The Materia Hunter: Third Chapter- Follow Your Dreams
Author's Note: Some of the scenarios differ from the exact game versions. This is because I can't remember how everything happens. But, just say I'm trying to be original, kay? Heh. Plus, it's more fun to have it different so you can play around with it to your advantage..
Disclaimer: I dun own anything. Not Final Fantasy anything. Or any of the songs that Yuffie butchers…
Since that nutso lady that's been writing all this junk down for me went on vacation, it's been a while since I've gotten to share my incredible story. I hope you little people out there can let it go; seriously, it's not my fault. That stupid scribing slave and her 'vacations' that she claims she NEEDS and would die without them… Ha! Hahahaha!
Ahem. Sorry 'bout that, got a little off topic. Heh heh heh. So…
Welcome to the third bone-chilling, blood-boiling, adrenaline-pumping, ultra super compelling edge-of-your-seat chapter of my wonderful saga with my materia-chock teammates.
muwahaha…
Oh, how I la-la-la-la-laaaaaaaa LAAAAAA! LOOOOOVE to be floating in this endless SEA OF TORTUREEEE! La-la-la!
See, even Spike's getting worried. There hasn't been a single coastline, mountain in the distance, or even a frickin' BOAT in over four hours. But I know Wutai's not too far off. I can smell it. It's Wutai's signature perfume- fermenting fish with a hint of kimchi. Very faint, but I know I smell it somewhere. Don't get me wrong! Fermenting fish isn't a BAD smell once you get used to it. It's like chocobo barns. They smell foul, but if you hang around them long enough, they smell homey. Same thing here. Now what's bad is absolute ROTTING fish. Then it doesn't smell so homey anymore. It's well… really gross-smelling. Uck.
Also, I can tell we're nearing Wutai by the stuff in the water. If you look closely, you can see the little patterned round thingies floating around. Those are Adamantortoise eggs.
"Hey, there's land! I guess Yuffie's not out to drown us all, after all!"
Gee, thanks Spike… If only you knew what I REALLY have in store for you… Heheheheh…. Besides, why would I send you out on a raft.. one: with me on it, and two: without stealing all your stuff first. DUH!
So, tada! We're on nice dry land…. that doesn't slosh around and make me literally spill my frickin' guts into the nice, nauseating ocean.
"What's that #$#& smell?"
Weellllp, I can tell Cid's not into the whole "fermenting fish" thing.
Over the bridge and through the evil nasty plains full of dangerous monsters to your beautiful materia we go-o! Yuffie knows the way, to take all your stuff, and to return to her home unharmed- oh! Over the cats and through the nice shogi paper walls my dad loves to destroy to my old man's house we go-o! He stings the toes and bites the nose, as through those walls we go!
Oooh, boy, we're almost there! WHY THE HELL AM I GETTING NERVOUS? OH-MY-GAWD, THIS IS THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! I CAN ALMOST TASTE IT!
Annnnnnnnd…… NOW!
"Wait, hold on!"
All eyes on me. Wow, it's weird bein' in the spotlight. Almost feel sorry for Spike now. Almost.
"It's dangerous up ahead. I mean, REALLY dangerous."
They all look at me questioningly.
"What are you talking about? Your hometown's ahead, right?"
I wince. What now? Ooh…
"Uhm, no, there are some really powerful monsters around here. REALLY powerful.. Best look out for them… They uhm… come from the sky. So keep your focus up there, just in case."
Vincent's eyes are narrowed at me as all the others look at the sky. Shoot… What to do.. I can tell, he so isn't falling for my floundering.. What do I do? It's never this hard! I just swipe it and go! I swivel around at some noise behind me. Three Shinra MPs are there, guns raised. Okay.. here's my chance..
"HIYAH!" I dash in at lightspeed, and manage to clean out all the orbs from the weapons and armor. If there's one thing I've learned from experience, it's that the slots for materia in equipment have absolutely CRAPPY hold. I mean, I can poke the slot in a certain place, and the materia'll just fall right out. Okay, just Vinnie's left. Gotta be quick!
