Well, already 10 reviews for the first chapter! I'm somewhat surprised, but happy. Without further ado, on to the replies!
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Of course.
Iron Reaver: Nope, second. Sorry. And yes, me saying 'ow' was funny.
Auron's Fan: Well, I finished the 42nd chapter of DC the day I posted it. When I posted it, I edited a little of the spacing on the trailer, and posted it. Later that evening, I edited some parts of the first chapter (which I had already written) of Eternal Requiem, and posted it. So, pretty much, yes. I did have all 3 written. And as for Ben taking notes of things, you'll have to wait and see...(smirk)
desert-tiger: Well, do we REALLY know? Because things might not go the way you think...(evil grin)
Fallenone: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, Fallenone! You'll see how I get the storyline in. I did it to FFX, and I'll do it to this one too.
Bracey Face Anime Gurl: Yeah, I had fun writing that first part. Was amusing.
SmkViper: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, Viper! You'll get to see one this chapter, but as for the Special Dressphere, it won't show up for a while. I have it completely designed and such, though. As for Mascot? I'm not sure if I'll even get that, but probably so. I know what it'll be if I do, too. (grin)
helusbuub: Welcome to Eternal Requiem! Hope you enjoy the story.
XxCougarxX: You'll find out what he thinks this chapter, but not for another chapter or two will you discover his standard one.
Spira's Bard: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, SB! Glad to see you read my other story as well, so everything in here will make sense. So far, indeed...you never know what might happen...
Well, without any further delay, onwards!
Chapter 2—Reacquainting With Friends
"Fru ec drec?" is the first thing I hear upon entering the control room, courtesy of Brother.
"Brother, drec ec Ben! Ra fyc fedr ic uh Yunie'c bemknesyka dfu oaync yku!" Rikku replies.
"Famm, fro ec ra pylg rana!" Brother yells.
"Dra vyodr ycgat sa ev E fyhdat du nadinh, yht E cyet oac. Cu, E's pylg," I say, causing Rikku to smile and hug me.
"Oui nasaspan!" she cries, laughing, Yuna laughing along with her.
"Tir. Oui drehg E't vunkad?" I say, smiling.
"You said the fayth asked you if you wanted to return. Why did you choose to?" Yuna asks me, and I turn to face her.
"Well, my world's boring. That's really all that needs to be said, don't you think?" I reply, grinning stupidly. Everyone in the room laughs, including Brother after a moment. "Besides, I just couldn't help but come back, to see Rikku again," I say, smiling at my old girlfriend, who laughs.
"So, how old are you now? Nineteen?" Yuna asks, and I shake my head.
"Nope. I'm seventeen, still," I say, awaiting the inevitable response. Rikku answers first.
"But...but how are you only seventeen! It's been two years since you left!" she stammers, and I laugh.
"Forgot to explain this before I left. Time moves differently in my world than it does here. The two years I've been gone, has really only been a week in my world. So, I'm really only a week older than I was when Yuna's pilgrimage ended," I say, grinning. Everyone just stares in disbelief at me, and I can't help but laugh. "What? There's nothing wrong with it..." I say, still grinning, and Yuna just laughs, Rikku joining in, while Paine shakes her head.
"Paine, you haven't said a word? Surprising," I say, looking over at the black-clad girl. Paine's jaw actually drops, as she fumbles for words.
"How...how does he...?" she stammers, and I chuckle, as Yuna speaks.
"He just does. He did it a lot during my pilgrimage too. We just kind of...grew to accept it."
"Yeah, I have that little quirk, huh, Yuna?" I ask, leaning against the wall. Yuna just shakes her head, and I sigh, looking around. "So, this is the Celsius, I take it. Interesting ship you've got here."
"Yeah! We're the Gullwings now!" Rikku shouts, enthusiastically.
"Allow me to explain," Paine says, looking over at me. "We're..."
"Sphere hunters. I know," I interrupt, looking back at the girl. "No explanations needed, for the most part. I know what I got myself into." Walking around, I take a moment to examine the bridge. It reminds me of the bridge of the old airship, looking a lot like it in design. Walking over to a table, I pick up a strange bracelet, turning it over and looking at it. "The Garment Grid, I take it?" I ask Yuna, who nods.
"It lets us use Dresspheres to fight, but I'm sure you already knew that." she says, with a smile. Smiling back, I nod.
"Yeah. I know about them, but firsthand, I have no clue how they work."
"Then we'll just have to show you!" Rikku says, bounding over to me.
"So, what are you saying? That I'm a member of the Gullwings now?" I ask, crossing my arms.
"What do you think?" she replies, and I shrug.
"You tell me."
"Of course you are, silly!" Rikku says, punching me on the shoulder playfully.
"Yuna, Paine, Brother, you guys have no objections?" I ask, and Yuna shakes her head.
