Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Puppet of Entropy ❯ The Demon Gun! Are you also a summoner? ( Chapter 6 )

The Puppet of Entropy.

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Sakura Hayakawa.

 

 

Chap 6: The Demon Gun! Are you also a summoner?

 

 

Aboard the SS Liki, Tidus decided to have a little fun and began to play pranks on people and do some stunts to others. Sakura shook her head as she witnessed him `borrowing without authorization' a pair of binoculars from a female passenger. The girl in question seemed nonplussed of his explications about it was `just to have a look around, honest'.

 

She smirked when she saw him later with a nice red mark in the form of a hand on the cheek. Seeing the blond blitzball player going to Wakka and Lulu, she decided to explore the boat and gathered a little information by herself.

 

Tidus approached Wakka after a little sight-seeing, eager to learn more about the goal of this cruise.

 

Wakka smiled when he saw the last member of the Aurochs walking to him. “Oh ya, I haven't explained something to you. We're going to an island called Kilika, ya? There, we'll change boat and head for Luca. And, before that, I have to guard Yuna there because she will be praying at the island's temple, ya. Because, the Besaid Aurochs will be offering prayers for victory in the tournament at the temple, you should come too.”

 

Lulu remained sceptical about the potential of this plan. “Half-cooked odd plan.”

 

Wakka returned angrily. “It's not a useless plan!” Then turned, a little worried to Tidus. “Don't you think?”

 

Tidus waved away the question, not wanting to be on the bad side of Lulu. “Don't look at me for the answer.”

 

Lulu looked closely to the young man so like Chappu. “I wonder who you really are, and where did you come from…” She hesitated then. “In fact, I wonder where did Sakura come from and what is her story with this strange sword of her…”

 

Dreading to be draw into that kind of discussion, Tidus decided to see how Yuna was faring and pulled Wakka with him.

 

Before Lulu attempted to stop the blond boy and asked him others questions, a member of the crew approached her. “Excuse me, miss, could you come with me, something happened to a member of your group…”

 

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The interior of the ship was very interesting to the Japanese girl. She just loved to explore like this. With a bitter smile, she remembered her `expeditions' with her friends in some of the `out of the way' portions of her city.

 

It was then that she met a colourful character: The illustrious O'aka, thirteenth of the name. He was a travelling merchant with a way to speak, she found very amusing. He was also in search of some sponsors to finance his stores. Perusing his few samples, Sakura quickly discovered that he was something to invest in at long term. She didn't know how long she would remain in Spira, but some articles that he proposed where simply too good to let them escape.

 

Fortunately, money was something that she had now. She smiled when she saw the eyes of the merchant alighted when she gave him 1100 Gils. She identified her group as the one with the Summoner Yuna of Besaid. He promptly assured her that her party will be always well received in any of his shops and gave her a green token to identify herself as a privileged client.

 

Sakura continued her exploration of the ship. It was amazing what one could find if he took his time. She managed to find a vial of Remedy under a bunch of debris and an abandoned case proved to be a treasure chest of no less than twenty Potions.

 

When she entered the engine room, she quickly localized another of the pamphlet that helped someone to understand the Al Bhed language under a dusty chest. In fact, by comparing it with her other pamphlet, she found that they were parts of a bigger book. She smiled. If she managed to recover most of the pamphlets, she could learn to speak Al Bhed. Mastering Languages was one of her rare advantages in school.

 

She stood up and brushed the dust from her skirt and suddenly froze. Too absorbed in her treasure hunt, she didn't remark, until now, how the Liki was powered, outside by its sails. There were rows of yellow birds corralled in the engine room and slaved to wheels that were linked to the propulsion of the boat.

 

Big yellow birds, very big yellow birds with a big beak and ostrich-like legs. Birds that were an icon of a popular video game in her world… A game she played…

 

“Cho…Cho…CHOCOBOS!!!”