And FLASH! I am OUTTA THERE! Yay for my AWESOME NINJA SKILLZ! Woo hoo! Yuff-chan, your talents are unmatched. DUH! I am the Incredible Super Stupendous Princess Yuffie Kisaragi of Wutai- Materia Hunter Yuffie! Oh yeah! Hey.. why is there a slice of avocado flying through the air…? And why does it suddenly smell like balloons? …… Aw, who cares? I GOT ALL THE MATERIAAAA! And now… to Wutai..
to Wutai…
to Wutai…
to Wutai……..
"Yuffie."
"Aw, shuddup….."
"Yuffie!"
"Whut?"
"We're almost to Wutai."
Gah. Hold it… I thought we were in Wutai already.. Yawn… Huh..? Hey.. omigawd, I WAS DREAMING! Aw, poop! So it didn't really happen?
Bump. The wings of Cid's girly little plane hit the beach. I think I feel more nausea coming on than when we were floating out in the sea….
I swear, I wasn't THIS nervous in my dream… Let's just hope it goes just as smoothly.. So many regrets.. And I haven't even done anything yet! Oh, what do I do? What do I do, what do I do, what do I DO?
"Yo, #$!& inchworm! You comin', or you just gonna stand there and wait for the Beachplugs to come and eat you?"
Did he just call me "INCHWORM"? That chain-smoking, pink toy wielding sucker! Awright! The Great Ninja Materia Thief Yuffie has new motivation! Or.. was it "Great Materia Huntress Yuffie"? "Great Ninja Princess Yuffie". No… The Great Materia Hunter Yuffie, Princess of the Wutaian Ninja and Heiress to the Throne! But, for all you little people out there, you may simply know me as the Great Ninja Yuffie! That's me!
Now that we've established that, back to my task! Mission Take All of the Materia is goooooo! AH! Oh no! They're almost in position! I gotta hurry, hurry, hurry!
And so, here I am.
"Hey, waiiit! Hold onnnnn a second!"
Everyone turns to look at me. Wow, it's just like my dream! I have seen the future!
"It's dangerous up ahead. Like, REALLY dangerous!" Oops. That might've sounded a bit enthusiastic..
They all look at me questioningly.
"What are you talking about? Your hometown's ahead, right?"
I wince. What now? Ooh…
"Uhm, no, there are some really powerful monsters around here. REALLY powerful.. Best look out for them… They uhm… come from the sky. So keep your focus up there, just in case."
Vincent's eyes are narrowed at me as all the others look at the sky. Shoot… What to do.. I can tell, he so isn't falling for my floundering.. What do I do? It's never this hard! I just swipe it and go! I swivel around at some noise behind me. Three Shinra MPs are there, guns raised. Okay.. here's my chance..
"HIYAAAA!" I dash in, fast as a sunbeam. Okay, Spike, you're first.. Your armor.. and then your weapon! Yes! On to Tifa… Yes! Got it all.. wait.. no, one more. There!
Nanaki, Cid, Cait Sith, Barret! Done, done, done, done! I am just incredible! Ooh, forgot one. Vinnie.. and here come the regrets… But I gotta do this! For my home, if for nothing else…. Sorry Vinnie..
I'm starting to slow up a bit, but I gotta get it all before their attention strays from the Shinra soldiers! One, two, three, four…. Gawd, Vinnie! Spike never trusted me with this much Materia! Five, six, seven! One more…. Odin! Oh, it's stuck! SHITSHITSHITSHITSHITTTTT! Gawd, no, he noticed something… c'mon.. just a little more..
YESSSS! I made it.. I'm panting like a dog, but it's all here! Haaa…ha..hahahahaha! The Great Ninja Thief Yuffie has struck again! Ninja….. thief.. yeah. That's it. Heh heh heh.. I'll just stick behind this screen and wait it out till they leave..