"I'm not quite sure who you are, but they seem to know you. I suppose it's fine," Paine says, and Brother walks up to me.
"Fine, you're in! Just remember...I am the leader here!" Brother says, and I nod.
"Whatever you say, mister leader," I reply, chuckling. Brother looks annoyed at me now, and I can already tell that I'm going to drive him nuts.
"Here," Paine says, tossing me a Garment Grid bracelet. "You'll need this."
"Thanks." Looking it over closely for a moment, I put it on and check the Dresspheres set inside of it. The standard ones, it seems. Warrior, Thief, Gunner, and Songstress. This will be interesting to learn to use. As I continue to look at the bracelet, the door opens, and Shinra walks in.
"Who's he?" Shinra asks, pointing at me.
"Shinra, this is Ben. You remember what I told you about him, right?" Yuna says, to which Shinra nods.
"So, this is the other High Summoner I heard so much about from Yuna," Shinra says, and I quirk an eyebrow.
"High Summoner?" I ask, turning to Yuna.
"Yes. They made you a High Summoner as well, since you did help defeat Sin, you know."
"Hmm...I suppose so, then." Shrugging, I turn back to Shinra. "So, I take it you're the kid genius?"
"That's right."
"Heh. Thought so. Well, as you already know me, I'll just take a look around here." Turning quickly, I walk out of the bridge, and head to the cabin.
"Nice little place..." I mutter, looking around the confines of the cabin. A small, spiraling staircase leads up to a second area, with three beds and a couch. Other than that, there isn't much in the cabin.
"Who are yoo?"
Turning, I come face to face with a Hypello, standing behind a counter on the right side of the cabin.
"The name's Ben. You're...?"
"Barkeep, at yoor servicesh." he says, and I smile a little at the accent.
"Nice to meet you," I say, taking a final look around and walking back to the elevator, heading back to the bridge.
"You sure looked like you were enjoying yourself," Rikku says to Yuna, as I re-enter the bridge.
"I was. It felt like some other person's excitement just took over."
"That can happen when you use the Garment Grid. The emotions of the person recorded in the sphere pass to the user," Shinra explains.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Rikku asks, seemingly a little nervous.
"I can't really say," Shinra replies.
"But it's your invention!" Buddy says, to which Shinra shrugs.
"I'm just a kid."
"Dancing Yuna? I want to see!" Brother says, causing me to groan inwardly.
"It'll cost you!" Yuna says, giggling.
"One moment..." Brother replies, digging in his pockets.
"She's kidding," Paine says, flatly. I'm beginning to like her already.
"What? No dance?" Brother asks her, and Yuna shakes her head, causing Brother to sigh. Suddenly, an alarm rings out over the control room, Buddy running over to his seat and leaping in, typing furiously on a keyboard.
"Ehlusehk tydy! Gullwings, du ouin cdydeuhc!" Brother shouts, and Shinra moves to his computer, beginning to type as well.
"This may take a few minutes. You guys might want to find something to do," Buddy replies, and we all nod.
"Come on! Let's give you the grand tour!" Rikku says, practically dragging me to the elevator.
"Aah! Yuna, Paine, anyone? Help?" I yell, as I'm dragged down the hall and into the elevator. I can hear Yuna laughing as the doors close, and I think I can hear Paine chuckling too.
A few minutes later, Rikku has shown me the entirety of the airship. It's a lot bigger on the inside than was shown in the game, too. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine each have a room, as does Brother, Buddy, and Shinra. Barkeep sleeps in the cabin, I believe, and there are a number of other rooms as well. They're simple bedrooms, I assume for anyone else that might have happened to join the Gullwings. As we're heading back to the bridge, Brother's voice suddenly comes over the intercom.
"Cbrana fyja yhymocec lusbmada! Gullwings, report to the bridge!"
"Hm. Guess that's our cue," I tell Rikku, who nods. Sprinting to the elevator, we quickly ascend back to the bridge, and run into the main control room.
"So, what's up?" Rikku asks Buddy, who turns around to face us."Treasure sphere waves! They're coming from those ruins they found at Gagazet!" he exclaims, and we all nod.
"All right!" Rikku yells, pumping a fist into the air in excitement.
"Haqd cdub: Gagazet!" Brother yells, as Buddy begins to pilot the Celsius to the towering Mount Gagazet. Walking over to a table, Yuna picks up and hands me a small earpiece.
"What's this?"
"Intercom. It lets us keep in touch with the Celsius while we're on missions." Yuna replies, and I shrug, placing the earpiece in. My first mission as a Gullwing. This will be fun.
"Neat..." I mutter, as we approach the ruins on top of Mount Gagazet. Seeing them far away is neat, but being near them is even better.
