DIMENSIONS
by
The Ionic Butterfly(aurelia_@yahoo.com)
Ranwolf(ranwolf@hotmail.com)
All Gargoyles characters belong to Disney/Buena vista studios. Characters
from the Final Fantasy series, Chronotrigger etc. belong to Square and Squaresoft.
The Characters of Nic Maza and Miyabe Tendo belong to Ranwolf and Ionic,
respectively. C&C are always welcomed. Flames will be read, considered, laughed
at, then burned. (Get it? Flames? Burned? ^_^)
CHAPTER 2: LESSONS LEARNED
"Welcome to Midgar. Home sweet home," Cloud said to everyone. His pace
seemed to quicken trying to find his family. He led them to a bar called, "7th Heaven."
Loud music, sounding almost like techno, poured out onto the street.
Nic looked around, feeling quite tired now. He looked to Miya. She looked sad.
He smiled at her. She tried in earnest to smile back.
"Well? You going to stand out here all night?" Yuffie asked.
Cloud grinned and walked inside. He wondered how long he had been gone. Yuffie,
Miya, and Nic followed him. People of all ages sat at the tables, talking loudly and
laughing, a few people were dancing.
A big burly black man approached Cloud. "And where have you been?," he asked,
"We've been busy all day and you just disappear on us."
"A day? Is that all?" Cloud laughed. "Nice to see you, too, Barret."
"Daddy! Daddy!" a little girl squealed and ran towards Cloud. She jumped and he
easily caught her, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.
"Aeris. How are you?" Cloud asked. Nic saw tears in the man's eyes. Then he
remembered while only a day may have passed for the people in the bar, Cloud had
not seen them for a whole year. Nic did not want to think about what a shock it might
be for him. "Where's your mother?"
"She's in the back with...," Barret started, but then saw Cloud's wife. emerging from
the back with a baby in her arms.
(Ranwolf: *Drools* Tifa...
Ionic Butterfly: *Whacks Ranwolf upside the head* Quit that! You're drooling on my
keyboard.)
Nic and Miya could do nothing but watch the scene. Cloud put Aeris down, and
walked quickly to the woman and baby. The woman thrust the screaming baby at
Cloud, and he took him. "Where have you been, Cloud?," she yelled, "We've been
busy and you leave me and Barret here to run this place and look after the kids..."
Cloud gently bounced the baby in his arms, sticking his forefinger in the child's
mouth to hush him. He looked up at his wife. "I've been stuck in infinity for a year,
Tifa. A year," he said.
"You've been gone a day," Tifa said coldly.
"A year," he said softly. "Can I please have a kiss before you chew me out any
further?" he asked. Tifa looked at him for a moment before giving him a long kiss
The baby between them had fallen asleep.
Nic looked at Miya. She still seemed upset about something. Probably the fact that
she had lost the key. He reached into his pocket to touch the Chronotrigger. To his
surprise, there was nothing. His eyes went wide as he began feeling into other
pockets, but he could not find anything. "Miya, the 'trigger is gone," he said.
She stared for a minute, then began laughing. "Now I'm not the only one to blame,"
she said. Nic had to grin at her. Cloud said that there were plenty to be found. They
could find another set, and they'd return to their world.
The little girl, Aeris, had jumped into Yuffie's arms. It seemed strange to Nic, that
Yuffie was actually showing a genuine smile while hugging and talking to the girl. It
seemed out of character.
"Have you been practicing what I showed you?" Yuffie asked. Aeris nodded, and
jumped down from Yuffie's arms. Yuffie bent down, putting up her hands and letting
the girl punch and kick at them.
"You have been practicing! I am so proud of you," Yuffie said.
(Ranwolf: O_O Yuffie? Being nice to someone?)
"Nicodemus, Miyabe, I'd like you to meet some people," Cloud said. "This is my
wife, Tifa. The little ninja over there is my daughter, Aeris. This is my son, Tomas.
Barret here is one of my best friends, and co-owns this bar with us."
"Please, just Nic is fine," Nic said, shaking hands and making the necessary
comments about how cute the children were. Miya did the same.
"Nic and Miya were kind enough to help us home. But it seems as if their key is
missing...," Cloud started.
"The 'trigger is gone too," Nic added.
Cloud stared for a moment, then shrugged. "Their set is missing, and since they
helped us, we need to help them," he said.
"Where are you going to find a set?" Barret asked.
"Well, I heard Dio has a set," Tifa said, "But it's just rumor. We can see him and
see if he does have it or not. I think we can talk him into letting Nic and Miya borrow it."
"Well, not tonight. It's too late and it's too busy for us to leave," Cloud said. Cloud
was smiling at his son, whose eyes were open and staring silently. "I want to stay
home for one night unless you and Miyabe are in an extreme hurry," Cloud said.
Nic looked to Miya. "Are you in a hurry?" he asked.
"I have to work tomorrow," she said.
"The time difference is going to mess that up anyway," he answered.
Miya sighed. "Then I guess not."
"Good. Then you two can stay here tonight," Cloud said.
Tifa cleared her throat and folded her arms. "And where are they going to sleep?"
Cloud thought for a moment. "Aeris can sleep with us tonight. They can take her
room," he said.
Tifa sighed. "Okay. Are you two hungry?" she asked.
Nic and Miya both shook their heads. "Something to drink would be nice," Miyabe
said.
"I'll get it," Cloud said, trying to hand Tomas to Tifa. She held her hands up.
"I've been holding him all day," she said, turning around.
"I'll take him," Miyabe offered. Nic stared at her for a moment, but Cloud had no
qualms about handing his son to her. Miya cradled the baby smiling, and found a seat
in the corner. Nic watched her and wondered how he'd feel if it were his child she
cradled. He smiled at the thought.
"So, Nic, how are.... Oh my gods...," Tifa said shocked, staring at him.
"What?" Nic asked, looking around for something startling.
"You aren't... You aren't human," she said.
"No, I'm not. Not completely anyway, I'm a hybrid," he admitted. "My mother is
human, my father is what's known as a gargoyle."
"You must come from a really weird world," Barret commented before returning
behind the bar.
(Ranwolf: He's one to talk.)
Nic smiled. "You don't know the half of it."
*****
Nic and Miya sat at a table with Yuffie, Aeris, Barret, and Tomas. Miya still held
Tomas, reluctant to let him go. The bar was closed now. Cloud had taken Tifa
downstairs to "make up for a little lost time before the kids go to bed."
Nic was telling his story to Yuffie and Barret. "Then I woke up in a hospital, and
here is this beautiful woman leaning over me...," he said smiling at Miya.
Miya looked up and smiled back. "I was the lucky one," she commented.
"No, that was definitely me," Nic said.
"No, I mean I was lucky because you pulled through. We weren't sure what you
were, but we did know that you had a broken collar bone, busted ribs, fractured hip,
and second and third degree burns. Sure, you were healing fast, but we didn't know
exactly... I'm just lucky you made it. I think my job was on the line," Miya said.
