The Relationship Part 5: Special 01; A Great Loss
~Iguana's story~
"Dude, I just can't believe you killed Katana! I mean, he's on level 69!" Iguana praised.
"It's not about what level you're on, it's about how you use your weapon," Dekar said humbly.
"And I guess you always talk like this?" Bass mocked.
"Nope. I think I might have had one beer too many," Dekar joked. Everyone laughed. Dekar sighed.
"Is something bothering you, Dekar?" Iguana was worried.
"Nah, nah... It's just that..." Dekar started. Iguana raised a brow.
"It's just WHAT?" she asked.
"It's just that nearly everyone has a partner except me..." he complained.
"I know how you feel, dude," Bass agreed.
"That makes three of us," Iguana added. Bass and Dekar looked at each other and then at Iguana. They pushed and shoved each other towards Iguana.
"SHE'S MINE!" "NO WAY! I'M HAVING HER!" "GET SOMEONE FROM YOUR OWN SPECIES!" the two males argued. Iguana giggled.
"You guys are too much," she giggled some more. The males stood up straight.
"So who do you choose, Iggy?" they asked at the same time.
"I don't really know," she replied. "I think you're cute, Dekar, and I think Bass is the coolest! But... I can't choose between you guys yet,"
"Aw, damn," the two young men cursed.
"Hey, didn't you here me? I said YET!" Iguana backed up. The two guys grinned and started punching each other.
"Aye," Iguana sighed and rubbed her temple. "I'm startin' ta get a headache!"
~Laguna's story~
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Cousin ran off behind the castle on Tanbel.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Call Zero to help us!" Yuffie urged Laguna. Her boyfriend just gave a little grunt-like noise and took out his flute. He loosened up and played Zero's theme.
"This is the first time I've tried this. I just hope it works," Laguna thought. A reddish-white beam of light shot out of the Caller Device. The light stopped shooting out when it grew to about 10 metres long. The beam gathered up into one big mass of light and formed into the shape of Zero.
"Aw, man! You just HAD to wake me up now, didn't ya?" Zero complained. "I was having the coolest dream!" Laguna pointed to Yuffie.
"She told me to do it," Laguna dobbed. The android laughed.
"Well, that's okay then!" he corrected himself. He leaned over and kissed Yuffie on the cheek. Yuffie turned a bright red colour in her face. Laguna stomped his foot.
"We have a psychotic 13 year old vampire to stop!" he reminded. Then all of a sudden Cousin jumped up out of nowhere and grabbed Yuffie.
"YUFFIE!!!" Zero and Laguna screamed at the same time.
"Smell yas later!" Cousin smirked then disappeared, muffling Yuffie's screams with his hand. The android and the young warrior ran after Cousin into the Castle's basement.
"Oh, God! It's like a labyrinth in here!!!" Laguna exclaimed. Zero nodded.
"How the HELL does Cousin know this place?" Zero shouted with frustration.
"Maybe he has a map," Laguna shrugged.
"This ain't a time to joke around, Ragna!" Zero pointed out.
"Ragna?" Laguna raised a brow.
"In Japan they call Laguna Raguna, or simply Ragna," Zero explained.
"Whatever," Laguna snapped. Zero shrugged.
~After 3 full hours of searching~
"Aw, man! Can't we have a rest, Ragna?" Zero whined.
"Dude, we've only been searching for..." Laguna checked his watch. "3 hou-!!! 3 HOURS?!" Zero snickered.
"Stop making all that noise!" a voice commanded. A lady dressed all in black dropped down from the ceiling.
"LAUREN!!!" Laguna gasped.
"IRIS!!!" Zero was also surprised. "WAIT A SEC! Who's Lauren?"
"More importantly, who's Iris?" Laguna demanded.
"Hey, I asked first!" Zero glared at Laguna.
"I can answer both your questions," Lauren/Iris suggested.
"I used to be the Goddess of darkness, Iris," she started. "I was Lauren before that, until I was chosen by the Gods that I should be the Goddess of darkness. Then Cousin came along, and apparantly he is more evil than me, so he became the God of darkness," Lauren/Iris continued.
"So what you're saying is, I know you as Lauren and Zero knows you as Iris?" Laguna asked. Lauren nodded softly.
"WELL THAT MAKES SENSE, DOESN'T IT?!" Laguna screamed with sarcasm.
"Keep it down, you fool!" Lauren hissed. Laguna shut his mouth. Zero snickered.
"Who's there?" another voice called.
"Oh, good job, Ragna!" Zero blamed.
"Fuck off, Zero!" Laguna snapped.
"Tou-chy!"
"SHUT IT BOTH OF YOU!!!" Lauren screamed softly. The three crept up to the room that the voice was in.
"What are you doing in here anyway, Lauren?" Laguna asked.
"Looking for something," she muttered a reply. They stumbled into the room, wondering who had taken shelter in there.
"Nice of you to drop in, Laggie-poo!" cousin was standing there with Yuffie tied up to a giant rack-like contraption behind him. "AAAAAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
"Put her down!!!" Laguna ordered.
"Insolent prick!" Cousin sneered. He slammed his palm down on a button located near the rack. A blue surge of electricity rippled through Yuffie's body, mortally wounding her.
"YUFFIE!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!" Laguna screamed with tears in his eyes. Then Rini floated down in her angel form.
"Angelic Pride!" she summoned up an attack and fired it at Cousin. A whole swarm of faeries charged at Cousin, ripping right through him.
