Bursting through the door of the mansion, Paine stepped inside.
"NOOOOOJ!" She shouted. Everyone else piled inside and waited for the reply. There wasn't one. Rikku rolled her eyes.
"I have a very bad feeling." She said with a sigh. Yuna blinked at her.
"Why?"
"How much do you wanna bet we'll have to deal with those traps again to find them?" She asked. Yuna groaned.
"You're probably right." She answered. Paine lifted her sword, spinning it idly.
"Well, we might as well get going." She suggested. Melody, during the conversation, had wandered away. It was Tidus who realized she'd gone.
"Hey, where's Kairi?" He asked suddenly. Everyone looked around quickly.
"I'm right here." She answered, stepping out of the shadows. They stared at her. She pointed behind her. "I heard voices in there." She told them simply. Gippal walked over and pressed his ear to the door. Then, with a grin, he kicked it open.
"Hey Nooj, been having some problems I hear?" He asked with a smirk. Nooj and Leblanc were sitting at the table in the dining room. There were papers strewn all over the table. Nooj's head had been in his hands, but now he was staring openly at Gippal and Melody as they stood in the doorway. Rikku skipped into the room, pushing Gippal in the process.
"Hiya Nooj! We have some good news! WE'RE NOT DEAD!" She announced. Nooj jumped to his feet.
"Who are you? What trickery is this?" He asked angrily. Rikku burst out laughing.
"Heeheehee! I like tricking people! But this ain't no trick!" She announced trotting up to Nooj. Yuna walked inside.
"Hi guys!" Yuna greeted them, giggling. Gippal walked in and grabbed Rikku around the waist. She yelped in surprise and pushed herself out of his grasp. Spinning around, she glared at him. Tidus peeked inside and smiled.
"Uh, hi? Umm, I guess we've got some explaining to do, right?" Leblanc crossed her arms and nodded.
"I should say so, loves." She answered, still watching them skeptically. Both she and Nooj were having a hard time believing they were actually there. Tidus turned around and called back out into the hall.
"Hey EMMA!" He shouted. Emma came in looked around. Melody walked inside after her, Sora right behind her.
"Are you…Nooj and Leblanc?" She asked them quietly. Leblanc smiled at her, nodding.
"Why of course we are, love, why wouldn't we be?" She asked, looking Melody up and down. Melody smiled nervously. Sora cleared his throat.
"About that… Kairi doesn't remember who she is." He told them. Nooj nodded.
"Not to worry, amnesia often isn't permanent. And besides, there are many treatments for it." He assured them. Yuna bit her lip.
"This definitely isn't normal amnesia." She answered. Nooj blinked at her, and she started to explain what had happened to them, with everyone else adding bits and pieces to the story as they went along. Leblanc had spent most of the time watching Emma curiously.
"And who might you be, love?"
"I'm Emma." She answered with a smile.
"So you're the one who had those strange dreams? I'd like to know more about it, if you don't mind." He told her. Emma opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a loud boom outside that made everyone jump. Baralai crossed his arms.
"That's all great, but I think we have more pressing matters." He said. Leblanc jumped to her feet.
"But Noojie-Woojie still isn't in any shape to fight!" She cried.
"Sure I am!" Nooj argued, standing up. Almost instantly, he collapsed back into his chair. His condition was deteriorating.
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure we can deal." Paine said, jogging out into the hall. Yuna, Rikku, Sora, Gippal and Baralai all followed them. Melody, Emma and Tidus looked at each other. They had no weapons. The girls had gotten their dresspheres back, and the guys had collected their weapons from the Celcius. However, Tidus wasn't sure where his was, Buddy hadn't given Emma back the Sword, and Melody's had gone missing when she disappeared. Glancing around, Melody saw a large round shield sitting in the corner, badly damaged. It had been Ormi's, and Nooj and Leblanc hadn't gotten rid of it yet. Melody picked it up.
"Can I use this?" She asked. Leblanc nodded, and Melody trotted out of the room, following the others. Emma and Tidus looked at each other again.
"We'll figure something out." Tidus decided. Emma nodded in agreement and the two of them ran after the others. Outside, the groups and begun fighting again, and then a pile of fiends had made their way into Guadosalam from the Thunderplains and had joined the fight. The people were so busy fighting each other, that they stood no chance against the fiends.
