Author's Note:
Hello and welcome to my new fanfic that was inspired by boredom! ..And stress. Anyway, I've decided to try and write a fully-fledged Phantasy Star Portable fanfic! -from all the timelines since I don't own Universe or Ambitions (but I may watch a walkthrough of them soon!). It may be long, and it may be weird. Also, it's spoilery because it has alllll the good ending options.. and it's a bit shippy too.. whoops.
Disclaimer: I don't own Phantasy Star. If I did, you'd have the option to date whoever the hell you wanted. INCLUDING THE BAD GUYS BECAUSE SOME PEOPLE LIKE THAT. Nerds.
The alarm clock buzzer went off. Smacking her hand down on it, the bundle in the blankets curled back up and dozed off until it went off again. Groaning, she smacked her hand down on the alarm clock, knocking it off and breaking it this time. The crash made her jump, blankets coming off as she looked around and then to the alarm clock.
Great. I broke it. Go me. She sighed, picking up the pieces before throwing them away. Walking over to take a shower, she chose some clothes from the room that wasn't at all complex and easy to pull on. After said shower and getting dressed, the girl left her temporary quarters.
Walking to the familiar main centre of the Guardians Colony, it was a surprise to see Laia there, waiting for her. The Beast turned to look at her, a smile crossing her face.. or was it?
"Hey, you're here, Senna." Laia said. Senna rubbed the back of her head, glancing to the ceiling and then back at her. "You're about a half hour late, though. What were you doing?"
"Trying to outsleep my alarm clock." Senna said with a sheepish smile on her face, her hand still on the back of her head as she stood there, waiting for Laia to reprimand her for trying to outsleep her alarm clock again. Instead, Laia gave a laugh and gestured at Senna to follow her.
"We're going to the Guardians Headquarters, since you're going to need your license. Congratulations on becoming a full-fledged Guardian." Senna blushed, lowering her gaze as she followed after Laia, to the top floor where Headquarters was. The doors opened, and the two went inside. Senna glanced about as they headed to the counter.
"Welcome to the Guardians, protecting the future of Gurhal!" The receptionist, Mina, said. Noticing that Senna was there, she gave a warm smile and spoke to her.
"Congratulations on completing your training." Senna's gaze lowered back and she waved a hand. It was really nothing. After giving the normal speech included with her becoming a Guardian, Mina handed Senna a card. Taking it, Senna looked it over. She blinked a couple times, and looked up to Mina.
"That's your official Guardians license. Be sure not to lose it." Mina advised, which had Senna stowing it away in her pocket. She faded out a bit, listening to something else other than Mina talking about what she'd be able to do now. Blinking at the word 'Partner', she looked from Laia to Mina.
"Laia?" She asked, honestly confused. Both Mina and Laia burst out laughing. It was obvious Senna wasn't paying attention, and she blushed in embarrassment.
"No, I'm just an instructor. I think Mina means her." Laia nodded towards the CAST, who was standing apprehensively at the counter. The CAST bowed and Senna tilted her head to the left. She was a cute CAST, but.. what was with the bunny ear assemble? Was she supposed to be a bunny-like CAST?
"It's nice to meet you. I am Vivienne. I completed basic training a few days ago. I look forward to working with you." The CAST said, in a sweet voice with the familiar metallic twang. Senna blinked a couple times before holding out her hand to the other.
"I'm.. Senna. It's nice to meet you, too." She said, giving a smile. Vivienne looked at her hand.
"This is a handshake, right? It indicates no hostility, and an expectation of trust."
She was sure observant for someone who just completed basic training. The two shook hands, and Senna withdrew hers, leaning back just a slight tad. A hand running through her dark red hair, she looked from Laia to Vivienne, who were both also engaging in a handshake. Afterwards, the two of them gave Senna their partner cards.
"We should proceed to the mission area." Vivienne said. Laia nodded in agreement, and looked at Senna, who was rocking back and forth on her heels, staring at the ceiling again. Snapping her fingers under Senna's nose, she shocked the new Guardian back to reality..
And watched her land on her butt, a laugh coming from her as she stood back up.
"Hey! No spacing out. This is serious. We should hurry up and get to the Linear Line platform. The next train to the mission area should be leaving soon." Laia pointed out. Senna nodded.
"Right. And I'm leading this time?" She asked, in which she got a smack upside the head.
"Idiot. Of course you are. This is your first official mission. You'll do the leading." Senna gave a sheepish smile, blushing from embarrassment again, and headed off toward the Linear Line platform, with Laia and Vivienne on her heels.
