I don't own the game or company. Wish I did though. Thanks for reviewing Zanno, XtremeNuisance and Noble Maiden. You coulda' just e-mailed me and said that thing about the yuri/yaoi crap. But just to tell ya, yuri/yaoi makes no sense to me. Is it Japanese for yogurt or something? Anyway, here's chapter three. Hope you like it.
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Chapter # 3:Her Hero
Jet stared around at the Dark men with his eyes carefully scanning their weapons. He clenched his fingers into a tight fist and charged at the lone gun. One of them shot the gun out of the way, the gun slid over by one's feet. It would've been extremely to try and grab it from there. The Dark Knight's weapons were too large to have blown the gun that short of a distance. Behind them was the man named "Zane". They cleared a path for his approach. "Coming back, Jet?" he said. Jet shook his head, "I guess we'll see to that then, shall we?" Jet backed up a few steps and locked his fingers into fists again.
"You want me? Come and get me!" he shouted. His voice echoed in the air to a far off distance. Zane reached for his sunglasses then pulled them off. He unzipped his cloak and through it to the side. Along his chest was a black strap that held the sheath of a mighty sword on his back. In his hands was a small gun, a needle stuck out of the barrel. He aimed it at Jet's throat and fired. Although the gun's dart was quick, he was quicker. He dodged it by spinning to the side and letting the dart fly into someone else's chest and caused them to drop to the ground. A slight curse was released from his lips. Jet grabbed the unconscious man's gun and fired it at some of the guards. The blasts weren't lethal, just forced them back and injured them. He fired this until the ammo ran out. But a voice called him in the distance, it was Buddy's. Zane got ready for another attack just as Buddy put his hands between the two.
"Whoa, who , whoa! Slow down there boys! Someone's gonna get....." he glanced to look at the injured crew of Dark Knights resting on the ground by the harbor. "...hurt. Mr. Gantouse`, Jet'll be under our control among the Celcius."
"I don't care! I was ordered to bring him back to the prison dead or alive! Now outta my way!" he said as he reached for Jet. Buddy held Jet back with his other arm, he stared through his blue shades at both.
"Give him another chance, Gantouse! He'll be under complete control with the Gullwings! Promise! He'll stay with us for the long road ahead!" this made Jet in shock. He recalled that he would only be with them for a few weeks. A month or two tops, but for the long road ahead?! Outragous. That was his only thought. He backed into a Dark Knight who grabbed his wrists and put them against his back. He struggled to get loose but they were hazardously strong. "Well maybe not that long, but just let 'em help us fix the Celsius! It could be his punishment before he gets back to prison! Whaddya say?!" Buddy begged. Zane put two fingers to his chin for a few moments. He raised his hand and the knights let go of Jet.
"One day. You have one day to fix the ship of yours and then he's mine. Deal? If not I'll be happy to take him off your hands right-this-minute." he said dexterously. Buddy nodded. He ushered Jet into the ship and shut the hatch door as night began to fall.
"We'll sneak out during the parade! It's the perfect time!" Buddy exclaimed. Jet smirked. "Which graveyard are we talking about, exactly?"
"Underwood." Jet muttered. "Over by the Zanarkand ruins. No one ever goes there and gets out alive. The perfect place for hiding the money." Rikku jumped up from behind him.
"Underwood?! What kind of numbskull would hide it there?! You're going to get us all killed!" she shouted.
"The Underwood Graveyard tale is just a myth. The legend of the Prixate died years ago. Of course no one has ever seen it, some people say it still lurks under the tomb stones. But I doubt that, let's go!" Buddy said courageously. Rikku started to shiver.
"C'mon, Rikku! I've been there hundreds of times and I've never seen anything. Of course, I did see something lurking in the shadows." he was scaring her even more. She stood still not even blinking. Jet circled her, feeding on her fear. "It'll be fun....for the shadows."
"Shut up, Jet!" she said covering her ears. Buddy slapped his obnoxious comrade on the back of the head and handed him a pair of clothes and some goggles. Not to mention a black holster and a pistol.
"What's this for? Dress up?" Jet said rubbing his head.
''Dress up? That's what you're wearing, hombre!" Buddy chuckled. "Get dressed and we'll leave. We can't have ya walking around like Jet Enduro!"
"Yeah, whatever." Jet said going to the elevator. The sliding doors opened and Yuna came out in a cheerful way. The doors shut before she could say anything. In the elevator, Jet put on the crimson vest in the set of clothes he was given. It was open to the waist and looked pretty snazzy. He put on a pair of white pants and ski goggles that fit above his forehead. He took his belt from his blue jeans and fitted it around his right shoulder and under his left arm. He attached the holster to it and inserted the gun inside it. He also wore a pair of short black gloves with the exposion of his fingers. His new outfit is what I'd call "smashing". In the cabins, he set aside his ammo belt and his lamh. He kept the boomerang, just to be safe.