"Fiends!" Rikku shouted, diving into the fray.
"The fiends! Fight the fiends!" Elma was ordering her troops desperately, grazing a lupin's head. Yuna frowned, frustrated by the fighting. She let her guard down for a moment, depressed by the conditions between the two groups.
"YUNA!" Paine cried out in warning. Yuna spun around and caught sight of a fiend pouncing at her. She shot her gun, but had very little time to aim. She grazed its side. Before there was anything else she could do to react, a huge round disk hit the fiend with a crunch, throwing it out of the air and into a wall. Melody came trotting toward her with a mischievous smile on her face. She scooped up Ormi's old shield and swung it around. Yuna smiled in approval, and together the two girls started fighting their way further into the fray. Melody's new weapon enabled her to hide almost completely behind it while she spun it, her disk still embedded in it creating a dangerous weapon. Then, Yuna got an idea.
"PAINE!" She shouted. Paine heard the call and elbowed a soldier out of the way. Paine smirked.
"Are you thinking we should teach these punks a real lesson?" She asked. Yuna nodded.
"Hey Rikku!" She called. The Al Bhed girl dropped down on them from a catwalk above, her eyes glittering.
"I like the way you guys think!" She noted.
"FULL THROTTLE!"
"MACHINA MAW!"
"FLORAL FALLAL!" Each girl was bathed in a light, Yuna in pink, Rikku in yellow and Paine in a silvery hue. Then, a flower bulb burst from the ground, enveloping Yuna and growing by the second, lifting the bulb high over the others. Handfuls of swords flew out of the ground, forming a sphere around Paine and lifting her into the air. A machina platform shot from the ground, shooting Rikku above the heads of the other fighters. Endless numbers of wires hung from the bottom of the platform, and every second, a wire pulled a strange piece of machina from the ground and it attached itself to the platform. A pair of wings burst open from Paine, the sphere of swords slowing and creating a protective cage around her. Yuna's flower bloomed, revealing her dressed all in white and looking like an angel. By this time, everyone had stopped their fighting and watching in surprise as the special dresspheres took shape. The soldiers had shied away from the girls, while the fiends, knowing that these girls were now the real threat, had formed a ring around them, snarling, roaring or hissing. One lupin caught sight of Melody, who appeared as weak in the ring. Snarling, it launched itself at her. She reacted almost instantly, disappearing behind her huge shield and sending it spinning. The lupin hit the shield with a thud. Melody barely kept her balance. The disk cut into it, and then the spinning sent it flying into the air. One of Paine's wings lifted, cutting into it effortlessly, while Yuna and Rikku both launched impressive attacks at it; Rikku with her homing missiles and Yuna with a pair of twisting rays of magic that exploded on contact, lifting it even further into the air. Melody lifted her shield over her head and the lupin landed on it with a thud. She spun it again, throwing the lupin into a flan. Neither of the fiends got back up. There was a moment of silent surprise. Elma took the opportunity.
"GET THE FIENDS!" She ordered. There was a surge of movement and the soldiers, Youth League and New Yevon alike, to attack the fiends. In moments, the movement had stopped again. Baralai walked up to the girls, who had transformed back into their usual dresspheres.
"I think you'll be pleased to hear that the fiends are no longer a threat." He stated. Yuna smiled at him. Rikku started jumping up and down.
"Hey, everybody! HEY! We need to talk to you!" She continued to jump up and down. Grinning, Gippal came up behind her. She shrieked as he grabbed her by the waist and swung her up onto his shoulders. She started giggling. Tidus seemed to like the idea, and did the exact same thing to Yuna. Paine shot Baralai and death glare and he put up his hands.
"I won't even try." He answered. Sora shot him a look, and grinning, the two walked up behind Paine and lifted her onto their backs. She glared down at them.
"You're dead when I get down." She told them. Sora grinned.
"Then I guess we can't ever let you down." He told her. Baralai laughed. Paine glared at them. Yuna grinned at Rikku.
"Do you think another concert might help things?"
"It definitely worked last time!" She answered. Paine shrugged.
"Like they say, don't fix something that isn't broken." She added. Yuna waved her hands over her head. A quiet settled over the crowd.
