**Another chapter, finally! This authoress is horrible at updating...gomen nasai about that. But, here's another one! Yay! Enjoy, and if ya feel inclined, please comment on it! I love reviews ^_^ . 'Til next time, ja ne! --Ari**
"We can't do a full landin', 'cause there isn't enough space to put the ship," Cid said, for once, calmly. "So you're gonna have to jump down onto land from a rather high height."
"Isn't that a double-positive?" Niet asked herself.
"Since when is there such a thing as a double-positive?' Mattian asked her, snorting a laugh.
"You know what I meant," Niet growled. Mattian simply grinned.
"Jump?" Yueh asked. "As in, with parachutes and the like? Down to earth?" To our most certain deaths? her mind added silently.
"Ah, maybe dis isn't a good time ta mention it, but, I'm afraid of heights, ya?" Hunter said, clutching his blitzball.
"Too bad, boy," Cid said, turning around. He picked up a backpack and threw it to Hunter, who dropped his blitzball to the ground to catch the bag. "It's the only way you're gonna get down there, and if you need to get down to find my daughter, you're goin' down there!"
Hunter gulped visibly and nodded. Yueh didn't blame him—she felt rather the same way. She tapped Arashi on the shoulder.
"Do we have to do it this way? I mean, maybe we can find a place to land above Besaid—" Yueh's dark brown eyes blinked. Arashi's face was absolutely pale. Her cheeks were normally flushed.
"Suki ja nai," the summoner muttered. She pushed her tinted glasses back up her nose and coughed. "I'm afraid so, Yueh. Grab a pack. Cid showed Gage and I how to use them, so we'll show you. We should be fine." Yueh did her own gulp before catching another parachute pack tossed by Cid. The other four retrieved theirs and put them on. Their other backpacks (their luggage) they placed on themselves backwards.
"We go to the upper deck, stand outside, and await Cid's orders to jump," Arashi finished after she and Gage explained how to properly use the packs. Yueh still didn't feel rather secure—jumping off of the air ship wasn't exactly her idea of a good time. The only one who seemed to rather like the idea was Mattian. He also seemed to have done it once before—much to the chagrin of Niet.
"No, no, like this," he explained to Niet for the fifth time. "You pull this cord, then brace for it."
Niet backed quickly away from Mattian, putting her hand over the pull cord. "I know! I get it, Mattian. I'm not stupid."
Mattian snorted again. "That I would argue."
"Hey!"
"Do you two want another shower of silence magic?" Arashi asked without looking at the people in question. Both of them shut up rather quickly after that. "Good. Now, we go up to the upper deck and wait for Cid's signal." She turned to Cid and gave the Yevon bow out of habit. "Thank you again. We'll do our best to find your daughter."
"You'd better," Cid mumbled. He went back to barking instructions in Al Bhed at his pilots.
"Everyone, follow me." Arashi led the way to the upper decks.
Once they were outside, Yueh began to shiver. This was almost as bad as Mount Gagazet. At least there they could have worn their cloaks.
Hunter stepped up beside her, clutching his blitzball. "'Dis is great, ya? I'm freezin' my butt off…" Yueh nodded in response.
"All right, you six. Get ready to jump!" came Cid's voice over the loudspeakers. "Three…"
The group approached the edge of the craft warily. Yueh closed her eyes tightly.
"Two…"
Yueh opened one eye to look at Hunter. The wind was whipping his long hair against his face, but he didn't seem to notice in lieu of thinking he was going to die like this. Yueh had the sudden urge to reach out and grab his hand to comfort him, but figured it would be bad if they jumped out like that.
"One…now!"
The six all jumped at once, Mattian letting out a whoop of delight, Gage, Arashi, Yueh, and Hunter all silent, and Niet giving quite a scream—one that Yueh figured was not in happiness or delight.
"Find Rikku or I'll find you!" she could hear Cid scream lastly from the loudspeakers on the ship.
We'll try, Cid, we'll try… Yueh looked over to Arashi whose face was still pale despite the blistering winds. That is, if our summoner survives this trip. "Arashi, you okay?"
"Daijoubu, daijoubu," Arashi muttered loudly. She kept one hand out and put the other one up. "All right, everyone! On the count of three, release your parachutes! One, two, THREE!"
Yueh pulled her parachute's "lever" quickly, and had her breath taken from her as the parachute made the drag and slowed her descent. Looking around, she saw everyone else beneath her view.
"How is everyone? Everyone okay?" she heard Arashi ask.
"I think I hurt my throat," Niet shouted hoarsely.
"Figures!" Mattian shouted back, laughing.
Yueh watched as Niet's bright red parachute began to move violently. "What?!? What did you say!?!"
"Niet, you'll break the parachute!" Arashi reprimanded. The parachute continued to shake.
"I don't care! Maybe if that jerk would lay off—"
Now another parachute, this one a dark green color, began to move in a similar fashion to Niet's. "Who you calling a jerk? You started all of this!"
"I did not!"
"You did too—"
Two small white jet streams of white magic shot from underneath a light blue parachute, causing both the red and green ones to be quiet and stop shaking. Yueh managed a laugh. No doubt who was using the light blue parachute…
"Hey, where's Yueh?" Yueh heard Hunter ask. "I dun see her anywhere, ya?
"I'm up here!" Yueh shouted out.
"Where?"
Yueh giggled again. "Above you! You just can't see me because your parachute is blocking your view!"
"Oh…well, good, ya? We're all here!"
