Fantasy Thunder Chapter 3: Gamma
By Blue Dragon
Gamma, she's actually pretty cute.
Squall hurriedly marched down to the cafeteria, where he knew he would find Zell. There were two reasons for him preferring to have his friends with him on the trek outside to the strange area that they had landed. One was that they had helped him overcome emotional obstacles, and they were all also S-ranking SeeDs.
Rinoa could barely keep up step as he almost lost his etiquette and ran. As he was going to make the final stretch, SeeD Dreda stopped him.
"Sir! I have a report to make!"
Squall and Rinoa came to an abrupt halt.
"Granted"
"I got word that this planet was called 'Gaia' from the suspicious character we gave clearance earlier. He also told us that his name was Kuja. He has no where else to go sir, can he stay here?"
"Granted. Show me this character"
"Right away!"
Dreda ran back to the fountain area and from behind he brought the character known as Kuja that he had mentioned earlier.
Squall looked him over, up and down. He had a weird vibe about him, like the feeling he got when he was around Ultimecia, or more specifically, Seifer.
".Access granted. Dismissed"
"Thank you, sir!" Dreda saluted and led the quiet figure down to the dormitory.
"What was that all about?" Rinoa asked him, snapping him from his trance.
"Well, he was bringing in a potential information source, and we may need all the help we can get."
"I understand."
The garden's structure had easily held its breathtaking frame with relative ease, which was one thing less to worry about for Squall Leonhart.
When Squall found out that Zell was nowhere near the cafeteria, he went to the next most likely place.
Squall and Rinoa entered Zell's dormitory (Rinoa given immediate clearance) only to find Zell playing video games, seemingly oblivious to the past events.
"Zell!" cried Rinoa.
"Don't tell me you're still playing that Funbox eight or whatever they're called!" Squall added.
"They're called Playstation2's and what's wrong with that?"
"Zell, there is a crisis, and your assistance is needed."
"But I got these cool games from Balamb though! They were Metal Gear Solid 2 and this cool game called Final Fantasy X-"
"I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS! GET YOURSELF TO THE BRIDGE OR YOU'LL BE DEMOTED!"
"Fine. . . fine. . . "
Zell, Rinoa, and Squall now made their way to the quad, and started a conversation on the way.
"Squall, were you serious about demoting me?"
"Yes. And the next time you hesitate to obey orders because of that Funbox, you WILL be demoted"
".What do you have against PS2's?"
"Nothing. It's just that you're one of the only students in Garden that actually plays them. Especially that Final Fantasy series"
"I don't understand.if you played them Squall, you'd love them!"
"Never, those probably suck, especially since they skipped VIII"
"I still don't know why they skipped VIII, but the others are really cool! FFVII is centered around this guy named Clay Stripe. . . "
"Zell, you're doing it again"
"Sorry"
The group made their way through the stairs of the quad and located Selphie. She was on sitting on the ground and looked like she was about to cry.
"What's eating her?" asked Zell.
"She probably--oh no" Rinoa cut herself off.
"What is it?" asked Squall as they approached the stage.
"With that thud, the stuff is probably wrecked again! And after her hard work!"
"That really sucks." added Zell.
"Selphie!" Rinoa rushed over to her brown-haired friend.
"Hey Rinoa. . . "
"Selphie, it'll be all right. We'll get that stage repaired in no--" Rinoa cut herself off again when she noticed that everything was intact.
"Uh. . . Selphie, what's wrong?" Zell asked.
"No one wants to volunteer for the garden festival!"
"AHH!" Zell, Squall, and Rinoa made simultaneous yelps as they heard the mention of the festival.
"Will you guys. . . ?"
"I have to do my hair!" said Rinoa.
"And I have to play my Playstation2!" yelled Zell.
"And I have to meet up with Quistis and Irvine. Get to the bridge Selphie!"
All three of them ran off unusually fast.
"Hmmm. . . " Selphie still couldn't figure out why they always ran off every time she mentioned that. . .
Seifer Almasy was surprised that he had run into as much luck as he had. Now, he didn't have to hide inside the MD level where he was sure to get caught. Instead, he could now take advantage of the confusion and move towards the city with the castle. He had heard information from Mike about the planet, and he looked forward to getting a new start.
Fujin. . . Raijin. . .
Seifer remembered the pain in his heart after he had left them. He said he would go to garden and become a SeeD. . .
Guys, I'll clear it up with Commander Puberty, don't worry.
But we're a posse, ya know! If you leave then we're nothin'!
Fujin let out an exhausted cough and studied to speak.
Seifer, what if they want to kill you. What if you are never forgiven? Please stay with us.She started coughing.
Don't waste your words on me, I'm not worth it. I promise that I'll be back alive. I promised my father I would become a SeeD, and that's what I intend to do!
Seifer had overheard how he would be killed if found, and had hid in the MD level where NORG had had reasonable life support, really quite luxurious. Fortunately, no one ever came there and he had gotten in at night. He thought things had cooled down, but when he finally came out he found that he was on Gaia, information from Mike. If he could get a new life in that castle, no matter what the people where like, that would be all he would ever want.
As he reached the city limits, he found that the place was like some bad renaissance fair. It looked like something right out of the middle ages. What really freaked him out, though, were the animals running around. There were rat-people, hippo-people, and the freakiest of all, fish-people. There was even a guy with four arms! Rarely did he see a normal looking person. The people looked at him oddly.
"What funny clothes. . . " one person whispered.
"What kind of weapon is that?"
Seifer noticed that he had Hyperion clearly visible and hanging by his side. Suddenly, he almost fell when a tiny thing with a pointy hat ran right by him.
"Hey!" He pointed his gunblade at the offender.
"Watch it!"
"I'm sorry. . . "
Seifer was horrified to see the thing's face was completely black, with glowing yellow eyes.
"Oh my GOD! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
The crowd paused to look at him, startled by his outburst.
"I'm Vivi."
". . . is that Latin or something?"
"Latin"
"Never mind. Can you take me to the castle? I was thinking of getting a job there."
"Sure! I was going there to visit the king and queen."
"You mean you can just waltz on in there!?"
