hey, i'm back -points to a sign that reads "NO ROTTEN FOOD THROWING PLEASE!" as people prepare to throw rotten food- ok, now that that's taken care of, sorry for the long update time people, but yeah. the chapters just aren't coming out like they were before. sorry. anyway, i'm now working on another school during my free time in school and when my sister's on the comp, so maybe i'll post a chapter of that soon. anywau. onto the reviews!
Auron's Fan- NEE-CHAN! yes, it was ironic that we updated on the same day. two blessing two the world. go us! and you'll get to see what the girls do to the guys this chapter so yeah. look forward to that
Da KeR MysTeRr- lol, 5:30? wow, you got up a half hour after i do on a normal day... -- the things i do for you people. and i'm glad you thought i did a good job with the point of view changing, it's one of the hardest things to do in my opinion.
labrat-seph- tsk, tsk, tsk, always getting ahead of me aren't you? as for Paine laughing at the party... i'll leave that to your imagination XD. Dnortih will be back... eventually... and the whole thing with Ryan's power's will come back too, probably about the same time. as for Sin having his own dimension... that comes into play in book 3, so relax. lates!
Bstgoalie31 - yeah, the guys pranked the girls. and you'll get to see quickly -scroll down. its the first thing in the chapter ;-p -
Sejast Fanel- yeah... like i said in the previous reply, its the first thing so go read quickly! and do you still think you should review? actually i've just had writer's block so yeah, keep reviewing!
SLy- boy, the prank seems to be a popular subject. well, its the first thing in the chapter so yeah. and baby and snow are in this chapter too, but no big roles... yet. maybe i'll have to give them major roles sooner or later... Vena 'dying' will be explained in time, i can't say anything now 'cause it'll ruin... stuff... in the future. but it will be explained! and yeah, usi kicked lusniec's ass, go her!
KamiKaze no Kage- yeah, seph got his ass handed to him. that kinda thing is going to happen more often in the upcoming updates, which will probably take awhile between school and writer's block. i swear, that should be forbidden... horrible combo. anyway. yeah, lusniec's pretending to be on yevon's side, but if you wanna see what he's up to, you'll have to wait and find out. and yeah, the guy's are prankin' the girls. and no worries 'bout being nuts. i don't mind at all
Anasazi Darkmoon- Yeah, you're still alive, thank god for that. and yes, Usi's finally off her high horse... and yes, its sad that it took Vena's impending death to do it. as for pranking the girls, i hope you enjoy!
Skillfulist- hey, i'm glad you like my story. as for playing FFX-2... its not that great. the entire game is, more or less, side quests. and sorry for updating so slowly. school + writer's block isBAD!
Reyavie- i don't look at my hit counter anymore. it just makes me mad that so many people check my story out and don't bother to review. you guys know who you are. REVIEW! -shakes fist meanacingly- as for your brain cells... sorry, but lusniec doesn't know what side he's on, so he's gonna be a rouge person for a while longer. don't worry, towards the end he figures out what side he's on. as for planning on killing all the gods, you'll have to read and find out.and i think its only been... 11 days since you reviewed, so yeah. like i said, school + writer's block is BAD!
and that's everything people. so now, without further ado, to the chapter!
Down Time
"Hey, wake up," Seph ordered as he began to beat on Matt's door. "We don't have all d-" he was cut off abruptly when the door opened; Matt and Ryan dragged him in, and then closed the door quietly.
"Shut up!" They hissed in unison.
"What?" Seph asked immediately. Ryan and Matt just went over to the wall with Nick and sat there quietly. "Anybody going to answer me?"
"Just shut the hell up and listen!" Nick hissed without moving away from the wall. Seph shook his and sat on the bed to wait for whatever was happening.
Five minutes later an impossibly loud alarm went off, shaking the wall and knocking the pillows off of Matt's bed. Lights flashed under the door so brightly that everyone in the room had to shield their eyes and turn to keep from being temporarily blinded. Seph's eyes widened in confusion as he shielded them from the light that was leaking through and, when the lights died down enough for him to see, he darted out of the room and found the hallway filling with smoke that was seeping out of the girls' room.
And when the girls came running out screaming, minus Paine who walked out calmly, the first thing they saw was Seph standing there. "Seph, you bastard!" Rae shouted as she dove at him. He spun to the side and then jumped over her, slamming the door shut behind him.
"What the fuck did you do?" Seph demanded as he backed away from the door.
"We set flash grenades, a couple of smoke bombs, and hooked Ryan's cell phone alarm up to a speaker," Matt said with a laugh.
"Did you have a plan for making it out of the room alive?" Seph questioned frantically.
"Not really, no. We kind of didn't have time to come up with one," Nick said with a hint of worry creeping into his voice.
"Ummm… let see… what have we got to work with? The door and the window?" Ryan asked as he glanced around the room.
"Why do we have windows in here, anyway?" Nick pondered until Seph slapped him in the back of the head.
"Focus on this problem, eh?" He suggested harshly as he started towards the window. "Brother's not up yet. We haven't started moving."
"What are you suggesting?" Matt questioned as he Seph climbed up onto the windowsill. "Seph, talk to us."
"We're going to the deck," Seph said as a pendulum slid out of his pocket and he launched it up to the top of the deck. "Well, see you up there."
"Oh, this is going to be a pain in the ass," Nick stated as Seph disappeared with a grin.
"Well, it's this or the door," Ryan said with a shrug. "The choice is up to you."
"Oh, I know which way I'm going," Matt muttered as he walked over to the windowsill and pressed his hand against the side of the airship. "Well, here goes something knew…"
"That's a hard landing down there, Matt. Be careful," Ryan advised.
"Gee, thanks for the tip," Matt said dryly as he started to pull himself up the wall, small bursts of electricity emitting from his hands. "Wow, it actually wor-" Matt stopped when he suddenly began to slip back down the side. "Oh shit."
"This can't be good for his health," Nick noted as he grabbed his friend by the wrist as he slid by and being yanked along until two ropes made exclusively of water wrapped around them and began to hall them up.
"Thanks for the lift, Seph," Nick gasped as the former assassin lowered a third for Ryan.
"Well what was I supposed to do? You guys are too incompetent to get up here on you own," Seph pointed out with a smug grin as Ryan grabbed the third one and jumped out the window and rolled to the side just as Paine kicked Matt's door in.
"Well, now we really owe you one," Nick complained when Seph had them up on the deck.
"Yeah, well, don't get too lovey-dovey on me. You're not going to enjoy this, got it?" Seph said bluntly.
"Oh boy. It's like sensei all over again," Matt muttered grimly as he thought of Auron's "Hell week" which was, in his opinion, a rather fitting title.
"Ok, the key to fighting without being able to see is simple: hearing," Seph stated firmly. "The second most important skill is being able to judge the distance between you and the enemy's weapon. And finally, being able to react fast enough to keep your enemy from landing a fatal blow."
"Makes sense," Nick agreed. "So, how do we do this?"
