Chapter 7
Tenna was getting a run-through of all the special items she would need on her journey by Sora.
"Okay. Potions give you enough energy not to die, and Hi-Potions are usually saved for after a battle or if you don't want to heal yourself as often, giving you more time to attack instead of saving your butt, like with a powerful boss."
"Boss?"
"Basically the most powerful enemy in the area."
"Ah."
"Anyway, Ethers restore some of your magic when you're low, a lot like Potions."
"I don't have—"
"We'll share spells when we actually get going. You'll gain certain abilities later, too."
Tenna's eyes sparkled and she grinned. "Eee…"
"Anything," he continued, "with the word 'Mega' in its name affects the entire party, not just yourself, and gives you more time to fight without having to worry about when your allies' health will run out. Elixirs are the best, because they restore one hundred percent of your magic and health. The best thing about them is they come in Mega form, but they're super-rare and cost a lot of munny in the store. And finally there's Phoenix Down, which is a feather, and it revives you if you faint from lack of health." He paused. "Riku can talk to you about weapons and stuff."
Tenna glanced at him, where he was leaning against a bookshelf on the opposite wall, reading… he novel she had bought that morning. She blushed again as she walked up to him. She didn't really want to snatch it away from him, though, so instead, with a shaky, broken voice, she began, "Er, Sora said, uh…" she cleared her throat to speak more clearly. "He told me to come to you about weapons and, um… 'stuff'."
"Didn't want to tell you himself?" he asked, an irritated expression on his face as he glared at Sora. She shook her head. "Alright… First of all, what are you going to use for a weapon?"
"Er… What is there to choose from?"
Riku waved to a pile in the corner, where there was an intricate treasure chest full of assorted… things. Some of them were weapons that she didn't even think would function in battle… Like something that looked like a child's baton. It was even pink with a bunch of tassels on the end. "Take your time; you'll be using whatever you pick for the rest of your time with us." I'm just curious how long that will be, if it will take only a few days, or several months, he thought.
Tenna rummaged through the pile. After a little while, she selected two simple ring-shaped blades about 10 inches in diameter.
"The chakram," he said, as if reading a handbook, "Melee weapons. Good for both close-range and long-range attacks, though best when enemies are practically right next to you, as their reach is quite short. As for long-range, they will have to be retrieved, as they are projectiles. Meaning you will only have two shots before you're only left defending until you can get your hands on them again. Are those what you wish to take?"
She looked back at the other things she could have gotten, and nodded.
"Then these will be the basis of your training. For starters, let's just work on handling the weapons and some basic moves in the courtyard." He led the way outside.
Within the hour, Tenna was sweating and leaning against a statue, trying to catch her breath. In that time, she had learned a basic three-strike combo, and was now able to execute it extremely quickly.
"You'll automatically be able to learn better moves and more of them when you gain more experience." he said.
"How does that work?"
Riku paused, seeming to think about it for the first time. "You know, I don't exactly know. It just does. When you're ready, we can discuss armor."
"Does that require movement?" she gasped, nearly collapsing at the thought.
Riku grinned. "It doesn't have to, I guess…"
"Then I'm ready."
"Okay. Armor comes in the form of anything from belts to bracelets to anklets. They provide extra defense, usually, but some help resist certain types of magic." He pointed to a ring on her right hand. "Which goes along with accessories. May I?" he asked before he took her hand, making her blush slightly. It was warm and she could feel his strength in the gentle way he held her. "What you have here is your standard enhancement accessory. This one happens to boost your defense. Others increase your ability capacity, and some resist certain magic. Basically, it's a smaller version of armor, mostly in ring or necklace form, but just as helpful." He put the ring back on and let go of her hand. "And that's about it."
"So we're ready to go?" Kairi asked, emerging from a door.
"We're leaving already? Tenna asked, slumping. "But I'm so tired…"
"That's the price of saving the world," Riku said, patting her shoulder and smiling. "You can hopefully get some rest on the ship, if we don't get blown up."
"Fun!" she said sarcastically.
"Don't tell me you're backing out already." said Sora, who walked up to Kairi.
"I never said that!"
"Then I suggest we leave more or less right now." said Riku.
"Again, taking my role away from me, the leader, who's supposed to be the one to issue orders…" Sora grumbled, sulking.
"It would be nice if you actually gave orders once in a while," Riku shot back.
They were back on the ship, getting ready to take off to whatever world lay ahead.
"Here's a new one," Donald said, looking at the available paths. "It's called—"
"Hawaii…?" Goofy asked, curious. "All the other worlds we went to had names I could understand…"
"Phooey," said Donald, pulling the throttle.
