RPG Final Fantasy X-3 (PG)

[Sandy]

[CENTER][FONT=Century][SIZE=3][U][B]FINAL FANTASY X-3[/B][/U][/SIZE][/FONT]

[IMG]http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c323/SamSandy/Final%20Fantasy/ff10-2-celsius2.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]

Clouds rolled past the airship that was crossing the sky like a red lightning. Three people stood in the cockpit, gazing forward.

"Ah, this is life!" Buddy said from his pilot seat. "Plying the skies, free as a bird."

"Talk for yourself!" Rikku exclaimed and shook a finger at the dark-skinned pilot. "I feel like I'm a mere servant to Pop, running around doing mindless errands for him!"

"Come on now, Rikku," the third person, Paine, replied dryly. "All you had to say was 'no' ".

Buddy laughed at his companion's remark, making Rikku blush. "[I]Fryd tu oui ghuf ypuid Al Bhed fyoc?[/I] [What do you know about Al Bhed ways?]" she muttered in her own language.

"[I]Oui yna vunkaddehk dryd E ihtancdyht oui[/I] [You are forgetting that I understand you]," Paine retorted, and Buddy laughed again.

"Calm down, girls! We're approaching our destination."

The red airship, Celsius, descended through the clouds all the way down to the surface of the ocean below. The airship roused huge waves from both sides.

In front of them lay a large island with a tall forest-covered mountain rising in the center.

"Kilika Island", Buddy declared.

~~~~~

Celsius was left hovering above the docks of Kilika while Rikku and Paine teleported down. Immediately they were surrounded by a cheering crowd.

"It's the Gullwings!" a little girl shouted. "Can I have an autograph, pleeease?!"

"It's been three years, and we're still celebrated as heroes", Paine sighed.

"I for one never get tired to that!" Rikku said cheerily, leaning towards the girl and signing her notebook.

"Well well well, look what the waves carried to the shore", a bored voice said above them. Rikku flinched and glanced up.

"You should practice welcoming guests to your village, Dona. For a mayor, you're not very good at that," Rikku remarked, streching her back.

Dona, the former summoner and current mayor of Kilika, descended a staircase leading down to Rikku and Paine, with Barthello, her husband and bodyguard, following her like a loyal puppy.

"Seriously, what business have you two got here?" Dona asked.

"My father Cid has ordered me to gather all the Al Bhed to Djose, so that the tribe can become whole again", Rikku answered with pride.

"Just a moment ago you were moaning about what a drag this task is", Paine whispered to Rikku's ear.

"Well, [I]she[/I] doesn't have to know that!" Rikku shushed back.

"So..." Dona smirked. "You are here to retrieve Old Mach and his family, huh?"

"That's right! Any idea where I could find them?"

"Oh, they've settled to the old Kilika Temple. The fires have gone out so nobody really goes there anymore, so I gave it to Mach and his lot."

"Thanks, we'll go get them", Rikku said and started walking towards the mountain where the temple was located.

"I should warn you that the forest is still infested with fiends", Dona said with a nasty smile.

"It's nothing we can't cope with. Let's go, Paine!"

~~~~~

The forest closed everywhere around them. Rikku felt hundreds of eyes staring down at them, perhaps curiously, perhaps hungrily.

"I don't remember this forest to be this tangled. I can barely see the paths!"

"Nobody's bothering to clear them out anymore, so of course they've grown shut", Paine said. "But why did I leave my sword behind?" she cursed.

Suddenly something jumped on Rikku's head, slid down her hair and clinged onto one of her long braids.

"Yeaowch!" Rikku screamed. "Take it off!"

"Don't worry", Paine said with a faint smile on her lips. "It's just a monkey."

"[I]Monkey[/I]?!"

Rikku reached to her braid and got a hold of the little creature. It was a purple fuzzy monkey with a long tail, and it was shivering with fear.

"You poor thing! Aren't you cute! Calm down now, there's nothing to fear. I'll keep you safe."

"You're [I]keeping[/I] it?!" Paine asked in surprise.

"You betcha! It reminds me of the monkey I once had. I think I'll name this one after it. Listen, little guy, you're Gigi Junior now!" she said to the monkey and tickled it under the chin.

Then something else fell from the trees as well, but it was far from a cute little monkey.

"Watch out, a fiend!" Paine shouted. Rikku spun around and saw a two-tongued monster shaking its large clawed fists.
[INDENT][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/arenacreations/eartheater.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Battle against Monkey Eater![/B]
Paine lifted her Caos Timer and shot at the monster. Rikku attacked from the other side with her projectile Wishing Star.

"We got it pinned!" Paine shouted.

Monkey Eater glanced at both girls, trying to decide which one to attack. It made it's decision and assaulted Rikku, but she was too fast for it and evaded the attack easily.

"You're not getting Gigi Jr., you ugly suckling!" Rikku taunted. With a few more strikes the fiend dispersed into pyreflies.

[B]Rikku: Level 1 -> Level 2
Paine: Level 1 -> Level 2[/B]
[/INDENT]

"You're safe now, Gigi Jr.!" Rikku comforted the little monkey.