"We train in the fog. The real fog, not this low-visibility crap," Seph added when Nick began to snicker. "And we wear these as well," Seph pulled a bag off his back and dumped the contents on the deck and started handing different ones to different people.
"What're these for?" Nick questioned as he caught the arm and leg weights he was having thrown at him.
"Weights, what do you think they're for? Actually, don't answer that," Seph muttered as he strapped on his own set. "Now we get to sparring."
"What? Why? How?" Nick demanded as he strapped the leg weights on, stood up and tried to take a step only to nearly fall as the weight slammed his foot into the deck painfully. "How much do these things weigh!"
"For you? I think it was eighty pounds," Seph said with a shrug. "Matt's weights are… a hundred and ten I believe it was. And Ryan's are a hundred and twenty."
"What? Why does Ryan have heavier weights then me?" Matt asked as he stood up and lifted an eyebrow.
"Because you two have been dealing with Ryan's speed for what, two years? Ryan's not used to fighting someone as fast or faster then him. Right now, out of the four of us, he stands the least chance of beating Lusniec without help," Seph explained as he adjusted his weights. "So to compensate with that he has to get used to dealing with being slower then others, he needs heavier weights. Besides, this'll give you guys a chance to get a few good revenge hits in if you want. And maybe it'll give Ryan some upper body strength, too."
"That… was cold," Ryan muttered.
"What did I say yesterday?" Seph asked with a grin as a thick fog started to roll in. "Ok now people, focus. You find me in the next hour and breakfast is on me."
"An hour?" Matt repeated skeptically. "Dude, odds are we'll find you through sheer dumb luck by then."
"Hey, I'm not planning on playing fair," Seph said with a grin evident in his voice as the vision negating fog consumed them all.
888
Nick quickly discovered how serious Seph was about this lesson. Less then a minute after the fog had rolled in several pendulums had hit him, and each one had hurt. Now he was holding his side as blood trickled down his side and onto the deck.
'What the hell is he thinking? Actually attacking us, that's insane!' Nick thought as he closed his eyes as ignored the pain. As he closed his eyes and was engulfed by absolute darkness he felt an odd sense of peace come with it. It was akin to entering a whole new world, one where every sound was amplified four times over, every smell was impossibly clear and distinct, and every vibration in the ground was noticeable if he paid close enough attention. Finding the origin was as simple as focusing slightly harder on each vibration.
His breath slowed down as he let the sounds around him tell him what his eyes couldn't. He could hear Matt and Ryan breathing as the stumbled around through the fog, the scraping of their shoes as the moved around on the deck, the sound of Seph's pendulums gliding through the air, and the sound of his own heartbeat in the distant background.
But what he didn't hear worried him. The fog gave Seph a distinct advantage. He could hear everything they did because they had to move to attack. He, on the other hand, could sit on a thing of water and let his pendulums do all the work for him.
'He's gotta have a flaw somewhere in his strategy. What is it?' Nick wondered as he stepped backwards just in time to avoid a pendulum that grazed his face anyway. 'Bastard…' he twisted out of the way of another one and then collapsed from the loss of balance combined with the weights on his arms and the pain that shot through his side. He shoved off the deck with a grunt and caught another pendulum with the blade of his weapon as he flicked it in an arch in front of him, scrapping the spearhead at the bottom along the metal and letting out an ear splitting screech.
Without thinking he reached out and grabbed the water that connected the pendulum to Seph and pulled, causing it to disappear and drop the pendulum to the ground. Nick grinned when he heard it clattered. At least now he had a way to defend himself.
888
Matt was fairing far worse. Seph's pendulums were constantly flashing through the air and slashing him. So far he'd managed to avoid anything serious, keeping the damage superficial, but he was getting tired. Even when Auron had sparred against him for hours on end, he hadn't been able to keep up a constant barrage.
In fact, all of his battles had been short intense battles, and in two years he'd never had a long, drawn out, battle like this one. He always had time to catch his breath, evaluate his opponent's strategy, and redo his own accordingly. Seph, apparently, didn't plan on giving him that opportunity.
'I'll just have to improvise then,' he reflected wryly as he let out an exhausted sigh. 'Okay, Seph, you wanna use your powers to play, I'll play by your rules.' Lighting sparked off of his body, collided with pendulums, and then slammed down back into the deck. After that it spider-webbed along the surface of the deck with an intense glow that light up the fog, and every now and then a spark would shoot up and collide with a pendulum as it flashed or tumbled into the lightning web. 'It worked. Go figure.'
888
Ryan had it worst then either Matt or Nick. With his weights he could barely move, and Seph wasted no time in using that to his advantage as he drove his pendulums in rapidly, and from a staggering array of directions that would have given him if he hadn't been weighed down. And without his powers he couldn't defend himself in the way Matt could, leaving him to rely on his lumbering, cumbersome, awkward movements.
Movements that weren't nearly enough to avoid even the slowest of Seph's attacks. As it was, he had four pendulums sticking out of him, one in the right leg, two in the left arm, and a third in the side. Each breath and shift in his stance brought on fresh waves of agony.
'What the hell did I do to deserve this?' he wondered as he instinctively brought his arm up in front of his face when another pendulum was diving at his face. A dull pain pulsed in his arm and when he looked at it the pendulum was stuck in the weight, which was slowly pouring out sand. He nearly slapped himself in the face with relief at his dumb luck, but a pendulum flashed in-between his face and hand.
888
Seph shook his head as he sat in his little bubble of water that let him hover above the fog, safe from any attacks that Matt, Nick, or Ryan could come up with. 'Still, I'd have thought they'd have tired something by now.' He let out a sigh as Ryan's breathing became more ragged. 'Maybe I should ease off him. Then again, if I do, what's the point of the training?' he raised an eyebrow when Nick began to cut the strands of water that connected him to his pendulums, causing them to clatter to the ground uselessly until he decided to get them back.
Which Matt's stupid lighting web defense was forcing him to do, by knocking everything he sent at it away with quick bursts of electricity. He hated to admit it, but if he could get it to be silent rather then sounding like his Chidori, it'd be the perfect defense. Undetectable in visionless combat, and perfect against groups, the only possible weakness it could have was how long Matt could keep it in existence.
Seph sighed to himself instinctively, and then silently berated himself for it when something he couldn't quite identify in the fog came flying towards him. The water around him lost it shape and he dropped the twenty feet to the ground amidst the racket that the water landing had caused. Before he had to time to stand up a bolt of lighting shot out at him, forcing him to twist and slip to avoid it, only to have his hair stand on end when it hit the water around him.
When Seph could see straight again he found himself staring at dozens of bolts of lightning racing towards him. 'Oh, this could be bad.'
888
"Praetor Baralai, sir, why are we moving a machina into the basement of our base?" The captain of the guard questioned when he saw Baralai, who was overseeing the transfer of Vegnagun from the Farplane to the Bevellian Temple.
"New Yevon must not allow Vegnagun to fall into the hands of the Machina Faction or the Youth League. It's too dangerous to risk leaving it alone," Shuyin explained. 'There, you've got your damn answer, now leave me the hell alone you dumb ass guard!'
