i'm back! and, i know, it certainly took long enough. but, hey, when you've got twist like i've got, you've gotta make sure they work and that's why it took so long. that and my sister and her friend kept stealing the computer, and on top of that i got writer's block. anyway, onto the reviews!
Anasazi Darkmoon- yeah, andy's possesed by Yu Yevon. i'm glad you liked the jedi council dream. ryan lost a LOT of blood against lusniec... and i'm glad you liked the chapter in general. i write to please my fans.
OCadam- one of the best? wow... thanks. yes, i thought andy being possesed was just a great plot twist. actually, the person he's based off of liked it to... and as for reading you fic, why not? i need something to do when i have writer's block. maybe it'll inspire me... gods know i need it... anyway, i'll try and update sooner, but i'm not making any promises!
Da KeR MysTeRr- well you weren't wrong. hate it when that happens, do you? and besides, i love my fans, i would never make fun of them... unless i know them personally like lightingwizard and Sephirothxx. anyway, you fought to stay on and read my story? wow, thanks. and you haven't seen any of the star wars movies? what's wrong with you? oh, well, yeah. the squierll thing, i dunno, i actually took it from Naruto fic that i never finished a chapter in... and tell your brother i'm sorry, i know what it's like to be woken up by people laughing. as for your friend, colleen, have her read and review! or does she already? if not, it's always nice to get a new fan! and as you said, until next time, toodles.
Auron's Fan- yes, that is a great quote. and a true one. and, maybe you are, we'll see how it goes. yeah, Yu Yevon's a sick bastard, but no surprise there, right? as for sakura sticking her hand into the tree... she's a goddess? and it's where he legendary weapon is. that's my excuse. and what's that behind you... is it.. POLLY! run away!
locko- well thank you. i'm glad you like my books.
Nygenn- ah, sorry 'bout that. too many characters, the true flaw of my stories. anyway, yeah, you guessed right. a lot of people did. i'm loosing my touch... or you're all getting really good insight... or both... as for where it's going, you'll understand later on, like, the final fight or something, but later on none the less. and ryan's powers with matt's attitude... scary thought.
Sephirothxx- yeah, the beginning of stories tend to lack fighting. actually,X-2 didn't seem to have much fighting as compared to X... oh well. as for looking into your fics, i'll see what i can do. who knows, if they're good maybe i'll evevn give you a shout out.
labrat-seph- yes, jedi are awesome. i'm actually working on a star wars fic when i'm not on the computer... but it's not very long. yeah, paine had a right to assume what she did. as for her fighting them, no comment. and yeah, reading and reviewing in the same day does tend to help... but at least no one can say you don't review!
Plum-chan- yeah, ryan is weaker then the other gods... for now. i'm thinking of changing that, tho by the end of book three his power's are almoost nothing compared to the power of the gods. anyway, moving on. ryan and matt were hanging back on the side with the sphere, but that wasn't very clear. and, yes, we shall assume that otherwise my story was perfect. i like that idea :). and so l ong as you get to it, i don't mind.
BOrn-Slippy- yeah, ryan, matt, and andy for four books WOULD be boring. yeah, it was a big disappointment, especially the final fight. which, might i say, is going to be SIGNIFICANTLLY better in my story. and it's going to have a few... uh, twists... shall we say? actually, it should have certain fans bursting with joy, and just about everyone else confused as all hell... but that's ok. and I inspired YOU to write a fic? wow, didn't realize i was that good... heh. yay! anyway, when you review let me know what the title is so i can check it out. and, yes, you DO like to whine. and don't worry, i will.
well, now that all that's over with... on to the chapter!Twists
"Think you'll be able to beat Lusniec next time?" Rikku asked when her and Ryan had found themselves alone. "I mean, is it even worth trying?"
"What, worried or something?"
"Aren't you?" Ryan shrugged. "He nearly killed you, and now that he knows you're back he's going to come back to finish the job! How can you not be scared?"
"Rikku, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna fight him unless I have to." He sighed. "And if I do have to, then I'll just have to win." She glared at him and he sighed. "Look, I'm pretty sure that that wasn't what you wanted to hear, right?"
"What was your first clue?" Rikku snapped.
"Well, the glare was first, the angry tone was second…" He smiled slightly. "But I know how to beat him." She rolled her eyes. "You don't believe me?"
"After what he did, should I?"
"Ok, that's a good point." Ryan stretched and looked at Rikku, who was visibly annoyed with him. "You're not going to believe me, are you?"
"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that I don't want to see you die! You're always thinking about other peoples' safety, but what about your own?"
"You're right." She stared at him in amazement. "Matt can take care of himself, Nick can take care of himself, you can take care of yourself, and Yuna can take care of herself. Since Paine was so eager to fight that dragon on Besaid I think it's safe to say that she can take care of herself. That only leaves Sakura, and she's coming along quickly. I've got to learn that my friends can take care of themselves, and start worrying more about myself." Rikku pressed a hand to his forehead.
"You feeling ok?" Ryan laughed.
"Yeah, well. Two years is a long time to see things in a different perspective."
"Care to elaborate, Mr. Philosophy?" She asked in a teasing voice. Ryan smiled and cleared his throat sarcastically.
"Well, my dear student, if you truly wish for me to elaborate, then I shall be forced to submit to your wishes." Rikku fell to the ground laughing at the hilarious voice. Ryan smiled, glad to see her happy and back to the way she was two years ago, and then continued, "Oh dear, oh my. I do believe that I've caused a small mess, now haven't I? My, my, whatever shall I do to help this pour woman out?" He sat down next to Rikku who smiled, and suddenly the world seemed right as their lips met.
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"Ready?" Sakura glared at him and Matt looked back helplessly.
"I didn't help you clear all these tables away just to stand here and chat." She dropped into her ready stance and Matt smiled slightly.
'At least she's got a better attitude then Paine does.' Matt thought as the two began. He brought Lightning Edge to the side, but continued his rotation instead of attacking the way Sakura had expected. Sakura threw herself to the ground, spun around, and tried to knock Matt's legs out from under him. He hopped over the attack and then ducked under the follow-up. Matt slammed one foot down, pushed himself into a spin, and brought Lightning Edge around faster then Sakura had ever seen him. Her arms went numb under the strength of the blow, and she went flying back several feet before doing a back flip and landing in a crouched position.
"Ow." Sakura rubbed her arms while watching Matt carefully.
"Geez, take gymnastics or something?" Sakura smiled at his amused expression. "This could be like fighting Tidus…"
"Tidus?" She raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that the guy that liked Yuna?"
"Yeah…" Matt recalled the blitzer and felt a pang of regret. 'That's right. We promised Yuna we'd try to find a way to bring him back, but we never got the chance. We didn't try to figure it out either for that matter.'
"Something wrong?" Sakura's question snapped him out of his sad thoughts.
"Nah, just some memories." He looked at her arms and sighed. "Looks like you're done."
"Sadly." Sakura sat laid her Tonfas down on the bar and sat down. Her arm was already bruising. "Guess I'm not quite up to your level yet."
"Don't worry about it." Matt gave her a gentle pat on the back as he sat down next to her. "You just need more experience. Believe me, when I first got here, I could barely hold my own against a coyote. Actually, it took me, Matt, and Andy to kill two of them, and we barely managed that." Sakura stared at him. "What?"
"You were that bad? Wow… if you got this good while starting that bad, wonder how good I'll get…" She snickered at Matt's amused look. "Well it's the truth."
"Yeah, yeah." Hypello put two glasses down in front of them and poured them some water. "Thanks."
"Ish no problem." The Hypello said before going back to cleaning glasses. The two barely had time to start their drinks before the Celsius started to slow down. Despite having nearly spilled what was left of their drinks on themselves the two smiled and sprinted towards the bridge, only a few steps behind Ryan and Rikku.
