Disclaimer: This is the last disclaimer I will post. You will be the second to know when I own FFX. The first will be my best friend Alex, so he can kiss my ass.
FDB: What dangers await Jamie as he plunges into the icy waters of Moonflow? -duhn duhn duuuuuuuuuuuhhhhnnn!-
Dragon46- To answer your question, yes, Jamie will be paired with one of the girls. This chapter, actually. If you know the game, you should be able to figure out who.
Chapter 5: By your resonating light.
I hit the water and opened my eyes. It took me awhile to get used to the cold, but once I did, I looked around frantically to find Wakka and Tidus. I spotted them fighting a losing battle against…something. I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that one blast from the Wind Scar and…wait. Wind Scar. There's no wind underwater! Did Auron know that before he shoved me overboard? When I get back on dry land I'm going to give him an oral check-up with Tetsuasaiga…by way of anal intrusion.
I surfaced long enough to get a big gulp of air…and give Auron the finger, then dove under. I swam over to the submarine-tank thing not knowing what the hell I was going to do. Luckily, I was on the blind side of the tank-marine, and that gave me an edge. Edge. Hmmm…. Drawing my sword, and admiring the amber glow, I jammed it into what looked like an access panel, ripping it open. 'This is gonna hurt in the morning,' I thought.
Reaching in with my left hand, I pulled all the wires and gears I could. My hand hurt like hell, and started to go numb, but it looked like I got the job done. I saw the tank-marine start to jerk, and twitch, and after a few seconds of that, I treated Tetsusaiga to another taste of metal. Jamming it into the open panel, I wiggled it around, seeing the machine jerk more violently than ever. Swimming over to Wakka and Tidus, they saw what I had done, signaling to surface. We got back on the shoopuf just before the tank-marine exploded.
"Are you hurt, Yuna?" Lu asked.
"No, I'm fine."
"Graahhh!" Wakka shouted. "Those Al Bhed!"
"Ish ebullibody okay?" the driver asked us.
"I'm sorry," Yuna apologized. "We're all okay now."
Regaining my breath, I asked Auron why he had pushed me in the water.
"I wanted to see what you would do to save Yuna. You alright?"
"Other than a numb hand and a few more years shaved off my life…and being pissed at you, fine." I sat down and looked up at the old codger. "Though, I'd be doing better if I could ram my sword through your gut…."
After getting back to land, Wakka was yelling incoherently about the Al Bhed, Operation Mi'ihen, and some tournament. I realized that Wakka didn't like the Al Bhed, but I didn't realize that he could get all worked up like this. They were all crowded around Yuna, looking after her. I told them I was going ahead to see if any more Al Bhed were waiting to ambush us. Auron was the only one to hear me, I think, but he nodded and told me he'd tell the others where I went.
Walking along, I started to think again. 'Did that kid send me here to protect Yuna, defeat Sin, or what? And why me? I'm probably not the best person in the world to be helping people. And things always happen when I get close to people. …I wonder when the others are going to ask me about my past. What am I going to tell them?'
With all my thinking, I almost missed the body lying washed up on the waters edge. It was dressed like the Al Bhed I saw at Mi'ihen. This had to be the fucker that tried to kidnap Yuna! Keeping my hand on my sword, I eased over and saw that it was a chick. I mean a girl! Girl. Yeah….
She moaned and started to get up. What luck. She's still alive. That means if she attacks, I can fry her with the Wind Scar. Heh heh. She didn't seem to notice me, and, standing up, she began to…undress? What the he…no, wait…this is a good thing.
Undoing her helmet, she unzipped her suit and slid it off her wet body. Heh, boi-oi-oi-oing. After getting undressed, I noticed she followed suit with all the other psychos around here: flesh showcase. Short shorts, tight shirt, the works. Heh…impure thoughts….
She fell to her knees and started to cry, at least that's what it looked like. I released my grip on Tetsusaiga, completely forgetting about the dangers, and knelt beside her.
"You okay?" I asked.
"No, terrible," she sniffled.
"Why?"
"You should know!" she shouted. "You blew up my machina! It took me three months to put it together, you meanie."
"So that was you. Hate to nitpick, but you kidnapped Yuna and attacked us."
"It's not what you think."
"What should I think then?"
"I can't explain…."
"Too bad. I gotta take you back to the others. I hate to say it, but Auron might know what to do."
"You are not taking me anywhere you meanie!" she shouted, reaching behind her.
"Meanie? Huh?" I saw her throw something small round and green. It rolled to me feet and knocked against my shoe.
