CHAPTER 13

RAMZA'S FRIENDS TAKE THE AFTERNOON OFF

"So, Rad," Orlandu said as the airship landed outside of Fello City. "Where are Meliadoul and Malak and the rest?"

"I don't know..." Rad answered. "All I know is that Delita used the Sheep Stone to brainwash them all and then gave them some new Zodiac Stones..."

"New Zodiac Stones?" Alma asked.

"The Chrono Stones," Everhart said as he showed everyone the red, spherical jewel that glittered in his palm. "This is the Blaze Stone, one of the twelve. We must regain all twelve if we're to stop Delita and his allies."

"I'm guessing that each of our friends has one of those stones," Ramza said as he drummed his fingers on the airship's upholstery. "Which means that we'll have to fight each of them like we had to fight Rad..."

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot!" Rad exclaimed. "Ramza, Delita took Rafa and..."

"And what, Rad?" Ramza asked.

Rad walked over and whispered something in Ramza's ear. "He did WHAT?!" Ramza roared as his face went strawberry red and he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger!" Rad said as he backed away.

"I... He... MdrkgrdgtgutGRAAAHHHH!!!" Ramza managed to hack out before panting for air. He knew that he shouldn't lose his temper in front of his friends, but hearing of what Delita had done to Rafa almost sent him over the edge.

"Calm down, Ramza," Ovelia said. "You're losing control."

"N'grrrrhhhhhh..." Ramza huffed before he calmed down. "...All right," he said. "Sorry for the outburst, everyone."

"It's OK, Ramza," Celes said as she nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, if Delita was nailin' my girlfriend, I'd be pissed off too!" Seifer added.

"Seifer, I don't think that helps," Orlandu muttered.

"What? WHAT?" Seifer asked.

Suddenly, the Blaze Stone sparkled strangely and Everhart flashed bright red for a moment. "What the?!" Amarant asked as he took a step back.

"Arrrrgh..." Everhart groaned as he strained for a moment. The red glow faded from his body and he reverted to his normal self again.

"Everhart?" Alma asked. "What's wrong?"

"...Nothing," Everhart said as he looked up at Ramza's sister. "I'm simply regaining the powers I once held that were locked away inside the Blaze Stone."

"Powers?" Ramza asked.

"I was once much more powerful than I am now," Everhart explained. "A dark entity sealed my powers away in the void between dimensions and banished me to the future. I was able to return here with Delita's servants, and my powers have emerged in this world inside of the Chrono Stones. Since Delita has them all, I am anxious to take them back."

"If Delita's your enemy as well as ours, that makes you an ally," Ovelia said. "Now I understand why you're traveling with us."

"Good," Everhart said. "Now then, where shall we go next?"

"Delita's put most of our friends on patrol throughout Zeratul," Rad said as he pulled out a map of the southwestern country and showed it to everyone. "We're at Fello City, which is here..." he continued as he pointed to a small dot on the map. "I'm not sure where the others are, so we probably should travel around the country like we did before."

"That's actually a good idea," Tifa said.

"Ramza, I think you're rubbing off on Rad," Cloud chuckled.

Ramza smiled at Cloud's comment, but at that moment his mind was elsewhere: Rafa. Ramza was very worried about her. He knew that she had been through a lot under Barinten's raising and all throughout her travels with Ramza. Ramza didn't want any more harm to befall her, and to hear of Delita violating her... it almost made his blood boil.

"You OK, Ramza?" Ayla asked as she looked at the young Beoulve.

"What?" Ramza asked as he snapped out of his trance.

"You no look focused," Ayla said. "Worried about something?"

"Yeah..." Ramza said as he shook his head. "But don't worry about me, Ayla. If we get the Chrono Stones back, we'll be able to free Rafa and all of the others.

"Now THAT sound like Ramza," Gau commented as he hopped onto the table where Rad had placed his map. "We find Ramza friend and then we all go home!"