"Where could she be?" Tifa's voice. Ya know, these shogi screens don't filter out sound very well.
"We'll just have to check every place until we find her! That thief will not escape with all of our Materia." Cloud voice. Man, he sounds so earnest.. desperate… I'm startin' to kinda feel a litle bad.. No! I can't let myself get soft! If that happens, I'll never be able to be my full glorious self!
Or is it really so glorious…? Stealing is low, Yuffie Kisaragi…Shut up, mind! I'm better than you! I'm stronger, too!
If you're better than that, you're definetly better than to stoop so low to stealing.
But there's no other way to save this place…
So that's it? You think Materia will solve everything, don't you? Give the Materia to Dad, and he'll sell it. And all that money'll be put into making more Da Chao baubles and plastic Leviathan snow globes…
No!
I leap up onto one of the rafters overhead as Godo, my old man traipses in and shuts the door behind him. Well, there goes one escape route.. Guess it's time for his afternoon nap 'cause he's pulling out a futon. Old geezer.
I hear voices coming from down the hall. Awfully familiar voices… AH! Oh no, they're coming.. I squish myself as tightly to the rafter as I can.
Become one with the rafter. Become one with the rafter.
They're here!
Oh, how graceful. Old man Godo talks in his sleep. Lovely.
"What are you doing here?"
I forgot to mention, he's polite to strangers, too.
"Have you seen a small ninja girl around here? Her name is Yuffie, and the townspeople directed us here when we inquired.."
"Yuffie? Haa haa! That awful excuse for a daughter's back in town, I see."
That's it! I am NOT part of this rafter anymore! Sorry Mr. Rafter, but it wouldn't work out between us, anyway. Red clouds my vision as I leap from the ceiling, an ethereal rage filling my aura and the rest of the room like heat in an oven.
"So WHAT exactly were you saying, old man? Awful excuse for a daughter? Did you even wonder at why these travelers bother you now?" I throw a hand out to gesture towards Spike and the others in the doorway as the Wutaian spills from my lips as awful, angry, spitting sounds, not the beautiful language it is intended to be. Godo simply stares for a second before a horrible scowl overtakes his already ugly features.
"You are a miserable daughter! No, no. You are no daughter of mine! Get out!" An enraged finger quivers as it points toward the door. Too bad. Dear Daddy can't scare me…
"You are shameful! A shame to Wutai," I spit, an equally horrible frown gracing my own face. "Da Chao and Leviathan are ashamed! You side with Shinra, you turn this town from a beautiful land steeped in history to a… a cheesy tourist resort! Forget about being any daughter of yours! You are no father of MINE!" On that happy note, I realize that Spike and the others are staring at me with hostile stares similar to Godo's. Not good.
"And what're YOU looking at?" I snarl at them. "You want your Materia back? Well, you'll just have to to take it, won't you? And I will not allow that to happen. Get out of this town." I leap away, anger still mounting in my flesh. Here I am, back from years of hard work to become a ninja and steal Materia for my hometown, and all I get from my dad is criticism and his ill-natured retorts. Not even a "well done!" or a "thank you". I can't BELIEVE him! And so now, I really have nowhere to go.. Spike'll never trust me again, even if I give back the Materia. Godo hates me, and if he hates me, the whole town pretty much hates me. Gawd, no matter which way I turn, I seem to get into a whole lotta crap, don't I?
Well, guess I just gotta lay low for a while. This little house'll do for now.. I run in quickly and put myself behind a screen. The old man doesn't seem to notice I'm here, which is good. Maybe it's the first good thing that's happened all day. I dunno. This is a good day turned shitty…
Oh god, it just got worse. How in the name of all that is sneaky and good did they find me sooo fast?
"Excuse me sir, have you seen a small ninja girl run past your house lately? Her name is Yuffie and she has a large armguard and is wearing a green shirt.
"Ehh? What's that…? A puffy with margarine and has a mean burp? Sorry…. haven't seen it.."
"um.."
