Title: Storming Spira
Fandom(s): Power Rangers Ninja Storm/Final Fantasy X-2
Rating: PG (K+); rating subject to change
Summary: Six not quite ninjas anymore set out on an unforgettable journey through the land of Spira.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, depending on the fiend; some slashiness (not the focus); possible cursing; and Dustin's overuse of the word "dude"
Disclaimer: PR and FF are owned by Disney and Square respectively, even though they have to split Kingdom Hearts. Ha. Revenge is sweet.

Dressphere Note: In reference to X-2's infamous dresspheres, in this slightly alternate universe, they are in wide use throughout Spira, though the Garment Grids remain exclusive to the Gullwings.

Chapter One
"Residents of Mi'ihen"

Shane cursed as the wild wolf managed to catch him. Quickly he struck back, all the while looking for a way out. The fiend didn't hesitate in retaliating, but Shane evaded the hit. He took another shot, hoping he didn't miss. The sensor on his longsword read that the lupine's health was critical, meaning another blow would finish it off.

The wild wolf apparently wasn't quick enough to save his own fur, because a second after Shane hit, he was nothing more than a cloud of pyreflies. Shane grinned with satisfaction, putting the sword into the scabbard on his back. Now if only he could find Dustin, then he'd be in good shape.

Another fiend found him first. This time, it was a flan palido out to freeze him to death. "Crap," he muttered. He hated flans.

A Blizzard spell hit him quickly, and Shane knew he had to fight back, even if he didn't quite have the means to do it. He started to charge up the Flametongue ability when he got hit several times in the back. He spun around to see a purpurea getting ready to charge another attack.

"You've got to be kidding me," he lamented.

"Fira - split!" a voice called from behind him.

The spell hit the two fiends, and the flan palido faded away. The Purpurea, however, remained a problem. Damned plants. They never knew how to die properly. Shane took care of this by attacking the overgrown weed with his already charged Flametongue, which proved to be even more effective than if he had hit the flan.

"You're out on the Mi'ihen Highroad and you can't even handle a flan and a plant?"

Shane turned around, preparing a comeback. The insult was lost between his mind and his mouth when he saw whom his rescuer was. "Well, the plant kind of snuck up on me, and my friend has all the potions, which is why I was out here in the first place..."

The blond-haired and blue-eyed man shook his head. "You don't have any items on you? That's not exactly intelligent."

"He's an alchemist, so he kind of needs them more than I do," Shane replied, trying to refrain from rambling again. Why was he prone to making an idiot of himself in front of strangers?

"Well you probably needed them a couple minutes ago, considering you were about to get slaughtered by pretty weak fiends."

The warrior crossed his arms, indignant. "I was not about to get slaughtered. In fact, I would've been fine if you hadn't come along with your stupid Black Magic. I could've handled those fiends just fine."

The man scoffed, and then a grin crossed his face. "Think you can handle this?"

There was a flash of light, and suddenly the man was gone. Shane was confident for a moment, until the ground in front of him split open. Out of the crack crawled the blond man, only now he was clad in dark armor, with a huge sword in his hand.

"Holy..." Shane gulped.

"Sorry, don't know that one. Unless you do?"

Shane shook his head.

"Good."

"Yo, Hunter! Finally found a few more echo screens! Had to fight a stupid horned thing for it, but I scored a few potions in the deal."

A shorter man with dark hair carrying daggers walked up to the two. He looked confused. "Hunter? What's going on?"

The blond turned around and stuck the sword into the ground, leaning on it. "Nothing bro. Just having a friendly conversation with this guy who I saved from a couple of fiends."

"Hey, like I said before, I could've handled them myself. I didn't need your help. When will you get that idea through your arrogant skull?" Shane cut in. He knew that he should've been grateful that the attention was away from him, but he wasn't about to let that insult slip by unnoticed.

"Ooh, he pegged you right away. How long have you two known each other?" The shorter man laughed and turned to the warrior. "I'm Blake, and this broody jackass is my brother Hunter."

"Shane. And we've known each other about five minutes." He looked at the blond and noticed that he didn't seem fazed by the casual slight. "So, what exactly are you guys?"

Blake shrugged. "I'm a thief, Hunter's a black mage. Well, we recently picked up this new dressphere off an unsuspecting Youth League guy, so now he's a black mage and dark knight. We were born and raised in Luca, but we couldn't afford the housing so we came out to Mi'ihen."

"Pickpocketing innocent Youth League sign-ups?" Shane wondered, looking amused.

"Used to be Crusaders before the Eternal Calm came. Thought about moving to the Moonflow, but that meant going through Mushroom Rock, and since we've made a few enemies there, we stuck around here," Blake continued. "Besides, it keeps medicines and gil in our pockets, which means we survive."

There was another flash of light, and Hunter was back into normal clothing. Luckily for Shane, the sword disappeared with the armor. "What brings you to Mi'ihen anyway? Joining the Youth League like every other hotheaded idiot with a sword?"