"That sounds like a plan," Amarant said. "I'm all for getting outta here as soon as I can."

"Before we depart to search for your friends, why don't we go into town and gather some information?" Everhart asked as he started to climb down the Cassiopeia's exit ladder without waiting for an answer.

"....Well, I guess we will now," Cloud smirked as he quickly descended the ladder.

One by one, the party members climbed out of the Cassiopeia and headed into Fello City for some shopping, recon and other things. Only Ramza, Alma and Worker No.8 remained in the ship.

"Well, we might as well follow them," Ramza said as he started towards the exit.

"Ramza," Alma said as she stopped her brother.

"What is it?" Ramza asked as he looked at his sister.

"Ummm..." Alma started to say as a faint blush creeped over her face. "What do you think of Everhart?"

"Everhart?" Ramza asked. "Well, he's a bit distant, but he's pretty strong and he hasn't given me any reason to doubt him... I trust him. Why?"

"Oh, nothing..." Alma said. "I was just wondering."

"All right," Ramza said. "Well, shall we go?"

"Sure," Alma said. Both of them descended the ladder and landed on the rocky ground below.

"Wait for me, Master!" Worker No.8 blipped as he lumbered to the exit and fell out. He smashed head-first into the dirt.

"Oh, how awful!" Alma exclaimed.

"Don't worry," Ramza said. "He'll be okay."

Worker No.8 fell onto his back and then quickly stood up. His head swiveled around 360 degrees five times and a silly whistle sounded, but then he began walking forward as usual.

"See?" Ramza asked his sister.

Just then, Worker No.8 tripped on a rock and fell on his face. "Master, I have fallen and I cannot get up," the machine chirped. "Assistance, please!"

"Oh, boy..." Alma sighed as she slapped her face with her palm.


Aside from Cloud, the time travelers had never been to Fello City before and they were anxious to explore. "What does this joint have to offer?" Amarant asked as he lumbered through the city streets between Orlandu and Seifer.

"Let me see..." Orlandu said as he scratched his chin and pulled his hood back to let his graying scalp get some air. "There's a collusseum that hosts monster battles, a hot spring, and a swimsuit competition..."

"A hot spring?" Celes asked. "That sounds great! I haven't had a bath since I landed in this world."

"I can't tell," Seifer said as he winked at the Magitek Knight. "You smell good all the time!"

"Oh, shut up, you buzz-cut buffoon," Celes muttered. "Illumina can be used in other ways than just killing people, you know."

"Yeah?" Seifer asked as he eyed Celes anxiously. "Like what?"

Celes took the non-laser side of her sword and slammed it into Seifer's below-stomach area.

"OK, I get it..." Seifer groaned in a slightly higher voice as he crumpled to the ground.

"Get up, ya chicken wuss," Amarant muttered as he picked Seifer up and threw him over his shoulder.

"Boy, does that sound familiar or what?" Ramza asked the reader.

"Ayla want see the monster fight," Ayla said. "Ayla go, please, Ramza?"

"All right," Ramza said. "Is there anyone else that wants to see the monster fight?"

"Sounds like fun," Amarant said.

"Me too," Seifer wheezed from his hanging place on Amarant's shoulder.

"Gau go too!" Gau said as he raised his hand.

"Well, then, I guess you guys will be heading for the collusseum," Alma said. "It's the big building over there."

"All right," Amarant said. "We'll hook up with you guys back at the airship, 'kay?"

"Ayla see Ramza later!" Ayla said as she took off towards the massive, stone collusseum on all fours.

"I'm still going to take a bath," Celes said as she stretched her arms out and yawned. "It sounds relaxing."

"I think I'll join you," Tifa said to her new friend. "Alma, Ovelia, do you want to come along?"

"All right!" both clerics said at once as they smiled warmly.

"Perhaps a bath would be nice," Orlandu said. "I guess I'll come along too."

"Same here," Cloud said.

Tifa blushed deeply and gave an un-character-like giggle.

"Oh, relax," Orlandu said. "They're gender-separate."