"Over there!" pipes up a new voice. I tense up very suddenly, almost knocking over the screen. "A ninja like that came running in here a few minutes ago and went behind that screen! Rude it is to barge into someone's house like that."
Tifa's voice breaks into the conversation now. "We're sorry, but we need to find Yuffie. She has something very precious of ours. Thank you."
There's no escape! What to do… I just gotta run! I'm a lot faster than all of them. Just gotta have the right moment.
"We'll be out shortly."
They're coming straight for me.. they're coming, they're coming, they're coming..
Now.
My head snaps up as my ninja instinct flares up. Fingers. Cloud's fingers are gripped on the edge of the screen. This is my cue. I crouch, as if to spring, which I will. The screen is folded back swiftly, silently. A green light illuminates itself in front of my eyes, and I choose that moment to dash past, leaving a startled Spike coughing in my dust. Hee hee hee. Ninja instinct rocks my awesome fishnet socks. And as I run past, I glimpse something shiny on a belt. Correction. Something blue and shiny on someone's gun. Must be Vinnie. Reflexively, I snatch the orb quickly from the slot and burst out the door. Now why did I do that…? I can hear the door being opened again, and I know I'm being pursued. Where to go..? I take in my suroundings as quickly as I can and spot a large stoneware jar standing outside the Turtles Paradise. Diving into it, I open the lid a crack to see out. Man, is it stuffy in here.. It makes me itchy. So itchy..
Pow!
Agh! The jar almost tips over as a heavy impact insists on the side of the stone. STUPID SPIIKEEEEE!
Pow!
Oh man, what do I dooooo?
Pow!
Okay, ninja instincts. Ninja instincts…
Pow!
Now!
I leap out of the pot and make a mad dash towards the bridge. Crap! Tifa and Barret are blocking.. Guess I'll try the other bridge!
I whirl around and head in that direction, but Vinnie and Aeris are in the way. Cait Sith, Nanaki, and Cid back them. Catching Vinnie's eye, my heart just breaks.
The most peculiar emotion is displayed on his face right now. Not to the mention the most amount of emotion I've ever seen him express is displayed on his face right now. And it does, it breaks my heart to see it. I can't believe I'm even thinking this! It's absurd! Stupid! Craptacular!
But it's just that mixture of disbelief, and unveiled anger… Man, I never want Vinnie to be mad at me! He'll shoot me in my sleep! He'll.. he'll suck my blood! He'll-
"Stop."
Cold fingers grip my upper arm and pull me away from my destination- my house. I feel myself being dragged roughly back, and something hard and dark crushes my nose. Normally, I would have blushed, seeing as I'm so close to him, my face touching his chest. Looking up ever so surreptitiously, Vincent's cold stare meets my own. The emotion that was once there is gone. I sorta bounce off of him and he holds my arm firmly as Spike begins to preach.
"What in the hell were you thinking? I- never mind. Give us back the Materia! Now! If you return it this instant without any resistance, we might take pity on you and not turn you in for theft."
Where exactly is he planning to turn me in? Heh heh. It's not like AVALANCHE can just wander into Shinra Headquarters and give them a criminal to deal with. A plan is starting to form.. Yes! That! I haven't used that contraption in ages… Hee hee hee!
"Fine," I mutter in a defeated voice. "But can I at least explain first?"
"Make it quick."
"Okay…" I sniff and give a false hiccup. Hehehe.. This is going perfectly! "Ya see.. hic.. I need the Materia cause my dad ruined the town and made it a tourist resort. We lost all our customs and everything. You heard me.. hic… arguing with him. hic I just wanted to help, honest. B-but my dad doesn't like me very much.. said I was a failure.. I didn't know what to do except earn his resp-hic-ect.. so I vowed to steal the Materia so I could sell it and restore the town.." I walk into the basement of my house as I finish and pause at the entrance to the room. "The… hic.. left lever. The Materia's in there." I sniffle again and wipe furiously, and fakely, at my eyes. Getting ready to run for it again, I watch Spike carefully as he goes over to the levers and pulls the one on the left. Immdiately, a cage falls from the ceiling onto the others. Unable to restrain it any longer, I let out a ferocious cackle.
