Well. College for the win. Being a full-time college student is hard, but it isn't keeping a damper on my spirits. I will finish this story, rest assured. It may just take a bit longer than I expected. I'm doing my best to stay consistent with my writing, though my uploading is becoming more frequent to my own site, as I update it with other things, and less frequent here.
That being said, enjoy the chapters.
Book I, Part II: Mortal Conflict - The Zodiac Brave Story
Chapter V: Down To Business
[March 18, 2152 | Celsius, Cabin | 5:45 PM]
"...And that's basically it, in a nutshell," I finish, looking over at Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, along with Tetsuya and Yuki, whom I was just introduced to a bit earlier. Yuna and Paine look at me with a look somewhat like amazement, while Rikku merely stands up, walks over to me without a word, and promptly slaps me across the cheek. Not enough to really hurt me, mind you, but enough to make me blink.
"That's for not letting us know anything," she says, before leaning down and kissing me on the lips, "and that's for coming back in one piece."
If I said that I knew any decent way to respond to something like what just happened, I'm pretty sure I would be lying through my teeth.
Instead, I merely sit there, disguising my surprise at Rikku's actions behind a look of apathy as I turn to Tetsuya and Yuki. "Okay. Now that I've spilled the beans, my turn to ask questions. Just how did you two get here, anyhow?"
"If you're expecting some grandiose story, I think you'll be a bit disappointed," Tetsuya says, shrugging. "We were on the way to Trabia Garden, and got caught in the snowstorm. We stumbled on this ship, and those two invited us in until the storm was over," he explains, motioning to Yuna and Rikku.
"You're going to study there too?" I query, leaning back in the chair. The teen just nods.
"I'm going to see what I can take to improve my melee skills. Yuki's going to study magic and manipulation," he replies.
"I'm looking at the Alchemy training myself," I reply, which elicits a short chuckle from Tetsuya.
"The Alchemy training? Hope you have a lot of time on your hands."
"Why? Alchemy can't be that hard."
"You don't know what Alchemy is, then," he states, and I quirk an eyebrow.
"Oh? Enlighten me, then."
Folding his arms, Tetsuya looks over at Yuki. "You want to explain?" he asks, to which the younger girl simply nods.
"Alchemy...is tricky to explain. It's kinda like magic, but you don't just draw and cast it like you do with regular magic. You learn to manipulate things at a basic level, creating, altering, or destroying them with nothing more than your mental strength. That's just for the general Alchemy, too. If you start to specialize in a certain part of Alchemy, or a certain branch of elemental Alchemy, you can spend years just learning that one part to the best of its potential."
For the second time in about as many minutes, my mind boggles. My previous thoughts about Alchemy - namely, that it was the same in my world; the supposed process of turning base metals and other materials into gold - were very far from the mark. This Alchemy sounds like a very advanced form of magic...something I could definitely stand to learn.
"What kinds of elemental Alchemy are there?" I ask, curious to know more.
"Let's see...there's the major elements: Fire, Water, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Holy, and Dark. Those are really the eight major types of elemental Alchemy. I've also heard of a few more, but I don't really know anything about them. I'm not even sure if what I heard is right, really."
'Water or Ice would probably be best for me to try...I do have Shiva, after all, and she could probably help me focus more on those than if I tried some other element, like Fire...' I think to myself, still digesting all the information that I've heard.
"Well, that settles it. I'm going to try and enroll in the Garden to take one of the Alchemy courses," I state, standing up.
"Are you sure?" Yuna asks.
"Positive. I've got some crazy goddess after me now, remember? I'm going to need all the power I can get."
'And allies, too,' I think to myself, leaving that thought unspoken.
[March 18, 2152 | Esthar, Residential District | 6:00 PM]
"I can't believe this. We've been asking around here for over an hour now, and no one knows anything about this guy. Lousy waste of time," Uriko grumbled, a sour look on her face showing her clearly fed-up attitude.
"I never thought I'd say this, but I agree," Sumiko replied, the three of them stopping at a street corner to take a moment of rest. They had been in every place they could think of that may hold a clue as to the identity of the one who attacked them, or at least a little more information, but they had come up with nothing. Of course, they had a feeling that they knew the reason why. Everyone seemed to be afraid of this person, either shutting up immediately upon hearing the name or ordering them out of the building entirely.
"Excuse me?" a voice called, footsteps moving behind the group before stopping.
