Fuu: HEY READERS! Here is chapter 24! Yay!
Misa: Fuu…I've been meaning to say this for a while now…but…
Fuu: Yes?
Misa: You should get your own talk show someday.
Yuko: The Fuu-chan Show?
Vaan: A talk show?
Fuu: OMG! GENIUSSSS! People would write down a random topic on a piece of paper, put in a hat, and I pull out a topic and talk about it for a good ten minutes or something! SAWEET!
Yuko: EPIC!
Misa: Agreed!
Vaan: This sounds like trouble…
Fuu: Everyone write down the first thing that comes in your mind…and after each chapter, I'll have my mini talk show! YES!
(Characters begin writing on pieces of paper and place them in a top hat)
Vaan: Now that that's been settled, who is going to say the disclaimer this time?
Havharo: I shall. Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII. This all includes the characters, settings, and plots. The only people Fuu owns is Fini, Yuko, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, Garbuden, Hiroyuki, Lena, Delfenynn, and herself.
Fuu: Haha. I like how all the OC's have been quadrupe-li-plied since the very beginning…even the ones who haven't ever appeared, like Hiroyuki and Lena…
Vaan: All right then. On with chapter 24!
Going into Ivalice
Chapter 24: Juliet and her Romeo
"Good morning." Ashe was sitting next to me, pouring this deep orange liquid that tasted very similar to raspberries into a small wooden cup. I groaned as I sat up, and I stretched my arms out.
"It's still pretty dark out." I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?" I pulled out my phone and looked. 4:57 in the morning. I groaned even louder this time and slumped onto my pillow. "A little longer maybe?"
"We have had enough rest." Ashe sighed. "It is time to wake up, Fuu."
"Fine, fine." I sat up again and grabbed my backpack, rummaging for my toothbrush and makeup. "But don't blame me if I'm a little too cranky today. A Legend of the Dynast-King loves her beauty sleep, y'know."
"I figured from the way you were snoring at a rather high volume." Ashe stifled a chuckle or two.
"Wow…" I flushed. "Now I'm embarrassed."
"Do not redden too much, Fuu," Ashe handed me a cup with the liquid, which I took a few sips of. "At least you got some rest." I lightly put my cup down. I then squinted my eyes and took a better look at Ashe…her eyes were droopy and her face was pale.
"Ashe, you couldn't sleep?"
"A little…but not a lot." Ashe sighed. "So much pressure has been weighing me down psychologically."
I didn't blame her. I knew Ashe was all stressed out from this whole journey. This was all a big part of her. She had Raithwall's blood in her veins, and Raithwall is relying on not only me, but her, too. I took a large gulp of my beverage, set down the cup, and touched her shoulder. She looked up at me.
"We're all pressured by this, Ashe." I gave her a tender smile. "But if we all work this out together, there will be less tension and more of that 'epic win' feeling." Ashe smiled and nodded her head, where she leaned over and actually hugged me.
"Thank you, Fuu." She said. She then let go and helped me find my mascara tube. "Now, make haste. We will leave shortly."
"Okie-dokie." I said, fluffing my face with powder and darkening my lashes with mascara. After brushing my teeth and putting on my jacket, I was ready to go. I picked up my backpack, where I saw the three game guardians still asleep in one of the side net pockets of the backpack. I decided to let them rest just a little longer as I headed out of the tent. We all pitched in to roll up the tents and the other equipment, where Penelo and Vaan stuffed it all down my backpack. Yuko, nearly asleep, walked over to me and slumped against me.
"Morning, Fuu-chan." She yawned.
"Morning? To you, it seems like 'goodnight'."
"Nuh-uh." She rubbed her eyes with her over-sized sleeves. "I'm up. See?"
"I…see." I watched as she slowly slumped over against me again, like a tree being cut down in the woods. "Hey, Basch, can you handle this one until she's fully awake?" Basch walked over and picked Yuko up in one swift move, where she was how slumping over his left shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck.
"She's lighter than a feather. This will not bother me at all." He chuckled a bit.
"Smaller ones always need more rest somehow." Oh, crap. For the first time in my life, I did not want to hear this voice…the voice of Balthier. He walked over to us and examined Yuko's petite body slumped over on Basch. I then saw him glance at me, where I turned my head away to avoid all eye contact. I stood there like that for a while, not daring to look up and see him staring at me. "I'm surprised not even the young lady, being so young and small, has turned out like Yuko here." I still kept my head to the side.
"I dislike this uneasy silence." Basch suddenly announced after a few seconds. "Let's move out, shall we? To the Tchita Uplands?"