"Hahahaha! If you really want the Materia, you're gonna hafta steel it. Get it? Steel- hahaha!" I pause to stick my tongue out at Spike and then, I run away. There is no way I will give up the Materia. Even my dad will be proud once I restore the city. But as the sunlight hits my eyes when I escape my own house, I realize something's wrong. Peering around, I spot the source of trouble. Two men are trying to kidnap a blonde woman right in the center of town. Hahaha. How stupid can you get? I intercept and kick one of the men straight in the jaw. The woman attempts to flee, but the other man grabs her.
"What's a little girl like you doin' out here in the street? You should go home before some bad men decide to come and hurt you." The man I had kicked gets up from the ground and leers at me in a way I can only describe as lecherous. Gross-nesssssss! As he moves toward me, I can smell a strong odor of alcohol. This guy positively reeks.
"Get away from me, you sicko!" I launch my right fist at his stomach, but they double-team me. Crap. Unfair.
"Now, don't go all pissy on us or we'll have to hurt you," says one of them. He has both my arms bound already! How the hell did he do that..? Shit, I'm in trouble.. Squirming, I somehow manage to get one of them in the jaw with my instep."
"You little bitch! You'll pay for that- come on!" The burlier of the two catches me up like a basket and starts off running towards the other end of town. I squirm some more, trying to fight them off, but the flash of a metal pipe silences me as I shift off into nothingness…
Words are swimming past… a slimy voice..
"Oooh! She's a cute one! Good work, boys! But you promised me a blonde for tonight…"
"Yessir. But we managed to get this one along the way."
"Alright then, I guess I'll just have to choose, then. Bring me the blonde one, anyway."
"Yessir."
Footsteps.
My eyes begin to pry themselves open, and I am suddenly aware of a burning warmth on the right side of my body.
D-Da Chao? The Da Chao Fire Caves…
"Ah, she's awake!"
That slimy voice from earlier..
My eyes pop all the way open now.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"
"Now, now don't be upset, dear," says the slimy man. He is bald except for a bright yellow-blonde mohawk. Excesses of fat bulge out all over his body, making him resemble a gaudily dressed gumball. Ew.
"We'll have some fun later, so don't worry. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself…" He licks his lips, a greedy look on his fat face. EW. OH-MY-GAWD, did he just say that? Now I get it… But this is supposed to be MY show! I steal the Materia, I get away unharmed. NOT, I steal the Materia, then some creep kidnaps me so he can 'have some fun'! Getting beat up by Spike and the others sounds pretty good right about now..
Speak of the devil..
"Okay. We'll split up, and when someone finds them, restrain Yuffie and send for the others. If they're not here, we'll meet at the base of the mountain in half an hour. Mosey!"
It's Spike! But… 'them'?
A beeper sounds from within the fat guy's coat pocket. (it's soooo tacky. Ew!)
"Yeah. Kay. So, you've got it all ready? Heh heh heh.." He kinda wiggles his chubby butt in the air after this and grabs hold of my ropes. Automatically, I start struggling.
"'EY! LEMME GO! DON'T YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE DEALIN' WITH? I'M THE GREAT NINJA YUFFIE! AND IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN, I'M GOIN NINJA ON YOUR-FRICKIN'-ASS!" There. See, Yuffie's not too young for temper tantrums. Heh.
"Nope, nope! Daddy's got a special surprise for you!" He drags me out none too gently, making sure to bump me on the cave wall on the way out, narrowly missing the flames. Oh man, what did I do to deserve this? Wait… Uhm, never mind. Eh heh heh…
And so here I am, hangin' from the seat of my pants from one of Da Chao's blessed eyes. Oh, how lovely. I knew I shoulda taken those rope lessons more seriously.. Then I coulda lasso-ed myself outta here and strangled Mister Fat-ass down there to boot! Woo! But, no. Guess I can't do anything…
"Hey! What do you think you're doing? I'm a TURK! You can't do this to me! Let me go!" A protesting young blonde woman is tied to the left eye by the men from earlier. Fat-ass lets out a taunting cackle and wiggles his butt again.