Nic felt his face flush. After a moment, he looked to Barret. "What's your story?"
"Well, only thing 'bout me that's anythin' special to tell, is I got my arm blown off
during a rebellion seven years ago. I had a gun grafted into my arm. But after the
wars stopped, my daughter begged me to get a implant." He stretched his hand out
before him. Nic could see how the latex skin stretched and moved around the
endo-skeleton as Barret flexed his hand. "So, being she was the only thing I had
goin' for me at the time, I had to listen to her. But now with all the monsters showin'
up again, I wonder if that was such a good idea."
Nic nodded. Tomas stirred in Miya's arms. "How about you, Yuffie?"
Yuffie looked up from where she was playing a game of cards with Aeris. "Oh, no.
Not me. My life is my own. You can stay out of it, thank you very much. Now I
appreciate you getting me out of The End of Time, let me know how I can repay you.
But until then, you know, hey," she shrugged.
Barret laughed and Nic grinned. "Well I can tell ya. She's a Konoichi(female ninja).
Trained all her life to be that way too. She likes collectin' materia, which leads her to
steal sometimes. But most of all, she likes making out wit' that little man of hers
when she's supposed to be guardin' the pagoda where this world's set was kept..."
Barret was about to go into some of the girl's personal history when Yuffie threw down
her cards and walloped Barret on the back of his head. The strike didn't seem to do any
damage to the large man. But the way she popped him, it would leave a mark.
"It wasn't my fault!" she said defensively, turning back to her game.
Nic looked back to Miya. She was oblivious to the whole conversation. She was
focused on the child who lay smiling at her. She was smiling back, speaking
gibberish. "Da-da!" Tomas said brightly. Miya felt Nic's eyes on her and she looked up.
He smiled and then turned back to the conversation. Yuffie and Barret argued over
whose fault it was for the missing set.
"Will you two shut up?! The set is gone, so leave it at that," Cloud said, walking
into the room. He sat down beside Miya and Aeris. He was grinning as Aeris put
down her cards to crawl into her father's lap. He kissed her forehead.
Nic realized that for some odd reason, he was envious of Cloud. He thought for a
moment but could not put a finger on exactly what it was.
"I called Dio. He said that we have to visit him. So that means he's going to test
you, Nic," Cloud said.
"Daddy, are you going to the Saucer? Can I go, please? Can I, can I?" Aeris begged.
"Hush darlin', daddy's talking. We don't interrupt, now do we?" he asked. Aeris
pouted and shook her head.
"That's my girl." He said. He then turned back to Nic. "Nic, he chooses which test
to put you through based on what he thinks of you. With your build, you are going
straight to the Arena," Cloud said.
"The Arena?" Nic asked.
"Don't worry. With whatever it was you used on those Adamantaimai earlier, you
won't have any problems. It's just a few fights. You've fought before, right?" Cloud
asked.
"Yes...I have," Nic answered. Miya looked up and starting paying attention at the
mention of Nic fighting.
"Piece of cake then. It's just eight straight battles. You just kill your opponents
and you'll be out of there," Yuffie said.
"I can't do that," Nic said.
"Can't do what?" Cloud asked.
"I can't kill eight men that have done nothing to me," Nic said.
"Oh gods, a pacifist...," Yuffie muttered.
"They're computer controlled holograms. Almost like a robot. You won't actually
kill anyone. In fact, you can have them turn off the bloodshed settings if you want,"
Cloud said, grinning.
Yuffie was still going on about peaceable persons. Cloud turned on her. "Yuffie!
Shut up! I am sick of your complaining! Isn't there anything in this world you like?
Geez." he said.
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Like I had fun spending a year with you too. All you could
whine about was your family," she said.
Barret stepped in. "Now you had best watch it. You're in dangerous territory," he
said. Yuffie glared at him, but stayed shut.
"I fought at the Arena!" Aeris chirped. "I won too! It was hard, but I won! Yuffie
taught me to fight and took me! I have a trophy that Mr. Dio gave me too!"
Nic gave Cloud a curious look.
"Of course, she wasn't fighting anything really dangerous. Just a few Grashtrikes
and a Firstray or two." Cloud quickly cleared up.
"And a bunny rabbit. I had to fight a bunny rabbit," Aeris added.
"Why do I get the feeling, I'm not going to get off that easily?"
"I'll loan you a bunch of materia and armor, you won't have to worry about
anything," Cloud said.
"What's materia?" Miya asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Yuffie said. Barret gave her a stern stare. "Sorry," she said
meekly, settling back down.
Cloud smiled. "Was that real magic you used?" he asked. Nic nodded. "A long
time ago, power from the planet was somehow trapped and turned into materia. It
gives people the power to use magic."
Nic nodded. He had heard of similar things before, The Eye of Odin, The Phoenix
Gate and The Grinorum Arcanorum. He had never encountered any of those items or
anything like them. Barret pulled out a small handgun, pointed it away from the others.
There were a few small grooves in the handle with tiny colored balls had placed inside.
Barret plucked a green one out and handed it to Nic.
Nic felt a rush go through his body the moment it was placed in his hand. He was
somehow filled with the knowledge of pyromancy. "Fire materia," he said.
Barret nodded as Nic handed it back to him. He placed the ball back into handle
and the gun back in it's holster.
"I called Cid too," Cloud said. "He's bringing the Highwind to take us to Corel so
we can go to the Saucer. Shera is gonna run the bar for us while we're gone. She
shouldn't have a problem with the bargirls help." Aeris cheered and hugged her father.
"It's about bedtime for you, don't you think?" Cloud asked his daughter.
Aeris pouted. "Will you tuck me in?" she asked. Nic watched Cloud swallow hard.
He nodded smiling.
(Ranwolf: *Looks at Ionic* Will you tuck me in, too?
Ionic Butterfly: *Laughs* You wish.)
"Let me get your brother to bed and I will, okay?" he said. Aeris jumped off his lap.
He looked at Miya. "Ready to give him up?"
Miya smiled. "He's so precious," she said.
"Thank you," he said, taking Tomas from her.
Tomas let out a string of, "Da-DA!"'s. Cloud picked Aeris up with his other arm.
"Barret, can you show them Aeris's room?" Cloud asked. Barret nodded. "G'night all,"
Cloud said.
Nic and Miya were shown their room. They stared at the tiny bed. Nic just laughed.
It was a child's bed, there was no way Nic could fit in it. He pulled a blanket off the
bed and laid it on the floor.
"Take the bed," he said to Miya.
"Who says chivalry is dead?" Miya smiled. She kissed him and got in the bed. She
had to curl her legs just a bit, but she would be okay.
Nic took off his coat, turned off the light, and laid on the floor. He laid for a short
time thinking of the day's events. He then heard Miyabe rise from the small bed, pad
over to him and then lay on the blanket next to him, using his chest as a pillow. With
time the two of the fell asleep.
*****
"Rise and shine! Time to get up, sleepyhead!" a child's voice rang out in the room.
