Chapter 13: Home Not Sweet Home
(Rurouni Kenshin – Hiten Mitsurgi)
"Damn!" Yuna woke up with a message in her head, from Murdock. "I'll destroy Chris's neighborhood!" Yuna woke Chris up. "Chris! Kelli and Nina, they're in danger! Murdock's gonna blow up the neighborhood!" Chris was startled. "I'm going. Maybe, I can confront Yuber there and possibly save one of our friends… But I really wanna go to save Nina and Kelli. They're strong, but they cannot fight Murdock by themselves. Even they DID work as a team, which wouldn't happen because they hate each other…" Yuna nodded.
"I know too well... Even their innate elements are the opposite…. Well, what are you waiting for?" Yuna got up, put her blitzball in her pack, and pulled Chris up "Where're you going, Yunie?" Chris asked. Yuna rolled her eyes. "You're nuts if you think you're going alone." Yuna turned around, and walked into Gabby. "Ow…"
Gabby spoke up. "Yuna… Chris… I wanna come too. Maybe I can save Ry if I go." Yuna nodded. "Just be sure you're prepared for a battle when we get there." Gabby nodded. And with that, the three of them left, leaving a note for Emily.
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(Final Fantasy X-2 – YRP Fight Number 1)
"There they are!" A soldier yelled. "We have the final Telpsino clan member within our grasp!" Emily jumped up, claws ready. "Do you?" She engaged with them.
"Tough Love!" She fired a heart beam at the enemy soldiers. He dodged the attack, and lunged at Emily with his sword. Emily screamed. The sword never hit.
"Triple Firaga!" Viki, Aniko, and Robin all yelled. His armor was melted, but he still refused to give up. He held his sword up still. Emily rolled her eyes. "They never learn!" She slashed at him with her claws. "Spin Strike!" She spun and hit him with the claws. The soldier fell, but a giant demon appeared in its place. The demon was a big black mass with sharp claws and an evil smile.
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(Final Fantasy VIII – Sorceress Edea's Parade)
The demon swooped down and grabbed Emily. "She's mine now!" Robin ran after it and grabbed onto its tail. Malcolm did the same. It made its way towards Dengridst Castle with Emily, Robin, and Malcolm in check.
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(Final Fantasy VIII – Truth) (A/N: Yes, I have a fetish for Final Fantasy music. Learn to deal.)
Emily and her friends were thrown into a cell. Inside was a girl a bit taller than Emily. She had short black hair, and wore jeans and a bikini top. "Tracy!" Emily yelled. "You all right?" Tracy nodded. "Yeah… But they ousted us from the throne!"
Emily cocked her head. "They… being who?" Tracy shook her head. "Some guy in black with blond hair. He has some hold over a boy. And get this, the boy is apparently Kenji. He has the royal blood. Before they threw me in here, we had a DNA sample taken, and he had the same blood line as me." Emily nodded. "That must be Yuber." Emily looked at Robin. "Way ahead of you." Robin burned the bars of the cell with a Firaga spell.
(Final Fantasy X-2 – Sphere Hunter)
"What are we waiting for?" Tracy yelled. "I can fight, too!" Tracy used magic to materialize a crossbow. "Now, we attack!" The group of them ran out of the dungeon.
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Meanwhile, the others were searching in Dengridst. They found a boy with glasses, a green t-shirt, nearly shaved head, and a hat that said 'OTIS' on it. He was looking for a way into the castle as well. They recognized him as Kevin. Emily had only told about one million stories about him. "Kevin, are you trying to help Emily also?" Aila asked. "Yes... but... Who are you guys?"
Faye sauntered up. "We're Emily's traveling companions. And we need you and your other friends help." Kevin nodded. "I'll enlist them, and when this is all over, if we're forced to travel, I'll go with you. I'm sure they will too."
*Keller, Luke, Ellisa, Marin, Lars, Billy, Kenwan, Liz, Jon, Shauna, and Kyle all joined the 108 Stars of Destiny!*
"Whoa. Just… whoa." Andrew said. "Well, Kevin, go find them, and we'll storm the place!"
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(Cowboy Bebop - Rush)
"Agh!" A soldier was brought down by a well placed arrow, compliments of Tracy. "Bitch!" Emily yelled as she ran by the wounded soldier. They ran up the stairs, and were blocked by more soldiers. "Sorry, but we're in a hurry!" Robin yelled, punching one in the face. Malcolm whipped another, while Tracy shot ones in the back. Unfortunately, more soldiers came. Emily and the others were outnumbered. However, help was already there. "Hex!" Kevin casted a strange spell on the soldiers, causing them to act as though they were a computer being hacked. "Now, go jump into the river." The soldiers sluggishly walked outside and jumped into the river.