"TWO lovely ladies to choose from! Oh, which shall I pick, which shall I pick?"
Grossness!
"Corneo." A familiar voice makes me suddenly look at Fat-ass, whom I had been trying to avoid looking at. Stifling a gasp, I manage to mutter,
"V-Vinnie?"
His eyes glance to me momentarily to deliver a cold glare before shifting back to Corneo. He obviously means to say, "I want to tear your guts out," but oh gawd, at least he's here! If I wasn't tied down, I'd get my little butt down there now and kiss the life outta him! (if he has life left. I wouldn't be surprised if he was one of the undead..) But, anyhoo..
The barrel of his gun meets Corneo's temple while he digs out a PHS from his cloak with his claw.
"Cloud, they are both on the face of Da Chao now, along with Corneo."
And that's it. Pocketing the PHS, Vincent turns his attentions back to Corneo, who I have OFFICIALLY dubbed, Fat-ass.
"I couldn't care less about what you're doing, much as the way you're doing it."
Ooo, cold one, aint he?
"But one of them has something of ours that needs returning." Corneo obviously isn't listening to a single word, all his focus on the cold metal of the gun barrel pressed to his head. In what he obviously believes to be an intimidating tone, he manages to speak.
"Puh-please lower your gun!" It actually came out quite wussy sounding. I would laugh, but Vinnie'd probably murder me now..
"Hey! Vincent!" All the others, led by Spike, and accompanied by two unfamiliar figures rush up the mountainside. Corneo, for some reason, is more confident now. He begins to cackle and wiggle his butt.
"Well, now's a good a time as ever! I shall choose my companion for tonight! Hee hee!" He turns toward the mountain- and me and the blonde lady. Both of us struggle at our bindings as he simpers at us, a disgusting laugh pairing with it.
"And so my companion shall be……." A icky little drumroll sounds in my ears, as if I'm on some sort of sick game show. The girl lets out a grunt as she pulls at the ropes on her arms.
"The saucy one!" He points at me.
Oh, oh, why do I hafta be saucy? Gawd, help.. Leviathan!
"I SWEAR, IF ONLY I HAD TAKEN THOSE ROPE LESSONS MORE SERIOUSLY!" I shout this in pure frustration, squirming furiously. Corneo giggles madly and turns to Spike and the others.
"Hee hee heee! Why did you kill my little Aps? Ah, no matter. No interfering in my plans, not now, not ever! RAPPS! COME HERE!"
A deafening screech shakes the mountain as a scaly, bony, but dead-looking dragon soars down from above, one of its wingtips grazing my cheek as it does so. Immediately, my face begins to bleed. And I obviously can't wipe it away or anything.. Trying to ignore the wet warmth of the crimson liquid tricking steadily, I turn to the fight, now in progress. I see Vincent rush to the aid of the others, and Cloud retrieving his sword from the sheath on his back. I see Tifa take her fighting stance, and I also see the bald guy in the suit watching her every move. The blonde girl next to me shouts at the suits to help fight, but they all shake their heads. Clearly not on our.. I mean Spike's side.. I guess the suit guys are with the blonde girl. Now that I look, they're all wearing the same outfit. The next thing I see is the dragon, (I guess its name is Rapps,) diving, and then a spurt of crimson, like the stuff flowing from my head..
"Vincent!" Tifa rushes to his side, and Rapps turns on her, too. A look of terror crosses her sweat stained face, then another crimson ribbon…
If only they had their Materia…
This is all my fault! And I'm stuck up here; I can't do a thing! DAMMIT! They're gonna die! And it's all my fault! DAMMIT! DAMN ITT!