Nic sat up and looked around. Miya stood over him staring with a smile. Aeris was
holding her hand.
"Time to get up, Anata," she said. Nic yawned loudly. Aeris' eyes widened.
"You have sharp teeth!" she said. Nic saw that the child was amused. He waved
his tail at her and watched her eyes light up. He grinned and stood up.
"What are you?" the child marveled. Miya let out a laugh.
"Beats me, kid," Nic said.
Miya kissed Nic good morning and then complained about his breath. She led him
to the bathroom and waited for him to finish freshening up. "Hurry up! Daddy is taking
me to the Saucer!" Aeris said.
Nic was soon finished and Aeris led them to the breakfast table. Everyone was
already eating. "'Bout time you got up, Nic," Yuffie said smartly.
"And a good morning to you too," he said. He was glad to recognize they had
toast and eggs. The bluish tint to the eggs made him wonder what animal the eggs
were from, but decided not to ask and eat anyway.
When the meal was almost finished, Nic noticed that Cloud was missing.
"Where's Cloud?" he asked.
Tifa sighed. "Down at the church, praying for a dead friend," she said. Nic started
to press but Barret held up his hand and shook his head slightly. Soon enough,
Cloud walked in.
A loud rumbling began to fill the room and Aeris jumped with joy and ran out of
the room to the bar level despite her father's protests. "That's Cid and the Highwind,"
Barret said as Cloud chased his daughter.
"Aeris! Get back here!," Cloud was heard.
"Aww Daddy!," came Aeris' replied.
Nic wondered what the Highwind was. He went outside, and Miya followed. A
large aircraft that looked to be a cross between a blimp and a military cargo plane
answered his question.
The outworld couple was introduced to Cid and Shera Highwind, and soon they
were on the airship along with Cloud, Tifa, and the others. Shera stayed behind to
watch over the 7th Heaven.
While the others had flown before, Nic and Miya found it much more interesting to
stay up top to feel the wind blow through their hair while the others went below.
Yuffie had disappeared as soon as the Highwind took off.
"The squirt probably went to the head to worship the ivory shrine," said Cid, laughing
gruffly as he headed to the bridge.
"Are you worried?" Miya asked as she traced her fingers against his arms, which
were around her waist.
"Not really. What should I be worried about?" he asked.
"I don't know. I'm just afraid we won't be able to get back," Miyabe said. "I mean,
I know how you felt now when you first arrived in my world."
"But I knew there was no way I could go back," he said, touching her hair, trying
to put a loose strand behind her ear. "I have a clan again and I have you. There's no
way I would want to go back."
Miyabe smiled at him. "Charmer."
*****
About an hour later, they landed near Corel. There was a tram to take them to the
Gold Saucer. They took it, and soon they were there. Dio met them at the landing pad.
Dio was a big man. He was about the same size as Goliath, but not as tall. Nic was
in shape, but he had nothing on this guy.
"Cloud! My champion! How are you this morning?" Dio asked, walking over and
hugging Cloud. Nic heard Cloud give a small "Um" as he was buried in the larger
man's arms.
After Dio had said his hellos to everyone he knew, he looked to Nic and Miyabe.
"So you're after a time set, huh? Well, I have one, but I'm not going to just give it to
you. You two are gonna have to earn it. It's just the way I work," Dio said after they
had been formally introduced.
"What do you want me to do?" Nic asked.
Dio laughed. "I said you both have to prove yourselves. Simple as that," he said.
"Miyabe isn't fighting," Nic said quickly giving Dio a warning glare.
"No, no," Dio answered, "The little lady is too pretty to fight. Fought over maybe,
but no. She won't fight. A chocobo race will work for her. She can ride one of Cloud's
champs, but she has to beat Teioh," Dio said.
Tifa smiled. "You can ride my chocobo. Her name is Atmas, and she's a gold
chocobo. That means you can win against Teioh's old black one any day," she told
Miya. Miya smiled in response.
"Good. If the lady wins, she gets a pendant. And as for you, boy," Nic growled
softly. "you'll be in the Battle Arena. And you'll fight Master Tonberry. Win and you
get the Chronotrigger," Dio said.
"WHAT?! You've got to be kidding me!" Cloud yelled. "Master Tonberry!? Come on,
give him a break!"
"He fights tonight, so if you want to teach him the ropes, you better get started.
The battle is at six sharp. The race for the lady will be tomorrow at two. Reservations
for the lot of you will be in Cloud's name at The Ghost Hotel, if you want to stay," Dio
said.
"Master Tonberry? Dio come on, that is so unfair," Yuffie said.
"You guys aren't helping," Nic muttered. He wondered what a Tonberry was.
"Look, people. Money and entertainment rules my world. All I know, these two
little guys, Masa and Mune, gave me my set and gave me those explicit directions,"
Dio said. "They gave me plenty of money to make me abide by their rules." He turned
and left.
"What is so bad about this Master Tonberry?" Nic asked. He wondered what Masa
and Mune were up to, but for some reason he wasn't surprised to find out they had
been there.
Cloud chuckled nervously. "Don't worry. We've got to get you used to the Arena
real quick, like fast, in a hurry."
"I'm taking the Aeris and Miya to the stables to start practicing, okay?" Tifa said.
"I want to go with Nic," Miya said.
"Trust me, he won't want you watching his first fight. You need all the time you
can get to learn to ride a chocobo," Tifa said.
"Now here's the deal." Yuffie began explaining the rules of the Arena. "You have to
go through eight fights back to back. Between each fight, you pull on a little slot
machine that shows up. The results of the pull can be good or bad. You can get your
strength cut in half, or you can get it doubled."
"Wait a minute, this Arena can do that?" Nic asked.
"Yeah. It'll have total control over you, but it won't cheat you. But if you lose, you'll
think it did," Cloud said.
"Gimme the materia. I wanna go in and show Nic what it's all about," Yuffie said.
Cloud handed over his best materia, and she grinned.
"I want those back, Yuffie," Cloud said with a edge. Yuffie gave him a raspberry.
She paid the Arena's entrance fee. She walked through the two iron doors at the top of
the stairs. They slammed shut behind her.
(Ranwolf: He's never gonna see 'em again.)
Cloud pointed to a giant monitor that showed Yuffie on a round platform surrounded
by a ring of fire. "Watch this," he said.
Nic obeyed. Writing across the bottom of the screen told everyone watching that
Yuffie Kisaragi was fighting a Gighee, a ugly horse-like creature. Yuffie grinned into
the camera and turned around, bringing up her four-point shuriken in the ready. Nic
watched in silence as she handled the weapon with ease, swiping at Gighee's legs
crippling the creature. Nic felt a twinge at the sight of all the blood when Yuffie
jammed one of the points into the creature's neck. It let out a horrid death cry before
it disappeared. "One down!" Yuffie yelled gleefully.
"It's a hologram, see? But it'll attack too, Yuffie is just about to do an old fighting
trick that you should practice," Cloud said.