"Hold the elevator!" Sakura yelled when it started to close. Immediately two feet shot through the door, stopping it when it was almost half way closed. "Thanks, Sakura-chan, Ryan-kun."
"No problem, Sakura." Rikku replied happily.
"Well you two seem to have gotten over your shyness." Matt said with a smirk. Rikku and Ryan held up their interlaced hands with mock embarrassment on their faces, which caused all four of them to burst into laughter.
"What kept you?" Paine asked as the group walked onto the bridge.
"You're as cheerful as ever." Matt replied without stopping.
"Want to get hurt." Paine asked menacingly.
Matt turned to face her slowly, his smile showing his amusement clearly. "If we weren't about to go do something like this, I just might say yes." Yuna and Rikku stepped back slightly. "What do you say we save it for when we're not about to do some work?"
"Good idea." Ryan agreed as Brother brought the Celsius down at the entrance to Mushroom Rock Road. "Wow… it's been a while since I've been here."
"Yeah. We passed through here right before Operation Mi'Ihen." Matt added. "Wonder if the fiends are any stronger." Ryan snorted.
"I doubt it."
Matt rolled his eyes. "Really, why's that?"
Despite the question being sarcastic Ryan replied with, "Because we've gotten stronger too. So, even if they did get stronger, what are the odds we'd even notice it?" Some of the group laughed at the comments, and some rolled their eyes but otherwise made no indication that they'd heard him.
"Oh, it's those creeps again!" Rikku whispered suddenly.
"Those creeps being…" Ryan prompted.
"Leblanc's goons!" Rikku replied. "Over there, I just saw them!"
"Maybe there's a sphere here." Paine ran off before anyone had time to reply to her comment.
"Lady Yuna! You haven't forgotten me, have you?" A young man asked as he walked over to the group.
"Yaibal, isn't it? You're in the Youth League." Yaibal's smile took over his face.
"Youth League?" Ryan asked Rikku while Yaibal and Yuan spoke. "I think Matt and me need to be filled in."
"After Yevon was thrown down, three group rose up in its place: The Youth League, The Machina Faction, and New Yevon. Each one has about an equal number of members, and all of them have interesting leaders. I dunno much about the Youth League's leader other then his name's Nooj, and he survived Operation Mi'Ihen. New Yevon has someone named Baralai, and rumor has it that he was gonna be the man to replace Maester Kelk Ronso before we took care of Sin."
"And The Machina Faction?" Matt asked when Rikku simply stopped.
"Oh, The Machina Faction is lead by an Al Bhed named Gippal. He's a bit of a player, but he's a good guy at heart. Although, he does have a tendency to get people around him in trouble with his hair brained ideas. But I've gotta admit, he's done a great job as the leader of The Machina Faction. Never saw him as the leader type, but stuff happens, right?"
"So you know this guy?" Ryan asked absently.
"Yeah, he was like the older brother I never had when I was growing up. Brother was always off with my dad, finding more Al Bhed and stuff, but they didn't let me come with much of the time. I pretty much grew up at HOME, but Gippal's the one who got me a job working on the salvage boats. After I was there I worked my way up to the top."
"Interesting history." Ryan admitted as Yaibal took a breath to continue speaking.
"Ohh, that enough! Those two guys are getting away!" Rikku shouted before Yaibal could continue. The sudden outburst surprised the Youth League member so much he stared at her for a few seconds.
In that time Paine stepped towards him and asked, "Did Leblanc's men pass through here?"
"Yes. They said they were here to take care of our fiend problem. You see, the Youth League is in preparation for an important mission, leaving our patrols shorthanded. As a result, the road to headquarters has been overrun with fiends. Be warned: unless you can defeat the fiends on the road, you will not be able to pass. So, are you ready to run the gauntlet?"
Yuna nodded. "Sure, we're game."
Yaibal nodded. "Understood! Expect to encounter fiends until you reach the vicinity of the lift. Fight your way through them and proceed to headquarters. That's it. Good luck." He stopped and looked around. "Clasko? Clasko!" The nervous man stepped around a corner. "Show them the way!"
O-Of course. This way, please." Clasko motioned towards the path he'd been on.
"Yeah, let's hunt some fiends!" Rikku said excitedly. Clasko started down the path to the headquarters.
"You seem down." Yuna pointed out once they were away from the other Youth League Members.
"Well, a lot has happened since you brought us the calm." Clasko admitted. "I ended up following Captain Lucil. When she joined the Youth League, so did I. But I'm still stuck playing tour guide. You know, all I wanted to do is ride a Chocobo… faster than the wind!"
"I hate to break up this conversation, but there the slime balls are." Matt pointed towards a fat man and a tall skinny man rounding a corner. "I mean, I've never seen any other fat people in Spira, so it's gotta be Ormi, right?"
"And we aren't the only ones following them either." Sakura pointed to a figure up above them, but just as the others looked up it disappeared, but in the process of spinning away hurled something at Ryan. The angel leaned back slightly and the weapon passed by him harmlessly.
"What the hell! Now we've got crazy people hurling… pendulums, at us?" Nick pulled the weapon out of the ground and examined it. Matt and Ryan stared at the pendulum, remembering it rather well.
"It looks so familiar, but I can't remember why…" Rikku admitted as she examined the weapon. Paine looked at it, blinked once and then went back to looking for fiends.
"I know what you mean, Rikku. It's so familiar… I know I've seen it somewhere before, but where?"
'How about Macalania Travel Agency, or after he joined our group?' Matt thought but said nothing. Ryan took the weapon, pocketed it and smiled. 'Guess you remember too.'
"Well, if this 'mystery man' is tracking them, then we'll meet eventually. As for now, I suggest that we get moving before we loose them for good." He started walking without waiting for anyone else's opinion.
"Hey, you know something! What do you know?" Rikku was already next to him, but he shook his head.
"Turn not to others for knowledge, or something like that. Besides, it'd ruin the surprise if I told you." Matt snickered and Rikku whirled around.
"You know too!" She whined and Matt started to laugh openly.
"Yep, but like Ryan said, it'd ruin the surprise if we told you." The two kept walking, laughing openly as the rest of the group, slightly confused and annoyed, ran to catch up.
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"This one ain't no good." Ormi growled.
"Nor this one." Logos added with a sigh.
"What do you think they're doing?" Yuna asked in a hushed voice.
"Well, I never knew about this place, so I dunno. Only one way to find out for sure." Matt pointed out as he shouldered Lightning Edge. Yuna put a hand on him as he stood up and he raised an eyebrow.
"If you or Ryan go out there, they're going to split right away for sure. I'll go out first. If they try to run, stop them." Ryan and Matt sighed, but sat down without any resistance. She took a deep breath, checked her guns and nodded before standing up and asking, "What are you doing?"
Ormi and Logos dropped a bunch of the spheres when Yuna popped up. As they scrambled to pick the sphere up Ormi yelled, "Let's get outta here!"
"That's your cue, speed man." Nick shoved Ryan in the back… and nearly into the tip of a pendulum. "Holy shit! Where'd that come from?" Ryan and Matt slowly followed the nearly invisible wire of water up the cliff.
"I'd say…" Matt squinted against then sun and then pointed, "from right about there."
"Who the hell is that!" Sakura asked as two more pendulums whizzed past Ryan and Matt and buried themselves into the ground. "Get out of there! You'll get killed!"
"Don't worry about. He may seem like he wants to kill us, but… well, ok, maybe he does." Ryan admitted with an amused chuckle. "He did promise that, didn't he? Until he decided to help us kill Sin." Now Matt was chuckling.
"Yeah, and what a way to leave the business. Killing Yu Yevon…" Matt shook his head. "that must've been his greatest assassination."
"What, assassination?" a look of realization came over Yuna and Rikku. "You don't mean him, do you?" Ryan tossed the pendulum back to his girlfriend who just shook her head. "It's definitely him. Nobody else could actually use these so efficiently."