The rest of the "flight" down was uneventful, until it came to land. First were Niet and Mattian, who, as the white magic spell wore off, began arguing again. Next landed Gage and Hunter, followed closely by Yueh. So closely, in fact, that she landed on top of Hunter.
"Eh…" Hunter looked up at Yueh, who felt the blood rush to her cheeks. "Could…ah, could you get up, ya? You hit my leg kinda hard, ya…"
"Oh! Oh, right, right." Yueh jumped up and held out a hand to pull up Hunter.
"Hey, where's Arashi?" Gage suddenly asked. Yueh twirled around and looked at him. "I can't find her anywhere."
"She couldn't have gone too far, I mean, she was right next to us," Yueh said worriedly, pulling Hunter up. She looked around. They had landed on the edge of a forest, right before the path that led back to New Besaid. Arashi was nowhere on the ground. "She was right here!"
Yueh heard a cough from up above. Looking up, she saw a light blue parachute entangled in a tree. She followed the ropes down with her eyes, and they eventually landed upon Arashi, who was hanging from the tree, holding her skirt so no one could see up it.
"…kindly get me down from here, would you? Niet's boomerang rapier should help."
"Right," Yueh said.
"Niet! Niet—quit arguing, Niet, your summoner is stuck up a tree!" Gage yelled suddenly.
"And it isn't very comfortable!" Arashi added quickly, swinging back and forth gently in the breeze.
"And you always are picking on me—huh?" Niet whirled around and saw Arashi glaring at her from up in the tree. "Oh, I guess you need to get down, huh?" She giggled nervously and pulled her rapier from its sheath.
Yueh shook her head and removed her parachute backpack. "She never learns."
"Neither does Mattian, ya?" Hunter said, doing the same.
"Boomerang rapier!" Niet shouted like an anime super heroine, tossing the rapier up towards Arashi. The rapier glowed and, rather than cutting the ropes, cut the branches that the parachute and Arashi were hanging on. Everything fell to the dusty path in a heap, the parachute and branches on top.
"Arashi!" five voices shouted out. Yueh was the first to reach her, and began to wildly throw off branches.
Not again, this is way too familiar… "Arashi!" Gage and Hunter had reached the pile, and threw off the last two branches. "Arashi?"
The parachute sat up and groaned. A hand stuck out of a hole that had been ripped and beckoned for Niet to step closer. Niet did so.
Another stream of white magic hit Niet in the forehead, knocking her backwards onto the ground. She got up to yell, but again found herself without a voice to use.
Arashi pulled back the parachute, glaring at Niet through lopsided glasses. "Your accuracy stat could use a little building," she said slowly. Niet gave a small grin and what would have been a laugh, had she not been silenced. Arashi stood up and brushed herself off, much to Yueh's relief. "As punishment, you are not allowed to talk until we reach Besaid, or about an hour." Mattian went to gloat, but Arashi pointed a warning finger at him (not the finger, mind you, just a finger). "If you say anything mean to her, you're going along on the punishment." Mattian only nodded in understanding.
Yueh paused for a moment before venturing to say anything. "Wait…we're an hour away?"
Arashi brushed her bangs back. "If not that much, then a little less. Forty-five minutes if we keep a good pace." She began to fold up her parachute neatly.
"Wow, did they drop us off target, ya?" Hunter said, stretching and cracking his neck. Yueh winced at the sounds.
"No kidding," Mattian concurred. He crumpled his parachute up and quickly stuffed it in his backpack. He looked at Arashi as he did so. "Why are we keeping these?"
"To make into cloaks," Arashi said. She looked at the stunned crowd around her. "Yueh, Niet, you remember how cold Mount Gagazet was. And we left our nice cloaks up there, I think."
Yueh smacked herself in the forehead.
Niet's mouth moved, but of course, nothing came out. Yueh squinted and tried to read her lips.
"Niet says, 'Nice move on our part.'" Yueh snorted. "Thanks a lot, Niet."
Mattian chuckled. "I bet it was her fault, too." Arashi gave a look to Mattian, whose eyes widened. He covered his mouth. "Right, right, sorry."
"Fold up your parachutes and follow me." She began striding into the forest before stopping once again. She turned to everyone, her eyes shining. "I think I know how we can speed this up…"
"Oh, no," Yueh moaned. Niet shook her head.
All three guys simply stared. "What?" Gage asked, curious.
Arashi lifted up an arm. "Ichi…ni…"
"Get ready for a boost," is all Yueh said. Hunter blinked at her, confused.
"San!" White magic bursts hit all members of the group, and Yueh felt the familiar sensation of drinking too much caffeine at a LAN party.
Hunter's teeth were chattering. "H-h-hastega, y-ya?"
Yueh nodded. "You'll get used to it."
Niet shook her head again, and mouthed some words.
"'With Arashi as the leader, you never get used to some things,'" Yueh translated. She giggled. "You got that right…"
Gage tapped the two girls on the shoulders and pointed forwards. Arashi, Mattian, and Hunter were already running away. Yueh's face flushed a deep red.
"Oh, right!" Yueh ran forwards, Niet tailing her closely.
"March, everyone! Keep up, or else you'll get lost!" Arashi warned. She continued forging a path ahead by whipping the brush and weeds out of her way at a brisk pace. "Next stop, New Besaid, in forty-five minutes!" And then, she began singing the song that Yueh had known by heart since the Moonflow.
"Kaeru no uta ga, kikoete kuru yo, gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa, gero gero gero gero gwa gwa GWA!"
As the guys went on running, yet somehow staring bewilderedly, Yueh shook her head. "With Arashi as the leader, you never get used to some things…" And then, she sang along.