"I'LL GET YOU, LAGGIE-POO!!!" Cousin promised as he disappeared.
"I bet he'll be back," Zero pointed out. Lauren nodded.
"It is time for me to leave now," Lauren said, then teleported out of the room. Laguna ran over to Yuffie and tried to undo the locks on the chains that held Yuffie. Blood dripped from the beautiful princess's mouth.
"It's no use, Laguna... I'm going to die if you get me out of this or not..." she told him.
"Hey! It's still worth a try!" Zero added, then jumped in and slashed some of the chains off with his Z-Saber.
"Laguna... I love you..." Yuffie held out a hand to Laguna. Laguna clamped onto it with his own hands.
"Yuffie..." Laguna muttered out. Yuffie passed away slowly with a small smile on her face. A smile that showed her love for Laguna.
"Yuffie? Yuffie! YUFFIE!" Laguna screamed. "Yuffie... Yuffie... Yuffie........" Laguna held the princess's lifeless body close to himself. Zero blinked and watched the scene.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!! NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!" Laguna argued with the surroundings. (Author's note: Does this scene seem familiar to some of you people? LOL!)
"Oh you can bet your every penny it is..." Zero said with a sigh.
"THERE'S NO REASON FOR ME TO GO ON!!!" Laguna continued, ignoring Zero's statement.
"There's other fish in the sea," Zero tried to calm Laguna down.
"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?!" Laguna finished and pushed Zero out of the way.
"Umm... I'll be on Caller if you want me..."
Laguna ran out of the room and out of the basement.
~Bass' story~
"Hey, isn't that the Lag-man?" Bass asked, pointing at Laguna, who was running out of the castle and crying.
"Yeah, it IS my bro! But why is he crying? And where's Yuffi... Oh no! You don't think?" Iguana was shocked.
"Yuffie... died?" Dekar stuttered out.
"Only one way to find out, guys," Bass stated. The three bounded over to Laguna.
"Yo, Lag! Wait up!" Dekar called. Laguna stood up straight with a pissed off expression on his face.
"Cousin killed Yuffie. I can never let him go for that! I might not be strong enough to beat him now, but I'll keep training. I'll grow stronger and faster and one day, I'll challenge him to a battle! The battle that will decide the fate of the world!" Laguna boldly said. Iguana clapped her hands.
"You're the man, Laguna," Bass encouraged.
"Yeah! You can do this, Lag!" Dekar put a hand on Laguna's shoulder and grinned.
"Of course he can do it, he's the chosen one!" an angel-like voice spoke. They all looked at where the voice came from. A beautiful young girl stood there. She was about 13 years old, she had stunningly beautiful brown hair, this girl was perfect in every way. Her hands were clothed in gloves that reached up to her elbow. Her face was pampered with make-up and a tiara was placed on her head. The girl wore a long white dress.
"What's the matter? You guys seem kinda surprised," the girl spoke again.
"Whoa... I wish I was still 13..." Dekar muttered in a hypnotic state. The girl giggled.
"My name is Sakura Rikodou, Yuffie's sister," the girl explained. Tears fell from Laguna's eyes.
"Aw,c'mon, Laguna! You'll find others," Iguana huggled her brother, trying to comfort him.
"No I won't! I'm never going to go out with another girl for the rest of my life!" Laguna shot back. "Yuffie was THE one for me... Nobody can replace her..."
"What do you mean "replace her"?" Sakura asked.
"Yuffie's... gone..." Laguna mumbled.
"HEY YOU GUYS! I COULD USE SOME HELP OVER HERE!!!" Zero called. He ran out of the giant crack in the castle's wall that lead out from the basement. He was holding Yuffie's body in his arms.
"YUFFIE!!!" Sakura screamed. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!" Sakura screamed and shook Laguna around by the collar of his shirt.
"She got electricuted by Cousin..." Laguna sobbed.
"You mean that crack-pot who's responsible for that giant electical dildo outside my castle?" Sakura asked. Everyone nodded. Sakura started to laugh.
"Oh, boy! I just can't believe that Yuffie let a pussy like him destroy her!" Sakura stiffled her laughter.
"He's stronger than you think," Laguna warned.
"Bull shit! I bet I could kill him with both hands tied behind my back!" Sakura boasted.
"Screw this, I'm going home to start my training," Laguna announced and then started walking back towards his hometown.
"But dude! It'll take at least 3 days to get back there!" Dekar pointed out. Laguna flipped him off and kept walking, not looking back.
"I guess he doesn't care," Bass said blankly. "Well I'm going after him. You guys stay back here and watch out for Cousin. This might take a long time, maybe even years,"
"You saying that I'm weak?" Laguna was quite a while away, but could hear everything clearly. He still didn't look back.
"YEAH! YOU'RE A WEAK PIECE OF SHIT!" Sakura shouted at him.
"SHE'S RIGHT, BRO! WE'RE ALL ON HIGHER LEVELS THAN YOU!" Iguana backed Sakura up.
"Nice work, Sakkie!" Iguana grinned. Sakura giggled. Laguna swiftly turned around, tears streaming down his face.
"THIS ISN'T A GOD DAMN TIME TO JOKE AROUND!!!" Laguna yelled with fury.
"Wow... Yuffie must have meant a lot to her," Dekar muttered, amazed at Laguna's everlasting love for Yuffie.
"Yo, Lag! Let's go back to your home town! I'll help you train," Bass offered. Laguna nodded.
