A bit of Namjin coming up ehehe

*********************************************

"I still get the shivers whenever I come here," Namjoon feels a tingle running up his spine.

"Just don't look at it," Seokjin says, looking out to the mountain range from the cliff overlooking a ravine.

No matter how hard Namjoon tries, he can't seem to pull his thoughts away from the cavern, and how it still radiates evil. He knows the Tonberry isn't there anymore, but he's still a little jittery about the place. He can still distinctly remember the feel of the Tonberry's radiating fearful aura, and the green thing's lantern, something for children to fear at night. He can still remember the feel of the Tonberry's knife slicing into his skin, the bloodstained cloak and coat, and the monster leaving his half-dying self to bleed to death on the stony, cold surface of the cavern floor.

"Shh, don't think about it." Namjoon can feel Seokjin wrap an arm around his shoulders, leading him down a mountain road built entirely out of wood, a bit of debris covering the side, narrowing the boardwalk even more. Namjoon closes his eyes and takes deep breaths, willing himself to focus on happy thoughts. Like when he became a Crusader at a tender age (because Namjoon was good. Really good) and passed the Initiation Exam for becoming a Bevelle Warrior Monk, and how he managed to even get an apprentice (Auron) that was really good in sword art.

"Oh, look at that!" Seokjin points to something brown in the rock wall. Well, something that's browner than the rock wall. It looks like a sword, a legendary one.

"You think this is it?" Seokjin looks at the sword, seeming to doubt its abilities. It's covered from hilt to tip in rust, brown things that are flaking off when it pops out of the rock wall it was stabbed into and stuck in.

"Probably," Namjoon nods. He takes the sword from Seokjin. It doesn't look at thing like the longswords that Seokjin uses. Instead, it looks very much like the sword that Namjoon uses, broadswords that are heavy and deals massive damage to hard-shelled enemies. He swings the sword around, some of the rust flaking off, and he simply loves the feel of the sword in his hand, but it looks like any plain, rusty old sword.

"Maybe you need to power it up, just like the Caladbolg and the Nirvana," Seokjin suggests, and Namjoon decides that he's probably right, even without much debate.

"We need to wait for Cid to come back and fetch us, I guess," Seokjin chuckles a little. "Who knew we'd find it in five minutes?"

"Hmm," Namjoon hums in agreement. He can't help, though, but feel someone's watching them.

From the shadows of the Cavern.

*******************************************************************

"Right, wait here," says Cid, before diving into the water, goggles pulled over his eyes. Cid kicks furiously in the water, definitely trying to avoid any meeting with the feared creature living in the water. Geosgaeno, the Al Bhed Archives had called it (actually, it was a book stolen from the Bevelle Archives but whatever). It was a fearsome skeletal fish fiend that can turn anybody and anything to stone, so there's that.

And Cid does not want to be turned into stone. How boring his life would be then. Plus he'd starve to death, and Cid lives to eat.

Cid swims, glad that there's no sign of the giant fish yet, and he nearly makes it when something grabs at his foot. Alarm bells ring in his head, but Cid is a little relieved that it's not Geosgaeno, just little piranhas that are nipping onto his foot, clinging and not letting go. Cid immediately kicks, swimming to the nearest floating piece of rubble and clambering onto it, picking off the piranhas biting at his foot off one by one.

"Seriously...no one warned me about these things," Cid groans as he throws yet another piranha back into water.

Cid looks out into the wide expanse of the ruins. At least he's made it to where he wants to. Now it's just a maze of floating debris to conquer, which will ultimately lead him to a Celestial Weapon.

Cid walks around the debris, almost tripping once or twice, before coming around to a large water pool. He checks his radar, and sees the blinking green dot on the machine's screen, indicating the presence of the Celestial Weapon. Taking a deep breath, Cid dives down into the pool of water.

He swims about, almost getting entangled in some seaweed, and he comes across the entrance to Baaj Temple, a soft, faint light glowing from the inside ofi t. At least if he needs air he knows where to get it. Cid swims over to a stone wall, touching it lightly, as if expecting a y trap to come hurtling out of nowhere.

When nothing happens, Cid's relief is plainly evident on his face. He moves from one brick to the next, searching for anything that might suggest a secret passageway or something. When he finds nothing, Cid scowls in irritation, before heading over to the Baaj Temple to get some air.

But Cid isn't as lucky as he thinks he is. The moment he prepares to get out, there's a sudden crash. Cid grips the rock floor tightly, making sure not to fall back into the water. He looks up as the rubble comes tumbling down, and if it's not for his quick reflexes, Cid would have been trapped inside.

He quickly swims out, and Cid nearly loses his air as he sees the scene in front of him.

Two Geosgaeno. Cid's got to get out of here. The Al Bhed Archives said that there'd only be one! Why are there two?!