I may have been in this world for a while, but I still know what a grenade is! I screamed my head off, and ran. It exploded behind me and threw me off my feet, scaring the shit outta me. Good God! At this rate, I'll be dead three years ago!
"Get back here, you coward!" the psycho chick yelled, throwing yet another grenade.
Pulling out Tetsusaiga without changing it, I batted it back to her. She caught it and twisted something on it. I waited, and it didn't explode.
"What? You think I can't disarm my own explosives?"
Not good. She threw it again and this time, it blew. But I was long gone when it did.
Running back to the group, I shouted, "She's crazy! She's crazy!" Jumping behind Auron, I hoped the psycho chick didn't see me.
"Where'd he go?" she shouted, and to my horror, Auron side-stepped, revealing me.
"Why'd you do that?"
"You made her mad. You deal with it. I know better than to get in a woman's way."
I hate him so much. Looking from him to Psycho Girl, I saw her put up her fists. No more grenades? Either she ran out, or she's waiting to shove one down my throat.
I reached for Tetsusaiga, but Yuna stopped me, saying that I couldn't hurt her. Shaking my head, I put my fists up and prepared to fight. Before I could make a move, I saw two blades emerge from her right glove.
Shit.
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A few minutes later, I found my self lying on my back, in agony. I could have taken her! She was just fast. You see, grace is not my middle name. She easily out maneuvered me. And getting beat by a girl doesn't make me any less of a man. It just shows me that I need…improvement! That's it!
She walked over and stood over me, muttering something about learning and being a meanie, but I didn't pay attention. She was standing right above me. And wearing short shorts. More impure thoughts. Apparently, when she laid the smackdown to me, she knocked something loose in my head, because what I said next, I still regret.
"Heh heh. Orange…."
She raised an eyebrow, looked at the others, then, eyes widening, she kicked the shit out of me. My spleen has not been the same since. And I don't even know what a spleen does. Rolling over, I tried getting up, and with Wakka's help, I did.
I figured that the girl, Rikku I found her name was, pulled Yuna and Lulu aside to talk to them. Wakka and Tidus were trying to relocate various parts of my body that Rikku had almost destroyed. Auron, that bastard, was grinning with every 'crack'. I thought getting this way was painful, but fixing it was worse.
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Later, I found out that when Rikku, Yuna, and Lulu went aside to talk about Rikku becoming one of Yuna's guardians, Lulu asked Rikku why she kicked me when I said 'Orange'. Blushing, Rikku whispered, "I'm…wearing orange panties…."
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Auron looked into Rikku's eyes after Yuna asked him if she could become a guardian. No idea why. When we got moving, finally, we were really slowed down due to the fact that I was now walking with a limp. Lulu said we were almost to Guadosalam. I could only guess what that was.
Rikku walked over to me a little while later. She walked beside me for a few minutes before finally speaking up.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Are you gonna try to relocate my lungs?" I grunted.
"No."
"Then shoot."
"I…wanted to apologize for beating you up like that. I overreacted when you wanted to take me to your friends. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I don't really expect an apology for kicking me after the…um… 'orange' remark."
"Oh, don't worry. You won't get one," she said, grinning.
When we finally reached Guadosalam, this guy with hands like Seymour's greeted us. I did what I usually did: tune them out. I could care less what big hand had to say, and it looked like Rikku had the same idea. She wandered off on her own, staring into space. I liked her style. Why did I have to be such an ass? I guess I just fucked up my first impression.
Big Hand led us to Seymour's Manor and left us to go look for him. Tidus was yet again walking around talking to everyone. He came around to me and found that I wasn't in the mood for conversation. I was fixated on this plant in the corner. This had to be more than coincidence.
"Anybody home!"
"Wha!" I whipped around to find that Rikku had yelled in my ear. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"
"Sorry!" she giggled. "What's so special about that plant?" Glancing back over to it, I turned back to her.
"There's this…story back where I come from. A flower shop owner finds a strange plant that starts talking to him. He feeds it stray cats and table scraps, but it eventually starts to eat people, so he has to kill it. This plant," I said, gesturing to the plant in the corner, "looks exactly how it's described."
"But what makes it so special?"
"The shop owner's name was Seymour."
"Creepy…."
We both stared at the plant for awhile. This was just plain creepy, like Rikku said. What are the odds of a guy named Seymour owning the 'Little Shop of Horrors' plant? I was just waiting for it to sit up and say
"Hello." The plant twitched.
"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed, jumping backwards and landing on my butt. I crawled backwards a little bit before I realized Yuna was laughing at me. I looked up and old Tattoo Face was standing there smiling.