"I really appreciate that," Laguna thanked.
"Hey, I think you're a cool guy! And anyway, I ain't a Maverick anymore. I vowed that I will stop all evil where ever I go, what ever the time is, what ever my age is," Bass stood proudly. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" Laguna nodded.
"Let's," Laguna replied.
"I hope you guys know what you're doing. I'll check up every now and again to see if you're goin' fine, Lag!" Iguana offered. Laguna nodded again.
"Well, we can't keep you waiting, huh? See ya, Laguna!" Dekar fare-welled his best friend. Everyone waved at Laguna and Bass.
~2 years later~
Laguna had grown to become a handsome 19 year old man. Everyday became worse as he missed Yuffie more and more each day. His hair got messy, his training slacked off, and most things good about his attitude turned bad. His optimism turned sadistic, his cheery self turned gloomy, he was becoming Cousin.
"Dude, I better do something about his attitude! He's gaining weight, he's become lazy, all he does is sleep, man, he wrecked his body!" Bass thought. He went up to his friend.
"YOU BETTER GET OFF YOUR ASS AND START TRAININ'!!!" he ordered. Laguna jumped up. Laguna walked over to the bathroom, shaved and had a shower. Then he went straight back to sleep. Bass frowned. At that moment, Iguana stumbled into the bar.
"Hi, guys!" she said optimistically. She tried to walk into Laguna's room, but Laguna held up his hand and clicked his fingers, smiling a bit as he cast Blizzaga on his door, closing it off from all other people.
"Looks like it's only us two then, eh?" Bass grinned.
"You wild little thing!" Iguana said as she out her arms around Bass and kissed him on the lips.
~12 AM that night~
Laguna was fast asleep. Bass was in the ballroom area of the bar, which had closed down and had been redesigned as a sparring gym. Bass' double bed was in the centre of the ballrom/gym. He and Iguana were sleeping comfortably together, with Iguana snuggled up warmly against Bass' chest. In Laguna's room, a mysterious appartion stood at his bed. It was an angel. She wore Baggy black cargo pants and a tight shirt. Angel wings spread out behind her back. She leaned over and kissed Laguna on the lips. Laguna jumped up and looked around. He saw that the ice from his Blizzaga attack had melted down. He followed some footprints to the doorway and noticed that they stopped all of a sudden.
"Huh?" he muttered, still very sleepy. Then something caught his eye. He noticed the footprints had patterns. They were sneaker shoe marks. The exact same brand as what Yuffie wore. He also saw some feathers on the ground. They were extremely white, not like you'd see on a bird.
"Yuffie... the angel?" he asked himself. Laguna grinned. He went back to sleep and swore that he would get back to training the next day.
4:00 AM: Laguna got up and went for a jog around the block.
5:00 AM: Laguna made himself toast with jam for breakfast.
5:15 to 8:00 AM: Laguna trained and burst 13 punching bags by accident.
8:00 AM to 1:00PM: Laguna played Final Fantasy 9.
1:00 PM: Bass served up hamburgers, which Laguna threw away and made salad instead, since it is healthier.
"Aw, man! I don't even know the meaning of the word healthy!!!" Bass complained when his hamburger was discarded.
"Sorry, but you have to keep fit," Laguna prompted.
"Fuck," Bass cussed.
"DON'T SWEAR!!!" Laguna screamed.
1:30 PM: Live training with 10 T-Rexaurs, 5 Grats and 28 Iron Giants.
4:55 PM: Laguna slept because he was too tired to do any more training.
8:00 PM: Iguana came over and cooked Bass and Laguna some dinner. She decided to stay the night again.
10:00 PM: Laguna fell asleep almost as soon as he slipped into bed.
~Back to the story~
That was how it was like for 3 more years. They would take Laguna out for a day of fun every now and again for being such a hard worker, but excluding them it was (almost) pure hard work all day. Then the day came. Laguna had reached the highest experience level possible; level 100. He was very skilled at fighting. All of his friends respected him. There had been no sign of Cousin for 5 years. Laguna had thought that Rini might have finished him off for the last time. He hidn't have a clue that he was abosolutely WRONG.
"You worked really hard, Laguna!" his sister exclaimed.
"Yeah! You should be proud, dude!" Dekar added.
"You're the man!" Bass encouraged.
"Eh, I'm better than him," Sakura showed off. Everyone, including Laguna, laughed.
"EEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" a demonic laughter broke out and filled the gym.
"It couldn't be!" Laguna gasped.
"COUSIN!!!" everyone screamed simutaneously.
"Oh, you guys treat me as if I'm Frieza or Kefka! Chill! I'm 100 times worse!" Cousin said discouragingly.
"I challenge you to a duel, Cousin!" Laguna dared.
"Pathetic adult! You will never beat me! I will always stay as a child!" Cousin laughed some more. Sakura, who was blossoming into a beautiful young lady, stepped forward.
"Leave the guy alone, Cousin!" she ordered. Cousin turned bright red in the face.
"Humph! I'll show you!" Cousin started to age rapidly and in seconds he was 18. "Hahaha!"
Laguna jumped forward with his Machine Gunblade. He triggered the weapon and watched as Cousin got shot and cut at the same time. Cousin clapped his hands and turned into an android.
"SHIT!!! HE LOOKS JUST LIKE JUNKMAN!!!" Bass pointed and stared.