Nic watched as Yuffie pulled out two pieces of materia. "The first she'll use is
called Regen. If she takes any damage, the materia will block out the pain and begin
to heal her. But Regen lasts for a short time, then it has to be recast again. And if
you get hit repeatedly, The Regen is used up that much more quickly." Cloud narrated.
Yuffie invoked the spell, and a green glow grew (say that 5 times fast!) around her.
That was all Nic could see. "Can you die in there?" he asked. Yuffie was at the ready
again, waiting for her next opponent.
"Well, they keep a close watch on your vital signs. So once you hit what they call
the red zone, everything shuts down. You're placed in the Enertron, which will heal all
your injuries. I don't understand how it works, but it does," Cloud said.
On screen, another green cloud formed around Yuffie, quickly being absorbed into
her skin. "Now she's using Haste on herself," Barret said. "It increases her speed,
allowing her to inflict more damage before her opponent could counterattack,"
A man appeared before her with a box. She pulled the lever, and the screen
showed that her materia was broken. She cursed.
"Now she can't use her materia. But the Regen and Haste spells are still in use,"
Cloud said.
Nic watched as an Allemande appeared before her. She just kept attacking, and
even though it hit her a few times, she didn't seem fazed. She just kept fighting, and
soon the creature disappeared.
The second pull sealed her items. She could no longer use any of the grenades or
healing potions she had brought. She still finished the next fight easily.
/* "Kung-Fu Fighting" Carl Douglas *\
Nic watched until her sixth pull, the slot broke her weapon. Her four-point shuriken
shattered into thousands of pieces and for the first time, Yuffie seemed fazed. A Black
Behemoth appeared before her. She smiled broadly, knowing the creature's weakness,
and instantly began one of the most energetic attack pattern Nic had ever seen. Yuffie
was enjoying herself. The Behemoth slumped onto the floor, then disappeared.
Yuffie looked exhausted, but kept on. The seventh battle was another easy battle
for her, but the eighth caught Nic's attention. Master Tonberry.
"That's not really him. You'll be fighting eight battles against the real one,"
"I thought you said I'd be fighting a hologram?," Nic asked.
"You are. See that symbol next to Tonberry's name?"
"Yeah...," Nic answered slowly.
"That shows it's not the full powered Tonberry. It's a weaker program made for one
round combat."
"Oh."
"See, the thing 'bout the little bugger is, he's telepathic to an extent," Barret said.
"Little bugger can get into your head and see what you fear the most, then appear to
you in that form."
Nic kept his eyes silently on the screen, becoming apprehensive about fighting now.
A little turtle walking on his hind legs appeared holding a lantern. It held the lantern up
to Yuffie, then backed away, shifting. Nic was amazed to see what he morphed into.
Master Tonberry had become Nicodemus Maza, telescopic Bo and all.
She's scared of me?, Nic thought.
"You are so full of it," Yuffie huffed, kicking Nic-Tonberry square in the jaw. Tonberry
staggered but kept balance, slowly he turned back to her, eyes changing to a deep
blood-red color.
"Pathetic," He sneered.
Nic watched in amazement as Tonberry copied his fighting style perfectly.
Nic-Tonberry stood up against Yuffie better than any of the other creatures. Pounding
on the young ninja with it's staff, or landing glancing blows with it's tail. Fortunately
for Yuffie, Nic-Tonberry didn't seem capable of magic.
Tonberry charged her, Bo held ready to impale Yuffie through the gut. She
sidestepped out of the way. Tonberry left himself open long enough for the young
Konoichi to grab onto his head, breaking his neck. Nic winced internally seeing his
double get it's head turned 180 degrees.
Yuffie stumbled out of the Arena. Cloud went to Yuffie helping her to the Enertron.
Nic was amazed when Yuffie stepped out as if she had not even breathing hard. The
Arena Master came up to her and gave Yuffie her shuriken (somehow back in one
piece) and a card that allowed her to claim a prize when she left.
"Piece of cake," she said to Nic eyeing him for a reaction. He smiled wryly at her.
That was certainly one of the most interesting displays the Demigoyle had ever seen.
*****
Miyabe hit the ground hard... again. "Wark!" Atmas screeched over her. Miya
looked at the oversized ostrich bird thing with a mean glare. It was the fourth time
she had fallen off. Aeris was laughing and Tifa was trying to get her to stop.
"I can't do this," Miya said.
"Don't give up so easily. All you have to do is stay on, Atmas will win for you,"
Tifa said from atop a black chocobo.
Miya stood up and brushed off the wood chips from her jeans. She took hold of
Atmas' reigns again, and climbed back up. She barely kept the chocobo steady as
she got settled.
"Momma, let's glue her in," Aeris suggested from her tiny blue chocobo. Tomas
was with one of Tifa's friends that worked at the Saucer.
"We can't do that, sugar," Tifa laughed. Miya laugh a little as well.
"I'm beginning to think we should try that," Miya said. She wobbled as Atmas took
a step forward. She grabbed hold of the saddle nearly falling off again.
"Okay, just get her to go forward slowly," Tifa said.
Miyabe obeyed, the chocobo didn't. She fell off and landed on her arm hard this
time. "Itai!!" Pain shot through her arm, as she pressed the elbow into her side.
Tifa was at her side gingerly checking the arm, the elbow was dislocated. "Hold
still. I have something for that." Pulled out a green ball from her skirt. A green glow
between Tifa's hands took the pain away, forcing the elbow back in place, mending
the cartilage and ligaments.
"Get back on, Miya. Keep trying," Tifa encouraged.
Miyabe felt as if she'd never get it right. And Aeris's laughter wasn't helping.
*****
The Arena Master would not let Nic in the Arena on Dio's orders. "What kind of
shit is that?," Cloud yelled at the man. "How is he suppose to practice?"
"I'm sorry Mr.Strife," replied the Arena Master spreading his hands. "I'm under
orders. I don't make the rules, just enforce 'em." Nic and Barret left, dragging Cloud
with them before he did something he would regret. Yuffie stayed behind, trying to
decide between a Bahamut materia, a pinwheel weapon, or a lifetime supply of
butterscotch ice cream.
(Ionic Butterfly: Why butterscotch?
Ranwolf: Why not butterscotch?)
Nic's fight would be at 6:00. Barret, Yuffie, and Cloud had given Nic a lot of materia,
which made him feel his magic was weaker than it really was. It was all they could do.
When Miya showed up with Tifa and the children in tow, Nic did not like what he
saw. Her hair was all disheveled. Wood chips covered her clothes, and bruises could
be seen on her arm. "Are you alright?," he asked hugging her.
Miya shook her head against his shoulder. "All I have to do is stay on that damn
thing's back but I can't," she whispered back.
He kissed the top of her head, not sure what to say to her.
Dio showed up with a crowd of people. "So, Mr. Maza, are you ready to fight?" he
asked.
Nic let go of Miya and pulled his Bo back out. "As ready as I'll ever be," he answered.
He wondered what Master Tonberry would see in him.
