In the Palace of Eternity, First threw open the doors to Namine's room, startling the poor girl.
"Yah!" Namine yelped as she whirled around towards the door. First smiled towards the newest addition to the Sisterhood and started to approach her.
"Seven, it has come to my attention that your skill with your supplied weapon needs some improvement. However we cannot-…" First said before noticing something was amiss about Namine's clothing. Namine was now sporting a solid white leather robe and hood instead of her prescribed wardrobe. She even had white leather gloves over her hands and white heeled boots on her feet. It was a complete reproduction of Larxene and Xion's Organization XIII uniform except solid white. She was wearing the hood down and you could see the straps from another dress like her old one near the edges of the neck.
"What are you wearing?" First asked, looking Namine over with her lone eye.
"I was feeling a little cold, so I made this. I even made a modified version of my dress, underneath." Namine explained quickly.
"You made it?" First asked in awe. She was both surprised yet genuinely pleased.
"Y-y-yes actually. I made it with my powers. I originally made it in black but I felt white would be more…me." Namine explained nervously.
"I see. But as I was saying. Your lack of fighting ability is a disadvantage we must remedy but we have duties to uphold and we all must do our part. To that end, I have made a decision. You will have a partner." First explained, concerning Namine.
"A-a-a Partner?" Namine asked, cowering slightly.
"Of course." First replied.
"One of the sisters?" Namine asked but First shook her head.
"No, I'm afraid we must all go in separate directions. We have promises to keep and we all must do our part to keep them, including you. I shall send you on your first assignment soon but first you must meet and get to know your partner. Come, I shall introduce you." First said as she turned towards the door and motioned for Namine to follow. They walked through a series of corridors, down a flight of stairs, and finally came to a dimly lit corridor. Some of the lights overhead were flickering and there were what appeared to be craters scattered all over the wall and floor as if something powerful had hit them. There were no scorch marks around the craters that would indicate explosions so it was like something solid had slammed into the wall or floor, leaving the crater.
"What happened to the-…"
"You'll see." First mumbled as they approached the only door in the entire corridor. Plastered all over the door were handmade warning signs like a teenager would do to try and keep the adults or younger siblings out of their room. First casually opened the door but froze when a small white bullet of energy impacted against the wall immediately next to her, missing her by a few inches. First turned and glared impatiently towards the other person in the room.
"Darn. Missed again." A young woman's voice cursed.
"I warned you. Now behave yourself, and say hello to the newest of your Aunts." First said, earning a frustrated groan in response.
"Whatever, you're not my mom you know. You're just-…" the voice said before a second figure appeared in the doorway. It was a girl about Namine's age if not older by one or two years. She was a little bit taller than Namine too but her skin was lightly tanned and she had long lavender hair, long pointed ears, and blue eyes. She wore black shorts with a white top and frilly white sleeves, a gold and silver peineta on her head, and white boots. She also bore a blue crystal amulet on her chest along with a blue ribbon. The girl looked Namine over for a moment as if studying her before turning to First.
"Seriously, this is the best you could come up with?" the girl asked. First scowled at the girl with a murderous glare before turning to Namine.
"Seven, I'd like to introduce you to Prishe, my daughter." First said as the girl started picking her nose.
"Hi there." Prishe (Final Fantasy XI) gave slight nod while still picking her nose, purposefully flicking the resulting nose nugget right at First. (A/N: For Dissidia 012 owners, she's wearing her first alternate outfit, Custom Corsage plus, why will be explained in a later chapter.)
"Seven, you and Prishe will be working together for the time being on missions. I trust the two of you will be able to get along." First said as Prishe rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Prishe said, clearly lacking interest. Namine was hesitant and nervous about the situation.
"Did I mention that these missions go beyond the confines of the castle? To the outside worlds?" First asked. Almost instantly Prishe's ears popped up slightly and her eyes widened.
"What? Really? Why didn't you say so! Come on Sev, let's go!" Prishe exclaimed as she grabbed a bewildered Namine by the wrist and with a surprisingly strong yank, started pulling her down the hall. Poor Namine was being pulled so fast her feet didn't even touch the ground. First watched them disappear with a blank expression.
"Horrid little brat." First muttered before disappearing in a Corridor of Darkness. Down the hall, Namine was still flying behind Prishe as they ran for nowhere in particular.
