::The Last Avatar::
Gamer Edition
BOOK ONE
LEVIATHAN
1.14
Exit Stage Right
As Rue changed into her normal clothes she had to wonder if they were magical, like Cloud's were in Advent Children, or if, somehow, someone kept replacing hers with identical copies. Because she was pretty sure that her outfit had been in shreds thanks to the pyro-lunatic she'd had fun with last week. And it had been fun. Rue frowned, the fight had been fun. Since when did she enjoy being cut to ribbons and crap? No. She didn't enjoy that. It was the parts around that bit that were fun. Irritating the red clad lunatic had certainly been fun and Angeal had been pleasant enough. When he wasn't trying to be a White Knight anyway. She was curious to know if they had liked the chocolates she'd given them.
"Are you going somewhere, Rue?" a small voice asked from behind her. Turning Rue found the little girl peeking into her room staring at her with sad grey-brown eyes. Rue tilted her head, silently inviting the child inside without words. Yuffie trotted over and sat on the futon next to Rue's bag, peeking into the bag curiously.
"Yeah, sweetie, it's time for me to get moving, gotta world to save and all that," Rue grinned to cover her uncertainty. Yuffie frowned and looked down at the bundle in her small hands and then back up at Rue.
"I know, you packed up your room yesterday," Yuffie told her in a small voice. With a sigh Rue placed Sokka on Cactus Juice in her bag and sat next to Yuffie, giving the little girl a one armed hug.
"Noticed that, huh?" Yuffie nodded and hugged the bundle a little tighter. "Well, there are other people that I have to help now, bad guys to stop, you know?" Rue tried to explain. Though it was a half truth, she wasn't entirely sure what 'bad guys' to go after at this point.
"Why can't someone else do it?" Yuffie sniffed and Rue realised the little girl was on the verge of tears. She smiled to herself and decided to do what she did best.
"Well, one day, someone else will, there will be a group of heroes that will save everyone, the whole planet," Rue told the little girl. Yuffie stared up at her with a wobbly frown on her face and Rue smiled, tapping her cute little nose. "There was a swordsman with unusual hair, a barmaid with an amazing right hook, a hulking man with a gun arm, a talking beast with a flaming tail, a flower girl, an undying man seeking forgiveness, an ace pilot and," Rue paused and reached into her bag. "A Treasure Princess," she finished as she showed Yuffie the plushie of her grown up self. Yuffie's eyes immediately lit up at the sight of the stuffed doll and a small smile broke out on her face.
"Treasure Princess saved the planet?" she asked excitedly. Rue gave the little girl the plushie and ruffled her hair.
"They all will, one day, but until they're ready I need to do what I can," Rue told her gently. Yuffie regarded the plushie in her grasp carefully before looking back up to Rue thoughtfully.
"We'll see each other again though, right?" Rue beamed at the question and gave the little girl a huge hug.
"Absolutely," she agreed happily. That was a promise Rue was happy to keep and would do everything she could so she would be able to do so.
"Alright, I guess you can go then," Yuffie said with a little sigh. Rue couldn't help but smile broadly at her words and watched as the little girl bounced off the futon with more energy than Rue would have ever known what to do with. Yuffie spun around and thrust the small bundle toward Rue happily. "Here!" she offered with a toothy grin. Rue raised a curious eyebrow as she took the bundle from the little girl and carefully unfolded it. "I couldn't find the proper clothes, so I made you one!" she declared as Rue stared down at what equated to a 'new costume' courtesy of Yuffie. The smile was unstoppable, Rue couldn't have stopped it if she tried and she really didn't want to.
Congratulations!
Clothing Set Unlocked and Acquired!
*Thief Rue*
Weapon Set Discovered and Unlocked!
*Daggers Weapon Set*
Danced in front of her eyes for a moment before vanishing and Rue's grin broadened when she saw the glint of metal amongst the fabric. She carefully pulled out the pair of daggers, looking them over curiously. They looked remarkably similar to the daggers Rikku used in Final Fantasy X-2, making Rue want to squeal in delight just a little. Looking back at Yuffie, she set the bundle aside and knelt down in front of the little girl, hugging her tightly.
"Thank you, Yuffie, I love them," she said quietly. Yuffie hugged her back just as tightly and Rue closed her eyes, making a promise to herself that she would at least try to keep in contact with Yuffie and if not, to be there during her 'side quest' in Wutai during AVALANCHE's exodus across Gaia.