"Ah, yes! Junkman was quite a warrior! It took me a while to subdue him!" Cousin grinned.
"Call Zero!" Iguana urged.
"No way! I'm fighting him myself!" Laguna pushed everyone out of the way. Cousin and Laguna stared each other down. Cousin swiftly ripped a fist at Laguna's stomach, sending him flying.
"You'll never beat me!" Cousin laughed and left.
"Wow..." Dekar mouthed.
"I... NEED... AN... UPGRADE..." Laguna groaned. "I NEED TO BE...COME AN ANDR...OID..."
"You fool! That's stupid! Sacrificing your free will to save the world?" Bass complained.
"Hahaha! I'll do anything to save the world," Laguna choked out, coughing up a bit of blood. "And I know just the person with the facilities to do it,"
"And who's that," Sakura wondered out loud.
"Aria," Laguna grinned. Everyone gasped.
~1 hour later at Aria's office~
"Aria, I want you to turn me into an android," Laguna said, thumping his hand on the top of her desk. She laughed.
"I can't do that, Laguna, but I know someone who can," she explained. Aria pressed a button on the buzzer that was located on her desk.
"Yo, Sweetheart! Down here immediately!" she ordered. A few seconds later, a 21 year old man ran into the room. He wore a long flowing Team Rocket labcoat, his hair stuck out at the front and he wore a baseball cap backwards.
"You wanted me, Love?" Sakura and Dekar turned around and pretended to puke. Bass put an arm around Iguana and smiled as she snuggled up against his armour.
"Yeah. This guy over here wants to be an android. I know you're the only person who can do this kind of stuff, so please do it! It's for the sake of the world!" Aria begged as she pointed to Laguna.
"I can do it, but it would take a while," Dean said.
"Coolness!!!" Iguana grinned. "My bro is gonna be a droid! Just like my Bass!" Bass smiled at Iguana.
"Man, I was planning for this all year! I just needed a volunteer to sacrifice their freedom to become an android!" Dean raved on. Laguna nodded.
"Whatever it takes to destroy Cousin," Laguna said darkly. Dean handed Laguna a big, purple suit that was made from what looked like a metallic substance.
"That's suit Ragna. It's an experimental outfit for an android that was made from platinum," Dean explained.
"That's cool!" Sakura exclaimed.
"But what about his helmet?" Bass asked.
"Ah, almost forgot," Dean handed Laguna a face-piece that looked like a hockey mask, except without the holes for breathing. Metal bands were used to wrap around Laguna's head, making the mask stay in place.
"TOTALLY COOL!!!" everyone gawked enthusiastically.
~10 minutes later~
~Laguna's story~
Laguna stomped back into Aria's office.
"Sorry for being so loud. I can't help it with these huge boots," Laguna apologized.
"S'okay," Aria grinned. "Time for you to turn android! Oh, by the way, Dekar left because he had some stuff to do," Laguna nodded.
"Let's just get on with this," Laguna said as he made his way noisily down the giant hallway to Dean's lab. There he was leaded by the young professor into a small capsule. Laguna could see Dean pressing a few buttons. Then he blacked out.
"Laguna? Laguna! LAGUNA!!! WAKE UP!!!" a voice screamed. Laguna sat up straight. He looked around. He could see like a normal human. His memory was fuzzy though. It was as if he dreamed all of his life and was awaken after a coma. When he moved it felt much different. He tried clenching his left hand, but a giant energy cannon was attached to it.
"Whoa... I'm finally an android," Laguna muttered wearily.
"Yep! The experiment went fine," Dean assured. Laguna looked through the slats in his mask at the people in the room. Iguana and Bass were holding each other while Sakura and Aria were smiling at the new Laguna.
"Wake up and smell the fresh air cos you're a new man, Lag!" Sakura pulled Laguna up by the hand. Laguna could walk better with the big boots since he was programmed to adapt to them.
"Don't you mean Rag? His new name is RagnaRok, or Ragna for short," Dean corrected.
"Well he's still Laguna to me," Sakura snapped. Everyone nodded and agreed. Laguna felt really special.
"Time to kick some Cousin ass!!!" he said, glaring through his mask. Nobody noticed the tears streaming down his face.
"I just hope Yuffie is enjoying her time as an angel..." Laguna thought.
"Oh, by the way, RagnaRok, you need upgrades to be stronger. Right now, you're kinda weak," Dean noted.
"Here, have this," Bass handed Laguna a Premium Bass Buster copy. "It's stronger than the normal Buster weapon," Laguna thanked him and asked Dean to fit it on. As soon as it made contact with Laguna, the metal of it turned into purple platinum.
"Weapons adapt to the owner," Dean stated.
"You should also take this just in case, Laguna," Sakura handed him his Machine Gunblade. Laguna grinned and took it.
"Thanks, Sakkie," Laguna apreciated.
"No probs, Cutie!" Sakura giggled. "I now know what Yuffie saw in you!"
"Hey, I wanna know something," Dean asked. "Where's Yuffie?"
"She died..." Laguna answered.
"Hmm... I might be able to bring her back!" Dean held up a glowing feather. "I call it a Phoenix Down! It'll revive anyone that is dead!"
"You are a pure genius, Dean!" Laguna praised.
"Tell me something I DON'T know!" everyone laughed.
"Well, show me the way to Yuffie's grave!" Dean pushed Laguna towards the exit. "I'll explain how to use your new powers on the way, Ragna,"
~End of part 5~
~Iguana's story~
"Dude, I just can't believe you killed Katana! I mean, he's on level 69!" Iguana praised.