END PART 2
by
The Ionic Butterfly(aurelia_@yahoo.com)
Ranwolf(ranwolf@hotmail.com)
All Gargoyles characters belong to Disney/Buena vista studios. Characters
from the Final Fantasy series, Chronotrigger etc. belong to Square and Squaresoft.
The Characters of Nic Maza and Miyabe Tendo belong to Ranwolf and Ionic,
respectively. C&C are always welcomed. Flames will be read, considered, laughed
at, then burned. (Get it? Flames? Burned? ^_^)
CHAPTER 2: LESSONS LEARNED
"Welcome to Midgar. Home sweet home," Cloud said to everyone. His pace
seemed to quicken trying to find his family. He led them to a bar called, "7th Heaven."
Loud music, sounding almost like techno, poured out onto the street.
Nic looked around, feeling quite tired now. He looked to Miya. She looked sad.
He smiled at her. She tried in earnest to smile back.
"Well? You going to stand out here all night?" Yuffie asked.
Cloud grinned and walked inside. He wondered how long he had been gone. Yuffie,
Miya, and Nic followed him. People of all ages sat at the tables, talking loudly and
laughing, a few people were dancing.
A big burly black man approached Cloud. "And where have you been?," he asked,
"We've been busy all day and you just disappear on us."
"A day? Is that all?" Cloud laughed. "Nice to see you, too, Barret."
"Daddy! Daddy!" a little girl squealed and ran towards Cloud. She jumped and he
easily caught her, hugging her tightly and kissing her cheek.
"Aeris. How are you?" Cloud asked. Nic saw tears in the man's eyes. Then he
remembered while only a day may have passed for the people in the bar, Cloud had
not seen them for a whole year. Nic did not want to think about what a shock it might
be for him. "Where's your mother?"
"She's in the back with...," Barret started, but then saw Cloud's wife. emerging from
the back with a baby in her arms.
(Ranwolf: *Drools* Tifa...
Ionic Butterfly: *Whacks Ranwolf upside the head* Quit that! You're drooling on my
keyboard.)
Nic and Miya could do nothing but watch the scene. Cloud put Aeris down, and
walked quickly to the woman and baby. The woman thrust the screaming baby at
Cloud, and he took him. "Where have you been, Cloud?," she yelled, "We've been
busy and you leave me and Barret here to run this place and look after the kids..."
Cloud gently bounced the baby in his arms, sticking his forefinger in the child's
mouth to hush him. He looked up at his wife. "I've been stuck in infinity for a year,
Tifa. A year," he said.
"You've been gone a day," Tifa said coldly.
"A year," he said softly. "Can I please have a kiss before you chew me out any
further?" he asked. Tifa looked at him for a moment before giving him a long kiss
The baby between them had fallen asleep.
Nic looked at Miya. She still seemed upset about something. Probably the fact that
she had lost the key. He reached into his pocket to touch the Chronotrigger. To his
surprise, there was nothing. His eyes went wide as he began feeling into other
pockets, but he could not find anything. "Miya, the 'trigger is gone," he said.
She stared for a minute, then began laughing. "Now I'm not the only one to blame,"
she said. Nic had to grin at her. Cloud said that there were plenty to be found. They
could find another set, and they'd return to their world.
The little girl, Aeris, had jumped into Yuffie's arms. It seemed strange to Nic, that
Yuffie was actually showing a genuine smile while hugging and talking to the girl. It
seemed out of character.
"Have you been practicing what I showed you?" Yuffie asked. Aeris nodded, and
jumped down from Yuffie's arms. Yuffie bent down, putting up her hands and letting
the girl punch and kick at them.
"You have been practicing! I am so proud of you," Yuffie said.
(Ranwolf: O_O Yuffie? Being nice to someone?)
"Nicodemus, Miyabe, I'd like you to meet some people," Cloud said. "This is my
wife, Tifa. The little ninja over there is my daughter, Aeris. This is my son, Tomas.
Barret here is one of my best friends, and co-owns this bar with us."
"Please, just Nic is fine," Nic said, shaking hands and making the necessary
comments about how cute the children were. Miya did the same.
"Nic and Miya were kind enough to help us home. But it seems as if their key is
missing...," Cloud started.
"The 'trigger is gone too," Nic added.
Cloud stared for a moment, then shrugged. "Their set is missing, and since they
helped us, we need to help them," he said.
"Where are you going to find a set?" Barret asked.
"Well, I heard Dio has a set," Tifa said, "But it's just rumor. We can see him and
see if he does have it or not. I think we can talk him into letting Nic and Miya borrow it."
"Well, not tonight. It's too late and it's too busy for us to leave," Cloud said. Cloud
was smiling at his son, whose eyes were open and staring silently. "I want to stay
home for one night unless you and Miyabe are in an extreme hurry," Cloud said.
Nic looked to Miya. "Are you in a hurry?" he asked.
"I have to work tomorrow," she said.
"The time difference is going to mess that up anyway," he answered.
Miya sighed. "Then I guess not."
"Good. Then you two can stay here tonight," Cloud said.
Tifa cleared her throat and folded her arms. "And where are they going to sleep?"
Cloud thought for a moment. "Aeris can sleep with us tonight. They can take her
room," he said.
Tifa sighed. "Okay. Are you two hungry?" she asked.
Nic and Miya both shook their heads. "Something to drink would be nice," Miyabe
said.
"I'll get it," Cloud said, trying to hand Tomas to Tifa. She held her hands up.
"I've been holding him all day," she said, turning around.
"I'll take him," Miyabe offered. Nic stared at her for a moment, but Cloud had no
qualms about handing his son to her. Miya cradled the baby smiling, and found a seat
in the corner. Nic watched her and wondered how he'd feel if it were his child she
cradled. He smiled at the thought.
"So, Nic, how are.... Oh my gods...," Tifa said shocked, staring at him.
"What?" Nic asked, looking around for something startling.
"You aren't... You aren't human," she said.
"No, I'm not. Not completely anyway, I'm a hybrid," he admitted. "My mother is
human, my father is what's known as a gargoyle."
"You must come from a really weird world," Barret commented before returning
behind the bar.
(Ranwolf: He's one to talk.)
Nic smiled. "You don't know the half of it."
*****
Nic and Miya sat at a table with Yuffie, Aeris, Barret, and Tomas. Miya still held
Tomas, reluctant to let him go. The bar was closed now. Cloud had taken Tifa
downstairs to "make up for a little lost time before the kids go to bed."
Nic was telling his story to Yuffie and Barret. "Then I woke up in a hospital, and
here is this beautiful woman leaning over me...," he said smiling at Miya.
Miya looked up and smiled back. "I was the lucky one," she commented.
"No, that was definitely me," Nic said.
"No, I mean I was lucky because you pulled through. We weren't sure what you
were, but we did know that you had a broken collar bone, busted ribs, fractured hip,
and second and third degree burns. Sure, you were healing fast, but we didn't know
exactly... I'm just lucky you made it. I think my job was on the line," Miya said.