"Not really, I'm just a special friend."
Vivi adjusted his hat slightly and changed his stance.
"So are we going?"
"Yeah. Of course"
"What's your name?"
"I'm Seifer."
"What's that?" Vivi pointed to Hyperion.
"It's a gunblade. And if you ask me another question I won't know whether to use it on you or myself."
Vivi picked up the hint and began to lead Seifer towards the castle. Surprisingly, there were no guards present and the couple simply walked in, through the gate, and up to the main entrance.
Seifer was almost overwhelmed by the beauty of the castle up close, and the devastating amount of perfectly arranged vegetation, as well as the beautiful moat that ran around it. There were also some nicely bred Chocobos.
"You have Chocobos here?"
"Who doesn't have a Chocobo? Are you foreign or something?"
". . . you could say that."
At the gates Vivi was surprised to find Zidane, Steiner, and half the defense team on the ground and struggling to get up.
What scared Seifer was the large blue portal that was getting bigger.
"Holy hell. . . "
"Zidane!!"
Vivi ran towards the struggling figure of his friend as fast as his little legs would carry him, but was surprised when he saw a blue-haired figure that he hadn't seen before start to head for him at Mach 2.
***
Tidus was relieved when he finally saw the airship docked at the cliff near the Rin Travel Agency. Yuna started to move around in his arms.
She's probably getting over the shock. . .
Tidus noticed that the stairs were still lowered, and scrambled through the weeds to get on to the colorful ship before it took off.
I can't wait to see the others! Wait till they get a loada me!
Tidus stopped when he noticed that the door to the bridge was closed. He lay Yuna on the wall and started pounding on the door.
"We said that we didn't want any of your Chocobo nuggets! Now go away before we call the police!"
That was definitely Lulu's voice, but he couldn't understand how anyone would come back for more after getting a reprimand that cold.
Tidus continued to pound. He contemplated calling them, but decided he would surprise them. A wide smile was on his face.
The door finally opened and Lulu looked as if she was ready to cast Flare, but then stopped when she saw his smiling face.
"Oh my. . . " She put a hand over her mouth and looked like she was about to faint. Tidus also saw a look he had never seen in those eyes. The eyes actually showed happiness in them, which almost freaked out Tidus to no end.
Kimahri walked up to assist with Lance drawn, but dropped it, and for the first time in his life, let his jaw drop open with surprise.
"Ronso gods. . . it really you. . . "
Rikku spun around in her chair at the bridge, but was more taken at the site.
". . . TIDUS!" Tidus could have sworn that Rikku flew.
"Ohhhh!"
She landed on him and immediately pinned him down.
"Rikku! I'm glad to see you too! Rikku?"
He found that she was crying.
"I didn't mean to make you cry!"
"I-I'm just so happy!"
"Kimahri so happy. . . "
Rikku got off of Tidus and dried out her eyes.
"Please don't cry. It's sad to see you like this"
"I'm sorry. I just didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
Lulu did something that he didn't think he would ever see. She hugged him. Tightly. And he was even more surprised when he saw that Kimahri was doing the same.
"Do you guys like me that much?"
". . . Kimahri think that stupidest question yet"
Tidus laughed, and his friends released the embrace, still smiling.
Wakka came around the corner, stared, and rubbed his eyes.
"Brudda Tidus!" Wakka sent Tidus right back to the ground.
"Tidus, mon! I knew that Yuna's whistlin' would help! Oh mon, it's great to see ya!"
"Thanks Wakka. Now can I get up?"
Wakka let Tidus get back up. Tidus' friends weren't even interested in HOW he got back, they were just satisfied to see that he was alive and well, and spend a while talking, getting reacquainted with a friend that they thought they had lost forever. It actually took a while before Rikku noticed Yuna lying on the wall.
"Tidus, what happened to Yunie?" Asked Rikku, just noticing.
"She kinda passed out when I came up from the water, but I think she's almost better now."
Tidus was right for Yuna slowly woke up and stood. The first thing she saw was a blue eye. Two eyes that she thought would never look at her again. The eyes of a lover she thought she had lost. The eyes that gave her the courage to always go on. The eyes that belonged to Tidus.
"You came back to me!" Yuna jumped on Tidus, wrapping her arms around his neck, and tackled him to the ground like he had been twice before. Tidus sighed as he felt himself hit the ground yet again.
"Yuna, maybe you should--"
Lulu paused when she saw Yuna in a deep kiss, and it didn't look like she or Tidus would let up on it anytime soon.
"Never mind"
The four backed off and let the two do their thing. After about thirty seconds, they decided to go back to the bridge and prepare for departure.
Many things went through Yuna's mind as she kissed Tidus. There were flashbacks of the spring at Macalania. There was a flash of her disgust when kissing Seymour. There was here sorrow for losing him. Then she was overcome by a giddy happiness of having him back, and kissed him even harder, adding passion to it.
Tidus felt that if there was one purpose in his life, he had fulfilled it. If there was one reason for his existence, then this was it. And if he ever had a goal, to kiss Yuna without fear of separation or being interrupted, then by Yevon-er-God, this was it.
Wakka smiled from his spot on the left-back area of the bridge. He looked ahead at the blue sky before him. Rikku was telling Cid all about how wonderful it was that they Tidus was back, and Cid seemed tempted to leave his work so that he could greet the old poot. Wakka noticed that the sky was unusually blue, almost as if. . .
"Guys, do ya see what I see?"
Lulu acknowledged Wakka's comment and stared ahead with Rikku and Kimahri, as well as Cid and Brother, in the co-pilot's area.
"What is that?" asked Lulu.
Before the group was a large portal of pure blue, bluer than the skies themselves. And it seemed to be on the verge of consuming the airship.
"What in tarnation?" Cid asked in his deep country accent.
"Uh. . . Tidus!"
Wakka rushed back to the hall where Yuna was still on top of Tidus, seeming to only begin the kiss that had already lasted for three minutes.
"Sorry ta interrupt, but, I think you should see dis!"
Yuna broke the kiss and got up, and Tidus did the same. They followed Wakka's finger and found what he was, and they saw the blue opening in the sky, that seemed to be pulling the ship.