"It's not about what level you're on, it's about how you use your weapon," Dekar said humbly.
"And I guess you always talk like this?" Bass mocked.
"Nope. I think I might have had one beer too many," Dekar joked. Everyone laughed. Dekar sighed.
"Is something bothering you, Dekar?" Iguana was worried.
"Nah, nah... It's just that..." Dekar started. Iguana raised a brow.
"It's just WHAT?" she asked.
"It's just that nearly everyone has a partner except me..." he complained.
"I know how you feel, dude," Bass agreed.
"That makes three of us," Iguana added. Bass and Dekar looked at each other and then at Iguana. They pushed and shoved each other towards Iguana.
"SHE'S MINE!" "NO WAY! I'M HAVING HER!" "GET SOMEONE FROM YOUR OWN SPECIES!" the two males argued. Iguana giggled.
"You guys are too much," she giggled some more. The males stood up straight.
"So who do you choose, Iggy?" they asked at the same time.
"I don't really know," she replied. "I think you're cute, Dekar, and I think Bass is the coolest! But... I can't choose between you guys yet,"
"Aw, damn," the two young men cursed.
"Hey, didn't you here me? I said YET!" Iguana backed up. The two guys grinned and started punching each other.
"Aye," Iguana sighed and rubbed her temple. "I'm startin' ta get a headache!"
~Laguna's story~
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Cousin ran off behind the castle on Tanbel.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Call Zero to help us!" Yuffie urged Laguna. Her boyfriend just gave a little grunt-like noise and took out his flute. He loosened up and played Zero's theme.
"This is the first time I've tried this. I just hope it works," Laguna thought. A reddish-white beam of light shot out of the Caller Device. The light stopped shooting out when it grew to about 10 metres long. The beam gathered up into one big mass of light and formed into the shape of Zero.
"Aw, man! You just HAD to wake me up now, didn't ya?" Zero complained. "I was having the coolest dream!" Laguna pointed to Yuffie.
"She told me to do it," Laguna dobbed. The android laughed.
"Well, that's okay then!" he corrected himself. He leaned over and kissed Yuffie on the cheek. Yuffie turned a bright red colour in her face. Laguna stomped his foot.
"We have a psychotic 13 year old vampire to stop!" he reminded. Then all of a sudden Cousin jumped up out of nowhere and grabbed Yuffie.
"YUFFIE!!!" Zero and Laguna screamed at the same time.
"Smell yas later!" Cousin smirked then disappeared, muffling Yuffie's screams with his hand. The android and the young warrior ran after Cousin into the Castle's basement.
"Oh, God! It's like a labyrinth in here!!!" Laguna exclaimed. Zero nodded.
"How the HELL does Cousin know this place?" Zero shouted with frustration.
"Maybe he has a map," Laguna shrugged.
"This ain't a time to joke around, Ragna!" Zero pointed out.
"Ragna?" Laguna raised a brow.
"In Japan they call Laguna Raguna, or simply Ragna," Zero explained.
"Whatever," Laguna snapped. Zero shrugged.
~After 3 full hours of searching~
"Aw, man! Can't we have a rest, Ragna?" Zero whined.
"Dude, we've only been searching for..." Laguna checked his watch. "3 hou-!!! 3 HOURS?!" Zero snickered.
"Stop making all that noise!" a voice commanded. A lady dressed all in black dropped down from the ceiling.
"LAUREN!!!" Laguna gasped.
"IRIS!!!" Zero was also surprised. "WAIT A SEC! Who's Lauren?"
"More importantly, who's Iris?" Laguna demanded.
"Hey, I asked first!" Zero glared at Laguna.
"I can answer both your questions," Lauren/Iris suggested.
"I used to be the Goddess of darkness, Iris," she started. "I was Lauren before that, until I was chosen by the Gods that I should be the Goddess of darkness. Then Cousin came along, and apparantly he is more evil than me, so he became the God of darkness," Lauren/Iris continued.
"So what you're saying is, I know you as Lauren and Zero knows you as Iris?" Laguna asked. Lauren nodded softly.
"WELL THAT MAKES SENSE, DOESN'T IT?!" Laguna screamed with sarcasm.
"Keep it down, you fool!" Lauren hissed. Laguna shut his mouth. Zero snickered.
"Who's there?" another voice called.
"Oh, good job, Ragna!" Zero blamed.
"Fuck off, Zero!" Laguna snapped.
"Tou-chy!"
"SHUT IT BOTH OF YOU!!!" Lauren screamed softly. The three crept up to the room that the voice was in.
"What are you doing in here anyway, Lauren?" Laguna asked.
"Looking for something," she muttered a reply. They stumbled into the room, wondering who had taken shelter in there.
"Nice of you to drop in, Laggie-poo!" cousin was standing there with Yuffie tied up to a giant rack-like contraption behind him. "AAAAAAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
"Put her down!!!" Laguna ordered.
"Insolent prick!" Cousin sneered. He slammed his palm down on a button located near the rack. A blue surge of electricity rippled through Yuffie's body, mortally wounding her.
"YUFFIE!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!" Laguna screamed with tears in his eyes. Then Rini floated down in her angel form.
"Angelic Pride!" she summoned up an attack and fired it at Cousin. A whole swarm of faeries charged at Cousin, ripping right through him.