Nic felt his face flush. After a moment, he looked to Barret. "What's your story?"
"Well, only thing 'bout me that's anythin' special to tell, is I got my arm blown off
during a rebellion seven years ago. I had a gun grafted into my arm. But after the
wars stopped, my daughter begged me to get a implant." He stretched his hand out
before him. Nic could see how the latex skin stretched and moved around the
endo-skeleton as Barret flexed his hand. "So, being she was the only thing I had
goin' for me at the time, I had to listen to her. But now with all the monsters showin'
up again, I wonder if that was such a good idea."
Nic nodded. Tomas stirred in Miya's arms. "How about you, Yuffie?"
Yuffie looked up from where she was playing a game of cards with Aeris. "Oh, no.
Not me. My life is my own. You can stay out of it, thank you very much. Now I
appreciate you getting me out of The End of Time, let me know how I can repay you.
But until then, you know, hey," she shrugged.
Barret laughed and Nic grinned. "Well I can tell ya. She's a Konoichi(female ninja).
Trained all her life to be that way too. She likes collectin' materia, which leads her to
steal sometimes. But most of all, she likes making out wit' that little man of hers
when she's supposed to be guardin' the pagoda where this world's set was kept..."
Barret was about to go into some of the girl's personal history when Yuffie threw down
her cards and walloped Barret on the back of his head. The strike didn't seem to do any
damage to the large man. But the way she popped him, it would leave a mark.
"It wasn't my fault!" she said defensively, turning back to her game.
Nic looked back to Miya. She was oblivious to the whole conversation. She was
focused on the child who lay smiling at her. She was smiling back, speaking
gibberish. "Da-da!" Tomas said brightly. Miya felt Nic's eyes on her and she looked up.
He smiled and then turned back to the conversation. Yuffie and Barret argued over
whose fault it was for the missing set.
"Will you two shut up?! The set is gone, so leave it at that," Cloud said, walking
into the room. He sat down beside Miya and Aeris. He was grinning as Aeris put
down her cards to crawl into her father's lap. He kissed her forehead.
Nic realized that for some odd reason, he was envious of Cloud. He thought for a
moment but could not put a finger on exactly what it was.
"I called Dio. He said that we have to visit him. So that means he's going to test
you, Nic," Cloud said.
"Daddy, are you going to the Saucer? Can I go, please? Can I, can I?" Aeris begged.
"Hush darlin', daddy's talking. We don't interrupt, now do we?" he asked. Aeris
pouted and shook her head.
"That's my girl." He said. He then turned back to Nic. "Nic, he chooses which test
to put you through based on what he thinks of you. With your build, you are going
straight to the Arena," Cloud said.
"The Arena?" Nic asked.
"Don't worry. With whatever it was you used on those Adamantaimai earlier, you
won't have any problems. It's just a few fights. You've fought before, right?" Cloud
asked.
"Yes...I have," Nic answered. Miya looked up and starting paying attention at the
mention of Nic fighting.
"Piece of cake then. It's just eight straight battles. You just kill your opponents
and you'll be out of there," Yuffie said.
"I can't do that," Nic said.
"Can't do what?" Cloud asked.
"I can't kill eight men that have done nothing to me," Nic said.
"Oh gods, a pacifist...," Yuffie muttered.
"They're computer controlled holograms. Almost like a robot. You won't actually
kill anyone. In fact, you can have them turn off the bloodshed settings if you want,"
Cloud said, grinning.
Yuffie was still going on about peaceable persons. Cloud turned on her. "Yuffie!
Shut up! I am sick of your complaining! Isn't there anything in this world you like?
Geez." he said.
Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Like I had fun spending a year with you too. All you could
whine about was your family," she said.
Barret stepped in. "Now you had best watch it. You're in dangerous territory," he
said. Yuffie glared at him, but stayed shut.
"I fought at the Arena!" Aeris chirped. "I won too! It was hard, but I won! Yuffie
taught me to fight and took me! I have a trophy that Mr. Dio gave me too!"
Nic gave Cloud a curious look.
"Of course, she wasn't fighting anything really dangerous. Just a few Grashtrikes
and a Firstray or two." Cloud quickly cleared up.
"And a bunny rabbit. I had to fight a bunny rabbit," Aeris added.
"Why do I get the feeling, I'm not going to get off that easily?"
"I'll loan you a bunch of materia and armor, you won't have to worry about
anything," Cloud said.
"What's materia?" Miya asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Yuffie said. Barret gave her a stern stare. "Sorry," she said
meekly, settling back down.
Cloud smiled. "Was that real magic you used?" he asked. Nic nodded. "A long
time ago, power from the planet was somehow trapped and turned into materia. It
gives people the power to use magic."
Nic nodded. He had heard of similar things before, The Eye of Odin, The Phoenix
Gate and The Grinorum Arcanorum. He had never encountered any of those items or
anything like them. Barret pulled out a small handgun, pointed it away from the others.
There were a few small grooves in the handle with tiny colored balls had placed inside.
Barret plucked a green one out and handed it to Nic.
Nic felt a rush go through his body the moment it was placed in his hand. He was
somehow filled with the knowledge of pyromancy. "Fire materia," he said.
Barret nodded as Nic handed it back to him. He placed the ball back into handle
and the gun back in it's holster.
"I called Cid too," Cloud said. "He's bringing the Highwind to take us to Corel so
we can go to the Saucer. Shera is gonna run the bar for us while we're gone. She
shouldn't have a problem with the bargirls help." Aeris cheered and hugged her father.
"It's about bedtime for you, don't you think?" Cloud asked his daughter.
Aeris pouted. "Will you tuck me in?" she asked. Nic watched Cloud swallow hard.
He nodded smiling.
(Ranwolf: *Looks at Ionic* Will you tuck me in, too?
Ionic Butterfly: *Laughs* You wish.)
"Let me get your brother to bed and I will, okay?" he said. Aeris jumped off his lap.
He looked at Miya. "Ready to give him up?"
Miya smiled. "He's so precious," she said.
"Thank you," he said, taking Tomas from her.
Tomas let out a string of, "Da-DA!"'s. Cloud picked Aeris up with his other arm.
"Barret, can you show them Aeris's room?" Cloud asked. Barret nodded. "G'night all,"
Cloud said.
Nic and Miya were shown their room. They stared at the tiny bed. Nic just laughed.
It was a child's bed, there was no way Nic could fit in it. He pulled a blanket off the
bed and laid it on the floor.
"Take the bed," he said to Miya.
"Who says chivalry is dead?" Miya smiled. She kissed him and got in the bed. She
had to curl her legs just a bit, but she would be okay.
Nic took off his coat, turned off the light, and laid on the floor. He laid for a short
time thinking of the day's events. He then heard Miyabe rise from the small bed, pad
over to him and then lay on the blanket next to him, using his chest as a pillow. With
time the two of the fell asleep.
*****
"Rise and shine! Time to get up, sleepyhead!" a child's voice rang out in the room.