"And [I]we've[/I] got a job to do", Paine said on the bringe of frustration.

~~~~~

[SIZE=1][B]OoC:[/B] so the game is on! I was thinking Rikku and Paine would run into Zelex at the Kilika Temple, after which they would return to New Home and find Gippal and Axel there. The rest of the characters (Rianna and Jyulan) should adventure on their own for a while, but pretty soon find the others. If any of you have any other ideas how to advance with the game, be sure to let me know! Oh, and don't forget to insert your character's battle data to the [url=http://www.otakuboards.com/showthread.php?p=732261#post732261][B]Menu[/B][/url] in the Underground.[/SIZE]

[Frankie]

[color=purple]It was extreamly hot but Rianna was quite used to this. The desert was always hot after all. Even after Home had been destroyed she had stuck around for a while. Sure she went to Lady Yunas concert in the thunder plains but after that she found a way back to the island. She spent quite a long time there. Today was just another day to her. Digging up Machina parts or just exploring the ruins of Home.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Today was not a digging day for her. She spent all of yesterday digging in the hot sands with other Al Bhed diggers and a few who werent Al Bhed. Today she was alone. Most of the ruins had sunk deep into the sand, or was covered by it, it all depended on your point of view. Either way hardly aything of the old Home was showing now. She found a large hole in the south wall that wasnt covered with sand and moved on inside.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]She had been told time and time again that going in there was very stupid. The whole place was unstable.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]"What would you do if the sand covered up all your exits? There is nothing in there anymore that you should want..." Her mother would sometimes grummble and move off to her own work.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Rianna made a snarl like face, "There is something, And I refuse to stop looking for it untill I find it." Saying this out loud to herself sounded a bit strange. She looked around. The same old rubble. However she knew where to look now. She had eliminated several areas off her list of places to search. The summoners Sanctum had nothing... She figured if he had wanted to keep something safe it might have been there.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]The AirShip hanger had only a few things. A few parts, tools, and of course some stray potions that almost looked to old to use but she had taken them anyways. She burst off into a run and came to a main hallway of the living quarters area. She frowned, the pathway had fallen, broken off. She would jump it and move on. Once across she realized that, perhaps what she was looking for was no longer here. It was quite possible someone else found it and took it, or perhaps a fiend did. Maybe he did when he left.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]"He's I dead Rianna..." Her mother would say time and time again.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Rianna would always snap back with lines like "You dont know that!" or "You have no proof of that."[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Her mother would always give up and remind herself that her dauther was just traumatized from losing her best friend and her father to the guado attack.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Rianna turned a corner and went into a room that was a small living area. She rummaged through things. Dispite what her mother always told her she felt like she knew her friend was alive. He had to be. She searched this place time and time again. Nothing pointed towardsh is death. He could have easily made it onto Cids Airship.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]She thought perhaps he did die and fiend took care of the proof. She shook that thought from her mind the moment she saw something shiny. She pushed the junk off of a small golden locket. She felt happy to see it again.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Inside were two pictures, both of men. One had dark hair and blue eyes, it was her father, and he looked quite proud. The other was of a boy who at the time was about 12 years old. Dusty blonde hair and a goofy grin. The locket itself was now somewhat dull because of the sand but it still had Al Bhed like details. It was a oval like shape with different markings. They were like the markings on her Gloves and ribbons.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Rianna slipped the locket into her shorts pocket and stood up. She heard a loud growl behind her. She slowly turned around and saw a Dog fiend starting at her.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]She slowly pulled out her blades and readied her self.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple][img]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/sand_wolf.jpg[/img] [b]SAND WOLF[/b][/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]It leaps forward and bites at her but she dodges. She runs forward and slashes at him with her blades. It growled and leapt at her again. It was intent on having her for dinner. Rianna wasnt quick enough but didnt take much damage. She had seen these before. Grabbed her the right blade and threw it at the Sand Wolf. It yelped in pain as the blade went in right between its eyes. It fell to the ground and burst into PyreFlies. Rianna retrieved her blade and smiled.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]"Piece of cake." She said before running for an exit.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[b][color=purple]Rianna: Level 1 -> Level 2[/color][/b]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]She found what she had wanted so she decided it wasnt to smart to stick around this place. She left in a hurry and was soon back in her hover and headed towards the camp. With his picture she would now be able to ask around about him. Perhaps someone would remember seeing someone even if it has been several years.[/color]
[color=purple][/color]
[color=purple]Now she just needed to find a way off the sandy rock.[/color]
[color=#800080][/color]
[color=#800080]----[/color]
[color=#800080]ooc: I hope the picture thing is ok. I mean I figured if they could get the GuadoSalam peoples pictures into the wall, and if someone could record stuff with spears that there would certainly be a way to have pictures of people. If its not ok then ill change it around to some thing else. She just wanted to find a peice of her past, and as for who shes looking for. Heh well... Im still thinking on that one. Yes a guy albhed frined she had growing up but other than that not to sure. It was something that came to me but I havnt thought to much into it yet. Any suggestions VIA pm would be nice *smile*[/color]

[Riku]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Tahoma]The giant blue and white airship got closer to the ground and stop before it could even touch the sandy surface. The small door shaft made a slight wooshing sound before it opened to let people off. A man with blonde hair quickly jumped off the ship and landed on both feet, as if he was trying to make an entrance. As he slowly got up, he brushed his sweaty bangs back and quietly sighed to himself. "Cina ec rud dutyo. [Sure is hot today.]" He looked around at his surroundings and chuckled to himself, excited at what was about to happen.

Suddenly, another Al Bhed anxioously came running towards him. "Cen, tu oui fyhd dra sah du cdynd tekkehk? [Sir, do you want the men to start digging?]" the tanned man said, saluting Gippal.

"Hu, fyed. [No, wait.]" he responded, stroking his cheek with his right hand and crossing his arm with the other. "I'm sure we just can't stop on Killika Island and just start digging for our own pleasure," he said, seriously, "I'll have to stop by the temple and ask some of the high priests to see if we can start digging for ancient machina in certian areas."

The Al Bhed made a tight salute and quickly responded, "Cen! [Sir!]"

Gippal slightly nodded, which allowed the other Al Bhed to leave him and get all the digging supplies off the ship. Smiling to himself, he looked up at the blazing sun hidden between the white, puffy clouds. "Now... Rikku, frana yna oui? [Rikku, where are you?]

Looking back down, he walked over to one of the workers and told him where he was going. After talking, he started out of the beach and towards the forest, which lead towards the town.

-+-+-+-+-+-

OOC: I haven't started battling, since I thought this was a good point to stop. So I'll either edit this post or reply later with a lvl up. n.n[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Sandy]

[SIZE=1][B]OoC:[/B] Keyblade, is Gippal really in Kilika too, or did you mean Besaid? Because Kilika doesn't really have sandy beaches, at least not in the games...[/SIZE]

~~~~~

Rikku and Paine - and the purple monkey - stumbled from the undergrowth to the base of a stone staircase leading up the mountainside. There was a pair of pedestals located in both ends of each flight of stairs. They once held the holy fire of the temple that used to warn people of danger. But now the beacons were extinguished like the old beliefs.