"I see. Thank you, sir. I feared we might have been planning to use it against our enemies should they unite against us," The guard said with a laugh before walking off.
"Never," Shuyin lied. 'I don't plan to use it against our enemies. I plan to use it against this whole, damned, planet!'
"Well, Praetor Baralai, I'm glad to see you decided to take my advice," Yevon said cheerfully as he and Lusniec walked up behind Shuyin calmly.
"Indeed I have my old friend. And Sir Micheal… I'm glad you finally found a pair of pants that you enjoy wearing," Shuyin added with a smirk towards Lusniec who only smiled pleasantly and nodded his head. Shuyin wanted to walk over and behead the smug bastard, but for the sake of his mission instead he asked, "Anyway, what can I do for you two? As you can see I'm rather busy."
"Oh, yes, certainly," Yevon said quickly, sensing the tension that was rising between his subordinates. "I was just curious as to how much longer it will take for Vegnagun to be transported completely?"
"Only two, at most," Shuyin stated firmly. "Now if you'd be so kind as to show yourselves to the exits, my men and I have worked to do."
Yevon barely held his temper in check as he smiled politely before turning around slowly and walking away.
"When do you plan to kill him?" Lusniec questioned as he tightened his grip on Wind Cutter.
"When he's no longer useful, he will die," Yevon said with a shrug. "There's nothing else to it. And when did you get Wind Cutter back?"
"Oh, you could say Ryan… fell asleep on the job," Lusniec said with a slight grin as he thought back to the one-sided fight. "So I took it. For safe keeping of sorts."
"Oh, of course," Yevon said with a roll of his eyes. "So you've finally got your sword back. And you're going to kill you heir with it. Again."
"Well I've been doing it for years and it's been working, why stop now, right?" Lusniec asked with a false insane grin.
"That's what I like about you, Lusniec. If something works, you don't mess with it," Yevon said with a chuckle. "Now, the question is how much longer will it be until he becomes useless?"
"Oh, I'd say a few more days," Lusniec said with an eager grin.
"I'm afraid we might need him to work Vegnagun for us, so don't kill him until I say so, understand?" Yevon questioned quickly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll leave him alone until I get the go ahead," Lusniec complained as they walked through a door outlined in gray flames. "But I will kill him."
"Yes, you will," Yevon agreed earnestly.
888
"Hey, what smells so good in here?" Rae mumbled as she walked into the kitchen at seven in the morning only to find a sight that she never thought she'd live to see. "What the hell? Seph, why on Spira you wearing an apron?" She questioned through her laughter, drawing dagger-filled glares from the god.
"Because he didn't want to get his clothes dirty…" Ryan snickered from where he was watching a timer. Seph muttered something, smiled evilly, and then tossed a handful of wet flower at the swordsman, drawing another round of laughter from Rae.
"Dude, that wasn't right!" Ryan complained as Kitty and Rikku poked their heads in and then joined Rae in laughing as Ryan retaliated with a partially melted stick of butter. Seph glared, reached for the eggs, and then spun and caught Rikku in the forehead, abruptly ending the laughter from the three spectators.
"Urrr, Seph, oui zang! (Ohhh, Seph, you jerk!)" Rikku shouted as she wiped the egg off her forehead, grabbed a bowl of sugar and hurled it across the room at him.
"Oh, crap!" Seph muttered as his head shot to the right only to be covered in flour. He blinked a little bit out of his eye and looked up at Rae to find her grinning at him. "Ok, that's it!"
"Rikku, Kitty, Rae, heads up!" Ryan called as he grabbed a measuring cup filled with milk and tossed its contents at them, covering all three of them.
"Ryan, you'll pay for that!" Rikku shouted playfully as she charged him, only to slip and fall onto the ingredient-covered floor.
"Hey, you ok?" Ryan asked as he squatted down next to her.
"Owie…" Rikku complained before grabbing a handful of sugar and tossing it at him.
"Hey!" Ryan complained as Rikku got up and skittered away, nearly slipping on a puddle of milk.
"What in the name of the Seven Lords are you four doing?" Kitty asked timidly as she licked the milk off her hand.
"Haven't you ever heard of a food fight?" Rikku asked in disbelief.
"No…" Kitty admitted quietly.
"Oh, you poor, poor girl! You need to experience life a little more," Rikku confirmed as she gave Kitty a hug. "Ok, lesson one: food fight! All you have to do is pick up some food and throw it at Ryan or Seph. But you gotta watch it 'cause they'll throw back!" Kitty nodded, picked up a cup of freshly cut peaches and started tossing them at everyone else in the room. "Hey, you're not supposed to get us too!"
"Oh well!" Kitty said happily as she ducked behind a table to avoid the barrage of sugar, cinnamon, butter, milk, and sugar and more peaches flew back and forth threw the air as they dodged, slipped, and laughed until the walls of the kitchen were no longer visible through the mess they'd created.
"Oh my god, what did you guys do?" Sakura questioned with a barely contained laugh when she and Snow walked by the kitchen.
Before anyone could answer a timer went off and Ryan sprinted clumsily over to the oven, opened it, and pulled out three pies, squinting against the burns it gave him. After several healing spells he turned back to the group and simply asked: "Pie, anyone?"
"You guys were baking a pie?" Rae asked in disbelief. "Oh my gods… I didn't even know Seph knew how to use an oven!"
"Oh, I know how to cook. Mind you I don't normally make pies from scratch, but I do know how to cook," Seph argued.
"Yeah, and Ryan-kun's a good cook. Well… actually I've only ever had a breakfast he cooked, and I accidentally froze most of that… so I've actually never had his cooking before, but Matt and Nick-kun said it was good!" Sakura said cheerfully.
"Uh-huh…" Rae said slowly as she looked at the pies. "And why exactly were you making pies?"
"Well, we figured since we so evilly woke you up so early we'd try and pay you back by making you some pies," Ryan said with a shrug. "Well, that and these pies taste amazing if you make them right."
"I'm just going to take a shot in the dark… and guess that it's some kind of peach pie?" Sakura asked as she eyed the mess.
"Peach Cobbler," Ryan agreed with a grin. "Which, uhhh… ingredient… gave it away?" He questioned as he turned in a circle and examined the multitude of ingredients that were coating the kitchen's walls.
"It might have been the peaches…" Sakura said with a chuckle. "Well you guys had better get this messed cleaned up before Brother-san wakes up and sees this."
"Oh shit… that thought never crossed my mind," Ryan muttered nervously.
"Well, see you five later. Have fun," Sakura with a smile.
"Hey, come on Sakura-chan! Give us a hand here?" Ryan asked hopefully.
"You know, I think that I heard something when I was going by Brother-san's room. Hmmm… maybe you should get started," Sakura said with an impish grin.
"Sakura-chan, that's cold," Ryan stated firmly.
"Well, I am the ice goddess," Sakura pointed out before starting back down the hall with a laugh, leaving them to their own mess.