Upon arriving, the area looked damaged beyond repair. Senna held back a gasp and shook her head, looking at Vivienne.
"It looks like the facility has taken damage. It must be the work of the guard machines." She said. Taken damage? This part looked completely demolished. Or maybe she was spacing out again and imagining it was completely demolished. As a test, Senna checked the wall. Nope, demolished. Laia and Vivienne were talking about it, and Senna was walking on ahead.
"Hey! Where are you going?!" Laia asked. "You haven't been listening, have you?"
"We're supposed to be doing something here. If the machines are making everything go kaboomey, then we have to stop them.. right?" Senna continued forward, making Laia and Vivienne chase after her.
"Looking into the records, it says that you're a very spontaneous person, Senna. Is that true?" Vivienne asked as some Pannon appeared, prompting the three to draw their weapons and start on the assault. Senna, kneeling down beside Vivienne and taking aim, shot down a Pannon before it got too close.
"Yeah. I act before I think. Gets me into trouble sometimes." Senna replied. "But don't worry, Vivienne. You're in safe hands. I won't let my partner get scuffed up by some cruddy monsters."
Vivienne gave Senna a smile, and the three of them ran through the area, encountering many different monsters and the same guard machines. On the way to the second block, Vivienne did a scan.
"It seems that there's a signal that's being sent. It's very faint, but perhaps it's what is causing the guard machines to go haywire." Vivienne said, after a few minutes. Laia thumped her on the back.
"Good job! I'll go check out the control panel. You two keep going on ahead. I'll catch up." She said, taking off in another direction. Senna swapped out her rifle for her sword, feeling the familiar photon tingle in her hands as the sword appeared in her right hand, and the gun appeared in her left. Clutching both tightly, without setting off the gun, Senna took off with Vivienne close behind.
Clearing out the second block wasn't as hard as clearing out the first. Senna made sure Vivienne was okay as they proceeded onwards.
"Senna, she looks to be a private citizen." Vivienne pointed towards a woman with a bobcut that covered one of her eyes. her clothes were mainly black with some purple in it. Senna blinked, inclining her head. Private citizen? Then why was she here? ..Something didn't feel right.
"Vivienne, something seems off about this. Detain her, okay?" Senna said. Vivienne looked over at the woman and then to Senna.
"You want me to detain her before first identifying who she is?" Vivienne asked. Senna gave a nod, and Vivienne looked a little put out. "I suppose, in this situation, it makes sense."
The CAST ran up to her, with Senna at her heels. "You there, halt! You are a person of interest, so we will have to detain you." The woman turned to Vivienne, a smirk on her face.
"As well you should. I'm going to have to decline, though." The woman said, still smirking. Vivienne looked very confused. It was like she didn't know what to do when someone said that.
"This is a peculiar conversation pattern I have not yet encountered." Senna facepalmed so hard she thought she'd knock herself out and walked over to the two.
"All right, you're going with us to Headquarters for questioning." She went to grab the woman, but she moved out of the way quickly like Senna was moving too slow. The woman grinned, and threw a smoke bomb before disappearing. Senna coughed, waving her arm and putting her shirt over her nose to filter out the smoke. Laia came running up once the smoke cleared, an intense look on her face.
"What happened?!" She asked. Senna tried to speak but ended up coughing due to the
smoke that had entered her airways, which left Vivienne to answer Laia's question.
"We attempted to apprehend the suspect, but she got away." Vivienne looked quite upset about this. Once Senna stopped having a coughing fit, she looked up to Laia and Vivienne. The look in her eyes told Laia they were telling the truth, so the Beast harrumphed and gestured at them to continue forward.
A strange monster appeared once they reached the fourth block, and Vivienne recoiled as Senna made sure her rifle was full of energy before looking at the monster through a scope. Laia folded her arms against her chest.
"What is that?" Vivienne asked.
"It's a Dilla Griena," Laia replied, "This must be what's making all the machines go haywire. We should defeat it as soon as possible."
Senna took the front as Laia and Vivienne summoned their weapons. It was a long, and perilous fight against the Dela Grinna but, finally, it died out afterwards. Once it was gone, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief, Senna moreso than the other two.
"So, what do you think of your partner, Vivienne?" Laia asked.
"I don't think she even needs one! Didn't you see how she fought? Amazing!" Senna replied before Vivienne could speak. Laia bonked Senna over the head, and Senna rubbed where Laia had hit while giving a sheepish smile.
"Idiot. I was just complimenting her. Her reaction time's still too slow for her to be without a partner," Laia remarked.