"Can't you turn us away!?" Tidus asked Cid, surprised at the turn of events.
"It's pullin' us in!"
***
"God damn. . . " Zidane struggled to his feet and wiped the blood off of his mouth. He couldn't hold the Ultima weapon, because his hands were numb. As a matter of fact, he felt he would be lucky if he still had a hand.
Beatrix was twitching slightly. But Steiner, the Pluto Knights, and the remaining soldiers wouldn't move. Zidane wondered if they were still alive.
"Ready to give up scum? I'll spare you if you admit your alliance to Kuja, and give me information on Oren Murasaki"
"We. . . don't. . . know what you're talking about!"
"LIARS!"
"Go to hell!"
Zidane stood to his feet and launched Grand Lethal with the last of his power. Beta sidestepped.
"You have insulted me for the last--"
A bullet hit him in the head, followed up by a Flare spell, which wrapped him in red light and exploded in a negative rain of dark electricity and fire.
"What!?"
A blonde boy in a long gray trench coat and the black mage that Zidane knew for a long time ran to the battlefield.
"It's Vivi! And. . . some other guy!"
"Fire Cross!" the guy in the gray trench coat landed a slam with his sword, mixed in with a swarm of fire as Vivi followed up with a Firaga spell.
Beatrix let out a weak cheer from her position on the ground as blood trickled down the man's face; a sight that seemed impossible at the start of the fight.
As Beta straightened himself, both the blonde guy and Vivi surrounded him on either side.
"Take this," the guy said.
He threw Zidane some Elixir, which didn't look like the kind he was used to, but he drank it anyway, and he felt as good as new.
"Awesome!" Zidane grabbed the Ultima Weapon and ran over to assist his newfound ally and Vivi.
"I'm Zidane, king of Alexandria. And you"
"Seifer. Seifer Almasy the--you're the king?"
"Never mind that"
"ENOUGH!" Beta stood up. "Now you've really made me mad! GAMMA! GAMMA GET YOUR CUTE SELF OVER HERE!"
The portal disappeared and a girl in flowing white, with brown hair pulled behind her head in a ponytail and eyes that seemed to alternate between green and yellow landed from out of nowhere next to Beta.
"Not only will I kill you, but I'll murder this whole stupid city!"
"Who's that?"
Seifer gestured his gunblade towards the new appearance.
"Mighty cocky, huh? Hi there! I'm going to find Oren too! But first, I'll kill you guys! Does that sound fun?"
"Excuse me?" asked Zidane, adjusting his stance.
"I'm. . . Gamma! You're doom! You're death! Ready for some fun!? I sure am!"
"You want to play with us. . . ?" asked Seifer, not quite sure.
"Yep! I'll kill you little bastards! And have fun too! Tee hee!"
". . . You seem too nice to wanna kill us!" said Vivi.
"You seemed too cute to steal our home away from us, but hey!"
"I still don't know what you mean" responded Zidane.
Gamma turned to look at Beta.
"You're right, they are lying jerks."
"All the more reason for us to kill em' and just go back home to Pyros"
The duelers all paused to look at each other, but before any blows could be landed, another gunshot landed in Gamma's brain, but only seemed to make her mad.
"Who did that!?"
A burnette with a weapon like Seifer's, weapon drawn was charging. Along with him came three girls, one with a pinwheel, another with a whip, and the last holding a nunchaku came charging in. The two other guys included a cowboy looking one with a rifle and a martial artist, given away is the way he ran in a special stance with his fists up.
The six took position behind Zidane, Seifer and Vivi.
"Who are you?" Zidane asked.
"Introductions can wait," said the one with the gunblade.
"Beta, do you really think we can take five of 'em?"
"Not even a thousand could beat me, let alone the two of us. Lets just kill them and get our reward we have been delayed long enough"
"I think you're forgetting something!" Everyone turned to see Dagger running, skirt over the ground to the field. With her old staff, she summoned Bahamut.
The dragon appeared out of the sky and showered Beta and Gamma with meteors, and one large flare.
"JESUS! PYROS DIDN'T TELL US THEY COULD SUMMON BAHAMUT!" Beta cried.
"And I will do it again unless you depart immediately"
"How about Quezacotl!" The gunblade-man concentrated, and a large yellow bird appeared, blasting them into the ground.
Beta and Gamma struggled to get up, electricity still crackling all over them.
Gamma let out a wild laugh.
"You think you fools have beat us! I'll tell you one thing, this will be more fun than I thought! What a workout!"
"There not even bruised. . . " noticed the blonde female with the whip.
Something caught the brown hair guy's eye.
". . . SEIFER!"
He immediately held the blade to his neck; Seifer looked down and didn't move.
The other five in the group seemed to become hostile.
"Well if it isn't Commander Puberty?"
Gamma and Beta seemed to be interested in the new development.
"Hey!" Zidane shouted. "He's cool, leave him alone!"
"This is a traitor. A disgrace to our cause, or my name isn't Squall Leonhart"
"I don't know what you say he did, but he's been a help, and as the king of Alexandria, I order you to release him!"
"As the commander of Balamb garden, I'll say that I'll do whatever the hell I want!"
"As much as I'd like to say hi to you again, Squally-boy, we have much bigger problems. So save your little authority speech"
Squall lowered the gunblade and he refaced his opponent.
"If you all were quite finished," Beta declared. "May we please get back to slaughtering you all?"
"Yeah, what a stroke of luck! Delta was supposed to get those guys!" Gamma giggled.
"Yes, they are also on our little hit list. . . what were your names again?"
"I am Squall Leonhart, liberator of my world and commander of Balamb Garden"
"I'm Rinoa" the one with the pinwheel continued "and I will aid in your defeat"
"My names Selphie! I kinda liked you, Gamma, but you leave us no choice," mentioned the one with the brown curls and the nunchaku.
"The names Irvine, and I won't be defeated so easily, especially with Sephie by my side!" said the gunman, looking at Selphie.
"My name is Quistis Trepe, and I believe you underestimated us," mentioned the one with the whip.
The martial artist piped in.
