Standard disclaimers apply.
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Chaos of Seven
Chaper fifteen
By; Kissa-chan
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Her heart was thuding loudly; defeaning everything she should have been able to hear. She felt hot... hotter than she should have felt. Sweat dripped down her back and dampened her hair to her scalp. Her breathing was coming in short, greedy gasps... She thought about calling the others for help, but the shame of not being strong enough kept her quiet.
Ri toppled foreward, unconcious, a burn mark shaped like a phoenix appearing on her right hand.
"Hey!" Rikku-san exclaimed. "If anyone gets to go to sleep, it's me!"
"I don't think she's sleeping," Shuyin said, kneeling down beside her. "Rikku-sama, if you would preform a quick Scan... I think she's passed out like she was before."
"When?" Rikku-san asked curiously, leaning against a tree as the entire group came to a stop.
"When we went through the portal," Rikku-chan said. Her lower jaw trembled slightly. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked tearfully, her voice trembling.
"Hard to say," Shuyin said, kneeling down and hoisting the unconcious blond girl onto his back. "Regardless, we should keep moving."
"Do you think that Rikk got to take a bath?" Rikki pouted moments later. "I still don't see why she got to return to the Celsious -"
"To knowingly walk into a trap," Rikku-san continued. "Too bad you guys didn't have time to make copies of the Sphere Map. No one knows about us, so we would probably be of great assisstence... {yawn} ... When the trap gets sprung."
"Hey! Ri's been KO'd and you guys are talking -"
"Girls, not guys," Rikki interrupted.
Rikku rubbed her nose slightly. "Fine... But still, shouldn't we be focusing on the problem of Ri being unconcious?"
"Maybe we should take her to a doctor," Rikki suggested. "I'll bet that would help."
"Ri is our healer," Rikku-sama agreed. "But all the same, the rest of us can use White Mage too... and we don't seem to be able to help."
Rikku-san yawned and glanced around. "I'd sure like a nap," she announced, eyes lingering on what seemed to be a well-hidden trail. "Maybe..." she pushed the brush aside, eyeing the path happily. "This will take us to a doctor and while he's looking after Ri... I can SLEEP!"
"And I can bathe!" Rikki cheered.
"And maybe there will be a party!" Rikku exclaimed.
Shuyin glanced back at them, shaking his head. "Are we going that way then?"
"If you want," Rikku-chan said, blushing while she looked at him.
"It might lead us where we want to go," Rikku-sama agreed. "Let's check it out."
===============================================================
Rikk sighed for the millionth time. "That plan is stupid," she said flatly. "Chances are that Yuna and Baralai are the main targets -"
"What choice do we have?" Paine inquired dryly.
"I say plenty," Rikk announced. "If Yunie and Baralai are the targets, then they should be hidden."
"Okay, let's say for a second that we agree to be 'hidden'," Baralai said. "Then what? Lady Yuna will still want to head into the Hiesson to find her child... And if these are the same people that tried to assassionate me, I would like to find out why."
Rikk crossed her arms. "I didn't say that you had to stay behind," she said. "If you were listening, you would have understood that."
"Meaning?" Paine demanded, taking a step foreward.
Rikk leaned towards the older warrior. "Meaning I have a plan, Paine."
Paine stepped back and leaned against a tree. "I'm listening," she said suspiciously. Her red eyes had narrowed considerably and she was observing everything about Rikk.
"Do I meet your standard?" Rikk asked, unable to stop herself.
"Hey! Hey!" Tidus exclaimed. "Settle down..." He glanced at Rikk sidelong, trying to tie her new abrasive personality in with the equally odd lazy attitude she had been displaying. "If you have a plan-"
"I said I did, didn't I?" Rikk said sharply. "Do you have a problem with me?" To herself, she thought, 'This is weird; I thought that Tidus and I got along...' It wasn't normal for her to be so... snipish, and yet, to behave any other way felt alien. "Sorry..." she mused.
"It's okay," Tidus said before anyone could speak. "What's the plan?"
"We use the Garment Grid," Rikk answered.
"Brilliant." Paine shifted slightly and shot her a sarcastic look. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Lack of talent?" Rikk suggested.
"Rikk..." Shiroi murmured. "Be nice."
"Sure," Rikk answered, then froze. She had responded to the name 'Rikk' again. She wasn't thinking of herself as 'Rikku'. Quickly, she glanced around at the others to see if they had noticed Shiroi's slip on her name. Deciding that no one had noticed, she shot the woman a sharp glare.
"I don't understand," Baralai said after several moments of silence.
"Neither do I," Paine answered, reaching out to take his arm.