"Phew! Almost there!" Rikku chirped. Gigi Jr. had found a comfortable spot to rest on her shoulder.

"Sure, count out all the 999 steps we still have to take..." Paine grumbled. Of course she was exaggerating, but not much.

When the two girls finally made it up the stairs, the sun was beginning to descend towards the western horizon.

"I wonder if we make it back to Djose by nightfall?" Paine wondered, gazing to the sky. They could clearly make out Kilika Docks from here, and Celsius hovering over it.

"We will if we hurry hurry hurry!" Rikku laughed, and ran up the last steps.

But she did not expect to see what she saw. Two fiery fiends - one red and one blue - were causing havoc on the temple yard, ramming themselves against a door next to the main gate.

Rikku could make out muffled screams coming from the other side of the door.

"There are people inside! It must be Old Mach and his family!" Rikku shouted and ran towards the monsters.

"Rikku, wait!" Paine hollered after her. "Don't think you can battle without me!"

[INDENT][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/bomb.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/grenade.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Boss battle with Bombard and Combustion![/B]
"Go away!" Rikku screamed at the two bombs.

"It's no use, Rikku! We have to fight!" Paine said, and aimed the Caos Timer at the blue Combustion, which after being hit grew in size.

Bombard replied by casting Fire on Paine.

"Are you alright?" Rikku asked worriedly. "Oh, you're not getting away with that! Gigi Jr.! [I]Mug![/I]"

The monkey jumped off Rikku's shoulder and skimmed its way to the red Bombard. Gigi Jr. attacked the bomb with fury, and managed to snatch a Bomb Fragment from it.

"Paine, can you use this?" Rikku asked, throwing Gigi Jr.'s loot to her friend.

"I'll try! Let's [I]mix[/I] things up a bit!" Paine gave the monsters a vicious smile, and added the bomb fragment to a potion vial. The result raised a magical barrier in front of her and Rikku.

"Now they can't hurt us."

"Let's finish this off!" Rikku shouted, and shot Combustion with her Wishing Star. Suddenly the blue bomb bloated, turned purple and exploded to a fiery cloud.

"Uh, not a good idea..." Rikku moaned, wiping cinders off her clothes. "It was lucky we had the barrier."

But Paine didn't settle for that. "I've had quite enough of this burning! It's time to go Overdrive! [I]End in Pain![/I]"

Paine took off the pendant from the Caos Timer, spinned it above her head and created a dark vortex that sucked Bombard into it.

[B]Reward: Three Levels Up!
Rikku: Level 2 -> Level 5
Paine: Level 2 -> Level 5[/B][/INDENT]

"That settles that!" Rikku said, wiping cinders of her sleeves. Then she walked to the door that the bombs had tried to break.

"Come out, the danger is over."

"W-who is it?" a thin voice belonging to an elderly man came out.

"Old Mach? It's me, Rikku, Cid's daughter. [I]Nasaspan sa?[/I] [Remember me?]"

The door opened carefully, and an old Al Bhed stepped out, followed by another man, couple of women and many children.

"Good news! We've come to get you to Djose, where my pop is building New Home! But why do you all look so sad?"

"Oh, Rikku!" Old Mach moaned, with tears running down his cheeks. "Something terrible happened! My oldest son and his wife ventured down to the Cloister of Trials to check it out, but when they came back, they were mortally wounded. They spoke of a one-horned man! They passed away in our arms, but before we could fetch for a Sender, they turned into fiends! We managed to lock the door behind us, but if you two hadn't come, we all would have met the same destiny soon."

"Oh, Mach! I'm so sorry to hear that... I don't think it's a safe place anymore for you to live. Come with us to New Home, where you can live without fear."

"Is that a promise?" Old Mach asked unsurely.

"It's a promise! With the Al Bhed tribe reunited, nothing can stop us!"

Old Mach nodded. "Very well then. Everybody, pack your belongings, we're going Home!"