"I'm Zell, and I know two things, the suns goin' down and so are you!"
Gamma and Beta smiled at the semi-inspiring introductions.
"Where very glad you all are so cocky. We will be sure to mark your pride when we bury you all. I still do not understand why you believe you are any match for us."
Beta and Gamma steadied themselves, and prepared for a Mach punch. The opposers all took offensive fighting stances, when suddenly.
THWAAACKKK!
"DAMMIT! NOT ANOTHER DELAY!" Beta and Gamma flew back into the castle walls, a big blue mark remaining on their chest areas.
"You knuckle heads aren't laying a hand on these brave souls. Know run back to Pyros or something"
The fighters turned in awe to see a man with light tan skin, dark hair, and a long tan coat. What was also noticeable was the wild blue glow in his eyes.
"This is no fun! We can't even kill 'em!"
Beta and Gamma looked at each other, and then the stranger.
"We may not be able to beat you now, but when we come back with Alpha, Delta and Epsilon you won't stand a chance you sod buster! You'll regret those nineteen years ago you were born!" yelled Beta as they ran off and disappeared.
In a moment, everyone wondered what would make this guy so strong that he would make those titans run off like babies.
"Who are you?" Almost everyone asked in unison.
"Hey, I've been looking for you guys. Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traveler, an ENEMY of those fools. My name is Oren. Oren Murasaki"
***
"Cid!" Cloud rushed to Cid and gave him a big hug. Tifa did the same.
"Hey! I didn't know you guys were here! Red, you should be tellin' me these things!"
"They just got here, you realize."
"Cid, what are you doing in Cosmo Canyon?" asked Cloud.
"I flew over here with the Highwind because Red asked me to take a look at that portal thingy. He thought I'd be able to fix it, but I don't even know what it is, let alone think it's broken"
"Well, I was thinking we round up the others and maybe head into there. It must be here for a reason," said Cloud.
"That's what I've been tellin Red the whole time I was here! The Highwind should round em all up quickly, don't you think?"
"It'll be great be on there with you again, Cid" Tifa changed the subject.
"We should get going right now!" Cid adjusted the cigar in his mouth, then took it out altogether and ran a hand through his hair.
"We don't even no our destination. I just recently brought you all to Cosmo Canyon"
"I say we go to Costa de Sol. I heard that Reeve was working somewhere there. He may have files on whatever that thing in the air is" Cloud decided his sword would be best back in his sheath.
"Who was Reeve again?" Cid asked.
"Remember, he controlled the Cait Sith doll," Tifa reminded him.
"Oh yeah. . . " everyone was silent as they remembered the experiences they had with him, being a traitor.
"Well you dingbats won't get anywhere by just standing here, so lets go and find him already. My ship's been waitin' for a good fly"
Cloud, Tifa, Red, and Cid made there way out of the room and through the narrow passage of the reddish rock in the canyon that hadn't been noticed before. There, in all of its glory as a machine, was the Highwind. It awakened something in Cloud to see that ship again, the source of so many memories, and what had saved their skin over and over again.
As Cid approached the boarding area, Cloud stopped him.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest before you just head out like that? I mean we haven't seen each other in a while and we're pretty exhausted"
"You're right Cloud. I wasn't really eager to just take off anyway. How about we just rest for a while, catch up on old times?"
The party did. Cloud explained to Cid and Red the whole story about how Alpha had attacked them, and the strange things he had said along the way.
"So you mean he actually said you were with that Mako guy?"
"I agree with Cid. The mere prospect of an alliance puzzles me to no end"
"Same here" said Tifa.
"I tried to forget him, but I guess that its something we can never escape. And we even have a new threat on our hands, so we better watch it" Cloud pointed out.
"Do you think there could be more than an Alpha?" Red asked, as his tail seemed to twitch.
"Like a Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, etc.?" asked Cloud.
"Precisely. He mentioned 'we', did he not? The idea of twenty-four of them doesn't rest on the mind very well"
"I know what you mean. From the way you three talk about him, he must have been something.
"He was. He almost broke my rib cage with this punch that was stronger than it should have been. And that wound to my chest might have been fatal had Red not brought that Cure materia with him"
"He got your chest too?" Cid looked interested.
"Yeah, and then I called him a moron because he didn't seem to know which side of the chest the human heart was on!"
"That does sound pretty dumb. Almost as boneheaded as those bum pilots of mine that are always slackin'. I bet 600 gil that they're just playing cards in there right now hoping that I don't come back any time soon."
"That's what I always think that Cloud's doing when I come in from work and he's still at home, except with him it's Solitaire!"
"Hey!" The party got a good laugh out of that.
"Why don't you and Cid tell us again how you two and Barret beat Emerald Weapon again" Red requested.
"Alright. We were underwater and we only had a limited supply of air to breath, so I went crazy with my sword, while Cid looked like he just was slashing wildly, and Barret seemed to always miss. That monster had us pinned down until Cid called out some missiles and blew that thing out of the water! You should have heard it scream! When we thought we killed it tries to suck us in, and we start to run low on oxygen, so, I take out one of my old swords, and stuff it down its throat! I never thought I would have so much fun killing something"
"And you wouldn't stop bragging about it for three days!" added Cid.
"Until he realized he had sacrificed the Ragnarok and upgraded to the Ultima weapon instead" Red pointed out.
The party finally stood up to depart on the Highwind when suddenly the engines blew out.
"Dammit! I left her on too long!" said Cid, rushing up to check the engines.
"Crap, now what will we use to fly?" Asked Cloud
As if an answer to a prayer, a blue portal appeared in the sky, and a large airship of many colors rushed through, as the portal disappeared.
The craft shook and then landed a few miles a way with a loud crash.
Everyone looked at each other.
"I'll fix my ship later. What the hell was that?"
_______________________________________________________________________
AN: Another chapter down! You better like this one, I spent a long time just so I could satisfy you alls' suspense. I received positive reviews for this fic, and my Kingdom Hearts fic Crowned Hearts. Thank you again! I will continue to put up chapters as quick as I can, but keep in mind that I may spend two days on chapters from now on.