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(Chrono Trigger – Zeal Palace Theme)
"Emily, you choose a group to go with you to confront whoever's behind this in the throne room. The rest of us will stay and guard the place." Kevin explained. Emily nodded. Tracy intervened before Emily could speak. "Emily, I'm coming too… This is a family matter, and I'm family. And, if it IS Kenji, I wanna help him." Emily nodded. "Yeah… the party will be me, Tracy, Kevin, Fujiko, Luke, and Robin." Emily nodded. "Let's go, but be prepared for a fight when we get up there."
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"I declare Yuber to be my Chancellor, and Murdock to be the Secretary of War!" The young Kenji shouted. He had short brown hair, and wore a black suit of armor. Yuber stood beside him, and held a spear that Tracy recognized as the Dengridst Treasure, Rubicant. "That is Kenji! He was given Rubicant before he was captured!" Yuber looked up. "They're here." Yuber and Murdock then disappeared. "Kenji! It's us! Tracy and Emily!"
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"It's no use, girls! He's not gonna listen!" Fujiko said. "We have to fight Kenji!" Kenji stood up, and picked up his spear. A black helmet appeared over his head. "I am not Kenji. The name is Capricorn!" Kenji, err… Capricorn said. Robin, like always, knew what was going on. "He's under Murdock's control! He thinks he's one of the Zodiac Soldiers of Murdock! The Dark Lancer, Capricorn!" Emily looked at the floor. "We have to fight."
"You'll all die." Capricorn said ominously. "Glint!" Capricorn struck them all with his lance. Emily saw that the others were going in to attack. "STOP! I wanna handle this!" She yelled.
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(Final Fantasy VII – Sephy Showdown)
"Emily, we'll be back-up, let us know if you want us." Robin said. Emily nodded. She charged at Capricorn. "Flamin' Fists!" She casted Fire on her claws, and punched Capricorn. It left a good-sized dent in the armor, and left Capricorn with a bruised ego. "You're good." He said. "But I'm better. You will see the true power of the male side of the Telpsino bloodline! Emblem of Thanatos!" He placed a shield around himself, and began to charge up a spell. "Now! Fire!" Capricorn held out his hand, and a mass of energy began to charge around his hand. It grew massive, until finally it was the size of Capricorn's whole body. Emily braced herself. "You fell for it! You're not who I'm after!!!" She looked up, and he was facing Robin and the others. "Thanatos Blaster!" The beam shot out.
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(Final Fantasy X-2 – Yuna's Ballad)
*AN: This is in slow-mo.*
"NO!" Emily yelled. She thought about Chris. She thought about Yuna, Drew, Ryan, Robin, Ace, Ed, Viki, Kevin. She thought of everyone who was counting on her. Faye, Gabby, Malcolm. Lars, Shauna, Tracy. She wouldn't let her friends die like this.
*Cue fast-mo again*
Emily had taken the full force of the blast for her friends. When the energy faded, she dropped. She was badly injured. Robin ran up to her. "Tracy! Get someone who knows medicine in here, quick!" Robin held Emily close. "Don't die, Emily!" Emily looked up. She was very weak. "Robin… Protect… Tracy, and save Kenji. And tell… Chris…" Emily coughed up blood. "..Tell him that I'm sorry… That I couldn't help until the end." Emily took a deep breath. "I'm just glad my final act was to help you… my friends…" Emily grew limp. She had died. Fujiko sobbed into her coat. Tracy held back tears, as did the others. "Damn you, Yuber…" Robin muttered. "Damn you to hell! What gives you the right?! You toyed with Emily's feelings and set her brother against her! …You deserve to burn." Robin screamed.
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(Final Fantasy X - Challenge)
"You'll honestly take me on?" Yuber appeared behind Capricorn. "What can a worthless witch girl, a bastard princess, a computer nerd, a slut, and a hick boy do to me?!" Yuber began to cackle. Robin had enough. She shone with a bright aura, showing the Super Mode.
"You think this is funny?" Robin held up the rod. "Arcanum of Intelligence, Fragment of Wisdom! Lend me your powers!" Robin glared at Yuber. "You'll regret everything." She wiped her tears off her face. As they began to fall to the ground, she yelled. "Tears of Regret!" The tears turned into circles of blue flame that hit Yuber. Yuber gasped. "Damn!" Yuber scoffed. "You're a nuisance. Eightfold Rune!" Yuber held his sword up, and ran at her with such precision that it looked as though he was three separate entities. Robin used her craft to dodge the attack. "Damn it." Yuber said, and teleported himself and Kenji away.
