Well, another day, another chapter. And more college work, but that's another story. Anyhow, on to the replies!
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Stop that. It's annoying.
Auron's Fan: Uh huh. And actually, I did go into the hot springs. Need to read more carefully, hehe.
Zexion72: Thank you.
Iron Reaver: (sweatdrops)
Snare646: Man, someone likes speculation...hehe. You'll find out, but I will say that you're on the right track. And you'll see what you wish to see, all too soon...
XxCougarxX: I'm gonna hurt you now. Thanks.
Remco: Yes, poor, poor me. Oh well.
AKM-Doo san:Well,romance isn't exactly my strong point, in my opinion. I like suspense a lot better, really. So,of course it'll be harder for me to write it.
Shadowkiller29: Poor you. Red, make sure he doesn't die, hmkay?
Well, now, on to the mission!
Chapter 14—No Honor Among Thieves
The next morning, I awake to find one of the uniforms that we stole from Leblanc's gang lying over the back of a chair in my room. Cringing a little at the sight, I yawn as there's a knock at the door.
"Yeah?" I ask, Rikku's happy face staring back at me.
"Better get dressed! We're headed to Guadosalam now! We're gonna get our sphere back!" she says, and I yawn again, before nodding.
"Alright, alright...it's too early for this," I mutter, looking over at the uniform and shaking my head. Rikku just laughs, easily noticing my annoyance and discomfort.
"Aw, come on! It won't be that bad..." Rikku says, and I scrunch my face up in disgust.
"Speak for yourself. You're a girl." Rikku just laughs again, nodding.
"Point taken," she says, before turning. "I'll see you on the bridge, okay?" she tells me, and I nod, before she walks off. Sighing, I shut the door behind me, and think for a moment, before smiling.
"Well. If they're going to laugh at me...I'll just have to laugh at myself too," I say, beginning to change into the uniform.
A minute or two later, I leave my room, walking into the elevator and heading to the bridge. The uniform is a little tight, which makes it somewhat uncomfortable, but it doesn't bother me too much. As the doors open, I can hear faint talking in the bridge, mostly things about Guadosalam and Leblanc's gang. Sighing, I step into the bridge, as all eyes turn to me. Yuna's eyes go wide, as do Paine's, and Rikku just stands there with a large grin on her face. Brother and Buddy are speechless, but I can't tell what Shinra's expression is, due to the helmet.
"What? Is there a problem?" I say, raising the pitch of my voice to make it sound more feminine. That causes Rikku to burst into a fit of laughter, as Yuna finally finds her voice again.
"...No, no problem...just...you..." she says, stifling laughter of her own. Smiling, I simply walk over, standing beside the three of them.
"What? You don't like the uniform?" I ask, and that finally makes Yuna lose it, collapsing into giggles. Paine just shakes her head.
"You're having fun with this, I see," she tells me, smiling a little, and I shrug.
"Well, it's either laugh at this myself, along with everyone else, or feel uncomfortable the entire time. I'd rather laugh, myself," I reply, and Paine just nods, as Rikku and Yuna finally stop laughing. "Are you two finished?" I ask, changing my voice again, and they both nod, again looking like they'll start laughing again at any moment.
"We're off to Chateau Leblanc!" Rikku exclaims, Paine nodding.
"Let's settle the score," she says, and I nod in agreement as well.
"No one steals from us," I state, as the airship begins to descend.
(Play FFX-2 theme Infiltration)
Stepping out of the Celsius, we enter Guadosalam as the airship lifts off again, so as not to blow our cover. Stepping into the city, we're greeted with a few looks, but nothing more. Seeing goons in and out must be relatively normal to the people of Guadosalam now.
"I hope this works," Yuna whispers.
"Worry after we're caught," Paine replies.
"If we're caught, you mean," I say, trying to be positive. "Let's just get in there, get the sphere, and get out. Faster we do it, the better off we'll be."
"Right," Yuna says, as we approach Chateau Leblanc. One goon is standing guard outside, looking somewhat distracted. Seeing us, he snaps to attention.
"Huh?" he asks, looking over the four of us.
"Reporting for duty!" Yuna and Rikku say, snapping off a quick salute of some sort.