By Blue Dragon
Gamma, she's actually pretty cute.
Squall hurriedly marched down to the cafeteria, where he knew he would find Zell. There were two reasons for him preferring to have his friends with him on the trek outside to the strange area that they had landed. One was that they had helped him overcome emotional obstacles, and they were all also S-ranking SeeDs.
Rinoa could barely keep up step as he almost lost his etiquette and ran. As he was going to make the final stretch, SeeD Dreda stopped him.
"Sir! I have a report to make!"
Squall and Rinoa came to an abrupt halt.
"Granted"
"I got word that this planet was called 'Gaia' from the suspicious character we gave clearance earlier. He also told us that his name was Kuja. He has no where else to go sir, can he stay here?"
"Granted. Show me this character"
"Right away!"
Dreda ran back to the fountain area and from behind he brought the character known as Kuja that he had mentioned earlier.
Squall looked him over, up and down. He had a weird vibe about him, like the feeling he got when he was around Ultimecia, or more specifically, Seifer.
".Access granted. Dismissed"
"Thank you, sir!" Dreda saluted and led the quiet figure down to the dormitory.
"What was that all about?" Rinoa asked him, snapping him from his trance.
"Well, he was bringing in a potential information source, and we may need all the help we can get."
"I understand."
The garden's structure had easily held its breathtaking frame with relative ease, which was one thing less to worry about for Squall Leonhart.
When Squall found out that Zell was nowhere near the cafeteria, he went to the next most likely place.
Squall and Rinoa entered Zell's dormitory (Rinoa given immediate clearance) only to find Zell playing video games, seemingly oblivious to the past events.
"Zell!" cried Rinoa.
"Don't tell me you're still playing that Funbox eight or whatever they're called!" Squall added.
"They're called Playstation2's and what's wrong with that?"
"Zell, there is a crisis, and your assistance is needed."
"But I got these cool games from Balamb though! They were Metal Gear Solid 2 and this cool game called Final Fantasy X-"
"I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS! GET YOURSELF TO THE BRIDGE OR YOU'LL BE DEMOTED!"
"Fine. . . fine. . . "
Zell, Rinoa, and Squall now made their way to the quad, and started a conversation on the way.
"Squall, were you serious about demoting me?"
"Yes. And the next time you hesitate to obey orders because of that Funbox, you WILL be demoted"
".What do you have against PS2's?"
"Nothing. It's just that you're one of the only students in Garden that actually plays them. Especially that Final Fantasy series"
"I don't understand.if you played them Squall, you'd love them!"
"Never, those probably suck, especially since they skipped VIII"
"I still don't know why they skipped VIII, but the others are really cool! FFVII is centered around this guy named Clay Stripe. . . "
"Zell, you're doing it again"
"Sorry"
The group made their way through the stairs of the quad and located Selphie. She was on sitting on the ground and looked like she was about to cry.
"What's eating her?" asked Zell.
"She probably--oh no" Rinoa cut herself off.
"What is it?" asked Squall as they approached the stage.
"With that thud, the stuff is probably wrecked again! And after her hard work!"
"That really sucks." added Zell.
"Selphie!" Rinoa rushed over to her brown-haired friend.
"Hey Rinoa. . . "
"Selphie, it'll be all right. We'll get that stage repaired in no--" Rinoa cut herself off again when she noticed that everything was intact.
"Uh. . . Selphie, what's wrong?" Zell asked.
"No one wants to volunteer for the garden festival!"
"AHH!" Zell, Squall, and Rinoa made simultaneous yelps as they heard the mention of the festival.
"Will you guys. . . ?"
"I have to do my hair!" said Rinoa.
"And I have to play my Playstation2!" yelled Zell.
"And I have to meet up with Quistis and Irvine. Get to the bridge Selphie!"
All three of them ran off unusually fast.
"Hmmm. . . " Selphie still couldn't figure out why they always ran off every time she mentioned that. . .
Seifer Almasy was surprised that he had run into as much luck as he had. Now, he didn't have to hide inside the MD level where he was sure to get caught. Instead, he could now take advantage of the confusion and move towards the city with the castle. He had heard information from Mike about the planet, and he looked forward to getting a new start.
Fujin. . . Raijin. . .
Seifer remembered the pain in his heart after he had left them. He said he would go to garden and become a SeeD. . .
Guys, I'll clear it up with Commander Puberty, don't worry.
But we're a posse, ya know! If you leave then we're nothin'!
Fujin let out an exhausted cough and studied to speak.
Seifer, what if they want to kill you. What if you are never forgiven? Please stay with us.She started coughing.
Don't waste your words on me, I'm not worth it. I promise that I'll be back alive. I promised my father I would become a SeeD, and that's what I intend to do!
Seifer had overheard how he would be killed if found, and had hid in the MD level where NORG had had reasonable life support, really quite luxurious. Fortunately, no one ever came there and he had gotten in at night. He thought things had cooled down, but when he finally came out he found that he was on Gaia, information from Mike. If he could get a new life in that castle, no matter what the people where like, that would be all he would ever want.
As he reached the city limits, he found that the place was like some bad renaissance fair. It looked like something right out of the middle ages. What really freaked him out, though, were the animals running around. There were rat-people, hippo-people, and the freakiest of all, fish-people. There was even a guy with four arms! Rarely did he see a normal looking person. The people looked at him oddly.
"What funny clothes. . . " one person whispered.
"What kind of weapon is that?"
Seifer noticed that he had Hyperion clearly visible and hanging by his side. Suddenly, he almost fell when a tiny thing with a pointy hat ran right by him.
"Hey!" He pointed his gunblade at the offender.
"Watch it!"
"I'm sorry. . . "
Seifer was horrified to see the thing's face was completely black, with glowing yellow eyes.
"Oh my GOD! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU!?"
The crowd paused to look at him, startled by his outburst.
"I'm Vivi."
". . . is that Latin or something?"
"Latin"
"Never mind. Can you take me to the castle? I was thinking of getting a job there."
"Sure! I was going there to visit the king and queen."
"You mean you can just waltz on in there!?"
"Not really, I'm just a special friend."