 

She couldn't believe what her senses were telling her. It couldn't be the famous bird of the Final Fantasy series of games. Too much, it was too much. Her mind shut down under the shock. She crumbled on the floor under the curious and soon panicked gaze of some members of the crew. They promptly took her in a cabin and sent for another member of her group.

 

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“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

 

“You find this, funny?”

 

“Oh, yes! Did you see her face when she saw those Chocobos? BWAHAHAHAHA!”

 

“You're not laughing.”

 

“I knew it would have happened.”

 

“I am surrounded by idiots.”

 

“You are still concerned about her origin?”

 

“Yes. She is mortal, but you sent her in a situation that could backfire to us.”

 

“I have taken account of the only possibility for her to turn against us. It will not happen.”

 

“I feel still concerned… And you, instead of laughing and indulging in your desires, sent her back, now!”

 

“Well, you heard our dear little cutter, Slave. Awaken.”

 

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It was the face of Lulu and her concerned reddish eyes that greeted her when she came back. “Are you all…”

 

The sorceress was cut off when Sakura engulfed her in a desperate embrace. Confused, she felt the green-eyed girl shaking with genuine fear. She was stammering near full panic. Lulu remembered some of the nightmares of a younger Yuna and gathered her in her arms, murmuring soothing nonsense.

 

After some times, the black-haired woman felt that the girl was better. She partially released her and looked into her eyes. “What happened?”

 

Sakura needed to speak to someone. Lulu was the only adult nearby that she felt she could understand her plea. “I…I saw the Cho…Chocobos in the engine room… But…it's impossible…” She whispered furiously. “You understand…it's impossible… They…they are just products of the imagination in my world… You understand? They cannot exist…they…” She was shocking on her own sobs.

 

The Japanese schoolgirl saw the confusion in the gaze of the sorceress and decided to tell her everything about her.

 

She spoke about a normal childhood in her own world: A world that had nothing to do with Spira. She spoke of the explosion that seemed to have sent her in this strange and unknown world. She cried as she explained her helplessness when those black manacles were revealed to be mark of slavery in disguise and how she had been controlled and forced to fight. She spoke about her terror as she was forced to rely on the strange dark grey sword and the controlling entity to protect her life and the life of Tidus.

 

She didn't speak about the blond young boy, as she felt that his story was his to reveal, and she didn't speak about her nightmares.

 

Lulu didn't think that she would have heard something like that. Oh, she had deduced that the story of the young girl was not very consistent and that she was from the Lost Islands didn't explain everything, especially those weird jewels of her. But, she didn't think that she will meet an authentic being of another world.

 

It was not that far-fetched for a Spiran living with Summoners capable to invoke Aeons, to imagine something like that. It was another thing to meet the genuine article.

 

Well, she was a sorceress and a guardian. She had a decision to take and she must respect the wishes of her Summoner. She gazed into the watery eyes of the young girl. “I want you to do some things for me, all right?”

 

Sakura sniffed and gingerly nodded.

 

Lulu maintained her grip on the shoulders of the black-haired girl. “I want you to always refer to me or Yuna if you had a problem in the future.” The green eyes widened in confusion. “I want you to never hesitate to ask a question when you do not understand something, all right?”

 

The Japanese whispered. “Yes…”

 

“And finally, I want you to always count on us to protect or help you. Can you do that for me?”

 

Sakura bowed her head, tears falling from her closed eyes, and smiled. “Yes…”

 

Lulu smiled, a little. “Now, dry your tears and come with me on the deck. It would be a pity to spend the rest of the travel in a closed cabin.”

 

The displaced young girl gingerly nodded, eyes reddened. “Yes… Thank you, Sempaï.”

 

“Sempaï?”

 

A real smile bloomed on the lips of the Japanese. “It's a title of respect, in my world, for an older person in the same field of work.”

