sleep. My eyes shot open and the first thing I said was, "Wha-huh?"
Oh aren't you tough?
Shut up.
I turned over and found Rikku sitting on her knees on the bed, the pillow that had been between us was in her hands. She seemed a little peeved. And sleepy.
"What's with the pillow?" she asked.
"It was there to save my life. You nearly killed me last night." I mumbled, turning my face back into my pillow. Ah.
"Gah!" I rolled onto my side and put my hand up as a shield against the onslaught of pillow. I finally managed to grab it and pull her down. She giggled and that gave me an idea. I was able to get rid of the pillow fairly easily and started to tickle her.
"Sam . . stop it!" she gasped between laughs.
"Give up?" I asked. She managed to nod and I removed my hands. I turned my back to her and closed my eyes. "Good, now shut up and let me . . hey!" I felt the pillow hit my head again and turned over. She jumped out of the bed and out of my reach. She stuck her tongue out at me and I got out of the bed.
I made to chase her and she bolted for the door. She threw it open and ran out and down the balcony. I paused at the doorway. I was still too tired to do this.
"Oh well, looks like I get the shower first." as I closed the door I heard a quick, "No fair!" which was cut off by the click of the door. I walked to the bathroom and had just locked the door behind me when I heard the door to the room open.
"Big meanie!" she hit the door once and I shook my head. She seemed to have the same amount of energy both night and day. Scary. I stripped and got into the shower. I took my sweet time. I considered this to be revenge for all the times she left me with freezing water in the morning.
Needless to say, this month had been pretty interesting. Tiring, yes, but fun all the same. Now that Rikku and I were a little more comfortable around each other it was easier for us to get along. Although she was never hard to get along with in the first place.
Paine and I had started a training together. While she was physically stronger than me I was faster and had techniques she didn't. Our sparring matches could get wild. Most of the time we ended in a draw. Occasionally one of us got the better of the other in the end, but that was only occasionally.
Once I thought the water had been sufficiently drained of its heat and I had bathed I got out. I dried but brushed my teeth before wrapping a towel around me because my clothes were still in the room. I looked in the mirror once before I opened the door. My skin was still as pale as it had been a month before. My hair had grown out a little, but not too much. It was still boyishly short. I turned away from the mirror and opened the door.
Rikku and I, well, we hadn't gotten too far with each other in terms of sex. That was still one of the more uncomfortable things for me. I just couldn't get myself to do anything. That and I wanted to pace myself.
We had kept any kind of sexuality to a minimum, normally I would have to stop her from getting too far. As I said, I was still very shy about that sort of thing.
I walked into the room and found Rikku lying on the bed. She was pouting but soon the look on her face vanished and was replaced by something far more sinister. The twinkle in her emerald eyes made me flinch.
She slid off the bed and moved slowly towards me. I pointed at her with one hand and with the other I held the towel. "You touch me, you die. Understand?" I asked. I couldn't keep a tiny quiver out of my voice and I hoped she hadn't heard it. The evil grin she was wearing grew.
Fuck.
She tried to pounce me but I quickly side-stepped her, causing her to hit the floor. For a moment she was still but then I heard her groan.
"You're no fun." she pouted.
"And you're twisted. Take a shower." I said, prodding her with my foot. She grumbled something in her language but grabbed her sphere grid and walked into the bathroom, the door slammed shut behind her. I rolled my eyes and sighed.
The door to the room was closed, thankfully. I went to the dresser by the bed and picked up another sphere grid. I still didn't care for these things, but they were pretty convenient. One of the spheres was new. Something that had actually been created by High Command scientists studying the grids. Cassidy had brought me the grid when she and Zach had come back for the last time. Along with the grid and specially made spheres they left me a long-ranged communicator in case Spira was ever hit by the Fallen.
I hadn't used this new sphere yet because I heard that it was strong but dangerous to use for long periods of time. I selected the warrior sphere. Unlike the first time I had used this sphere this one had been custom made for me.
One piece of it was a long, leather jacket. Black, naturally. The jacket was loose but not too big, it looked thin. The shoulders were covered by lightweight metal pads. The top underneath the jacket was sleeveless and made of a gray cloth. The pants were loose, black leather with padded knees. A single belt was around my waist. It was too big to go through any belt loops so it just hung at and angle around my waist. The boots had no heels, thankfully, and were covered in buckles. What I found most convenient about the sphere grid was that the weapons would only appear if you willed them to.