"But still, I am thankful for the evaluation," Vivienne seemed like it, too, with a smile on her face. "Even though I still have a long way to go, Senna seems to think really highly of me."
"You're really nothing like a CAST should be.. You seem more organic," Laia pointed out. If Vivienne could, she would've blushed at that. Senna rolled her eyes and patted Vivienne on the back.
"Is that.. bad?" Vivienne asked, looking to Laia for confirmation.
"No, it's not bad. We'd better head back to Headquarters and give our report to Headmaster Nav." With that, Laia lead them back to headquarters. It wasn't as hectic on the way back, so they were able to talk casually among themselves.
"Laia trained me for three months. I lived in temporary quarters while training with her," Senna said. Vivienne looked quite confused on that.
"Then, if I am to understand this correctly.. this means you are now homeless?" Vivienne asked. "Since it was only temporary.."
"No, I'll be getting my own quarters. It's part of the reason why I decided to join the Guardians," Senna replied, stretching a bit as they walked. Laia took the two to the conference room. Looking around, Senna noticed it was different from the rooms she was used to in the Colony. Strange, too.
"Headmaster? Headmaster Nav?" Laia called once they were inside the room. She paused for a moment, then shrugged. "Huh. Guess he's not here."
"I'm here, I'm here!" A voice said from nowhere. Laia jumped and facepalmed.
"Argh! Why don't I ever learn?! Vivienne, Senna! Watch your asses!" Senna looked around, seeing an old CAST and turned to face him, hands clamping over her buttocks with a slightly scared look on her face. Vivienne looked lost, and very confused.
"Awwh, I'm not gonna do anything. I'll be good..." The old CAST said. Senna slowly released her buttocks and stared straight at him. What a strange CAST. However, she was a bit more intrigued with the room itself instead of the CAST. Glancing around, she looked at everything that the room had to offer. Laia had to grab her around the waist and plant her right next to Vivienne since she was starting to wander off and explore.
"Headmaster Lucaim Nav, correct?" Vivienne asked once Senna was placed beside her. The old CAST probably smiled, but Senna couldn't tell through his false hair.. or was it false hair? She stared, despite it being impolite, until he turned to address her personally.
"I heard that you managed to live through Laia's harsh training," He said. Senna raised a hand.
"Thaaaaaaaat's because it wasn't harsh at all!" She said, waving the hand a little before putting it down. "I mean, it was light compared to home life, so I got through it okay!" It looked like Laia was about to laugh, and Vivienne was just utterly confused. She started to wander off again after Headmaster Nav addressed Vivienne. She'd only gotten about halfway around the room when Laia grabbed her around the waist again and carried her back over, setting her down.
"Stop wandering off. I know this is new for you, but you'll have plenty of time to look around later. This is important!" She scolded. Senna rubbed the back of her head.
Headmaster Nav explained that they were upping security on the Colony, and that it was possible that someone with a grudge against the GUARDIANS had done it or someone who was against using native creatures for medical development. Senna looked shocked, and appalled. Her first day on the job, and she'd encountered a terrorist plot. Vivienne had logged some things about the terrorist that Senna didn't pay too much attention to. Once again, Headmaster Nav addressed her and decided to tell her what her work would entail.
"Your most urgent task will be taking care of the free missions that are available at the mission counter," He said. Senna nodded.
"Free missions. Got it. Urgent and to take care of," She noted.
"Until the investigation I mentioned earlier is complete, hone your skills with those free missions. When a new special mission is ready, Mina from reception will get a hold of you. Then, I'll explain things in detail. You got it?" Senna nodded. "Then we're done here for today. I'm counting on you."
"Count away, sir!" Senna gave him a salute before the three of them left the conference room.
Vivienne said something about wanting to see the parts shop, so she left Laia and Senna on their own. Senna was just about to head to the mission counter to take on a free mission when Laia grabbed her arm.
"Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute," Laia said. Senna stopped and turned to face her. "You've got your own room now. Nothing like those temporary quarters you were living in. Your stuff's been moved to that room, so you should go take a look. I think your new buddy in your room would want to meet you."
"New buddy?" Senna blinked. "All right, Laia.. "
"I'm gonna head off now, so keep up the good work. Contact me if you want to go on a mission together." Laia let Senna go and walked off back to headquarters. Senna frowned a bit before giving a shrug and heading down to the rooms where each official Guardian lived.