"Yes. Remember the plan?" Balthier cleared his throat. "We go through Tchita Uplands, take a brief, and I mean brief, rest at their camp, find this 'Sochen Cave Palace', and then after going through there, we will end up in the Imperial City of Archades. And in Archades is Draklor Laboratory." His voice…before it had pierced through my heart in a positive way…just making my heart flutter and feel like nothing could ever make it stop…but now…this new piercing was hell. It felt like my heart would sink like stone, and it was driving me mad. I bit my lower lip as I walked away, still avoiding eye contact with him.
"Let's go. Once we get moving, we'll all wake up a little faster." I said as I marched by everyone, now leading the pack. Slowly, everyone was walking behind me.
It was silent. For a long time, all we heard we the waves of the Phon Coast. I was a little bummed we were leaving, but it was fun while it lasted…well…it was fun before sunset, I should say. Stupid Balthier…ruining my perfect evening with his stupidity and his jerk-ness…he was like any other cruel guy, like the ones you would find in a high school hallway any day. I shook my head, shaking the tears away, as I dug out my iPod and put them in my ears, trying to find a song to distract me. Before I found a good song, I heard mumbling…slowly, I took out my ear buds and listened…the mumbling sounded a lot like…Misa.
I looked to the left on the side net pocket of my backpack, where Fini, Misa, and Rozaline were still asleep, and Misa was mumbling in her sleep.
"Nnnnnnnn…" She said something like this. "Geez, you're the worst gimmick ever…"
…Huh?
Rozaline woke up a bit and rubbed her eyes slowly. She then glanced over, where Misa was crawling on Rozaline!
"Hey, what the hell?" She hissed quietly.
"OM NOM NOM." Misa said, as she was ready to eat some of Rozaline's blonde hair.
"Stop that!" Rozaline hissed again and pushed Misa over to Fini's side, where Misa lay on her. Fini was startled as she woke up and looked at Misa.
"Mm…you smell like…water…" Misa smiled as she drooled a bit.
"This is what happens when she drinks Frona juice before bedtime." Fini exhaled. Frona juice was the name of the drink Ashe gave me when I woke up.
"Now I'm awake." Rozaline pouted. "She woke me up from such a wonderful dream, too!" This made me wonder what kind of dream would be wonderful to a feisty girl like Rozaline.
"Good morning, starshine," I said in a high-pitched voice. "The Earth says hello."
"Actually, Ivalice says hello." Fini rubbed her eyes.
"Whatever."
"Whom are you talking to?" I turned to my left to see Balthier now walking beside me. I gave him a scowl and turned my head away from his eyes.
"As if you'd care. Because apparently you don't care about anything anymore." I mumbled, but loud enough for him to hear. It felt so strange acting like this towards Balthier…and from what happened next, he didn't take kindly to my attitude. He roughly grabbed my shoulders and made me look into his eyes, where a menacing and angry stare was painted on his face. I cringed a bit at his eyes piercing my own with that horrible glare.
"Are you still weeping about what happened?" He hissed at me through gritted teeth. "Are you acting like that much of a child?" Everyone stopped to stare at us now. Even the game guardians looked intrigued but shocked at the same time. I wanted to let the eye contact end, but his firm grip kept me at place like a statue. Then, something inside my heart and my fury…something made me stand up and finish this tension between us…or at least I was hoping it would. I pushed away Balthier's hands from my shoulders and grabbed his shoulders now. I had to go on my tiptoes a bit, but I managed to clasp as tightly as possible. It probably looked a bit ridiculous, but I didn't care at the time. He didn't make any sudden movements when I did this, but I got some effect when I returned the glare.
"You're wrong, Balthier!" I yelled. "You're the one acting like the child!"
It was quiet. Everyone kept his or her eyes glued onto us as if we were one entertaining soap opera…and it was fairly close to one, to be honest. But I kept everyone, and the cameras, out of my mind, as I didn't dare remove my eyes from his gaze, and my hands off of his broad shoulders.
"You don't even realize it, but listen to yourself! You act like what happened was nothing! Merely nothing! But you're wrong!" I took a deep breath and saw as his face tensed a bit. I exhaled. "Look around you, Balthier." I lowered my voice volume a tad. "Look at those who are in love. They understand it, they know what it means. And it's okay if you aren't sure of the definition…I still don't know much about it, either…I'm only fourteen…but we all need lessons sometimes…but if you don't understand something…" I swallowed. "Wait for when you understand it before you try it."