"Well at least you didn't forget me completely." The shadow stated as it stepped off the top of the cliff and stood there, standing in mid-air. "Hey, Ryan. You've got something on your head."
"I know." Ryan replied with a slight smile as the thing, suddenly sensing danger, jumped off his head and ran up onto Rikku's shoulder and hissed at a still descending Seph.
"Well that's a new trick." Matt commented absently as everyone but he, Paine, and Ryan stared in amazement at Seph's feat. "You've gotten better, Seph."
"What about you two? How good have you gotten in these two years?" 36 pendulums, water already attached, dropped out of his sleeves. "Why don't we have a look?"
The pendulums launched at them, 36 little diamonds of death that whirled around them like vultures around their next meal. "Well, what'd'ya say we show them?" Ryan shrugged and Matt smiled. "Alright then, I'll go first." A faint blue glow started to form around Matt. Slowly, as the glow became brighter, sparks of electricity started to appear around him, brief and fleeting but beautiful to the eye. Nick, Sakura, Yuna, and Rikku watched in absolute shock as Ryan and Matt stood in the middle of the ring of death, not moving even as the pendulums nicked them, cutting them to bits peace by peace. They couldn't see Seph's knowing smile, nor Ryan or Matt's amused ones.
"Well, it seems like this fight's about to end." Ryan commented as the blue light around Matt disappeared.
"Really now? Why's--" Seph's question died in his throat as a bolt of lightning for each of his pendulums jumped out of Matt's body. He barely managed to dispel the water he was standing on before the 36 bolts of lightning flew through the space he'd occupied a second earlier.
"Wind Cutter!" Seph's eyes widened as the white blade came flying towards him.
'Shit, they're going all out.' He thought as twisted in mid-air, barely avoiding the deadly attack that shattered the wall behind him. When his spin allowed him to see just how much power had been in the attack he shuddered. 'That could've been me.'
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Paine shivered as she watched Seph weave in and out of the attacks that Matt and Ryan threw at him. She'd known the assassin for years now. 'But to see him relying on that power of his so much… I suppose I underestimated these two.' She shivered again as the rock wall shattered under another blow that Seph barely spun out of the way of.
"Scary, aren't they?" Rikku asked her friend casually. Paine just glared at her friend, which caused Rikku to giggle. "Hey, it wouldn't be a bad thing if you were afraid of them. In fact, it'd probably be smart. After all, none of them are really trying to kill each other." Paine felt a jolt of fear run down her spine.
'That's the part I didn't need to know.' She thought glumly as the battle continued.
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"Mine!" Lightning Edge engulfed Seph's field of vision and he smiled as a wall of water stopped the blade, repelled it, and then turned into a missile and sent Matt flying back ten feet. "Or not."
"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" Seph asked with an amused smile.
"Well, if you keep letting your guard down it might be…" Ryan's amused voice came from behind the former assassin.
"Same goes to you." Seph said quietly. A shadow appeared over the two and Ryan glanced up casually. Seph took that instant to spin around and kick him in the stomach, roll forward, and come up facing Matt. The two gods stared at each other for several seconds before they started laughing.
"They're completely… insane." Rikku muttered as she watched Ryan join in the laughter.
"They're men." Paine said as if it was explanation enough.
"Yeah. But they aren't normally this crazy." Nick stated as Ryan stood up and moved past the man who'd caused the shadow. 'Well, not man.' Nick thought as he looked at the new face. 'Boy would be better.'
"Paine, it's been awhile." Seph smiled when Paine glared at him. "I see you're still as serious as ever." He chuckled as Paine's hand drifted to her sword. "You sure you wanna do that? Especially given that you're not with them this time?" Paine's scowl deepened but she resumed her normal stance. "Ah, a wise decision."
"So, taking on stragglers now, Seph?" Matt asked while looking over the only person in the group he didn't know. He wore a black jacket, and black pants, and had black hair that was tied back in a ponytail, but the most intriguing aspects of him were his eyes. They were clearly Al Bhed, having a green spiral in them and all, but the rest were blood red. 'Well, guess he's a goth.'
"Oh, JT? Nah, he helped me out a few years ago. Before you guys came to Spira, and all that messy junk. Actually, he was one of the few people that actually knew what I did for a living… and lived, anyway."
"Ah, that's pretty impressive. Unless you let him live, that is." JT cast Ryan a glare and the angel simply smiled back. "Anyway, where's Rae?"
Seph's cheery air disappeared as soon as Ryan asked the question. "That's what I was here to find out."
"What happened to her?" Matt asked when Seph didn't say anything for a while.
"My sister," JT said just loud enough for them to hear, "disappeared when she went to talk to Leblanc's gang. That's why Seph and I were tailing those two nimrods, until you blew it!" This last part was directed directly at Yuna.
"I'm… sorry. I didn't know." Yuna replied quietly.
"JT, shut up." Seph ordered casually. The teen just stared at him, openly confused and feeling more then slightly betrayed. "I'm the one who stopped Ryan from trapping Ormi and Logos here, aren't I? Or did I not hurl a pendulum at him like I tried to…?"
JT swallowed and, through gritted teeth, muttered, "Yeah, you did."
"And you're angry at me for it. No big deal. But keep one thing in mind, kid." JT glared at him. "You're just along for the ride. I'm the one that's doing the real work. Besides, if you try anything stupid you'll wind up dead in some remote location that nobody where nobody will ever find you." Seph flashed his friends a smile that clearly showed he was joking, but the empty threat had hit home.
'I suppose,' Matt thought as JT shivered almost imperceptibly, 'that JT knows what Seph used to do. Oh well, it's got nothing to do with me.'
"So where are you headed now?" Seph asked as he gathered his pendulums up. Before Yuna could reply his eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed.
"Hey. Long time no see. Remember me?" A man asked as he walked towards the group.
"Of course I do!" Yuna replied cheerfully.
"Hey, aren't you… Maroda, I think it was…" Matt trailed off.
"I suppose you remember me too. Glad to hear it." Maroda nodded towards Matt. "It's been, what, two years since you helped to kill Sin?"
"Yep. How've you been?" Ryan replied casually.
Maroda shrugged. "I joined up with the Youth League and that's been keeping me pretty busy. And you do know that you've got something on your head, right?" Ryan nodded with mock sadness.
"Oh, I'm a Sphere Hunter now!" Yuna informed her old friend.
"Ah, that sounds great, trying out a new way of life. Actually, Pacce's a Sphere Hunter now, too. He's the leader of the Kinderguardians. Be nice to him if you see him."
"Wow, Pacce's a Sphere Hunter too? Didn't see that one coming." Ryan admitted quietly.
"How's Issaru?" Yuna asked.
"The Youth League discovered this place you know." Maroda replied, casually ignoring the question. It's called the Den of Woe. It was sealed around the time of Operation Mi'Ihen."
"And Issaru?" Yuna pressed.
"But, uh, no one is sure how to open it. We've been investigating it, put I'm afraid this place is off-limits until we're finished our investigation." Maroda finished with a hand against the spade-like design carved into the wall and his back to the group. "So I'll, um, have to ask you to leave. I'm sorry."
Seph looked like he was going to say something but a slight shake of Ryan's head stopped him. "What was that all about?" Seph demanded when Maroda was out of earshot.
"Maroda wasn't in the mood to talk." Matt answered. "You'd have been wasting your breath."
"I see." Seph replied dryly as they came to a fork in the road. "Well, we go this way, and since you're heading for Youth League HQ, you're going that way, so I suppose this is where we part ways until we meet again."
"Hey, if we ever bust into Leblanc's place we'll give you a call." Matt said, already walking towards the Youth League Headquarters. Seph waved without turning back as he and JT followed their own path.