Shane shook his head, laughing a bit. "If I wanted to join the Youth League I would've stayed in Kilika. But, no, I came here to explore, I guess. After Sin was defeated, I decided to set out to see what the rest of Spira was like. Once Kilika was rebuilt and I had learned enough skills to manage on my own, I left. And here I am."

"What about the friend you mentioned earlier? The alchemist?" Hunter inquired.

Blake glanced at his adoptive brother. Since when did he get so curious about other people's lives?

"Dustin came with me because he wouldn't let me leave Kilika by myself. Thought I was crazy for trying to go anywhere in Spira without a healer. But, when we got out to Mi'ihen a shantak attacked us, and we got separated." Shane gave Hunter a small glare, as the black mage was looking smug.

There was a yell from inside the ruined tower across the Highroad. Shane placed the voice immediately and ran towards it without thought. Blake and Hunter followed, if only out of curiosity.

Inside the tower stood an iron giant holding its sword menacingly above someone who was huddled in the corner. Shane struck at its back and Blake quickly followed, chaining the attacks and causing the fiend to disappear into a cloud of pyreflies.

"Dustin, you okay?" Shane asked, helping his friend to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm good," Dustin answered, breathing heavily for a moment.

"Not if you're fiend-fighting-challenged," Hunter commented.

Dustin narrowed his eyes. "Look, I had to defeat a shantak on my own, and--"

Shane shook his head. "Futile."

The alchemist raised an eyebrow. "Who are these guys anyway?"

"Hunter and Blake, two guys I just met on the Highroad," Shane replied.

Hunter smirked. "One of whom saved you from a flan and a plant."

"What is that your proudest life achievement or something?" the warrior shot back.

Ignoring the two sword fighters, Blake turned to Dustin. "So, you're an alchemist, eh? What can you do?"

Dustin perked up, happy to discuss his art. "Well, if you have a grenade and a potion, I will you show you."

Blake handed over the items, looking wary. He knew that alchemy was an Al Bhed science, but that wasn't why he didn't trust it. It tended to be a bit unstable in the hands of the inexperienced.

"With these two ordinary items, I can create the cheap but very useful Pineapple bomb, the use of which I will demonstrate on that fungus over there." Dustin concentrated on combining the elements of the two materials while keeping his eyes on the bully cap slowly slinking across his line of vision.

The two swordsmen turned when their companions went quiet. Shane's eyes widened, and he took a step back, pulling Hunter with him. The black mage didn't object; he merely indicated for Blake to do the same. The thief complied, still carefully watching the alchemist.

"Um, Dustin," Shane tried to warn, but his friend was too busy concentrating to notice anything that was going on around him.

It seemed that he was concentrating too hard, because when Dustin went to launch the bomb, it never made it out of his hands, literally blowing up in his face. The bully cap went on past the ruined tower, oblivious.

"Well that was productive," Hunter stated, trying not to laugh.

"I almost had it that time!" Dustin lamented, tossing away the empty potion vial.

Blake looked curious. "So, if you can't actually mix items, then how did you defeat that shantak?"

"Simple." Dustin reached behind him and pulled out the gun from his belt. "It's not powerful, but it gets the job done when mixing grenades doesn't."

Hunter shook his head. He looked away from the group and out to the Highroad. He noticed the empty potion vial still flying through the air. It bounced off another ruined tower and hit a wandering shantak, which ended up crashing into another one of its species. Surprisingly, the fiends didn't get into a fight. Instead, they turned towards the warrior, black mage, thief, and alchemist within the ruined tower across the road.

"Guys, I think we're in trouble."

Shane was the first to look up. "Trouble would be an understatement."

"You know, normally I wouldn't sweat a shantak, but two? Uh-uh," Blake said.

"How about we put some more road between them and us?" Dustin suggested.

"Good idea," Hunter and Shane agreed simultaneously.

And they implemented Dustin's idea quite quickly. They ran from the tower, heading south down the Highroad towards Luca. The shantaks, however, were just as fast if not faster. One went for Dustin, managing to get him in the back. Dustin groaned but kept running.

"Damned rocs," the alchemist muttered. He rifled through his item pack, searching for anything that could help them outrun the fiends. His fingers came upon a chocobo feather, and an idea hit him. He only hoped that his alchemy would work this time. He fished out a potion as well and combined the two for the effect of a Hastega spell, giving the group a definite speed advantage.

Hunter actually looked grateful, and his running became marginally easier. Shane's agility also increased, but not as drastically. Blake's pace didn't change much, but he was a thief, so speed was on his side.

Finally, a few minutes and many lost hit points later (even with the speed advantage, the shantaks managed to keep up), they reached Luca, taking shelter within the city limits. Blake leaped the last half of the entrance stairs, while Dustin merely rolled down them. Hunter and Shane both stopped a couple steps down, leaning heavily on the rails and catching their breath. When they walked down to the main platform, Blake was sitting on a railing to the far side while Dustin was lying out in the middle.

"Man that was brutal," Dustin said, breathing deeply between each word.

"Actually, it was," Blake admitted. "You okay?"

Dustin checked his sensor. "Just above critical."

"Then we definitely need an inn," Shane said. He looked at Hunter. "Know any?"

Hunter nodded. "Follow me."