"Awww," All four girls whined.

"...That was sarcastic, right?" Orlandu asked.

"Uh-huh," All four girls chuckled.

"I've had it up to here with these cheap laughs," Everhart said. "I shall be at the pub."

"Umm, Everhart," Ramza said. "Could I come along?"

"Yeah, me too," Rad added.

"It's fine with me," Everhart said. "Just don't fall behind."

"I guess we'll see you folks later," Rad said to the others. "Have a nice swim."

"See you later, Ramza," Alma said as the six bathers headed for the nearby spa.

"All right, I guess we'll head for the pub," Ramza said as Everhart, Rad and he walked towards a small building with a picture of a beer mug painted on its southern wall.

Worker No.8 stood in the middle of the street and just stared off into space.


"So, this is the collusseum, huh?" Seifer, who had now recovered from his injury, said as the foursome sat down in the nosebleed section of the collusseum. The building was circular with about thirty rows of seats and the ability to hold at least 1,000 viewers and a few vending booths. There was no ceiling, so battles couldn't be held on rainy days, but today the large, puffy clouds drifted lazily by in a pure blue sky. It was about three o'clock, so the shadows of the rows of spectators were tilted at a few odd angles. The scents of all sorts of sweet, gooey, salty and slimy concessions hung in the air.

"There sure are a lot of people here," Amarant said as he looked around.

"Must be popular," Ayla commented. "Ooh! Snack vending man! What he selling!"

Gau looked down at a fellow wearing a goofy hat and carrying a large box of assorted goodies up towards their aisle. "Um... Gau don't know... Can't read what's on box," he said.

"Wait for it," Seifer said. "They call out what they're selling sometimes."

"Random munchies! Get 'em while they're hot! Three Gil apiece!" the man shouted as soon as Seifer had spoken.

"See?" Seifer smirked.

"Well, I picked up some cash from crushing those zombies in Steronn," Amarant said as he fished around in his pocket and dug out some coins. "Six... nine... twelve. We can each get something."

"Up here!" Gau called. The vendor came up quite quickly. Amarant handed him the twelve Gil and the man handed each person a different item of food.

"Ooh, lollipop!" Gau cheered as he licked at the red and white confection with immense joy. Gau had a great sweet tooth.

"All right, I got popcorn!" Seifer laughed as he thrust his hand into the bucket and began scarfing down the yellow fluffy grain product. "This beats those damn hot dogs at Balamb Garden," he said between handfulls.

"Hey, I got Peking Duck," Amarant said as he was ha nded a dead, fried duck. "...Sounds good." He bit into it and his mouth formed a smile for an instant.

"Viper Churro?" Ayla asked as she looked at the burrito-shaped object in front of her. "What a Viper Churro?"

"Hey, I'll have one," a boy that wore a green shirt and had a small, white, winged cat on his shoulder and was behind the group said. The vendor tossed him a small box with several spherical objects in it. The boy opened the box and frowned. "Awww, nuts! Bantha Testicles again?!" he muttered.

"You always get the Bantha Testicles, don't you?" the little winged cat asked.

"What's with that guy?" Seifer asked.

"Just ignore 'im," Amarant muttered. "We'll get sued if we bring him into this story."

"Hey, battle starting!" Ayla exclaimed as she pointed down at the collusseum's dusty center. A Behemoth and a Hyudra were being brought out by very cautious-looking Mediators.

"Those new monsters!" Gau exclaimed as he finished his lollipop and got out of his seat. "Gau no know them yet!"

"What're you doing, monkey boy?" Seifer asked as Gau ran down the aisles towards the arena. The monsters were released and they began attacking each other.

"Yes, folks, this is one hell of a battle," the announcer, who was in a little booth above the entrance that the monsters came out of, yelled through a microphobe. "Behemoth is coming on strong with a Stab Up attack, but Hyudra seems to have the upper hand, and... Wait! What's this, folks? Some kid in animal furs has just leaped onto the field!"