"Did I scare you, young guardian?" he said in the creepiest voice I could imagine.
Standing up, I looked at him and shook my finger at him. "Maester or no, you NEVER sneak up on someone like that!"
He merely laughed and turned to my friends.
"Now, we shall continue." The lights dimmed and we were swept away, floating above a city that put the 'city that never sleeps' to shame.
Tidus said it was Zanarkand, his home. Home. Would I react the same way if I saw New York like this?
We saw more images of it, Seymour explaining along the way. Then, we saw this silver haired chick in a bikini. Whoa. Seymour said she was Lady Yunalesca, the first person to defeat Sin. Yuna, Yunalesca. Huh.
I called out when Auron tried to cover my eyes, saying that I shouldn't be looking at something like that. Does he hate me? Seriously, does he hate me?
I must've missed a lot, because when the movie ended, Yuna said Seymour asked her to marry him. Gross. I left after that, saying I needed air, and felt nauseous after the in-flight experience.
I wandered outside, waiting for the others. I tried to imagine Yuna and Seymour, and that did make me nauseous. It took a lot to keep it together. Things that make you go 'ugh'.
They all came out later and said something about the Farplane. Tidus asked a bunch of questions that I couldn't keep up with, nor did I want to. From what I heard, it was where all the dead people go. We got to a set of stairs, and that's where we all separated. Rikku and Auron said right off that they weren't going.
"You comin', fuzz head?" Wakka asked.
Smiling I said, "As much as I'd love to, I don't think so. I wouldn't know anyone in there."
"Oh, well." They all continued on inside while Rikku and I plopped down on the steps. Auron told us he was going back to shop for supplies. Funny. Auron didn't strike me as someone to shop.
Okay. I'm sitting here, next to a cute girl, and I'm bored out of my mind. Where did that 'cute girl' thought come from? Do I like her? No, it wouldn't work. She's not interested in me. Okay, just need something to take my mind off of her. Music…. Okay, music. Okay. That song rocks.
I started to hum, almost absent-mindedly. This song brings back a lot of memories. A lot of…
"What are you humming?"
"Huh?" Rikku was looking at me, expecting an answer. "Oh, it's this song from back home. It's called 'My Immortal'. It's by a band called Evanescence."
"How does it go?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not much of a singer. Wish I could…wait." I can't believe it. Digging around in my pocket, I found what I was looking for. My mp3 player. All this time and I didn't even notice it in my pocket. I am such an idiot.
"What's that?"
"It's called an mp3 player. It's a small computer that plays music."
"Oh, cool."
I helped her put the earplugs in. She didn't want me to help, saying there was nothing she couldn't figure out. It was actually kind of funny watching her try to figure it out on her own. I ended up putting them on for her. Wow. She has really soft skin. …Dammit, Jamie! Stop it with those thoughts!
After mentally slapping myself cross-eyed, I found the song and played it for her. The reason I love this version of it is because it's the full band version. The original was good, but pure piano ain't gonna cut it. I watched her expression as the music started. Was she expecting it to be loud?
My eyes went to the player after a couple of minutes. 2:47…2:53. I counted off the seconds til the guitar bit started. 3:01…3:04. Now. My eyes went to Rikku, seeing if she had the same reaction as me. Her expression changed dramatically. At first it had been…not exactly happy, but sorta calm, but now, she looked serious. And we're talking heart attack here. She clutched her heart, and her breathing changed. I saw tears begin to form in her eyes. Yep. Same reaction as me.
As I turned off the player, she pulled the earplugs out of her ears. She was silent for a few seconds, quite possibly taking in everything she had heard. She wiped the tears from her eyes, glancing at the dampness of her hand. Maybe she's surprised it touched her like that.
"Wow. That was beautiful. I've never heard anything like it."
I just smiled and pocketed the player. Yuna and the others emerged from the Farplane a few seconds later. Auron had just gotten back, tossing a couple potions my way, and distributing the rest among the others.
I turned to ask Yuna if she was ready to go, when I saw something behind her. It looked like a ghost. I unsheathed Tetsusaiga, earning a look of amazement from Rikku. He was identified as Lord Jyscal. He looked like a Guado, huge hands and everything. Yuna sent him, and Auron said he died an unclean death, which is why he was still here. Unclean death. Does that mean murder?
Yuna met with Seymour to talk about Jyscal, so the rest of us just waited around. After a while, a woman ran up, saying that Seymour left for Macadamia Temple, or something like that. Lulu corrected me, saying it was Macalania Temple, and that we were going there as well.