I left the room and went down the stairs to the floor below. I went to the bar and ordered my breakfast. Paine was sitting on the far end of the bar and I nodded a greeting. When I said we got along I didn't mean we had become best friends. We just didn't feel like killing each other and there was no awkwardness between us like there was with me and Yuna. I understood the importance of personal space so I wouldn't really say much to the warrior unless I needed to or she spoke to me.
Me and Yuna, well that was different entirely.
Rikku had told Yuna about me and her without me knowing. Yuna was . . well she was nice but she just found it hard to accept that her cousin was with . . well you get the point.
I could still remember what had happened when Yuna had confronted me about it.
I had been practicing with Paine. I had gotten my ass kicked, it happens sometimes I already said that, and was coming down from the deck.
Just as I'd come out of the elevator I was stopped by Yuna in that little hallway outside the elevator. I never did like those things. She had just been about to find me and had cornered me. I took one look at her and flinched.
"Sumthin' wrong?" I asked. I had no idea what was coming.
She stuck a finger in my face, "Is it true?" why people do that I have no idea.
"Wha . .?"
She let out an exasperated sigh, "You and Rikku!"
Shit! How the fuck does she . . ooh I'm gonna kill that blonde airhead . . !
"Y . . yeah." I said, trying to shake off the initial shock and at the same time ignore the venomous look the gunner was giving me.
Oh yeah . . she has guns . . . I wonder how pissed she is?
I made a mental note to watch her hands in case her two pistols appeared.
She let out a low growl, "Then do whatever you can to end it!" she barked.
I felt something rising inside me, "What the hell is making you so angry?"
"It's wrong!"
I almost slapped myself, "Oh please don't tell me you're prejudiced."
The look on her face made it seem as if I'd hit her, "I . . I'm not . ."
I cut her off, "Then what's your problem?"
"Okay, so maybe I am. No one's perfect." she grumbled. "Still, I don't approve of this."
"Well I'm sorry, your majesty, but I don't need your approval. You can't just dictate her life like this. Or mine!" I snapped. I realized I was letting myself get worked up. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down.
She looked like she was ready to shoot me. If it didn't kill me instantly it would be just what I needed to . .
"Yunie, Sam?" I heard a soft voice say. Yuna turned around and I tilted my head to see around her. Rikku was standing in front of the door to the cabin. She looked as if she'd been crying.
"Rikku, I need to talk to Sam for a . ." she turned back to face me and immediately shut up when she saw my face.
Ungrateful bitch . .
I walked around her, careful not to let my shoulder hit hers. I wasn't some stupid kid and wasn't about to entice a fight even if I wanted to. Rikku was right there.
I walked briskly to her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. I let my expression soften and turned her around. I guided her through the door and shot one last glare at Yuna. After we were out of the hall she turned to look at me.
"I'm sorry." she murmured. Her eyes were welling up and she was starting to shake. I quickly walked her to the room we shared and we both went in, I closed the door. She sat on the edge of the bed and I stood in front of her.
"What happened?" I asked. Rikku shook her head. I sighed and sat down beside her. She leaned against me and inclined her head. I saw tears starting to fall onto her skirt.
"Rikku, what happened?" she shook her head again, harder this time. I gently lifted her head to face me. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was shaking even more now.
"I was just . . I couldn't help it. I was too excited and I thought she wouldn't care. But when I told her she just . . stared at me . . she just stared for what seemed like forever and then got angry." she buried her face into the side of my jacket. "She yelled at me, Sam."
I wrapped a single arm around her and slowly caressed her back. It took about thirty minutes of talking and consolation to get her to stop crying. She didn't leave the room for the rest of the day. The day after she still wasn't completely the same. She was a little better the third day but it wasn't until the fourth day that she was back to her usual self.
I pushed the memory as far back in my mind as I could and thanked Barkeep when he placed a plate in front of me. I noticed that Paine had gotten her food before me and had already started eating. I took a bite of egg and quickly moved on to another.
Rikku showed up a minute later. She looked mad.
