A/N: 'Kay. I had an odd idea for this and I like it. Tell me if you like
it or not. BTW, this is way AU, so don't flame me for that. Disclaimer's
on my profile.
---***---***--- The Gamer Chapter I: Login ---***---***---
Tidus Deschampes swaggered into the nightclub, pushing hair bleached by sun and chlorine out of his eyes, the color of which rivaled the water he loved. The DJs were playing some techno thing; the bass boost alone must have caused the area around the club to register a 5-point earthquake on the Richter scale. Immediately he was crowded by girls too young to be there and women too old for his taste. Very few women who threw themselves at him were near his age. They were all off partying elsewhere, at the extremely expensive clubs, waiting for his arrival.
He wouldn't come. He never did. Besides being very frugal, he didn't like the crowds. And in any case, he knew the manager here. He got in free.
Tidus took a seat at the bar, ordering his usual drink from the bartender. Taking a sip, he nearly choked when he was slapped on the back.
"Tidus! Never thought I'd see you here. Thought you'd be uptown, hanging out with that new singer chick, or your team or some whore or somethin'."
"Rin, you know I don't go uptown."
"And you bring me good business on your depressing days! But come back here, my friend, have something to show you..."
Tidus took another swig from his drink and followed Rin through a swinging door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY, and to a back room. Inside there was a large column, around which were several pods. The opaque lids on the pods were open; none of the five were occupied. A few of the select of this club were schmoozing around, their scantily-clad girlfriends eyeing Tidus with obvious intentions. Tidus was known to be a ladies' man – what respectable athlete wouldn't be? He bedded his share of women, but always made sure they were both cold sober. If he were to be charged with rape, he'd be thrown out of the World Blitzball League, and lose his chance at a MVP at 17. He was the only blitzball player to be chosen while still in high school. He suspected it had something to do with his father, Jecht.
Tidus didn't hate his father, not after these ten years. The hatred had simmered down to a more....slow burn. It flared up on occasion, but Tidus generally kept his head and didn't let his resentment get the better of him.
Rin laid his hand on one of the pods. Inside was a complex array of nodes, and a comfortable looking seat. Rin gestured to it. "Care to go for a ride?"
Tidus looked at the pod warily. It was cramped-looking, for his 5'11'' frame, and he didn't want to get claustrophobic. "It safe, Rin? I won't end up with broken bones, this time?"
"No, no. Tested it on myself; it's completely safe."
"How many people did you have to kill or con to get the parts?"
"I'm completely legit this time, Ti. Don' worry about it."
Tidus sat down on the seat. Rin began strapping on the equipment; nodes on his temples and chest, strange wraps that went all the way around his upper arms and legs and torso. His lower legs and arms were slid into bootlike and glovelike compartments, and secured. Rin looked at him after he finished, a hand on the lid of the pod. "You all right, buddy?"
Tidus wriggled a bit. "Seems fine."
Rin put a necklace with the Zanarkand Abes symbol around his neck. "That'll keep us in touch. Call me if you get into a bind, or encounter a bug. I'll pull you out."
He closed the lid, and Tidus was plunged into darkness. Then he heard Rin's voice.
/It good?/
/I'm fine,/ Tidus replied. A hood was lowered over his head; he felt the coolness of metal, pressing against his face. /What's this?/
/How you get the trip of your lifetime,/ Rin said. And then Tidus was engulfed in a swirl of color. And he emerged in what looked like the front of his house.
/Rin./
/I tell you, you'll love it. Just relax./
/How do I move?/
/Think, Tidus. Think you move, think you smile, think you bang whatever girl you want to. Just do whatever, but think it first./
Tidus thought about running forward, and he did. Right into a crowd. Moving about, he signed autographs and talked – just like he normally would. And then he played blitzball. How Rin got it to be so realistic, Tidus wondered as he flew up out of the water to score, I will never know.
And then he saw it.