As Mach and his family had gotten everything ready and were descending down the stairs, Rikku gave a last glance at the former Temple of Fire. To her surprise she saw a dark figure standing in the doorway, with a single horn curving from it's forehead.

~~~~~

[SIZE=1][B]OoC:[/B] sorry for the cliffhanger. The dark figure is obviously Zelex, and next Rikku will accuse him for killing Mach's son and daughter-in-law. How you respond to that, Venge, is up to you. I was thinking Zelex was trying to protect the two victims from whatever lurked inside the temple (where he had retired to live in recluse, possibly), but failed.[/SIZE]

[Dodeca]

[SIZE=1]Even with the rise of machina usage Spira-wide, the Moonflow was as much alive with visitors as it had been for as long as Juylan could remember. Shoopufs were definitely as popular, if not more so, than they ever had been over the last few decades, contrar to the less-than-gradual decline of the Chocobo. Juylan couldn't help but wonder, in his boredom, whether the Shoopuf's size gave it the advantage of popularity, but after struggling to see [i]how[/i] in all of Spira that made it better than a Chocobo, he decided it'd be best to shrug it off.

The main disadvantage with "traditional transport" over machina, as Juylan had become a little too conscious of over the last hour, was the amount of time that had to be spent waiting for said transport to turn up. Having just about given up, he stood up and stretched, then forced his way back through the crowd to the path that had led him to the riverbank. After taking a slight detour which took him to a small clearing, he set his sword down beside him and lay down with his eyes gazing up at the sky.

"Ugh... this isn't [i]quite[/i] what I was expecting..." He groaned. "Next time I plan on an adventure, I guess I'll need to book the express Shoopuf."

He lay still for a few short moments, but soon felt his boredom returning and lifted his sword up to the light. Tilting and turning the blade, he managed to get a good view of his surroundings, bland as they were. A few - no, a lot - of trees, the occasional bush or flowerbed, the crowds still just about visible from where he lay, and...

"Whoa!"

Juylan's eyes widened, and he quickly clambered to his feet to face the fiend that stood glaring at him.


[QUOTE][CENTER][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/halma.jpg[/IMG]
[B]A Sallet attacks![/B][/CENTER]
[size=1]The fiend charged side-on at Juylan, but he had enough time to react and avoid its attack. He spun around and chased it with the hopes of killing it, but his first strike bounced off the Sallet's armour without leaving a scratch. The fiend charged a second time while Juylan was regaining his balance, knocking him aside, but fortunately doing little to injure him.

"Damn you!" Juylan yelled, as the fiend charged once again. He managed to dodge the charge, quickly striking at its arm joint as it passed him. When he saw the look of pain in the Sallet's eyes, he knew the battle was as good as over. The fiend tried to attack one final time, but collapsed from the poison mid-charge, breaking up into a group of pyreflies.

[I][B]Juylan: Level 1 -> Level 2[/B][/I][/size][/QUOTE]

"Finally..." Juylan sighed, just about to set his sword down again when he heard a the trademark Hypello [I]"All aboardsh!"[/I] call from the riverbank.

"N-No! Wait for me!"

In a panic, he quickly slipped his sword through his belt, and rushed off through the trees.[/SIZE]

[Frankie]

Rianna walked into her tent. Well it wasnt HER tent really. Several people lived in this large tent so she wasnt the only one. She walked over to her mother who was resting from working out in the sand.

She took one look at her daughter and sighed, "Out at the ruins again. I keep telling you It isnt safe. You might run into fiends."

Rianna shook her head, "Fiends are no problem. Well the small ones anyways. I couldnt deal with a Zu on my own. But those wouldnt get inside the ruins anyways. Those dragon things well thats a nother-"

"You mean to tell me your actually fighting out there?"

Rianna shrugged, "Just a Sand Wolf."

"Rianna I -"

"Look I found what I was looking for, at least part of it. I wont be going out there anymore. Not only that but I am old enough to do things on my own now. Speacking of which plan on leaving the island soon so dont be surprised to find me gone one day."

"What for?"

"Maybe because I dont want to live in this sand heap anymore. Im old enough to choose so somewhere cooler. Im tan enough as it is."

Her mother nodded "Fine. Anyways what did you find?"

"The locket." Rianna pulled it out. The locket spun on its little chain.

Her mother took a look at it and the pictures inside. Rianna could tell her mother was sad to see a picture of her husband but happy to see it too.

"I almost forgot what his face looked like." She muttered handing it back. She went on doing some chorse and left Rianna to sit there.

Rianna grummbled. "To bad Gippal hasnt stoppped by here recently when I could ask for ride to the main land. No one else is around either, no one able to go across sea anyways. The boat left yesterday. Makes me wonder why i decided to leave so late..." She trialed off and put the locket back into the pocket. She went outside and stared at the bright blue sky.

"Hmm." She got back into her hover and drove to the Oasis. She needed to think on a few things and the Oasis was the place she could concentrate the most.

[Random]

[COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1]Paine stood with Rikku and Buddy in the Celsius' cockpit. The return trip from the Kilika Temple had been surprisingly uneventful, and everyone made it to the air ship safely. However, Rikku, as usual, was going on about something.

"But you saw it, too, Paine!" Rikku exclaimed. "I swear it was a Ronso."

"It was too short to be a Ronso," Paine retorted, trying to stay calm. Rikku's attitude was usually trying on Paine, but over the years she had gotten used to it. Well, not as use to it as she had thought. "Besides, what would a Ronso need to kill Al-Bhed for? They hate the Guado, remember?"

"Oooooohh!" shouted Rikku. "You just don't get it, do you?" Turning to Buddy, she said, "You'll come with me, right? We need to find something out, even if it isn't what we're looking for."

"Hey, don't get me involved. I'm just the tactiction."

"Paine, I'm going with or without you!" With that, Rikku stormed out of the room.

"Oh, geez...guess I have no choice, now, eh?" she asked, rhetorically. Turning from Buddy, who was stiffling laughs, she started to follow Rikku. "We still need to get to Djsoe, right?"

"As soon as we can," Buddy replied, between laughs.

"Keep that up, and there won't be anything to laugh about." Paine's cool attitude, and sharp words, kept her at odds with most people, but Buddy just took this "threat" just about as seriously as a fight with a Hypello. But, you never really knew if she was joking around or serious unless her weapon entered vision.

After exiting the cockpit, Paine slowly walked through the airship, lost in her own thoughts.

[i]Rikku...Yuna...Tidus...they all knew them...but not me...why...why does it seem to always be me...heh...well, at least I'm still alive...that means I can go find something out about them...if nothing else...at least...why...[/i]

Her thoughts were interrupted by the bright sun as she exited the ship. [i]Now, to find Rikku.[/i]

OOC: Aight, small post, no battles, but an interesting plot about Paine that I'll continually be expanding on during the RP.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[PWNED]

Voices accompanied Axel as he was lowered down the deep shaft into the ruins of Home but he was nervous. Even if he had done this dozens of times during the past five years, There were still things that had not been found and had lain dormant for years.

"Ryja oui vuiht yhodrehk? [Have you found anything?]" One of his partners yelled down the pit which prompted Axel to yell about not even being at the bottom yet. After what felt like ages, the rope reached the bottom and Axel hopped off. A group had recently excavated an ancient Machina weapon that seemed to be in good shape and pretty nasty.

He found it quickly and easily hooked up the rope to it but as he was adding the final ties he noticed an oddity against a surface near it. He shifted it slight and a bluish orb fell out.