Gau landed in the dusty arena and charged towards the monsters, who didn't seem to notice him. With one swift motion, he leaped in between the beasts and disappeared.

"What the?!" Amarant exclaimed.

"Gau!!!" Ayla shouted.

"What'd he do? Where'd he go?" Seifer asked as he looked around the stadium.

Everyone's frantic search for their companion was interrupted by the sound of the roaring crowd as Behemoth and Hyudra attacked and destroyed each other at the same time. Both creatures vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving only a tail and a set of wings behind.

"Well, it looks like we have a tie," the announcer shouted. "A rematch will take place next week!"

"Where'd Gau run off to, anyway?" Amarant asked.

Seifer turned to his right and almost jumped out of his skin. Gau was sitting right next to him! "AAAAHHH!" Seifer yelped as he jerked back towards Amarant. "Where'd you come from?!"

"Uwao! Aooh! I'm GAU!" Gau shouted at them. "I'm your friend! Let's travel together!"

"Heh?..." Amarant asked.

"Gau silly!" Ayla laughed.

"..." Seifer said as he went back to munching on his popcorn.


Celes slid her heavyset figure into the warm waters of the girls' side of the Goddess Springs and emitted a sigh that said that she was completely at peace with the world. Her blonde hair became wet and floated about in the water, held in place only slightly by her blue headband, which she hadn't taken off. "Now THIS is good," she said as she closed her eyes and writhed about in pleasure.

"Hey, Celes, chill out," Ovelia said as she daintily sat down in the pool. "It's just water... You're scaring me."

"You do have to admit that this water is absolutely fabulous," Tifa said as she adjusted her sitting position to face Ovelia. The large semicircular pool of water that they were in was naturally aquamarine and fairly warm. All of the girls' clothes were sealed away in lockers in the co-ed locker room nearby (why the pool was seperate and the locker room was co-ed, I'll never know).

"Yeah," Alma said as she ran her fingers through the water, creating miniature waves. "It's really refreshing."

"So, what do we do while we're enjoying ourselves?" Tifa asked.

"I suppose we could talk," Celes suggested.

"About what? The adventure?" Alma asked.

"Anything, really..." Celes said. "The adventure, our past experiences... how we met the guys we fell in love with..."

"Ooh, that's a great topic!" Tifa laughed as she seconded the suggestion with a splash of her feet. "Why don't you go first, Celes?"

"Well, I met Locke when I was being held captive by some Imperial soldiers," Celes said. "He came in and rescued me and got me to join his little resistance movement... before you know it, he was..."

"Do we have to hear this part?" Alma asked as she made a face.

"...Saving me after a botched opera presentation," Celes finished. "It was after we saved the world that he really started giving me special attention."

"Well, that was a close call," Alma grumbled.

"Cloud and I grew up together, but I didn't really start to, uh, notice him until he rescued me from Sephiroth when I was 16," Tifa said. "After that... well... I had a little competition, but... As you see, I won, hee hee hee..."

"Does he do anything nice for you?" Celes asked.

"He bakes really good cakes," Tifa said. "He's a whiz in the kitchen, just like me... except he's only good with desserts."

"Anything else?..." Celes asked with a hint of what she really meant.

"...He sucks my toes when I ask him," Tifa finally admitted as he entire body turned pink without assistance from the hot water that she was sitting in. "He hates it, but he does it anyway."

"What do you do for him in exchange?" Alma asked, though she soon regretted that she had.

"...Wow," Ovelia finally said after Tifa had finished. "You must really love him."

"Mmm-hmm," Tifa said as she nodded.

"What about you, Ovelia?" Celes asked. "Do you have a boyfriend or anything?"

"Well, ummm..." Ovelia said as she looked down at her submerged feet and got red.

"Ovelia..." Alma said.

"What's wrong?" Celes asked. "Should I not have asked that?"