A big ball of water, heading towards the stadium, sucking up everything in its path. Tidus twisted in midair and grabbed one of the rings that rotated constantly around the pool. Inside the rings, molten metal circulated and generated an electric field that held the pool in its spherical shape. Now it slowed, and the sphere pool fell apart. Tidus fell with it, screaming as he plunged downward.
He hit the waters of the lake below the stadium and scrambled up to the ground floor, staggering through the rubble and the crowds and getting out to the entrance. He saw a familiar figure leaning on a chunk of rock.
"Auron?!" he yelled, and ran over. Why had Rin programmed his stepfather into this?
/Rin, what in hell?!/
No answer. Desperate, Tidus tried again. Again, no answer. He finally gave up. "Rin," he growled before stopping at the man in red, "I'm going to kill you."
Auron was completely different. He wasn't the open man he had been; now he was mysterious, almost annoying in his new role as the enigma. Tidus found himself biting back a sharp retort when Auron said, "We called it 'Sin.'" And pointed towards the ball of water.
Running forward, feeling the strain in calves and thighs (for he was more in the game than he was out, and was only vaguely aware of his body in the pod), Tidus saw oval-shaped discs flying towards them. The discs opened up on impact to reveal spiny creatures. Tidus stopped, batted at them ineffectually.
"Here!" Auron said. He handed Tidus a sword. Tidus took it. "Hope you know how to use it," Auron said.
Of course he did. Auron had trained Tidus with the sword since he'd married Tidus' mother, Alhana, ten years ago. Tidus was a natural with it. But even so, not really having a tangible sword in his hand threw him a little, until he felt the pressure in his palm and could balance it. A little menu popped up, surprising him. On the right-hand side, it showed the monsters, labeled as "Monster A" "Monster B" and "Monster C" and then Auron's picture and Tidus' picture. Right now, Auron's name was highlighted; next to his name was a series of numbers, and above them was Tidus' name and more numbers. Tidus read them like this:
TIDUS 560/560 43 AURON 1030/1030 79
And remembered he was in a game.
---***---
How'dya like it? Tell me! At least three reviews before I post the next chapter.
---***---***--- The Gamer Chapter I: Login ---***---***---
Tidus Deschampes swaggered into the nightclub, pushing hair bleached by sun and chlorine out of his eyes, the color of which rivaled the water he loved. The DJs were playing some techno thing; the bass boost alone must have caused the area around the club to register a 5-point earthquake on the Richter scale. Immediately he was crowded by girls too young to be there and women too old for his taste. Very few women who threw themselves at him were near his age. They were all off partying elsewhere, at the extremely expensive clubs, waiting for his arrival.
He wouldn't come. He never did. Besides being very frugal, he didn't like the crowds. And in any case, he knew the manager here. He got in free.
Tidus took a seat at the bar, ordering his usual drink from the bartender. Taking a sip, he nearly choked when he was slapped on the back.
"Tidus! Never thought I'd see you here. Thought you'd be uptown, hanging out with that new singer chick, or your team or some whore or somethin'."
"Rin, you know I don't go uptown."
"And you bring me good business on your depressing days! But come back here, my friend, have something to show you..."
Tidus took another swig from his drink and followed Rin through a swinging door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY, and to a back room. Inside there was a large column, around which were several pods. The opaque lids on the pods were open; none of the five were occupied. A few of the select of this club were schmoozing around, their scantily-clad girlfriends eyeing Tidus with obvious intentions. Tidus was known to be a ladies' man – what respectable athlete wouldn't be? He bedded his share of women, but always made sure they were both cold sober. If he were to be charged with rape, he'd be thrown out of the World Blitzball League, and lose his chance at a MVP at 17. He was the only blitzball player to be chosen while still in high school. He suspected it had something to do with his father, Jecht.
Tidus didn't hate his father, not after these ten years. The hatred had simmered down to a more....slow burn. It flared up on occasion, but Tidus generally kept his head and didn't let his resentment get the better of him.