Nic sat up and looked around. Miya stood over him staring with a smile. Aeris was
holding her hand.
"Time to get up, Anata," she said. Nic yawned loudly. Aeris' eyes widened.
"You have sharp teeth!" she said. Nic saw that the child was amused. He waved
his tail at her and watched her eyes light up. He grinned and stood up.
"What are you?" the child marveled. Miya let out a laugh.
"Beats me, kid," Nic said.
Miya kissed Nic good morning and then complained about his breath. She led him
to the bathroom and waited for him to finish freshening up. "Hurry up! Daddy is taking
me to the Saucer!" Aeris said.
Nic was soon finished and Aeris led them to the breakfast table. Everyone was
already eating. "'Bout time you got up, Nic," Yuffie said smartly.
"And a good morning to you too," he said. He was glad to recognize they had
toast and eggs. The bluish tint to the eggs made him wonder what animal the eggs
were from, but decided not to ask and eat anyway.
When the meal was almost finished, Nic noticed that Cloud was missing.
"Where's Cloud?" he asked.
Tifa sighed. "Down at the church, praying for a dead friend," she said. Nic started
to press but Barret held up his hand and shook his head slightly. Soon enough,
Cloud walked in.
A loud rumbling began to fill the room and Aeris jumped with joy and ran out of
the room to the bar level despite her father's protests. "That's Cid and the Highwind,"
Barret said as Cloud chased his daughter.
"Aeris! Get back here!," Cloud was heard.
"Aww Daddy!," came Aeris' replied.
Nic wondered what the Highwind was. He went outside, and Miya followed. A
large aircraft that looked to be a cross between a blimp and a military cargo plane
answered his question.
The outworld couple was introduced to Cid and Shera Highwind, and soon they
were on the airship along with Cloud, Tifa, and the others. Shera stayed behind to
watch over the 7th Heaven.
While the others had flown before, Nic and Miya found it much more interesting to
stay up top to feel the wind blow through their hair while the others went below.
Yuffie had disappeared as soon as the Highwind took off.
"The squirt probably went to the head to worship the ivory shrine," said Cid, laughing
gruffly as he headed to the bridge.
"Are you worried?" Miya asked as she traced her fingers against his arms, which
were around her waist.
"Not really. What should I be worried about?" he asked.
"I don't know. I'm just afraid we won't be able to get back," Miyabe said. "I mean,
I know how you felt now when you first arrived in my world."
"But I knew there was no way I could go back," he said, touching her hair, trying
to put a loose strand behind her ear. "I have a clan again and I have you. There's no
way I would want to go back."
Miyabe smiled at him. "Charmer."
*****
About an hour later, they landed near Corel. There was a tram to take them to the
Gold Saucer. They took it, and soon they were there. Dio met them at the landing pad.
Dio was a big man. He was about the same size as Goliath, but not as tall. Nic was
in shape, but he had nothing on this guy.
"Cloud! My champion! How are you this morning?" Dio asked, walking over and
hugging Cloud. Nic heard Cloud give a small "Um" as he was buried in the larger
man's arms.
After Dio had said his hellos to everyone he knew, he looked to Nic and Miyabe.
"So you're after a time set, huh? Well, I have one, but I'm not going to just give it to
you. You two are gonna have to earn it. It's just the way I work," Dio said after they
had been formally introduced.
"What do you want me to do?" Nic asked.
Dio laughed. "I said you both have to prove yourselves. Simple as that," he said.
"Miyabe isn't fighting," Nic said quickly giving Dio a warning glare.
"No, no," Dio answered, "The little lady is too pretty to fight. Fought over maybe,
but no. She won't fight. A chocobo race will work for her. She can ride one of Cloud's
champs, but she has to beat Teioh," Dio said.
Tifa smiled. "You can ride my chocobo. Her name is Atmas, and she's a gold
chocobo. That means you can win against Teioh's old black one any day," she told
Miya. Miya smiled in response.
"Good. If the lady wins, she gets a pendant. And as for you, boy," Nic growled
softly. "you'll be in the Battle Arena. And you'll fight Master Tonberry. Win and you
get the Chronotrigger," Dio said.
"WHAT?! You've got to be kidding me!" Cloud yelled. "Master Tonberry!? Come on,
give him a break!"
"He fights tonight, so if you want to teach him the ropes, you better get started.
The battle is at six sharp. The race for the lady will be tomorrow at two. Reservations
for the lot of you will be in Cloud's name at The Ghost Hotel, if you want to stay," Dio
said.
"Master Tonberry? Dio come on, that is so unfair," Yuffie said.
"You guys aren't helping," Nic muttered. He wondered what a Tonberry was.
"Look, people. Money and entertainment rules my world. All I know, these two
little guys, Masa and Mune, gave me my set and gave me those explicit directions,"
Dio said. "They gave me plenty of money to make me abide by their rules." He turned
and left.
"What is so bad about this Master Tonberry?" Nic asked. He wondered what Masa
and Mune were up to, but for some reason he wasn't surprised to find out they had
been there.
Cloud chuckled nervously. "Don't worry. We've got to get you used to the Arena
real quick, like fast, in a hurry."
"I'm taking the Aeris and Miya to the stables to start practicing, okay?" Tifa said.
"I want to go with Nic," Miya said.
"Trust me, he won't want you watching his first fight. You need all the time you
can get to learn to ride a chocobo," Tifa said.
"Now here's the deal." Yuffie began explaining the rules of the Arena. "You have to
go through eight fights back to back. Between each fight, you pull on a little slot
machine that shows up. The results of the pull can be good or bad. You can get your
strength cut in half, or you can get it doubled."
"Wait a minute, this Arena can do that?" Nic asked.
"Yeah. It'll have total control over you, but it won't cheat you. But if you lose, you'll
think it did," Cloud said.
"Gimme the materia. I wanna go in and show Nic what it's all about," Yuffie said.
Cloud handed over his best materia, and she grinned.
"I want those back, Yuffie," Cloud said with a edge. Yuffie gave him a raspberry.
She paid the Arena's entrance fee. She walked through the two iron doors at the top of
the stairs. They slammed shut behind her.
(Ranwolf: He's never gonna see 'em again.)
Cloud pointed to a giant monitor that showed Yuffie on a round platform surrounded
by a ring of fire. "Watch this," he said.
Nic obeyed. Writing across the bottom of the screen told everyone watching that
Yuffie Kisaragi was fighting a Gighee, a ugly horse-like creature. Yuffie grinned into
the camera and turned around, bringing up her four-point shuriken in the ready. Nic
watched in silence as she handled the weapon with ease, swiping at Gighee's legs
crippling the creature. Nic felt a twinge at the sight of all the blood when Yuffie
jammed one of the points into the creature's neck. It let out a horrid death cry before
it disappeared. "One down!" Yuffie yelled gleefully.
"It's a hologram, see? But it'll attack too, Yuffie is just about to do an old fighting
trick that you should practice," Cloud said.