888
"Oh boy, what'd you do now?" Matt questioned when Sakura, still laughing from her encounter at the kitchen, walked onto the bridge.
"Oh, Matt, you should've seen it! Ryan-kun, Rikku-chan, Rae-chan, Kitty-chan, and Seph-san had a giant food fight in the kitchen. The walls were actually covered with cooking ingredients!" Sakura said with a laugh.
"Wait a second… cooking ingredients? What're they cooking?" Matt questioned.
"I think Ryan-kun said it was a peach cobbler pie," Sakura said with a shrug. "What's wrong? You don't look so good…"
"I'm fine. I think," Matt added as he remembered the last time Ryan had tried to make a peach cobbler pie. "Just be careful when or if you eat the pie. Last time he screwed it up. Badly, might I add."
"Wow, never would've guessed given how good a cook he seems to be," Sakura admitted. "I mean you seemed to enjoy it that day I was over for breakfast."
"You mean we enjoyed the parts that weren't frozen solid?" Matt questioned with a joking smile.
"Hey, that wasn't my fault! I did know about any of my powers then," Sakura muttered defensively.
"Yeah, but you still did it," Matt pointed out.
"You aren't going to let that go are you?" Sakura asked calmly.
"No, probably not," Matt admitted with a smile. "But that's not the point."
"Whatever," Sakura muttered before punching in the side which caused him to laugh openly. "Stupid muscle-bound idiot."
"Ouch, nice one," Matt admitted playfully.
"You're so weird," Sakura said before shaking her head in mock despair.
"Well, its no fun being normal. Especially given the fact that we're gods and all that fun stuff," Matt said with a shrug. "Even so, nobody really seems to care. If they did, they'd have said something by now."
"Is that so?" Sakura asked as she watched the sky being to brighten slowly.
"That's what experience has taught me," Matt explained. "People tend to be rude, loud, obnoxious, and intolerant. That's why I like Spira more then earth. It's got all those things, you'll get'em no matter where you go, but in Spira it's not so bad. Anymore."
"Anymore?" Sakura repeated questioningly.
"Yeah, we kind of helped put an end to that two years ago. Everyone thought that the Al Bhed were the reason Sin wouldn't stay dead, because using machines was forbidden and the Al Bhed used them anyway, but we killed Sin and it stayed dead. I think that kind of got the message across," Matt said with a smile.
"Well aren't you just a big softie at heart," Sakura said with a laugh as she nudged him jokingly.
"I try not to let people see it too often," Matt replied with a shrug.
"Men," Sakura said as she rolled her eyes. "Always gotta look tough, don't you?"
"Usually, yeah," Matt agreed. "What about you?"
"Huh? What'd ya mean?" Sakura asked, caught off guard by the question.
"Well, you had your head cracked open and you wouldn't back down from Auron. You didn't back down from me. You beat Lusniec once and didn't back down the second time. You were the number one member of the Kendo team, which still confuses me since you use Tonfas. It just seems like you're trying to prove a point," Matt turned to look her in the eye. "So, who're you trying to prove your worth to?"
"What makes you think I'm trying to prove something to somebody?" Sakura asked slowly.
"The fact that your voice changed," Matt replied with a slight grin.
Sakura took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well to be honest, I dunno. I've always just felt like I had something to prove to someone. Never knew who, never understood why, I just felt that way. Like somebody was constantly watching me, you know?"
"Not really," Matt admitted. "Any idea who was watching you?"
"I think it was Usi. Well, I hope it was Usi," Sakura corrected herself. "Because if it was Yevon, or Lusniec…" She let her shiver finish her statement for her.
888
Andy was keenly aware that he wasn't alone in the endless abyss Yevon had thrown him into. At first he'd been oblivious to the fact that someone, or something else was in the abyss. But over time, and despite the endless nature of where ever he was that allowed his watcher to elude him, he'd found clues.
A breath here, the scuff of shoes on the dimensions 'ground' there. On occasion there were even random flash of a long sword, a fact that baffled him to no end since Yevon used a morning star and mace. And those flashes of the sword brought with them an overwhelming feeling of helplessness.
So when the image of the sword appeared once again he didn't think anything of it. He closed his eyes and sighed, staying that way for what he thought to be several minutes before opening his eyes again.
And finding the sword still sitting there. 'What? Oh, now I can't even stop myself from hallucinating? Damn you Yevon!' Andy thought bitterly before closing his eyes again. And when he opened them the second time the sword was still there. "What the hell do you want?" he asked to the sword, knowing that it wouldn't answer him.
"You cannot hide from him forever," The voice was so gentle that Andy wasn't sue he'd heard it.
"I'm just hearing things, that's all," he told himself firmly.
"You can hear me?" The voice questioned, this time somewhat stronger.
"Wonderful, now my hallucinations are talking back," Andy muttered to himself. "I really am losing it after all. Vilgehk Yevon. (Fucking Yevon)"
"So you also share a hatred for Yevon?" The voice was still so quiet that Andy had trouble believing that it was real.
"Ok, fine. Whatever. Yes, I hate Yevon with all my being. I mean, how many people can say they like someone taking over their body? Not to mention trying to kill their friends with it, or trying to destroy the world with it," Andy demanded.
"Have you battled Yevon?" The voice questioned, urgent this time, but still quiet.
"Yeah, we beat him two years ago. But the ice goddess wasn't there, so we couldn't kill him," Andy said sadly.
"Did he use my sword against you?" The voice demanded, suddenly so loud Andy feared he'd go deaf.
"Geez, quiet down a little!" Andy ordered. "And no, he didn't use any sword against us. He uses a mace and a morning star."
"So he still fears me," The voice said slowly.
"Wait… what? Say that again," Andy requested.
"I said 'so he still fears me'," The voice said calmly. "What is so odd about that?"
"Umm, I dunno, let's try the fact that he's the strongest of the gods? And you're just a disembodied voice?" Andy pointed out.
"I suppose it must seem that way to you," The voice said with a hint of amusement in it. "But I assure you, I'm far from a random 'disembodied voice.' I can even see you."
"Well why can't I see you then?" Andy demanded.
"Perhaps your eyes aren't adjusted to this dimension yet," The voice offered. "Or perhaps I'm not what you think I am."
"Well then, do tell. What are you?" Andy asked sarcastically.
"Would not 'Who and where are you" be better questions then 'What are you'?" The voice asked teasingly.
"Fine, whatever! Just answer the fucking questions!" Andy shouted.
"No need to yell," The voice chided. "I'm standing right in front of you after all." Andy raised an eyebrow and squinted into the darkness.
"But there's nobody here…" He said slowly after several minutes of searching.
"Did I not say that perhaps I wasn't what you thought I was?" the voice questioned calmly.
"So what are you?" Andy demanded. "I've been in this stupid dimension for I don't know how long, and I'm not in the mood for guessing games!"
"Testy. Well then, why don't you take a closer look at your surroundings? I assure you, I'm present, but not in a way you think I am." The voice stated firmly.