Vivi adjusted his hat slightly and changed his stance.
"So are we going?"
"Yeah. Of course"
"What's your name?"
"I'm Seifer."
"What's that?" Vivi pointed to Hyperion.
"It's a gunblade. And if you ask me another question I won't know whether to use it on you or myself."
Vivi picked up the hint and began to lead Seifer towards the castle. Surprisingly, there were no guards present and the couple simply walked in, through the gate, and up to the main entrance.
Seifer was almost overwhelmed by the beauty of the castle up close, and the devastating amount of perfectly arranged vegetation, as well as the beautiful moat that ran around it. There were also some nicely bred Chocobos.
"You have Chocobos here?"
"Who doesn't have a Chocobo? Are you foreign or something?"
". . . you could say that."
At the gates Vivi was surprised to find Zidane, Steiner, and half the defense team on the ground and struggling to get up.
What scared Seifer was the large blue portal that was getting bigger.
"Holy hell. . . "
"Zidane!!"
Vivi ran towards the struggling figure of his friend as fast as his little legs would carry him, but was surprised when he saw a blue-haired figure that he hadn't seen before start to head for him at Mach 2.
***
Tidus was relieved when he finally saw the airship docked at the cliff near the Rin Travel Agency. Yuna started to move around in his arms.
She's probably getting over the shock. . .
Tidus noticed that the stairs were still lowered, and scrambled through the weeds to get on to the colorful ship before it took off.
I can't wait to see the others! Wait till they get a loada me!
Tidus stopped when he noticed that the door to the bridge was closed. He lay Yuna on the wall and started pounding on the door.
"We said that we didn't want any of your Chocobo nuggets! Now go away before we call the police!"
That was definitely Lulu's voice, but he couldn't understand how anyone would come back for more after getting a reprimand that cold.
Tidus continued to pound. He contemplated calling them, but decided he would surprise them. A wide smile was on his face.
The door finally opened and Lulu looked as if she was ready to cast Flare, but then stopped when she saw his smiling face.
"Oh my. . . " She put a hand over her mouth and looked like she was about to faint. Tidus also saw a look he had never seen in those eyes. The eyes actually showed happiness in them, which almost freaked out Tidus to no end.
Kimahri walked up to assist with Lance drawn, but dropped it, and for the first time in his life, let his jaw drop open with surprise.
"Ronso gods. . . it really you. . . "
Rikku spun around in her chair at the bridge, but was more taken at the site.
". . . TIDUS!" Tidus could have sworn that Rikku flew.
"Ohhhh!"
She landed on him and immediately pinned him down.
"Rikku! I'm glad to see you too! Rikku?"
He found that she was crying.
"I didn't mean to make you cry!"
"I-I'm just so happy!"
"Kimahri so happy. . . "
Rikku got off of Tidus and dried out her eyes.
"Please don't cry. It's sad to see you like this"
"I'm sorry. I just didn't think I'd ever see you again!"
Lulu did something that he didn't think he would ever see. She hugged him. Tightly. And he was even more surprised when he saw that Kimahri was doing the same.
"Do you guys like me that much?"
". . . Kimahri think that stupidest question yet"
Tidus laughed, and his friends released the embrace, still smiling.
Wakka came around the corner, stared, and rubbed his eyes.
"Brudda Tidus!" Wakka sent Tidus right back to the ground.
"Tidus, mon! I knew that Yuna's whistlin' would help! Oh mon, it's great to see ya!"
"Thanks Wakka. Now can I get up?"
Wakka let Tidus get back up. Tidus' friends weren't even interested in HOW he got back, they were just satisfied to see that he was alive and well, and spend a while talking, getting reacquainted with a friend that they thought they had lost forever. It actually took a while before Rikku noticed Yuna lying on the wall.
"Tidus, what happened to Yunie?" Asked Rikku, just noticing.
"She kinda passed out when I came up from the water, but I think she's almost better now."
Tidus was right for Yuna slowly woke up and stood. The first thing she saw was a blue eye. Two eyes that she thought would never look at her again. The eyes of a lover she thought she had lost. The eyes that gave her the courage to always go on. The eyes that belonged to Tidus.
"You came back to me!" Yuna jumped on Tidus, wrapping her arms around his neck, and tackled him to the ground like he had been twice before. Tidus sighed as he felt himself hit the ground yet again.
"Yuna, maybe you should--"
Lulu paused when she saw Yuna in a deep kiss, and it didn't look like she or Tidus would let up on it anytime soon.
"Never mind"
The four backed off and let the two do their thing. After about thirty seconds, they decided to go back to the bridge and prepare for departure.
Many things went through Yuna's mind as she kissed Tidus. There were flashbacks of the spring at Macalania. There was a flash of her disgust when kissing Seymour. There was here sorrow for losing him. Then she was overcome by a giddy happiness of having him back, and kissed him even harder, adding passion to it.
Tidus felt that if there was one purpose in his life, he had fulfilled it. If there was one reason for his existence, then this was it. And if he ever had a goal, to kiss Yuna without fear of separation or being interrupted, then by Yevon-er-God, this was it.
Wakka smiled from his spot on the left-back area of the bridge. He looked ahead at the blue sky before him. Rikku was telling Cid all about how wonderful it was that they Tidus was back, and Cid seemed tempted to leave his work so that he could greet the old poot. Wakka noticed that the sky was unusually blue, almost as if. . .
"Guys, do ya see what I see?"
Lulu acknowledged Wakka's comment and stared ahead with Rikku and Kimahri, as well as Cid and Brother, in the co-pilot's area.
"What is that?" asked Lulu.
Before the group was a large portal of pure blue, bluer than the skies themselves. And it seemed to be on the verge of consuming the airship.
"What in tarnation?" Cid asked in his deep country accent.
"Uh. . . Tidus!"
Wakka rushed back to the hall where Yuna was still on top of Tidus, seeming to only begin the kiss that had already lasted for three minutes.
"Sorry ta interrupt, but, I think you should see dis!"
Yuna broke the kiss and got up, and Tidus did the same. They followed Wakka's finger and found what he was, and they saw the blue opening in the sky, that seemed to be pulling the ship.
