Standard Disclaimer: If there was a spell called 'I don't own Final Fantasy', it would cast one MP.
Author's Notes: Well, the mandatory Cid has appeared...so have the chocobos, and the moogles...and the crystals in the form of spheres, which are technically crystalline...I guess I've got all the FF staples down pat.
To the reviews!
madmaz: I will never understand why people use letters to replace words.
Assamite: Nope. He doesn't even rightly know who his superior even IS anymore, much less the BTC.
Wolfy16: You'll have to wait and see.
Anime obsessed fan: Well, at least you kept the speculation down. I am happy. :P
Nuke Dawg: Welcome to FFX-3 Nuke Dawg! Oh, and by the way...if you have any idea on who the three personalities are...don't tell.
Begin!
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At last: dream and reality are now one.
Now the final step to the plan can be taken.
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Chapter 35: Trigon
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/1:35 NT, Clearing, Forests Southeast of Moonflow/
Hirum had had enough weirdness for today.
Hirum and his Guardians had faced the Wolf Pack, and had somehow managed to annihilate the entire pack...well, except for the Wolf King.
Hirum and his Guardians had gotten a free meal from the owner of the ranch they had saved...and that owner had happened to be Taberr, Teela's last opponent in the FFL Tournament.
Hirum had had his Eye of Baaj stolen by Summoner Terros, only to have it returned to him by TEELA of all people.
Hirum and his Guardians had encountered a monstrous fiend in Mushroom Rock Canyon, and had somehow ended up at Djose Temple before falling to their doom.
Hirum had claimed another Aeon, who was made up of three...well, eccentric Fayth.
Hirum and his Guardians had been attacked by a strange man in green armor – Cid – and soldiers from the BTC. The freaking Bevelle Technologies Conglomerate!
Hirum had watched with a dumbfounded expression as Cid suddenly made a 180 and proclaimed himself as Serena's guardian.
And now, Hirum was being challenged by a guy with three different personalities. Good Yevon, why can't this day just end already? He was ruing the decision to use the Elemental Dragon to cut down most of the travel time along the Mi'ihen Highroad. They might have avoided most of the weirdness otherwise.
"Prepare yourself." In Trigon's right hand was a massive blade, easily four feet in length. The steel of the blade was sharpened beyond belief, and it was obvious that it had been folded over many times during its process of creation; this way, any impurities in the metal would be removed. The hilt was made of black stone – like obsidian, if you will – and the handle was covered by quality brown leather. That it was being casually held with one hand told Hirum plenty about how strong this character was.
"Hold on! Why are you fighting us?" demanded Aaron.
A chuckle – with a hint of irony in its tone – emanated from Trigon. "To test you."
With that, he charged.
Teela was the first to retaliate. She immediately summoned the IG-Sword, clearly eager to use her signature – well, sort of signature – weapon for a change. With a grin on her face, she leapt forward, IG-Sword in hand.
Her first move was a downward slash: it could cleave a Helm fiend in two if it hit precisely.
Trigon would not give Teela that chance. He quickly brought his sword up to bear and used it to block Teela's downward slash. The fiendish (metaphorically speaking, of course) girl gaped at Trigon. "What the-?!" The momentum and force behind her swing was massive; how had he stopped it so easily?
Trigon suddenly made a remark at Teela's sudden astonishment. "You've stopped your attack. An unwise decision." To emphasize his point, Trigon kicked Teela in the ribs with his boot, knocking her off balance. Immediately after that, his blade began glowing with a yellow sheen.
-Special Skill: Armor Break-
With a powerful swing, Trigon completely broke through the IG-Sword, turning it into nothing more than a broken bludgeon. At this moment, Trigon sheathed his sword within the folds of his cloak...and the masks switched.
"Alright...now to show you how a real champ fights!" The cocky voice boasted loudly as he raised his arms in a loose manner.
Teela grimaced as she summoned a new IG-Sword. "So...you want to mock me? Fine...but WAIT UNTIL YOU WIN!" With that, Teela charged again...
POW!
...only to have Trigon leap over her body and kick her in the back of the head. The thief was sent flying forwards by the force of the kick, coming to a stop on the ground several feet away.
