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A Day At the Ancient Caves! "Wow! That was quite some trip, but after a week’s journey, we finally made it,” said a cheerful young woman. "So, this is the Ancient Cave we've heard so much about, eh?" said a tall largely built man standing next to her, "I hear it’s suppose to have all kinds of goodies in there…" "That's what you said about the last three leads we got, and all of them were either hoaxes, out of date rumors, or just ramblings of some drunk at the Saloon…" "Hey! At least I'm finding stuff to go on. It’s a lot more than what you can say you've done for this group, Jet!" "Remind me why I keep journeying with you guys again," said Jet, sighing. "Come on guys, does it matter if there's a treasure in there or not? We're Drifters! If one place doesn't have what we are looking for, we just keep searching until we find what we need, right?" interjected the girl. "Also, the fact that it’s been slow in our field also has upped our willingness to pursue any possible venture, no matter farfetched it might seem," said the fourth one, adjusting his glasses. "Hmph. I guess we can't win a debate with you, Virginia, especially when Clive backs you up," grumbled Jet. "Anyway, this time,” grinned the big one, “I know my information is correct. I had both granny and Clive research it a bit, and as far as we know, there's still something to be found there." Jet smirked. "Don't tell me this is another one of your excuses to put the blame on someone else…" "No, Gallows did ask that I look into it before hand. Apparently, this cave has a way of changing every time someone goes in it; even the beasts and treasures are protean in form. According to my research, it use to be a huge tourist attraction, to which teams of warriors from around the multiverse would journey just to see how far they could get," responded Clive judiciously. "A cave that changes every time you enter? I wonder what could cause that. Well, whatever it is, it sounds like its worth checking out. I say we go in." Just as Virginia’s suggestion was meeting with approval from the rest of the company, they were taken aback by a strange noise. The four drifters looked up to see a large ship drop off a few passengers. A young boy with a glass eye patch, a girl with red hair and pig tails, a woman dressed entirely in white, and a man in a classy red coat. "Well, this must be the place we heard all about! The cave that is never the same," said the boy with wonder. "Come on! What are we waiting for! Let’s get in there, and take everything we can get!" squealed the redhead, bouncing with glee. "Whoa, easy there, Aika. For all we know, this could be a hoax… though, even if the odds are against us, I'm still curious to see what's in there myself," said the older male. "Say, who are those people over there? Didn't we hear that this place was supposed to be deserted?" spoke the woman in white, quietly. "Now that you mention it, Fina, you're right," said Vyse, "this place is suppose to be long since deserted. I guess all we can do now is…" "…welcome them and find out who they are," said Virginia to her group. The two groups walked towards each other. They each surveyed each other briefly, until finally one of them spoke up… "Hello," said Vyse to the drifters, with a friendly demeanor, "what brings you people to this place?" "Hi!" responded Virginia with a smile. "I was actually about to ask that same thing. Who are you?" "Me? I'm Vyse of the Blue Rogue's, and these are my friends and crew…" responded Vyse. "I'm Aika, yep, that's me!" "My name is Fina. It is a pleasure to meet you" she said, bowing her head. "Call me Gilder.” "Oh, well I guess it’s only right we give you our names as well. I'm Virginia Maxwell. The big guy is Gallows" "Yo.” "The short man next to him is Jet" "…" "And lastly, that's Clive…" "Greetings." "We're all Drifters from the Wastelands. Say, what is a Blue Rogue?" "Blue Rogue? Oh, it’s a type of Air Pirate." At the sound of the word “pirate,” Virginia instinctively scowled and drew her pistols. "Pirates?! What are people like you doing around here?" which was followed by Jet and Gallow drawing weapons as well. "Hold your fire, Virginia. It might be best to let them explain themselves first," Clive said calmly. "I guess you're right," she said, putting her guns down abashedly. "Sorry, got carried away" "No problem. Anyway, Blue Rogues don't go around hurting people like most pirates, we just steal from the rich and greedy." "I…see…" "Besides, we aren’t here to hurt anyone, anyway." "Yeah! We're here to get that treas- oops!" Aika shouted, realizing that perhaps she shouldn't have said that out loud. "Seems like we’ve got some competition, eh Leader?" said Gallows, chuckling. “You’ve heard about this cave too, huh?” "Yep. I'm surprised to meet someone else who knows about it, myself," said Vyse. "Guess that makes us rivals, eh?" "You better believe it." "Treasure, you say? Looks like Gallows finally lucked out,” said Jet with a smirk. "Hey! I'm not THAT unreliable, am I?" growled Gallows. "Well, 'Captain', shouldn't we get going?" Gilder said to Vyse, withholding a chuckle at the antics of the other company. "Yeah. Well, I guess I'll be the one to say 'May the best group win,'" said Vyse, to the Drifters. "I suggest we begin as well,” said Clive to Virginia. "Yes, let’s…what the heck is THAT thing?" said Virginia, who was suddenly interrupted by the roar of a huge airship descending from the sky. The vessel sunk slowly, and when it was in clear view, three girls, all dressed in skimpy clothing, jumped off and onto the ground. Immediately, seemingly on impulse, all characters with drew their weapons. Except for Fina, who was more shocked than anything else, and Clive, who was unmoved by the actions, and felt it best not to jump to conclusions. The three girls who had just arrived looked on at what they had entered into. "Not exactly a welcoming party…" said