After awhile Jet started back down the hall to the elevator to reclaim the money and maybe have a chance at getting out of their grasp. Paine walked next to him, carrying her sword. The doors opened once again and they were down on the bridge in a flash. "You guys ready? Yuna and Rikku went for a hovercraft we could ride." Buddy said pointing down the street out of the reopened hatch. Yuna and Rikku had rented a hot ride that was black and silver all over. But his thought was, how did they rent it with no money? He would find out soon enough. "Nice, huh? It's called an Oblivion. Fastest h-"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get outta here. I wanna get on with my life." Jet pushed Buddy aside and walked down the hatch. He hopped into the driver's seat as Rikku moved over and Yuna jumped in the back. Paine and Buddy got into the back, buckled the seat belts and looked as if he were to crash. "How'd you pay for this? Whatever the reason. I'll have to pay for it, right?" he said turning to Rikku. She nodded nervously. Jet sighed and punched the gas pedal. He turned the hovercraft around and sped over the waters. Everyone was silent until Buddy broke the silence.
"So Jet, how'd you get the money?" he asked, trying his best to sound like he was interested. Jet didn't answer and kept his eyes focused on the path they were taking. "Jet?"
"Let me ask you this, Buddy:How do you think I got it?" Jet said surreptitiously. Buddy fell silent. "Thought so." They were so far into the ocean, they weren't able to see land. A small map was located on the dashboard in front of Rikku. It blinked as they got closer to land. One of the icons on the map displayed a green triangle:Them. The other was a red circle that moved away from them every single second.
Ten minutes later Rikku started to talk again, "Are we there yet? This is boring!"
"Maybe. I'll tell you when we get there. Besides, it's only 7:48. We should get there in about five minutes. No one asked you to come with us ya know. You could've stayed there and watched the parade." Jet said, still focusing on the body of water ahead.
"Yeah, why would I miss out on being eaten by a monster that lives under a graveyard that no one even wants to look at?" Rikku said sarcastically.
"Yeah. I was wondering that too." Buddy said annoyed. He sat directly behind Jet, next to Yuna who sat in the middle. He had his chin in the palm of his hand resting. He stared out into the ocean to his left. The hovercraft had no roof as you may see. Jet hit the gas pedal harder and made them speed a little faster.
"Here we are." Jet said softly. Rikku had fallen asleep and opened her eyes slowly to see the small island in the distance. The forgotten town of Underwood was almost under them and the graveyard had been directly in the center. "Now you don't need to complain anymore, do you?" Rikku punched him in the arm and stood up in her seat. Her dress and hair flew backward with her white velvet sleeves. "Siddown!" Jet said yanking on her arm. She dropped down wide eyed at the large area around them. After about five more minutes, they reached the tree tops to find that the island wasn't as small as they thought it was. A huge clearing came from below...it was Underwood. The town had been long since forgotten. Houses had been burned and destroyed wagons had been flipped over. Their speed decreased and they were lowered to the ground safely.
"What happened?" Yuna said in a tone of fear. No one answered but stayed close to each other.
"Jet, you're insane to come here! Let's leave!" Rikku said pulling back on his wrist. He pulled himself loose and walked deeper into the town.
"Jet, you don't know who or what's been here! For all we know, it could've been the monster!" Buddy shouted after him. he sighed and ran after the walking rebel. "Jet! We were supposed to land in the graveyard! Not the town!"
"Just checking this place out. Haven't been here for years. Anyway, get back in the craft. We'll go to the graveyard." Jet said calmly. Rikku ran back to the hovercraft, shivering. The site was too "scary" for the likes of her. Once everyone got in the vehicle, they started over the trees again, stopped just a few miles into the forest where the graveyard lay. They got out once again, the sight was more destroyed than the other. Some of the tomb grounds had been torn away from their grave. Dead bodies hung from trees to show that something had killed them recently.
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Rikku stood closely behind Paine for protection from her long and deadly sword. Yuna had one of her guns loaded and ready for combat and Jet with his cold eyes staring around at the surroundings. Buddy, who had taken interest in the carvings on some of the graves, walked around next to the dead people.