I suddenly feel as though I swallowed a frozen boulder as Cloud tosses Vincent a Phoenix Down. The look he gives me is.. no other word to describe it but terrifying. I know what he's thinking, too. He's thinking what I'm thinking. If only we had our Materia…
The crack of a gunshot, the clang of a sword meeting tough skin, a growl, a roar of a dragon in pain, a scream of Aeris in pain.. it's all entering my ears.. feeding my conscience..
See? Look what you've done. You stole it, and now they're suffering. Maybe you'll think twice about stealing now.
Sh-shut up. I don't need you preaching to me now. Just leave me alone…They're gonna die.. Vincent. He's gonna die.. I remember. He saved my eyes, and now he's gonna die. Because of me! And I can't do anything! I begin to swear the worst curses beneath my breath. I can't do anything else. I don't care. I don't care that the words I'm saying are foul and evil. I don't care if Corneo rapes me after this. I de-deserve it! It's my fault! All of them are doomed! I can't do a thing! Not a single, f thing!
And suddenly, it's over.
And…
Oh my gawd. They're all okay? Weird… But I guess, if they're alive, it doesn't really matter anymore. They're not my friends anymore. They're not on my side. They mean nothing more to me anymore than the suits with the blonde woman. They're just… more of my victims.
And for some reason, Corneo's cackling and shaking his ass again. GAWD, can't you see I'm in mental turmoil right now? Leave your stupid laughing, squirmy self outta it!
But, no such luck.
Suddenly, I find myself hanging upside down. Out of pure reflex, I start struggling along with the girl next to me, but inside, I don't really feel like I should resist anymore. Guess I deserve whatever happens after this.
"Wa-wait!" Corneo pulls out a remote control. "Come any closer and we… WE'LL HAVE SQUASHED TOMATOES!" His arrogant giggles don't even get to my ears anymore. Of course, that could also be because of the blood rushing to them along with the rest of my head.
"And this is where we come in." The suit with the red hair, gone unnoticed until now, turns towards Corneo. His eyes are the most shockingly bright shade of blue-green I have ever seen, challenged only by the eyes of that creep, Sephiroth. The next thing I see is the guy's foot swing out, and suddenly, Corneo is hanging on by his fingertips on the side of the mountain.
"So tell us. Why would we come here at all? One. Because- huh?" The tall, bald one kicks at Corneo's fingers with the toe of his shoe, provoking a squeak from the unfortunate pervert.
"Never mind that. It's just our job."
"Right."
And one final stomp and the click of dress shoes, Corneo is gone.
Now these ropes are really starting to burn. Oh gawd, pain.. Pain! ITCHY BUTT!
"GET ME DOWWWWNNN!" The wounded group starts and looks up at me. I feel very uncomfortable.
"Umm.. heh heh heh… Could you, um… please help me out? I promise to return all your stuff…"
They all look at each other and mutter. Feh.. Guess they can't be THAT wounded, or they'd be all gash-y and messed up… And they wouldn't be muttering. Idiots..
"Ahem- eh?"
Long, bony fingers make their presence known on the upper part of my right arm as they begin to pick apart the knots. Trying not to gasp, or jerk away, or anything, I look up at Vincent. But he doesn't look back at me, him being sure to focus completely on the bindings. I bite my lip. He's probably so mad.. He'll likely shoot me or let me fall off the mountain once he's done…
Within minutes, the knots are broken, and I look at Vincent again for some form of acknowledgement. But there is none. Glancing over, I note that the blonde woman and the suited guys are gone. Wonder where they went… To my surprise, however, Vincent doesn't kill me or start torturing me… Instead, in a strangely gruff voice he asks, "Can you get down yourself?" Nodding slightly, I bend my cramped legs and start to leap down off the face of Da Chao.
"Man, Da Chao, I can't believe I letcha have such a great view of my ass that whole time. Ya musta been in heaven to have my sexy little buttocks shoved against your right eye. Hope they left a print for all the wretched tourists to see."