"Do you remember when LeBlanc stole Yunie's Garment Grid to preform in Luca?" Rikk asked softly. "She took Yuna's appearence by activating the sphere backwards, right...?"
There was a moment of silence. "I never really thought about it," Yuna said after a moment.
"How do we know that she activated it backwards?" Paine asked.
"Rikku-sama... that's me!" Rikk quickly exclaimed. "Experimented with it a while ago." Mentally berating herself, she activated the Warrior Dressphere backwards. A perfect copy of Paine appeared in her place. "See," she said superiorly.
"Impressive," Yuna agreed. "But still... wouldn't they get suspicious if a whole bunch of Paines and Rikkus showed up?"
Rikk laughed sharply, picturing the scene if all the members of the Rikku-gumi got caught together.
Paine glanced at her sidelong. "Yuna's point is valid," she said. "And you expect Baralai to dress like a girl... me or you?"
"That doesn't bother me," Baralai said. "But if our enemies see two or more Rikkus, don't you think they'll get suspicious?"
"That's kinda what I thought too," Rikk said. "But..."
"But?" Shiroi prompted.
"I'll demonstrate," she said. She activated another of the sphere backwards. "Now... I'm Lenne," she said.
"Hold it!" Yuna exclaimed.
"That doesn't add up," Paine added. "LeBlanc used the Songstress Dressphere and still looked like Yuna."
Rikk nodded her head, deciding she had a lot in common with Paine. She had said the same thing to Rikku-sama when confronted with the theory she was now selling. "True, but who says LeBlanc knew how to use Shinra's invention?"
"True," Yuna agreed. "But I still don't get it."
"Neither do I," Shiroi said.
"I'm just as clueless," Tidus said.
Shiroi turned to him. "You always were the spacy one, weren't you? I seem to remember that..." her voice trailed off and she smiled nervously.
Baralai frowned slightly. "Show me how to use it," he said after a moment. "We don't need to know all the nit-picky details. We're wasting time. Action must be taken; we cannot procastinate."
"Agreed," Yuna said. She pulled out her Garment Grid and shere-changed into Lady Luck. "Okay... who am I?" she asked nervously.
"LeBlanc," Rikk answered. "She's the basis for that dressphere."
"It suits you," Paine added dryly. She glanced at Baralai. "Which one are you going to use?" she asked.
Baralai blushed slightly. "Well... one that has a decent ammount of clothing on," he confessed. "Which one would that be?"
"Mascot; and no, you can't wear it," Rikk said. "I suppose both the White and Black Mage spheres are fairly decent as well."
Baralai sighed. "I'm not good with magic -"
"You will be," Paine said. She handed him a Garment Grid. Try whichever sphere you want. Then stay in it."
"What ones are in here?" Baralai asked suspiciously.
"Try this one," Shiroi said, leaning towards him and tapping one of the glowing spheres.
"Why are you here again?" Baralai murmured, blushing extremly hard now. He activated one of the spheres and hoped for the best.
"I'm traveling with Rikku to find Akira," Shiroi answered. "And maybe... Midori... heh, heh...." her voice trailed off to be replaced by laugher.
"How bad is it?" Baralai asked.
"So... let's keep going," Tidus said after a long studious moment.
Yuna rubbed her nose. "Ah... good idea," she said. She turned and consulted the Sphere Map quickly. "We need to bear more north."
"I'll lead the way," Paine said, snickering slightly.
"It's that bad... and worse," Rikk told Baralai, patting him lightly on the back.
Baralai sighed. He did not want to know what the hell he looked like. The unfortunent thing was... he wanted to know at the same time. He looked down, and was confronted with a itsy bitsy push-up bra.
Swallowing hard, he pulled his hands into view. Clawed fingernails... Stripes on his 'feminne' legs... "Berserker," he murmured. "I said something with clothes!" he shouted after the retreating Gullwings.
"So sorry," Paine called back unsincerly.
"Some girlfriend you are," Baralai grumped.
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The path led to a small villiage. Sun-baked mud abodes lined a cobblestone path. Flowering jungle-type plants bloomed along the path, and the sound of a nearby waterfall lent it's chorus to the bird's songs.
Several people in the streets stopped to look at them. "So... Rikku-sama, what species are these people..." Rikki whispered.
"I don't know."
"That's reassuring," Rikki murmured back.
"Fallens," Shuyin announced.
"An odd cross between humans and... birds?" Rikku suggested.
Shuyin shrugged. "I played blitzball and music; I didn't have time for studying the Forbidden Race."
"Are they dangerous?" Rikku-chan asked. "Did you find that out?"
Shuyin shrugged again. "I can tell you fifteen different ways to win a blitz game..."