"I'LL GET YOU, LAGGIE-POO!!!" Cousin promised as he disappeared.
"I bet he'll be back," Zero pointed out. Lauren nodded.
"It is time for me to leave now," Lauren said, then teleported out of the room. Laguna ran over to Yuffie and tried to undo the locks on the chains that held Yuffie. Blood dripped from the beautiful princess's mouth.
"It's no use, Laguna... I'm going to die if you get me out of this or not..." she told him.
"Hey! It's still worth a try!" Zero added, then jumped in and slashed some of the chains off with his Z-Saber.
"Laguna... I love you..." Yuffie held out a hand to Laguna. Laguna clamped onto it with his own hands.
"Yuffie..." Laguna muttered out. Yuffie passed away slowly with a small smile on her face. A smile that showed her love for Laguna.
"Yuffie? Yuffie! YUFFIE!" Laguna screamed. "Yuffie... Yuffie... Yuffie........" Laguna held the princess's lifeless body close to himself. Zero blinked and watched the scene.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!! NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!" Laguna argued with the surroundings. (Author's note: Does this scene seem familiar to some of you people? LOL!)
"Oh you can bet your every penny it is..." Zero said with a sigh.
"THERE'S NO REASON FOR ME TO GO ON!!!" Laguna continued, ignoring Zero's statement.
"There's other fish in the sea," Zero tried to calm Laguna down.
"WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOR?!" Laguna finished and pushed Zero out of the way.
"Umm... I'll be on Caller if you want me..."
Laguna ran out of the room and out of the basement.
~Bass' story~
"Hey, isn't that the Lag-man?" Bass asked, pointing at Laguna, who was running out of the castle and crying.
"Yeah, it IS my bro! But why is he crying? And where's Yuffi... Oh no! You don't think?" Iguana was shocked.
"Yuffie... died?" Dekar stuttered out.
"Only one way to find out, guys," Bass stated. The three bounded over to Laguna.
"Yo, Lag! Wait up!" Dekar called. Laguna stood up straight with a pissed off expression on his face.
"Cousin killed Yuffie. I can never let him go for that! I might not be strong enough to beat him now, but I'll keep training. I'll grow stronger and faster and one day, I'll challenge him to a battle! The battle that will decide the fate of the world!" Laguna boldly said. Iguana clapped her hands.
"You're the man, Laguna," Bass encouraged.
"Yeah! You can do this, Lag!" Dekar put a hand on Laguna's shoulder and grinned.
"Of course he can do it, he's the chosen one!" an angel-like voice spoke. They all looked at where the voice came from. A beautiful young girl stood there. She was about 13 years old, she had stunningly beautiful brown hair, this girl was perfect in every way. Her hands were clothed in gloves that reached up to her elbow. Her face was pampered with make-up and a tiara was placed on her head. The girl wore a long white dress.
"What's the matter? You guys seem kinda surprised," the girl spoke again.
"Whoa... I wish I was still 13..." Dekar muttered in a hypnotic state. The girl giggled.
"My name is Sakura Rikodou, Yuffie's sister," the girl explained. Tears fell from Laguna's eyes.
"Aw,c'mon, Laguna! You'll find others," Iguana huggled her brother, trying to comfort him.
"No I won't! I'm never going to go out with another girl for the rest of my life!" Laguna shot back. "Yuffie was THE one for me... Nobody can replace her..."
"What do you mean "replace her"?" Sakura asked.
"Yuffie's... gone..." Laguna mumbled.
"HEY YOU GUYS! I COULD USE SOME HELP OVER HERE!!!" Zero called. He ran out of the giant crack in the castle's wall that lead out from the basement. He was holding Yuffie's body in his arms.
"YUFFIE!!!" Sakura screamed. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HER?!" Sakura screamed and shook Laguna around by the collar of his shirt.
"She got electricuted by Cousin..." Laguna sobbed.
"You mean that crack-pot who's responsible for that giant electical dildo outside my castle?" Sakura asked. Everyone nodded. Sakura started to laugh.
"Oh, boy! I just can't believe that Yuffie let a pussy like him destroy her!" Sakura stiffled her laughter.
"He's stronger than you think," Laguna warned.
"Bull shit! I bet I could kill him with both hands tied behind my back!" Sakura boasted.
"Screw this, I'm going home to start my training," Laguna announced and then started walking back towards his hometown.
"But dude! It'll take at least 3 days to get back there!" Dekar pointed out. Laguna flipped him off and kept walking, not looking back.
"I guess he doesn't care," Bass said blankly. "Well I'm going after him. You guys stay back here and watch out for Cousin. This might take a long time, maybe even years,"
"You saying that I'm weak?" Laguna was quite a while away, but could hear everything clearly. He still didn't look back.
"YEAH! YOU'RE A WEAK PIECE OF SHIT!" Sakura shouted at him.
"SHE'S RIGHT, BRO! WE'RE ALL ON HIGHER LEVELS THAN YOU!" Iguana backed Sakura up.
"Nice work, Sakkie!" Iguana grinned. Sakura giggled. Laguna swiftly turned around, tears streaming down his face.
"THIS ISN'T A GOD DAMN TIME TO JOKE AROUND!!!" Laguna yelled with fury.
"Wow... Yuffie must have meant a lot to her," Dekar muttered, amazed at Laguna's everlasting love for Yuffie.
"Yo, Lag! Let's go back to your home town! I'll help you train," Bass offered. Laguna nodded.