 

Lulu thought about it. “Sempaï…” An eyebrow rose as she rolled the foreign word on the tongue. “Sempaï… Yes, I like that… I like the word.” She turned to the young girl, thinking that she was less mature than Yuna. “Don't worry too much. Spira is vast and there are many wonders hidden in it. You have been sent to this world, so you can be sent back.”

 

The two user of Black Magic exited the cabin and walked to the upper deck to see what happened to rest of the group.

 

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Tidus approached the crowd that has gathered around Yuna. Several other people were nearby, having a conversation amongst themselves.

 

“Word is that Summoner's got noble blood and that she's from a line of great Summoners.”

 

“I heard she's Lord Braska's daughter!”

 

“Ya don't say?”

 

Tidus seemed confused for a minute. “Lord Braska's...daughter?” He thought about it for a minute then walked over to Wakka. “So, is Yuna's father famous or something?”

 

Wakka nodded and began to explain again, smiling. “She's the daughter of High Summoner Braska! You saw his statue at the temple. Lord Braska defeated Sin ten years ago. Yuna's the heir to a great legacy!”

 

Tidus hung his head for a moment, before speaking softly. “It's tough when your father's famous.”

 

Wakka felt confused about the remark of the blond boy. “Huh?”

 

“Well, yes… Don't you think so?”

 

Wakka blinked “Huh?”

 

Tidus smiled to the captain of the Aurochs. “Never mind, Wakka. I'll just keep in mind that you are lacking in imagination.” He quickly started to walk up to Yuna before the orange-haired man understood the tease. It was the right moment as the crowd around her now dissipated.

 

Stretching, Tidus looked out to sea, as Yuna anticipated the conversation. “The wind...it's nice.”

 

Tidus agreed, and looked at Yuna for a moment, before the two of them just started laughing at the absurdity of the subject. Calming down after a moment, Yuna started to speak once again. “You're a blitzball player, aren't you? From Zanarkand, right?”

 

Tidus gave Yuna a slightly weird look, before nodding. “You hear that from Wakka? Wakka doesn't believe me at all.”

 

Yuna took a few steps back and faced Tidus. “But I believe you.”

 

The blond boy felt stunned by the words. “Huh?”

 

The young female Summoner waved her arms, excited. “I've heard in Zanarkand...there is a great stadium, all lit up, even at night! Great blitzball tournaments are held there, and the stands are always full!”

 

Tidus was shocked. “How do you know that?”

 

Smiling, Yuna explained calmly. “A man named Jecht told me. He was my father's guardian.”

 

The eyes of the blitzball player widened. His surprised look turned into one of hate as he whirled around, muttering `Jecht' under his breath. He turned back to Yuna when he felt calmer and began to speak again. “My father...his name is Jecht!”

 

Gasping in surprise, Yuna quickly did the prayer gesture. “Amazing! You know, our meeting like this must be the blessing of Yevon!”

 

“Sounds like him, but it can't be him.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Tidus sighed and looked back to the ocean. “My old man, he died. Ten years ago, off the coast of Zanarkand.”

 

Yuna turned away from Tidus, bowing her head slightly in reverence and spoke softly. “I'm sorry.”

 

“He went out to sea for training one day in very early Spring...and never came back. And no one's seen him since then.”

 

Yuna's head perked up for a moment, as she remembered something. “Why, that's the day that Jecht came to Spira.”

 

“No way!”

 

She turned back to Tidus, who just stared. “It's true! I first met Jecht ten years and three months ago! I remember that was the day my father left. The date fits, doesn't it?”

 

Tidus was absolutely befuddled now. He fumbled for the right words. Finally, he calmed down enough again to speak. “Yeah, but how would he get here?”

 

Yuna smiled and pointed to Sakura who was entering the deck with Lulu. “You and Sakura are here, are you not?”

 

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard. The boat shook so hard that Yuna fell off her feet. Tidus tried to catch her but couldn't hold on her. Fortunately, Kimahri came to help and caught the young Summoner in time.