Cid kicks hard, swimming up to the surface and managing to pull himself out, landing on a floating piece of debris. He was so close. A little more and Cid would have gotten his back snapped and possibly die of suffocation. Cid hisses as his leg gets bitten again by some piranha or other, and he shakes the annoying fish off.

This calls for backup.

*******************************************************************

"There's one more step, as said on Buddy's database," Cid says, dragging his finger across the screen.

"And?" Namjoon looks over his shoulder at the numbers and words that pop up on the screen, and an unmistakable picture of the legendary Masamune, a giant broadsword that Seokjin thinks will perfectly suit Namjoon.

"You need to be heading to Mushroom Rock Road. Get going now," Cid says, pushing Namjoon and Seokjin out of the airship.

"Seriously? Why not Yoongi?" Namjoon yells back at him as he lands on the ground. "And what the hell are we supposed to do?!"

"There's a statue somewhere there with Lord Mi'ihen's power! That sword belongs to him! Find that statue!" Cid shouts from the airship as it begins to take off again, leaving Namjoon and Seokjin at the road. Namjoon scratches his head as he looks at the expanse of Mushroom Rock Road; they are near a gate leading to Mi'ihen Highroad.

"Let's just do as Cid says and get it done and over with," Seokjin sighs, starting his trek through the rocky area.

Namjoon scrunches up his nose when he sees two people dressed in traditional Bevelle clothing standing at the cliff overlooking the Spiran Sea. He doesn't like the aura they give off, especially when his extremely-dense partner, Seokjin, walks past unkowingly, and they pretend not to notice the two. Namjoon finds it all very queer. 

Seokjin stops when someone blocks their path. Another Bevelle Summoner. Clad in robes that Namjoon is too used to seeing. She's plumper than the other two, of who one is tall and the other is short, like a child. Namjoon whirls around to see that the other two Summoners they've met just a while earlier are standing behind them. Great, now they're surrounded.

This has got to be a big joke.

"What now?" Seokjin draws the Caladbolg, pointing the golden sword at the plump Summoner.

"I don't know," Namjoon draws his own sword, keeping Lord Mi'ihen's sword tight at his belt. "Probably some people Mika sent after us...Summoners. We've got to be careful, Jin-ah."

Seokjin grips the Caladbolg tightly, ready for anything that the Summoners would throw at them. His back hits Namjoon's, the two of them covering for each other, just like old times.

"We're a team, Jin-ah. We'll win this."

Seokjin nods. A team.

The three Summoners raise their hands, and the sky suddenly darkens, lightning zapping in the distance. Seokjin keeps his gaze, unblinking, on the plump one in front of him, narrowing his eyes. Three flowers surround them, one red, one blue and one yellow, suddenly blooming. Three Aeons jump out from the flowers, and this isn't want Namjoon is expecting.

The three Aeons aren't as brightly colored as Jimin's ones. They are mainly black, almost monochrome in shade, with slight hints of darkened red, blue and yellow here and there on the different Aeons, which nearly make Namjoon gag because of the resemblance to rotting skin. All of them have frowns permanently plastered across their faces, and their eyes are shining a deep red.

"Dark Summoners," Seokjin breathes, and he grabs Namjoon's wrist. Namjoon jerks, but quickly regain his footing as Seokjin hurriedly leads him down a side path that Namjoon would have no hope of knowing about if he isn't looking for it. Seokjin slams the Caladbolg down on the glyph they are standing on and a jet of water from the geyser below propels the platform they are standing on upwards, towards the next level of stone.

"Hey, doesn't this...?" Namjoon is continually being pulled by Seokjin, as the older yells something akin to "Keep running!"

Namjoon knows exactly where they are going. The Den of Woe, and boy doesn't he want to go back there again. Besides, those Aeons...they look like something they could beat.

"You're kidding yourself if you think we can overpower them," Seokjin says, breaths short and quick as they run for their lives. "They're ing Dark Aeons!" 

"So?!"

"They're way more powerful than your average Aeon!" Seokjin shouts back. "They'll rip you apart into shreds in seconds!" 

Namjoon yells he nearly trips, and Seokjin hisses as Namjoon pulls on his arm. Seokjin skids to a stop, turning back to see the small one right on their tail.

" this sh*t!" Seokjin unsheathes his Caladbolg as they continue to run. The statue has got to be up ahead! According to Namjoon anyway. Namjoon used to take shifts here during patrol as a Crusader.

The bee-girl leaps forward, tiny wings beating furiously, her sting ready to pierce skin. Seokjin narrowly evades her attack, the edge of his sword skimming her sting. The bee-girl shoots forward, stabbing her sting into the rock, trapped there. Namjoon ducks as another of the Aeons zoom past above his head, skidding to a stop as she blocks their path.

Seokjin hisses as he pulls Namjoon's arm and they run down another side path, Seokjin cutting rocks that block their path, the Caladbolg feeling way lighter in his hands than his last sword, allowing him to move faster than ever. Namjoon stumbles a little but manages to regain his balance and keep running, following fast behind Seokjin.