Yuna joined us, and soon we were on our way again. Just before we left Guadosalam, Rikku started freaking out. I had no idea why, maybe it had something to do with the Thunder Plains. Auron goaded her on a little bit, and she went along anyways.
Lulu said the key to crossing was the lightning towers. Not to close and not to far. Whatever. As long as we get across. Every step is one step closer to home.
We reached another one of those Al Bhed travel agencies. Everyone kept on moving, but Rikku wanted to stay at the agency. She kept whining and we kept moving. Eventually, her incessant whining won. Auron whipped around, yelling, "Fine! We rest." Sighing he mumbled, "She's worse than the storm."
We checked in to a few rooms at the agency. It was getting late anyways, so it was a good thing that we stopped when we did. Yuna checked into a room for herself. The only one's that didn't were Tidus, Wakka, and Auron. Since the rooms only had three beds, Auron forced me to cough up for my own room. Kimahri hardly ever sleeps, and for some reason, Rikku wanted to distance herself from Lulu.
Rikku eventually fessed up to her fear of lightning, saying her brother accidentally hit her with a thunder spell trying to fend of a water fiend. So that was the reason Rikku stayed away from Lulu. The black mage said that it was very effective and that Rikku should learn a few spells. At that moment, lightning struck, and she jumped up into my arms.
If you've ever seen Scooby-Doo, you know what it looks like. When Scooby jumps into Shaggy's arms. That's what it looked like.
"You can set me down now, Jamie," she said.
After setting her down, We all went to our separate rooms and settled for the night.
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Even though the bed was unbelievably comfortable, I couldn't get to sleep. I was just lying there with the bedside lamp on, staring at the ceiling. I had kicked off my shoes, and thrown my shirt onto a nearby chair, but I still couldn't relax. Maybe it was the storm, maybe it was Seymour, and maybe it was the thought that tonight I may dream about the kid again. That little bastard. I wonder if he's related to Auron. He certainly is annoying enough.
I heard someone knock on the door. Kicking the covers off, I limped over to the door. I limped because it still hurt from Rikku's assault on me...and it was asleep, unlike the rest of me. Don't you just hate that feeling? Anyways, when I opened the door, Rikku was standing there with a pillow clutched to her chest.
"Hi, uh, can I, uh, sleep in your room tonight?"
"Why?"
"The storm's keeping me up. And I don't want to be grumpy and cranky like Auron when I wake up."
Chuckling, I thought to myself, 'At least we think alike.' "But why my room? Won't any of the others let you in?"
"Well…Yuna said she wanted to be alone, Lulu said the same, I don't trust the boys, so…"
"So you came to the guy that looked up your shorts?"
"I had no other choice. Besides, I…I trust you."
"Alright," I grumbled. "Come on in."
She walked past me, and reaching the bed, pulled one of the lighter blankets off of it. She dropped both the blanket and the pillow on the floor.
"Whoa, what are you doing?"
"I'm gonna sleep on the floor, what's it look like?"
"Nuh-uh. You get the bed, I sleep on the floor."
"Hey, I don't wanna run you out of the bed you paid for."
"Okay," I said. "Neither one of us wants the other to sleep on the floor, so our only other option is to sleep in the bed together."
"That'd probably be better for me," she said. "When I was little, I'd crawl in bed with daddy whenever a storm passed. Maybe having someone in the bed with me will help me get to sleep."
"Fair enough," I muttered swinging a leg under the covers. I had just closed my eyes when I heard chnk…zzzzp. Turning over, I saw Rikku taking her shorts off. Whoa!
"Hey!" She looked over at me, shorts pulled down to her knees. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to tell you. I can't sleep with my shorts on. What are you worrying about? You've already seen my panties, and I'll be under the covers the whole night."
Nodding, heart pumping, I turned my back to her. I eventually felt her crawl into bed, whispering goodnight before switching off the light.
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It had been two hours. Rikku was already asleep, but I wasn't. I was as far from her as possible, hanging on to the bed by one butt cheek. Why am I so hyped up about her? Maybe it's because she's in the same bed as me wearing almost nothiOH SHIT! She's touching me! She's touching me!
Rikku had rolled over, and now one of her arms was wrapped around my waist. Oh shit. I'm never going to get to sleep.
Rikku woke up the next morning to an empty room.
FDB: FINALLY! Rejoice! For another chappy has been finished. I blame my new classes. Geometry, World History, and Spanish, all in the same semester. That sux. Well, you know what to do. READ AND REVIEW!