The small moment was broken as an explosion ripped through the compound and shook the floor beneath them. Yuffie yelped in fright and held onto Rue even tighter while the teenager moved towards the window, carrying the frightened child carefully. There was smoke coming from the beyond the compound's walls. It seemed Shinra was attacking the city that had grown up around the Imperial Palace. Rue could hear the sound of helicopters in the distance, as well as gunfire and the distant screaming of the populace.
Swearing to herself softly Rue carried Yuffie to her futon and placed her under the covers gently, prying tiny fingers from her shirt. "Yuffie you need to stay here, okay? I need to go now, but I promise I will help as many of your people as I can while I'm leaving," she told the child seriously. Yuffie's big eyes were practically swimming with tears threatening to fall, but the little girl stubbornly refused to shed them.
"Please don't get hurt," Yuffie asked in a small voice. Rue smiled and as she hugged the girl one more time something slammed into her door, making both girl's jump. When Rue hurried over to see what it was Tera slid into the room, looking about her wildly. It seemed the fighting in the city had set the Coeurl on edge.
"Don't worry, Yuf, I've got Tera here to protect me, remember?" she assured the child with a grin. Yuffie nodded and pulled the covers up to her chin as she watched Rue gather the last of her things. Yuffie's gifts were the last to be placed in the bag before Rue slung it into place over her shoulder where it joined her water canister and quiver. "Hm, too much crap hanging off me," she muttered to herself as she settled everything into place.
A second explosion rocked the compound and Rue gave a regretful look to the cowering child hiding under the covers before turning and walking out the door, closing it behind her quietly. It was time to go.
*Attack on the Capital*
Story quest #4
...
The capital of Wutai is under attack by Shinra.
Well, shit.
For this quest you have one objective and a optional objective should you have a conscience.
Personally, if you do the optional thing I'll add something to the pot from me to you.
…
Get out of Wutai safely without getting noticed by Godo or the Wusheng.
Optional:
Protect the people of Wutai while they take refuge in the Imperial Palace.
…
Good luck kid!
!*~*~*BONUS SCENE*~*~*!
Angeal's mouth was turned in a grim line as he and the others raced through the Wutian capital, it seemed most of Kisaragi's soldiers were no longer guarding his base of power if the lack of adversaries was anything to go by. They'd been dropped from the centre of the city and slowly been making their way towards the main compound, taking side streets and alleyways to avoid the enemy troops stationed in the city. It seemed Sephiroth wasn't interested in playing with cannon fodder today.
Another explosion shook the ground beneath their feet as Sephiroth slowed to a stop before the exit of the alley they'd been running through, they could hear the city's citizens screaming in terror and agony as the missiles fell on the unsuspecting people of Wutai. Glancing over at Genesis gave Angeal a perfect view of the look of extreme distaste on the red heads face.
"Why are they still bombing? It's obvious there isn't a large military presence here, this is not like we thought it would be," Sephiroth glanced at Angeal at the question.
"Because they don't care," he answered while glancing out at the main street. Angeal grimaced and hated that he knew Sephiroth was right. They may have been in command of the army here, but the President was in charge of them and he had ordered the air strike. As the General, Sephiroth could have had the strike called off, but he would need a damn good reason.
One of the bombs hit the ground just down the street from them, kicking up dust and debris which they used as cover when crossing over to the next alleyway. Genesis complained that they weren't actually doing what they'd been told to, unfortunately Sephiroth had caught sight of a flash of blue as they passed an intersection and he was ignored in favour of locating the girl that had been weighing on all their minds. In one form or another.
!*~*~*~*~*!
Rue smiled as warmly as she could at the terrified woman as the teen pulled her from the wreckage that Rue could only assume was the remains of the poor woman's house. There was dust everywhere and she could hear people screaming from inside collapsed buildings. Honestly Rue didn't even know where to start, and she was starting to feel sick just from the thought of all the people who were likely going to die before anyone could get into the wreckages to save them. A volley of bullets brought her attention around to her left, Rue squinted though the dust and smoke to catch sight of Shinra grunts chasing civilians down with, what she assumed, were automatic rifles or something similar. Rue did not know much about guns and she wasn't keen to at this point. She turned back to the weeping woman and helped her stand, not letting go till she knew the woman could stand on her own.