Nic watched as Yuffie pulled out two pieces of materia. "The first she'll use is
called Regen. If she takes any damage, the materia will block out the pain and begin
to heal her. But Regen lasts for a short time, then it has to be recast again. And if
you get hit repeatedly, The Regen is used up that much more quickly." Cloud narrated.
Yuffie invoked the spell, and a green glow grew (say that 5 times fast!) around her.
That was all Nic could see. "Can you die in there?" he asked. Yuffie was at the ready
again, waiting for her next opponent.
"Well, they keep a close watch on your vital signs. So once you hit what they call
the red zone, everything shuts down. You're placed in the Enertron, which will heal all
your injuries. I don't understand how it works, but it does," Cloud said.
On screen, another green cloud formed around Yuffie, quickly being absorbed into
her skin. "Now she's using Haste on herself," Barret said. "It increases her speed,
allowing her to inflict more damage before her opponent could counterattack,"
A man appeared before her with a box. She pulled the lever, and the screen
showed that her materia was broken. She cursed.
"Now she can't use her materia. But the Regen and Haste spells are still in use,"
Cloud said.
Nic watched as an Allemande appeared before her. She just kept attacking, and
even though it hit her a few times, she didn't seem fazed. She just kept fighting, and
soon the creature disappeared.
The second pull sealed her items. She could no longer use any of the grenades or
healing potions she had brought. She still finished the next fight easily.
/* "Kung-Fu Fighting" Carl Douglas *\
Nic watched until her sixth pull, the slot broke her weapon. Her four-point shuriken
shattered into thousands of pieces and for the first time, Yuffie seemed fazed. A Black
Behemoth appeared before her. She smiled broadly, knowing the creature's weakness,
and instantly began one of the most energetic attack pattern Nic had ever seen. Yuffie
was enjoying herself. The Behemoth slumped onto the floor, then disappeared.
Yuffie looked exhausted, but kept on. The seventh battle was another easy battle
for her, but the eighth caught Nic's attention. Master Tonberry.
"That's not really him. You'll be fighting eight battles against the real one,"
"I thought you said I'd be fighting a hologram?," Nic asked.
"You are. See that symbol next to Tonberry's name?"
"Yeah...," Nic answered slowly.
"That shows it's not the full powered Tonberry. It's a weaker program made for one
round combat."
"Oh."
"See, the thing 'bout the little bugger is, he's telepathic to an extent," Barret said.
"Little bugger can get into your head and see what you fear the most, then appear to
you in that form."
Nic kept his eyes silently on the screen, becoming apprehensive about fighting now.
A little turtle walking on his hind legs appeared holding a lantern. It held the lantern up
to Yuffie, then backed away, shifting. Nic was amazed to see what he morphed into.
Master Tonberry had become Nicodemus Maza, telescopic Bo and all.
She's scared of me?, Nic thought.
"You are so full of it," Yuffie huffed, kicking Nic-Tonberry square in the jaw. Tonberry
staggered but kept balance, slowly he turned back to her, eyes changing to a deep
blood-red color.
"Pathetic," He sneered.
Nic watched in amazement as Tonberry copied his fighting style perfectly.
Nic-Tonberry stood up against Yuffie better than any of the other creatures. Pounding
on the young ninja with it's staff, or landing glancing blows with it's tail. Fortunately
for Yuffie, Nic-Tonberry didn't seem capable of magic.
Tonberry charged her, Bo held ready to impale Yuffie through the gut. She
sidestepped out of the way. Tonberry left himself open long enough for the young
Konoichi to grab onto his head, breaking his neck. Nic winced internally seeing his
double get it's head turned 180 degrees.
Yuffie stumbled out of the Arena. Cloud went to Yuffie helping her to the Enertron.
Nic was amazed when Yuffie stepped out as if she had not even breathing hard. The
Arena Master came up to her and gave Yuffie her shuriken (somehow back in one
piece) and a card that allowed her to claim a prize when she left.
"Piece of cake," she said to Nic eyeing him for a reaction. He smiled wryly at her.
That was certainly one of the most interesting displays the Demigoyle had ever seen.
*****
Miyabe hit the ground hard... again. "Wark!" Atmas screeched over her. Miya
looked at the oversized ostrich bird thing with a mean glare. It was the fourth time
she had fallen off. Aeris was laughing and Tifa was trying to get her to stop.
"I can't do this," Miya said.
"Don't give up so easily. All you have to do is stay on, Atmas will win for you,"
Tifa said from atop a black chocobo.
Miya stood up and brushed off the wood chips from her jeans. She took hold of
Atmas' reigns again, and climbed back up. She barely kept the chocobo steady as
she got settled.
"Momma, let's glue her in," Aeris suggested from her tiny blue chocobo. Tomas
was with one of Tifa's friends that worked at the Saucer.
"We can't do that, sugar," Tifa laughed. Miya laugh a little as well.
"I'm beginning to think we should try that," Miya said. She wobbled as Atmas took
a step forward. She grabbed hold of the saddle nearly falling off again.
"Okay, just get her to go forward slowly," Tifa said.
Miyabe obeyed, the chocobo didn't. She fell off and landed on her arm hard this
time. "Itai!!" Pain shot through her arm, as she pressed the elbow into her side.
Tifa was at her side gingerly checking the arm, the elbow was dislocated. "Hold
still. I have something for that." Pulled out a green ball from her skirt. A green glow
between Tifa's hands took the pain away, forcing the elbow back in place, mending
the cartilage and ligaments.
"Get back on, Miya. Keep trying," Tifa encouraged.
Miyabe felt as if she'd never get it right. And Aeris's laughter wasn't helping.
*****
The Arena Master would not let Nic in the Arena on Dio's orders. "What kind of
shit is that?," Cloud yelled at the man. "How is he suppose to practice?"
"I'm sorry Mr.Strife," replied the Arena Master spreading his hands. "I'm under
orders. I don't make the rules, just enforce 'em." Nic and Barret left, dragging Cloud
with them before he did something he would regret. Yuffie stayed behind, trying to
decide between a Bahamut materia, a pinwheel weapon, or a lifetime supply of
butterscotch ice cream.
(Ionic Butterfly: Why butterscotch?
Ranwolf: Why not butterscotch?)
Nic's fight would be at 6:00. Barret, Yuffie, and Cloud had given Nic a lot of materia,
which made him feel his magic was weaker than it really was. It was all they could do.
When Miya showed up with Tifa and the children in tow, Nic did not like what he
saw. Her hair was all disheveled. Wood chips covered her clothes, and bruises could
be seen on her arm. "Are you alright?," he asked hugging her.
Miya shook her head against his shoulder. "All I have to do is stay on that damn
thing's back but I can't," she whispered back.
He kissed the top of her head, not sure what to say to her.
Dio showed up with a crowd of people. "So, Mr. Maza, are you ready to fight?" he
asked.
Nic let go of Miya and pulled his Bo back out. "As ready as I'll ever be," he answered.
He wondered what Master Tonberry would see in him.
END PART 2