By the time Trigon turned around to face Hirum, the boy was summoning an Aeon. A cloud of pink, light blue, and purple vapor extended from the ground; within the vapor were the Fayth of Djose Temple: Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi. At first, it seemed like Logos and Ormi were arguing – and they were – but a quick slap on their heads from Leblanc stopped their quibbling. At last, they ran into each other and exploded in a cloud of multicolored vapor; when the vapor faded, Kefka was standing there.
Trigon chuckled as he flexed his arms. "Well...time to see if I'm as rusty as the tight-ass thinks!"
At that, Trigon ran toward Kefka, much to the surprise of Hirum. In the face of a powerful Aeon such as Kefka, Hirum would've expected ANYTHING except a frontal assault. Oh well. His funeral. "Kefka! Attack!"
The Aeon of Djose responded by firing a blast of Thundara magic at Trigon.
In response, the strange, schizophrenic warrior rolled under the electrical bolt and leapt at Kefka, ramming the Aeon with his shoulder.
To Hirum's surprise, Kefka was sent backward by several feet. "Huh?" What he saw was dumbfounding; no one could have mustered the sheer physical force to send an Aeon backwards by several feet, save for perhaps a Ronso and a Black Ronso.
Suddenly – as Kefka countered with a kick to Trigon's gut – there was a metallic clang, resonating from the strange warrior.
It suddenly clicked for Hirum; the reason Trigon had so much force behind him was because of his mass...and that mass was larger than a regular human because of metal. Trigon's body was made of METAL.
But did that mean that Trigon was a machina?
Either way, Hirum knew that he had to take Trigon more seriously. "Kefka! Be ready to bring out your Energy Shield if Trigon tries anything funny!"
Kefka replied by doing exactly that.
-Kefka Special Move: Energy Shield-
Unlike the last time, Kefka held the shield over one arm this time, allowing him to fight and defend at the same time.
Trigon grinned as he looked at Kefka. "Ooh. Nifty."
Immediately after that, he jumped up into the air, thus dodging Aaron's Piston Punch attack. The Al Bhed had tried to sneak up on Trigon to deliver a devastating blow with his Piston Punch...but Trigon had known Aaron was coming up behind him.
The moment the gust of pressurized air erupted from the R-1 Battle Arms, Trigon was already in the air above the Al Bhed. This left Kefka to bear the brunt of the attack.
Kefka, despite the fact his Energy Shield was out, was unable to react in time before the pressurized wind column pushed into his abdomen and sent him flying into the thicket. Hirum glared daggers at the Al Bhed. "AARON!"
Aaron shrugged innocently. "I didn't think he would dodge."
Meanwhile, Trigon's attention had turned to Cid, who stood passively in front of Serena. Heh...the guy's scared stiff! He's not even coming after me!
He's merely protecting the girl. After all, he's not obligated to fight for the others...not yet anyway.
Let me try now. I want to help Serena first and foremost.
Of course. Oh, by the way...I still think you're rusty.
Har har.
The masks switched again. This time, the friendly face could be seen as Trigon pulled a staff out of the folds of his cape with his left hand. The staff's rod was light blue in color, and affixed to the tip was a golden talisman with the inscription of High Summoner Yuna's face on it: it served as a reminder to the one who wielded the staff, a reminder of the lady herself.
"Hello Cid. If you'll excuse me, I'd like to speak with Serena." Trigon's voice was warm and soothing, and it could calm even the edgiest drunkard.
Cid, however, was bound by duty to disbelieve Trigon. He quickly wielded his BTC-4 laser rifle and aimed it right at Trigon's forehead. "No you won't."
Trigon's mask seemed to smile – no surprise, since the third mask was etched into a permanent smile – at the armored warrior...and he pointed his staff at Cid. Moments later, it glowed light blue as he yelled, "Blizzaga!"
Trigon did not aim the stream of potent ice magic at Cid directly. Rather, he aimed it AROUND Cid's feet...and it erupted into a prison of ice over ten feet high. Even now, Trigon could hear Cid trying to break his way out of the ice prison...and he knew it wouldn't hold him in for long.
With that, he turned his attention to Serena, who was standing quietly behind Cid's icy jail. "Don't worry little one. I just want to talk with you."