 

Lulu and Sakura managed, in extremis, to catch themselves on the railing. A massive grey fin shot out of the water, just in front of the ship to the horrors of the crew and the passengers.

 

“SIN!”

 

The cry seemed to echo on all the ship and freeze the blood of everybody. Regaining his footing, one of the crew members rushed behind what looked like a harpoon gun.

 

Wakka noticed that. “What do you think you're doing? Stick a harpoon in him and we'll all get dragged under!”

 

The crew member turned to the captain of the Aurochs. “Sin is going for Kilika! We gotta distract it!”

 

Another crew member manned the second harpoon gun and turned his desperate face to Yuna. “Our families are in Kilika! Forgive us, Lady Summoner!”

 

“Wait!” But it was too late as Wakka saw the harpoons launched on Sin. He looked around for something to grab onto. “Oh, boy...”

 

The wired harpoons hit the fin and the boat was quickly dragged along by Sin. Everyone aboard was rattled aboard the ship.

 

To the consternation of the Japanese girl, patches of the hide of Sin detached themselves from the impact point of the harpoons. They unfolded themselves into the same monsters she fought at Zanarkand. The creatures cut through the water with ludicrous speed and seemed eager to feed on the helpless passengers of the Liki.

 

Lulu swore as she saw the threat. “Sinscales! Everyone, focus on the enemy! We must protect Yuna!” She turned to the schoolgirl. “Stay with me and protect me as I use my magic!”

 

“Hai! Sempaï!” Under the urgency, Sakura had returned to her native tongue. Lulu didn't remark it as she was too focused on the monsters. She only assured herself that the young girl had summoned her dark grey sword and took position in front of her.

 

Wakka, kimahri and Tidus rushed to form the first line of defence. They quickly discovered that any Sinscales killed were replaced rapidly from the patches of hide that Sin loose in the sea.

 

Yuna ran to take a position near Lulu and smiled to Sakura as the schoolgirl modified her stance to protect her also. The young Summoner first assisted the frontline fighters with curative magic but it was not helping.

 

Lulu threw some fire magic and assessed the situation. “Burn! We need to concentrate on the fin. Yuna! Summon Valefor and direct him on the fin!”

 

Yuna invoked her first Aeon. “Please, fight with us!” The massive bird like Aeon came out of the sky and landed on the deck next to his Summoner. She ordered it to attack and it pushed off the ground into the sky. Its wings batted at the air as it opened its mouth and began to charge up an energy beam in front. The beam lanced out and carved a nice furrow in the fin. It also completely destroyed all the Sinscales around.

 

Sakura frowned. The harpoons were still deeply imbedded into the fin. As long as they were pulled along by Sin, they would be attacked. On the other side, Sin was focused on them and the island of Kilica was preserved. She gasped as a veritable rain of Sinscales submerged the deck of the ship. She found herself cutting in the massed creatures, protecting the two spell casters.

 

Wakka was beginning to freak. “We can't resist for long!”

 

Although he was still enthusiast, Tidus knew they couldn't last at this rhythm. Worse, the number of creatures meant that they couldn't protect all the passengers.

 

Yuna cringed as she witnessed the slaughter of a crew member. Valefor needed time to ready his most powerful attacks and the group simply didn't have that time.

 

Sakura was grimly considering that it was, perhaps, their hour. A light on her right wrist shocked her of her morbid state. “It's shining?!” The polychromatic gem on her right manacle was glowing.

 

She didn't have time to express her fear. The entity seized control of her body and voice.

 

“SOULS! BE MY STRENGTH!”

 

As the dark grey sword reformed into her left manacle, she raised her right wrist to her heart. A whirlwind of dark-blue energy burst around the manacle. The symbol of her enslavement dissolved into thousands of pixel-like blocks that rearranged themselves.

 

Yuna and Lulu looked, confounded, as the threatening form of a large dark-purple gun with three barrels formed on the forearm on the young girl. The weapon was secured on the right wrist. A black and red-veined heart beat on a side of the gun and three entries for bullets waited for their lethal ammunitions.

