Sorry for getting this out a little slower than usual. I had, um, important business to attend to yesterday *hides new Zelda behind back guiltily* Oh, and sorry to all MK purists if I screwed up any fatalities. I get them confused between 2, 3, and DA. Well, this is a little longer than usual, so maybe that should make up for lost time. Now, back to work *takes popcorn and sneaks away*
Oh, yeah and just in case you forgot, I do not own any part of Final Fantasy X, save a copy of it. I'm sure there are better people out there to sue than me.
Dude, now I'm actually putting this chapter up. As most of you probably know, the site was down for two days. I'm leaving for camp in an hour. I almost beat Clock Tower 3. Got stuck on the end boss, and now I'm gonna have to rent it again, just to beat the stupid boss
Back at my house, we all stood in the driveway, looking at Ma'am's car. "Nope, no way." I said. "We can't all fit in there. Six people max."
"Six seatbelts doesn't mean six people," said Ana with an evil grin. "We can all squish in there, somehow."
"I don't know," Rikku said. She hadn't been in any sort of hurry to get in a car with Tidus driving either.
"No, she's right. We can do it," said Robbie. "Rikku, Yuna, Tidus and I can squish together in the front seat. Auron, Kimahri, and Wakka sit in the back. Ana, Lulu, and Rebecca, you can all just sit on somebody's lap."
"Sounds good to me," said Tidus, hopping into the drivers seat. Rikku had retrieved the keys from the guest room when we returned from Sam's.
"I don't know," said Wakka, frowning. "Sounds risky, ya."
"Yes, it doesn't seem practical," Lulu hurriedly agreed. I don't think she was in any hurry to sit on someone's lap. Come to think of it, neither was I.
"Why do we all have to go?" I asked.
"I don't know about you," said Yuna quietly. "But I'd rather us all be together, if we, you know, find anything."
"Oh alright," Rikku moaned. "Then I guess Robbie's method is the only way to fly."
"Rikku, come on!" Lulu, Ana, Wakka and I groaned.
"Have a little sympathy," begged Ana.
Yuna was just barely keeping a strait face. "Sometimes, I suppose, we all have to do less pleasant things for the sake of a greater good."
"Fine, you sit on someone's lap then," grumbled Lulu.
"We'd better get going," Auron interrupted. "It's nearly nine o'clock."
"Relax, Auron," Ana snapped. "Gamestop's not going anywhere."
"Yeah, and neither are we," complained Tidus.
"He's got a point, ya," Wakka agreed.
"No!" Ana, Lulu and I yelled.
"Don't be ridiculous," said Rikku. "We're all friends. It might even be fun."
We looked at each other. "No!" Lulu, Ana, Wakka, Kimahri, Auron and I all shouted.
"Don't even go there," said Ana.
"That brings us back to our first topic which was, we aren't going anywhere," Robbie sighed.
"What are we going to do? Stand here and argue all day?" Tidus prompted. Those of us who were sitting in the back came to a silent agreement.
"Fine. However, let it be on the record that I think you are a complete shit head," I told Robbie, "and that I resisted submitting to your stupidity until it was at the point of give in or die. That is all."
We climbed in to the car. In the front seat was Tidus behind the wheel, then Yuna next to him, then Rikku, and Robbie on the end. The back went Wakka, Kimahri, Auron, with Lulu on Wakka's lap, Ana on Kimahri's, and me on Auron's. Auron and I managed to work together and struggle into the seatbelt (and it wasn't the most pleasant thing I've ever done). Next to me, I saw Ana and Kimahri attempting the same feat. Wakka and Lulu just sat there, not looking at each other. "Ready?" Tidus called enthusiastically.
"I don't think I ever will be," Auron sighed.
"Great!" Tidus exclaimed, and stepped on the pedal. Lulu screamed and went flying into the back of Tidus's seat. Wakka bonked his head against the window.
"You may want to buckle your seatbelt," suggested Rikku.
Wakka looked at Lulu pleadingly. She muttered something under her breath, and pulled the seatbelt over herself and Wakka.
"Are we really ready this time?" Tidus asked.
"Yes," we moaned in unison, like a bunch of first graders in a classroom.
"Let's go!" he yelled, and really stepped on the gas this time.
"Tidus, take it easy," Yuna warned, as he backed the car over the opposite curb. We all lurched forward, and I thought Auron's knee had gone up my butt crack. I righted myself, only to be shoved back down again when Tidus went off the curb.
Finally, we were on the road. Robbie gave Tidus directions, which he did a less than proficient job of following. "Left. LEFT. No, you're other left." Tidus zoomed along the road, tailing a couple of cars, and going through several lights as he went. He would have made a great Manhattan cab driver.
At one point, a big guy that Tidus cut off rolled down his window, and gave us the finger. "Where'd you learn to drive, punk?"
"Zanarkand!" Tidus replied. I hit my head on the window.
