Ah...long weekend's finally over. So, may as well get prepared to get back to class...(groans) Anyhow, on to the replies.
Zexion72: Well, you're gonna find out right now.
Remco: More than likely, you're gonna see a comment. And I never did understand why you couldn't use them together. It never made sense to me.
MysticSuperSaiyanGohan: Yep. Enjoy. And yes, I have read the fic. It is quite good.
AKM: If I told you where Lenna went, that would be too easy.
XxCougarxX: I'm good with staves myself, and I've been on the recieving end. It's not fun.
Shadowkiller27: Eh, I'll deal with it. Hopefully.
Iron Reaver: (insert dramatic musical cue) Yeah...Darius is the most likely, though. I can easily see him doing this. (sighs) Poor, poor Spira.
And now...onward. To chaos...(evil smile)
Chapter 16—Complications
"What's the situation?" I ask, as we run into the Bridge. Buddy immediately turns to us, standing up.
"Trouble, and I mean big time! Fiends are pouring out of the temples!" he says, and Yuna's eyes go wide.
"Which ones?" Rikku asks, quickly.
"Only all of them!" Brother replies. "It's a freakin' state of emergency! What should we do?" Yuna looks thoughtful for a moment, as Brother speaks again. "Is it Gullwing time?"
"Not exactly sphere hunter work," Shinra chimes in.
"True. But seeing Yuna and Ben out there could calm people down," Buddy says, looking at us.
"They'll expect them to do the dirty work," Paine adds.
"Yeah, but you two want to help," Rikku says, looking over at us. "Don't you?" I just nod, as everyone else looks down slightly. Suddenly, Rikku looks up, a bright smile on her face. "Hey, I got an idea! We can be 'Your Friendly Neighborhood Gullwings'!" she says. I have to resist the urge to chuckle at the name. Still, I nod, looking from person to person.
"You mean taking out fiends and charging for it?" Buddy asks, and Rikku nods.
"E mega ed!" Brother says, nodding.
"What do you think?" Paine says, looking to myself and Yuna.
"Well, why not! If that means we can help out people who are in trouble, then sure!" Yuna replies, and I just nod.
"It works," I say simply.
"Right, that means sphere hunting's on hold!" Rikku says.
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Gullwings!" Yuna says, looking at all of us.
"It's decided!" Brother agrees. "Where to?" Before anyone can answer, though, the alarm goes off, causing Buddy to run over to his screen. Quickly, he looks over something for a moment, before turning back to us.
"What could this mean?" he asks. "Meyvn Nooj of the Youth League...and Baralai, praetor of New Yevon...gone. They've disappeared."
"Fascinating," Brother says flatly, turning back to us. "All right! Never mind. Now, Friendly Neighboring Gullwings...where to?" he asks again.
"...Let's see. The fiends are coming from the temples...I know. We should split up. We can check out more places that way," I suggest, and Yuna looks at me.
"Are you sure?" she asks, and I nod.
"I can handle myself. And I know just where I'll start. Zanarkand."
"Alright," Yuna says, turning to Brother. "You heard him, let's go!"
"Roger!" Brother replies, the Celsius beginning to fly towards the ruined city once again.
Stepping out of the Celsius, I watch as the doors close behind me, the ship lifting off and flying off again. Turning on my comlink, I make sure the device is working, before beginning to walk back towards the dome. I don't get very far, though, before I stop, seeing a familiar figure walking towards the dome.
"Darius...what's he doing here? He could be doing the same thing I am...but I'm not so sure," I mutter, musing to myself for a moment. Quickly debating with myself, I decide to follow him, to see just what he's up to. As he walks inside the dome, I keep my distance, staying just close enough to keep an eye on him. Any fiends that happen to get in his way are quickly, and brutally, disposed of with his pistols.
I follow him through the dome, as we soon arrive at the Cloister of Trials. Darius looks around for a moment, before walking over to a section of the wall. Examining it for a moment, he seems satisfiedwith his findings, and steps back, grabbing a shotgun from his coat. Quickly, he loads two shells into the large gun, before stepping away from the wall.
Ducking behind a large rock, I watch as Darius fires at the wall, a small explosion blowing the wall away in a burst of smoke and rock. As the dust clears, I can now see that the 'wall' wasn't really a wall at all, but merely a cover for a hidden hallway. Darius puts the shotgun away, and begins to walk down the hall. Slowly, I stand up, looking at the revealed passage.
'I never knew this was here...what could possibly be in here?' I think to myself. 'It's Zanarkand...so I better expect to find anything.' Not wanting to lose sight of the boy, I walk down the passage quietly, following his footsteps. If he notices that I'm following him, he really doesn't seem to care, as he hasn't made any attempt to stop me. A few minutes later, we arrive in a large room, much larger than the Chamber of the Fayth. Elaborate statues around the room show previous High Summoners from years past, and colorful, yet somewhat worn tapestries hang around the room. Pedestals are situated in various spots around the room, but one in particular catches my eye. A glowing white sphere sits on a pedestal in the back of the room, near a large throne of some sort.