"No you don't!" yelled Serena, obviously mistrusting the strange figure. "Stay away!"
"Kupo."
-Moogle Special Technique: Mana Conduit-
Serena tilted her eyes upward to see Mog; he was already preparing to channel Serena's psychic magic. Serena knew what to do next; she began concentrating her psychic magic.
-Psychic Magic Technique: Psybeam-
The purple ray of psychic magic crashed into Trigon's head. Oddly enough, Trigon didn't seem effected. Serena confusedly asked, "Huh...whenever I use my power, the bad guys usually fall down...how come you haven't?"
Trigon's masks suddenly switched again. "Nifty thing about this body...there's no actual brain, so your psychic magic is useless!"
Another switch. "Besides, he never had a mind to begin with."
Switch back. "Oh shut up!"
Back to the third mask. Trigon sighed as he said, "Forgive those two. They like to quibble...now where were we?"
"WATER!"
Trigon turned his head around and pointed his staff at Hirum. "Thundaga!" Three massive bolts of electricity erupted from the staff and roared towards the orb of water magic – and, consequently, Hirum.
Two of the bolts converged on the liquid orb, vaporizing it on the spot. The last bolt crashed into Hirum, sending the summoner to the ground. Hirum grimaced as he tried to move, only to find himself paralyzed. Great...just great. 'Ga'-level magic. Why was a guy like this interested in him?
Trigon was about to turn around again...
"TAKE-!"
Trigon immediately whirled around at Aaron – who was about to attempt another close-up Piston Punch with his R-1 Battle Arms – and aimed his staff at him. As the staff began to glow with a slightly gray sheen, Trigon yelled, "Stop!"
Aaron was frozen in place...as were the R-1 Battle Arms.
Content that all other distractions were dealt with, Trigon turned back towards Serena...and began reaching down for her shoulder with his right hand.
But to Serena, she was immediately reminded of Nibilo...and the man in black...and the hand reaching down for her face...
It was uncannily similar. As Serena suddenly remembered that all-but-forgotten nightmare, fear claimed her. She suddenly backed away as she began hyperventilating. "No...stay back...I don't want to go to sleep again..."
And at that moment, tendrils of blue energy began to emerge from her.
Trigon inwardly frowned; he had only a short time to stop before the Teleportation magic took effect. "No Serena! Stop what you're doing!" He quickly knelt down and looked straight into Serena's yellow eyes. "We know what's happened to you...we know that you fear the darkness. You fear the darkness, because you fear waking up alone, without anyone to care for you. But that's not true! Your mind is reacting to that fear by trying to take you away...but you can't let your mind control YOU."
Serena's breathing began to slow, but her fear had yet to ease. The light-blue tentacles of blue psychic magic continued to spread, slowly wrapping around Mog, Cid – who was still trying to break out of his icy prison – Teela, Aaron, and Hirum.
Trigon continued to speak. "Your special powers are reacting to your fear...your mind knows that fear, and it's responding by trying to take you away from the danger it perceives. But you cannot let fear rule you...because you have friends, all around you. Even if darkness were to claim you, you cannot let your fear of it overwhelm you...for you have comrades to help you now. They will not let anything bad happen to you...and neither will I."
Serena's eyes – which had started to water – were cleared up by her hands as she muttered, "You promise?" Such a naïve child, impulsively reacting to the perception of warmth and comfort, eager to do anything to not be scared anymore. How fortunate that the one before her had good intentions.
"I promise."
Serena sighed as she nodded, her fear dissipating. In reaction to that, the tendrils suddenly vanished.
Trigon seemed to beam at this. "Do you feel better?"
"Well...yeah, actually." Serena lightly smiled at this; this guy was really nice. Well, at least this part of Trigon...she didn't know what to make of the other two.
"Don't move."
Trigon remained silent at Teela's demands; she had finally gotten up off the ground, and she was now holding the IG-Sword's tip mere inches away from his neck.
Then, Kefka came out of the woods – finally having made his way back after Aaron's bit of friendly fire – and glared at Trigon quietly.
Finally, the gigantic crystal of ice that held Cid finally shattered as the mighty CESS Operative broke free of his temporary prison. Without hesitation, he quickly aimed his BTC-4 laser rifle at Trigon's head, putting his finger on the trigger-
"Don't shoot!"