 

“Demon Gun! Ready!”

 

The possessed teen pointed her left hand to the fin and the Sinscales. “I have chosen the Soul-Colours to deal with the likes of you!” Her left hand cupped around a greyish sphere of energy that shaped itself into a bullet.

 

“The one who tears apart boulders with its teeth. Shark Grey!” The bullet inserted itself into one of the receptacle on the gun that closed by itself.

 

Another sphere of energy shaped itself into a bullet in the right hand of the Japanese girl. This time, it was a blue sphere. “The one who envelops all thirst. Water Blue!” The blue bullet quickly inserted itself into the second receptacle.

 

“And finally, the one who feeds on emptiness. Crusher White!” The white and final bullet was inserted into the weapon. The black heart began to beat rapidly and energy seemed to leak from the barrels of the gun as it was ominously humming.

 

Lulu and Yuna, sensible to magical energy, felt a tremendous amount of power gathering in the weapon. Sakura pointed the gun to the fin.

 

“Dive! Summoned creature! BISMARCK!”

 

She pulled the trigger. The gun fired in an explosion of smoke. Three beams of different colours burst from the cloud, spiralling around each other. They met above the surface of the water between the ship and the fin and it appeared in an explosion of light.

 

It was a creature that looked like a whale crossed with an antique cruiser. It dove in the water and a tornado of water erupted. The tower of liquid climbed to an incredible height, the creature swimming inside it. Then it disappeared suddenly and the water fell, creating a wave that submerged the fin and the boat. All the Sinscales seemed to dissolve into the water and the two lines of the harpoons snapped. Amazingly, the water was simply water for everybody else: No one was wounded by the magical wave.

 

Liberated from the annoying harpoons, Sin submerged. The wave generated by his movement proved to be harmful as Tidus found himself washed off the ship and knocked-out.

 

“Tidus!” The cry of Wakka galvanized Sakura and broke her from the numbness of having been, once again, controlled. With horror, she saw her friend unconscious in the water and the courageous captain of the aurochs attempting to save him.

 

“Chikusho!” She didn't know what she was thinking at that moment, but she pulled out of her pocket the chemical that Rikku had given to her before their underwater exploration. She quickly down a dose from the vial and rushed into the water, ignoring the cries of alarm of her comrades.

 

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Underwater, Wakka rapidly swim to Tidus who was surrounded by Sinscales. A nice Phoenix-Down revived him in time to avoid being slaughtered. The two blitzballers made short work of the creatures: They were no match for their skills.

 

“LOOK OUT! BEHIND YOU!”

 

The cry of the young girl came just in time for the two men to avoid the sneak attack of a larger creature. Wakka swore. “A Sinspawn Echuilles! Go away, dammit!” He quickly prepared one of his special attacks. “Dark attack! And stay down!” His blitzball hit the monster right on its eyes, generating a dark cloud that impaired the vision of the creature.

 

The two fighters proceeded to cut into ribbons the Sinspawn when a dark-purple beam of incredible intensity pierced through the creature which dissolved instantly into pyreflies. Confounded, they followed with their gaze the cloud of pyreflies that finished absorbed by the polychromatic gems of a Japanese teen-girl holding an impressive gun.

 

The Demon Gun returned to its manacle form on the right wrist of Sakura. She turned a grim and determined look to the two men. “Finally… Let's go back before the ship is too far away.”

 

Tidus and Wakka exchanged a look and followed the young girl to the deck of the SS Liki. Exhausted and cold, Sakura let Yuna pulled her out of the water and enveloped her in a blanket. She smelled an alcoholic drink and opened her eyes. Lulu was looking at her, frowning severely and holding a cup. The schoolgirl bit his lower lip and bowed her head. “I'm sorry, Sempaï.” She whispered softly.

