Project: Gamer Ver. 2 Alpha Build 1.1.6
Disclaimer Me Do: I own nothing you recognize. And most of what you don't recognize, I still don't own.
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Jinx was staring wide eyed at -everything-!
The lights, the attractions, the people in costumes!
She'd never been to a theme park, or resort, or anything like that! Ever!
She just- She wanted to take in everything! The sights, the sounds, the smell! All of it!
If Dinah was here, or one of the other teens from the mountain she may have tried to be more reserved but...
Nah.
She wasn't ashamed of herself. Not anymore.
This was her first time being someplace that was designed, entirely, for the sake of having fun! She and her mom had lived in a tight-knit little community of religious nuts who hated anything different, until she left. Then the foster families had been more like halfway homes, they treated the kids like they were boarders instead kids in their care.
On the streets of Gotham? You had to be a special kind of stupid to go to an amusement park of any kind. Somewhere between the Joker, the Scarecrow and Poison Ivy, the odds of walking away unscathed were painfully slim.
Tourists still loved to give it a try, the idiots.
Alchemist had put a leash on each of the Hellhounds and given her the leads before walking off to talk to an attendant at the main gate.
"-for two lifetime gold passes, that will be twenty-thousand Gil, sir. We do have a pet deposit, that's an additional two-thousand gil, per animal. Your total comes to twenty-four thousand gil, sir." The woman wore a tight black vest over a short red blouse with no sleeves, and a very tight skirt. She even had a tiny little hat on her head, probably held in place on a hairband.
Alchemist was barely paying any attention to her, manipulating the currency coming out of his inventory. After a few seconds he had six plastic cards in his hands, two with markings for Ten-Thousand and four marked for One-Thousand.
"Very good, sir! Through the next room you'll find the first transit hub which will lead you to whichever location within the Gold Saucer you could possibly want to visit! Now, what names will we be connecting to your Gold Passes?" The woman brought a tablet, marked with a large red diamond with the words 'Shinra' stamped on the back in some foreign language, up from her side.
"Jinx." The younger girl butted in first. "Jinx C. Hex."
It wasn't her original name. She didn't want anything to do with that, and she'd seen how literally everybody made up whatever names they wanted.
"Very good. And you sir?"
"A**&@%$#%- Sorry! Sorry!" Alchemist had been a bit distracted, Jinx guessed, but she didn't want to try and guess what he just tried to say! It felt like something was literally tickling her brain, and she didn't know if it was good or bad.
The attendant looked a little bit green, and was actually swaying a bit where she stood.
"Alec. Alec Mist." He actually looked a little worried for the girl. "I have Esuna, do you want me to-"
"Ah, no, thank you sir. Accepting gifts, gil, magic or Materia from the guests is strictly prohibited outside of the Wonder Square and Chocobo Races." The woman was actually bleeding, just a little bit, from her nose. She hurried to finish up Alchemist's registration before handing over the Gold Passes, along with a small card stating that they'd paid the pet fee.
With her job done, the woman shakily walked off and disappeared through a door that seamlessly blended in with the wall.
"...Is she going to be okay?" Jinx asked, Gold Pass burning in her hand.
"I hope so. Batman didn't seem affected when I told him my name so... I dunno." He stowed his own pass in his pocket and started walking. "Come on, let's get to the hotel and grab something to eat. I haven't done lunch yet."
"What kind of stuff do you think they'll have?" The transit hub was a bunch of holes, all with labels over top.
Jinx watched as a group of people all came out of the one labeled 'Wonder Square', flying out of the hole and into the air, some landing on their feet or rolling to a stop with a smile on their faces and a laugh in their voice.
"Well, it's a ghost hotel." He was heading in a totally different direction from where she really, really wanted to go. "So I hope you like ghoul-ash."
"...That was bad. You should feel bad." The puns! Terrible puns!
"And yet, I don't."
-----
Jinx had spent the first day just wondering around, probably looking like a slack-jawed yokel coming in from the countryside. Alchemist had been with her, explaining what she saw.
The Wonder Square was absolutely filled with games. Racing games, a submarine game, shooting games and even sports games! There'd even been this cute little story game where she helped this little bear-cat thing with batwings and a red pom-pom on its head named 'Mog' pull up the courage to confess his love to a girl named 'Molulu'!
Alchemist had been absolutely beastly at this game where you had to throw a basketball into a hoop, every successful throw got them another Goldsaucer Point (GP, which was confusing because she already had a currency called GP. The ones for the Gold Saucer were actually gold in the inventory though.), and he'd reached the cap after ten minutes.
Which was kind of weird, because he said he hated sports.
She'd spent half an hour feeding money into these automated claw games, mostly out of boredom. She got a handful of Elixirs and Megalixirs, but they probably weren't too important. She was trying to get the GP she needed to buy the Experience Materia thing!
She wasn't sure how much she'd ended up spending, but they'd left after an hour or two so they could keep exploring the rest of the resort.
The Speed Square was a roller coaster! And they got to shoot lasers at stuff! Deserts and helicopters, a blimp! There was even a U.F.O. at the end!