"Hey! Spread the word! There will be another concert next week in Luca, if a truce can be reached between the Youth League and New Yevon! I know for a fact that your leaders already agree to it, so all we need is your willingness to stop the fighting."
"Alright, lets do it!" Rikku shouted, throwing her hands into the air and yelping as she almost fell backwards off Gippal's shoulders. A cheer rose from the crowd at her words. Yuna and Rikku both dropped to the ground with a little help from Tidus and Gippal. Paine looked expectantly at Baralai and Sora. Sora laughed.
"Are you still going to kill us?" He asked. Paine nodded. Baralai and Sora looked at each other, and shook their heads. Then, both of them started to walk after the others. Paine kicked, catching Sora's arm. He yelped, his grip loosening. Paine pushed down on their shoulders, throwing herself backwards. Landing quickly on her feet, she gazed threateningly at them. Sora and Baralai looked at each other, horrified. Then, both of them raced off at a sprint, with Paine on their heels. Sora caught up to Melody and swung around her, using poor Melody as a shield. She hadn't been expecting him. She tripped over his shoe and grabbed at him to keep herself up. He stumbled, trying to keep both of the standing, but her foot was caught between his, holding them both for a moment before they went sprawling on the ground. Melody rolled off Sora and sat up. Sora rubbed his head, groaning. Paine caught up with Baralai and grabbed him. He grinned up at her.
"Paine, you're looking beautiful." He said sweetly. Her eyes narrowed.
"Don't even bother." She threatened. She looked mad, but he could see her trying not to laugh.
"Why not?" He smiled, wrapped an arm around her shoulders and closed the gap between them, kissing her gently. He broke the kiss quickly, and watched her carefully, unsure of whether or not he should be taking the chance of her moment of surprise to run. She smirked.
"That was quick." She noted. He paused, not sure what she was getting at. Then, he smiled.
"Oh, I get it, you like kisses long and sensual." He answered. She raised her eyebrows.
"That's not exactly how I would have put it, but…" He cut her off by kissing her again. It all seemed very romantic, until Rikku came trotting towards them.
"OH Paine-y, it's gettin' steamy!" She said, laughing. Paine glanced darkly at her.
"I'm going to hurt you." She threatened. Rikku started to laugh.
"That's what you told him, too. Look how that one turned out." She accused. Rikku walked up to her with a silly grin. Paine took the chance and elbowed her in the side. She jumped backwards, yelping. Yuna started laughing at them. A loud beep caught everyone's attention.
"I hear you've been making plans without us?" Buddy asked over the comm.. Paine made a face.
"A little." She answered. "We've kind of promised a concert in Luca a week from now, if a truce can be formed."
"Oh. Good idea." Shinra noted, clearly impressed. Yuna beamed.
"Thanks!"
"I'll get on it. We need to book the stadium, get some advertising…" Shinra's voice faded as he walked away from his microphone. There was some shouting from Brother in the background that sounded suspiciously like 'Yuna dancing? I am there!' followed by Buddy chastising him in Al Bhed. Rikku was the only one who caught (and understood) his words, and started to laugh hysterically. Paine sighed.
"Am I going to have to hurt Brother when we get back?" She asked almost wearily. Rikku snickered.
"Ask Tidus, he's the one who's got himself a rival." She answered. Tidus blinked at her.
"Excuse me?" He asked. Rikku shrugged.
"Nothing." She answered innocently. Tidus caught her in a headlock, grinning.
"Tell me or I'll toss you into the water when we get to Luca!" He threatened. She giggled, kneeing him in the back of the leg. He stumbled backwards, though he didn't let go of her like she had expected. Both of them tumbled over backwards. Yuna walked over and pulled them both to their feet, rolling her eyes.
"Don't worry about Brother." She advised. Rikku nodded.
"Good advice Yunie!" She agreed. The crowds, still more or less in shock, had scattered and begun to return to Mushroom Rock Road, Bevelle and Djose. Melody was still holding the damaged shield. She looked at it, and then at the others. Paine shook her head.
"Trust me, Shinra will come up with something much better than that piece of junk." She told her bluntly. Melody nodded silently, tossing it aside and boarding the airship.
………………………..
Gak. I hate writers block. I know exactly what I want to write, I just can't get from here to there. Sheesh. Oh well, I'll keep trying though! RnR guys!