"How was the water?" I asked after swallowing a bite of egg. I grinned when she stuck her tongue out at me. "Well, now you know how I feel every morning."
Barkeep immediately placed a plate of food in front of her. I paused. Paine and I had to wait, but it seemed as though he had already cooked her breakfast. I hadn't noticed that before, but thinking back I realized that had happened every day.
Unlike Paine and I she plowed through her food. I caught myself watching, eyes wide. I shook my head and started eating. That girl's appetite never ceased to amaze me.
Rikku finished first and disappeared. I finished before Paine and went back up to the room. I opened one of the drawers on the dresser. I picked up a leather-bound journal and a pen, pocketed them, and headed for the elevator. I'd gotten bored recently and decided to write down all I can remember about my life in High Command and how it had all changed once we found Stigma.
I went to the deck and sat back against the metal. The hole that Stigma had put in the deck had been repaired and it looked as if nothing had happened.
For a short time I just looked out over the ocean. I closed my eyes and leaned back. My mind wandered as the cool wind and warm sun fought to heat or chill my skin. The sounds of gulls that passed close to the ship and the roaring wind filled my ears with a beautiful blend of music. A world symphony.
I sighed and for a moment I thought I had drifted to sleep. Someone shook me and I opened my eyes. Sunlight shone off of Rikku's hair and nearly blinded me. She was crouched beside me and smiling.
"Wake up sleepy-head." she giggled, her spiral eyes shining.
"If I'm tired it's because you didn't let me go back to sleep earlier."
"Well you shouldn't have put that pillow there!"
"And risk a painful death in my sleep? Hell no!" I grinned as she pouted. She shifted to lean her back against the metal and looked out over the edge of the deck.
"It's pretty." she said. Well, she bounced back.
"Yeah." I nodded. "Relaxing, too." I was facing forward, but my eyes moved to look at the blonde beside me. I was lucky. Very lucky. Not only had I survived an ordeal that should have killed me, but I also found something that had been missing from my life for so long.
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"I've been wondering. You made the decision to stay so quickly. I was just wondering if you had any family." I stiffened and forgotten memories surfaced. I blinked and pushed them back over a mental cliff, hopefully to never see them again. "Sam?"
"Huh? Oh . . no." I said quickly.
"Oh . . sorry." she whispered.
I sighed, "It's alright." she looked over at me and she noticed I was watching her.
"Why are you watching me?" she asked. I shrugged and looked away.
"Do I need a reason?" A smile tugged at the corner of my lips.
"Not really." she giggled. I closed my eyes and felt her nudge me. I blinked a few times and turned to her. "Maybe you should take a nap, you just dozed off . . again." she grinned. I nodded, my eyes feeling heavy.
I got up and paused by the door, "Wake me up in an hour or so." I said with a yawn. Man, I really was tired. I made it to the room and closed the door. I took off the jacket and boots before laying in the bed and closing my eyes.
Sleep came quickly and I welcomed it with open arms.
I found myself on the edge of a lake. The ground around the lake was black and white grass grew in scarce bunches. A light fog drifted up from the still water and slowly moved over the ground. The water itself had no ripples in it and was as black as space.
I paused as I heard something. A light sound, barely audible. I turned around and felt a tug. This was getting weird. I let whatever force had me pull me through the thin fog. I could barely walk fast enough. I kept stumbling and tripping as the force of the tug pulled me faster and faster along the dead landscape.
At least the pull let up some. Little by little it faded. The white grass was covered by a thin layer of snow and a number of dead trees littered the landscape. The fog had risen higher and into the branches of the trees. I walked slowly through the snow and quickly stopped.
"Isn't it a shame?" a cold voice whispered through the dead forest. I heard the sound again, only this time it was louder.
A fiddle.
A fiddle? What kinda fucked up dream was this?
"Maybe it isn't?" the voice rang out again. Definitely a dream. "Or maybe more?"
"Okay, who the fuck, and where the fuck, are you?" I asked, impatience filling my voice.
"Why, I'm right here." I felt an icy wind bite at the back of my neck and whirled around. Behind me stood . . well . . Death. Instead of skeletal hands, two black as night hands gripped a long wooden handle leading to the curved blade at the tip of the scythe. Ice covered the wood nearest the blade and tiny icicles hung from the wood. The black robe was long and loose. The hood hung down covering all traces of the head. The bottom of the robe seemed to be frozen to the snowy ground, ice had already started to creep up the robe but only a little.