Namjoon looks back and he is spurred on by the fact that the tall one is right behind them following steadily behind with its Summoner. But something's weird. If the Aeons are fast enough to block their path, and the Dark Aeons are greater versions of those Aeons...can't the Aeons just rush forward and block them instead of chasing after them...?

Namjoon yelps as something smashes into his leg, sending him sprawling to the ground.

"Namjoon!" Seokjin hears the crash as he turns around, finding a giant sting in Namjoon's leg, the black thing still pulsing and pushing poison into Namjoon's system. Seokjin nearly drops his sword as he rushes over, and with considerable strength, pulls the sting out (there is an obscene squelch but Seokjin doesn't care) and throws it to the side. He grits his teeth when he realizes how much blood there is now that he's pulled the sting out, but it's black.

"Oh my Yevon," Seokjin looks over at Namjoon's face. He's blacking out, lashes fluttering as he struggles to take breaths. Seokjin hurriedly pushes Namjoon onto his back, slotting the Caladbolg into his belt before he dashes, far, far away from them. He needs to get out of here, and fast.

******************************************************

It isn't long before Seokjin reaches another floating platform. he quickly slams his sword down on that little button on the platform and almost instantaneously, water shoots up from the geyser below, allowing Seokjin to carry on. Honestly, Seokjin's arms are dying from Namjoon's weight, but he keeps running, forcing Namjoon higher up his back when he feels the younger slipping down.

Seokjin gasps a little when another giant stinger stabs into the rock next to his foot, black poison dripping from the rock itself. Seokjin runs and runs, until he catches sight of Lord Mi'ihen's statue. He quickly grabs Namjoon's sword and pauses directly at the statue, sticking the sword into a sword-shaped indent in the statue. Seokjin holds his breath as he waits for the statue's power to take effect.

This had better work. The three of them are catching up already! Seokjin grabs his sword, laying Namjoon down beside the statue, the wound in his leg still bleeding and Namjoon's getting a little pale in the face. Seokjin has to face all three of them at once, and he's not going to win.

Not in a thousand years.

Seokjin can feel himself visibly shaking in his boots as he grips his sword tightly, the Caladbolg's shining gold reflecting against the evening sun. He's going to die. He's going to die right here and right now. Seokjin's got this. He's always been prepared for death, or at least, he believed so, but it's a whole different matter when Death stares at you straight in the face, and you know that Death would corner you no matter how far or fast you run, and that there is no escape from the Death that is imminent...

Seokjin utters five words through his chattering teeth.

"Come get me, you punks."

****************************************************************

"Whoa! Look at that!" Hoseok cries, pointing to the stadium. "It's already rebuilt! Let's go watch something!"

"H*ll no," Yoongi shoots back. "We're here for the Celestial Weapon, remember?"

"U-Uh, yeah, totally," Hoseok grins sheepishly. "But how can there be a Celestial Weapon in the middle of Luca?"

"Who knows?" Yoongi looks doubtful as well, following the radar that has been given to them. The two walk and walk and walk...and walk some more, unitl they come face to face with...the cafe entrance.

"Cafe? Why would the Celestial Weapon be the in a cafe, of all places?" Yoongi shakes his head in disbelief.

"Let's go!" Hoseok pumps a fist into the air as he heads in, dragging Yoongi in along with him. Yoongi looks around the bustling cafe, people drinking the cafe's specialty, the Hypello Coffee, guaranteed to keep you awake no matter what, and probably a fruit smoothie or two.

Hoseok visibly gasps as he grabs Yoongi's arm (totally no sparks of electricity, Yoongi says) and points at the thing in the middle of the cafe. A giant blitzball, with huge blades. Yoongi's entranced by the weapon. It's a must-have; it was used by the High Summoner Ohalland after all, Yoongi's idol of all time.

That and it's definitely the Celestial Weapon they came for.

Yoongi watches as Hoseok detaches himself from him and walks up to the lady manning the counter, "Hi! May I know how much that costs?" Hoseok points to the blitzball, and Yoongi slaps his forehead. It's probably priceless, considering it's from the High Summoner Ohalland!

The lady laughs a little, "It's not for sale, Guado. You want it? You win it." 

"Win it?" Yoongi walks up to her. "You mean..."

"Win a tournament, and this blitzball is yours," the lady says. "But of course, you need to enter the Lucan Cup, the one where you have to beat the Luca Goers."

"Lucan Cup..." Yoongi clenches his fist. Him again. Yoongi turns around abruptly, boots skidding on the ground.

"I'll win them. Just you watch," Yoongi walks out of the cafe without turning back. Hoseok manages to catch up with him, what with Yoongi's speedy pace and all. 

This calls for an emergency meeting with the Al Bhed Psyches.

*****************************************************************