"Now how do you suppose he knew we were headed to Youth League Headquarters?" Sakura wondered aloud as they walked down the road.
"He's Seph. Odds are, we probably don't want to know." Sakura just stared at Matt's back until something came into view to his side. Sakura stepped to the right a little and inhaled sharply at what she saw.
"An elevator? Here!" She couldn't believe her eyes. 'But we're in the middle of god only knows where, and there aren't any buildings nearby, are there?'
"Well, I suppose that's the welcoming party." Rikku commented while petting Ryan's new pet absently. "And here they come."
"Oh, wow! Lady Yuna! Lady Yuna, it's me, Elma!" The woman in the front of the group said happily. "It's been so long! Wow, you've really changed."
"How are you?" Yuna asked politely.
Elma smiled. "Never better. Now that I'm in the Youth League, I've always got something to do. Hey, you made it past all the fiends. Nice work!" Elma glanced over her shoulder towards the other Youth League members who were standing between Yuna's group and the elevator. "Go on, step aside."
"Right away, captain!" One of the men said with a crisp salute. Instantly the mob parted, leaving nothing standing between them and the headquarters.
"Wow, look at Elma. A captain? Seems like you've been doing pretty well for yourself." The captain blushed a little at Matt's praise.
"Not bad, huh?" The group laughed at her sudden change of attitude.
"We're leaving now, aren't we?" Nick asked Matt in a hushed whisper. The thunder god, barely controlling his laughter, simply nodded, which caused Nick to sigh heavily. "Always around the woman. Damn."
It didn't take the group long to cross most of the headquarters. When they neared the largest tent, one they assumed from it's sheer size was either the leader's or some kind of meeting hall, they found themselves meeting up with another old friend.
"It's been too long, Lady Yuna." The familiar woman said. "I am Lucil, commander of the Youth League forces."
"And we thought Elma was doing well for herself." Matt muttered under his breath, but with just enough strength in his voice for Lucil to hear. The commander smiled slightly at the comment. "So, Lucil, how've you been?"
"It's good to see you," Yuna added.
"Hiya!" Rikku greeted happily.
"Long time no see." Ryan tacked on the comment and Lucil's smile grew in size. 'Guess she's always getting "yes ma'am" or "Morning ma'am". Must be nice to meet up with someone who doesn't call you ma'am all the time.'
"I'm glad to find you all well." Lucil admitted. "As you can see, I have joined the Youth League to aid in the fight for a new Spira. I consider it my duty. Meyvn Nooj,' Matt noticed Paine eyes flash with annoyance at the name and he made a mental note of it, "our leader, has been hoping for my audience with my Lady for some time. Unfortunately, he is a mission of great importance, and will be occupied well into the night. I am terribly sorry, but I must ask that you return another day."
"Eh, no problem." Nick replied before anyone could say anything. "It's always nice to get out and see the scenery once and a while. After all, Spira's just so beautiful." Ryan, Matt, and Sakura rolled their eyes, having spent enough time with Nick to know what he was doing.
"I'm glad, but still. My apologizes." Lucil bowed her head so she missed the swift fists slamming into Nick's arms. He winced in pain but didn't cry out, electing instead to rub his arms in silent pain. Matt and Ryan shared satisfied glance just before Lucil's head came back up.
"The Youth League's looking for sphere too, right?" Rikku asked suddenly.
"Yes." Lucil admitted. "Knowledge of the past is the key to the future. So says the Meyvn. It is with these words in mind that we seek the sphere of yore. The mission we are planning revolves around a sphere, but…" she hesitated before continuing, "I am sorry. I had best say no more. It is not a matter to be discussed openly."
"No, I suppose not." Paine replied in her normal, indifferent voice. Ryan and Matt shared a glance.
'Ok, she definitely knows a lot more then she's letting onto.' Matt thought. 'I wonder just how much Yuna and Rikku really know about her…'
"Again, my apologies." Lucil bowed her head once again.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Ryan lets us down all the time, so we're used to it." Ryan's punch was so fast that Nick didn't realize he'd been hit for several seconds, and even then it was only because of the numbness spreading through his arm. "Um, ow?" He asked when they were out of the camp.
"You sound like you aren't sure." Paine noted immediately.
"Yeah, well. It skipped the pain and went right to the numbness, so I'm not." Ryan smiled slightly as his small friend jumped off Rikku's shoulder and back onto his head. "Of course, even if I had feeling in my arm, I couldn't hit back."
"Why not?" Paine taunted. "Scared?"
"Not scared, just not stupid. You haven't seen Ryan move yet. And before you say 'he fought Lusniec' let me remind you that all he did in that particular fight was swing his sword around like a mad man. He didn't fight the way he normally does." Paine rolled her eyes and Rikku glanced at Ryan out of the corner of her eyes. She expected to see a pained look, or an angry look on his face. Instead she found him smiling at her.
"Hey, I told you I wasn't going to go looking for a fight, didn't I?" She smiled.
"I suppose not." Matt rolled his eyes.
"Give it up Ryan, you know you want to fight Lusniec again." The lightning god teased.
"I'd rather not have to worry about him ever showing his face again to be honest…" Ryan replied with a smile. "But I'm not dumb enough to think he's going to just roll over and die. Especially now that he thinks I've got nothing to use against him."
"You don't." Matt pointed out.
"Exactly." The entire group stopped and looked at him. "Too many mind."
Matt smiled slightly. "No mind." Ryan nodded.
"Now you're getting it." Matt was shaking his head when the group rounded the corner, and because of that he nearly slammed head first into Clasko. Only the man's startled cry and warned Matt that someone was there, and he'd barely managed to roll to the left and avoid the painful encounter.
"That's it." Clasko muttered in a dejected voice. "Every time I try something new, I screw it up. I just don't know what I want to do with my life. I don't know where I belong. I've spent my whole life drifting from one failure to the next. But, I can't keep doing this forever. I know there's a place for everyone in this world- even someone as sad and pathetic as me." He looked Yuna in the eye defiantly, "Lady Yuna! I want to find my place! Please, allow me to ride on your airship!"
Yuna looked at him for a second, feeling fully the weight of the gazes of everyone in the group. "The more the merrier." She said happily.
Clasko stared at her in disbelief for a second before shouting, "Thank you so much! I'll find my true calling, you'll see!"
"I think it's going to get a little crowded when we go to bed…" Matt muttered to Ryan as the group headed back towards the Celsius.
888
"Lusniec, did I ever explain my plan to you?" Yevon asked as the two walked through the Farplane. Angel shook his head and Yevon smiled. "It's a wonderful thing, playing with the souls of the dead. They're so easy to use against the living."
"I think I'm starting to like this plan of yours already." Lusniec admitted as a portal appeared in front of them. "It's always nice to manipulate the emotions of others."
"Indeed it is." Yevon agreed as they stepped through the portal. The world around them went dark for a second, and then they were standing in a part of the Farplane Lusniec had never been to.
The angel turned his head slowly, taking in the sudden change of scenery. Unlike the rest of the Farplane, which was covered in flowers and a bright sky, this section of the Farplane had neither of those. Ominous, dark clouds that looked close to thunder storm clouds blotted out the sky. And a cold, metal-like substance that covered every inch of the area had replaced the beautiful flowers, that Lusniec didn't exactly find beautiful.
"The heart of the Farplane." Yevon stated. "A place that even the residents of the Farplane don't know about. Even the other gods don't know about this place." Lusniec stared at him. "How's that possible, right? Oh, it's quiet possible."
"Tell me, Yevon. If the gods don't know about this 'Heart of the Farplane' then how," Lusniec motioned off in the distance, "does he?" Yevon squinted towards the approaching figure for a few seconds and then smiled evilly.