There was now another staring contest that seemed everlasting. His chocolate brown eyes didn't let go of my hazel ones…no…he never wanted to let them go. It felt like an eternity…just standing there and looking at each other. Everyone kept looking at us, waiting for something to happen. I saw Fini, Misa, and Rozaline exchange nervous glances back and forth, waiting what would happen next.
"You're right."
What?
I looked at Balthier, whose face was now softened. He brought down my hands and held them.
"You're right. Forgive me." He continued delicately. "A mysterious urge had me do it. I still do not know why I decided to…kiss you." I bit my cheek as I heard everyone start murmuring away. I think I even heard Jude whisper an, "I knew it." Greeeeat. But I ignored that and kept my focus on Balthier. I smiled gently and found myself leaning against him, my hands still in his.
"I accept your apology." I whispered. I slowly felt his fingers lace into mine, and we were officially holding hands. "And whatever that urge was, the one you were talking about before…well…it really made my day, you know."
"Such a touching moment," Basch's voice interrupted the moment of fluffiness. "But we must head on to Draklor." Immediately, I let go and chuckled nervously.
"Right-o, sorry!" My face flushed bright red.
"Nevermind. Let's just keep moving forward." Ashe said as she walked ahead. One by one, everyone started to follow her. I looked up at Balthier, where he, unexpectedly, put his arm around my waist and we walked together.
"There is something I would…like to discuss with you." He said.
"Oh, really?" The heat in my face was nowhere close to cooling down. I stopped, but he pinched my waist, which was a sign that I should keep walking with him.
"I'm not entirely certain how to put this directly with you," He said. There were a few seconds of silence before he cleared his throat, bent his head down to my ear, and whispered these words into it: "May we start a…discrete bond…together?" Was I actually hearing the truth?
"You mean…like…dating?" I gasped.
"If that's what you call it in your world." He gave me the oh-so-smexy crooked smile. "Now, what do you say?"
"But…before I answer…lemme get this straight," I said. "We can't go public…at all. Right?"
"That is correct."
"What would happen if something were to…slip out…accidentally?"
"Chances are, I would not be a happy man for a bit of time."
"So…yeah…discrete, huh? Why so…secretive?"
"I don't want this to go out in the open just yet because right now, we must complete our main mission. If people knew about our secret relationship together, it would cause some…minor distractions."
"Oh, I see." I nodded my head. He bent down and brushed his lips on my cheek.
"So what do you say?" He smirked against my skin.
"Yes." I smiled. "I say yes…on one condition."
"And that condition is?" He whispered. It gave me chills.
"Just because we're secretly dating, DOESN'T MEAN ignore me all the time. Guys tend to do that…and if you do that…I'll have to dropkick you…hard." I looked into his eyes.
"I guarantee you that THAT will not ensue." He said. And with that, he lightly kissed me on the cheek and walked ahead. I slowed down my pace, my pores burning with excitement and awe. Balthier…is my boyfriend.
A twenty-two year old dating a fourteen-year-old…illegal much? But who cares in Ivalice? I mean, there aren't really any laws concerning that, are there? And besides, Balthier is a sky pirate, and he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. One of those things is going out with me. I wanted to squeal in joy, to laugh in happiness, to boogie down and do the Macarena from pure delight…but I couldn't do any of this, because we're secret lovers! I thought of this as like Romeo and Juliet…two star-crossed lovers torn apart by their families, but it did not break their love for each other…although they only knew each other for about a day when they confirmed their sexual urges as love…heehee. But anyway, it was something like that!
I then noticed that the group was way ahead of me, and I was standing there looking like a complete idiot with my thoughts in high gears. Sprinting forward, a let out a small "Yes!" to fulfill my happiness…for now!
…
It was about ten minutes since we stepped onto the Tchita Uplands, and for once, I wasn't the one running away from the monsters. I wanted to do my best to impress Balthier this time, and that did NOT mean hiding behind Basch or Fran. A wolf-like monster jumped up in front of Vaan.
"This one looks simple! I can take him—!"
"!" I leapt over Vaan leapfrog-style and struck down the wolf with my ninja sword. "Bruce Lee once said, I did not fear the man who learned ten thousand kicks at one time…but rather the man who learned one kick TEN THOUSAND TIMES! Boom-cha-cha!" Vaan gave me an indescribable stare as he probably didn't know how to react to my…er…new form of physical activity.
"Fuu, you're very…active today." Penelo said to me.
"Me? Super active?" I giggled. "Hmm…I wonder what it could be…mweh heh."
"Snake monster up ahead!" Penelo exclaimed. She got out her dagger and got in her battle stance. "I'll show you what I'm made of, just you wait—!"