"Ah...I knew I would find it here," Darius says, beginning to walk over to the pedestal. Just as he reaches it, however, I stand up from my hiding spot. Darius stops, turning to me with a smirk on his face. "So, you're here too. You followed me all the way from the dome's entrance, didn't you?" he says, and I nod.
"Saw you, wanted to know what you were up to. Guess I found out," I say, motioning towards the sphere.
"Thought so. Really wouldn't expect any less from you. You're such a nosy little kid," he says, chuckling.
"I'll just ignore that insult. You're not taking that sphere, either," I say defiantly, stepping towards him. Quickly, Darius turns and takes the sphere, pocketing it, before turning back to me.
"And who's going to stop me? You?" he says, scoffing. "Don't make me laugh. You're not even worth my time."
"Oh, really?" I say, tensing.
"Really. You're out of your league, high summoner," he says, a mocking edge to the last words. Growling, I grab my sword, preparing for a confrontation. Before I can react, however, Darius just seems to appear in front of me, slashing out with his hand in a sickeningly fast cross that knocks me back and off my feet.
"That's not right..." I mutter, standing up again and shaking my head. "How did he move that fast without using Haste..."
"Surprised? I'll just say this. I'm holding back. I'm holding back a lot." Smirking, Darius grabs his pistols, dropping both hands to his side. "You can leave now, and save us both the trouble."
"Do you think I'm going to?" I say, dropping into a defensive stance.
"Not really. I'll just have to make you, then," he says calmly.
(Play FFX theme Otherworld)
"Firaga!" he cries, a great ball of flame blasting out at me. My eyes go wide, but I shake off my surprise just in time to duck under the fiery blast. Quickly, I charge in, bringing my sword down...to meet empty air as Darius seems to vanish before my eyes. Spinning, I look around to see Darius on the other side of the room.
"Are you done?" he asks, seemingly bored, as he holsters the two pistols and brings out a pair of larger handguns. I recognize them as a form of magnum, but I don't have much time to think about that right now. "Cancel Shell!" he yells, firing a round from one of the magnums that slams into me, sending me stumbling back. I can feel something blocking my Warrior abilities now, and I growl.
"Stop toying with me..." I mutter, grabbing my sword and running in again, quickly swinging the sword in a horizontal motion. Darius ducks under the attack, bringing a foot into my side, then one into my chest, blowing me back and off my feet again. Wincing, I get back to my feet and grab a Potion, only to have it shot out of my hand.
"Nuh uh. That's not nice," he says, smiling evilly and holstering the pistols, before grabbing a rifle from inside of his coat and aiming up at the ceiling. "Scatter Beam!" The rifle's barrel begins to glow, as a yellow beam fires out, splitting into a dozen or so smaller beams which all begin to head for me. Stepping back, I leap to the side as one crashes into the ground beside me, the beams beginning to shower down around me. Several of the beams strike me, and I cry out, stumbling back as blood begins to trickle from my chest.
"Tell you what. Spherechange into whatever you want. Then, you might at least have a chance," he says, the cocky grin never leaving his face. Shaking my head to recover from the last attack, I glare daggers at him, before bringing my hands forward, spherechanging into Black Mage. As the light clears, I focus intently, blue light surrounding me and dissipating as I spherechange into my special dressphere.
"You're going to regret letting me do that," I say, grabbing both swords from my back and stepping forward again. As I charge this time, though, Darius leaps up and bounces off of my back, sending me stumbling forward as we both spin to face each other, Darius still in mid-air.
"Am I really?" he taunts, landing and aiming the rifle at me again. "Kazkata!" A bright burst of energy erupts from the barrel, the energy round flying past my shoulder as I duck, which sends the round into the wall behind me.
'He might just be right...he's still toying with me, and I don't like it one bit. He's way more powerful than I thought...' Standing straight again, I run forward and jump into the air as my swords begin to glow.
"Fated Circle!" I yell, spinning in mid air to let the magical energy wave slash out at Darius. He just stands there, letting the attack connect with him, which sends up a cloud of dust. When it clears, he's still standing; a few small burn spots are on his coat, but he's otherwise unharmed.
"This is the best you have?" he says, sighing and shaking his head. "I might as well end this now." Standing straight, Darius puts the rifle away and brings his two pistols back out, beginning to glow with a yellow aura.
"No way...that can't be..."
"Oh, it is. Get ready to face my Overdrive!" he yells, aiming at me quickly and calling out the attack. "Bullet Reflux!" Before I can even make an attempt to defend, bullets begin to slam into me as Darius fires rapidly, the bullets forcing me back as I cry out in pain. At least forty bullets hit before Darius' guns begin to glow white, and he smiles evilly before firing several more times, white energy shells flying from the guns and blasting me off my feet to skid across the stone floor.