"Yes?" Naoki asked, turning to face the person who spoke. The person in question was a young girl in her teenage years with long, dark hair, set into a long braid coming down past her shoulders. A small, brown hat adorned her head, matching the elbow-length gloves, knee-length boots, and one-piece dress that she wore as well.
"Are you three Naoki Ishida, Sumiko Remiere, and Uriko Kurabasa, by chance?" the girl asked, causing Naoki to nod.
"That's us. Why?"
"My name is Silvia Conrad," the girl started, bowing slightly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I heard that you were looking for information on...Seeker," she continued, keeping her voice low as she says the name.
"You know something?" Uriko interrupted, stepping beside Naoki.
"Well, I don't know much about him, but I know where you can find information about him."
"This would be?" Naoki prompted, quirking an eyebrow at Silvia.
"Head to Trabia Garden. There's a place called Arkives there that you can use to access information on nearly anything. If there's any place you're going to find information about this guy, that's your best bet."
"There's just one problem with that," Sumiko said, glancing over at Naoki and Uriko before turning to Silvia. "None of us really know just where Trabia Garden is."
"I know it's somewhere in the mountains near here, but I don't know exactly where," Naoki adds.
"Well, you're in luck. I'm about to go to Trabia Garden to start training," Silvia said, though somewhat unenthusiastically. "I can show you where it is, if you'd like."
"We would appreciate that," Naoki replied, graciously accepting the girl's offer on behalf of the group.
[March 18, 2152 | Celsius, Corridor | 6:02 PM]
"Hey, what's the hurry?" Rikku asks me, following me out of the cabin. I had left quickly after hearing Yuki's explanation of Alchemy, hoping that I wasn't too late to register.
"I'm going to register at Trabia," I reply bluntly, looking over at my girlfriend. "Do you need something?"
"Not really, I just wanted to ask something," she says, walking up to me. "I know we know a lot about you, but...we don't really know a lot about you when you think about it," she continues, causing me to blink.
"Uh...run that by me again?" I say, confused at her odd statement.
"I mean, we know who you are, but...who are you really? We don't know a lot about where you came from, who you were before you got here...you know," she says, apparently finding it tough to phrase her question.
My mood immediately goes from calm to downcast as I realize what she's asking. "You mean my history, of sorts?"
"That's it!"
Sighing, I look around the hallway, seeing no one else; everyone must still be talking in the cabin. "Let's go to your room. If I'm going to talk, I want to talk somewhere private. It's not something I really like talking about," I tell her, turning and walking into the elevator. She follows a moment later, turning and pressing a button on the wall as the doors close.
[March 18, 2152 | Celsius, Rikku's Room | 6:03 PM]
"Better?"
"Much," I reply, sitting down on the bed. I don't really even know where to begin. So, I just decide to start talking, and hope that I can keep some semblance of calm.
"Okay. You've been around me for a long time now, so you should know my personality. I'm serious most of the time, maybe too serious for my own good. I've done some...I guess maybe the best word would be 'heroic,' things while I've been here, but as far as I know, I'm no one special. I don't even know why I'm here now, to tell the truth. Since you already know I'm from another dimension, I guess the best place to start would be my family," I say, closing my eyes as I speak.
"I was adopted when I was about six months old. I grew up with a mother and grandmother. No father, just those two. I never really thought much of it, never really cared why. I was pretty easy-going, never really letting a whole lot get me down. So, I didn't really have much trouble until around half a year after I turned ten. Some things happened, stuff that none of us really ever thought would happen...end result, both of my parents got pretty badly hurt. A couple years later, my grandmother died. About a year after that, my mother died. That was when I was about fifteen."
This was the main reason I always hated talking about my past; it brought up a lot of things I'd rather not remember.
"That's around when I changed. Most of my fun-loving personality just...disappeared. I started being really serious, lots of people even called me cold. I focused on a lot of things to try and get my mind off of the fact that I'd lost both of the people who were closest to me in a matter of a year's time, but it didn't really work. If it wasn't for my aunt, I think I might've gone crazy. Now, skip ahead about two years. That's about the time I turned seventeen, and also about the time I came to Spira and met up with you and Tidus."
"...I'm beginning to feel kinda sorry I asked..." Rikku says, looking over at me.
"That's life. When you least expect it, everything turns upside-down," I say, sighing and absently fingering the ice crystal-shaped pendant around my neck.