He inspected it carefully and muttered to himself " Ed'c y sasuno cbrana [It's a memory sphere]" making a general assumption at the identity of the orb. He pocketed the orb before fully preparing. He ran to the base of the pit and shouted out "Cdynd ed ib [Start it up]"

While on his way up while holding onto the Machina, Axel began to think about his find..... There was something odd about the Machina they had excavated and it seemed to emenate power while off. He dismissed it as superstitious crap and began to think of how everyone would think of the find before his thoughts accidentaly strayed on Rikku and what she would think. He'd known her for only Sin knew and could guess what she thought, he blushed at this and also dismissed it, wanting to look normal by the time he got back to the surface.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OOC: Introductory post for my character, It contains things that will be useful later on.

[Sandy]

Rikku marched back to the temple by the path they had cleared through the woods, but when she got there, the horned figure was nowhere to be seen.

"What do you think, Gigi Jr.? Did he go back in?" Rikku asked her new pet, not expecting it would answer, of course. "Let's go check it out!"

The Temple of Fire was a dark and chilly place now that all the fires had gone out. Rikku dug up a flashlight sphere from her belt-pouch.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are..." she hummed.

She walked deeper into the sancuary, took an elevator down and entered the corridors that once consisted the Cloister of Trials. Summoners and their guardians had to solve the Cloister in order to prove their worthiness to call upon the Aeons. Rikku snickered as she remembered Tidus, who really could've used some help solving the Cloister, but was too proud to ask. The stubborn mule...

Suddenly a long blade slashed from the shadows, knocking the glowing sphere out of Rikku's hand. Gigi screeched and jumped at the assaulter.

"Uargh!" a deep voice bellowed and staggered forward, allowing Rikku to get a good look at him. He was a tall man with peculiarly Ronso-like features, like blue hair, a tail and a single long horn growing from his forehead. He was holding a long katana, and another sword was attached to his hip.

"Who... [I]what[/I] are you?!" Rikku gasped, taking a step backwards.

"Take... this critter off me... and I'll explain!" the half-Ronso pleaded, trying to tear the purple monkey from his face.

"Gigi Jr., enough!" The monkey let go on command, to Rikku's surprise, and leaped back to her shoulder.

"Now... You were the horned figure that killed the two Al Bheds, right? Why?!"

"Is that what you think?" the man asked astounded. "No, I was trying to save them, but I came too late. The only thing I could do was to carry them back up to their family. I didn't expect they would turn into fiends that fast. Maybe it was because..."

"What?" Rikku asked, still unsure whether to believe the odd man.

"I'll show you", the man said and started to walk deeper into the Cloister. Rikku followed him until they arrived to a small chamber.

"The... [I]thing[/I] that killed the Al Bheds came from down there", the man said, pointing at a large, bottomless hole in the center of the room.

Rikku remembered the holes. They used to be covered by Fayths, bodies of those people whose souls turned into Aeons, guardian spirits. Three years ago, Vegnagun stole the Fayths, creating holes that lead to the world beyond, Farplane.

"F-Farplane?" Rikku whispered. If this man was speaking the truth, this opened a whole plethora of new possibilities.

"Rikku!" Paine called out from the door. She pointed the Caos Timer at the half-Ronso. "Who is this man?"

"My name is Zelex", the man introduced himself. "I'm an outcast from both my mother's and my father's tribes. I think I can help you solve this mystery."

[Riku]

[COLOR=DarkSlateBlue][SIZE=1][FONT=Tahoma]OOC: I think both, lol. I saw that you were in Kilika, but I was thinking about Besaid.... is that okay if we add an extra island? If not, I'll just do edit it with Besaid, okay? n.n

+-+-+-+-+-+-

As Gippal walked through the forest, he was thinking about many things from his past, wondering what would lead him to his future. "I wonder why I don't really remember anything about my past..." He slowly lifted his right hand and brushed his long blonde bangs that his his eyes, his golden locks brightly glowing in the sunlight. He sighed again, only to have a small smile on his face this time. "Well... at least we're doing fine and no one's against us Al Bhed or our ancient machina." He chuckled a bit after thinking about what had happened not too long ago with his old friends.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the bushes near him. He quickly looked towards his left and growled, already knowing it was an enemy.

[CENTER][IMG]http://img273.imageshack.us/img273/1113/morbolyellow0kf.jpg[/IMG][/CENTER]
[CENTER][B]Enemy Encounter With Morbol![/B][/CENTER]

"Ah crap!" Gippal sneered through his teeth, "why'd it have to be something as annoying as this?!" Suddenly, he lifted his left hand towards his back to grab his huge machina gun dubbed Electrocity. He held it in his left hand for awhile and smirked. "Ah well..." he said, chuckling, "At least I'll be able to have some fun with this!"

The giant land-squid swung a tentacle at Gippal's ribs, but it was too slow. Gippal kneeled down and quickly jumped up, looking as if he was flying through the air. Then, he did a quick roll and aimed the gun at the fiend when he was upright again. "Take this you ugly freak!" he yelled, his finger on the trigger, "Spitshot!" Suddenly, dozens of bullets came shooting out of his gun, all aiming at it's head.

He kept shooting and rolled over to the other side of the monster, his head almost touching the ground. He kneeled for a little while, and then lifted his gun to his side, the enemy slowly fading away into pyreflies, all rising to the sky. Gippal then turned around, leaning his gun on one shoulder and his right hand on his hip. "Well, at least that nuisance is over and done with," he said as he widely grinned.

[B]Gippal: Level 1> Level 2[/B]

+-+-+-+-+-

After walking a little further, he finally got out of the forest and right smack dab in front of the temple entrance. He sighed as he walked a little bit closer towards the stone building. "Damn temple has to go and be so freaking far..." he muttered to himself, making sure no one heard his unruly commment. "Ah well..." he continued, walking up the long stairway, "time to ask the preists to see if we can dig some serious sand here..."

As he walked up the long stairway, he heard some nearby temple-goers gossiping. "Hey.. did you hear that someone famous came up to the temple recently?" the long haried women said, utterly amazed.

"Yeah.." the young man replied, "I heard it's Rikku, one of the three girls that helped save Spira!"

Gippal stopped in his tracks and looked at the two dumbfoundedly. Suddenly, without even thinking, he quickly walked over to the couple. "Excuse me..." he replied, ".. are you positive that Rikku is at the temple?"

The women nodded, "Uhm.. yes.."

"Are you sure?"

"Very... mister.."

Without even thinking, Gippal ran away from the two up towards the temple steps. "What was that all about?" the man asked, clearly annoyed.

"Hey... do you think that was... Gippal, leader of the Machina Faction?" the women asked.

As he quickly ran up the stairs, Gippal smiled widely and chuckled. "Rikku... Paine... don't you dare leave without me!!"[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Random]

[COLOR=Navy][SIZE=1][i]OOC: Don't worry, KW...we won't leave without you...yet. LOL, j/k. Anyways, I'm just making random shi...er, stuff up, so if anyone doesn't like it, lemme know![/i]

Paine eyed the strange man cautiously, the Caos timer still aimed steadly. "Zelex, huh?" The...creature before her nodded. "Well, Zelex, what exactly are you, and why should [i]we[/i] trust [i]you[/i]?"

"Well...," he replied, watching Paine's gun nerviously. "I am, basically, half Ronso, half Human. It's a complicated story."

"Tell us. We have time," replied Paine, still not lowering her weapon.

"Ooh! A story!" exclaimed Rikku, excited. Sitting down, with Gigi Jr. on her shoulder, she said, "This'll be interesting. Go on!"

"Rikku...," Paine said, heaving a sigh and shaking her head.

"It all started when my mother, a Ronso, and my father, a human, met..." Zelek started, albeit hesitantly.

Minutes later, footsteps interrupted Zelek's rather long, drawn-out story.