"That'll be usefull," Rikki muttered. "I don't care who they are. I want a bath." She strolled into the center of the street, making a bee-line for the nearest person. "Hi..." she pured, voice as smooth as honey. "I don't suppose you have any soap and water, do you?" She smiled charmingly. "Hot water, that is."
"And if you by any chance had a terrific Healer / Doctor that could help us out?" Rikku added, popping up on the other side of the poor Fallen.
The Fallen had short green hair, accenting his pointy ears . He had a piece of cloth tied around where his mouth should have been. Iradescent purple, pink, and silver wings sprouted from his back. He was also hovering about two inches off the ground.
He bowed, a deep bend from his waist. "Greetings strangers," he said. His voice echoed strangely in both girls ears. "Do you seek the Heisson?"
Rikki shook her head. "No... a bath -"
Rikku shook her head. "No... a Healer -"
Rikku-sama, who had slipped up behind them, nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, some friends of ours -"
"A bath!" Rikki pouted.
"And Ri needs to see a Healer," Rikku added.
"I need to sleep," Rikku-san added.
"Rikk and the others are walking into a trap; we don't have time," Rikku-sama objected.
The Fallen glanced back and forth between them all. "I do not understand," he said. This time Rikku could have sworn he hadn't spoken. The cloth around his mouth wasn't strained at all while his words flowed through her head.
"Can Fallens speak?" she asked Shuyin softly. "Because I don't think they can, you know."
Shuyin glanced down. "I don't know," he said.
"That's okay," Rikku-chan reassured him.
The Fallen glanced at them all carefully. "Did you use the Lunar Crystal...?" his voice echoed in their heads. "And you..." he touched Shuyin's hand. "You died over 1,000 years ago with the fall of Zanarkand during the Summoner's War."
"Before that... slightly," Shuyin said.
"What's the Lunar Crystal?" Rikku-sama asked.
The Fallen blinked and his eyes changed color. "You must come and see me at the mansion..." The voice that spilled through their heads was different now. "I am Harra, Guardian of the Relms."
"Guardian of the Relms? What's that?" Rikku-sama asked, forgetting temporarily about 'saving' Rikk and the others.
"No doubt you have many questions; however, they cannot be heard. We are the Fallen, and we neither hear no spoken words, nor do we speak them. We are both deaf and mute. Please, follow the Saara. She will show you to the mansion."
In time with the Fallen's words, a woman appeared. She bowed low to them, wings fluttering to keep herself afloat. "I am Saara," she said. "I will show you to the Guardian of the Relms, Harra."
"And he lives in a mansioin?" Rikki asked. "Is he... attractive?"
"Does he have a library?" Rikku-sama asked.
Rikku rolled her eyes. "Didn't that Hara guy -"
"Harra," Rikku-sama corrected. "There are two r's."
Rikku rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The point is, they can't hear us, right? So what's the point in asking them anything? We'll need to communicate some other way."
"How?" Rikku-chan whispered.
"Like this," Shuyin suggested. He tapped Saara on the shoulder and pointed to Ri. "She's sick," he said. "Do you know of anyway to help her?"
Saara blinked in confusion and knelt down beside Ri, never coming in contact with the ground. "You wish for me to carry one of the Splitlings?"
"Her name is Ri!" Rikki exclaimed.
"Splitlings?" Rikku asked. "Is that some kind of... food?"
"I think she means that Ri is a split off of the entity known as Rikku," Rikku-sama said.
"Wouldn't that be me?" Rikku asked.
"Does that mean that we're just going to pass out and stop -" Rikku-chan began fearfully.
"No," Rikki said, instantly engulfing her in a hug. "We're gonna stick together no matter what!"
Saara stood abruptly, holding Ri's hand up. "She will die," she said sharply. She slapped the phoenix burn.
"NO!" Rikku snapped.
"You," Saara said. She grabbed Rikku by her arm. "You shall come immediately. The Guardian of the Relms will want to speak with you. Have you still the Lunar Crystal?"
Rikku jerked her arm back and pointed to Ri. "Explain!" she shouted.
Saara sighed, a tremor running through her body. She blinked and her eyes changed color. The intense gold that had overcome the blue of the first Fallen's eyes returned.
"You are the orginal," Harra said. "You split yourself using the Lunar Crystal."
"Err... I guess -"
"Do not speak. You must only listen at this point," Harra said. "The Lunar Crystal is evil. It splits the soul and turns it against itself. There are only six of you here. The one missing is your evil; she will destroy you all. It will be her desire to be the orginal that will plunge six parts of your soul into hell."
Rikku shook her head slightly and pointed to Ri. "Tell me about her!" she exclaimed.
Harra sighed. "She was burned by the Flame of a phoenix. Her body burns with unnatural heat. She will perish. It is not the work of your Dark Side."