"Where did you get that?" Rikku asks, noticing me twirling the piece of jewelry over in my fingers.
"A close friend gave it to me when I was about sixteen," I reply. "I've always kept it with me, as sort of a good luck charm."
"Oh..." Rikku trails off, her look of sadness fading, to be replaced by a look of curiosity. "There's something else I wanted to ask you. When we were on Yunie's pilgrimage...really, even while we were sphere hunting, you looked like you knew a lot about Spira, even though you're not from Spira. Why?"
Even as I hear Rikku ask the question, I start mentally yelling every curse word I can possibly think of. That was the one question I'd been asked before, the one question I never wanted to explain. If I answer, I'm not sure how Rikku will react. If I don't answer, I may end up having Rikku not trust me again.
Sighing, I turn to look Rikku in the eyes, having decided to get it over with.
"This is going to sound strange, and you might not believe me, but it's the truth. In my world...this parallel reality, or whatever you want to call it, is just a game. Not just the world we're in right now, Gaia, but Spira as well."
Rikku's face moves to a momentary look of confusion, and then shock as she realizes just what I said. Slowly, I stand up, moving towards the door before turning back to Rikku.
"I felt the same way when I found out that all of this is real...and it is real. If you want to get specific, everything that's happening now shouldn't even be happening if this world was, in fact, just a game. This isn't just a game. This is reality. If you get cut, you bleed. You feel pain. The entire world around us is alive, not just bits of data in a computer. I don't care if this world was just a game in my world...this is our reality."
Rikku stands up and walks over to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
"I believe you...just, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I was scared. That isn't just something you can shrug off, you know...that could change the way you think, the way you act, everything about you. I wasn't sure if telling you would be for the best, so I decided not to say anything at all."
Pausing for a moment, I watch as Rikku nods, before continuing.
"As for my background...it's a touchy subject to me. Like I said, I don't like talking about it. Usually, I'll only explain if someone asks."
"I'm sorry I asked, then..." she says quietly, causing me to shake my head.
"It's not your fault. You wanted to know, and I can't blame you for that. In your position, I would want to as well. But enough about that," I say, smiling. "I need to head to the Garden and see about getting enrolled. I'll see you when I get back, okay?" I say, giving her a quick kiss before stepping out of the room.
[March 18, 2152 | Esthar, Conrad Synthetics, Zeo Conrad's Office | 6:16 PM]
"Good, very good...you've done well," Zeo Conrad said, nodding to Seeker and taking the Sagittarius Holy Stone. "This game just got more interesting...you are dismissed."
Silently, Seeker walked out of the room while Zeo Conrad pressed a series of buttons on the keypad next to him. The screen flashed once, changing to an image resembling the Balamb Garden seal, but instead with an aqua circle around the center of the emblem, leaving the trademark black and white center still the same. A moment later, the screen shifted to an image of Darius DeValle, Sr., who frowned upon seeing the person addressing him.
"Zeo Conrad. To what do I owe the pleasure, or lack thereof, of this call?"
"Darius Sr. DeValle. Always business, as usual," Zeo replied, smiling a kind, but still unnerving smile. "The reason I'm calling is not merely a call for pleasantries' sake, as you may have suspected. I have business to discuss with you, business that you may find...interesting. Would you mind meeting me at the Pandora Cafè later this afternoon, perhaps around...1900 hours?"
Darius Sr. furrowed his brow in contemplation for a minute before regaining his apathetic appearance. Zeo Conrad had never been one to invite a business enemy, as he considered it, out to dinner without a very good reason...so the question was, what was Conrad playing at?
"I suppose that will be acceptable, Conrad," the Senior replied, deciding to play Conrad's game. He moved to press a button on the desk, looking away from the screen as he did so before stopping and turning back to the screen suddenly. "Oh, and one more thing, Conrad. Please be prompt. I know that you seem to have a problem with that."
The desk on Zeo Conrad's office desk flashed again with the Garden emblem before shutting off completely, leaving Zeo Conrad alone in his office once more.
"Soon, Mister DeValle, you will see that you don't hold quite as many cards as you believe you do..." Zeo uttered, continuing to examine the Sagittarius Stone in his hands intently.
Not much to say about this chapter - look forward to a confrontation between Darius DeValle Sr. and Zeo Conrad, though. As always, please read and review.