"WHERE! ARE! WE! GOING?!" Namine shouted before Prishe slid to a halt, letting go of Namine, allowing the poor girl to catch her breath...and actually stand on her own two feet. Prishe then turned to her with a curious expression.
"So you're the last of the new members, huh? You're not exactly what I expected, but then again, fourth wasn't what I expected either and she's a total nutcase. So what's your damage?" Prishe asked as Namine climbed to her feet.
"Damage?" Namine asked curiously and confused.
"Yeah, you know the weird little kink or gimmick that all the other members of the Sisterhood have? I mean Sixth's quirk is that she manipulates a person's lust, Fifth's is greed, Fourth is pride, Third is envy, Second is sloth, and First's is wrath…I guess yours would be gluttony but you don't strike me as the kind that would sit around and eat everything in sight…that's unless you can really pack it away and still keep that killer body. So what is your quirk?" Prishe asked as Namine started ringing her hands nervously, looking down at them.
"Memories." Namine muttered.
"Memories huh? Hmm, that's kinda cool. So what's a timid little thing like you doing with this crowd? It's quite clear that you don't belong." Prishe said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I...I don't belong here." Namine said, thinking about Kairi.
"Well whether you want to be here or not, you're stuck. Might as well make the best of it. I mean how do you think I've managed to survive for all these years?" Prishe asked as Namine shrugged.
"Well, I don't know about you but I'm eager to ditch this place for a while. So what's say that you and I go and see what this mission is that First has for us, okay?" Prishe asked as Namine nodded.
"Okay." Namine said timidly.
"Okay! Let's go check it out!" Prishe said as she started walking down the hall, Namine following close behind. As they walked, Namine pondered Prishe's explanation of the Sisterhood's individual powers.
"Um, Prishe?"
"Yeah Sev?" she asked back still with a big smile on her face.
"You mentioned my sisters powers were wrath, envy, sloth, greed, pride, and lust?" she asked as Prishe predicted her questioning.
"Yep. The seven deadly sins. All of the sisters are experts at preying on those elements of the heart. The funny thing is, I'm not even one of them and they kinda consider me as their unofficial gluttony." Prishe explained, confusing Namine.
"You're gluttony?" she asked, as Prishe laughed.
"You'll see kid. Just you wait!" she laughed as she led her back along the same route that First had used to bring her to Prishe's room in the first place. As they walked, Namine looked at Prishe curiously. She tried entering her memories but for an odd reason, there was something keeping her out. Something was blocking her powers. She then noticed Prishe's long ears twitch slightly.
"What are you looking for in there?" she asked softly, tapping the side of her head while glancing at Namine with a curious smile. They both came to a stop, Prishe just slightly ahead of her and turned towards her.
"Y-You can tell when I'm-…" she stammered as Prishe sighed heavily with a shrug and a smile.
"The curse of my condition I'm afraid. You heard me mentioning that First isn't my mom. That's actually only half-true. I think you can figure out what the main difference is between us." Prishe said as Namine looked at her with a studying gaze. Prishe merely stood there, a smirk planted on her face as Namine looked the young woman over.
"Aside from the obvious fact they look nothing alike and share no physical similarities, there's something peculiar about her. What is it? It's like it's staring me right in the face." Namine thought to herself. Prishe's smirk widened.
"It's on the tip of your tongue, ain't it? Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually. The record holder for the person who figured it out the quickest is Fifth, the Lady of Avarice herself, at exactly four months. Man the look on her face when she confronted me about it! I've still got it engrained in my memory! So I wonder if you'll figure it out faster. There's no rush." Prishe said as she turned back towards the front.
"Oh, and when you figure out my secret, you'll know why you can't get to my memories. It's also the same reason I'm immune to the other sister's powers. That said, let's keep moving." Prishe said as she and Namine continued on, Namine looking at her curiously as they went. Finally they arrived back in the main room where all the sisters but First had gathered around the center table.
"Oh grand, it's the abhorrent one." Fourth sniffed with an air of sarcasm. All of the sisters regarded Prishe with an air of disdain. Prishe however merely smirked at them.
"Gettin' enough air down there pipsqueak?" Prishe asked, sending Fourth into a rage.
"WHO'RE-YOU-CALLING-SO-SMALL-YOU-WANT-TO-CRUSH-LIKE-AN-ANT?!" She freaked as Sixth and Third restrained her, preventing her from attacking Prishe.