"Can't you turn us away!?" Tidus asked Cid, surprised at the turn of events.
"It's pullin' us in!"
***
"God damn. . . " Zidane struggled to his feet and wiped the blood off of his mouth. He couldn't hold the Ultima weapon, because his hands were numb. As a matter of fact, he felt he would be lucky if he still had a hand.
Beatrix was twitching slightly. But Steiner, the Pluto Knights, and the remaining soldiers wouldn't move. Zidane wondered if they were still alive.
"Ready to give up scum? I'll spare you if you admit your alliance to Kuja, and give me information on Oren Murasaki"
"We. . . don't. . . know what you're talking about!"
"LIARS!"
"Go to hell!"
Zidane stood to his feet and launched Grand Lethal with the last of his power. Beta sidestepped.
"You have insulted me for the last--"
A bullet hit him in the head, followed up by a Flare spell, which wrapped him in red light and exploded in a negative rain of dark electricity and fire.
"What!?"
A blonde boy in a long gray trench coat and the black mage that Zidane knew for a long time ran to the battlefield.
"It's Vivi! And. . . some other guy!"
"Fire Cross!" the guy in the gray trench coat landed a slam with his sword, mixed in with a swarm of fire as Vivi followed up with a Firaga spell.
Beatrix let out a weak cheer from her position on the ground as blood trickled down the man's face; a sight that seemed impossible at the start of the fight.
As Beta straightened himself, both the blonde guy and Vivi surrounded him on either side.
"Take this," the guy said.
He threw Zidane some Elixir, which didn't look like the kind he was used to, but he drank it anyway, and he felt as good as new.
"Awesome!" Zidane grabbed the Ultima Weapon and ran over to assist his newfound ally and Vivi.
"I'm Zidane, king of Alexandria. And you"
"Seifer. Seifer Almasy the--you're the king?"
"Never mind that"
"ENOUGH!" Beta stood up. "Now you've really made me mad! GAMMA! GAMMA GET YOUR CUTE SELF OVER HERE!"
The portal disappeared and a girl in flowing white, with brown hair pulled behind her head in a ponytail and eyes that seemed to alternate between green and yellow landed from out of nowhere next to Beta.
"Not only will I kill you, but I'll murder this whole stupid city!"
"Who's that?"
Seifer gestured his gunblade towards the new appearance.
"Mighty cocky, huh? Hi there! I'm going to find Oren too! But first, I'll kill you guys! Does that sound fun?"
"Excuse me?" asked Zidane, adjusting his stance.
"I'm. . . Gamma! You're doom! You're death! Ready for some fun!? I sure am!"
"You want to play with us. . . ?" asked Seifer, not quite sure.
"Yep! I'll kill you little bastards! And have fun too! Tee hee!"
". . . You seem too nice to wanna kill us!" said Vivi.
"You seemed too cute to steal our home away from us, but hey!"
"I still don't know what you mean" responded Zidane.
Gamma turned to look at Beta.
"You're right, they are lying jerks."
"All the more reason for us to kill em' and just go back home to Pyros"
The duelers all paused to look at each other, but before any blows could be landed, another gunshot landed in Gamma's brain, but only seemed to make her mad.
"Who did that!?"
A burnette with a weapon like Seifer's, weapon drawn was charging. Along with him came three girls, one with a pinwheel, another with a whip, and the last holding a nunchaku came charging in. The two other guys included a cowboy looking one with a rifle and a martial artist, given away is the way he ran in a special stance with his fists up.
The six took position behind Zidane, Seifer and Vivi.
"Who are you?" Zidane asked.
"Introductions can wait," said the one with the gunblade.
"Beta, do you really think we can take five of 'em?"
"Not even a thousand could beat me, let alone the two of us. Lets just kill them and get our reward we have been delayed long enough"
"I think you're forgetting something!" Everyone turned to see Dagger running, skirt over the ground to the field. With her old staff, she summoned Bahamut.
The dragon appeared out of the sky and showered Beta and Gamma with meteors, and one large flare.
"JESUS! PYROS DIDN'T TELL US THEY COULD SUMMON BAHAMUT!" Beta cried.
"And I will do it again unless you depart immediately"
"How about Quezacotl!" The gunblade-man concentrated, and a large yellow bird appeared, blasting them into the ground.
Beta and Gamma struggled to get up, electricity still crackling all over them.
Gamma let out a wild laugh.
"You think you fools have beat us! I'll tell you one thing, this will be more fun than I thought! What a workout!"
"There not even bruised. . . " noticed the blonde female with the whip.
Something caught the brown hair guy's eye.
". . . SEIFER!"
He immediately held the blade to his neck; Seifer looked down and didn't move.
The other five in the group seemed to become hostile.
"Well if it isn't Commander Puberty?"
Gamma and Beta seemed to be interested in the new development.
"Hey!" Zidane shouted. "He's cool, leave him alone!"
"This is a traitor. A disgrace to our cause, or my name isn't Squall Leonhart"
"I don't know what you say he did, but he's been a help, and as the king of Alexandria, I order you to release him!"
"As the commander of Balamb garden, I'll say that I'll do whatever the hell I want!"
"As much as I'd like to say hi to you again, Squally-boy, we have much bigger problems. So save your little authority speech"
Squall lowered the gunblade and he refaced his opponent.
"If you all were quite finished," Beta declared. "May we please get back to slaughtering you all?"
"Yeah, what a stroke of luck! Delta was supposed to get those guys!" Gamma giggled.
"Yes, they are also on our little hit list. . . what were your names again?"
"I am Squall Leonhart, liberator of my world and commander of Balamb Garden"
"I'm Rinoa" the one with the pinwheel continued "and I will aid in your defeat"
"My names Selphie! I kinda liked you, Gamma, but you leave us no choice," mentioned the one with the brown curls and the nunchaku.
"The names Irvine, and I won't be defeated so easily, especially with Sephie by my side!" said the gunman, looking at Selphie.
"My name is Quistis Trepe, and I believe you underestimated us," mentioned the one with the whip.
The martial artist piped in.
"I'm Zell, and I know two things, the suns goin' down and so are you!"