 

“You will be. Never do that again.” The teenager nodded guiltily. “Now, drink this. You're not a blitzball player: You don't have the training and resistance of those two idiots.”

 

Wakka was annoyed. “Hey, hey. Not my fault, ya? Couldn't let my ace in the hole being eaten, ya?”

 

Lulu shook her head before the antics of the two males. Reassured that her guardian and the young blond man were okay, Yuna approached the slumped displaced girl. She took her hands in hers and smiled softly. “Tell me. Are you a Summoner?”

 

Sakura blinked. Why was she surprised? The question was not so outrageous after her little demonstration with Bismarck. She blinked again. Like before for her elemental blades, she now `knew' that Bismarck used water-elemental attacks. She shook her head. “No. Contrary to you, whoever is controlling me doesn't use my personal energy to summon those creatures.” She thought about the impressions she gathered during her possession. “Also, I don't think that it was an Aeon. It was completely different from your power.”

 

Yuna beamed to the younger girl. `Now, that's strange. Why is she happy that I'm not a Summoner like her?'

 

Tidus suddenly gasped as he saw something over the horizon. Everybody turned to the direction of the nearby island of Kilica. A massive tidal wave just appeared out of nowhere, and moved along for a minute, before disappearing. A massive tornado of debris and trees appeared over the position of the monstrous form of Sin. It was now out of the water and was skidding along the surface with what appeared to be some kind of hovering force, like anti-gravity. As it smashed into the docks it ripped up planks, trees, people, and other debris and flung them wildly around in a circle above it. After obliterated most of the port of Kilica, Sin simply returned to the water unconcerned by the devastated port town.

 

Shock had stolen the voice of Sakura. The Japanese girl came from people that had suffered from the first two atomic weapons and were constantly at the mercy of tidal waves on the coast. But, the teenager was young and a city girl. She only knew those tragic episodes of her history by her elders. Until now, she hadn't conceived the sheer horror of mass-destruction.

 

Yuna clutched her hands to her chest, resolve burning in her eyes. “I will defeat Sin... I must defeat Sin.”

 

Tidus turned his head to the young female Summoner he was starting to love. `I guess I had thought how nice it would have been… On that day, at that time, under that burning setting sun, witnessing the silent tears in the eyes of Sakura, I realized the enormity of everything. This is a world I don't know anything about, and it won't be that easy to go back. I finally understood that this is a reality that I cannot escape from.'

 

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Notes: Wow, already six chapters… Go, go, Baran!

 

The encounter with O'aka was simply a way to show that only a shopping mistress like a teenage girl could have understood the value of the merchant. He, he, I'm joking here. Frankly, I wonder how any character could have thought of the importance of long term finances. Oh well…

 

Yes, the popular video game is Final Fantasy VII. How do you think someone who played the game, find himself in the tenth opus (without any knowledge about it of course) and suddenly discovered the most famous birds of a fantasy world, would feel?

 

Lulu was perhaps a bit out of character. Well, I thought about the fact that the sorceress considered herself as the elder sister of Yuna. I think she could feel the same about a lost young girl.

 

The Demon Gun is finally unleashed on Spira. What will happen now? I will try to not use any summoned creature that Yuna can't imitate with her Aeons. (Ifrit, for example) Beside, since it's an overdrive move, Sakura can't use it every time. And no! The summoned creatures ARE NOT Aeons.

 

Why Sakura dove into the water since she doesn't love Tidus? Well, he is part of her anchors to sanity. Come on people, the girl is a teenager lost in another world. She should feel very protective of what anchored her to her current reality. Of course, the rest of the group is rapidly becoming anchors as well.

 

Next: The village of Kilica. Sakura witness how death is treated in this world. Also many battles with some wicked monsters. Another temple to visit. And, of course, the mysterious four entities continue to plague the displaced Japanese.

 

Thank you to Drachegirl14 and Dr. Thinker for their reviews.

 

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