"No, it's all right..." Ovelia said as she shook her head. Her golden hair, now unbraided, floated around her nude figure in the water. "I might as well tell you, since we've been traveling together for a while already..."

Ovelia told Celes and Tifa about Delita and what had happened between him and herself. When she had finished, the new girls sat back and looked at each other.

"Woah... That's pretty rough, Ovelia," Tifa said. "I'm sorry..."

"That bum!" Celes huffed. "He sounds just like Kefka..."

"I'm on the journey with Ramza to stop Delita from hurting anyone else," Ovelia said. "I don't know what I'll do once he's defeated, though..."

"You could go back to being Queen," Tifa said. "I mean, you're young enough."

"Yes, but..." Ovelia sighed. "Though I am alive again, I am still politically dead. I can't reclaim my throne. If Delita is vanquished, I assume that Captain Flite will resume command."

"But Flite's a nice guy," Alma said. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, Ovelia."

"I hope not..." Ovelia sighed.

"Alma, do you have a special man in your life?" Tifa asked.

"I have my brother," Alma said.

"I mean someone that you can enjoy,uh, being with, ah, without being immoral," Tifa said.

"Well..." Alma said as she also turned red. "I have a prospect, but..."

"Ooh," Tifa and Celes said playfully.

"Who is it, Alma?" Celes asked. "I bet it's Seifer. It's Seifer, isn't it?"

"No way!" Alma huffed. She wanted to tell them about her small, diminutive, itty bitty crush on Everhart, but she didn't know how it would go through.


"Man, what're those girls talking about?" Cloud asked. Cloud and Orlandu were the only guys in the male half of the spring, and they couldn't hear the girls very well through the bamboo wall that separated the areas.

"Don't worry about them," Orlandu said. "Besides, we're probably not supposed to hear it anyway."

"I guess you're right..." Cloud said as he sat back. Suddenly, the aquamarine water turned lime green. Cloud turned and looked at Orlandu, who was wearing a sheepish grin. "That's it, I'm outta here," Cloud muttered as he hauled himself out of the pool and headed for the locker room.

The locker room was very steamy for some reason, and Cloud could hear a strange thumping sound coming from the end of it. "Didn't this happen in the last story?" he asked the reader.

"Yes," the reader replied.

"Well, let's go and see what it is," Cloud said as he kept walking. Now he was past the locker rooms and in the co-ed shower area.

"I'm pretty sure that you all know what we're going to see now," Cloud muttered as he looked down at the floor. Takato Matsuki and Jeri Katou were sprawled out on the floor, totally bare and making love.

"Ummmm..." Takato said as he and Jeri looked up. "We're trying to Biomerge!" After saying this, he went back to his exhilarating exercise of feeling around in Jeri's mouth with his tongue.

"I walked right into this, didn't I?" Cloud asked as he smacked himself in the forehead.

"Yes, we certainly did," Tifa's voice said from Cloud's left.

"Tifa, is that you?" Cloud asked.

"No, it's Marilyn Monroe," Tifa grumbled.

"OK, this is pretty freaky," Cloud said. "Almost this exact same thing happened in the last story. Let's get outta here."

"Yeah," Tifa muttered. "Isn't it about time for that swimsuit competition you talked about? Entering sounds like fun."

"Tifa, you'd win for sure if they had an anti-swimsuit competition," Cloud chuckled. Tifa stuck her tongue out, though Cloud couldn't see it. Both of them backed up and walked back to their respective pools.

"What was it?" Orlandu asked.

"What was it?" Ovelia asked.

"Squirrel," Cloud and Tifa answered.


"I'll take a cup of Goldschläger," Everhart said as Ramza, Rad and he sat down at Fello City's top pub, OHTORI ON THE ROCKS.

"I'll have a cold beer," Rad said as he sat down next to Everhart.

"No chance," Ramza scolded. "You're underage. Scratch that, and replace it with two root beers."

"Root beer?" Everhart asked as he sipped his booze. "I thought that you enjoyed milk."