Gamma and Beta smiled at the semi-inspiring introductions.
"Where very glad you all are so cocky. We will be sure to mark your pride when we bury you all. I still do not understand why you believe you are any match for us."
Beta and Gamma steadied themselves, and prepared for a Mach punch. The opposers all took offensive fighting stances, when suddenly.
THWAAACKKK!
"DAMMIT! NOT ANOTHER DELAY!" Beta and Gamma flew back into the castle walls, a big blue mark remaining on their chest areas.
"You knuckle heads aren't laying a hand on these brave souls. Know run back to Pyros or something"
The fighters turned in awe to see a man with light tan skin, dark hair, and a long tan coat. What was also noticeable was the wild blue glow in his eyes.
"This is no fun! We can't even kill 'em!"
Beta and Gamma looked at each other, and then the stranger.
"We may not be able to beat you now, but when we come back with Alpha, Delta and Epsilon you won't stand a chance you sod buster! You'll regret those nineteen years ago you were born!" yelled Beta as they ran off and disappeared.
In a moment, everyone wondered what would make this guy so strong that he would make those titans run off like babies.
"Who are you?" Almost everyone asked in unison.
"Hey, I've been looking for you guys. Allow me to introduce myself. I am a traveler, an ENEMY of those fools. My name is Oren. Oren Murasaki"
***
"Cid!" Cloud rushed to Cid and gave him a big hug. Tifa did the same.
"Hey! I didn't know you guys were here! Red, you should be tellin' me these things!"
"They just got here, you realize."
"Cid, what are you doing in Cosmo Canyon?" asked Cloud.
"I flew over here with the Highwind because Red asked me to take a look at that portal thingy. He thought I'd be able to fix it, but I don't even know what it is, let alone think it's broken"
"Well, I was thinking we round up the others and maybe head into there. It must be here for a reason," said Cloud.
"That's what I've been tellin Red the whole time I was here! The Highwind should round em all up quickly, don't you think?"
"It'll be great be on there with you again, Cid" Tifa changed the subject.
"We should get going right now!" Cid adjusted the cigar in his mouth, then took it out altogether and ran a hand through his hair.
"We don't even no our destination. I just recently brought you all to Cosmo Canyon"
"I say we go to Costa de Sol. I heard that Reeve was working somewhere there. He may have files on whatever that thing in the air is" Cloud decided his sword would be best back in his sheath.
"Who was Reeve again?" Cid asked.
"Remember, he controlled the Cait Sith doll," Tifa reminded him.
"Oh yeah. . . " everyone was silent as they remembered the experiences they had with him, being a traitor.
"Well you dingbats won't get anywhere by just standing here, so lets go and find him already. My ship's been waitin' for a good fly"
Cloud, Tifa, Red, and Cid made there way out of the room and through the narrow passage of the reddish rock in the canyon that hadn't been noticed before. There, in all of its glory as a machine, was the Highwind. It awakened something in Cloud to see that ship again, the source of so many memories, and what had saved their skin over and over again.
As Cid approached the boarding area, Cloud stopped him.
"Are you sure you don't want to rest before you just head out like that? I mean we haven't seen each other in a while and we're pretty exhausted"
"You're right Cloud. I wasn't really eager to just take off anyway. How about we just rest for a while, catch up on old times?"
The party did. Cloud explained to Cid and Red the whole story about how Alpha had attacked them, and the strange things he had said along the way.
"So you mean he actually said you were with that Mako guy?"
"I agree with Cid. The mere prospect of an alliance puzzles me to no end"
"Same here" said Tifa.
"I tried to forget him, but I guess that its something we can never escape. And we even have a new threat on our hands, so we better watch it" Cloud pointed out.
"Do you think there could be more than an Alpha?" Red asked, as his tail seemed to twitch.
"Like a Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, etc.?" asked Cloud.
"Precisely. He mentioned 'we', did he not? The idea of twenty-four of them doesn't rest on the mind very well"
"I know what you mean. From the way you three talk about him, he must have been something.
"He was. He almost broke my rib cage with this punch that was stronger than it should have been. And that wound to my chest might have been fatal had Red not brought that Cure materia with him"
"He got your chest too?" Cid looked interested.
"Yeah, and then I called him a moron because he didn't seem to know which side of the chest the human heart was on!"
"That does sound pretty dumb. Almost as boneheaded as those bum pilots of mine that are always slackin'. I bet 600 gil that they're just playing cards in there right now hoping that I don't come back any time soon."
"That's what I always think that Cloud's doing when I come in from work and he's still at home, except with him it's Solitaire!"
"Hey!" The party got a good laugh out of that.
"Why don't you and Cid tell us again how you two and Barret beat Emerald Weapon again" Red requested.
"Alright. We were underwater and we only had a limited supply of air to breath, so I went crazy with my sword, while Cid looked like he just was slashing wildly, and Barret seemed to always miss. That monster had us pinned down until Cid called out some missiles and blew that thing out of the water! You should have heard it scream! When we thought we killed it tries to suck us in, and we start to run low on oxygen, so, I take out one of my old swords, and stuff it down its throat! I never thought I would have so much fun killing something"
"And you wouldn't stop bragging about it for three days!" added Cid.
"Until he realized he had sacrificed the Ragnarok and upgraded to the Ultima weapon instead" Red pointed out.
The party finally stood up to depart on the Highwind when suddenly the engines blew out.
"Dammit! I left her on too long!" said Cid, rushing up to check the engines.
"Crap, now what will we use to fly?" Asked Cloud
As if an answer to a prayer, a blue portal appeared in the sky, and a large airship of many colors rushed through, as the portal disappeared.
The craft shook and then landed a few miles a way with a loud crash.
Everyone looked at each other.
"I'll fix my ship later. What the hell was that?"
_______________________________________________________________________
AN: Another chapter down! You better like this one, I spent a long time just so I could satisfy you alls' suspense. I received positive reviews for this fic, and my Kingdom Hearts fic Crowned Hearts. Thank you again! I will continue to put up chapters as quick as I can, but keep in mind that I may spend two days on chapters from now on.