Rikku shook her head. "Rikk isn't evil."
"Do not speak of this to the Splitlings. They will grow envious. You must remerge with them. To do that you need the Sun Crystal. It is located at the Heisson, three miles east of here."
Rikku nodded her head slightly.
"Once you have the Sun Crystal you must hold it up to the morning rays of light. Look through the crystal at the Splitlings and they will cease to exist independently. They will become part of you once more."
Rikku nodded again. She turned and pointed towards Ri's unconcious body again. "What about Ri? Can we heal her?"
"Her death will not effect you," Harra said, misunderstanding Rikku completely. "Individual deaths will weaken you temporarily; however, in time you will gain your missing essence back. Killing the Splitlings will strenghen the remaining members."
Rikku sighed and turned away from him. "Harra here is crazy," she announced.
"What's he saying?" Rikku-chan whispered.
"He says that I should kill you all," Rikku said, rolling her eyes. "He says Rikk is evil-"
"She is," Rikki pouted.
"He says that there is a -" Rikku cut herself off. "What do you mean Rikk is evil?" She didn't mention the Sun Crystal. Somehow she didn't want to be reconnected. In her mind, they were already their own people. Joining together now would feel like she was absorbing her friends... her family...
"She won't let me bathe. She pushes me into hair destroying things. She -"
"I meant Seymour level evil," Rikku giggled.
Rikki frozed. "I wouldn't wish Seymour Level Evil on anyone. So I guess Rikk isn't evil... she's not a bad guy, you know."
"He says that there is a what?" Rikku-sama prompted.
"What about Ri? Rikku-chan asked nervously.
"He says she going to die, you know," Rikku murmured. "He said that she was burned by the Flame of a phoenix. Apparently her body burns with 'unnatural' heat. If we could get something cold enough, maybe we could save her."
"So you're saying we need to freeze her?" Rikku-sama asked.
"Yeah," Rikku nodded.
"We're pretty far South. There isn't anyway cold that we could take her," Shuyin said. "I don't think Ice spells are going to be helpful either. They'd just deplete her HP."
"Not if we put Ice-Eater on her," Rikku-sama said. She fished out a Tetra Bangle and clasped it around her wrist. "Who wants to cast first?"
"I will," Rikku-chan said firmly. She prepared for an Ice spell.
Rikku sphere-changed. "I'll cast second," she said. She started to prepare for an Ice Spell.
"I'll go next," Rikki purred.
"Then me," Shuyin said. "I know some spells, you know."
"So that leaves me," Rikku-sama said.
They started unleashing waves of Ice spells, trying to lower Ri's body tempeture. Harra gaped in openmouthed surprise. "What are you doing?"
Rikku-san tapped him on the back and held up a sign. "We're a team. We stick together."
Harra's eyes widened. "But you are a Splitling? You desire to kill the Orginal."
Rikku-san shook her head slightly. "No, I admire Rikku. She's a great person. She is... who I could be. Maybe once we were together, but not anymore. We're all our own people now. That's just the way it's going to be..."
"Write what you just said on your sign," Harra ordered, eyes still too wide. "I need to understand."
Rikku-san frowned. "Give me a bed; I want to sleep." She held up a sign that said the same thing. She twirled her tipped marker slightly and scrawled on the back of the sign an answer to his request. 'I'm the lazy 'Splitling'. I'm not taking any additional actions until I sleep.'
She turned and started to walk towards the spell-casting versions of herself and Shuyin. She didn't speak out loud again. That, she had just realized, was a waste of her breath. Instead, she wrote on her sign. "Is there a cure for Ri?"
Harra sighed heavily. "The Glacial Crystal would be your only chance." His eyes faded out, turning back to Saara's blue.
She stepped foreward. "The Fallen will assist you in saving your friend. I shall lead you to a place where she may rest. Then you must travel to retrieve the Glacial Crystal."
Rikku stopped casting and bowed slightly. "Thank-you," she said simply.
"We do ask a price," Saara said. "While we prepare... to send you... You must travel to the Heisson. Yu Yevon must be Sealed."
"Sealed?" Rikku-sama questioned. But of course, she didn't get an answer.
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Author's notes; Tell me what's confusing you and I'll explain at the end of the next chapter, okay?
Next Chapter; So the Masester is actually Yu Yevon; big surprise there. He wants Sin back, but the Rikku-gumi need to Seal him to get the Fallen to help them save Ri. How do they Seal him? Well, first they have to find him... And then there's this time limit... plus they get caught by the Gullwings... Is there secrete blown? Find out in the next exciting chapter of CHAOS OF SEVEN!