"Let's see.. This one says 'Ethan Waber'. Not mine.. The room next to it is 'Tonnio Rhima'. Still not mine." She sighed, continuing onward through the already-taken rooms. "This one says 'Hyuga Ryght'. Still not mine.. Oh! This one right next to Hyuga's says 'Senna Eiselstein'! I found my room! ..Huh, the one next to mine says 'Maya Shidow'. Weird."
Upon entering, she looked around. There were a few boxes in the room. Senna pulled one to her and opened it with eagerness. It was her stuff! Well, what she could take with her to the Colony, anyhow. With happiness in her eyes, she started to put stuff where she wanted it to go. Decorating her own room how she wanted it.. she'd never had this much fun before.
"Welcome home," A voice said just as Senna fixed up her bed and put a stuffed animal near the pillow. Turning around, she looked around for a moment before looking down. A girl with violet hair and red eyes was there.. but she had the same sort of metallic-like voice that Headmaster Nav and Vivienne had. Not to mention she was wearing a really cute dress.
"It's nice to meet you. I am your Partner Machine," The girl said, "I will be handling your schedule and the important mission information you aquire. Allow me to explain the features of your room."
"Okay." So Senna sat on her bed and let her Partner Machine talk about everything she could do in her room. There was a bathroom, a shower, a dressing room, a laundry mechanism, a Visiphone (which Senna took much glee in messing with before she stopped herself from looking up information that might incriminate someone), a bed.. she could decorate this room how she wished, which she had already done and put the boxes in the alcove available until she knew what to do with them. There was also a storage, which Senna peeked into before withdrawing.
"If there is anything you wish to know, please feel free to ask me any time." The girl said.
"Okay.. Mia." Senna gave a smile. "I need to get going. I'll be back!"
"Welcome back, Senna," Vivienne said as Senna arrived back from her room. "Our last mission was really something, wasn't it?"
"Yeah.. Think of it.. Terrorists, and we got a first hand look at how cruel they can be!" Senna folded her arms against her chest. "Don't become a terrorist, Vivienne."
"I don't think I plan on it," Vivienne shook her head. "I think I've become quite adjusted to combat. Although it would be nice if it were easier to win all of the time."
"That's why we take on free missions! To get stronger so we can win all the time," Senna twirled in place, not happy with standing still. "We'll get stronger together, Vivienne. Don't worry about it."
"But I will still do my best to advance to the point where I won't get in the way." Senna's jaw dropped there for a moment before she composed herself, shaking her head madly to where she caused herself to get a headrush. "I-I'm sorry to have bothered you. Excuse me.."
"No, Vivienne! I'm sorry.. I'm making you think you have to try harder to not get in the way. It's not like that. We're both novices.. I'm sorry." Senna swallowed, blinking away tears. This was reminding her too much of home. "I'm sorry.. Please forgive me.."
"Please.. You don't have to apologize," Vivienne said, looking shocked. "I'm not mad, Senna."
"I know, but still.. I don't like it. You don't have to change yourself for anything, Vivienne... Don't force an advance. You and I are still just new Guardians." She walked over and put a hand on Vivienne's shoulder. "We'll advance to not get in anyone else's way, okay?"
Vivienne gave a nod. "All right, Senna. We should do that free mission that Headmaster Nav talked about. I will meet you at the counter." Giving Senna a smile, she walked off towards the counter. Senna remained where she was for a moment, wiping her eyes and taking a few deep breaths before turning and running after Vivienne.
"Waiiit for me, Vivienne! How about you lead this time? Since I did the last mission!"
"Are you sure you want to do that, Senna?"
"Of course! It's best to take turns. That way we both get a feel for what it's like to take the lead in a mission."
Vivienne looked surprised, but smiled and nodded. "Let's hurry. The next transport is going to head out in five minutes."
"We.. barely.. made.. it.." Senna heaved as she collapsed onto the floor. Vivienne looked surprised.
"But we did make it. Although we had about 2.9 seconds left. You seem to run faster in a hurry," She remarked, making Senna laugh. The laugh turned into a cough, and Senna took a few deep breaths before shakily standing back up.
"I'm.. gonna go take a break, Vivienne.. Head back to my room and rest before I get called on another mission. You should do the same.." Senna suggested, before giving a smile. "We did do really good, though. An A ranking!"
"I am quite proud of that," Vivienne said, and she looked like she was as well. "I will see you later, Senna. Please, don't push yourself too hard."
"I'll try not to," Senna gave a sheepish smile before heading off to her room. Once there, she gave a hello to Mia before taking off her shoes and climbing into bed, falling asleep almost immediately. That entire day had been exhausting for her, but at least it was really nice to be an official Guardian.