"I think someone got here first." Paine said examining a body. "Everyone's dead."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure whoever it was couldn't find the place where I hid the money. Besides, there isn't anything to worry about, right Buddy? It's just a myth after all." his eyes trailed to Rikku. "Look for a blood stained tomb stone with the name "Vincent" on it. The money should be in the guy's pit." Paine kicked over a tombstone and stared at the carvings. It read "Maeseour Snetitan". She kicked down another, it read none other than her own name. It had a future date of her death. Her legs weakened and she dropped to her knees, her lips trembled in fear as her eyes grew supplementary. She fell to all fours and dug her gloved fingers into the dirt. Rikku put a hand on her shoulder.
"Paine! What's up?" she asked on edge. Paine pushed her away and stood up. She held her head and rubbed her temples. Rikku stared down at the tombstone. There was no cause listed for her future "death" that was impossible to be predicted at the moment. Rikku reached to the back of the her mini skirt and took out the crimson double daggers. Something moved toward them in the darkness. It charged forth and aimed it's weapon. She examined her surrounds with her green eyes swiftly. Moving closer to the dark hovercraft in fright. She turned directly toward her attacker and felt an able-bodied force topple her over, and a gunshot that missed her head sufficiently. She looked at the weight that was put on her and savior, Jet. The obnoxious outlaw who had supposedly murdered a dozen had saved her ass from someone who had tried to murder her, but for what reason? Yes it was embarrassing to see a rival bandit to save you but it was for a good reason...maybe.
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Rikku's POV
Umm.....what's he doing? I thought he would let me die since he's a "murderer". But maybe all guys gotta soft spot. Who knows? It's kinda creepy seeing a bad person go all soft on you though. But it is kinda sweet.
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Rikku sat up to see Jet in her lap. He was unconcious. A bullet hole was in his chest, blood dripped on to her short, green dress. She turned him over to stop the blood from flowing on to her. "Jet? Jet are you okay?!" she cried. He made no move as if he were asleep. Could he be......no, she couldn't think about that. She shook him again but there was no noise or even a slight grin on his pale face. Yuna had fired shots into the forest but the enemy had fled. Buddy and Paine paced to see if they were alright. Jet had taken the blow for his comrade and still seemed to be alive. But for how long?
"See if there's a medkit in the hovercraft!" Buddy ordered. Yuna stepped in the hovercraft and reached for the glove compartment, she turned a knob and it opened. To her surprise, a white box with a red plus on it was inside. She grabbed it and set it down next to Buddy. They stripped him of his shirt and examined the wound. "This can be fixed up in a jiffy. The only thing we need to do is take the bullet out and treat it somehow.
"Um there is no tweezers!" Rikku said annoyed.
"Then we'll use your daggers." Buddy said. He wasn't kidding. Rikku looked at him like someone did when they saw a shrank wrapped psycho.
"Buddy, the daggers are big enough the tear his whole chest apart!" she complained.
"If you wanna save him then gimme the damn dagger!" Buddy shouted. Rikku sighed and forked over one of the long daggers. Buddy carefully gripped it and inserted one of them next to the bullet in place. Rikku gave him the other and he dug it into Jet's wound, Rikku made small squeaking noises as he did so, lifting the bullet out and on to the ground. Yuna and Paine watched their surroundings alarmingly for any sign of the culprit. After a few more minutes, they heard Buddy mutter "done." Rikku sighed and pushed him off of her. He lay at her feet, resting in the dirt. Another gunshot was heard and the birds fled from the treetops.
"Yeah. We're in big trouble!" Rikku said frightened. Jet moaned and started to come to his sentences. He touched the damp spot on his chest and looked down to see that the blood was still running. He stood up with the gun in his hand.
"He's back." he muttered.
"Who? What?" Rikku questioned. "Who's back? Are we in trouble? Wait, don't answer that! We need to get out of here, fast!"
"Whoa, whoa, who, wait, wait, wait!" Jet said quickly. "Leave now, and you'll never get the Celsius fixed and I'll never be free! I'm not passing up a chance just because some psycho is in the forest!" Rikku smiled weakly and backed up. "I'll get the goods, you guys draw him away." he started to take off. Rikku grabbed him by the hand.
"I'm not going to annoy some psycho! You do it!" she responded. Another gunshot was heard in the distance followed by the ripping noise of a chainsaw on wood. Without another word, Jet took off. Disappearing into the thick leaves of the forest. Rikku shuddered at the zinging blade of the chainsaw. Yuna and Paine stood back to back, watching the clearing. Although no one came, Jet hadn't returned.
"Where the hell is he?" Paine said losing her composure. The sky was a dark blue, with stars lighting up each and every second. Buddy had turned the radio on in the hovercraft which gave out several commercials and music. One of which were Yuna's. There was one last gunshot and Jet had come running out of the trees with a large bag in his arms.