Rin laid his hand on one of the pods. Inside was a complex array of nodes, and a comfortable looking seat. Rin gestured to it. "Care to go for a ride?"
Tidus looked at the pod warily. It was cramped-looking, for his 5'11'' frame, and he didn't want to get claustrophobic. "It safe, Rin? I won't end up with broken bones, this time?"
"No, no. Tested it on myself; it's completely safe."
"How many people did you have to kill or con to get the parts?"
"I'm completely legit this time, Ti. Don' worry about it."
Tidus sat down on the seat. Rin began strapping on the equipment; nodes on his temples and chest, strange wraps that went all the way around his upper arms and legs and torso. His lower legs and arms were slid into bootlike and glovelike compartments, and secured. Rin looked at him after he finished, a hand on the lid of the pod. "You all right, buddy?"
Tidus wriggled a bit. "Seems fine."
Rin put a necklace with the Zanarkand Abes symbol around his neck. "That'll keep us in touch. Call me if you get into a bind, or encounter a bug. I'll pull you out."
He closed the lid, and Tidus was plunged into darkness. Then he heard Rin's voice.
/It good?/
/I'm fine,/ Tidus replied. A hood was lowered over his head; he felt the coolness of metal, pressing against his face. /What's this?/
/How you get the trip of your lifetime,/ Rin said. And then Tidus was engulfed in a swirl of color. And he emerged in what looked like the front of his house.
/Rin./
/I tell you, you'll love it. Just relax./
/How do I move?/
/Think, Tidus. Think you move, think you smile, think you bang whatever girl you want to. Just do whatever, but think it first./
Tidus thought about running forward, and he did. Right into a crowd. Moving about, he signed autographs and talked – just like he normally would. And then he played blitzball. How Rin got it to be so realistic, Tidus wondered as he flew up out of the water to score, I will never know.
And then he saw it.
A big ball of water, heading towards the stadium, sucking up everything in its path. Tidus twisted in midair and grabbed one of the rings that rotated constantly around the pool. Inside the rings, molten metal circulated and generated an electric field that held the pool in its spherical shape. Now it slowed, and the sphere pool fell apart. Tidus fell with it, screaming as he plunged downward.
He hit the waters of the lake below the stadium and scrambled up to the ground floor, staggering through the rubble and the crowds and getting out to the entrance. He saw a familiar figure leaning on a chunk of rock.
"Auron?!" he yelled, and ran over. Why had Rin programmed his stepfather into this?
/Rin, what in hell?!/
No answer. Desperate, Tidus tried again. Again, no answer. He finally gave up. "Rin," he growled before stopping at the man in red, "I'm going to kill you."
Auron was completely different. He wasn't the open man he had been; now he was mysterious, almost annoying in his new role as the enigma. Tidus found himself biting back a sharp retort when Auron said, "We called it 'Sin.'" And pointed towards the ball of water.
Running forward, feeling the strain in calves and thighs (for he was more in the game than he was out, and was only vaguely aware of his body in the pod), Tidus saw oval-shaped discs flying towards them. The discs opened up on impact to reveal spiny creatures. Tidus stopped, batted at them ineffectually.
"Here!" Auron said. He handed Tidus a sword. Tidus took it. "Hope you know how to use it," Auron said.
Of course he did. Auron had trained Tidus with the sword since he'd married Tidus' mother, Alhana, ten years ago. Tidus was a natural with it. But even so, not really having a tangible sword in his hand threw him a little, until he felt the pressure in his palm and could balance it. A little menu popped up, surprising him. On the right-hand side, it showed the monsters, labeled as "Monster A" "Monster B" and "Monster C" and then Auron's picture and Tidus' picture. Right now, Auron's name was highlighted; next to his name was a series of numbers, and above them was Tidus' name and more numbers. Tidus read them like this:
TIDUS 560/560 43 AURON 1030/1030 79
And remembered he was in a game.
---***---
How'dya like it? Tell me! At least three reviews before I post the next chapter.