"What are you talking about? Are you a ghost, 'cause the only other thing I can see is this random sword of doom!" Andy shouted hotly. "Now if you don't get out here now, I'm going to flood this damned dimension with flames until I do find you!"
"Well, that would be a rather useless gesture," The voice commented in a bored voice. "Especially since I'm, in a sense, the sword you see in front of you."
Andy raised his eyebrow before saying, "I think that deserves an explanation."
"Hmmm… no, I don't think we're there yet, young god of the flames," The voice commented calmly. "But in time perhaps we shall get there."
"Oh man, this is going to take some getting used to," Andy said with a sigh.
888
"You guys got that entire mess cleaned up already?" Sakura asked in surprise when Rikku, Rae, Kitty, Ryan, and Seph walked onto the bridge half an hour later.
"Yep," Rae said before leaning against a wall and sighing. "Every last bit."
"How? You couldn't see most of the room!" Sakura said in disbelief.
"Well we did have the second fastest person alive and the god of water helping us…" Rikku pointed out. "I mean, all we had to do was turn on a sink and Seph could've cleaned the whole thing himself."
"Could have? As in didn't?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow towards Seph.
"What, you think I'm gonna do all the work around here? You're crazy," Seph said with a shake of his head.
"Ahhh, I see," Matt said with an approving grin.
"Yeah, I thought you'd say that," Seph replied with a shrug as Brother stumbled onto the bridge.
"Good. All Gullwings are here," Brother mumbled to himself, clearly half asleep.
"Wait, Sakura-chan, you said Brother was awake!" Rikku shouted in surprise and confusion.
"No I didn't," Sakura protested. "I said I heard something when I went by his door! I never said that he was awake."
"Ohh, that was a mean trick!" Rikku said with a pout as she turned to Rae, Kitty, Ryan, and Seph for support. "Right?"
"Definitely," Rae agreed.
"Yes, a mean trick most definitely," Kitty agreed.
"I dunno, I think it was a good one," Ryan said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, it certainly got us moving," Seph agreed.
"Hey, you're not supposed to be condoning this!" Rae said with a little frustration.
"But we are," Seph pointed out with an amused smile.
"You too, Ryan?" Rikku asked in surprise.
"I'm afraid so," Ryan said helplessly. Rae and Rikku shared a helpless glance and sighed before turning to see Brother waiting for them, pretending to scan the room while trying to stay awake.
"Hey… Brother? Nick, Paine, and Yuna aren't here. Perhaps we should wait for them before you say whatever you're going to say," Matt suggested.
"What? Yuna is not here?" Brother asked in shock, the comment waking him up instantly. "Where is Yuna?"
"Sleeping… like most people are at eight in the morning," Nick muttered through a yawn as he shuffled onto the bridge and made a b-line for the coffee maker.
"Nick, what're you doing up?" Matt questioned as he watched his friend make himself a cup of coffee.
"Well, first there was the massive amount of laughter in the kitchen, which is barely fifty feet from my door. Then there was the smell of cooking since 6:30. And sounds carry in this place, guys. And you're all very loud in the mornings to begin with," Nick said with a false cheerfulness in his voice, emphasizing each word to get his point across.
"Ohhh, sorry!" Kitty said while looking him over and barely keeping her amusement at his appearance in check.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry 'bout it. I've had to deal with worse." Nick said through another yawn. "So what does Brother want to tell us?"
"Who knows? It's Brother after all," Rikku said as if the simple statement could explain anything her brother did.
"Well then, I suppose we'll just have to wait for Yuna and Paine to get here," Nick said as he added some more sugar to his coffee.
"Hey, what about JT and Melody? Where'd they…" Seph trailed off when he noticed Rae's glare. "Ok, ok, I get the point. I'll go get'em." He said before hurrying off the bridge.
"Man, never thought I'd see Spira's top assassin so whipped…" Matt muttered as he watched Seph go. "Rae, what on earth do you do to control him like that?"
"Well, that's a trade secret!" Rae replied cheerfully.
"Oh, I need to learn how to do that. That'd just be fun," Sakura said with an impish grin.
"Yeah!" Rikku agreed.
"Well, we'll all just have to have another sleep over won't we?" Rae said, enjoying the muttering of the guys.
"Yeah," Nick agreed, "and then we can take our "Morning Calls" to the next level."
"And then you'll find yourself sleeping with an iron giant," Rae replied challengingly.
"Eh, what's one iron giant?" Nick questioned confidently.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say three dozen," Rae replied with an icy smile.
"Ouch…" Nick replied with a laugh. "Ok, I get the point. No more wake up calls."
"Yeah, that was just cruel," Sakura said before jabbing Matt in the side hard enough to cause him to react. "What's this? Matt can actually feel things through that layer of muscle that's rather thick?"
"Yeah, its not impenetrable you know," Matt replied calmly.
"I see," Sakura said in a way that made it clear that she found it amusing.
"Oh boy, that doesn't sound good for you Matt," Ryan commented, much to Matt's displeasure.
"You should worry 'bout your own problems," Matt replied, causing Ryan to glance over at Rikku who was looking as innocent as she possibly could, a fact that caused the swordsman to worry more then a little.
"I'm not the first person up. Surprising," Paine said in her normal, mono-tone voice as she walked in and brushed past the group, Seph following her through a few seconds later without JT and Melody. "What're we doing today?"
"Ummm… at the moment?" Rikku questioned. "Well, that would be waiting for Yuna, JT, and Melody to get here."
"Why JT and Melody?" Paine questioned. "Are they Gullwings now too?"
"I suppose. I mean, after what we've been through with them, why shouldn't they be?" Rikku replied with surprising determination.
"Because Seph's planning on leaving today," Paine answered.
"What?" Rae asked, stepping away from her boyfriend and looking him in the eye. "Is that true?"
"Yep," Seph replied calmly. "Why?"
"Why? Why? Maybe I want to stay here, did you ever think of that?" Rae questioned venomously.
"Then it all works out fine. I didn't plan on anyone else leaving," Seph replied with a shrug.
"What?" Rae practically shrieked. "What's that mean, that me and JT and Melody don't matter to you?"
"No, it means that you and JT do matter to me," Seph shot back quickly. "You don't even know where I'm going, damn it! How do you know you can even go there?"
"What do you mean?" Rae questioned, taken back by the sudden outburst from her normally calm boyfriend.
"How do you know it's not a place that only the gods and their successors can go into? Ever think about that?" Seph questioned. "Of course not. You just jumped to conclusions."
"That's not fair! What was I supposed to think?" Rae demanded, stepping in front of the door so Seph couldn't leave.
"Move Rae," Seph said slowly.
"Not until you tell me where you're planning to go," Rae replied firmly.
"I'm going to Zedih's dimension to talk to him. Happy? Now move," Seph said before forcing his way past a confused Rae.
"Why was that such a big secret?" Rae questioned as she followed him.
"It wasn't a secret," Seph replied, a trace of anger still in his voice.