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan
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Chaos of Seven
Chaper fifteen
By; Kissa-chan
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Her heart was thuding loudly; defeaning everything she should have been able to hear. She felt hot... hotter than she should have felt. Sweat dripped down her back and dampened her hair to her scalp. Her breathing was coming in short, greedy gasps... She thought about calling the others for help, but the shame of not being strong enough kept her quiet.
Ri toppled foreward, unconcious, a burn mark shaped like a phoenix appearing on her right hand.
"Hey!" Rikku-san exclaimed. "If anyone gets to go to sleep, it's me!"
"I don't think she's sleeping," Shuyin said, kneeling down beside her. "Rikku-sama, if you would preform a quick Scan... I think she's passed out like she was before."
"When?" Rikku-san asked curiously, leaning against a tree as the entire group came to a stop.
"When we went through the portal," Rikku-chan said. Her lower jaw trembled slightly. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked tearfully, her voice trembling.
"Hard to say," Shuyin said, kneeling down and hoisting the unconcious blond girl onto his back. "Regardless, we should keep moving."
"Do you think that Rikk got to take a bath?" Rikki pouted moments later. "I still don't see why she got to return to the Celsious -"
"To knowingly walk into a trap," Rikku-san continued. "Too bad you guys didn't have time to make copies of the Sphere Map. No one knows about us, so we would probably be of great assisstence... {yawn} ... When the trap gets sprung."
"Hey! Ri's been KO'd and you guys are talking -"
"Girls, not guys," Rikki interrupted.
Rikku rubbed her nose slightly. "Fine... But still, shouldn't we be focusing on the problem of Ri being unconcious?"
"Maybe we should take her to a doctor," Rikki suggested. "I'll bet that would help."
"Ri is our healer," Rikku-sama agreed. "But all the same, the rest of us can use White Mage too... and we don't seem to be able to help."
Rikku-san yawned and glanced around. "I'd sure like a nap," she announced, eyes lingering on what seemed to be a well-hidden trail. "Maybe..." she pushed the brush aside, eyeing the path happily. "This will take us to a doctor and while he's looking after Ri... I can SLEEP!"
"And I can bathe!" Rikki cheered.
"And maybe there will be a party!" Rikku exclaimed.
Shuyin glanced back at them, shaking his head. "Are we going that way then?"
"If you want," Rikku-chan said, blushing while she looked at him.
"It might lead us where we want to go," Rikku-sama agreed. "Let's check it out."
===============================================================
Rikk sighed for the millionth time. "That plan is stupid," she said flatly. "Chances are that Yuna and Baralai are the main targets -"
"What choice do we have?" Paine inquired dryly.
"I say plenty," Rikk announced. "If Yunie and Baralai are the targets, then they should be hidden."
"Okay, let's say for a second that we agree to be 'hidden'," Baralai said. "Then what? Lady Yuna will still want to head into the Hiesson to find her child... And if these are the same people that tried to assassionate me, I would like to find out why."
Rikk crossed her arms. "I didn't say that you had to stay behind," she said. "If you were listening, you would have understood that."
"Meaning?" Paine demanded, taking a step foreward.
Rikk leaned towards the older warrior. "Meaning I have a plan, Paine."
Paine stepped back and leaned against a tree. "I'm listening," she said suspiciously. Her red eyes had narrowed considerably and she was observing everything about Rikk.
"Do I meet your standard?" Rikk asked, unable to stop herself.
"Hey! Hey!" Tidus exclaimed. "Settle down..." He glanced at Rikk sidelong, trying to tie her new abrasive personality in with the equally odd lazy attitude she had been displaying. "If you have a plan-"
"I said I did, didn't I?" Rikk said sharply. "Do you have a problem with me?" To herself, she thought, 'This is weird; I thought that Tidus and I got along...' It wasn't normal for her to be so... snipish, and yet, to behave any other way felt alien. "Sorry..." she mused.
"It's okay," Tidus said before anyone could speak. "What's the plan?"
"We use the Garment Grid," Rikk answered.
"Brilliant." Paine shifted slightly and shot her a sarcastic look. "Why didn't I think of that?"
"Lack of talent?" Rikk suggested.
"Rikk..." Shiroi murmured. "Be nice."
"Sure," Rikk answered, then froze. She had responded to the name 'Rikk' again. She wasn't thinking of herself as 'Rikku'. Quickly, she glanced around at the others to see if they had noticed Shiroi's slip on her name. Deciding that no one had noticed, she shot the woman a sharp glare.
"I don't understand," Baralai said after several moments of silence.
"Neither do I," Paine answered, reaching out to take his arm.
"Do you remember when LeBlanc stole Yunie's Garment Grid to preform in Luca?" Rikk asked softly. "She took Yuna's appearence by activating the sphere backwards, right...?"