"That is the third member of our band." He said as a blonde haired man stopped in front of them. "Shuyin, this is Lusniec. He'll be helping us." Shuyin sneered at the angel but said nothing. "Lusniec, this is Shuyin. He's helping us, so whatever you do, don't pick a fight with him. Same goes for you, Shuyin."
"Whatever." Lusniec muttered as he brushed past the newest member of the group.
"Shuyin, how close are we?" Yevon demanded.
"It shouldn't be too much longer. A few weeks, maybe." Shuyin shrugged. "I said it before, I'm not an Al Bhed mechanic, I can't guarantee that Vegnagun will work at all."
"Vegnagun?" Lusniec repeated the name, knowing he'd heard it before. "Wait, you mean that monster? It's here?" Yevon and Shuyin smiled and Lusniec felt fear race down his spine. 'What the hell have I gotten mixed up in that would require that?'
888
"After we defeated Sin, people began to distance themselves from the temples." Yuna explained as the group walked towards what had formerly been Djose Temple. "For a long time, Djose Temple was neglected as well. But now…"
"I'd say someone found a use for it." Matt commented when people stopped to stare at them. 'Mostly Al Bhed.' He noted absently as they walked into the temple itself, only to be greeted in the same manner.
"Everyone's staring." Yuna whispered to her friends as she shifted her weight uneasily.
"You're famous, Yunie." Rikku elbowed her cousin in the ribs playfully. "Better get used to it."
Yuna sighed. "All I wanted was some peace and quiet." She said absently.
"Then why are you hanging out with Rikku?" Matt asked jokingly. Rikku elbowed him in the ribs too, significantly harder then she had Yuna, but ended up rubbing her hurt elbow instead of hurting Matt.
"Poor thing." The perky Al Bhed said to Paine. "She's led such a sheltered life."
"Maybe she's getting old." Paine offered.
"Who's getting old?" Yuna demanded as she spun on her heel to face her friends just in time to see a blonde haired Al Bhed walk in.
"That's Gippal, leader of the Machina faction." Rikku stated quietly. "He can be kind of annoying, but he's alright."
Gippal sat down behind a desk put his feet up on it and yelled, "Okay, let's do some interviews. Bring it!"
Yuna giggled. "Yeah, he seems alright." She agreed.
"Man, this could take a while." Ryan muttered as he glanced at the line in front of them. "There's gotta be at least fifty people." Everyone sighed.
"That's the kind of shit that you keep to yourself." Matt stated as they prepared for their long wait.
Half way through the interviews a loud sigh echoed through out the temple followed by Gippal saying, "E ryja ymnayto ehdanjeafat people. Uha uv oui kioc dyga ujan (I have already interviewed people. One of you guys take over)."
The two assistants stared at him as he stood up. "Gippal!" They both showed out of sheer annoyance as the Al Bhed walked towards the temple door. He didn't make it, since the sight of Yuna waiting in line made him stop.
"Huh?" was all he managed to come up with to express his confusion.
"Hello." Yuna replied in her cheery tone.
Gippal was still staring at her like someone'd just hit him over the head with a baseball bat, but he managed to ask, "You, uh, here for an interview?"
"Uh-huh." Yuna admitted.
Gippal finally composed himself and smiled. "The great High Summoner wants an interview?"
"Former Summoner." Yuna corrected quickly.
"Hm." Gippal looked the group over for a few seconds then nodded. "All right, follow me." He led them outside and onto a bridge before stopping and turning to face them. "Never been this close to a celebrity before." He said while taking a step towards Yuna.
Yuna stepped back nervously. "That's nice."
"I could get use to this." Gippal muttered, seemingly more to himself then anyone in particular.
"Let's not." Yuna countered as Gippal continued to look the group over.
When he saw Rikku smiling at him impishly he stopped and shook his head with amusement. "Well if it isn't Cid's girl. How you been?"
Rikku's smile dissolved at the 'Cid's girl' comment, and her tone held a slightly annoyed sound when she replied with, "Hey, I have a name!"
"Heh." Gippal let out a small chuckle that brought Rikku's smile back. Matt noted Ryan shifting his weight slightly, something he always did when he was hiding one emotion or another. "Brother doin' okay?"
Rikku shrugged. "Same as ever. Buddy's around, too."
"Same as ever is right." Gippal said sarcastically as he eyed up Ryan and Matt. "And you two must be Sir Ryan and Sir Matt?" The two shivered. "Was I really that off?"
"No, you were right." Matt admitted. "Titles are just too formal for us. We prefer just 'Ryan and Matt' if you don't mind." Gippal smiled.
"Don't like too much formality, I like that in people." Gippal admitted. He looked like he was going to say something else but then he met Paine's gaze for the first time and he looked, once again, like he'd just been hit with a baseball bat. "You!"
"Paine." The woman replied calmly. "Nice to meet you."
"Uh-huh?" Gippal seemed like he was trying to remember a dream he'd never had for a second.
"We're here for the interview." Paine said calmly.
"Right… the interview." Gippal said slowly. He pulled out a peace of paper and asked the group a few questions before asking, "You sure you wanna dig? 'Cause we're talking about the desert here, people. Not exactly a picnic."
"We're sure." Yuna said forcefully.
"All right, you're hired. Welcome." Everyone but Paine stared at him like he was crazy.
"Huh?" Yuna voiced the group's question.
"You. Are. Hire." Gippal stopped and looked back at them. "Dunno why a superstar like you would want to play in the sand. Well, do what you gotta do. Anyways, I've done what I can. Dig to your heart's content."
"Um, thanks?" Yuna asked, and Gippal in turned snapped his fingers.
"Almost forgot. This is a letter of introduction. Give it to a woman named Nhadala. You'll find her in Bikanel Desert." Gippal said happily as he handed Yuna the letter. "Happy digging."
"Oh, this should be fun." Ryan said sarcastically as the group boarded the Celsius and streaked through the skies towards Bikanel Desert.
888
"Why are we using something as powerful as Vegnagun?" Lusniec asked Yevon when Shuyin left. "And for that matter, if we don't want anyone to find it, then why aren't we leaving it in a place even the other gods don't know about? And why are you taking it into the middle of Bevelle, with only Shuyin to watch over it?"
"You worry a great deal about this mission, for someone who only wants to kill Ryan." Yevon noted absently. "Relax. You want to fight Ryan again, right?"
"Of course. If it weren't for Usi's successor I would have rid Spira of him last time." Lusniec spat.
"Yes, well. The more risks we take about revealing Vegnagun, the more likely Ryan and Matt and their friends are to find it. They fought Sin, and myself, to save Spira two years ago. Do you think they'll let all that go to waste by letting someone control Vegnagun?" Lusniec considered the words carefully before shaking his head. "Of course not. They will come for Vegnagun when they discover it, and that is when you will kill your annoying successor, understood?"
"You don't have to tell me twice." Lusniec admitted. "But what about you? You lost to Matt. You must be anxious for a rematch."
"I didn't loose to Matt." Yevon countered crossly. "Matt is intelligent. By now he must know that it was Andy that I possessed. Because of that fact he will hold back when we meet again. I will crush him when that happens, when he makes that fatal error."
"And what if he isn't the one to fight you?" Lusniec countered. "They've already met up with Seph once, and he has not been known for being a bleeding heart like the others. If he is with them, he will fight to kill you. You know that, right?"
"Seph, yes. The infernal god of water." Yevon smiled evilly. "I've taken… precautions to ensure that he will be too busy to help us."
"You refer to his girlfriend? What did you do to her, anyway?" Lusniec asked offhandedly.
"That is my secret. You'll know when the time is right." Yevon replied with a tone as evil as his grin.