"Shh," warned Paine, moving away from the door and positioning the Caos Timer towards the oppening. [i]Thank Sin,[/i] she thought. [i]At least this'll keep the story away. Why did I ever ask?[/i]

Rikku and Zelek both readied their weapons, each standing behind Paine.

"Paine, what do you-," Rikku started, whispering.

"Shut it, Rikku!" Paine retorted shortly, her irritation obvious.

The footsteps where getting louder, which made the addrenaline run through the three even more. Paine was used to tense situations, but with an unfamiliar...person...in her midst, she was slightly more excitable than usual.

The footsteps stopped, seemingly just outside the door. Paine looked at Rikku, Rikku looked at Zelek, Zelek looked at the door, Gigi Jr. looked board. Just as Paine moved to investigate, a voice rang out.

"Rikku? You anywhere in here?"

"Wha-" Rikku, shock on her face, ran towards the door.

"Rikku!" Paine reached to grab her friend, but Rikku dodged. The action caused Gigi Jr. to clutch tighter to Rikku's left shoulder.

Just as Rikku reached the door, a familiar face rounded the corner.

"Gippal!" Rikku shouted as she lunged at the Al-Bhed. "How you been?"

"Gosh," Paine sighed, the strain of the situation leaving her. "You scared us half to death, Gippal."

"Heh." Fending off Rikku, and with a cheesy grin, Gippal replied, "Would'a dropped a line, but ya know...your communication spheres aren't on."

Paine just glared at the Al-Bhed, while Rikku jumped around exctatically and shot question after question. Noticing Zelek, who was minding his own away from the group, Gippal asked, "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh!" exclaimed Rikku. "I totally forgot. Gippal, this is Zelek. Isn't he wierd?" The last comment she wispered in Gippal's ear.

"Rikku..." Paine said, exasperated. Zelek rubbed his hands together self-conciously. [i]Leave it up to Rikku to make a fool of herself.[/i] "We'll talk more about it later. It's not safe here. Let's go outside."

"Still a stick-in-the-mud, eh, Paine?" Gippal said, humored. Paine just walked past him, Rikku bouncing along behind...with Gigi Jr. bouncing right along with her.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Riku]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid][SIZE=1][FONT=Tahoma]Everyone walked down the steps of the Kilika Temple. After getting an acceptance from the temple preists about Gippal's digging group digging on the beach, they had all left to see his new airship and even help digging in the process.

"So..." Gippal continued. Rikku and him had been talking for hours about what's been happening in their lives while Paine and Zelek just listened and had kept on walking. "... you, Paine and Zelek are going to look for the murderers that killed the two Al Bhed?"

"Yes..." Rikku responded, sounding a little angry and sad.

"Uhm... no!" Paine finally said, clearly angered by this whole conversation. "We're not going into another useless mission that has nothing to do with us!"

"It's not useless!" Rikku replied, throwing a little temper tantrum while Gigi Jr. tightly hung to her shoulder. "We're going to hunt down those that killed the people of our tribe!!"

Gippal sighed and put his hands on his hips. "Paine..." he said, looking at her, "... don't you think you're justs being a teensy bit heartless about this issue?"

Paine looked at him and turned the other way, crossing her arms. "Well... you of all people should know me better by now."

"Now, now...." Zelek intterupted, trying to calm everyone down. "Let's not have a fight amongst ourselves..."

Gippal also crossed his arms and started to chuckle. "Yes... I do... but," he paused and looked up at her, smirking, "..I know deep down, you're a very kind person."

Paine looked over at him for awhile, her mouth agape. Then, she rolled her eyes to the other side and sighed, her cheeks tinged with red. "Alright, alright.... we'll go find these murderers.... but after this, no more lame missions, okay?!"

"Huzzah!" Rikku jumped up and down with joy, Gigi Jr. right along side her. Then, she suddenly patted Gippal's back and whispered in his ear, "Wow, Gippal... how do you make Paine blush like that?"

"Simple..." he said, whispering back, "I can blackmail her with all the secrets that I know... like..."

"Shut up before I smack the both of you with Chaos Timer!" Paine said, getting ready to grab her sword.

"Yes 'mam!" the two Al Bhed replied, standing upright. Zelek laughed a little at the group's humor.

Suddenly, a loud vibrating sound came out of nowhere. Everyone looked around to see if they could find the source.

"Oh... totally forgot I had this... dur..." Gippal finally said, digging his right hand in his pocket. He took out a red and purple video phone and pressed the green button to turn it on.

"Ohh.... nifty!" Rikku replied, excited at the neat machina gizmo

Gippal smiled at her. Suddenly, the screen turned static and then revealed a picture of the Al Bhed officer that he had left in charge of the digging crew. "Oh man..." he finally replied, sighing, "don't worry.... I'm coming to order e..."

"Cen! [Sir!]" the officer replied, a little worried and shaken, "Sorry to intterupt, but... but there was an attack on the digging crew!!"

Gippal gasped, his face full of worry, "What?! What's happened?!"

"Well... these men came out of nowhere and wounded everyone! They killed three of us..." the officer looked down, clearly sad.

Gippal's mouth was agape, he was in shock. How could he not have told his group to be prepared for an attack like this?! "Okay..." he finally said, "have everyone help those that are hurt badly, alright?!"

"Cen!" The officer tightly saluted and the screen faded to black.

Gippal hurridly stuffed the phone in his pocket and started to sprint down the stairs towards the airship.

"W... wait for us!" Rikku yelled, running after him.

Paine automatically knew what happened and started sprinting behind him.

"What happened?!" Zelek responded, running behind the others.

"There was an attack on my digging group!" Gippal replied, not even looking back at them, "three were killed...."

"No..." Rikku whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah... and when I get there, I'm going to find the murderers and kick their asses!" Gippal kept on running, his blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight. He was clearly angry... and he wasn't going to let the attackers get away so easily.

The group kept on running towards the airship, ready to attack anything that would stop them.

+-+-+-+-+-

OoC: Whew... that took awhile... anyways, everyone get ready for a boss battle!! >=D[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Sandy]

Rikku, Gippal, Paine and Zelex ran through the woods until they reached the beach on the opposite side of the island to the village, where Gippal's airship was docked. Rikku couldn't help to stop and gaze at the mighty vessel for a moment. It was constructed from separate machina parts by the Machine Faction, and it glistened silver under the bright sun.

"You like it?" Gippal asked as he ran past Rikku. "I call it Highwind!"

"Come on, Rikku!" Paine snapped as she grabbed the Al Bhed girl from the shoulder. "This is no time for sight-seeing, the crew is in trouble!"

Rikku shook her head to get her eyes off of the machine wonder. "Oh, right..."

Paine brought the communication sphere she had attached to a wristlet close to her mouth. "Buddy, get your black ass down here, [I]now[/I]!"

Rikku couldn't hear Buddy's reply as she continued running towards the airship. Gunshots echoed in the beach, and grenades blasted up clouds of sand.

"Yikes!" Rikku squealed as a bomb went off uncomfortably close to her.

"Who are they fighting?!" she asked Gippal as she reached the rock he had taken cover behind.

"You mean [I]what[/I] are they fighting", he corrected, pointing at the three colossal figures assaulting the Highwind.

"Those are tough fiends", Zelex said seriously. "They are protected by their nigh impenetrable armors, and their insides are swarming with furious pyreflies of people who died an unjust death. Who summoned them here, I do not know."

"Well, you do seem to know quite a lot anyways", Rikku remarked. "However, I think I've beaten the likes of those before. Let's see how rusty I've got!"

[CENTER]
[IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/iron_giant.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/barbatos.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/gemini.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Boss battle against Moon Gigas, Earth Gigas and Sun Gigas![/B][/CENTER]