"Penelo!" I shouted.
"Y-yes?"
"Say the first word that comes to your mind when I say 'epic'!"
"Why?"
"Just do it before snake-y bites you!"
"Um…okay…awesomeness?"
"AWESOMENESS SMASH!" I ran to the snake and tackled it with my own body force…and all my 90 lbs seemed to crush it with this sudden assault. It disappeared and I was awarded with a few phoenix downs. Penelo rubbed her temples and kept walking through the uplands.
After a bout another half hour, we went to the camp for our "brief rest". We scattered about as Jude went to the save crystal to replenish ourselves. I plopped myself down on a spot of grass and Yuko sat along with me, Fini and Misa resting on my shoulders.
"What's up with you, Fuu? You're energetic today." Misa said.
"She's always energetic, Misa." Fini sighed. "It's just on this particular day…she's an extra dose of energy."
"Hiroyuki-kun usually gets like this when he drinks some Monster or Red Bull…energy drinks." Yuko-chan giggled.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a little adrenaline rush, tis all." I winked at the game guardians and five-year old. Suddenly, we saw a figure approach towards us. He was a red Bangaa with bright green pants.
"You carry weaponry…care to do a hunt?" He asked in his gruff, slightly annoying voice (much like Migelo's).
"Is that similar along the lines of 'Care for some free candy, little girls?'" I questioned warily.
"Whatever are you talking about?" He asked me.
"Umm," I shook it off. He didn't appear to be hurtful. "Nevermind. Forget it. So what's up, a hunt?"
"Oh, thank you so much. You see," The Bangaa wayfarer pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, handing it to me. I showed it to Yuko as we looked at the picture on the piece of paper. It was a badly drawn portrait of what looked like pieces of vegetables with facial expressions…and I knew that these pests that this Bangaa wanted me to kill were called the Mandragoras. "A terrible menace plagues the Sochen Cave Palace. I'm calling all hunters of all ages and races to deal with this scourge upon us."
"The Sochen Cave Palace, you say?" Yuko questioned. She went up on her tiptoes and looked at me. I bent over so she could face my ear. "Fuu-chan, isn't that where we're supposed to go to sneak into Archades?"
"Yes it is. This could be good stuff." I stood back up and faced the Bangaa wayfarer. "Sir, we will accept this bill."
"Excellent! Thanks be to ye!" He clapped his hands…for some reason. "But you see, you can't reach these little pests without a special key to the room they live in."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And where can we find this key?"
"No need to search." The Bangaa wayfarer rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a black key. "I have it right here."
"Right on!" I snatched the key. I cleared my throat. "Thanks be to ye!" I attempted to mimic his voice.
"Be careful, I heard they're violent little buggers." He said as he walked away.
"We'll try!" I shouted back, waving a hand in the air. I then turned to Yuko, Misa, and Fini. "Did you guys catch all of that? We've found our way to Archades! We just have to take the role of pest control!"
"That's wonderful!" Yuko cheered. "Let's tell the others ASAP!" I nodded and we went over to find our party. We found Basch and Ashe, and decided to tell them first.
"You seem jittery." Ashe cocked an eyebrow at my constant jumping up and down.
"Guess what? Guess what? Guess what?" I bounced.
"What is it, Fuu?" Basch questioned, his eyes following each bounce I made.
"Basch, Ashe!" Yuko bounced in. "We found an effortless route through the Sochen Cave Palace!"
"Effortless route?" Ashe began listening more, and ignored my obnoxious bouncing. "How did you find this path?"
"Look at this." Yuko handed Ashe the bill for the hunt. "We promised a wayfarer that we would kill these Mandragoras…he even gave us the key to where they are in the area. And once we beat them, we will end up in Archades in no time at all!"
"This is certainly positive news." Ashe smiled. "Nice work, ladies."
"Aw, shucks!" I giggled.
"Now, we shall gather everyone else and head to the Sochen Cave Palace." Basch said. Ashe nodded her head and we walked about the site. As soon as everyone was back in our group, we headed to the Cave Palace entrance. It took us no time at all to get to our destination…and it was pretty obvious to which one was the cave palace entrance. A wide, creepy opening welcomed us with stalactites and stalagmites and other stalag-whatchamacallit things.
"It's dark." Yuko swallowed, grabbing my hand. I suddenly remembered Yuko's fear of the dark, and this place was, well, dark. Hopefully she won't spazz out again like in the Henne Mines…but then again, that was probably the creepiest place in Ivalice, so I don't blame her for spazzing in a place like that. "Let go, and I'll end you."