They hadn't gotten any GP for the effort, actually losing some, but they had gotten a weapon out of it! For getting such a good score, the attendant gave them a Masamune Blade!
...The weapon was longer than Alchemist was tall, and it was called a 'Replica' when it was put in the inventory.
She'd had fun, screaming and laughing the entire time! But... She'd hold off on any repeat trips until she got the prize they'd come here for.
Moving on from there, they'd gone to the Chocobo Races! It was... Interesting? She guessed?
It was basically horse racing, but with giant birds. Giant birds that she'd eaten bits and pieces of earlier at the hotel's very expensive food court.
There had also been an Event Square, where they apparently hosted plays, but there wasn't one going on when they'd dropped by. There was also this Round Square (Just... Why?) that was a gondola ride around the park! But they weren't running until after dark.
The final place to see, aside from another food court that was a level down and absolutely bustling with people, was the Battle Square!
People with swords! People with guns! People with sword-guns! All competing against monsters both great and terrible!
Except for one cute little green thing in a robe with a lamp and a knife.
To save up special points for prizes and rewards!
She and Alchemist had spent a bit watching pre-recorded fights, then checking out the prize counter. They offered all kinds of stuff, loads of different Materia, items, weapons, even a motorcycle!
So she didn't know why Alchemist had used almost a quarter of their hard-earned GP to join the fighting.
He'd put up a pretty good show! Teleporting, shooting, magic! Lots of magic!
(I've never seen that spell before?)
(Is that Dark Flare? Is this guy seriously using an Enemy Skill Materia?)
(I didn't think an Exit materia could be used like that...)
(Is that a Hydra? My grandpa uses that gun!)
And then, after he'd dropped out in the sixth round, he took his earnings and bought...
A smartphone.
"Just..." Jinx was shaking her head afterwards, honestly confused. "I'm the teenaged girl here. Why do you need a smartphone?"
"Because Mister No-Shirt over there runs an online store, and he has some pretty good stuff." Alchemist, still in the process of unpacking the phone, pointed at a very large, very muscular man who wasn't wearing anything other than a pair of gold shorts. "Hey! Dio!"
The man, standing next to a trophy of some kind-. It looked like a diver's suit. -Put his hands on his hips and turned around, a boisterous laugh on his lips.
"Ho! Boy! You're the one that put on quite the show! Folks are all kinds of upset to see you dropout before reaching the finals!" Though, saying that, the man didn't seem at all upset.
"Gotta leave folks wanting more." Alchemist nodded at the man, who nodded to him, so Alchemist nodded back. "Got a question for you. You still running Network Shop Duo? I wanted to pick up a few things for my next run."
The smile dropped off the mans face, going from something open and boisterous to one that was far more subtle and cunning.
"You're staying in my Ghost Hotel, now ain't ya." It wasn't a question. The man put a hand on Alchemist's shoulder and leaned in, whispering so low Jinx almost couldn't hear him. "Check under the phone when you get back. And be prepared to burn a bit more gil, would'ya?"
The man leaned back, the smile back on his face. "Everybody loves a winner! And if they're not winning themselves, they love to pay to see a winner!"
The man slapped his legs and walked off, chuckling as he left Alchemist and Jinx behind.
"So..." Jinx wasn't really sure what to make of that. "What was that?"
So she asked.
Alchemist wet his lips, thinking for a moment, before he started moving. Jinx at his side.
"That was me making an inroad to the local black market, and his price is to have me 'Advertise' his games. I'll bet he has me in the arena a few more times, since he's seen what I can do, until he has an up-and-comer he wants me to lose against." Wait, seriously? How did he set that up with a phone and a handful of words?!
"Alright, I really have to ask. How the hell did you do that?" Because she really wanted to know!
"This?" Alchemist waved vaguely at everything around him. "It's all a game where I came from. And there's a thousand and one bits and pieces I know of, treasures just left unattended or barely guarded, people with secrets they want to keep. That guy being a bit of a sleaze? Chump-change compared to some of what's just been left in the middle of the woods."
"Can..." She couldn't even imagine the kinds of advantages that would offer! "Can you tell me about it? I thought the only kinds of games people played were shooters and fighters, or sports games."
"That's the worst thing about our world." And he did call it 'our world'. He did call the place he'd ended up his home. "RPG's failed back in the eighties because, who wants to be a sword and sorcery hero on a television screen when you can just go and be one for real!"
He sighed, running his left hand through his hair.
"Once upon a time, everything began with four crystals. Earth, Fire, Water and Wind..."
-----
Alchemist closed the bedroom door behind him with a slow creak.
He'd complain about it needing oiled, but the theme was literally 'Haunted House'.
His throat was sore, Jinx had actually gotten him talking for hours, going through the stories of the various Final Fantasy games. He still wasn't done, either. Only being about a third of the way through the story of Cecil the regretful Dark Knight and Rosa, his White Mage in waiting.
Moving into the room, he headed directly for the little phone sitting on the end-table next to his four poster bed. Lifting the entire unit, he found a small, folded sheet of paper underneath.