"I need something hard today," Ramza muttered as he started slurping his beverage. "The news hit me pretty badly..."

The three battlers sat in silence for a while. "Ramza..." Rad said. "I'm sure Rafa will be OK."

"..." Ramza said.

"I mean, Delita's a nasty, vicious, perverted jerk, but he'd never kill a girl," Rad said.

Ramza turned and gave Rad a dirty look. "...Right," Rad muttered. "I'm not helping, am I?"

"Silence is golden, Rad," Everhart said as he sipped his drink again.

"Got it," Rad muttered sheepishly as he drank his root beer in total quiet.

"So, Delita decided to get even with me by turning my friends against me..." Ramza sighed.

"The situation is not as bleak as you would make it seem," Everhart said. "Delita was foolish to leave you with Thunder God Cid. With his help, you have a better chance at victory."

"What about everyone else?" Ramza asked.

"...You would have better chances with a team of pack mules," Everhart grumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Ramza demanded. "My new friends are just as strong as my old ones!"

"They show potential, but they are disorganized and unconventional," Everhart said. "They do not act like proper soldiers when we go into battle."

"But that's their strength!" Ramza argued. "I'm sure Delita and his friends won't be expecting an attack by a cave woman or a wild boy or some AVALANCHE members. I'm hoping that each of their unique talents will get us through this."

"Hmmph," Everhart muttered. "Ramza, with your permission, I wish to hire some extra help."

"You mean recruit some new people?" Ramza asked. "If you have your own money."

Everhart took out a black wallet and flipped two solid gold coins to the barkeep as he got up. "Don't get me wrong, Ramza," Everhart said as he stood up and began to walk out of the bar. "These time travelers are talented and kind, but I can't see them helping you defeat your enemies."

Everhart left the bar, and Rad and Ramza sat in silence for a while.

"He's kind of a bigot, isn't he?" Rad asked.

"None of my friends are too weak to beat Delita," Ramza grumbled. "I've got confidence in every one of them."

"Even Seifer?" Rad asked.

Ramza rolled his eyes. "Fine, even Seifer," he muttered.

"I just wanted to hear it from your mouth!" Rad chuckled.

"Speaking of Seifer, I wonder where everyone is?" Ramza asked as he finished his drink and dismounted the red stool that he was on.

"It's been over two hours," Rad said as he looked at the bar clock. "I'm sure that the arena matches are finished, and I'm sure the others have left the spa by now... Where would they go?"

"There's only one place left that they'd find interesting," Ramza said. "Come on."


Rad followed his boss to the Fello City Ampitheater, which was full of spectators. "Oh, I think I get it now, Ramza," Rad noted as he saw what was going on onstage.

"Good," Ramza said. "I'm sure that Amarant and Seifer are somewhere in the audience."

"Actually..." Rad said as he pointed down towards a particular row. Seifer was waving at the two from his seat and calling to them. Amarant, Gau, Cloud, Orlandu, Ayla and Alma were sitting in the fold-up blue plastic seats.

"Hey, guys! Nice seein' ya! C'mon, we saved ya some seats!" Seifer called to them.

Ramza and Rad walked down and sat down in the first two seats. "I guess you guys couldn't forget about the swimsuit competition, eh? Eh?"Seifer joked.

"Is there anyone competing that we know?" Rad asked.

"See for yourself," Amarant said as he pointed to the stage. The announcer was beginning to describe the next contestant.

"All right, folks," the announcer called out. "Contestant number 63 is a... Magitek Knight from... uh... somewhere. Oh, no matter. Give a big hand to Celes Chere!"

Celes walked out onto the stage, and instantly the boys' faces went bright red.

Celes was dressed in an emerald-green silk bikini that looked small enough to fit through a door's mail slot. The stage lights shone on her blonde hair and made it glisten with its natural shine. The bikini was glittering, too. Celes smiled warmly at the audience and waved.

"I didn't think she'd do something so degrading," Alma noted as she watched her friend.