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(Final Fantasy X – To Zanarkand)
"Emily…" Kevin took her pulse. Maybe she wasn't dead. Kevin felt something. Thud-ump, Thud-ump. It was faint, but he could hear it. "Guys! She's alive. Something's wrong with her mentality! There's still a chance to save her!" The others cheered. Lars felt a strong presence in the air. He turned around, and a woman was standing there. She was tall, and had a figure that could knock any man off his feet and onto a bed. She wore tight fitting black pants and a white blouse. She had a glove over her right hand, and held a golden pole. "Ohohohohohohhoho…" She stood at the entrance. "I am Jeane, powerful RuneMistress. It seems your friend is in trouble, mind if I take a look?" Kevin looked at Robin. "Do we want to trust her?" Robin looked up at the silver-haired vixen. "I can't sense any type of evil in her. Let her go ahead." Jeane stepped up to the comatose girl. She knelt down, and put her finger to Emily's head. "Her soul… it's not inside her body.. It's in the darkness… I cannot do a thing… Only a person very in tune with spirits may be able to help her… I can do little, but if I combined my powers to a few other spiritually gifted people, she can be healed. I sense that the girl with the pigtails and… Viki Verrani?! Is that you?!" Jeane stood up. "Yes! It is you! Small world, eh? Ohhohohoho!" Viki nodded. "Yeah, the girl with pigtails is Robin." Jeane nodded. "Me, Viki, and Robin are the ones most suited for this… I'd need one more, someone who has strong ties with things beyond our mortal coil…" Jeane said. The others nodded. Robin stood up. "Hey.. Chris was always talking about that Nina girl, how she was a master of Arcana? Could she help us?" Jeane shook her head questionably. "We'll see."
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(Final Fantasy VIII – Drifting)
Emily looked around. There was nothing. Everything was black. It was a surreal cold, an emptiness that felt like death. She looked up, and saw Chris. "Chris!" Chris turned and walked away. Emily saw Robin. "Robin!" Robin glared at Emily. "You're a pest… could you go away?" Emily was.. alone. She wished she was dead, rather than feel the way she did now. "Someone.. help me…" She whispered. Near the Train Station to Norwin, Chris felt a shiver go down his spine. "Emily…" Yuna looked over, and suddenly heard a voice. "Someone…" Gabby heard another voice. "…Help me." Chris walked over to Gabby and Yuna. "Guys… Something's wrong with Emily…" Gabby channeled her thoughts. "Her body is fine.. but her soul isn't in it…" Chris stared, wide-eyed. "Let's hurry… I can make this a bit easier." Chris threw Gabby a cell phone. "I'll call you from the train.. You tell me what's wrong with Emily. I'm trusting you… I don't like being left in the dark." Gabby nodded, and smiled. "Okie smokey!" She called for a taxi to shuttle her to the edge of town. Yuna and Chris held hands and sent a message to Emily.
Emily laid there, alone. She had nobody… What was worse, the darkness was starting to burn away her memories. She then heard it. "You're… ne." Emily stood up. "What?"
"N..t…l…ne."
"Chris, Yuna, is that you?!"
"No… one."
"What…?"
"Not… alone. We're coming, Emily, we're coming to help you…"
"Chris! Yuna! I don't know how long I can wait! I'm losing the memories of all of you!"
"Hold out.. we're finding someone who can help!" Yuna thought, which came out as a voice to Emily. "I'll try." Emily said. She had to hold out. For herself. For Chris, Yuna, and Robin. For everyone. She was going to confront Yuber, and kill him for putting her through the hell she was in now, and forcing her brother to help in it. This determination alone would not allow her to give up the memories, at least not without a fight.
To be continued…
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(Namie Amuro – Drive)
Next Episode Preview:
Chris: We go to save Nina and Kelli. But there are three problems! Mindcry, Jonas, and Aquarius! Two are from the Azure Knights, ANOTHER group hired by Murdock, and Aquarius is one of the Zodiac Knights!
Yuna: We have… as a conservative estimate, 1/100000000000000000 of a chance of survival.
Nina: Really Optimistic, aren't we?
Kelli: Why don't we make this like a little adventure! Lalalalalala….
Chris, Yuna, Nina, and Jonas: Shut up, Kelli.
Kelli: ;_; Okay….
Robin: Yeah…
Gabby: Meanwhile, as I'm heading to Emily's castle, I get ambushed! What'll happen to me? :-/
Next Episode:
Murdock's Foul-up
Murdock: My bad.. Two's too many.
Yuber: No shit, Murdock.