"Go!" he shouted over the uproariousness of the chainsaw. He pelted the figure in the trees with bullets but it did not stay down. Was it the supposed myth? Whatever it was, it did not stay down. It couldn't have been a human, but a demon? Maybe. But they weren't going to find out. Buddy had started the vehicle, Rikku, Yuna and Paine had jumped in. Jet continued to fire but threw the sack of coins into the backseat with Yuna and Rikku. When his ammo was spent, he reholstered the gun and jumped on to the hovercraft, flying off into the night.
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Jet tumbled into the seat next to Yuna and stared down at the island. The figure had entered the woods yet again to not be seen again for the time being. Jet sighed and held his blood shedded chest in relief of his survival.
"Well....that was pretty rough. Got the prize though." he said with a laugh. Yuna untangled the knot that closed the opening, inside was bright gold coins. Maybe thousands of them. All having different worth, Yuna picked one up carefully and examined it. It had the face of the emperor before theirs. The one that had ruled two years before. The one that's daughter had been missing. The one in Jet's dream. The one that Gene had taken away. Jet had grabbed another, all of the coins had been untouched for two years. All spotlessly clean.
"Well Jet, whaddya gonna do when you're free? Go into hiding? Find some special girl?" Buddy said. Jet was silent for a few seconds.
"I was thinking about a job in the sphere hunting business." he said slyly. Buddy raised an eyebrow.
"Sphere hunting? But isn't that what you already are? I mean, we're not going to need all of this loot. Just enough to get our ship raring to go." the Al Bhed second in command said.
"Yeah. I'm just looking for someone. It can't hurt to help you with your duties can it?"
"Oh, go ahead! As long as you don't care to join the ladies." Buddy said laughing. Jet turned his head toward the water, the reflection of the craft stared back up at them small flames burned behind them. The small device rang inside Yuna's satchel, she picked it up and spoke back.
"Hello? What is it?" she said. Brother's voice came back, the past two years since their last adventure to defeat Shuyin, Brother had actually found someone that he could annoy other than Yuna.
"Yuna! Where is that Enduro! Gantouse is being mad! Get back here!" he shouted. Yuna pulled it arm-length away from her ear. She turned it off and leaned over the seat to Buddy.
"Brother says we need to get back there fast." she said calmly. "Something about Mr. Gantouse." Buddy slapped his head.
"I thought he said we had a day? This guy is really getting on my nerves!" Buddy complained. He forced his foot harder on the gas pedal and they shot even faster toward Luca. Before long, Luca was in sight.
They landed on the harbor next to the Celsius. Dark Knights were all along the side of it. Jet's face was covered in dirt and he was pretty bloody. He put down the goggles, giving him a green sight. If he was questioned, he would be sure to disguise his voice. They all got off of the hovercraft and stepped into the ship, they were immediately confronted by Zane.
"Enduro isn't on the ship. Where the hell is he?!" he said in frustration.
"Dunno. He might've gotten away again, or he could be in the ventilation, fixing some things up. Don't worry about it Zane, he can't get away." Buddy said, trying to calm him down. Jet hurried out of the room and into the elevator. He pushed the button that led to the cabins and sat down. The elevator chugged as it began to loose power. Suddenly, it stopped where it was.
"Damnit. This is just great." he said. he banged on the on the wall but nothing came. He recalled how he met and fought Rikku in the elevator before when the power was off. She got in through the ceiling. He jumped up and did the splits right before he dropped down. He climbed up the wall, foot by foot and grabbed on to the ceiling panels. One of them was loose, the escape window in the left hand corner. (It kind of depends which way you're looking at it) He crawled through and cocked his head up at the cables. One of them had snapped and was sending sparks down on to the floor. "Man, how'd they let this happen?" he thought. he grabbed hold of one of the cables and then let go immediately. He held his hand in pain, small tears formed in his eyes. He looked at the palm of his hand and the cable had burned a hole through the glove and into his skin. It was bleeding and already had blades of skin peeling off. He looked around for any other way to escape. For him, it always seemed like he was lucky. The open air vent, which Rikku had come out of from their previous battle, was still open. It was just out of reach, if there was only some way he could find a way to get in........
