Well, the next chapter is finally up. College has been interesting, and I've been a little sick this week, thus the delay. But, anyway, enough personal stuff. Reply time!
Sandstone: Interesting, indeed.
KamiKaze no Kage: Welcome to Eternal Requiem, Kage, and thanks! I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.
Astral Slayer Asuka: Nice to know Darius has a fan club...of sorts. (shrug)
Remco: Of course it would be overkill. I was thinking more along the lines of, "Why didn't they tone them down and make them usable at once?" So, that's the route I will try to take with this story.
Shadowkiller27: He's actually a good guy now. (smirk) You'd hate to see him turn evil.
Iron Reaver: Yeah, this'll put Sin to shame. For the whole game day it takes the people to forget about it. --
Zexion72: Indeed. This won't be pretty.
XxCougarxX: Oh, I'm pretty thankful. Funny how you can survive darn near anything in a video game, unless it's in a cut scene...
Bracey Face Anime Gurl: Following along with the storyline, yes. Different quests and such, also yes. The whole fight thing...was kinda for the mission. And no, Lenna is not down the hole. (eyeroll)
Gester: I try to keep it progressing relatively smoothly. Usually a chapter every week or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less, like in this case.
Well, finally, on to the next chapter!
Chapter 17—Beating The Odds
As we arrive at Luca, Buddy checks his computer for any sign of activity involving the fiends that have been emerging from the temples. After a moment, he turns to us.
"Hm. No reports of fiend activity here. Guess there's no Gil to be made in Luca. Everyone's worked up about some kind of sphere breaking contest," he says, and Shinra stands up.
"That's 'Sphere Break.' You should enter. The grand prize is a dressphere," he explains, and Rikku seems happy.
"Great! I've been practicing!" she exclaims.
"Well, let's go take a look," Yuna says, and all of us nod, beginning to follow Yuna out.
'The sphere...Darius has it now. Which means, he can control the aeons. But, why? Why does he even want to control them in the first place? Could it have something to do with the fiends...'
"Hey, you okay?" Rikku says, looking back at me. Snapping out of my thoughts quickly, I nod.
"Yeah, sorry. Just thinking."
"Well, come on! We don't want to miss the excitement!" she replies, running out quickly. Quickly, I follow, deciding to put my thoughts away for later.
Soon, we step into the main square of Luca. There's an awful lot of people bustling around excitedly, waiting for the tournament to start. Over near one of the buildings, I can see Shelinda speaking to Rin.
"You can't go anywhere in Luca without hearing about Sphere Break," Shelinda says, looking at the camera. "And now it's just about time for the competition to get underway. But first, a word from our sponsor. Lord Rin." Quickly, Shelinda walks off, as the camera focuses on Rin, who has three young ladies standing behind him as well.
"Famlousa, ajanouha. I am looking forward to a fair competition. May the best man win!" he says, and the crowd cheers.
"Go time!" Rikku says, pumping a fist into the air.
"Kuut milg du oui!" Rin says, stepping inside a building, as most of the crowd follows. Yuna and Rikku nod to each other, and follow the crowd as well.
"Good luck, you two!" I say, and they smile, as the doors close behind them.
"Think they can win?" Paine asks, and I shrug.
"I wouldn't underestimate them, but...they're probably up against some of the best. They won't win easily."
"You know that Shinra entered?" Paine says, and I nod.
"Yeah. I think he's got a good chance to win," I reply, sitting down on a bench. Paine sits beside me, and I lean back, waiting to hear the results of the matches.
A half hour or so later, I see Rikku, Yuna, and Shinra walk out, Rikku looking quite annoyed.
"How'd it go?" I ask, and Rikku just huffs.
"Oooh...I was so close!" she exclaims, and Paine looks over at her.
"Who beat you?" she asks, and Rikku just motions to Shinra.
"It's elementary, really. Once you get the hang of it," Shinra replies.
"How'd you do, Yuna?" I ask, and Yuna sighs.
"I lost too," she replies. Quirking an eyebrow, I look over at her.
"Who beat you?" I ask, before the sound of approaching footsteps makes me turn.
"That'd be me," the smirking face of Darius DeValle says, stepping over. Instantly, I jump from the bench, on guard in a second.
"Jerk..." I mutter, and he waves a hand at me.
"Oh, please. Calm down, I'm not here for you, I'm here for the tournament." Darius looks over our group for a moment, before eyeing Shinra. "So, you're the other guy in the finals. Don't look like much of a match to me."
"Once I outplay him, the tournament is mine," Shinra says, motioning to Darius.
"You? Defeat me, Darius DeValle? Don't make me laugh," he says, before a chime sounds. "Well, time to get this tournament over with," Darius says, stepping back towards the building. Shinra follows silently, as Yuna and Rikku join Paine and I on the bench beside us.
"That was the guy who attacked you?" Yuna says, looking over at me.
"Yeah, the jerk. He says he's here for the tournament, but I don't trust him one bit," I reply, and Rikku looks over at me as well.