"Any time you wanna go half-pint, just let me know. I've got a pair of knucks that I've been dying to break in." Prishe said with a taunting tone as flames appeared in Fourth's eyes.
"I'M-GONNA-RIP-OUT-YOUR-TONGUE-AND-BEAT-YOU-TO-DEATH-WITH-IT-YOU-POINTY-EARRED-SNOT!" Fourth shrieked, still being restrained by the other sisters, only now Second, Third, Fifth, and Sixth were all keeping her restrained.
"That is enough!" First boomed as she entered the chamber, silencing them all at once.
"Well she started it!" Fourth exclaimed, pointing at Prishe.
"Please, dear sister, we haven't the time for your arrogance when we have so much to prepare for. As we all know, Si'Lea's apprentice is on the move which means the moment we've been waiting for is within our grasp. We must prepare our allies for our final move." First said as the sisters all exchanged dark smiles and smirks while Namine quietly pulled the hood on her coat up over her head. Prishe just sat on the edge of the table, her arms and legs crossed, looking bored.
"So what's the plan, Sister?" Second asked as First smiled.
"We are to let the apprentice enjoy her first time in another world, but the moment she sets foot in a second, she'll be ours. That being said, we still need to provide our allies with the assistance we promised them." First explained.
"I suppose that is where we come in?" Third asked as First nodded.
"Yes. Seven, you and Prishe will be dealing with this one. One of our allies has an unruly child in their care and we have been asked to give this child reason to never disobey her mother's orders ever again. You two will be providing her with this reason." First said as Namine looked at her curiously.
"We're supposed to kill her?" Namine asked as Third chuckled.
"Not quite, but you are to instil the fear of death into her. Show her that the world beyond her home is too dangerous for her." Third said as Namine swallowed slightly. Prishe however smirked and rested her arm on Namine's shoulder.
"Come on Sev, I know the world they're talking about. There's a good tavern near there and I'm famished!" Prishe said, grabbing Namine by the arm and dragging her away, all six sisters watching as they disappeared.
"I've never seen the abhorrent one take to one of us so quickly before. I wonder what makes Seven so different." Third commented as Sixth smirked towards her.
"Is that jealousy I detect in your voice?" she asked as Third scowled towards her.
"You forget that jealousy is my specialty, Sixth." Third commented.
"And yet that raises an interesting question. Considering our powers over other's emotions, Seven's power is over people's memories. Unless I've missed something, the last of the seven emotions left untouched is gluttony so either Seven truly is our gluttony and she's lying or her powers somehow correlate to gluttony." Second commented.
"Or there is a possibility that none of you have considered." First said, earning all of their attention.
"What are you talking about?" Fourth asked with a sniff.
"She is our Seven, but at the same time, she is not our gluttony. Her power is as different from us as the weapon she wields, the weapon we've needed, the weapon we've tried to acquire once already and failed." First explained as Second arched a curious eyebrow.
"Are you referring to that idiot in the other worlds? The old fool with the ponytail and the eye patch?" Second asked as Sixth licked her lips.
"Mmm speaking of which, we haven't heard from him in a while. I've been dying to meet him." Sixth said as First glanced her way.
"Unless you know how to raise the dead, then I'm afraid you'll never get the chance now. He was killed a week ago." First said as the sisters all looked at her in surprise.
"Braig is dead?! How did this happen?!" Second asked as First glared at them all with her eye, causing all five of them to cower slightly.
"He was a vital part of the plan, true, but where one door closes, another opens. The fact that Seven can wield a Keyblade has put one in our hands and thus made Braig's intended involvement unnecessary. She's merely replaced him in our plan. Also take into consideration that the previous number of Keyblade wielders in the worlds has essentially doubled from two to four, and according to our agent, there are yet another four Keyblade wielders in the worlds beyond the gateway. The trick will be gathering them all together." First explained as the sisters looked at each other curiously for a moment in thought.
"So what you said is true. From what I can tell, we are the closest to achieving our goal than we ever have before." Fifth said as First smiled and opened her hand, allowing a small doll of Si'Lea to form in the palm of her hand.
"Yes and at long last, dear Si'Lea will finally feel my wrath for denying me the independence I have craved for so long." First said with a dark grin as the doll spontaneously combusted with black flames.
End Chapter 16