"Sheesh. I won't let go." I gulped at Yuko's threat.
"Hey," Vaan said. "You sure this rabbit hole's really the way into Archades?"
"Better a hare unseen than a rat in a trap." Balthier replied, walking closer to the entrance. "Then again, if you'd prefer to go knocking on the front gates of the city, be my guest."
"Be…my…guest, be my guest, put my servants to the test, tie a napkin 'round your neck, Cherie, as we provide the rest—." I sang. Everyone stopped and stared at me. "Sorry, I just can't resist the power of Beauty and the Beast."
"But hey, what about once we're inside the city?" Penelo asked. "Won't the city watch find us?"
"We'll do what we can to blend in with the crowd." Ashe said. "Our names may be notorious, but our faces are not far-known."
"True, true." Vaan stated. "You're our princess and we didn't even recognize you." This is when I coughed and inserted an "I did" in between. Vaan rolled his eyes and Ashe tugged a small smile.
"I noticed." She said.
"So, we going in?" Jude asked.
"Yes sir." I answered. He gave me his usual smirk and put his fist out. I blinked.
"Let's start a new thing here, Butch." He said. "Fist bump?"
"If you wanna." I gave out a chuckled and bumped his fist with my own.
"Fuu-chan...your hand." Yuko meeped.
"Oh, right. Sorry about that." I returned my hand back into Yuko's and we looked ahead into the Sochen Cave Palace. I glanced over at Balthier, who was ready to march in there any moment. He looked over at me, gave me a crooked smile, and entered. My eyes followed each smooth step he took into the cave...when I noticed that it was just me and Yuko standing outside. "Uh-oh. We should catch up to them."
"Okay." Yuko swallowed again.
"You ready?" I inhaled and exhaled slowly.
"I...I think so." Yuko nodded, fixing her posture and looking strong...the Yuko I wanted to see.
"Let's go." And with that, we marched inside to catch up with our group.
To Be Continued in Chapter 25!
(LOADING...LOADING...LOADING...LOADING...)
(We see a spotlight on a stage...and out steps Yuko in a fancy, red, flapper-girl-like dress step out.)
Yuko: Welcome to the FUU-CHAN SHOW!
(An audience of FFXII characters appear, clapping and cheering as the rest of the stage is lit up. There are lots of seats on the stage, and the highest one in the center is where Fuu is sitting. Balthier, Vaan, Ashe, Penelo, Fran, Basch, and Jude are sitting in the other seats on the stage, and Yuko walks over to her seat. The ladies are wearing similar dresses to Yuko's, except Ashe's is pink, Fran's is purple, Penelo's is yellow, and Fuu's is turquoise. All the men are wearing fancy tuxedos with bright red bow ties.)
Fuu: Welcome, welcome, one and all to the Fuu-chan Show! Remember in the beginning of the chapter where everyone wrote down random little topics and put it in a top hat...well...for the next few chapters...I'm going to pull out a topic and DISCUSS AWAY!
Jude: (rolls eyes) Here we go.
Fuu: And the very first topic of the show shall be...(rummages through the top hat, accompanied by a drumroll. Fuu pulls out a piece of folded paper. She unfolds it and reads the contents on the paper.) Out of the guys on stage, which one would I make out with...ALL RIGHT, WHO PUT THAT ONE IN THERE?
(Rozaline snickers)
Fuu: Grr...I thought it was someone like Rozaline...hmm...anyway...
Penelo: Go on and answer!
Vaan: Yeah...I'm kind of worried about who it'll be...
Fuu: Well...they all have a reason to have a little...er...fun. I mean, Basch is tough and protective...Balthier is...well...(blushes)...charming...and stuff...Jude is mysterious but is very caring-
Jude: (cough) I already have Lena (cough)
Fuu: (rolls eyes) I was aware of that. And Vaan is...
Vaan: Yes? Yes?
Fuu: He is...
Vaan: Go on! Out with it!
Fuu: Vaan is...just...blah.
Vaan: BLAH?
Fuu: Blah.
Vaan: Oh, come on! There HAS to be something good about me!
Penelo: Fuu speaks the truth.
Vaan: PENELO!
(Yuko gets up out of her seat)
Yuko: I'm afraid that's all the time we have today! Be sure to read Chapter 25 of "Going into Ivalice", and also be sure to review this chapter and tell the author what you like about this story! Stay tuned for our next show at the end of Chapter 25, too! Fuu still has a lot more to talk about thanks to the topics in the hat! See you later!
(Fini, Misa, and Rozaline close the curtains and wave goodbye)