"Th-thanks?" the guard stammers, and we nod, walking inside.
"Another smashing success!" Rikku says, the front doors closing behind us.
"We're not done yet," Paine reminds her. "Where's the sphere?" Suddenly, a door in front of us open, and we move to the side as Leblanc and Nooj walk out, stopping and beginning to speak near the front doors.
"Thank you, Leblanc," he says, and Leblanc seems to blush some.
"Anything for you, love," she replies, Nooj turning to the front doors.
"Now I finally know the location of Vegnagun. Spira is in for a rough ride. Take care," he says, and Leblanc nods.
"Yes, love," she replies, as Nooj walks out the front doors. As the doors close, Leblanc sighs, shaking her head.
"Oh, how long must we be apart? These days without you aren't easy on me, love," she says, sounding quite depressed, before walking upstairs and stepping into a room. Looking around quickly, I look at the trio of girls, before speaking, still disguising my voice in case someone is listening.
"Where to now?" I ask, everyone looking around for a moment, before Yuna begins to walk towards a door to our left. Following, we all step inside, seeing that the room is a large living and dining room. A large table in the center of the room holds a great amount of food, and I look around to see Logos and Ormi stand up from a couch, walking towards us while talking to each other.
"The boss is a different person when that Nooj guy shows up, huh?" Ormi asks Logos, who nods.
"Suppressing her natural charm and acting like some housewife...she must be tense," Logos replies, before looking over at Yuna. "You, go to the boss's chamber and tend to your duties. Yuna looks a little confused at this.
"What...duties?" she asks, tentatively.
"You know, use your talents to help her...unwind," Ormi replies, before the two of them walk out. Sharing a quick glance to us, Yuna follows them out, leaving Paine, Rikku, and I alone in the living room. Looking around at the room, I walk over to the table, grabbing an orange and tossing it up and down for a moment.
"Food, anyone?" I say, smiling, before peeling the orange some and taking a bite. Rikku and Paine look at each other, before shrugging and stepping over to join me. Sighing, I walk over and sit down on the couch, taking another bite out of the fruit. Rikku and Paine step over and sit down on another part of the couch, as we take a moment to relax and temporarily forget about our situation.
A couple minutes later, Yuna steps in, heading to the back of the room. The three of us get up and follow, as Yuna examines the wall for a moment. Pulling a small panel up, she reveals a button set into the wall.
"What does it do?" she asks, before pressing the button. A picture on the middle of the wall moves up on its own, but other than that, nothing happens. Rikku looks annoyed, and walks up to the wall, beginning to hit and kick it.
"Huh? That's it? What a letdown!" she exclaims, before the wall suddenly creaks, spinning around and sending her tumbling down a small slope.
"Rikku!" Yuna and I exclaim, running down the slope quickly, to find Rikku sitting at the bottom.
"Whose idea was that?" she moans, getting up, as Paine steps down behind us.
"Take it up with the boss," she says, and Yuna turns to her.
"Boss?" she asks.
"Ah?" Paine says, before realizing what she just said and shaking her head. "I've had this thing on too long. Let's change," she says, and all three of us nod, beginning to strip the uniforms off. Glad to be out of the outfit, I toss the uniform aside, stretching for a moment, as Yuna begins to walk down the corridor. All of us follow, but before we get very far, the comlink cuts into the silence.
"This is Brother! How's it going?" he asks, a bit loud, and Rikku shushes him quickly through the comlink.
"Be quiet! This is a covert operation!" she hisses. "Over and out."
"Rikku! How dare you speak to your leader like that!" Brother says, and Rikku starts to clench her fists.
"Ooh! Shut up, already!" she says, before footsteps come from behind us. Spinning, we come face to face with Ormi.
"Hrm? Who's there?" he says, before getting a good look at us and jerking back. "Ah! The Gullwings!" he exclaims, grabbing his shield quickly.
"Uh-oh!" Yuna exclaims, drawing her pistols, as we all draw our weapons.
(End FFX-2 theme Infiltration, play FFX-2 theme I'll Give You Something Hot)
"How'd you get in here?" he yells, running at Paine and attempting to hit her with his shield, but missing.