"That why're you so mad at me?" Rae questioned. Seph sighed, stopped, and turned to face her.
"Well, let's see. I only, I dunno, risked my life to save you only to find out you were living like a queen. You clearly don't trust me, and is there anything else I can add? Oh yeah, I nearly forgot. You assumed that simply because JT was with me, everything he did was my fault! Yeah, I taught him marital arts, I admit to that," Seph hissed through clenched teeth. "But that's it. I didn't do anything else!" Before Rae could say anything he was already walking away from her.
Rae slid down the wall she'd been backed up against during the conversation in astonished horror. "Seph…?" she whispered as tears began to build up in her eyes.
The assassin stopped, took a long, deep breath, and turned around and asked, "What, Rae?"
"I'm sorry!" Rae whispered into her knees.
"What?" Seph asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry!" Rae said again, this time turning her head so that she wasn't talking into her knees, but not enough to let her know she was crying. When she heard him walking over she buried her face into her knees as deeply as she could, hoping he wouldn't notice the tears on her pants.
"Hey, you ok?" Seph asked quietly when he kneeled down next to her.
"Fine," Rae replied quietly.
"You're a lousy liar," Seph said with a sigh. "What's wrong?"
"You just freaked out on me! What do you think is wrong?" Rae demanded suddenly.
"Well you should have trusted me. Have I ever let you down before? Or mad you do anything you didn't want to do, for that matter?" Seph replied calmly.
"You made me sit on the top of Gagazet for hours," Rae shot back. "You wouldn't even wait one day before making us do it, either!"
"Something I now regret," Seph admitted with a slight smile. "Ok, anything else?"
"Not really…" Rae whispered quietly. "Wait! You taught JT martial arts! And let him lose his virginity to a Yevonite!"
"Hey, I admit I taught JT martial arts, but he was going to follow me either way. Would you rather have had him relying on that stupid Kataar he uses?" Seph questioned.
"No, but you still let him lose his virginity!" Rae restated.
"Yeah, well, I think Melody had more to do with that one then I did. Besides, I wasn't going to walk in on them in the middle of it," Seph said with a shrug.
"Well…" Rae trailed off when she realized he hadn't done anything else since she'd known him.
"See? You need to learn to trust me a little more," Seph said with a sigh as he picked her up.
"What're you doing?" Rae asked slowly as he started walking towards his room.
"Well, I figure Zedih can wait for a little while," The assassin said with a grin that caused Rae's heart to skip a beat.
888
"So, uh… Let's give back that sphere, what do you say?" Brother questioned when Seph and Rae left.
"But we worked so hard to get it," Rikku complained.
"That thing is uber bad news," Brother argued.
"What if we donate the sphere to the study of Spira's history?" Buddy suggested. "That's what being a sphere hunter was originally about, right?"
"It's a little late to bring that up," Paine pointed out.
"Yeah!" Rikku agreed loudly. "We already swiped it!"
"Well, I still say I don't want it! We're giving it back! Now!" Brother shouted.
"You don't mind?" Rikku asked Yuna when she saw her nodding in agreement.
"I've seen it," Yuna said with a shrug.
"It's still pretty shameless to just saunter up and give back the sphere we just stole," Buddy pointed out.
"Oui pi xiead! (You be quiet)" Brother ordered.
"Our reputation is all but worthless if we do that," Pain said coldly. "Our leader's too, no less."
"Crid ib! (Shut up!)" Brother shouted to the leather-clad swordswoman.
"Any idea from the newbs?" Paine questioned as she turned to Ryan, Matt, Sakura, and Nick.
"I'm still amazed that you use the word 'uber' the same way we do back on earth…" Ryan admitted.
"Yeah, that's kinda creepy," Matt agreed.
"Yep," Nick and Sakura agreed in unison.
"Well, you four are rather helpful today, aren't you?" Paine questioned sarcastically.
"Right, our opinions. Why not give it to the Machina Faction, and let Gippal deal with the problem of who to give it to?" Matt questioned.
"Ummmm… not Yevon?" Ryan suggested.
"Well this is no fun at all," Yuna complained with a sigh.
"Yeah, I agree with Yuna-chan," Sakura added in. "The way Matt, Ryan-kun, and Nick-kun described Spira, I thought it was going to be a lot more fun then this."
"Sorry to disappoint you," Paine muttered.
"And I'm curious as to the lack of a 'kun' at the end of Matt's name," Nick said, smirking when Sakura started to blush and Matt raised an eyebrow. "Well that explains it all. Looks like we've got another pair of love birds around here."
"Shall we get back to the problem at hand? Like who we should give that sphere back to," Paine suggested. "Gippal's too easy going to trust the sphere to; he'd just give it to the first group to ask him."
"Ohhh, I really gotta let off some steam!" Rikku complained loudly as Shinra stalked over from his console.
"Why don't we ask Yuna to dance?" The little Al Bhed offered.
"Dance?" Yuna repeated with mild surprise.
"Yuna? Dancing?" Matt and Ryan repeated skeptically.
"Oh! That's it!" Brother shouted in gleeful agreement. "Yuna, you must dance! Our sanity depends on it!"
"That sounds like an order, Yuna," Paine said with more amusement then normal.
"I suppose the exercise will do us good," Yuna admitted.
"Whoopeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Brother shouted in joy as he began to jump around the ship like a little kid.
"Hang tight while I get read, ok?" Yuna said before running off to go get dressed.
"What in the name of Zedih is going on?" Seph demanded as he rushed into the cabin a few seconds later.
"Ummm… Yuna's gonna dance for us all… and… Brother's freaking out because of that…" Nick said slowly as he watched Brother continue to jump around the cabin.
"Geez, I thought someone was dying in here," Seph said with a sigh. "Wait, Yuna's dancing? Again?"
"Again?" Matt repeated.
"Right, again. You don't hear well, do you?" Seph questioned, drawing a cold glare from the god of lighting. "Before you guys showed up she put on a concert in Luca."
"That wasn't Yunie!" Rikku shouted so forcefully Seph took a step back in surprise.
"Ok, chill. That's just what I've heard," Seph said calmingly.
"It was Leblanc. She use a dress sphere to change into Yuna and perform at Luca," Paine explained.
"Dress sphere?" Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's a dress sphere?"
"A sphere that grants you different abilities," Shinra explained.
"But they aren't very useful in battle since they give whoever you're fighting a free shot at you," Paine added.
"Yeah, so we only use them to goof around and stuff," Rikku added.
"I see…" Nick said slowly. "Makes sense I guess."
"Wait a second. You said Yuna was gonna dance. Don't you need music to dance?" Seph asked calmly.
"Well, yeah, but we picked up some crazy musicians. I'm sure they'll be happy to help," Buddy said with a shrug.
"Ahhh," Seph offered. "Makes sense now."
888
"Something wrong?" Lusniec questioned when he found Yevon kneeling down over a small puddle of sweat and breathing heavily.
"Just some… problems," Yevon forced out before his body began to shake violently.