There was a moment of silence. "I never really thought about it," Yuna said after a moment.
"How do we know that she activated it backwards?" Paine asked.
"Rikku-sama... that's me!" Rikk quickly exclaimed. "Experimented with it a while ago." Mentally berating herself, she activated the Warrior Dressphere backwards. A perfect copy of Paine appeared in her place. "See," she said superiorly.
"Impressive," Yuna agreed. "But still... wouldn't they get suspicious if a whole bunch of Paines and Rikkus showed up?"
Rikk laughed sharply, picturing the scene if all the members of the Rikku-gumi got caught together.
Paine glanced at her sidelong. "Yuna's point is valid," she said. "And you expect Baralai to dress like a girl... me or you?"
"That doesn't bother me," Baralai said. "But if our enemies see two or more Rikkus, don't you think they'll get suspicious?"
"That's kinda what I thought too," Rikk said. "But..."
"But?" Shiroi prompted.
"I'll demonstrate," she said. She activated another of the sphere backwards. "Now... I'm Lenne," she said.
"Hold it!" Yuna exclaimed.
"That doesn't add up," Paine added. "LeBlanc used the Songstress Dressphere and still looked like Yuna."
Rikk nodded her head, deciding she had a lot in common with Paine. She had said the same thing to Rikku-sama when confronted with the theory she was now selling. "True, but who says LeBlanc knew how to use Shinra's invention?"
"True," Yuna agreed. "But I still don't get it."
"Neither do I," Shiroi said.
"I'm just as clueless," Tidus said.
Shiroi turned to him. "You always were the spacy one, weren't you? I seem to remember that..." her voice trailed off and she smiled nervously.
Baralai frowned slightly. "Show me how to use it," he said after a moment. "We don't need to know all the nit-picky details. We're wasting time. Action must be taken; we cannot procastinate."
"Agreed," Yuna said. She pulled out her Garment Grid and shere-changed into Lady Luck. "Okay... who am I?" she asked nervously.
"LeBlanc," Rikk answered. "She's the basis for that dressphere."
"It suits you," Paine added dryly. She glanced at Baralai. "Which one are you going to use?" she asked.
Baralai blushed slightly. "Well... one that has a decent ammount of clothing on," he confessed. "Which one would that be?"
"Mascot; and no, you can't wear it," Rikk said. "I suppose both the White and Black Mage spheres are fairly decent as well."
Baralai sighed. "I'm not good with magic -"
"You will be," Paine said. She handed him a Garment Grid. Try whichever sphere you want. Then stay in it."
"What ones are in here?" Baralai asked suspiciously.
"Try this one," Shiroi said, leaning towards him and tapping one of the glowing spheres.
"Why are you here again?" Baralai murmured, blushing extremly hard now. He activated one of the spheres and hoped for the best.
"I'm traveling with Rikku to find Akira," Shiroi answered. "And maybe... Midori... heh, heh...." her voice trailed off to be replaced by laugher.
"How bad is it?" Baralai asked.
"So... let's keep going," Tidus said after a long studious moment.
Yuna rubbed her nose. "Ah... good idea," she said. She turned and consulted the Sphere Map quickly. "We need to bear more north."
"I'll lead the way," Paine said, snickering slightly.
"It's that bad... and worse," Rikk told Baralai, patting him lightly on the back.
Baralai sighed. He did not want to know what the hell he looked like. The unfortunent thing was... he wanted to know at the same time. He looked down, and was confronted with a itsy bitsy push-up bra.
Swallowing hard, he pulled his hands into view. Clawed fingernails... Stripes on his 'feminne' legs... "Berserker," he murmured. "I said something with clothes!" he shouted after the retreating Gullwings.
"So sorry," Paine called back unsincerly.
"Some girlfriend you are," Baralai grumped.
================================================================
The path led to a small villiage. Sun-baked mud abodes lined a cobblestone path. Flowering jungle-type plants bloomed along the path, and the sound of a nearby waterfall lent it's chorus to the bird's songs.
Several people in the streets stopped to look at them. "So... Rikku-sama, what species are these people..." Rikki whispered.
"I don't know."
"That's reassuring," Rikki murmured back.
"Fallens," Shuyin announced.
"An odd cross between humans and... birds?" Rikku suggested.
Shuyin shrugged. "I played blitzball and music; I didn't have time for studying the Forbidden Race."
"Are they dangerous?" Rikku-chan asked. "Did you find that out?"
Shuyin shrugged again. "I can tell you fifteen different ways to win a blitz game..."