Cid quickly removed his finger from the trigger; Serena had just moved into his line of sight. "Out of the way. He's a hostile threat, and he must be neutralized."
Serena shook her head rapidly. "He's not a bad guy! He's friendly!"
Teela nearly felt like wringing someone's neck at that comment. "Didn't we already go through this with HIM?!" snapped Teela, her finger pointed accusingly at Cid.
Cid would've retorted with 'What's that supposed to mean?', but his militaristic discipline prevented him from doing so. Instead, he turned his face to Serena and asked, "What makes you think he's not a hostile threat? He attacked us without provocation."
"I apologize for that...I would've rather introduced ourselves a little less aggressively."
The masks switched. "If only SOMEONE hadn't decided to 'test you' or such crap, we probably would've been at the Moonflow, chowing down on dinner by now! Not that I can eat, but still!"
Another switch, this time to the scarred mask. "Forgive me for wanting to gauge their fortitude in battle." A dry sarcasm was evident in his tone.
The scene was rather bewildering; it was like watching someone talking to himself whilst imitating different voices. Finally, Teela indignantly said, "Whatever psycho...so what is it that YOU want?"
Trigon quietly said, "Simple. We wish to extend our services to Summoner Hirum."
Hirum couldn't help but chuckle at Trigon's offer. "So...you want to be my guardian? Pardon me if I sound ungrateful...but considering you've paralyzed me, why should I let you be my guardian?"
Another switch. "I know white magic." Trigon aimed his staff at Hirum and said, "Esuna."
Hirum's body was suddenly awash by a flurry of blue, purple, and green light that rushed upward like a fountain. When it disappeared, Hirum blinked; he could move.
He could move!
Hirum slowly got to his feet, staring at Trigon warily. There was something odd about the figure in black. So far, the best Hirum could come up with was that Trigon was a machina which had the personalities of three different men...or he could be wrong. Who knew?
Either way, Trigon was certainly an accomplished swordsman/fighter/mage...whatever he – or it – was. Finally, Hirum said, "Fine then...we'll head to the Moonflow and rent a hotel room for the night. We'll talk there."
If Trigon had a face, he smiled. "Very well...but first thing's first." He walked over to Aaron...turned him toward another direction...and aimed his staff at the Al Bhed. "Esuna."
The effects of the Stop spell ended, thus freeing Aaron from his state of unmoving.
However, the same applied to the R-1 Battle Arms, which was why Trigon had turned Aaron around. Otherwise, the blast would've hit Serena.
"-THIS!"
The blast of pressurized air roared away from the left arm of the R-1 Battle Arms. Several trees outside of the clearing were completely knocked over by the blast.
It took Aaron a moment to realize he wasn't looking at anyone. He turned around, seeing that Trigon was there...but everyone else wasn't fighting him. "Uh...what's going on?"
"We'll explain once we get to the Moonflow," wearily replied Hirum as he dismissed Kefka. "Let's go." With that, he made his way through the forest, heading for the dirt road that was fifty yards away.
Teela followed, muttering something unpleasant about Trigon as she did.
Aaron was next, who kept a wary eye on Trigon before walking into the forest.
Trigon came after the Al Bhed, but only after sheathing his staff.
Serena – Mog on her head – was next...but before leaving, she looked back at Cid, who was staring at the forest where Aaron's last Piston Punch had hit. "Come on Mr. Cid! Let's go!"
Cid quietly followed moments later...but he still felt wary. After all, he could have sworn that he had seen a flash of black leaping away from the falling trees...
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C-Agent #43 remained deathly silent and still as the objective and her allies walked away. After they were some distance away, the Lussyhtu sighed with relief; he had feared the Al Bhed's errant attack would've revealed his presence.
But now that he had breathing room, he quickly contacted his partner. "Come in."
"What is it?"
"The objective is moving on to the Moonflow's southern bank. What's your status?"
"I'm traveling on a hovercraft along the main road. Moonflow is in sight."
"You didn't rent the hovercraft, did you?"
"Of course not," replied C-Agent #59 with a slight hint of indignation. "I followed protocols. After I get to the Moonflow, I'll discard it in the woods and contact you. Shadow them and notify me when they arrive at the Moonflow."