"Hey, the rocks are floating!" Yuna exclaims, pointing.
"Don't tell me we gotta climb up that thing!" Rikku adds.
"No worries. I'll take you to the top," Buddy replies, the Celsius beginning to climb towards the very top of the ruins. After a minute, we finally find a spot that we can get to, and Yuna, Paine, and Rikku lead me to a bay on the Celsius. As the door opens, they jump out, one by one. Paine first, then Rikku, then Yuna. I jump off last, looking down quickly, before looking back at Rikku. Suddenly, Yuna wobbles, and falls over the side.
"Yuna!" Rikku and Paine exclaim, quickly grabbing her arms. I grab onto Yuna's arms as well, and begin to help pull her up. It's taking considerable effort from the three of us, however.
"What's your status?" Brother asks over the intercom, obviously worried.
"Disasterriffic!"
"'Disasterrific' is not a word! Say 'disastrous' like the rest of Spira!" he retorts, and Rikku grunts.
"I'm not listening..."
"Rikku! Come in!" he yells again, and I grimace.
"You want me to hurt him?" Paine asks, lifting Yuna up an inch or two with our help.
"That'd be great," Rikku replies, and I nod.
"I'll help..."
"Come in!" he yells again, louder this time.
"Heave ho!" Rikku and Paine say, as the three of us finally manage to drag Yuna back up onto the ledge. Taking deep breaths, Yuna looks at the three of us.
"Thanks," she says, standing up. "That was a little close."
"A little?" Paine asks, crossing her arms.
"Come in!" Brother yells once again, nearly making me rip the transmitter from my ear. He's beginning to get on my nerves.
"We're here. Everything's fine now," Yuna tells him.
"Yuna, keep an eye on Rikku!" Brother tells us, and Yuna nods.
"You got it!"
"Alright, should we get moving?" I ask, and Yuna nods, beginning to lead us over the cliffs of the ruins.
After a minute of running, we're suddenly stopped by two fiends. A bat-type fiend, with a solitary eyeball in the center of it's body, and a four-legged, insectoid creature. It reminds me of Klikk in a way. Yuna draws her pistols, Rikku and Paine drawing their weapons as well as we prepare to fight the creature. Drawing my sword, I'm stopped by a shout from Yuna.
"Ben, try the dresspheres!" she shouts, and I nod. Focusing on the ones I have equipped, I quickly pick the one I want to shift into, and focus on it alone. Jumping into the air, I bring my hands into a diamond-shape in front of me, before spreading my arms out wide, a bright flash of light engulfing me. When it clears, I'm now in a completely black outfit, consisting of a long-sleeved shirt with chest armor, as well as a pair of long, black pants. A pair of black boots adorn my feet, and a long, slender, blue sword is in my right hand. This is my Warrior dressphere. Taking another look at the sword, my eyes go wide as I realize something.
'This...this is Shuyin's sword...but how?' I think to myself, my thoughts being cut off by a shout from Rikku.
"Look out!"
My head snaps up just in time to see the Takouba fiend dive at me, front forelegs extended for a strike. Quickly spinning out of the way, I bring the sword down hard on its head, cutting a gash in the top. A duo of slashes cut into the creature's head next, courtesy of Rikku, and the Ahriman fiend brings its wings in, before launching a ray of energy at Paine. The girl takes the hit, grunting a little, but showing no other signs of injury. Yuna turns to the fiend now, carefully aiming, before unleashing a shower of bullets, the Trigger Happy attack ripping into the fiend and sending it to the ground. Paine runs up, and with one final strike, cleaves the fiend in two, both bodies fading away into pyreflies.
"Well...that was amusing," I say, shouldering the sword and chuckling. But inside, however, I'm somewhat confused. Deciding to put those thoughts aside, I continue to follow Yuna and the others towards the summit of Gagazet.
A few minutes later, after jumping over numerous gaps in the path, we arrive at what appears to be an elevator. A button is on the far wall, obviously the control to the elevator.
"A dead end," Paine says, Rikku putting her hands on her hips.
"Just great."
"Think this machina still works?" Yuna chimes in, pointing to the elevator. All of us walk over to examine it, before Yuna presses the button. Nothing happens for a moment, but then the elevator starts to shake, and descend slowly.
"I wonder how safe this is..." Yuna says, and as if taking a cue from her words, the elevator suddenly makes a sharp lurch down, rocketing towards the bottom. All of us scream, and are nearly taken off our feet, before the elevator hits the ground below, knocking all of us off our feet completely.
"It stopped..." Yuna mutters, Rikku groaning in pain.
"Owwie," she mumbles, all of us standing up.
"What happened? Is Yuna okay?" Brother asks over the intercom.
"Things are..." Yuna begins, searching for the right word, before sighing, "...disasterrific."