And I might be foolin' myself, but I swear I just saw somethin' like a smile on those stationary lips of Vinnie's. (weirdo.)
"Well, here ya go!" A mock cheeful singsong spills outta my mouth as I fix random Materia into the slots of each weapon and piece of armor. "It might be a little wrong, but hey, at least it's there!"
"You brat, it's all outta order! This isn't even mine!"
Sigh. Barret, the insensitive marshamallow-man.
"Well.. umm.. I guess you guys better be on your way to beat Sephiroth, huh?" For some reason, I can't really mask the sadness in my voice right now.
"Yeah."
"We'd better go."
"Yep. Yo, Cloud, aren't cha gonna say 'mosey', at least?"
"Shut up Cid. You're no help!"
They all start laughing. Except for Vincent, of course. I turn to him and bow politely, a small thanks for helping me out. He just stares at me apathetically. Vamp…
"Is Yuffie coming?"
My mouth forms an "O" as I hear this sentence come from Vinnie's mouth. Not only is it an entire sentence in itself, but it's actually referring to me when no one else thought to ask if I should come. I had just assumed they'd leave me here…
Aeris smiles. "I don't see why not."
Everyone turns to stare at her now.
"Where have YOU been?"
I'm not even gonna say who says this, because they ALL say it. In unison. Except for Vincent and Aeris.
So after several minutes of arguing, cursing, and conversation, it was settled.
I was still gonna be 'part of the team', much to Cid's dismay, of course. I don't think Barret was too happy about this particular arrangement, either, but he isn't as scary as he looks… I'm quick enough to avoid a spray of bullets, but if Cid creeps up behind me and decides he wants to test out a new spear.. well, I can't do that. And Barret can't creep up behind me, he casts a HUGE shadow. But I'm getting off topic here.
"So, I guess now that that's settled, we'll be heading off to find some information about the Temple of The Ancients, where Sephiroth is supposedly headed. If you hear anything, don't hesitate to tell me. We'll split up into groups, and Cid'll drop us off at different destinations with the plane. I will go with Barret. Tifa will go with Aeris, Nanaki and Cid will be together, I guess Cait Sith comes with me and Barret, and that leaves Yuffie and Vincent."
I blink. "Spike, why do ya keep putting me with Vinnie?"
"Well, last time it was because you two were already… acquainted. But I think it's best to have you.. monitored closely after this little incident, so Vincent is naturally best for the job."
"In other words, ya don't trust me, and so you're sendin' the only one who can possibly even COMPETE with my awesome ninja skillz!"
"Tweak the 'awesome ninja skillz' part, and I'd say you're pretty perceptive. Mosey!"
"HEY! YOU SPIKEY-HEADED JERK! ONE DAY, I'LL KICK THAT GIRLY LITTLE ASS OF YOURS, AND YOU'LL BE SORRY! YOU'LL BE SOR-RYYYY!"
"Well, Tifa, so you did tell her about that time I had to crossdress to get into Corneo's mansion?"
"Uhm.. Actually, I didn't tell her anything.."
My eyes bulge out of their sockets. "SPIKE CROSSDRESSES?"
"Bwahahahaha!"
Vincent lets out an exasperated sigh behind me.
That was the longest chapter yet! It took me a while to write, too. My favorite chapter is the first one, though…
Since this is an edited version, I can answer a couple questions, comments, concerns, etc. that were put in some the first reviews for this chapter.
'Rising Sun' is on hiatus? Yea, that sounds about right.. There's a lot of stuff in there I need to fix to make it read a little better.. eek.
Even though the one named 'Mog Knight' has not reviewed yet, I'd like to thank them for taking the time to e-mail me and remind me that I have a fanfiction to write, and I cannot just lay on my ass sixteen hours of the day and sleep. Plus, it's kindafun to get e-mails and stuff from people. Thank you to DemonSurfer as well for chattin' with me; it was fun. If you have time, check out some of their stuff sometime!
End author note.