"And as for your other question, I am Grim." he said.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, I think I'll wake up now . ."
Grim's chuckling kept me from finishing, "Dearest Samantha, I have only come to warn you on behalf of an old friend of mine. Well, two old friends, actually."
"Wait, you came to warn me . . . either this is a dream or one of those weird . ."
"Yes," the Reaper nodded, "this is a telepathic link. I have brought you here to warn you on behalf of two friends. I think you have met them before."
Two friends . . he couldn't mean . .
The Reaper shrugged, "I may. As I was saying, I have been sent to warn you that this galaxy is on the verge of a war so massive the fate of the universe itself may hang in the balance."
I nodded, "Definitely a dream." I said slowly.
Grim chuckled, "If only that were true. Soon you will know that I speak truthfully." a sea of fog rolled in and enveloped me. Everything turned black. My mind drifted into oblivion and suddenly my eyes snapped open.
I felt someone shaking me. I yawned and rolled over onto my side. "Go away." I murmured. I felt a dip in the bed and someone pulled me onto my back.
"It's been two hours." Rikku said. I opened my eyes and found that she was leaning over me. I waved a hand at her. She giggled and leaned down.
Her lips touched mine and she quickly opened her mouth causing me to do the same. We kissed for only a few seconds before I broke away.
"You wanted me to get, so I'm getting up." I said. She frowned but moved.
"Phooey." she said quickly. I stood and stretched. Rikku picked up my jacket and pulled the journal out of the pocket. She opened it and started reading through it. She had zero respect for privacy, I had learned that fairly quickly. I pulled my jacket back on and grabbed grabbed the journal and stuffed it back into my pocket. She just stared at me for a second before she got that evil look in her eyes again.
Shit.
She slowly stood up and eyed me. I took a cautious step back and before I could turn to run she had pounced. This time she didn't miss. I hit the wall and she began to kiss me with savage intensity. She was pressing me against the wall and her hand had managed to get under my shirt.
I pushed her back and grabbed her hand. She was breathing heavily and my heart was racing. I gave her a stern look and shook my head. She sighed.
"Sorry." she pouted. "I just couldn't help myself." she hugged me and pressed her body against mine, making my heart start up again. "You're just so damn hot." she loosened her grip on me and backed up.
I grinned, still nervous, "Thanks." she loved doing that. For one she knew I was nervous about it. She also really wanted me to just let my guard down and not stop her. Trust me, it wasn't like I didn't want her . . I just froze up every time I tried to do something, or if she tried to. I put my boots back on and left the room.
Yuna was sitting on the couch in the small lounge area reading. When I passed her she turned her eyes up to me and just stared. That was pretty much all she did was glare at me now. I just sighed and walked down the stairs.
I went up to the deck and found Paine practicing. She noticed me but didn't stop. "You look like you need to beat something up." she said.
I shrugged, "As I recall that's just what I did to you last time we sparred."
She frowned, "Got any fight behind those words?" she asked, pausing. I shrugged again. She nodded and lashed out towards me.
"Fuck!" I dodged the swing and felt my sword in my hand. Like I said, convenient. I took a number of steps back as she quickly turned to face me with her sword at the ready. I let mine hang at my side.
"The fight has just started and already you run." she shook her head, a small grin on her lips. "Not good." she lunged. Her sword came at me in a wide arc. I tightened my grip on my own blade and brought it up. The two blades met with a sharp clang.
People always underestimate me. The first time Paine and I fought she thought she had seen all the ways I fought. All my methods and such. I managed to surprise her that first time and quickly had her on the defensive. Since then she hasn't made those same mistakes.
We held each other in place, both using only as much force as needed to keep the other blade away. Paine pushed off and quickly spun her sword and brought it back towards me. I stepped back, my own sword moving to stop hers.
I spun my sword in my hand and danced away from another swing. Most of our fights were like this. I would take the defensive half the time and just dodge most of her attacks and then once she was worn out I would speed up and take the offensive.
Call it what you want but that's an easy way to take out a slower enemy.
Of course there were times when she managed to wear me out and that's when I became fucked. If I couldn't block what she threw at me or couldn't avoid her attacks I was screwed.