"Disasterrific? I am on my way!" Brother says, the comlink cutting itself off again.
"What about me?" Rikku asks, a little too late. Rikku's head falls a little, and I chuckle, Yuna beginning to lead us all to the top of the ruins once again.
After another minute or two of walking, we come across a large platform, one side of the ruins that is larger than most of the rest of the trail that we've been walking on. A scuffling behind us suddenly catches our attention, and we all stop, turning around.
"Who's there?" Yuna asks, and the familiar figure of Leblanc suddenly walks into view.
"Er, Leblanc. Remember that name well, loves!" she says, and Yuna's eyes narrow.
"Ah, the thief."
"Back for round two?" I ask, smirking.
"Whatever do you mean?" Leblanc says, snorting. "That's what I hate about amateurs..."
"Maybe she'll go away if we ignore her," Rikku whispers to all of us, causing me to chuckle.
"You! I heard that!" Leblanc yells, obviously angered. "Just as I was saying: amateurs. They have no concept of what it takes to be a true sphere hunter," she finishes, seemingly talking to herself instead of us.
"Amateurs? Weren't you following us?" Paine asks, bluntly.
"Following?" she says, waving a hand in the air to dismiss the query. "A mere coincidence." As Leblanc finishes speaking, Logos and Ormi walk up behind her.
"You was right, Boss, as always," Ormi says, grabbing his shield from off of his back.
"Indeed, following them has paid off splendidly." We all giggle at that statement from Logos, proving Paine's suspicions.
"Laugh while you can!" Leblanc says, grabbing her fan as Logos draws his revolvers. Hefting my sword off my shoulder, I drop into a battle stance, as Logos aims at me. Snapping off a quick pair of shots, the bullets force me back, as Yuna retaliates with a salvo of her own.
"Blind them!" Rikku yells, and I nod, knowing what she's getting at. Focusing again, I jump into the air, and the light covers me again, as I change into the Songstress dressphere. Landing, I take a quick look at myself, and stare. Unlike the Warrior dressphere, which seems to have worked fine, the Songstress dressphere has not. Now, I'm garbed in much the same outfit as Yuna would be. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine simply stare at me, and Leblanc and her gang burst out in laughter.
"You know, I would say I didn't expect this, but I would be lying." I say, feeling my face go a bright red. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine all laugh now, and I sigh, quickly focusing on another dressphere. The light covers me again, and as it recedes, I find myself in the Gunner dressphere. A white tank top now covers my chest, a pair of blue jean shorts stopping just above my knees. A pair of holsters are attached to either side of my waist, and a pair of white bands are on the upper part of my right arm, one above the other. Drawing my pistols, I glare at Ormi, before pointing both pistols at him sideways.
"Eat this!" I yell, furiously, before firing rapidly, my Trigger Happy attack getting about 9 hits on him before I stop. Yuna does the same to Logos, as Paine draws her sword and goes blade to fan with Leblanc. Rikku runs up to Logos as Yuna quits firing, and swipes something from him, before running back to us. Ormi suddenly begins to spin, and throws his shield at Paine, knocking the girl away from Leblanc. Logos now takes a duo of shots at Rikku, and Rikku staggers back. Leblanc finds an opening in all the fighting, and charges at Yuna, only earning a shot in the stomach for her troubles. Stumbling back, Leblanc is immediately set upon by Rikku, who slashes twice at her before backing off. Aiming carefully, I shoot Logos in the chest, before Paine runs in and slashes up at Logos, knocking the taller man to the ground.
"Bwahaha!" Ormi laughs, before throwing his shield at Yuna, who ducks as it flies overhead and back to Ormi. As Ormi catches it, Rikku slashes twice at his arms, causing him to drop the shield, just as Paine runs in and slashes him in the chest. Stumbling back, Yuna and I both take a shot at Ormi, knocking him to the ground.
"You'll pay for that!" Leblanc yells, and runs to me, slashing down with her fan. I block the strike with one of my pistols, before kicking her away. Rikku runs in, and slashes once at Leblanc's arm, causing her to drop the fan, and again in the chest, sending her staggering back, off balance.
"Hmph! And this is the thanks I get for going easy on you!" Leblanc yells, before throwing an object to the ground, a cloud of smoke covering the area. When it recedes, we can see the trio in the distance, running inside of a doorway that leads higher into the ruins.
"Come on!" I yell, charging after the group. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine nod, beginning to run alongside me.
"I wouldn't try that again, Ben!" Rikku says, giggling, which causes Yuna to giggle, and Paine to smirk.
"Gee, Rikku, you think?" I retort, an indescribable look on my face as we run along the platform towards the door.
Well, first mission is underway! The insanity...well, it'll probably only get worse. You'll have to keep reading to find out! As always, please review!