"I really appreciate that," Laguna thanked.
"Hey, I think you're a cool guy! And anyway, I ain't a Maverick anymore. I vowed that I will stop all evil where ever I go, what ever the time is, what ever my age is," Bass stood proudly. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's do this!" Laguna nodded.
"Let's," Laguna replied.
"I hope you guys know what you're doing. I'll check up every now and again to see if you're goin' fine, Lag!" Iguana offered. Laguna nodded again.
"Well, we can't keep you waiting, huh? See ya, Laguna!" Dekar fare-welled his best friend. Everyone waved at Laguna and Bass.
~2 years later~
Laguna had grown to become a handsome 19 year old man. Everyday became worse as he missed Yuffie more and more each day. His hair got messy, his training slacked off, and most things good about his attitude turned bad. His optimism turned sadistic, his cheery self turned gloomy, he was becoming Cousin.
"Dude, I better do something about his attitude! He's gaining weight, he's become lazy, all he does is sleep, man, he wrecked his body!" Bass thought. He went up to his friend.
"YOU BETTER GET OFF YOUR ASS AND START TRAININ'!!!" he ordered. Laguna jumped up. Laguna walked over to the bathroom, shaved and had a shower. Then he went straight back to sleep. Bass frowned. At that moment, Iguana stumbled into the bar.
"Hi, guys!" she said optimistically. She tried to walk into Laguna's room, but Laguna held up his hand and clicked his fingers, smiling a bit as he cast Blizzaga on his door, closing it off from all other people.
"Looks like it's only us two then, eh?" Bass grinned.
"You wild little thing!" Iguana said as she out her arms around Bass and kissed him on the lips.
~12 AM that night~
Laguna was fast asleep. Bass was in the ballroom area of the bar, which had closed down and had been redesigned as a sparring gym. Bass' double bed was in the centre of the ballrom/gym. He and Iguana were sleeping comfortably together, with Iguana snuggled up warmly against Bass' chest. In Laguna's room, a mysterious appartion stood at his bed. It was an angel. She wore Baggy black cargo pants and a tight shirt. Angel wings spread out behind her back. She leaned over and kissed Laguna on the lips. Laguna jumped up and looked around. He saw that the ice from his Blizzaga attack had melted down. He followed some footprints to the doorway and noticed that they stopped all of a sudden.
"Huh?" he muttered, still very sleepy. Then something caught his eye. He noticed the footprints had patterns. They were sneaker shoe marks. The exact same brand as what Yuffie wore. He also saw some feathers on the ground. They were extremely white, not like you'd see on a bird.
"Yuffie... the angel?" he asked himself. Laguna grinned. He went back to sleep and swore that he would get back to training the next day.
4:00 AM: Laguna got up and went for a jog around the block.
5:00 AM: Laguna made himself toast with jam for breakfast.
5:15 to 8:00 AM: Laguna trained and burst 13 punching bags by accident.
8:00 AM to 1:00PM: Laguna played Final Fantasy 9.
1:00 PM: Bass served up hamburgers, which Laguna threw away and made salad instead, since it is healthier.
"Aw, man! I don't even know the meaning of the word healthy!!!" Bass complained when his hamburger was discarded.
"Sorry, but you have to keep fit," Laguna prompted.
"Fuck," Bass cussed.
"DON'T SWEAR!!!" Laguna screamed.
1:30 PM: Live training with 10 T-Rexaurs, 5 Grats and 28 Iron Giants.
4:55 PM: Laguna slept because he was too tired to do any more training.
8:00 PM: Iguana came over and cooked Bass and Laguna some dinner. She decided to stay the night again.
10:00 PM: Laguna fell asleep almost as soon as he slipped into bed.
~Back to the story~
That was how it was like for 3 more years. They would take Laguna out for a day of fun every now and again for being such a hard worker, but excluding them it was (almost) pure hard work all day. Then the day came. Laguna had reached the highest experience level possible; level 100. He was very skilled at fighting. All of his friends respected him. There had been no sign of Cousin for 5 years. Laguna had thought that Rini might have finished him off for the last time. He hidn't have a clue that he was abosolutely WRONG.
"You worked really hard, Laguna!" his sister exclaimed.
"Yeah! You should be proud, dude!" Dekar added.
"You're the man!" Bass encouraged.
"Eh, I'm better than him," Sakura showed off. Everyone, including Laguna, laughed.
"EEEEEEEHEHEHEHEHEHEHAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" a demonic laughter broke out and filled the gym.
"It couldn't be!" Laguna gasped.
"COUSIN!!!" everyone screamed simutaneously.
"Oh, you guys treat me as if I'm Frieza or Kefka! Chill! I'm 100 times worse!" Cousin said discouragingly.
"I challenge you to a duel, Cousin!" Laguna dared.
"Pathetic adult! You will never beat me! I will always stay as a child!" Cousin laughed some more. Sakura, who was blossoming into a beautiful young lady, stepped forward.
"Leave the guy alone, Cousin!" she ordered. Cousin turned bright red in the face.
"Humph! I'll show you!" Cousin started to age rapidly and in seconds he was 18. "Hahaha!"
Laguna jumped forward with his Machine Gunblade. He triggered the weapon and watched as Cousin got shot and cut at the same time. Cousin clapped his hands and turned into an android.
"SHIT!!! HE LOOKS JUST LIKE JUNKMAN!!!" Bass pointed and stared.