"You have to run, get to the Palace, tell them the Avatar sent you and said they would protect you," Rue told the woman hurriedly. "And for the love of all things good stay out of the open, use the alleys and side streets, okay?" the woman nodded shakily and took off as fast as her shaky legs could carry her. With her latest rescue out of the way the slightly furious teenager headed toward the gunfire, of a mind to give the grunts a real fight and never mind escaping at this point. This was just horrifying, war was war, but this was something else entirely and was crossing the line into borderline genocide. Running through the dust and smoke with Tera at her heels Rue found herself facing the backs of a squad of grunts, they'd cornered a family against a ruined building. The Wutain's eyes widened when they saw her and shook their heads at her fearfully and cried out for her to run. One of the grunts turned as Rue lashed out with a Water Whip, knocking all five of them on their asses in quick succession and then freezing them in place.
"L-Lady Avatar?" the mother murmured as she held her child. Rue nodded to the frightened family and nodded for them to run. She almost raised an eyebrow as both parents bowed to her before taking their children and heading towards the Palace without another word. Rue was breathing hard as she tried to contain her raging temper, this was wrong, so very wrong. Turning Rue walked away from the frozen grunts, she had better things to do than deal with them right now. She had to save more civilians and restock her water supply while she was at it.
!*~*~*BONUS SCENE*~*~*!
Genesis was actually starting to get worried now, he'd heard a number of alarming things from the radio and knew the other two had heard it too. According to the regulars there was an unknown assailant going around taking down entire squads single-handed without any of them actually seeing who it was. The only common factor in all the attacks was the unusual usage of water and ice. Everyone else was claiming it was some kind of crazy Materia genius helping the Wutians, but Genesis was fairly certain it was that stupid girl and her 'magic water' as he and Angeal had started calling it. Even Sephiroth had changed course and was heading to the latest 'sighting' despite his continuing disbelief. It seemed most of the altercations with the mystery assailant occurred near the front of the palace where the regulars were supposed to be herding the civilians. Though Genesis doubted that was what was really happening, he'd seen too many dead non-combatants already to believe that.
When the three of them entered the square it became apparent that this was ground zero for the mystery assailant. There were small pillars of ice and small ice barriers scattered around the area, a thick mist covered the ground and the temperature dropped significantly enough for a shiver to slide down Genesis' back. There was a fountain in the centre of the square and crouched beside it was a small familiar figure in blue, filling a container with water from the fountain. Before either Genesis or Angeal could say anything Sephiroth was striding forward, toward the girl they'd been looking for since the operation had begun.
!*~*~*~*~*!
Rue had only been using her Water Bending during the madness of Shinra's invasion of the capital, finding it easier to pretend that everything was fine if she convinced herself it was for training. Her temper wasn't much better, in fact she was certain that it was ready to blow. She just needed a good target to let it loose on. She'd sent Tera to scout for enemies while stocking up on her water supply, certain that the thin layer of ice she'd covered the ground in would alert her of company.
She was almost done when the sound of boots on the icy ground reached her, more idiots with guns no doubt. Rue's temper flared and within seconds she had turned, an ice shard aimed at her attackers neck.
Congratulations!
Your use of Basic Water Bending has upgraded your skill level!
Basic Water Bending is now level 4!
AN: Okay, so this chapter took a little longer than I expected it to. I do have a proper reason this time, however, as my laptop keyboard started dying on me. Seriously. Most of the bottom keys won't work and I had to keep copy-pasting the letter 'z' and the '?', which was getting more than annoying by the end of the last chapter. The arrow keys and some of the numbers on the number pad were also not working so I forked out for a new USB keyboard. Having to copy-past things just to type one word or do questions was getting to me. So when the new one came in the mail today I rejoiced and got back to work.
As for the content of the chapter itself, well, it didn't quite go as I originally planned and the Shinra troops are being much more aggressive towards the civilians than I'd thought they would be in my mental chapter plan.
Finally we get the REUNION next chapter...LOL
I've actually already written the draft for the last scene of the last chapter and the epilogue, as well as other random scenes from different points in the story that I can slot in when I get there. Admittedly most of them are just fluff and me trying to be sneaky about the pairing for funzies, but I figure if I get a good idea and it doesn't fit in the chapter I'm up to I should just write it and save it for later. Rainy days and all that.
Just for the lolz I added a poll to my profile where you can vote on who you think Rue will end up with in the very end, just to see if anyone knows yet, or if my evil plan is working. Also to see if opinions change as the story continues.
Anyways, hope you enjoyed and I will see you next time!
As always, thanks for all the alerts, faves and reviews, they make my day a happy one!
RLK