Parry, swing, duck, swing, roll, parry.
My brain sent my body the instructions as my eyes sought out her attacks. It was just natural to me, I assumed it was natural to her too. I mentally cut myself off as I maneuvered around swings and thrusts. My hand worked on its own to stop any attacks that came too close.
After close to an hour I had taken off my jacket and was starting to slow down a little. Paine and I were both sweating from the sun and exercise. It seemed to be another draw and we were coming to a close when the door to the elevator opened.
Rikku ran onto the deck and started yelling, "Sam! I was in the room and I started hearing this beeping sound. I don't know what it is and I didn't do anything!" I raised an eyebrow at the last part and nodded. My sword faded and I picked up my jacket. I nodded to Paine and followed a nervous Rikku into the elevator.
She kept giving me glances on the ride down. I realized she probably thought she did something. I knew she didn't, but I didn't say anything.
We reached the cabin and both went up to the room. A soft, repetitive beep was coming from under the bed. I stooped down and pulled out a small, silver case. I opened it and removed a small, metal dome from the case. The top was blinking green. That meant it was a live message.
With communicators like this there are two types of messages: Live and recorded. Any long-range message had to be recorded and the top of the dome would blink yellow if it was recorded. For a message to be live the other communicator would have to be within the planet's gravity well.
So someone had a ship parked next to Spira.
I tapped the top of the dome and stepped back. A life-size hologram of Cassidy blinked into existence. Unlike older holographic messages this one had perfect color and there were no breaks or bends in the image. Cassidy was dressed in her usual black robes. Markings and patterns adorned the hood and sleeves. Her hood was down for the moment. Her hair was red and her skin was very pale like my own. Her eyes were a glittering green. She looked like someone who would be happy and energetic.
With her looks were very decieving.
"Sam." she nodded once at me and her eyes flashed to Rikku. "Two of you . ." her eyes came back to me, "I need to speak to all four of you." she said.
"Rikku . ."
"No problem!" she cut me off. "Be back in a jiffy!" she ran out the door.
"Hyper, isn't she?" Cassidy asked.
"You have no idea." I said with a chuckle. "So what brings you back to Spira?"
"I needed to speak to you four. It's important." she said, her voice staying monotone.
"Uh-huh." I nodded. This couldn't be good. I knew Cassidy pretty well. Very well actually. She meant what she said. Paine walked into the room and stopped when she saw Cassidy. The warrior's crimson eyes darted from the mage to me.
"How did . ."
"It's a hologram." I said. "A projection."
"And she can see me?"
"Yes I can." Cassidy answered. Paine blinked and shrugged. She folded her arms over her chest and shifted her weight onto her right foot. A little later Rikku ran back into the room.
"Where's . . ?" I turned and looked back out the door. Yuna was standing outside the room and looking at it like it was diseased. I rolled my eyes.
"Oh come on!" Rikku sighed, rolling her eyes as well. "It's not like we really do anything anyway." she grumbled. Yuna stepped slowly into the room. She shot me a glance that said, "It had better stay that way." I gave her a look of my own before turning back to Cassidy.
"We're all here." I said.
"Two days ago Stigma appeared to me and Zach while we were on a mission." she said. At the mention of the Demon my blood froze. "He gave himself to us and said that he had a message for the humans of Earth. We took him aboard our ship and he demanded that he speak to the four who bested him. He explained only a little of what he wanted to say, and we brought him here. He's secured on our ship, so we'll need to bring you four up to speak with him."
"How important it this?" I asked.
"In his words, the fate of this galaxy hangs in the balance." she said. I remebered what Grim had said.
"If he's telling the truth . ." Paine started.
"He can't lie." Cassidy and I said in unison.
Paine nodded, "Then it looks like we have to."
"I'll go." said Yuna. Rikku just gave me a thumbs up.
I turned back to Cassidy, "Bring us up. We'll talk to him."
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Author's Note: Well, there's the first chapter. I'm going to try and make this one longer than Stigma. Actually I may have to, there's a lot that I've already planned to have happen. I'll get the next chapter out as soon as possible. Part of this chapter was inspired by Fiddler on the Green by Demons & Wizards.
- Thank-you for reading.