a white haired girl dressed all in black "I was thinking the same thing…" said the woman standing next to her with brown hair and an exceptionally long braid. "Awww, did we get here too late? That's not fair, Yunie, I thought we were going to be the only ones here" said the third girl, who had blonde hair and even less clothing than the first two. "Who are these people? Pirate friends of yours, Vyse?" said Virginia to the young man. "No, I've never seen them, and judging on what they came in and how they are dressed, there's a good chance they might be Black Pirates,” said Vyse in response. "We should keep our guard up." "Looks like we're going to have to fight. Rikku, Paine, you two ready?" said Yuna, whipping out her two pistols. "Hold it. There might be no reason for us to fight these girls. This could easily be a misunderstanding," said Clive, working quickly to take control of the situation. With that said, all weapons that were drawn were cautiously put down. Clive advanced forward, fixed his glasses a bit, and cleared his throat before saying, "I apologize for my partners and other contemporaries acting so violently towards you, but your entrance did give them all quite a scare. Perhaps you could tell use who you are?" "I…see. Sorry to surprise you, but we meant no harm. We're the Gullwings, a team of Sphere Hunters from Spira! I'm Yuna." "I'm Rikku!" "…Paine…" The other two parties introduced themselves likewise to the Gullwings, and it was agreed that it'd be easiest if a representative from each group would discuss what their further plans were to be. Virginia volunteered to go, and the Blue Rogues agreed that their captain should represent them, while Brother arbitrarily picked Yuna. After they had finished chatting, as the three were about to turn and head back to their companions… Aika snuck up behind Yuna and Virginia and shouted, just before darting behind a nearby rock, “You slut!” "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" both Yuna and Virginia screamed simultaneously, both spinning around, and drawing their guns as if ready to attack. Aika giggled with sadistic delight as she walked back to her own group, saying, "Come on guys! Now is our chance to get the treasures, their busy calming those girls down!" "Uhh…Aika, what did you do this time?" asked Vyse, groaning. "Oh, nothing, just said something I knew would get both riled up and thus ignore us. Come on, let’s go! That treasure is as good as ours!" "Now, Aika, you know that wasn't very nice. It wouldn't be fair for us to take this advantage using such a cheap trick." Said Fina's voice of reason. "Yeah, I think we should wait for them. I mean, I'd like the treasure, but it'd dishonor our name as a Blue Rogue to win with such underhanded tricks," admonished Vyse. "But, but, but…the treasure…it’s…grrr…" growled Aika, shifting from confused to angry within about four seconds. Meanwhile, Yuna and Virginia were still pointing guns at each other, while their own teammates came to the scene. "Leader, what's up? I thought you had things under control," said Gallows, frowning. "Yes, just a minute ago, things seemed at ease between our factions." "She… how dare she call me such a thing, especially wearing THAT! She's an insult to lady gunners everywhere!" "Hey, Yunie, put down your gun. We're not here to fight, right?" "I've been called many things, but…that just crosses the line!" shouted Yuna. "Hey, everyone. What's the matter? You shouldn't be trying to hurt each other! Aren't you all about to go on this adventure,” came a young unfamiliar voice out of nowhere. Everyone turned to see standing there was a young teenage boy with red hair and a set of rather silly goggles on his head. "Adventurers shouldn't fight! They should all work together, and have fun. That's what it means to be one, right?" "Oh, great. Another moron to deal with," grumbled Jet to no one in particular. "And here I thought I only had to deal with Rikku," Paine said to herself. "Well, who might you be, kid?" said Gilder. "I'm Justin, world's number one adventurer, well, at least with my friend Feena and Sue, both are adventurers too!" said Justin with a goofy grin expanding across his entire face. Suddenly, from the distance, a young girl with a weird animal on her head, and another girl with green hair appeared. "Justin, there you are. You were so excited about the famous 'cave that always changes', you didn't notice that we needed to stop for some rest," Feena panted. "Yeah, Puffy wasn't exactly happy about that. Don't do that again, Justin!" "And these would be my friends, say hi to everyone!" After exchanging greetings, it was more or less agreed that they should all just enter the place before yet another group of "Treasure Hunters" appears, and so they did. Upon entering, there were four seemingly magical tiles. Each team had stepped on a different one and sent to a different location. Thus begins the greatest Treasure Hunting Match of all time! Due to the collapse of the Ancient Cave, the normal rule of starting at Level 1 with no equipment has been withheld, and thus, all four teams are going all out. The Drifters have their Mediums, the Gullwings have their Dress Spheres, and the Adventurers have their mana eggs, while the Blue Rogues have their choice of equipment and magic, free from the restrictions of the Duelling League. Within the cave, however, while four paths have started, there's nothing stopping from any of them intertwining, and it’s likely the teams may have no choice but to fight each other to reach the end. Who shall prove the most skilled treasure hunting team of them all? |
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Jo ou Ranbu The Drifters own everyone else. If only for the fact that not all of them are absolute morons. C'mon, JUSTIN is in the middle of the fray. Drifters: 13 Blue Rogues: 12 Gullwings: 7 Adventurers: 12 Stampede
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