~~~~~[SIZE=1]

[B]OoC:[/B] Feel free to continue with the battle, anybody. I'm too tired to do it now. After the battle, we head to Djose and New Home.[/SIZE]

[Frankie]

OOC: As i said inmy underground update i deleted my post of where Rianna leaves the island... i did that mainly out of boredum and so shes back at the oasis.
-----

Rianna took her boots off an sat down next to the water. She let out a happy sigh as she slipped her feet into the cool yet warm water. Water from the undergound sources was cold and it fet into the oasis... The sun warmed the water up so the balance was quite comfortable. At least for her feet anyways.

She glanced at the waters surface, it shimmered in the sunlight. Old treasure chests were at the bottom, all of which were open and empty, for some reason the look of the oasis was always comforting. She could always listen to the water moving as the wind blew over the desert and just get lost in thought. Today was no exception. She sat there staring at the waters ripples as the wind moved her hair. She was thinking but she was in a daze. If someone had asked her what she was thinking about she wouldnt be able to tell you, not because of secrecy, but because she wouldnt have any idea what she was thinking about.

A sound in the sand nearby caught her attention and she snapped back into reality. She heard a deep growl from the other side of a small sand hill. Suddenly another sand wolf leapt up over the hill and snarled at her. She glared at it and yanked her feet from out of the water. Because of the desert light and heat they dried almost instantly and she shoved her boots back on and tied them halfway. She was quick about it and did a sloppy job but she was more concerned about the fiend.

A second sound however startled her even more than when the Sand wolf howled. It was a squawk of some sort and sheh eard wings. Following the wolf came an Alcyone.

"Great... Just what you need when you are alone." She muttered to herself and got her blades ready.

The bird attacked first.

[img]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/alcyone.jpg[/img][img]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/sand_wolf.jpg[/img]

It swooped at her butshe rolled out of the way just in time. She slashed at it but it got higher into the air before it could connect. She snarled at her opponents. Both fiends were simple desert fiends that were common and were suddenly getting on Riannas nerves. She dodged another attack from the bird but its sharp beak grazed her leg just below her shorts. The pain only came after the harsh wind and sad started to hit it.

The wolf took its turn and rammed into Rianna but she quickly reacted stabbing it in the eye as it left. So she caused it harm. She retrieved her blade from the sand wolfs face and slashed at it with the other. It leapt out of the way and waited. The bird dove and Rianna moved just enough to avoid being impaledby it but she stabbed it in the process as it rammed into her. She spun her blades around to change their position in her hands, thus changing the element that radiated from them. She didnt even watch what she was doing but she leapt back out of the way of another attack.

"I think its time I give this a fling" She said before preforming Dagger throw. The blade flew at the bird and hit it in the chest. It fell to the ground and burst into pyreflies.

She was about to take on the wolf when she suddenly felt tired. She looked up and realized, while figting in the ruins it isnt as hot as on the surface, and being on the surface in the head made her very tired after doing so much. She got both blades and put them away. She made a move for her hover and leapt in. As she took off she ran the sand wolf over and it burst into pyreflies as well.