"That'll be usefull," Rikki muttered. "I don't care who they are. I want a bath." She strolled into the center of the street, making a bee-line for the nearest person. "Hi..." she pured, voice as smooth as honey. "I don't suppose you have any soap and water, do you?" She smiled charmingly. "Hot water, that is."
"And if you by any chance had a terrific Healer / Doctor that could help us out?" Rikku added, popping up on the other side of the poor Fallen.
The Fallen had short green hair, accenting his pointy ears . He had a piece of cloth tied around where his mouth should have been. Iradescent purple, pink, and silver wings sprouted from his back. He was also hovering about two inches off the ground.
He bowed, a deep bend from his waist. "Greetings strangers," he said. His voice echoed strangely in both girls ears. "Do you seek the Heisson?"
Rikki shook her head. "No... a bath -"
Rikku shook her head. "No... a Healer -"
Rikku-sama, who had slipped up behind them, nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, some friends of ours -"
"A bath!" Rikki pouted.
"And Ri needs to see a Healer," Rikku added.
"I need to sleep," Rikku-san added.
"Rikk and the others are walking into a trap; we don't have time," Rikku-sama objected.
The Fallen glanced back and forth between them all. "I do not understand," he said. This time Rikku could have sworn he hadn't spoken. The cloth around his mouth wasn't strained at all while his words flowed through her head.
"Can Fallens speak?" she asked Shuyin softly. "Because I don't think they can, you know."
Shuyin glanced down. "I don't know," he said.
"That's okay," Rikku-chan reassured him.
The Fallen glanced at them all carefully. "Did you use the Lunar Crystal...?" his voice echoed in their heads. "And you..." he touched Shuyin's hand. "You died over 1,000 years ago with the fall of Zanarkand during the Summoner's War."
"Before that... slightly," Shuyin said.
"What's the Lunar Crystal?" Rikku-sama asked.
The Fallen blinked and his eyes changed color. "You must come and see me at the mansion..." The voice that spilled through their heads was different now. "I am Harra, Guardian of the Relms."
"Guardian of the Relms? What's that?" Rikku-sama asked, forgetting temporarily about 'saving' Rikk and the others.
"No doubt you have many questions; however, they cannot be heard. We are the Fallen, and we neither hear no spoken words, nor do we speak them. We are both deaf and mute. Please, follow the Saara. She will show you to the mansion."
In time with the Fallen's words, a woman appeared. She bowed low to them, wings fluttering to keep herself afloat. "I am Saara," she said. "I will show you to the Guardian of the Relms, Harra."
"And he lives in a mansioin?" Rikki asked. "Is he... attractive?"
"Does he have a library?" Rikku-sama asked.
Rikku rolled her eyes. "Didn't that Hara guy -"
"Harra," Rikku-sama corrected. "There are two r's."
Rikku rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The point is, they can't hear us, right? So what's the point in asking them anything? We'll need to communicate some other way."
"How?" Rikku-chan whispered.
"Like this," Shuyin suggested. He tapped Saara on the shoulder and pointed to Ri. "She's sick," he said. "Do you know of anyway to help her?"
Saara blinked in confusion and knelt down beside Ri, never coming in contact with the ground. "You wish for me to carry one of the Splitlings?"
"Her name is Ri!" Rikki exclaimed.
"Splitlings?" Rikku asked. "Is that some kind of... food?"
"I think she means that Ri is a split off of the entity known as Rikku," Rikku-sama said.
"Wouldn't that be me?" Rikku asked.
"Does that mean that we're just going to pass out and stop -" Rikku-chan began fearfully.
"No," Rikki said, instantly engulfing her in a hug. "We're gonna stick together no matter what!"
Saara stood abruptly, holding Ri's hand up. "She will die," she said sharply. She slapped the phoenix burn.
"NO!" Rikku snapped.
"You," Saara said. She grabbed Rikku by her arm. "You shall come immediately. The Guardian of the Relms will want to speak with you. Have you still the Lunar Crystal?"
Rikku jerked her arm back and pointed to Ri. "Explain!" she shouted.
Saara sighed, a tremor running through her body. She blinked and her eyes changed color. The intense gold that had overcome the blue of the first Fallen's eyes returned.
"You are the orginal," Harra said. "You split yourself using the Lunar Crystal."
"Err... I guess -"
"Do not speak. You must only listen at this point," Harra said. "The Lunar Crystal is evil. It splits the soul and turns it against itself. There are only six of you here. The one missing is your evil; she will destroy you all. It will be her desire to be the orginal that will plunge six parts of your soul into hell."
Rikku shook her head slightly and pointed to Ri. "Tell me about her!" she exclaimed.
Harra sighed. "She was burned by the Flame of a phoenix. Her body burns with unnatural heat. She will perish. It is not the work of your Dark Side."