"If you say so, Yevon. If you say so." Lusniec replied casually as he watched the shimmering Machina in front of him. 'Vegnagun, the unstoppable machina. The machina that could have destroyed Sin, and all of Spira, with a single attack. Why didn't Yevon use this instead of Sin if he knew where it was?' Yevon wasn't telling him something, he knew that the second that he'd joined up with him. Before it had been that he'd known where Vegnagun lies. But the more that he thought about it, the less sense it made to use Sin over Vegnagun. The thought unnerved the angel as he looked up at the massive, imposing machina that was, according to legend, more then a match for the gods
themselves.
'Oh well.' He decided. 'So long as I kill Ryan, Spira can be damned to deal with Yevon's control for all I care.' Even as he thought it he felt the corruption inside him spreading. His hatred for everything he'd once fought to protect grew with each passing day, for a reason he couldn't understand. And, for reasons he didn't understand either, he didn't find it odd at all.
888
Matt watched as the little fiend that rode around on Ryan's head, now named Baby by Rikku, jumped off Ryan's head and ran back up the ramp and onto the airship. "Well at least someone in our group has enough sense to not go walking into the middle of a desert." Matt commented dryly. "Why are we digging for Gippal again?"
"Why not?" Nick asked sarcastically. "Not like we couldn't be spending time in a civilized place." He tacked on under his breath.
"Yeah, yeah. We get the point Nick. You don't like deserts." Matt replied. "Feel free to stay on the airship."
Nick stopped and considered the idea for a moment. "That was sarcasm, Nick." Ryan stated as the group set out after Rikku, who was slowly making her way away from the airship in what seemed like a arbitrary direction. Nick sighed and followed the group. And followed. And followed. And followed some more.
"Rikku, where the hell are we going? I dunno how much longer I can take this heat." The little Al Bhed just stood there and Nick let out an exhausted sigh. "Rikku! Are you listening to me?" Still no answer.
"Rikku?" Ryan's voice sounded exhausted but held a hint of worry as he walked over to her. "Rikku? Hey, come on. Not exactly the time for jokes…" a strong breeze knocked Rikku into him and his eyes widened with fear. "Rikku? Hey, Rikku!"
"Yuna-chan!" Sakura cried, diving forward to catch the falling Sphere Hunter. She was almost there when Paine toppled backwards, knocking all three of them to the ground. A thump signaled Matt hitting the ground next to them, followed by two more thumps from Ryan and Rikku.
"Guys, come on." Nick gasped while wiping sweat off his face. Damn it was hot. 'Is it legal for anything to be this hot?' he wondered as he started towards clump of woman lying next to Matt. He didn't make it before darkness overtook him.
888
Matt felt something cold drop onto his face. He pushed it away, convincing himself he was dreaming. Who would have cold water in the desert after all?
Then another cold drop hit him, this time landing on his cracked lips. As it slid down his face someone lifted his head slightly. He tried to ask who it was but his cracked lips didn't function right and all he heard was an impossible to understand jumble of words. Someone, a woman he thought vaguely, laughed and held something up to his lips.
"Drink it." She ordered gently. Exhausted, and without the ability to think clearly, Matt barely registered that he was drinking. After a few sips he started to choke and whatever was holding the water promptly moved away. "Relax." The woman said gently. And it was in Japanese.
The realization barely registered through the haze that Matt was thinking through. 'Japanese?' the fact that the voice was not only familiar, but female registered and forced his eyes open to see Sakura wearing a relieved smile. "Hey."
"Relax. We're at the Al Bhed camp." Matt blinked as his sense slowly came back.
"We're still in the desert." He whispered jokingly. Sakura smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. We're still in the desert." She confirmed. "What gave it away? The intense heat, or the rough sand that you're laying in?"
"Both." He muttered as he sat up slowly. A little ways off he heard the sound of machines and what sounded like fans. "What happened to us?"
"Heat exhaustion." Nick said from behind him. "Last time I ever let Rikku lead." There was a short pause and then a loud "Crack" before Nick let out a surprised, "Hey!" Sakura snickered and Matt turned around to find Rikku towering over his friend, who was now nursing a red cheek.
"I told you already, they moved the camp to escape a sandstorm!" Rikku stated angrily as an Al Bhed came walking over.
"Drana'c y pek cyhtcduns lusehk. Pekkacd fa'ja caah eh dra bycd oayn (There's a big sandstorm coming. Biggest we've seen in the past year)." As soon as he was finished he continued on towards the next group of people.
"Well that can't be good." Matt said with a sigh.
"What? What'd he say?" Nick demanded.
"Biggest sandstorm of the year is coming. Think the Celsius could handle it?" Matt asked while turning to Rikku.
"Probably not. Sandstorms in Bikanel desert are frequent, and they're the worst in Spira. If this is the worst one this year, I wouldn't risk it even if I thought the airship could handle it." She declared finally.
"Guess we won't be leaving the way we came in." Paine muttered in her usual, impartial tone.
"Well, we might as well make the most of our time here then." Matt said as he stood up and brushed the sand off his pants as best as he could. "We came here to dig, so lets do some digging."
888
"Y cduns? E ryda cdunsc (A storm? I hate storms)." Nhadala muttered as she walked back into the camp. As soon as she reached the shade she noticed Yuna leading her friends towards her. "I'm busy, so make it fast, ok? I've got lots to excavate and no one to do it."
"Yunie, show her Gippal's letter!" Rikku prompted.
"I've got this letter…" Yuna started as she held the letter out for Nhadala.
The Al Bhed forewoman read over the letter and smiled. "So you're the new guys!" She said happily.
"That's us!" Rikku confirmed as Nhadala looked the group over.
"Hmm. I guess the High Summoner's hard up, too." She shrugged. "And even the legendary guardians, Sir Ryan and Sir Matt. Well, don't be expecting any special treatment."
"Right." Yuna said as Ryan and Matt shared a look that was half confused half annoyed. As Nhadala pulled out a map Matt and Ryan stepped out of the group.
"Ok, now I'm really confused. How the hell do people we've never met before know who we are when Yuna, and Wakka, and Kimahri and even Rikku don't?" Matt demanded in a hushed whisper.
"I'm not exactly sure…" Ryan admitted.
"Well you weren't supposed to be back for another year, right?" Sakura asked, suddenly appearing behind them and startling them. "Relax, it's only me. I don't bite… most of the time."
"I'll alert the media Ryan commented absently. "Anyway, it was the Fayth that said we wouldn't be back for three years. When were they ever wrong before that, right? Guess we can't really blame them."
"Hey, hurry up! We're going to the western expanses!" Rikku shouted from a hovercraft looking thing. "Move it!"
As the three started towards the hovercraft something solid, and metal slammed into the back of Matt's head, knocking him to the ground instantly. "Watch where you're standing, punk." The machina said before floating over to the hovercraft's driver and staying in the air next to him.
"This is your partner. Got a bit of a mouth on him, so try to be patient." The driver said as they climbed into the hovercraft. "His name's Picket."
The little machina floated over to Yuna and said, "Hey sweetcakes." Yuna smiled nervously and nudged Rikku back slightly so that Yuna could put a little distance between her and the machina.
"Okay, well if everyone's ready, let's go." The pilot hopped into the now full hovercraft and gunned whatever powered it. "Just a word of warning! You won't be able to stay out in the heat for long, so make sure you don't wander too far away from the hovercraft. Picket can find you, given enough time, but by the time he does it's very possible that you'll already be dead. Understand?" The group nodded grimly. "Good."
888
"That was the worst half hour of my life." Sakura muttered as they reached the camp again. "I hate heat. It always makes everything worse."
Rikku laughed slightly before whispering to Sakura, "I used to live in this desert. But we had to blow our home up. Now the Al Bhed aren't considered evil anymore, not by most anyway, and we live all over the place. But one day, we're gonna rebuild HOME, and everyone'll be welcome, all the Al Bhed's friends, all the Al Bhed, everyone."
"That sounds like a grand old time, unless you don't have air-conditioning." Nick said in an exhausted voice as he climbed out of the hovercraft. "Just hurry up and give Nhadala what we got so we can get out of here."