[b]Rianna Level 2 - > Level 3[/b]

"Not exactly the way I wanted to end that..." She grummbled. She was thankfull she had a few potion things from before.

After some driving she was back at the main camp. She felt much better but was thirsty and headed straight for the water. Once refreshed she cleaned and bandaged the small cut on her leg and walked up to a man.

"Hey is Nhadala busy?"

The man looked at her, "When is she ever not busy?"

Rianna nodded, "Right. Well I just wanted to ask her if she knew when the next transport will arrive that i could get a ride with. I am headed for the mainland."

The man took note of that, "Ill ask her when I see she isnt as busy as usual. You look a little tired whats up?"

Rianna shrugged, "Stupid fiends. Interupted my thought process at the Oasis. Oh well. Take it easy."

She decided now was a good time to get a little shut eye after all that work. So she found a comfy spot in her tent and fell asleep.
---
ooc: I wasnt sure if one against two fiends would gain one or two levels for winning the battle. I also wsnt sure whther running a sand wolf over with a hover was really considered "rianna beating the sand wolf" so i just leveled her up once. If its wrong just tell me and ill you know... edit.

[Sandy]

[CENTER]
[IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/iron_giant.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/barbatos.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.kristasalter.com/gamesguru/ffx/gemini.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Boss battle against Moon Gigas, Earth Gigas and Sun Gigas![/B][/CENTER]

[indent]"Hey, you piles of rusty junk!" Rikku taunted. The three monstrous giants turned to face the source of the irritating voice. "Pick somebody your own size!"

Then she launched her Wishing Star, but it bounced off Sun Gigas doing minimal damage.

"I don't think they're in the mood for chit-chat, Rikku!" Gippal warned. He raised his sword and his machine gun, and dashed at Earth Gigas.

"Don't count me out!" Zelex said with a grim smile, following Gippal. "[b]Heftiger Schlag[/b]!" he howled and rammed into the spiky giant.

"These aren't my type of fiends, they're too hard to crack", Paine murmured. "Hey Rikku, could that monkey of yours steal something for me?"

"Let's see... Gigi Jr.! [b]Mug![/b]"

The little monkey bounced to Moon Gigas and snatched a Lunar Curtain. Rikku retrieved it from her pet and gave to Paine.

"Hurry!" Rikku exclaimed as she noticed that Sun Gigas started to glow. "It's readying an attack!"

"Got it! I'll mix this one with a potion, and voilá!" Paine tossed the alchemic mixture into the air, raising [b]Grand Wall[/b] over everybody. "This should even up things..."

"Watch out!" Rikku shrieked, but too late. Sun Gigas's [b]Solar Slash[/b] hit both of her and Paine, throwing them back several feet.

The two men were pummeling Earth Gigas but with little success.

"Grah, he's too tough!" Zelex grunted as he striked the fiend with his twin swords again. Earth Gigas retorted by stomping it's feet and creating a minor earthquake.

"Wait, I've got an idea!" Gippal said and ran to the Highwind. "[I]Lnaf! Nayto dra syeh lyhhuh![/I] [Crew! Ready the main cannon!]" he shouted in Al Bhed.

Rikku noticed that the large cannon in the front of the airship started to turn. "Gippal! What are you doing?!"

"It's risky but it's our last hope!" the man shouted back. "Take cover!"

Zelex and Gippal crouched to the shadow of the airship. Paine ran back to the rocks, followed closely by Rikku.

But suddenly Rikku noticed that Gigi Jr. was no longer with her. She spun around and saw it clawing Moon Gigas. "No, Gigi!"

It all happened in a blink of an eye. Just as Rikku reached her pet and grabbed it, the Al Bhed cannon fired a huge energy beam that hit all three monsters - and Rikku as well.

Gippal didn't see Rikku's accident at first. "Now they're weak, let's finish them off!"

Paine came running from the other direction, waving her arms. "Wait! Rikku was hit!"

"Oh no!" Gippal exclaimed in terror. He reached the girl and helped her on her feet.

"Uh.. feel... dizzy..." Rikku whispered.

The three giants wobbled towards each others, lining up.

"What are they doing?" Zelex wondered.

He got his answer soon as all three monsters began emitting an eerie light. Sun Gigas, glowing in gold, stood still as the silver-lit Moon Gigas walked in front of it. Earth Gigas, with a green glow, became the first in the strange line.

Then they spoke a single word with their deep, otherwordly voices simultaneously. "[b]Eclipse![/b]"

Sun Gigas released all the golden pyreflies inside it, transferring them to Moon Gigas and then fading away. Moon Gigas did the same to Earth Gigas, and with a mighty explosion, the last of the three giants was gone too.

All four party members were slammed to the ground by the Deathblow.

[B]Reward: +3 Levels
Rikku: Level 5 -> Level 8
Paine: Level 5 -> Level 8
Gippal: Level 1 -> Level 4
Zelex: Level 1 -> Level 4[/B][/indent]

~~~~~

Rikku woke up in a brigh room. Air conditioners hummed in the walls. She sat up in the bed she was lying in, and saw several other beds, all empty.

At that moment the sliding door in front of her opened, and a familiar figure stepped in, carrying Gigi Jr.

"[I]Famlusa pylg, tyikrdan.[/I] [Welcome back, daughter]", Cid, the leader of New Home in Djose and Rikku's father greeted. "Glad to see you made it back Home safely."

~~~~~

[SIZE=1][B]OoC:[/B] Frankie, levels are gained per battle, not by the amount of slain enemies. So you did nothing wrong.

Now Rikku, Paine, Gippal and Zelex all made it to New Home. It is built by using the old Djose Temple of Thunder as a base. With the Aeon gone, however, all the electricity is supplied by Al Bhed machina. Feel free to describe the outerior and interior as you wish, but keep in mind that the New Home is still at last partially under construction.

Also, besides Cid, other NPCs from the games can reside there as well. I'm personally thinking Brother and Shinra...[/SIZE]