"Well I kind of gathered that much," Lusniec muttered. "What's actually wrong?"
"That damn kid… he's still fighting my control," Yevon spat as he stood up shakily. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I was just coming to see what you were doing," Lusniec said slowly.
"Why would you be doing that if something wasn't wrong?" Yevon demanded through clenched teeth as he moved to the couch.
"You were supposed to go check up on Shuyin's progress more then two hours ago…" Lusniec said slowly.
"Was I? I didn't notice," Yevon admitted in a somewhat dazed voice.
"I figured as much since you didn't show up," Lusniec said with a shrug. "So I checked up for you. Not that Shuyin liked that."
"How is his end coming along?" Yevon questioned.
"He's done. Vegnagun has been moved to the space it rested in a thousand years ago." Lusniec reported indifferently.
"Well, surprise, surprise," Yevon muttered irritably. "Shuyin can do things on his own."
"It would appear so. So what's next?" Lusniec questioned calmly.
"We wait," Yevon said with a sigh.
"We wait? That's it?" Lusniec asked skeptically.
"You know, you've calmed down a lot," Yevon pointed out with a critical glance at the angel. "What happened?"
"Heh, we've all got to learn to control ourselves sometime, right? I mean, it may've taken me thousands of years, but I got there," Lusniec lied with a smirk.
"Hmmm… something inside is telling me that you're lying." Even though Yevon's voice was distant Lusniec felt his blood turn to ice.
'If he's figured out that I've gotten back my true memories he'll kill me now,' Lusniec thought without batting an eye. "And why would I lie?"
"Well, why don't you tell me?" Yevon asked, fixing an amused glance on Lusniec who returned it without hesitation.
"Well I don't exactly have a reason. All I'm in this for is to kill Ryan, remember?" Lusniec pointed out calmly.
Yevon watched him for a while before nodding once and saying, "I see. Well then, I'm glad I don't have to kill you."
"That would make two of us," Lusniec agreed without trying to hide the relief that slipped into his voice.
"Well then, I have something I need you to do for me," Yevon said with a sigh.
"Damn," Lusniec muttered to himself. "What is it?"
"I want you to go check on something for me," Yevon shrugged.
"And this something would be?"
Yevon glared at Lusniec through narrowed eyes and hissed, "You don't need to know that. All you need to do is go where I tell you, understand?"
"Yes sir," Lusniec said quickly.
"Good."
888
"Who the heck is Lenne!" Yuna shouted so suddenly that Rikku and Melody stopped singing and everyone turned to look at her in confusion. Flustered, the high Summoner stood up and started towards the door while saying, "I'm going to bed."
As the door hissed shut behind her she took a quivering breath and leaned back against the wall. The gentle pinging of the elevator as it descended was so comforting. "Who's Lenne? Who?" She asked the comforting darkness of the elevator. "Why are you worrying over her? What about me? Do I even matter anymore?"
The door hissed open and she stumbled out and into the nearly pitch-black cabin, through the hallways of the Celsius, and finally came to a stop outside her room. She pressed a button and the door hissed open, revealing a pair of red eyes staring back at her. 'Wonderful.' She thought bitterly as she slowly stepped away. 'Paine's room is just across the hall. If I can get there I can-' her thoughts of escape ended abruptly when Snow came padding up into the light.
"Oh, in the name of the Fayth, thank you…" Snow cocked her head to the side and looked at Yuna questioningly. "What're you doing in my room, and not up on deck with everyone else?" Snow turned around and walked back into Yuna's room. When she came back out Yuna couldn't help but smile. "You brought me my sake? Well that's nice of you." Yuna reached for the bottle but Snow moved her head to the side. "Hey, that's mine. You can't have any." She reached for the bottle again, and again Snow moved away.
"Snow, what're you doing? Give me that bottle," Yuna ordered sternly. Snow hissed and bit down on the bottle, shattering it without any problems. "Snow! What're you doing?" Yuna demanded crossly as she stepped into her room and turned on the light.
And found thirty shattered bottles of Sake lying on the ground. "By the Fayth! Snow, how could you do this to me?" Yuna asked as she slid down the wall in a way similar to the tears that were sliding down her face. "Now what am I supposed to do? I can't see Tidus anymore…"
"Sure you can, Yuna-chan," Sakura corrected as she stopped right outside Yuna's door.
"What're you talking about?" Yuna asked sadly. "I can't… I can barely remember him while I'm sober… I just want to see him again!"
"You don't need to drink to see him again, Yuna-chan," Sakura said gently.
"How do you know? You weren't here… he wasn't even really a person!" Yuna shouted venomously.
Sakura sighed and wrapped her arms around Yuna's shoulders and squeezed gently. "You loved him, didn't you?"
"Yes," Yuna agreed quietly.
"Then it doesn't matter if he was just a dream," Sakura said slowly. "The only difference between dreams and reality is that you have to work to make your dreams real."
"What'd you mean?" Yuna asked in a voice that left no doubt in Sakura's mind that she was confused.
"Well think about it this way. Have you given up on seeing him again?" Sakura asked as gently as she could.
"Sort of…" Yuna admitted after glancing at all the sake still on the ground.
"Don't give up, Yuna-chan," Sakura said encouragingly.
"Why not, Sakura-chan? Matt and Ryan didn't even think about it. They promised they'd find a way to bring Tidus back, and they didn't even give it a second of their time until they got back to Spira!" Yuna shouted as more rivers formed on her face. "They said they would bring him back!"
"Yuna-chan, I wasn't here two years ago. I haven't known Ryan-kun and Matt for very long. But I can tell you this: they'll keep their promises. If they promised to bring Tidus back, then they'll bring Tidus back. I can't say how, I can't say when, I can't say where, but I can say that they will."
"How can you be so sure?" Yuna asked quietly.
"How can you be so sure they won't?" Sakura countered.
"Because he's just a dream. He doesn't… didn't ever exist like a normal human to begin with," Yuna explained.
"Oh come on, Yuna-chan. Dream, real, god, angel, mortal, what does it matter if you love him?" Sakura said with a quiet giggle.
"I suppose that's true," Yuna admitted with a sad smile. "But it hurts so bad."
"Well I guess so. From what I've heard you two were pretty close," Sakura admitted. "But when we were on Mt. Gagazet Ryan-kun and Matt were explaining what had happened two years ago in more detail then they had on earth. One of the things Ryan-kun said was that during one of the battles he and Tidus got knocked off an airship. While they were failing they met someone named Braska, and he said that: 'The dreams of the faith weren't their own. They are the dreams of anyone who truly wishes for their help'."
"So what?" Yuna questioned coldly. "The Fayth, and their dreams, are gone Sakura-chan. All of them."
"Well then how do you explain Ryan-kun summoning Kaze? I mean… I think Kaze was an Aeon… and the Aeons were dreams of the Fayth too, weren't they?" Sakura asked quietly.
"Yeah… they were…" Yuna whispered slowly as realization dawned on her. "And if Ryan can summon Kaze without the help of the Fayth, then we might be able to find a way to summon Tidus!"