Rikku shook her head. "Rikk isn't evil."
"Do not speak of this to the Splitlings. They will grow envious. You must remerge with them. To do that you need the Sun Crystal. It is located at the Heisson, three miles east of here."
Rikku nodded her head slightly.
"Once you have the Sun Crystal you must hold it up to the morning rays of light. Look through the crystal at the Splitlings and they will cease to exist independently. They will become part of you once more."
Rikku nodded again. She turned and pointed towards Ri's unconcious body again. "What about Ri? Can we heal her?"
"Her death will not effect you," Harra said, misunderstanding Rikku completely. "Individual deaths will weaken you temporarily; however, in time you will gain your missing essence back. Killing the Splitlings will strenghen the remaining members."
Rikku sighed and turned away from him. "Harra here is crazy," she announced.
"What's he saying?" Rikku-chan whispered.
"He says that I should kill you all," Rikku said, rolling her eyes. "He says Rikk is evil-"
"She is," Rikki pouted.
"He says that there is a -" Rikku cut herself off. "What do you mean Rikk is evil?" She didn't mention the Sun Crystal. Somehow she didn't want to be reconnected. In her mind, they were already their own people. Joining together now would feel like she was absorbing her friends... her family...
"She won't let me bathe. She pushes me into hair destroying things. She -"
"I meant Seymour level evil," Rikku giggled.
Rikki frozed. "I wouldn't wish Seymour Level Evil on anyone. So I guess Rikk isn't evil... she's not a bad guy, you know."
"He says that there is a what?" Rikku-sama prompted.
"What about Ri? Rikku-chan asked nervously.
"He says she going to die, you know," Rikku murmured. "He said that she was burned by the Flame of a phoenix. Apparently her body burns with 'unnatural' heat. If we could get something cold enough, maybe we could save her."
"So you're saying we need to freeze her?" Rikku-sama asked.
"Yeah," Rikku nodded.
"We're pretty far South. There isn't anyway cold that we could take her," Shuyin said. "I don't think Ice spells are going to be helpful either. They'd just deplete her HP."
"Not if we put Ice-Eater on her," Rikku-sama said. She fished out a Tetra Bangle and clasped it around her wrist. "Who wants to cast first?"
"I will," Rikku-chan said firmly. She prepared for an Ice spell.
Rikku sphere-changed. "I'll cast second," she said. She started to prepare for an Ice Spell.
"I'll go next," Rikki purred.
"Then me," Shuyin said. "I know some spells, you know."
"So that leaves me," Rikku-sama said.
They started unleashing waves of Ice spells, trying to lower Ri's body tempeture. Harra gaped in openmouthed surprise. "What are you doing?"
Rikku-san tapped him on the back and held up a sign. "We're a team. We stick together."
Harra's eyes widened. "But you are a Splitling? You desire to kill the Orginal."
Rikku-san shook her head slightly. "No, I admire Rikku. She's a great person. She is... who I could be. Maybe once we were together, but not anymore. We're all our own people now. That's just the way it's going to be..."
"Write what you just said on your sign," Harra ordered, eyes still too wide. "I need to understand."
Rikku-san frowned. "Give me a bed; I want to sleep." She held up a sign that said the same thing. She twirled her tipped marker slightly and scrawled on the back of the sign an answer to his request. 'I'm the lazy 'Splitling'. I'm not taking any additional actions until I sleep.'
She turned and started to walk towards the spell-casting versions of herself and Shuyin. She didn't speak out loud again. That, she had just realized, was a waste of her breath. Instead, she wrote on her sign. "Is there a cure for Ri?"
Harra sighed heavily. "The Glacial Crystal would be your only chance." His eyes faded out, turning back to Saara's blue.
She stepped foreward. "The Fallen will assist you in saving your friend. I shall lead you to a place where she may rest. Then you must travel to retrieve the Glacial Crystal."
Rikku stopped casting and bowed slightly. "Thank-you," she said simply.
"We do ask a price," Saara said. "While we prepare... to send you... You must travel to the Heisson. Yu Yevon must be Sealed."
"Sealed?" Rikku-sama questioned. But of course, she didn't get an answer.
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Author's notes; Tell me what's confusing you and I'll explain at the end of the next chapter, okay?
Next Chapter; So the Masester is actually Yu Yevon; big surprise there. He wants Sin back, but the Rikku-gumi need to Seal him to get the Fallen to help them save Ri. How do they Seal him? Well, first they have to find him... And then there's this time limit... plus they get caught by the Gullwings... Is there secrete blown? Find out in the next exciting chapter of CHAOS OF SEVEN!
Thanks for reading,
Kissa-chan