"Roger that." With that, #43 cut the connection. The bit about the hovercraft was out of concern; renting hovercraft was forbidden, as it could compromise their secrecy. That was why they always stole hovercraft from rental stations, instead of actually renting them. By the time the rental station discovered one of its hovercraft were missing, the C-Agent that had taken it would've already discarded his mode of transportation.
So what if they stole? The ABTC gave them broad discretionary options.
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/2:12 NT, Southern Bank, Moonflow/
The Moonflow was one hour ahead of Luca.
In the past, the Moonflow had been a rather daunting obstacle for travelers. Traveling by boat was too risky, for fiends in the river's waters liked to go after small targets. Also, traveling all the way around the Moonflow's various tributaries was a pain in the proverbial butt.
Thus, the only mode for travel was by shoopuff. The massive pachyderms were large enough to deter the smaller fiends, thus rendering their passengers safe from harm. For a long time, that had been the only means of crossing the mighty river.
But now – with the advent of hovercraft – that had changed.
Around the year of 102 A.S.D, construction on hotels around the river's banks had begun. It had occurred to business owners that a lot of people traveled along the Moonflow...so what was wrong with giving them accommodations for a small fee?
And that's how it had begun. As hovercraft became more abundant, people traveled to the Moonflow more often. As it turned out, people enjoyed riding their hovercraft over the waters of the Moonflow; after all, it gave them a close-up view of the pyreflies that were abundant in the river.
As more people came, more businesses were attracted. Hotels, bazaars, markets...but when the casinos started coming, that's when business REALLY boomed. By the year 513 A.S.D, the Moonflow was THE place to go for the ardent gambler.
The ruins of a massive machina city were also a nice hook; when submarines hit the scene, entrepreneurs began offering observation tours of the underwater ruins. It was a hit.
And now, the Moonflow had become a booming area of business. People traveled across by hovercraft and shoopuff. People came to gamble in the finest casinos on Spira. People came to try and create – or extend – their businesses there. People came to enjoy the wondrous scenery. People came to explore the underwater machina city, a testament to history.
But above all, the Moonflow was a place where people could come to enjoy themselves.
"Welcomesh to the Moonflowsh!" exclaimed the Hypello advertiser as Hirum, his Guardians, Cid, and Trigon entered the first hints of organized civilization since Luca.
Hirum, Aaron, Teela, and Trigon walked on without replying. Serena, however, was seemingly hypnotized by the gangly, big-eyed creature: she had never seen a Hypello before. Cid, being the responsible guardian that he was, remained by the Psy Mage's side.
The streets were abundant with activity. Humans, Guado, Hypello, Al Bhed, and even the occasional Ronso – normal or Black – could be seen. Merchants were bartering with customers. Hungry consumers entered restaurants and cafes. People moved to and fro, the humid air cooling as the night lengthened. Various lampposts and neon lights provided suitable illumination for travelers. If there was a phrase for all the hustle and bustle, for the errant shouts and dealmaking that would conclude the day...
"Last catch of the day! Perfect for cocktails-!"
"No no, I won't settle for less than 535 Gil."
"-look, I know shipping rates for Mt. Gagazet are higher during this time of year, but that's the climate for you!"
"Move it, bozo!"
"Could I interesht you in these fine craftsh?"
"RODIGER'S FRIES! FRESH AND CRISPY, WITH FREE TOMASTO!"
...it could be called organized chaos.
But the 'organized chaos' provided excellent cover for the Elite sitting inside a nearby café, his upper lip drenched in warm coffee. As he watched CESS Soldier #34 – and the red-haired girl – enter the area, he smiled.
He quickly grabbed his portable sphere-com and hit the redial button. Moments later, the call connected. He ran a nimble hand through his black hair before speaking.
"They're here."
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To be continued...
Next time...
Chapter 36: Convergence
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Author's Notes: Halo 2. Now that that's out of the way, let me say that I honestly wanted to write more for this chapter, but my creative juices are currently stalled. Don't worry, it's NOT writer's block; just give me a few days whilst I write another chapter for my Digimon story. Then I'll be back with a (hopefully) bigger chapter.
See you next time, and please review!