"Well, we can't really do anything about it, can we?" she says, and I reluctantly nod.
"Just wish he hadn't showed up to begin with," I remark. Sighing, I lean back on the bench, waiting for the final round to end.
A few minutes later, everyone begins to walk out of the building. Darius and Shinra are among the first out, and they both walk over to us.
"Did you win?" Yuna asks Shinra, who just stands there.
"My goggles fogged up," he replies, and Rikku and I both look at each other.
"He lost," we say at the same time. Darius just smirks, as Shelinda motions for him to walk over. As he moves over to Shelinda, Rin walks over to join the two of them, Shelinda taking a microphone in hand.
"And the winner of the first Sphere Break tournament is...Darius DeValle!" she announces, the crowd cheering in response. "Presenting his award is our sponsor, Lord Rin." As she speaks, Rin walks closer to Darius, extending his right hand for a handshake.
"Luhknydimydeuhc," Rin says, handing Darius a sphere with his oleft hand. Darius takes the sphere, shaking Rin's right hand as he does so, before everyone cheers again. As the crowd begins to disperse, Darius gives a whistle, turning our attention back to him. To my surprise, he throws the sphere at us. Yuna catches it, staring at it in disbelief, as Darius speaks.
"Here. You guys might as well take it. After all, you're going to need it," he says, chuckling to himself. Quickly, I step up to him, glaring.
"I don't know what you're planning, but rest assured, I will stop you," I say. Darius simply shrugs the comment off.
"Sure. Whatever you say," he sneers, before walking off.
"I can see why you don't like him," Paine comments, and I nod.
"He's too arrogant," I say, looking over at everyone. "So, anyway, where do we go now?"
"I heard something about machina going crazy on the Mi'ihen Highroad during the tournament, with a reward to anyone who can stop them. We should go check it out," Yuna replies, and I nod.
"Sounds good." Yuna, Rikku, Paine and I begin to walk towards the Mi'ihen Highroad, while Shinra begins to head back to the Celsius.
The Mi'ihen Highroad. The longest path in all of Spira. Or so I believe, at least. Yuna and I walked this road as summoner and guardian two years ago. It doesn't seem like much has changed. In the distance, I can see machina walking around. The only problem is that they seem to be aggressive. Attacking other fiends, as well as the occasional person that gets too close.
"Let's mangle those machina and take the reward!" Rikku exclaims.
"Yuna?" Paine asks.
"Let's do it!"
"Sounds like it's time for action," I say, grabbing my sword. "Let's trash these tin cans."
Up ahead, three smaller machina units are swarming over a coyote-type fiend, electrocuting it and stabbing it with sharp blades. The fiend can't take the assault, and explodes into pyreflies, just as one of the machina is blown onto its back by two shots from Yuna. Rikku grabs her daggers and heads for the next machina, laying into it with a series of slashes. Paine simply strides up to the third and calmly cleaves it in two with a powerful strike. A short cry from Rikku makes me look over at her, to see her stabbing and kicking the machina furiously.
"The silly thing zapped me!" she exclaims, stomping the disabled machine once more for good measure.
"Easy there, killer. We need to save some of that energy for the rest of them," I say, laughing a little. Rikku just shoots me a pouting look, before we continue to walk down the Highroad. It's not long before we come across another pack of machina. This time, though, it's three of the smaller machina, led by a larger, four-legged one. The larger machina immediately runs at me, three flat panels extending over and to either side of me, before they close quickly, slamming into my body. It's not a very powerful attack, but it makes me wince. Quickly, I spherechange into Black Mage, stepping back from the machina and pointing my staff at it.
"Thundara!" I yell, the bolt of lightning flooding the machina's systems and short-circuiting it.
"Thundara!" I watch as Paine, who has also spherechanged to Black Mage, overloads another machina, sparks flying from the tiny machine. Yuna simply riddles another with bullets, as Rikku knocks the final machina over and proceeds to quickly dismantle it.
"This is simple enough," Paine says, changing back to Warrior.
"Sure seems that way," Yuna says. Suddenly, a small explosion from ahead of us gets our attention, and we turn to see a familiar figure in a red coat, slashing at another large machina.
"Hey, it's Drante..." I say, starting to walk over to him. Everyone follows, watching him slash at the large machina gracefully. The machina raises its arm panels, aiming to use the same attack on Drante that the other machina used on me, before Drante quickly slides out of the way, slicing one of the arms completely off. In one fluid motion, Drante slashes across, up, and then down, the remaining two arms falling to the ground, followed by the front of the machina a moment later. Drante's sword quickly reforms into the same orb I saw him use back on Besaid, and he tucks it back into a pocket, stepping over to meet us.
"Greetings," he says, and I nod.
"Hey, Drante," I say, nodding back at him. "I take it you've heard about the fiends, too?"
"Yes, I have. It's quite a strange event, really. Fiends appearing out of all the temples, at nearly the exact same time. I would say that this is not merely a coincidence."
"It can't be. There has to be something bigger," I reply, and Yuna nods.