(End FFX theme Otherworld)
Blue light surrounds me as I'm forcefully spherechanged back to Warrior, and I try to move, but can barely support myself with my hands. Darius puts his pistols away and steps over to me, kneeling down to face me, before smirking.
"I warned you. Better luck next time," he says, stepping out of the room. My vision starts to blur, before I finally lose the rest of my strength, slumping over to the ground as everything around me turns to black.
"Uhhh...what...where am I?" I mutter to myself, opening my eyes and looking around.
"Ben!" Rikku yells, grabbing me in a tight hug. I hiss in pain as she grabs me, and she quickly lets go. As I finally get a good look at my surroundings, I discover that I'm back in the cabin of the Celsius, lying on one of the beds.
"How'd I...get back here?" I ask, slowly sitting up some to look at Rikku, as well as Yuna and Paine, who are standing nearby.
"Well, after we tried to get in touch with you over the comlink and you didn't answer, we figured something was wrong. We came back to Zanarkand, and saw Drante carrying you out of the dome. Rikku practically went nuts, and I'll admit, I was a little worried. You looked like you took quite a beating from something," Yuna says.
"Yeah...blame Darius."
"Darius? He's the one who did this to you?" Rikku says, and I nod.
"I couldn't even touch him...the only time I hit him, he let me," I reply, wincing.
"You fought him, and you knew he was that powerful?" Paine asks, folding her arms. Slowly, I shake my head.
"The last time I fought him, I held my own. This time...it was like he was leagues away from how he was before. I didn't even know until it was too late to do anything about it," I reply. Yuna just nods, looking over at the other two, who step beside her.
"We'll be back later, we're going to the bridge to see if we can figure out what's happening with the temples. You should get some rest," she says, and I nod, as the three of them walk down the stairs and out of the cabin. Sighing, I lie back on the bed, staring at the ceiling absently.
"What did he take...what was that sphere I saw him steal..."
"I can answer that," a voice says from beside me. Looking to my right, I can see the fayth of Bahamut standing near one of the other beds.
"You can?" I ask, and he nods.
"The sphere he took was an ancient artifact, made by us fayth hundreds of years ago. As you already know, a thousand years ago, Sin came and began to ravage Spira. We fayth became the aeons, and helped summoners to defeat Sin. But, we realized that humans are only that, human. There may come a time when something happens to the summoners. So, we devised a way to get around that," he explains. Slowly, I nod, understanding what the fayth is telling me.
"And it has to do with the sphere," I say, to which Bahamut nods.
"Yes. That sphere is called the Sphere of the Fayth. Inside that sphere is a part of the essence of each of the aeons. A part of their soul, you could say. With it, any person who possessed it could summon and command the aeons, should something happen to the summoners. It was a kind of backup plan, in a way."
"So...I take it since it was sealed away in Zanarkand, you never had to use it?" I ask.
"That's right. Summoners proved to be strong enough to handle the challenges that defeating Sin posed, and so the sphere was sealed away, and eventually forgotten," Bahamut says.
"So, you can't...do anything about it, can you? Because if he can control the aeons...that could be really bad news," I say.
"Regretfully, I can't. We fayth aren't allowed to directly interfere in human affairs."
"But, you became the aeons, right? That's not directly interfering?" I ask, confused by Bahamut's response.
"It's more complicated than you think. Aeons were permitted to help humans defeat Sin. We were not allowed to fight Sin by ourselves, for example, but we were allowed to help humans gain the power necessary to defeat the beast."
"I see...permitted by who?"
"That...I can't say. You might find out on your own, but I can't tell you myself," he replies, and I nod.
"Thanks. I appreciate the help," I say, as Bahamut gives a short nod, before vanishing.
'There's a lot more to this than I realize, I think...and there's definitely more to Darius' plan than I'm seeing here. I just wish I knew what he's going to do next...'
Sighing, I sit up, before standing up from the bed and beginning to walk down the stairs. I'm still not fully healed, but at least I can move now. Slowly, I make my way to the elevator, heading to the bridge to join Yuna and the others.
"Any news?" I ask, stepping into the bridge. Yuna looks a little surprised to see me, but shakes her head.
"Nothing yet. Looks like there's trouble all over, Kilika, Djose, even Besaid."
"So, where do we go first?" I ask, and everyone seems to think for a moment, before Buddy speaks up.
"How about Luca? It's a big city, and we're not sure what's happening there. There isn't a temple there, but you never know. Could be trouble just the same," he says, and Yuna nods.
"Sounds good to me!" Rikku says, stepping over to me. I put an arm around her, and she smiles, as Buddy sits down at his chair, the Celsius lifting off and beginning to fly towards Luca.
So, Darius has decided to start his own brand of trouble. What will he do, and how will it affect the Gullwings, and the rest of Spira? You'll have to keep reading to see...as always, please read and review!