"Just what we needed!" Nhadala exclaimed when Rikku handed the piece to her. "You're good."
"Did you really expect anything less?" Nick asked.
"Don't let it get to your head." The woman snapped. "But you did do a good job. Here. Your reward." Nhadala handed Nick, intentionally passing through the rest of the group without making any move to give it to anyone else, a box. "Come back any time you like. We'll be here."
"Right. Thanks!" Nick called as he led the group out of the camp and into the airship, which had just arrived. "Thank god! Cool air!"
"Which god would you be thanking now?" Matt asked sarcastically.
"Really, we've got the god of fire, water, ice, thunder, non-elemental, and death. And a guardian angel who uses holy, but if you say him I'm gonna kick your ass." Ryan warned.
"Ha, ha, very funny. Figure of speech guys." Nick replied testily. "And what happened to you two," he motioned to Matt and Paine, "fighting?"
"Hey, that's right." Matt said as he turned to face Paine. "We were supposed to have a match after we got back from Mushroom Rock Road." A smile tugged at his lips and he bowed sarcastically. "Shall we, my lady?"
"You really do want to get hurt, don't you?"
"Strong words for someone who's hesitating." Matt pointed out as an icy calm feel over him.
"Hesitating?" Paine repeated venomously. "You think I'm scared of you?"
Matt shrugged. "I don't presume to know anything other then what I see. And all I see is a woman that's stalling. That leads me to believe, despite whether or not it's the truth, that you're afraid of me. And after what you've seen me warming up," Matt emphasized the words, "it makes sense that you'd want to see the full extent of my powers before fighting."
Paine glared at the god who simply returned her glare with an icy smile. With an annoyed cry Paine covered the short distance between the two in two steps and slammed her blade down. Matt smirked and brought his left arm over his head. The blade slammed into his arm and stopped, much to the surprise of everyone but Ryan.
"Matt, I knew you had a lot of muscle, but that's just disgusting!" Sakura complained as she turned away.
"Well, I do have a lot of muscle. But… this isn't muscle." He reached up with his right arm and tore his sleeve back to reveal a now cracked, jet-black gauntlet. "You cracked my gauntlet… impressive. You're not bad. Not good either, but not bad." Paine pulled her sword off Matt's gauntlet.
"Get lost." She yelled as she whipped around, her sword barely missing a bored looking Ryan's face, and used the momentum of the move to slam her sword into Matt again. This time he caught it between both gauntlets, and his smile vanished.
"You cracked my gauntlet." He told her. "So now, I break your sword." Before anyone could say anything his arms jerked and the tip of her sword fell to the ground. With a single push Paine went flying through the air and into the railing behind her with a grunt.
"Matt." The thunder god turned to face Ryan who was giving him an annoyed look. "You over did it. Again. Like always."
"She cracked my gauntlet!" Matt countered. "And besides, she's fine. And we can always pick her up another sword."
888
"Seph, those people that were at Mushroom Rock Road yesterday. How could they…" JT's question died off.
"How could they be as powerful as me, right?" JT nodded and Seph laughed. "Well, you know how Rae told you I was a god?"
"Yeah. She does tend to exaggerate a bit, although you are really strong." JT commented as the two walked into the area of Djose temple.
"Well, she wasn't. For once." JT stared at Seph like the former assassin was insane. "Hey, sounds weird, I know. But it's true."
"Yeah right." JT muttered as two security guards walked in front of them.
"Cunno, pid Gippal ec eh y jano esbundyhd saadehk. Oui lyh'd ku eh nekrd huf (Sorry, but Gippal is in a very important meeting. You can't go in right now)." To emphasize his point the guard raised his rifle up.
"Cunno." Seph said without stopping.
"Oui lyh'd ku eh nekrd huf (You can't go in right now)!" The guard yelled, as Seph started to push against the large doors. "E cyet cdub (I said stop)!" Seph continued to push on the doors, which were slowly opening. "Vena (Fire)!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." JT said from behind them. The two guards spun around and found JT scowling at them. "It's not polite to point guns at someone's back!"
"Kid leave now!" One of the guards shouted in broken Spirian, drawing the attention of everyone in the area except for Seph, who had finally gotten the door open enough to slip inside the temple.
"Did you really expect that to work?" JT asked with a raised eyebrow while stepping in-between the two guards. A single kick sent the one in front of him to the ground, moaning something about children. Without a second's hesitation JT spun around, his foot connecting solidly with the second guard's chin. The Al Bhed rolled with the kick and came back up with a knife in one hand. 'Didn't see that one coming.'
"E's kuehk du caht oui du dra Farplane, get (I'm going to send you to the Farplane, kid)!" The guard muttered as he advanced slowly.
"E't mega du caa oui dno, oui byhco (I'd like to see you try, you pansy)!" JT replied instantly. The guard jumped at JT, his knife angling straight for the red-eyed Al Bhed's heart. JT rolled his eyes as he stepped to the side, grabbed the guard's wrist and twisted. 'Idiot.'
888
"Gippal!" Seph said cheerfully as he walked into the Djose temple. The Al Bhed leader took one look and his normally happy face drooped.
"Why the hell are you here?" He demanded.
Seph looked at him with mock-pain on his face. "Gippal, I'm hurt. I thought we were friends."
"That's what you said two years ago, too." Gippal shot back. "Before you tried to get us killed."
"Hey, that wasn't my fault. I told you already, I didn't know there were going to be that many fiends, or I would've come with. And besides, you're alive, aren't you?" Gippal glared at Seph with his one eye as the god walked around and admired the headquarters. "I see you've got machina all over the place."
"We are the Machina Faction for a reason." Gippal replied dryly. "Now what do you want? The longer you're here, the less work I can get done."
"Ok, I'll get straight to the point." Seph turned to face Gippal fully, letting his cheerful demeanor give way to his old one, the one of Spira's number one assassin. "Rae's gone missing."
Gippal's throat tightened. "You let something happen to Rae?" He asked quietly.
"I didn't let anything happen. I never do. She left without telling me." Seph reached inside his shirt to an interior pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "She left this."
Gippal walked over and ripped the paper out of Seph's hand. His heart skipped a beat when he read it.
Seph,
I'm going to see what I can find out about the Leblanc Syndicate. I should be back in a few days. Take care of TJ for me.
P.S. don't mess around or I'll kick your ass, got it?
"That definitely sounds like Rae." Gippal admitted sadly. "What happened to her, do you know?"
"What part of 'Rae's gone missing' didn't you catch?" Seph asked as he fished around in another pocket. "I checked out the Leblanc Syndicate's headquarters in Guadosalam. None of them had ever seen someone like Rae. I did, however, find this when I went to leave." He handed Gippal another note.
Sir Seph (God of Water),
I sincerely hope you have been doing well. I hope you don't mind, but I've taken the liberty of taking care of your girlfriend for the time being, what with her overhearing my plans and all. If you want to save her, I'll see you in the Den of Woe, if you can open it that is.
Sincerely,
Yu Yevon.
"It was in a box that had Rae's name on it." Seph said when Gippal handed him back the note.
"You can't think that that note is for real, can you? I mean, come on. Yu Yevon? Yuna sent the guy two years ago! Besides," Gippal added before Seph could make any comment, "nobody can get into the Den of Woe. It's impossible."
"First of, Yu Yevon is the god of gods, Gippal. Would it really surprise you if Yuna wasn't able to send him? And second off, why do you say it's impossible to get into the Den of Woe? The Crimson Squad sealed it, didn't they?"
"No." Gippal replied calmly. "We were supposed to. Someone beat us to it. And damn, he kicked all four of our asses."
"Who the hell could beat all four of you?" Seph demanded nervously. The thought of someone besting the Crimson Squad left him more then slightly unnerved.