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Author's Comments:And that's a rap! Pretty surprised to see an outlaw save one of his own, eh? Well I was going to have him be an Al Bhed in this. It isn't too late though, is it? When you review, just tell me if you thinks it's a good idea. So the freak in the forest, I'll give you a hint:It wasn't the myth thingy. So this chapter ends in a cliff hanger. Great! Perfect for my next chapter.-(Note:Implicit sarcasm) But in all of seriousness, I have no freakin' idea what the hell I'll have in the next. RR
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Chapter # 3:Her Hero
Jet stared around at the Dark men with his eyes carefully scanning their weapons. He clenched his fingers into a tight fist and charged at the lone gun. One of them shot the gun out of the way, the gun slid over by one's feet. It would've been extremely to try and grab it from there. The Dark Knight's weapons were too large to have blown the gun that short of a distance. Behind them was the man named "Zane". They cleared a path for his approach. "Coming back, Jet?" he said. Jet shook his head, "I guess we'll see to that then, shall we?" Jet backed up a few steps and locked his fingers into fists again.
"You want me? Come and get me!" he shouted. His voice echoed in the air to a far off distance. Zane reached for his sunglasses then pulled them off. He unzipped his cloak and through it to the side. Along his chest was a black strap that held the sheath of a mighty sword on his back. In his hands was a small gun, a needle stuck out of the barrel. He aimed it at Jet's throat and fired. Although the gun's dart was quick, he was quicker. He dodged it by spinning to the side and letting the dart fly into someone else's chest and caused them to drop to the ground. A slight curse was released from his lips. Jet grabbed the unconscious man's gun and fired it at some of the guards. The blasts weren't lethal, just forced them back and injured them. He fired this until the ammo ran out. But a voice called him in the distance, it was Buddy's. Zane got ready for another attack just as Buddy put his hands between the two.
"Whoa, who , whoa! Slow down there boys! Someone's gonna get....." he glanced to look at the injured crew of Dark Knights resting on the ground by the harbor. "...hurt. Mr. Gantouse`, Jet'll be under our control among the Celcius."
"I don't care! I was ordered to bring him back to the prison dead or alive! Now outta my way!" he said as he reached for Jet. Buddy held Jet back with his other arm, he stared through his blue shades at both.
"Give him another chance, Gantouse! He'll be under complete control with the Gullwings! Promise! He'll stay with us for the long road ahead!" this made Jet in shock. He recalled that he would only be with them for a few weeks. A month or two tops, but for the long road ahead?! Outragous. That was his only thought. He backed into a Dark Knight who grabbed his wrists and put them against his back. He struggled to get loose but they were hazardously strong. "Well maybe not that long, but just let 'em help us fix the Celsius! It could be his punishment before he gets back to prison! Whaddya say?!" Buddy begged. Zane put two fingers to his chin for a few moments. He raised his hand and the knights let go of Jet.
"One day. You have one day to fix the ship of yours and then he's mine. Deal? If not I'll be happy to take him off your hands right-this-minute." he said dexterously. Buddy nodded. He ushered Jet into the ship and shut the hatch door as night began to fall.
"We'll sneak out during the parade! It's the perfect time!" Buddy exclaimed. Jet smirked. "Which graveyard are we talking about, exactly?"
"Underwood." Jet muttered. "Over by the Zanarkand ruins. No one ever goes there and gets out alive. The perfect place for hiding the money." Rikku jumped up from behind him.
"Underwood?! What kind of numbskull would hide it there?! You're going to get us all killed!" she shouted.
"The Underwood Graveyard tale is just a myth. The legend of the Prixate died years ago. Of course no one has ever seen it, some people say it still lurks under the tomb stones. But I doubt that, let's go!" Buddy said courageously. Rikku started to shiver.
"C'mon, Rikku! I've been there hundreds of times and I've never seen anything. Of course, I did see something lurking in the shadows." he was scaring her even more. She stood still not even blinking. Jet circled her, feeding on her fear. "It'll be fun....for the shadows."
"Shut up, Jet!" she said covering her ears. Buddy slapped his obnoxious comrade on the back of the head and handed him a pair of clothes and some goggles. Not to mention a black holster and a pistol.
"What's this for? Dress up?" Jet said rubbing his head.
''Dress up? That's what you're wearing, hombre!" Buddy chuckled. "Get dressed and we'll leave. We can't have ya walking around like Jet Enduro!"
"Yeah, whatever." Jet said going to the elevator. The sliding doors opened and Yuna came out in a cheerful way. The doors shut before she could say anything. In the elevator, Jet put on the crimson vest in the set of clothes he was given. It was open to the waist and looked pretty snazzy. He put on a pair of white pants and ski goggles that fit above his forehead. He took his belt from his blue jeans and fitted it around his right shoulder and under his left arm. He attached the holster to it and inserted the gun inside it. He also wore a pair of short black gloves with the exposion of his fingers. His new outfit is what I'd call "smashing". In the cabins, he set aside his ammo belt and his lamh. He kept the boomerang, just to be safe.