"Wouldn't you like to know!" I retort, my sword leaping high for a horizontal slash that clangs off the shield. Before Ormi can react, though, Rikku is in front of him, slashing twice quickly across his stomach before jumping back. Paine charges in next, her sword sparking with electricity.
"Thunder Blade!" she yells, bringing the sword down. The blade crashes into the shield, and Ormi cries out in pain as the electricity travels through the shield into him, causing him to step back. A volley of bullets fly in next, courtesy of Yuna, which cause the wounded Ormi to stumble back even more. Looking between all of us, Ormi apparently realizes he doesn't stand a chance alone.
"You'll be sorry!" he yells, running off the way he came quickly.
(End FFX-2 theme I'll Give You Something Hot)
"Well, least he has some sense," I mutter, chuckling a little.
"Come on," Yuna says, moving towards a room at the end of the hallway. Quickly, we follow her to the door, and into the room. It appears to be Logos' and Ormi's room, from the looks of things. The trio begins to search the room, and after a minute, Rikku holds up a sphere.
"Hey! This isn't the sphere they stole, is it?" she asks, and I shake my head.
"They stole the half-sphere we found at Zanarkand," I reply, all of us moving over to her.
"Let's watch it," Yuna suggests, and Rikku nods, turning the sphere on. As it begins playing, it's apparent that the sphere is being used as a camera, and from the looks of things, near the aftermath of a battle. Bodies are strewn everywhere, and the sphere-camera moves over several of them, as Ormi's voice comes over the sphere.
"Let's see. Total survivors of the final Crimson Squad selection exercise: zero, zilch, and zipall. Job done," he says, Logos' voice cutting in a moment after.
"You pinhead. Did you even count?" he says, before continuing. "Look. There are bodies missing. There should be three more candidates and their recorder."
"Uh, your point?" Ormi retorts.
"Three plus one makes how many?" he asks, Ormi remaining silent. "Four still live. Fix it."
"Figures," Ormi mutters, before another man's voice cuts in.
"Did you say something?" the man says, Logos' voice seeming to jump slightly at the sound.
"No, sir! Pay him no mind," Logos says, as the sphere shuts itself off.
"It's a dud," Paine says, as the door opens, Logos and Ormi stepping in with weapons drawn.
"Only naughty girls would scrounge through other people's bedrooms," Logos says, as all of us draw our weapons and tense, expecting another fight.
"What about you?" Rikku retorts. "You're the ones who broke into our airship!"
"The boss's orders are permission enough!" Logos replies, and I see a chance to attack, rushing the both of them and knocking them back into the hallway, giving us a little more room to fight in.
(Play FFX-2 theme I'll Give You Something Hot)
"You want another round, I see!" I yell at Ormi, who just grunts, throwing his shield at me. The shield flies over me as I duck, grabbing my sword and standing back up as the shield flies back to him. Paine and I both charge in, my sword glowing with dark energy as her sword glows with white.
"Demi Sword!"
"Excalibur!"
My attack connects with Ormi, causing him to grunt as the dark energy saps his strength, while Paine's slash strikes Logos, sending him stumbling back from the holy attack. Rikku spherechanges to Gunner, while Yuna spherechanges to Black Mage, raising her staff.
"Fire!" she yells, the spell slamming into Ormi and sending him back a step. Rikku grabs her pistols, using a Trigger Happy attack on Logos, who retaliates by firing once at Rikku, the Russian Roulette attack inflicting poison on Rikku, who starts to cough. Quickly, I spherechange to Black Mage as well, grabbing my staff and aiming at Logos.
"Blizzard!" The ice spell hits Logos, distracting him just enough for Yuna to cast a Thunder spell, the bolt staggering him and making him drop one of his pistols. Suddenly, the shield goes flying by my head, a little too close for comfort. Looking over, I see a staggering Ormi, and Paine standing there with an angry look on her face. Apparently, she knocked Ormi off balance while he was aiming at me.
"Oh, you want to use cheap shots, do you..." I mutter, about to attack. Before I can cast a spell, however, a pink glow from near me catches my attention. Turning, I see Yuna spherechanging, and a grin works its way across my face. As the light dims, I see Yuna floating in the air, now dressed in a white, bikini-like outfit. A large, flowing, multicolored dress fans out behind her, resembling flower petals, which completes her Floral Fallal dressphere.
