9. Sphere of Stealth
Lucil tinkered away in her brightly lit chambers. She studied the unknown dressphere, inspecting it under an Al Bhed microscope. She conducted various tests, Elma close behind to assist. The two worked through the night, giving broad smiles the next morning. As the sun came up over headquarters, Lucil and Elma rushed from their chambers. They raced across the compound, entering the main tent with the sphere.
"I've got it!" Lucil declared, standing on the top floor with the others.
"Lucil. Did you discover details of the sphere?" Nooj asked.
"Sure did!" Lucil replied, Paine and the others perking up.
"Wow. That was fast," Logos said.
"No kiddin'. You're pretty handy, kid," Leblanc said.
"Oh, Lucil! You're such a genius!" Elma said ecstatically.
"...So. What is it?" Paine asked.
"Behold! I present to thee... the Ninja dressphere!" Lucil said. The others briefly paused, Paine taking the sphere from Lucil.
"Sounds cool," Paine said, looking it over.
"Well?" Elma asked. "What're ya waiting for? Try it on!"
"Yeah! Go for it!" Lucil said.
"Indeed," Logos added.
"Yes. I'm rather curious, myself," Nooj said.
"Hmph. I bet it would look better on me, whatever it is!" Leblanc quipped.
"Fat chance," Paine replied.
She then took a breath, walking to the center of the room. The five gathered watched with anticipation. All eyes were on Paine, and even Leblanc's curiosity was piqued. Without a second thought, Paine raised her sphere to the sky.
"...Ninja!" she exclaimed firmly.
In a flash, Paine's body started to glow. A dark aura swirled around her, the girl's warrior attire abruptly vanishing. Paine stood motionless, briefly nude as new clothes materialized. Black and gray fibers weaved in and out, taking shape around her body. The lights in the tent flickered, Paine changing jobs before their eyes.
As the transformation ended, Paine gave pause, looking herself over. The five gathered all looked on, awed by Paine's sleek new appearance. She now wore a sexy black outfit, arms bare save for a pair of gray armlets. Her chest and belly were exposed, a pair of black straps from her neck to her waist covering her boobs. Her pants were baggy, the sides exposed down to her knees. Her back was also bare, a pair of swords sheathed near her ass. Paine reached back, grabbing the slim pair of wakizashi. She slashed them twice, soon giving a wry smile. "...Cool."
"...Damn! I'll say!" Elma said.
"I knew it! Paine looks great!" Lucil said, clapping twice.
"Feh. Kind of slutty if you ask me," Leblanc said.
As Paine turned to Nooj, she noticed him and Logos lost for words. The girl blinked twice, blushing as she gave a smile.
"Enjoying the view, boys...?" she asked wryly. The two nodded in unison.
"...Ahem. Y-Yes," Logos said, flustered.
"Indeed. You look quite stunning in that, Paine. It suits you well," Nooj said. Paine turned beet red.
"Th-Thanks," she replied bashfully. "But aside from looks, I'm eager to test it out in battle. I sense this dressphere can do serious damage."
"It can," Lucil replied. "Here. This is a list of its abilities."
As Lucil produced a sheet of skills, Paine looked them over.
Throw Weapon - Toss a weapon at an enemy for heavy damage.
Throw Gil - Toss gil at an enemy for variable damage.
Blitz - Thunder damage to all enemies.
Blaze - Fire damage to all enemies.
Flood - Water damage to all enemies.
Invisible - Vanish from sight. Canceled after taking an action.
Skin Shedding - Temporarily avoid all physical damage. Cancels Sunken State.
Sunken State - Temporarily avoid all magical damage. Cancels Skin Shedding.
Abandon - Greatly raise physical and magical evasion.
Mirror Move - Use enemy's last skill against them.
Double Image - Create a temporary duplicate of the user.
Smokescreen - Cast darkness on all opponents.
Trap - Lay a trap, causing random status effects to random enemies.
Critical Slash - Always do critical damage to one enemy.
Fatal Strike - Always do critical damage to all enemies.
Deathblow - Kill one enemy. Halves users HP.
Of the list of skills, two in particular caught Paine's eye.
"...Invisibility, huh? Sounds intriguing," she said.
"Totally. This dressphere is very unique," Lucil replied.
"Double image sounds nice, too," Paine said.
"Yes! Double your Paine, double your game!" Lucil joked.
"Can the duplicate attack?" Paine asked.
"I don't know. You'll have to use it to find out. I don't know how long it'll take to learn these skills, though," Lucil said.
"I'm eager to find out. I'll need to train someplace tough to learn quickly," Paine said. "Maybe the Via Infinito. Though it'd be a suicide mission to go there alone..."
"Via what-eeto?" Leblanc asked.
"Via Infinito. A vast underground complex beneath Bevelle. Yuna, Rikku, and I went there and it was crawling with fiends. It's a great training spot, but would likely be too much to handle alone," Paine said.
"Not to mention how dangerous Bevelle is lately," Nooj said.
"You can say that again!" a chipper girl said from afar. The room turned to the door, spotting a familiar pair as they appeared.
"...Rikku! Yuna!" Paine said in surprise. Rikku's eyes shot open.
"Whoa!" she exclaimed, looking Paine over.
"New threads?" Yuna asked, doing the same.
"Yeah. It's a new dressphere, if you can believe it," Paine said.
"No shit?! I thought we'd found them all, already!" Rikku said. "...Geez. You're so sexy!"
"Th-Thanks," Paine replied, giving a blush. "What brings you guys here, anyway?"
"Well...," Yuna replied, telling everyone about Baralai and Lulu.
"...Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Elma asked in shock.
"Tch. Baralai! That snake!" Lucil exclaimed.
"Yes. Snake, indeed," Nooj said. "I feared these latest rumors were true, and it sounds like they are."
"...Lulu," Paine said with concern.
"I know. I could hardly believe she up and attacked us and the village, either. It seems as though she's completely lost her mind," Yuna said.
"Can ya blame her? I can't imagine havin' a kid, much less losing one...," Rikku said.
"Wakka and I fear she may be possessed, but Rikku and the villagers think she's just snapped," Yuna said. "Whatever the case is, we have to find her before she kills again."
"Any idea where she went?" Paine asked.
"No. But on the way here, Buddy picked up a disturbance near the Moonflow. We were going to investigate, but thought we'd stop by and warn you all of Baralai," Yuna said.
"Thank you, Yuna. As usual, you've been of great help," Nooj said.
"Yeah. I'd come with, but I want to stay here in case New Yevon attacks," Paine said.
"I understand. That's probably for the best. With you here, I'm sure you can keep them at bay," Yuna replied.
"Don't underestimate them, though. Their numbers are great. We barely escaped Bevelle with our lives," Rikku said.
"We won't. Thanks for the warning, you two," Paine said.
"No prob," Rikku said, winking.
"Yes. Take care, Paine," Yuna added.
"...You too, Yuna. Rikku," Paine replied, the three once more parting ways.