"Oh please, let this be over soon," I muttered.
Auron sighed. "Well, Jecht would be proud," he muttered back, as Tidus followed the example, and gave a slow-moving station wagon driver with two kids in the back the finger.
After what seemed like years, but was really only a half an hour, we arrived at the mall. "Damn, that woke me up," I groaned, getting out of the car and rubbing my aching rear end.
"Try being the one underneath," Wakka grumped, but he instantly withered under Lulu's angry glare. "So, where we going?"
"Gamestop," answered Ana, getting out. Kimahri got out behind her.
"Um, I think you'd better stay in the car, Kimahri," I told him.
"Why?" asked Yuna, looking concerned.
"We have some weirdos in Jersey, I'll admit," I explained. "But we definitely don't have ronsos.
"Wait," wondered Yuna, "how come Hannah didn't notice him before."
"Hannah is extremely smart, but she can be a little…absent minded at times."
"Oh." Yuna nodded in comprehension.
"Stay low," Auron advised Kimahri.
"Kimahri will," said Kimahri, ducking below the window and shutting the car door.
We walked toward the mall. Very few people gave us more than a passing glance. In the entrance, some nerds who walked by, undoubtedly back from buying new magic cards and war hammer models, exclaimed, "Woa, sweet costumes! Where'd you get 'em, Spencer's? Man, I love that place!"
"Just keep your eyes down and pretend you don't see them," muttered Ana.
We finally reached Gamestop. I pulled my discount card and one of the fifties out of my pocket, and walked over to the desk, the whole crew, minus Kimahri of course, in tow. "Hey, Marcus!" Marcus came over.
"Hey!" he said, looking glad to see us. Marcus was the coolest Gamestop employee. He was the manager of this store. He would always sell me rated M games, even though I wasn't seventeen. Once in a while, he would even slip my brother or me a discount, especially when we bought a lot. He told me that he loved dealing with people like me, who really knew their games, and was able to tell him exactly what they wanted. "Man, am I glad to see you! I just got done helping a Grandma who was trying to find her ten-year-old Grandson a game for his birthday. She tried to buy him BMX XXX. I told her the kid wasn't old enough for that game. Hell, I don't even think I'm old enough for that game!" He laughed. I laughed with him, as I pictured Ma'am riding around on a bike in a string bikini top and short shorts. Scary though it was, in her current mental state that was quite possibly what she was doing.
He spotted the gang behind me. "Is there some kind of event or something? Where's Kimahri?"
"He's waiting in the car," Rikku replied truthfully. Marcus laughed.
"So then, Yevonites, what can I help you with today?"
"Actually, we need a copy of Final Fantasy X," I said. "The cheapest possible one with no defects."
"What? Didn't you already beat that one? Yeah, you did. I remember. I had to pay you twenty bucks because you beat it before me." Ana shook her head, the same expression on her face as the one she had worn that morning, when she found Auron and I betting on Mortal Kombat.
"Yeah, I beat it. I was on my third time and it winked out on me. Probably because it was used."
"Yeah, that'll happen sometimes," said Marcus, going to look for the game in the back. I sighed with relief. Thank God Marcus had been there today, that made my life so much easier. He came back and handed it to me. "Hey, my lunch break's in a few minutes. How about you guys just chill around here, then I'll treat you all to lunch, and I can whoop you in Mortal Kombat 3 over at the arcade."
I silently poled all nine of the others. Their faces all clearly said, free food is way to good to pass up. "Sure. But I'll be the one whooping you. And Auron's not bad either," I said, motioning toward him. "He beat me once this morning. We were playing DA."
"Oh, did you get Kitana in this one? She's mad awesome!" We carried on a conversation about Mortal Kombat, then E3 until it was time for Marcus's lunch break. "So, you guys want pizza, or gyros?"
"Not pizza," we all responded simultaneously.
"Okay," he said, a little taken aback. "But Ana, dude, you always want pizza."
"I've had enough of it," she said simply.
"Alrighty, gyros it is. But what are you going to eat?" he asked me.
"I'll get a huge ice cream. That'll be lunch."
"I will as well," said Auron. "I don't eat meat either."
"Cool. Here, ten should be enough." He handed Auron the money, and then winked at us. "I got a raise after E3," he said excitedly. "I can buy almost twice the games I can usually afford now."
"Sweet," I said.
"Um, Well Auron and Rebecca will wait in line for their lunch. How about Robbie and, erm, Rikku, Wakka, and Tidus get a table, Yuna can find out what everyone wants, and Lulu can wait in line with me?"
Everyone agreed with various phrases. I had a feeling why Marcus chose Lulu to wait in line with him. It was quite obvious, because he kept staring at the reason. "Man, he is such a perv," I laughed as Auron and I headed toward the Dairy Queen booth.
"Perv?" Auron said, looking at me.