Stepping back, I watch as Yuna looks Logos and Ormi over before gesturing at them, two small beams of energy flying from her and striking the duo, one to each of them.
"Ice Whirl!" she cries, pointing a palm at the two of them, as a chain of Blizzard attacks go off in their faces, causing them to stagger back, Logos tripping and falling to the floor.
"We...we gotta tell the boss!" Ormi yells, running off quickly. Logos stands up and follows him, as Yuna sighs, spherechanging back to Gunner.
(End FFX-2 theme I'll Give You Something Hot)
"Nice," I say, spherechanging back to Warrior, Rikku also spherechanging back to her normal Thief outfit.
"Thanks," Yuna replies, looking over at me. "Is that how you felt, back on Gagazet?" she asks, and I think for a moment, before nodding.
"I felt some kind of energy, waiting to be released. But, I couldn't figure out just how to do it, until I spherechanged," I reply.
"That's about how I felt," Yuna says, nodding back at me.
"Hate to break up this little talk of yours, but we need to find that sphere," Paine states, crossing her arms.
"Oh, yeah, right. Sorry," I say, looking around, before beginning to walk towards a side hall. The hall turns to the left, and then again to the left, leading us down a long, narrow hallway. Another door is at the end, and I stop, thinking for a moment. "Must be some kind of storage room," I say, and Yuna nods.
"Let's go trash it!" Rikku yells, and I shrug.
"Works for me," I reply, grinning, as we all run towards the door. Opening the door and walking in, my suspicions are somewhat confirmed. There are a lot of random things in here, boxes and bags of spheres, weapons, and other things. Quickly, we begin to search the place. After a moment, both Rikku and Paine stand up, looking triumphant.
"Found it!"
"Found it."
"Huh?" Yuna asks, obviously confused by both Rikku and Paine stating the same thing at once.
"Now I get it," Paine says, looking at the half of the broken sphere she's holding, along with the other half that Rikku has. "I was wondering why they'd bother stealing half a broken sphere."
"Of course! They already had the other half!" Rikku exclaims.
"Very good, loves," Leblanc's voice says, and I turn to see her, as well as Logos and Ormi, standing outside the door. "I went through a lot of trouble gathering those pieces. All for Noojie-Woojie," she continues, pointing at us. "So don't you lay a finger on it! Let's get 'em, boys!"
"Yes, boss!" Logos and Ormi reply, drawing their weapons yet again, Leblanc grabbing her fan as well.
(Play FFX-2 theme I'll Give You Something Hot)
"You three are beginning to get on my nerves," I say, grabbing my sword, Yuna and the others drawing their weapons as well. "So, let's settle this for good." Running towards them, they back out to allow us out into the hall, before Logos fires at us, the shots hitting Yuna and causing her to wince. Glaring, she snaps off a retaliating pair of shots, Rikku running in and slashing Leblanc as well. Leblanc slaps Rikku across the face with her fan, disorienting her for a moment, before slashing back at her, causing Rikku to step back.
"Flametongue!" Paine yells, running in and slashing up at Ormi, a burst of fire hitting him in the chest.
"Let's get 'em, boys!" Leblanc yells, and Ormi grins.
"Finally, our practice is going to pay off!" he replies, and Logos turns to look at him.
"Practice? What practice?" he says, Ormi just shaking his head, before Leblanc begins to concentrate. Suddenly, Leblanc whips her fan out, as wind starts to pick up around us, throwing us into the air, as Logos begins to fire shots into the makeshift tornado that we're now trapped in. Wincing from the shots, we fall out of the air, hitting the ground hard, before Ormi leaps into the air and lands in the middle of us, causing a shockwave to toss us around again, hurting us even further.
"Man...that really hurt..." I mutter, getting back to my feet and grabbing a potion, drinking it quickly. Everyone else does the same, Paine spherechanging to Black Mage now, and aiming her staff at Leblanc.
"Thunder!" she cries, a bolt of lightning striking Leblanc and causing her to step back. Quickly, I spherechange to Black Mage also, aiming at Ormi.