"Exactly! So you don't… didn't really need all this Sake, now did you?" Sakura asked with a grin that made Yuna giggle.
"I guess not. I hadn't thought about it that way before…" Yuna admitted. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."
"Hey, that's what I'm here for," Sakura said with a shrug.
"To help us see the error of our ways and then set us on the right path?" Yuna asked jokingly.
"No… I'm here to show you that you goofed, and then laugh at you while you figure out which path is right for you. I mean, I can't know, I'm not you," Sakura pointed out.
888
"So, what do you think Sakura's doing now?" Nick wondered aloud when Sakura hadn't come back in ten minutes.
"Ummm… who knows?" Seph said with a shrug that earned him a jab in the ribs from Rae.
"So long as she figures out what's wrong with Yunie I don't care," Rikku admitted.
"You can't guess?" Matt asked curiously. "Think about it. She shouted 'Who the heck is Lenne' so she obviously thinks that whoever the guy in the sphere is, is Tidus. And rather then worrying about Yuna, he's worrying about someone named Lenne. If Ryan started worrying more about Kitty then you, how would you take it?"
"Ok, point taken," Rikku said as she snuggled closer to Ryan absently. "Poor Yunie though."
"What about Yuna-chan?" Sakura questioned as the elevator door opened up and Snow and Baby came walking out with Sakura close behind.
"So, how'd it go?" Rae asked as she watched Snow run over to Kitty and lay down in the Lydc's lap.
"She's fine now," Sakura said with a grin. "Oh, and Matt, Ryan-kun. I got you two a second chance to get Tidus back, so don't blow it!"
"Yes ma'am," Matt said jokingly as Sakura sat down next to him.
"Hey, I'm serious. You guys blow this chance, and I'm gonna make you think space is a hot tub, got it?" Sakura warned earnestly.
"Well that's not a very nice thing to say," Ryan commented. "I guess we don't have much of a choice then, now do we?"
Sakura smiled sweetly before saying, "Not in the least bit."
"Well, we should probably get to bed before it gets too late. I mean, we do have to give that sphere away tomorrow, remember?" JT reminded the group.
"Man, what a party pooper," Rikku said jokingly as the group got up and shuffled inside.
888
"Yuna-chan. Wake up," Sakura said as she shook Yuna gently.
"What?" Yuna asked as she came around.
"What 'what'?" Paine questioned.
"You ok, Yuna-chan?" Sakura wondered aloud.
"It must've been a dream," Yuna said quickly.
"A dream's a dream," Paine pointed out.
"Blame it on your new jammies!" Rikku put in cheerfully.
"Rikku-chan… you and Ryan-kun are way too energetic and cheerful in the mornings, you know that?" Sakura said with a sigh.
"Rikku's just Rikku. Ryan's just a morning person," Paine explained.
"Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know." Sakura said with a laugh. "Anyway, Brother-san wants everyone on the bridge."
"Ok, I'll be right there. I just need to get changed first," Yuna said as she got off the bed and headed towards her closet.
"Well, we'll see you on the bridge then," Sakura said as the three filtered out of the room. "Ok, who's next?"
"Seph and Rae…" Rikku said slowly. "I vote for waking Kitty up first. And getting Ryan, and Matt, and Nick to help us out with Seph and Rae."
"What about JT and Melody?" Paine questioned.
"Oh yeah… forgot about them," Rikku said sheepishly.
"How?" Paine questioned.
"Hey, it's the morning. I'm energetic, sure, but that doesn't mean my brain's working!" Rikku argued.
"I didn't know it ever did," Rae said cheerfully as she came out of Seph's room.
"Hey, that wasn't nice!" Rikku complained.
"It was true though," Paine said indifferently.
"Paine! You big meanies!" Rikku shouted.
"Geez, shut up. Its only 9!" Seph complained as he stumbled out of his room.
"Seph-san… you don't have a shirt on…" Sakura said slowly. "And you have a lot of scars…"
"Oh, sorry," Seph said before ducking back into his room and returning with a shirt. "Better, ice queen?"
"Much," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "Ok, so now we've only got JT-kun and Melody-chan left, right?"
"Seems that way," Paine muttered as she started towards JT's room.
"I'll get'em!" Rae said so enthusiastically that everyone stared at her. "What?"
"I thought you were completely against your little brother having a girlfriend…" Seph said slowly.
"Well, I was thinking about it before and I guess it had to happen sooner or later, right?" Rae admitted.
"She's up to something," Seph mumbled as he watched Rae sprint down the hallway.
"What makes you say that?" Sakura questioned.
"She's not a morning person," Seph said simply as he started down the hallway.
"Oh boy. I sense a conflict coming on," Sakura said with a large sigh.
888
"Ok you two love birds, wake up," Rae shouted before kicking against JT's door.
"Rae, fryd dra vilg? (Rae, what the fuck?)" JT demanded before tossing a pillow at her head.
"Well good morning. Where's your lover bird?" Rae questioned calmly as she stepped into the room hesitantly, afraid of accidentally stepping on Melody's unconscious form in amongst the multitudes of things lying around the floor. "And couldn't you keep your room a little cleaner? Someone could fall down in here and never be heard from again."
"You know, that's pretty funny, coming from you," JT muttered as he stretched out on the bed and then began to look around for a shirt.
"You still didn't tell me where little lover bird is," Rae noted as she reached the edge of the bed and sat down.
"I'm a 'little love bird' now?" Melody asked as she came into the room in a tank top, and a pair of sweat pants with a towel wrapped around her hair.
"Hey Melody," JT said as he found a shirt and threw it on.
"Don't get dressed up on my account. Seriously, JT, don't get dressed on my account," Melody said somewhat strongly.
"Hey now, wait till I'm not in the room at least," Rae muttered. "Anyway, Brother wants everyone on the bridge right away. Think you two can stay dressed long enough to find out what he wants?"
"Dryd'c ajah vihhean lusehk vnus oui (that's even funnier coming from you)," JT said pleasantly as he stood up and stretched again.
"Muja oui duu (Love you too)," Rae said pleasantly as she got up and slipped out of the room.
"Mind translating…?" Melody asked when Rae was gone.
"Eh, Rae's just telling us to wait till we're alone to have sex," JT said with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah… speaking about that… I was wondering. What happened to the really shy kid I met?" Melody wondered as she forced JT onto the bed gently and then sat down on his lap.
"Oh, him? He's still around. He just got to know you," JT said with a smile as Melody leaned against him more fully, slowly forcing him to the bed.
"Oh really?" Melody asked playfully as she slid her hands up under his shirt slowly.
"Really, really," JT said with a sigh. "And if we don't go, they're gonna come looking for us. You want them to do something like that happening on our time?"
"No," Melody admitted before kissing. "Fine, you win this time. Let's go."
ok, so it was a little boring. sorry. anyway, i'll try to get some more work done, but for now i'm giving it a break. please read and review, even if you don't like me!