Suddenly, a metal safe dropped down next to Celes. She pulled Illumina out from somewhere and swished it three times. The safe fell apart into three equal sizes. There was a ghastly silence in the ampitheater for a moment, and then people started cheering again.

"...I stand corrected," Alma choked.

"All right, thank you, Celes," the announcer called. "Contestant 64 is a real interesting one. She's been dead before, and she came back because she liked us all so much. Give a warm welcome to Ovelia Atkashka, ex-Queen of Ivalice!"

"Oh, no..." Ramza said as he smacked himself in the face.

"Oh, brother..." Cloud moaned as he mimicked Ramza.

"This is gonna be interestin'," Amarant muttered.

Ovelia walked out onto the stage and the crowd went wild. Her hair wasn't held in pigtails by the usual braids; it was loose and blowing in the gentle evening breeze. Ramza had never known how long that hair really was. The golden hair pooled on the ground around her bare legs. She wore a pitch-black bikini that revealed about a third of her entire breasts. Her face was bright red, but she smiled an embarrassed and shy little smile and everyone loved her.

"Damn, she's HOT!" Seifer exclaimed.

"Auoooogauoooo!!!" Gau hooted in agreement.

"To me, she'll always be the little girl in the pink bunny pajamas," Orlandu sighed.

Ovelia looked up and noticed her uncle in the stands. She smiled and waved at him. Other people took notice of Orlandu and looked at him.

"What is it?" Orlandu asked one gawker.

"Dude, you are one lucky guy," the gawker responded.

"Oh, geez..." Orlandu muttered.

Ovelia walked offstage and the announcer cleared his throat. "Thank you so much, Ovelia. Now it's time for our final contestant. Contestant 65 is a martial arts master from a town called Nibelheim... wherever that is. Please give a hand to Tifa Lockheart!!!"

"This is it," Cloud said as his face went red and he smiled at the stage with anticipation.

Tifa walked out onto the stage and the crowd went totally wild. Tifa wore a white, silky bikini that had absolutely no supports; everything was natural.

"Is she wearing anything under that?" Seifer asked Cloud.

"Nope," Cloud replied.

"Good," Seifer mused as he rubbed his hands together.

"Hey, back off," Cloud grumbled as he elbowed Seifer.

"Sorry," Seifer muttered. "Can't resist."

"Tifa's gonna give us a little karate demonstration, aren't you, Tifa?" the announcer asked.

"Hup!" Tifa shouted as she struck a fighting pose. She leaped through the air and did several different punching and kicking styles before she stopped. Sweat poured off of her figure and made the bikini stick to her skin. The crowd roared.

"It looks like she's just about done," Amarant said.

"...Uh-oh," Cloud suddenly said. "I hope she doesn't..."

A loud RRRRRIP shot through the ampitheater and all the men in the audience stood up and started hooting.

"...Stretch?" Ramza suggested.

"...Stretch," Cloud affirmed.


"Well, that was a great competition," Seifer said as the entire party walked away from the ampitheater.

"It's guys like you that they're trying to attract," Alma scolded. "You should just find a nice girl and settle down."

"Oh, where's the fun in that?" Seifer asked with a hint of amusement.

"I must congratulate the judges on their sense of fairness," Orlandu said. "I mean, who would have thought that there could be a three-way tie?"

"Yeah, it's a real mystery," Celes chuckled as Ovelia, Tifa and she each gripped the golden first place trophy.

"Yes, but..." Gau said. "Ayla, why you no compete?"

"Judges say Ayla no have good grammar skills," Ayla grumbled. "Judges rate on beauty AND grammar skills."

"Stupid bureaucrats," Amarant muttered.

"Did anyone notice that nobody gathered any information about Delita?" Ramza asked as the party arrived at the Cassiopeia's entrance.

Everyone looked at each other for a moment. "Nahhh!" they all said as they laughed and went inside.

Worker No.8 stood in the middle of the street, staring off into space. A tumbleweed rolled by.