"Blizzard!" The ice spell connects with the shield, giving me just enough time to catch my breath again. Suddenly, a bullet hits me, and I can feel my ability to cast spells become nullified. Growling, I spherechange back to Warrior, grabbing my sword again. A yellow light from behind me catches my attention, though, and I turn to see Paine spherechanging. The light dims to reveal Paine, now in the garb of some sort of mechanical bird. Metallic, wing-like appendages stretch from her back, and some sort of armor covers most of her body, as she stands tall in her Full Throttle dressphere.
"Aestus!" she cries, charging Logos and slashing once, a large burst of fire exploding in his face and sending him stumbling back. Smiling, I see a chance to tip the odds in our favor, and call on my special dressphere as well, an icy-blue light covering me. After a moment, I step forward, hands reaching to my side, before calling out my attack.
"Blade Fury!"
Snapping my hands up, I begin to make throwing motions, as dozens of throwing knives storm out, stabbing and slashing at Leblanc, Logos, and Ormi. The three of them wince as my attack stops, Ormi quickly throwing his shield at me. Having no time to get out of the way, the shield hits me in the chest, knocking me to the ground.
"Take this!" Yuna cries, a Trigger Happy attack distracting Ormi, Rikku also running in and slashing him across the chest as well.
"Winterkill!" Paine yells, slashing at Leblanc, who vainly tries to block with her fan. The talons on Paine's arms rip through the fan with ease, a burst of ice knocking Leblanc to the ground. Standing back up, I prepare to attack again, before seeing Yuna knock Logos to the ground with a well-aimed attack. The trio make no move to attack again, stepping backwards instead. Sighing, I spherechange back to my normal Warrior, Paine also shifting back to Warrior as Rikku and Yuna approach the three of them.
(End FFX-2 theme I'll Give You Something Hot)
"Well? Want another helping of your just desserts?" Rikku says, crossing her arms.
"No one's gonna hear you scream from down here," Paine adds.
"W-Wait a second! I'll let you see what's in the sphere!" Leblanc stammers, somewhat frightened by the four of us.
"Let us?" Paine asks, almost scoffing at the comment.
"Please, the sphere is yours to watch," Leblanc says, and Yuna nods, walking over to all of us and pulling out the two halves of the sphere. Placing them back together, the sphere glows slightly for a moment, the cracks sealing over, before Yuna begins to play the sphere. The sphere fades in on what appears to be a large room, or pit of some sort. In the middle is an enormous machina, the same one we saw in one of the earlier spheres.
"That is the colossus Vegnagun," Leblanc explains, the three of them having also walked over to us. "We've finished our analysis of the sphere. It appears to have been recorded underneath Bevelle."
"I see Bevelle hasn't lost its old fondness for secrets," Paine says, folding her arms.
"Exactly. Those Yevon scum have been concealing that weapon all along. If anyone uses that thing, Spira is done for," Leblanc replies.
"But it's a machina!" Rikku cuts in, looking between Paine and Leblanc. "All we have to do is shakey-shake our way up to it and take it apart!"
"That's what Noojie's got in mind," Leblanc says. "And of course, whatever he's planning is what I'm planning. What about you?" she adds, turning to Yuna and I.
"Me?"
"Us?" I say, at the same time as Yuna.
"The summoners who defeated Sin ought to stand up and defend Spira again," Leblanc says, looking between us. Yuna just nods, and I nod as well, Leblanc putting a hand on her hip. "So then, I guess we're on the same side. We'll be waiting for you," she tells us, as she begins to walk off with Logos and Ormi.
"Waiting where?" Paine asks, causing Leblanc to turn to her.
"Don't be silly, love. On your airship, of course. I've always wanted to take a spin on that thing!" she says, as if it was obvious.
"Ever heard of asking?" Rikku says, annoyed.
"Apparently, no," I mutter, watching the three of them leave. Sighing, I begin to walk off after them, Yuna and the others right behind me. 'Better hope they don't get themselves in over their heads...or cause too much havoc on the Celsius. I can bet Brother and Buddy won't be too happy...' I think, shaking my head.
So, what is everyone getting themselves into now...and can they handle it? Keep reading to find out! As always, please review!