After awhile Jet started back down the hall to the elevator to reclaim the money and maybe have a chance at getting out of their grasp. Paine walked next to him, carrying her sword. The doors opened once again and they were down on the bridge in a flash. "You guys ready? Yuna and Rikku went for a hovercraft we could ride." Buddy said pointing down the street out of the reopened hatch. Yuna and Rikku had rented a hot ride that was black and silver all over. But his thought was, how did they rent it with no money? He would find out soon enough. "Nice, huh? It's called an Oblivion. Fastest h-"
"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get outta here. I wanna get on with my life." Jet pushed Buddy aside and walked down the hatch. He hopped into the driver's seat as Rikku moved over and Yuna jumped in the back. Paine and Buddy got into the back, buckled the seat belts and looked as if he were to crash. "How'd you pay for this? Whatever the reason. I'll have to pay for it, right?" he said turning to Rikku. She nodded nervously. Jet sighed and punched the gas pedal. He turned the hovercraft around and sped over the waters. Everyone was silent until Buddy broke the silence.
"So Jet, how'd you get the money?" he asked, trying his best to sound like he was interested. Jet didn't answer and kept his eyes focused on the path they were taking. "Jet?"
"Let me ask you this, Buddy:How do you think I got it?" Jet said surreptitiously. Buddy fell silent. "Thought so." They were so far into the ocean, they weren't able to see land. A small map was located on the dashboard in front of Rikku. It blinked as they got closer to land. One of the icons on the map displayed a green triangle:Them. The other was a red circle that moved away from them every single second.
Ten minutes later Rikku started to talk again, "Are we there yet? This is boring!"
"Maybe. I'll tell you when we get there. Besides, it's only 7:48. We should get there in about five minutes. No one asked you to come with us ya know. You could've stayed there and watched the parade." Jet said, still focusing on the body of water ahead.
"Yeah, why would I miss out on being eaten by a monster that lives under a graveyard that no one even wants to look at?" Rikku said sarcastically.
"Yeah. I was wondering that too." Buddy said annoyed. He sat directly behind Jet, next to Yuna who sat in the middle. He had his chin in the palm of his hand resting. He stared out into the ocean to his left. The hovercraft had no roof as you may see. Jet hit the gas pedal harder and made them speed a little faster.
"Here we are." Jet said softly. Rikku had fallen asleep and opened her eyes slowly to see the small island in the distance. The forgotten town of Underwood was almost under them and the graveyard had been directly in the center. "Now you don't need to complain anymore, do you?" Rikku punched him in the arm and stood up in her seat. Her dress and hair flew backward with her white velvet sleeves. "Siddown!" Jet said yanking on her arm. She dropped down wide eyed at the large area around them. After about five more minutes, they reached the tree tops to find that the island wasn't as small as they thought it was. A huge clearing came from below...it was Underwood. The town had been long since forgotten. Houses had been burned and destroyed wagons had been flipped over. Their speed decreased and they were lowered to the ground safely.
"What happened?" Yuna said in a tone of fear. No one answered but stayed close to each other.
"Jet, you're insane to come here! Let's leave!" Rikku said pulling back on his wrist. He pulled himself loose and walked deeper into the town.
"Jet, you don't know who or what's been here! For all we know, it could've been the monster!" Buddy shouted after him. he sighed and ran after the walking rebel. "Jet! We were supposed to land in the graveyard! Not the town!"
"Just checking this place out. Haven't been here for years. Anyway, get back in the craft. We'll go to the graveyard." Jet said calmly. Rikku ran back to the hovercraft, shivering. The site was too "scary" for the likes of her. Once everyone got in the vehicle, they started over the trees again, stopped just a few miles into the forest where the graveyard lay. They got out once again, the sight was more destroyed than the other. Some of the tomb grounds had been torn away from their grave. Dead bodies hung from trees to show that something had killed them recently.
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Rikku stood closely behind Paine for protection from her long and deadly sword. Yuna had one of her guns loaded and ready for combat and Jet with his cold eyes staring around at the surroundings. Buddy, who had taken interest in the carvings on some of the graves, walked around next to the dead people.
"I think someone got here first." Paine said examining a body. "Everyone's dead."