"Ah, yes! Junkman was quite a warrior! It took me a while to subdue him!" Cousin grinned.
"Call Zero!" Iguana urged.
"No way! I'm fighting him myself!" Laguna pushed everyone out of the way. Cousin and Laguna stared each other down. Cousin swiftly ripped a fist at Laguna's stomach, sending him flying.
"You'll never beat me!" Cousin laughed and left.
"Wow..." Dekar mouthed.
"I... NEED... AN... UPGRADE..." Laguna groaned. "I NEED TO BE...COME AN ANDR...OID..."
"You fool! That's stupid! Sacrificing your free will to save the world?" Bass complained.
"Hahaha! I'll do anything to save the world," Laguna choked out, coughing up a bit of blood. "And I know just the person with the facilities to do it,"
"And who's that," Sakura wondered out loud.
"Aria," Laguna grinned. Everyone gasped.
~1 hour later at Aria's office~
"Aria, I want you to turn me into an android," Laguna said, thumping his hand on the top of her desk. She laughed.
"I can't do that, Laguna, but I know someone who can," she explained. Aria pressed a button on the buzzer that was located on her desk.
"Yo, Sweetheart! Down here immediately!" she ordered. A few seconds later, a 21 year old man ran into the room. He wore a long flowing Team Rocket labcoat, his hair stuck out at the front and he wore a baseball cap backwards.
"You wanted me, Love?" Sakura and Dekar turned around and pretended to puke. Bass put an arm around Iguana and smiled as she snuggled up against his armour.
"Yeah. This guy over here wants to be an android. I know you're the only person who can do this kind of stuff, so please do it! It's for the sake of the world!" Aria begged as she pointed to Laguna.
"I can do it, but it would take a while," Dean said.
"Coolness!!!" Iguana grinned. "My bro is gonna be a droid! Just like my Bass!" Bass smiled at Iguana.
"Man, I was planning for this all year! I just needed a volunteer to sacrifice their freedom to become an android!" Dean raved on. Laguna nodded.
"Whatever it takes to destroy Cousin," Laguna said darkly. Dean handed Laguna a big, purple suit that was made from what looked like a metallic substance.
"That's suit Ragna. It's an experimental outfit for an android that was made from platinum," Dean explained.
"That's cool!" Sakura exclaimed.
"But what about his helmet?" Bass asked.
"Ah, almost forgot," Dean handed Laguna a face-piece that looked like a hockey mask, except without the holes for breathing. Metal bands were used to wrap around Laguna's head, making the mask stay in place.
"TOTALLY COOL!!!" everyone gawked enthusiastically.
~10 minutes later~
~Laguna's story~
Laguna stomped back into Aria's office.
"Sorry for being so loud. I can't help it with these huge boots," Laguna apologized.
"S'okay," Aria grinned. "Time for you to turn android! Oh, by the way, Dekar left because he had some stuff to do," Laguna nodded.
"Let's just get on with this," Laguna said as he made his way noisily down the giant hallway to Dean's lab. There he was leaded by the young professor into a small capsule. Laguna could see Dean pressing a few buttons. Then he blacked out.
"Laguna? Laguna! LAGUNA!!! WAKE UP!!!" a voice screamed. Laguna sat up straight. He looked around. He could see like a normal human. His memory was fuzzy though. It was as if he dreamed all of his life and was awaken after a coma. When he moved it felt much different. He tried clenching his left hand, but a giant energy cannon was attached to it.
"Whoa... I'm finally an android," Laguna muttered wearily.
"Yep! The experiment went fine," Dean assured. Laguna looked through the slats in his mask at the people in the room. Iguana and Bass were holding each other while Sakura and Aria were smiling at the new Laguna.
"Wake up and smell the fresh air cos you're a new man, Lag!" Sakura pulled Laguna up by the hand. Laguna could walk better with the big boots since he was programmed to adapt to them.
"Don't you mean Rag? His new name is RagnaRok, or Ragna for short," Dean corrected.
"Well he's still Laguna to me," Sakura snapped. Everyone nodded and agreed. Laguna felt really special.
"Time to kick some Cousin ass!!!" he said, glaring through his mask. Nobody noticed the tears streaming down his face.
"I just hope Yuffie is enjoying her time as an angel..." Laguna thought.
"Oh, by the way, RagnaRok, you need upgrades to be stronger. Right now, you're kinda weak," Dean noted.
"Here, have this," Bass handed Laguna a Premium Bass Buster copy. "It's stronger than the normal Buster weapon," Laguna thanked him and asked Dean to fit it on. As soon as it made contact with Laguna, the metal of it turned into purple platinum.
"Weapons adapt to the owner," Dean stated.
"You should also take this just in case, Laguna," Sakura handed him his Machine Gunblade. Laguna grinned and took it.
"Thanks, Sakkie," Laguna apreciated.
"No probs, Cutie!" Sakura giggled. "I now know what Yuffie saw in you!"
"Hey, I wanna know something," Dean asked. "Where's Yuffie?"
"She died..." Laguna answered.
"Hmm... I might be able to bring her back!" Dean held up a glowing feather. "I call it a Phoenix Down! It'll revive anyone that is dead!"
"You are a pure genius, Dean!" Laguna praised.
"Tell me something I DON'T know!" everyone laughed.
"Well, show me the way to Yuffie's grave!" Dean pushed Laguna towards the exit. "I'll explain how to use your new powers on the way, Ragna,"
~End of part 5~