"Never mind," I said, laughing again. Auron shrugged. We were attracting a lot of attention, but still, it was a lot less than I expected. I guess the mall's full of nutters, and most people just figured we were some more of them. However, Auron did get quite a few comments on his "sick costume" by Final Fantasy fans before we got to the front of the line.
After ordering and paying, we headed over to where everyone else was sitting. "So," Marcus asked as we sat down, "is this part of some promotional event or something? Did you hook up with Rebecca, Ana and Robbie here?"
"Yeah," answered Ana hurriedly. "Yuna over here is a cousin of Rebecca's, so she offered them a place to stay. There's going to be this huge rpg convention over in Trenton after the Jersey band regionals."
"Really?" Marcus wondered. "I didn't hear about that."
"That's because it's an exclusive Squaresoft, Konami, and Nintendo affair," Ana put in hurriedly. "Strictly invitation only. We were invited because we have connections." She emphasized the word, putting finger quotes up. Ana was an amazing liar when it was necessary.
"Yeah, they did the, um, character voices," Robbie put in. Robbie is the second worst liar in the world, preceded only by yours truly.
"Cool," said Marcus. "That explains a lot. I saw Seymour running around here earlier. Is he with you guys?"
Tidus, Wakka, Yuna, Robbie and I all spit out our food and yelled, "you what?"
"Um, chill guys. Is he like, a rival in disguise or something?" Marcus said, looking a little surprised at our reaction.
"You could say that," Lulu said hurriedly.
"A pretty awful disguise," Auron muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" asked Marcus.
"Never mind," said Auron.
Nobody talked much after that. Robbie, who had never battled Seymour in the game and didn't quite understand the seriousness of the situation tried to start a few conversations, but they were half-hearted and short-lived.
"So," Marcus ventured as we threw out our trash. "You ready for a beating?"
"Sure," I said, trying to ignore the bad feeling that had settled in my stomach along with the cookie dough bits from my ice cream. "But it's going to be yours."
We headed into the arcade and I spotted him, coming out of Hot Topic (where he would draw little to no attention). Marcus saw him too. "See," he muttered. "He's right there. But he was wearing the wedding outfit when I saw him before." Seymour was wearing what he wore for most of the game. I was less worried about how indecent his outfit was, than I was about how big he actually was. Frowning, I pulled on Auron's sleeve.
"He's over there," I whispered. Auron looked quickly, and then he whispered back.
"Pretend you don't see him, and he won't notice you. He's on a lower floor."
I obliged, and we entered the arcade. Marcus and I went strait to the Mortal Kombat 3 machine. Tidus, Auron and Yuna followed, as everyone else drifted around to find something they wanted to play. In our first match, Marcus gained a flawless victory against me. "What's up?" he said, performing his fatality on my character, which exploded. "You're gaming is sucky today."
That got to me. "You're gaming sucks everyday," I retorted, all attention now riveted onto the screen. The next match was the usual length of matches between experts like Marcus and me. After about twenty minutes, I finally won by performing an elaborate combo.
"You wanna set the stakes a little higher for this one?" he asked.
"How about the price of that game you just sold me."
"Let's rock."
This battle took nearly a half hour, but I won it, using my fatality to spear him on the spikes. "Pay up," I told him. Grudgingly, he handed over the thirty-eight bucks.
"You wanna play a few quick ones?" he asked Auron. Yuna and Tidus had since wandered away, and Tidus was now sitting in front of a driving game. Just what he needs, I thought, watching him hit several pedestrians.
"I'll try," Auron responded. Needless to say, the match went a lot quicker. However, in the second round, Marcus let down his guard, and as a result, ended up with his characters organs thrown on the ground. Marcus gained it back in the last round, where he tread a little more lightly.
"I win," he gloated. "But, I must admit, not a bad show for a guy who just learned to play."
Lulu came over. "We'd better get going," she said. "I'm not in any hurry to get back in that car with Tidus, but we've been at this…arcade for nearly two hours." The word "arcade" sounded weird coming from Lulu's familiar voice.
"Okay, we can round up the gang now," I said. "See you, Marcus!"
"Hey," he said, "call me if you can get me into that rpg convention. The boss'll love that."
"Sure," I said, following Auron and Lulu, who were gathering everybody up and getting ready to leave. I was finished concentrating, and beginning to feel a little jumpy again.
On our way out, we passed a guy with a blue mohawk. Just the sight of blue hair made my heart skip a beat.
Kimahri was asleep on the floor of the backseat when we returned. I felt sorry for him. He looked pretty lonely. We all got into position for the return journey. This time, everyone buckled their seatbelts.
The trip home was silent, save for one incident where we were bumped by the car behind us. This was not due to Tidus's driving improving, it was actually because he made a sudden stop at a red light. I slid right into Auron.
"You know, you're heavier than you look," he said, slightly winded.
"Watch it, or I'll fart on you." I threatened.