"Nah, I'm pretty sure whoever it was couldn't find the place where I hid the money. Besides, there isn't anything to worry about, right Buddy? It's just a myth after all." his eyes trailed to Rikku. "Look for a blood stained tomb stone with the name "Vincent" on it. The money should be in the guy's pit." Paine kicked over a tombstone and stared at the carvings. It read "Maeseour Snetitan". She kicked down another, it read none other than her own name. It had a future date of her death. Her legs weakened and she dropped to her knees, her lips trembled in fear as her eyes grew supplementary. She fell to all fours and dug her gloved fingers into the dirt. Rikku put a hand on her shoulder.
"Paine! What's up?" she asked on edge. Paine pushed her away and stood up. She held her head and rubbed her temples. Rikku stared down at the tombstone. There was no cause listed for her future "death" that was impossible to be predicted at the moment. Rikku reached to the back of the her mini skirt and took out the crimson double daggers. Something moved toward them in the darkness. It charged forth and aimed it's weapon. She examined her surrounds with her green eyes swiftly. Moving closer to the dark hovercraft in fright. She turned directly toward her attacker and felt an able-bodied force topple her over, and a gunshot that missed her head sufficiently. She looked at the weight that was put on her and savior, Jet. The obnoxious outlaw who had supposedly murdered a dozen had saved her ass from someone who had tried to murder her, but for what reason? Yes it was embarrassing to see a rival bandit to save you but it was for a good reason...maybe.
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Rikku's POV
Umm.....what's he doing? I thought he would let me die since he's a "murderer". But maybe all guys gotta soft spot. Who knows? It's kinda creepy seeing a bad person go all soft on you though. But it is kinda sweet.
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Rikku sat up to see Jet in her lap. He was unconcious. A bullet hole was in his chest, blood dripped on to her short, green dress. She turned him over to stop the blood from flowing on to her. "Jet? Jet are you okay?!" she cried. He made no move as if he were asleep. Could he be......no, she couldn't think about that. She shook him again but there was no noise or even a slight grin on his pale face. Yuna had fired shots into the forest but the enemy had fled. Buddy and Paine paced to see if they were alright. Jet had taken the blow for his comrade and still seemed to be alive. But for how long?
"See if there's a medkit in the hovercraft!" Buddy ordered. Yuna stepped in the hovercraft and reached for the glove compartment, she turned a knob and it opened. To her surprise, a white box with a red plus on it was inside. She grabbed it and set it down next to Buddy. They stripped him of his shirt and examined the wound. "This can be fixed up in a jiffy. The only thing we need to do is take the bullet out and treat it somehow.
"Um there is no tweezers!" Rikku said annoyed.
"Then we'll use your daggers." Buddy said. He wasn't kidding. Rikku looked at him like someone did when they saw a shrank wrapped psycho.
"Buddy, the daggers are big enough the tear his whole chest apart!" she complained.
"If you wanna save him then gimme the damn dagger!" Buddy shouted. Rikku sighed and forked over one of the long daggers. Buddy carefully gripped it and inserted one of them next to the bullet in place. Rikku gave him the other and he dug it into Jet's wound, Rikku made small squeaking noises as he did so, lifting the bullet out and on to the ground. Yuna and Paine watched their surroundings alarmingly for any sign of the culprit. After a few more minutes, they heard Buddy mutter "done." Rikku sighed and pushed him off of her. He lay at her feet, resting in the dirt. Another gunshot was heard and the birds fled from the treetops.
"Yeah. We're in big trouble!" Rikku said frightened. Jet moaned and started to come to his sentences. He touched the damp spot on his chest and looked down to see that the blood was still running. He stood up with the gun in his hand.
"He's back." he muttered.
"Who? What?" Rikku questioned. "Who's back? Are we in trouble? Wait, don't answer that! We need to get out of here, fast!"
"Whoa, whoa, who, wait, wait, wait!" Jet said quickly. "Leave now, and you'll never get the Celsius fixed and I'll never be free! I'm not passing up a chance just because some psycho is in the forest!" Rikku smiled weakly and backed up. "I'll get the goods, you guys draw him away." he started to take off. Rikku grabbed him by the hand.
"I'm not going to annoy some psycho! You do it!" she responded. Another gunshot was heard in the distance followed by the ripping noise of a chainsaw on wood. Without another word, Jet took off. Disappearing into the thick leaves of the forest. Rikku shuddered at the zinging blade of the chainsaw. Yuna and Paine stood back to back, watching the clearing. Although no one came, Jet hadn't returned.
"Where the hell is he?" Paine said losing her composure. The sky was a dark blue, with stars lighting up each and every second. Buddy had turned the radio on in the hovercraft which gave out several commercials and music. One of which were Yuna's. There was one last gunshot and Jet had come running out of the trees with a large bag in his arms.