"I dunno. He had long silver hair, wore a dress, big tall guy. Giant ass sword." Gippal sighed. "Called him self Lusneck or something like that."
Seph's throat tightened. "Lusniec?"
"Yeah, that's it, why? Know him?"
Seph nodded, "A little." Seph's mind raced. 'What the hell would Lusniec want in the Den of Woes?'
"Look, Seph. We don't have a great history together, I know. In fact, most people would probably call us enemies." Gippal smiled slightly. "But we both care about Rae. She's one of the best friends I ever had. I don't want to see her get hurt if I can help it."
"What are you saying?" Seph asked quietly.
"I'm saying that I've still got a few friends in the world. I'll have them find out anything they can about her, and if I find something that sounds promising I'll let you know."
Seph raised an eyebrow. "Why not just go and save her yourself? Maybe then she'd go out with you rather then me."
"Give me a break, Seph. I've got hundreds of chicks lining up to see me, and I still have to run the Machina Faction. I can't afford to leave, but you can." Gippal chuckled slightly. "It's something that you have that, at this rate, I never will. And besides, the note was addressed to you specifically, right? And if what you say is true, if it really is from Yu Yevon, then there's no way in hell the Crimson Squad, even if we could get back together, could stop him. But I dunno, something's telling me that maybe you and whoever else you fight with could."
Seph rolled his eyes and bowed mockingly. "You honor me."
"I don't honor you, I respect you. You kicked my ass once before, and that was when I lived to fight. After two years of pushing pencils, while you were out fighting and having fun, I don't think I could exactly kill you. I'm not that arrogant."
"You aren't?" JT asked as he walked into the temple. Seph and Gippal turned to face him.
"What the hell happened to your lip?" Gippal demanded.
"Nice to see you to Gippal." JT replied dryly. "But I think you might want to get some new door guards…"
"What the hell! You've been here for, what, ten minutes at best and knocked out two guards!" Gippal cried. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"They were going to shoot Seph. In the back no less. If Rae found out that I let that happen…" JT shivered at the thought of what his older sister would do. "She's got a lot of fiends you know. Besides, I did you a favor, Gippal. Those two weren't worth two Gil a day."
Gippal's eye twitched slightly. "They were volunteers." He replied. "And after what you probably did to them, I don't think anyone else is going to volunteer for the job, are they?"
"How do you know what I did?" JT asked cautiously. "It wasn't that bad. I mean, the bones should be healed in a few weeks, nothing too major. And it's not like I killed them or anything. Just kicked their asses." Seph and Gippal sighed.
"JT, you know Rae's going to kill me for teaching you martial arts if she finds out, right?" Seph asked slowly.
"Yep."
"Do you plan on letting her find out?" Seph questioned.
"Not unless I have to." JT replied easily. "Besides, what could she do to a god?" Gippal and Seph shared a nervous look.
"Have you ever seen Rae when she's angry?" Gippal asked his friend.
"No, why?" JT asked, seemingly slightly confused. Gippal and Seph shivered.
"Lucky you." The two said at the same time.
888
Through the fog that clouded her mind Rae felt a sharp pain in her stomach. "Wake up, whore. Food's here." Someone said in an amused voice. Rae's eyes flittered open, and despite being half asleep, and the lack of sufficient lighting, she could make out the creature standing in front of her. It wasn't very intimidating at first glance. Other then it's red eyes with golden specs in them, the only one thing separated it from normal humans: a pair of cat ears sprouting from the top of its head.
Worst of all, she could sum up its personality in one word: sadist. The first day she'd been captured by the masked man, her guard had decided to see just how far it could push her before she broke. It hadn't taken much. She'd seen Seph torture people before. But watching torture, and being the one that's getting tortured were to very different things. It hadn't even taken her guard an hour to get all the information the masked man wanted, not that he'd actually stopped afterwards.
So now, even with the second meal she'd had in three days in front of her, she hesitated. The aches in her body reminded her that it wasn't just some nightmare. If she offended her guard, she suspected he had permission to do what he needed to, to keep her in line. "Well, whore. You gonna sit there and let that go to waste or you gonna eat it?" Without hesitating Rae reached out and took the tray. To her surprise he didn't make any move to stop her. "The boss wants to chat with you when you're done. Don't keep him waiting too long, or I'll be seeing you afterwards, got it?" Rae nodded and ate her food as quickly as she could.
When she was done her guard led her out of the dingy, dirty, dark cell she'd been forced to live in for a week and a half, and into what appeared to be a giant cave. More of the cat people, she still didn't have the faintest clue as to what species they were, walked around the cave busily. Each one, Rae noted, was carrying weapons. 'What is going on?' she wondered.
"Lady Rae, I'm glad to see you're still alive. My guard said that you might not live to meet with me, despite my desire to speak with you." The masked man commented absently when Rae was led into a well decorate, well-lighted room with everything from couches to a dry bar. "Would you care for a drink?"
"I don't think I could handle anything but water." Rae said with a phantom of a smile. Why did this guy's voice sound so familiar?
"Guard, fetch her some water." The man ordered instantly. The guard hissed slightly but obeyed. As soon as it was out of the room the door shut behind it and Rae heard a lock snap into place. "How have you found your visit? I understand that you've been in that cell for, what, three weeks now?" Rae nodded and found that even that sent a jolt of pain through her head.
"The cell wasn't so bad. The guard was." The man's head tilted slightly. "He's, is it a he?" The man nodded. "Well, he's a sadist."
"He is?" The voice sounded genuinely surprised. "Huh. That would explain why so many of our guest don't make it long enough to speak with me." Rae nodded and the man continued, "You don't look like you've been eating well, either. Didn't he feed you twice a day?" Rae shook her head slowly.
"Three times a week if I'm lucky." Rae stated bluntly.
"I'll have to have a… talk… with him before I leave. Don't worry, you'll have a new guard by the end of the night." Rae let out a sigh of relief. "In fact, you'll be staying here for the rest of your stay."
"Wha?" Rae asked in astonishment. "Here? Why, I'm your prisoner aren't I?"
"Well, technically speaking, yes, you are. However, you've also become a pivotal part in my plan, you see. In other words I need you alive and from how you look now, no offense, you won't last much longer in your current cell." The man stated calmly. "And, to be honest, the only reason you were even taken to begin with was because you saw one of them."
"Them? You mean the cat-people?" The man nodded. "That's why I'm here? Because I saw one of your slaves?"
"Allies." The man corrected.
"Whatever!" Rae yelled. "I've been under the care of a sadist for three weeks because I saw a cat-person? Damn it, I thought the fucking ears were fake! And what the hell do you mean by 'you've become a pivotal part in my plan'?"
"Yes, my plan. I was hoping we'd get to discuss it." The man reached up and removed the mask, and Rae felt her heart jump into her throat.
"Andy?" She managed to whisper. The sudden revelation sapped what little strength she'd been using to stay standing, and she collapsed onto the couch. "But why?"
Andy smiled. "First off, I'm not Andy." Rae just raised an eyebrow, too shocked to do anything else. "I'm just using his body, his powers, you get the picture. And as to you being a pivotal part of my plan, you're my bait." He leaned forward. "Your boyfriend help stop my plans two years ago, along with that whore of a Summoner, Yuna. And for that, you're all going to pay. Every. Last. One."
"You can't be alive." Rae muttered in disbelief. "Yuna sent you and Sin, you can't be alive!"
Yevon snorted. "Please. Do you think a mere mortal could stop me? Only one being has the ability to 'send' me. That's the god of Death. Sin. And he was sent, which means he can't send me." Yevon smiled evilly. "So you see, by sending Sin, Yuna damned Spira."
muwahahahahahahahahahahahahah! spira is DAMNED because of the events in FFX! bet nobody saw that coming, heh. and what's gonna happen to Rae? and what's Gippal's connection to her? well, you'll just have to read and find out.