"Do you know anything about it?" she asks, and Drante shakes his head.
"I'm afraid not, high summoner," he replies. "I have been investigating this as well, but I have yet to find anything to explain it."
"We can't find anything either. I did find one strange thing in Zanarkand, though. A sphere that was created to allow people to harness the powers of aeons, summoner or not. And it got stolen, right in front of my face," I add.
"Yes, by Darius DeValle." This makes me quirk an eyebrow.
"How'd you know?" I ask, and Drante smiles.
"I had been following you since you began following him. It was a simple matter, really. I watched the entire fight, and then aided you after the fight was over."
"Well, why didn't you help me during the fight?" I say, somewhat annoyed.
"My apologies. I had assumed that you were strong enough to handle his attacks. I suppose I was mistaken."
"Quite mistaken, if you ask me..." I mutter, rubbing my arm. "So, did you come to handle the rampaging machina too?" I ask. Drante nods in response.
"Yes, I was near Mushroom Rock Road when I heard reports of the machina becoming uncontrollable. So, I came to offer my assistance," he says.
"Ah...we came to help out too. So, I've got an idea. Let's take care of the machina, and then split the reward evenly. Sound good to you?" I ask, and Drante thinks for a moment, before nodding.
"That sounds fine to me."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Rikku says, enthusiastically.
"For you to calm down," I retort, causing Rikku to stick her tongue out at me.
"Uh, guys? We've got trouble," Yuna says, pointing farther down the road, where three large machina are advancing on us, flanked by another duo of smaller machina.
"Looks like one for each of us," I say, grabbing my sword again. Drante's orb rolls out of his sleeve, surprising me for a moment, before he turns it into a powerful broadsword. Yuna, Rikku, and Paine each grab their weapons, as Yuna takes the first move.
"Take this!" she yells, firing rapidly at the large machina on the right which sends it back, sparks flying from it. The machina isn't disabled yet, though, and closes on Yuna quickly, shocking her with a burst of electricity. Yuna steps back, before driving the barrels of both guns into the 'face' of the machine, and then unloading a volley of shots, tearing the machina's front panels to pieces and sending it to the ground in a heap.
Rikku also goes on the offensive quickly, driving both of her daggers into the top of a smaller machina. The machine hops back, taking Rikku's daggers with it, before trying to shock Rikku as well. Rikku leaps out of the way and yanks her daggers out of the machine, before kicking it hard, flipping it over as she begins to dismantle it.
"Armor Break!" Paine yells, the smaller machina on the receiving end of the attack sailing into the air, to crash down a few feet away. I stop for a moment and stare, resisting the urge to laugh. Suddenly, I'm zapped by a painful jolt of electricity, and turn back to the offending machina. As it raises its arms to attack, I spear it in the 'face' with my sword, sending sparks flying from the front of it. Quickly, I yank the sword out and slash, snapping the two side arms nearly in half, before stabbing the sword down into the front of the machina again. That sends it to the ground, spraying sparks wildly.
Drante seems to have little trouble with the machina he's fighting, as he easily slides around and under every attack the large machina uses. Finally, he slashes outward, the right arm snapping off, before changing the sword back into the orb. I'm confused for a moment as to why he just did that, before I see him grab a second orb, morphing both of them into short swords. Quickly, he tears the offending machina to pieces with a series of deadly accurate strikes.
"Is that all of them?" I ask, looking around at the machina bits everywhere from this battle and our previous fights. Everyone nods, and a woman begins to walk up to us, looking quite relieved.
"Thank you for all your help," she says, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a large amount of Gil. "Here's your reward, as promised." Nodding, Yuna takes the money and counts it.
"Ten thousand Gil," she says, looking around.
"Nice. More than enough for the five of us." Yuna quickly counts off half of it, and hands it to Drante.
"Thank you," he says, pocketing the money.
"Thanks for the help, Drante," Yuna replies, and Drante waves a hand.
"It was no trouble at all," he says, replacing his two orbs into his pockets. "However, I must be going now. Stay safe, high summoner," he tells Yuna, before beginning to walk back down the Highroad.
"So, what made the machina go all haywire?" Rikku asks the woman, who has been quietly watching our exchange.
"None of us can figure it out," she replies, shrugging. "Pretty creepy, huh? We found agency property smashed up. Then the hover crashed. Just when we were about to look into that, the machina went out of control."
"Well, if you find anything out, be sure and give the Gullwings a call," Yuna says, and the woman nods, waving and walking away. Yuna gives a final look at the scattered machina parts, before turning back to us. "Ready to head back?"
"Now that wasn't a very feel-good ending, now was it?" Rikku says, as we start to walk back towards Luca.
"People who want happy endings have to write their own," Paine says, and I nod.
"Indeed they do."
"Aw. What about me?" Rikku whines. "I want a happy ending, too!"
"Better get to writing, then," I joke. Rikku just rolls her eyes as we enter the city, headed back to the Celsius.
So, Drante knows what's happening as well. What is Darius' motive, anyway? Keep reading to find out! As always, please read and review!