"Go!" he shouted over the uproariousness of the chainsaw. He pelted the figure in the trees with bullets but it did not stay down. Was it the supposed myth? Whatever it was, it did not stay down. It couldn't have been a human, but a demon? Maybe. But they weren't going to find out. Buddy had started the vehicle, Rikku, Yuna and Paine had jumped in. Jet continued to fire but threw the sack of coins into the backseat with Yuna and Rikku. When his ammo was spent, he reholstered the gun and jumped on to the hovercraft, flying off into the night.
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Jet tumbled into the seat next to Yuna and stared down at the island. The figure had entered the woods yet again to not be seen again for the time being. Jet sighed and held his blood shedded chest in relief of his survival.
"Well....that was pretty rough. Got the prize though." he said with a laugh. Yuna untangled the knot that closed the opening, inside was bright gold coins. Maybe thousands of them. All having different worth, Yuna picked one up carefully and examined it. It had the face of the emperor before theirs. The one that had ruled two years before. The one that's daughter had been missing. The one in Jet's dream. The one that Gene had taken away. Jet had grabbed another, all of the coins had been untouched for two years. All spotlessly clean.
"Well Jet, whaddya gonna do when you're free? Go into hiding? Find some special girl?" Buddy said. Jet was silent for a few seconds.
"I was thinking about a job in the sphere hunting business." he said slyly. Buddy raised an eyebrow.
"Sphere hunting? But isn't that what you already are? I mean, we're not going to need all of this loot. Just enough to get our ship raring to go." the Al Bhed second in command said.
"Yeah. I'm just looking for someone. It can't hurt to help you with your duties can it?"
"Oh, go ahead! As long as you don't care to join the ladies." Buddy said laughing. Jet turned his head toward the water, the reflection of the craft stared back up at them small flames burned behind them. The small device rang inside Yuna's satchel, she picked it up and spoke back.
"Hello? What is it?" she said. Brother's voice came back, the past two years since their last adventure to defeat Shuyin, Brother had actually found someone that he could annoy other than Yuna.
"Yuna! Where is that Enduro! Gantouse is being mad! Get back here!" he shouted. Yuna pulled it arm-length away from her ear. She turned it off and leaned over the seat to Buddy.
"Brother says we need to get back there fast." she said calmly. "Something about Mr. Gantouse." Buddy slapped his head.
"I thought he said we had a day? This guy is really getting on my nerves!" Buddy complained. He forced his foot harder on the gas pedal and they shot even faster toward Luca. Before long, Luca was in sight.
They landed on the harbor next to the Celsius. Dark Knights were all along the side of it. Jet's face was covered in dirt and he was pretty bloody. He put down the goggles, giving him a green sight. If he was questioned, he would be sure to disguise his voice. They all got off of the hovercraft and stepped into the ship, they were immediately confronted by Zane.
"Enduro isn't on the ship. Where the hell is he?!" he said in frustration.
"Dunno. He might've gotten away again, or he could be in the ventilation, fixing some things up. Don't worry about it Zane, he can't get away." Buddy said, trying to calm him down. Jet hurried out of the room and into the elevator. He pushed the button that led to the cabins and sat down. The elevator chugged as it began to loose power. Suddenly, it stopped where it was.
"Damnit. This is just great." he said. he banged on the on the wall but nothing came. He recalled how he met and fought Rikku in the elevator before when the power was off. She got in through the ceiling. He jumped up and did the splits right before he dropped down. He climbed up the wall, foot by foot and grabbed on to the ceiling panels. One of them was loose, the escape window in the left hand corner. (It kind of depends which way you're looking at it) He crawled through and cocked his head up at the cables. One of them had snapped and was sending sparks down on to the floor. "Man, how'd they let this happen?" he thought. he grabbed hold of one of the cables and then let go immediately. He held his hand in pain, small tears formed in his eyes. He looked at the palm of his hand and the cable had burned a hole through the glove and into his skin. It was bleeding and already had blades of skin peeling off. He looked around for any other way to escape. For him, it always seemed like he was lucky. The open air vent, which Rikku had come out of from their previous battle, was still open. It was just out of reach, if there was only some way he could find a way to get in........
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Author's Comments:And that's a rap! Pretty surprised to see an outlaw save one of his own, eh? Well I was going to have him be an Al Bhed in this. It isn't too late though, is it? When you review, just tell me if you thinks it's a good idea. So the freak in the forest, I'll give you a hint:It wasn't the myth thingy. So this chapter ends in a cliff hanger. Great! Perfect for my next chapter.-(Note:Implicit sarcasm) But in all of seriousness, I have no freakin' idea what the hell I'll have in the next. RR