It didn't just have the web address for Dio's store, which was listed as a sixteen digit number with dots in between groups of four, but also for several more. It even had a nice little note that said 'You seem like a versatile fellow. I thought these might come in handy. D'
Reading through the selection, Alchemist also saw Dio had included the shops from Midgar, what was functionally the capital city of the world, run by the Shinra Electric Power Company. The real surprise was Shade. That was the big-spender store, but the things on offer there were more than worth it, if he recalled correctly.
So some good stores for Materia and accessories. Some of which he would purchase the second he had the phone fully set up.
He plugged said phone in and stretched before sitting down, a massive yawn cracking his jaw.
And elsewhere, another Alchemist was yawning as well.
He was sitting in the Chocobo Racing lobby, a ticket clenched in his hand as another race was underway. A Bilocation duplicate had been sent to just sit, drink, talk and bet every moment it had been reasonably safe for Alchemist to make one.
He didn't -like- it, but it was somewhat necessary. There were a lot of things that could be gotten through the race circuit. Elixirs and megalixirs, drinks that would fully restore the life and magic of the person who consumed them. In the case of the megalixir, it healed the entire party.
Alchemist didn't know how, exactly, that worked. But he'd like to find out.
There were also Ethers and Turbo-Ethers, which restored MP. Handy to have, since he'd actually processed most of his magical carrots to test on Pinky and was still waiting for them to regrow from being carrot tops.
Finally, there were several accessories and four Materia that he knew of that he'd like to get. Counter Attack Materia, which was kind of meh for him, but he'd take it anyway. Enemy Away, which could prove immensely useful. He didn't expect everything to act like the rat did in Solstheim and just nope right off. Sneak Attack... Well, he wasn't sure exactly how it would work for him, since he didn't just randomly encounter things, so far, but it could fire off a paired Materia at the start of a fight.
The one he was really after, and it was going to be while off before he was even allowed to bet in the rank it showed up in, was Magic Counter. It could automatically use the paired Materia anytime something would hit Alchemist, even spells! Provided he had the MP to use them.
It was a different version of a third, because there wasn't enough confusion to begin with, a third version of Counter that worked with Command type Materia. That one, though... Might be a touch difficult to get his hands on.
...The Cats Bell accessory might also be worthwhile, he supposed. It restored HP based on how many steps a person takes. Slapping it on the Flash or Kid Flash might prove game breaking.
Still, future goals. Most of that wouldn't matter until he was allowed to bet on 'S' rank chocobo races, and he wasn't a big enough spender to be allowed to do that. Given a few days, he might get there though.
"Man, Wutai is being a major pain about the disarmament!" And that was the other reason Alchemist was sitting around, drink in hand and listening to rich old men whine and complain on their vacations.
"None too happy about losing the war, are they?" Alchemist knew what the not-Japan country in this world had done, how they'd lost and, honestly, he didn't have much sympathy.
He didn't have any for Shinra either, a pair of monsters that both made the world worse off for existing. Shinra made their super-soldiers in-vitro, but Wutai was happy enough to kidnap kids and embed Summoning Materia in them, or so he remembered. That... That was not a good thing. Not for anyone.
"Ugh, buddy, you have no idea!" The man next to him, some guy in a green business suit that wasn't buttoned, and his shirt wasn't tucked, was complaining into his third glass of whisky. "Every step, every single one, they argue. They complain. They threaten to restart the war because 'Oh, no, we can't destroy that super-big brand-new cannon! It's part of my heritage!'. So why does your heritage have my companies logo stamped on the side!"
"Ain't nobody that ain't a sore loser these days." Alchemist commiserated with him. "I heard that royal family of theirs threw all their cousins or somethin' to the dogs so they'd get to keep being in charge. Think that was a good idea?"
As a point of fact, Alchemist had not heard that. He was basing the entire statement on two things. The man next to him was well on his way to drunk, and that -was- what the emperor in real!Japan had done.
"Wouldn't surprise me. The guy is some belliger-disagraga-stubborn asshole! Seems he'd just holed himself up in some frickin' tower for the whole damn war. Said Shinra would never con-conqu-beat his four gods and Wutai would remain supreme forever!" The guy knocked back a shot. "Jackass didn't have a clue what to do when the supply lines were cut and he didn't have no food."
"Man, rich people are frickin' nuts." Alchemist stood up from the bar. "Hang on, I'll be right back."
"You alright man?" The guy, Reeve or something, asked him.
"Yeah man, I'm good. Just gotta take a whiz. I'll be right back." Alchemist shot the guy a lazy salute and headed to the room in question. Once inside, he locked himself inside a stall-
And disappeared.
An instant later he was replaced, the Alchemist that remained casting Bilocation again and then teleporting back to where he'd just vacated. The new Alchemist waited a moment, flushed the toilet, washed his hand and headed back out.
Alchemist had known where he was, but thanks to that man he learned -when- he was. A decent while before Sephiroth went bugnuts, started listening to an alien parasite that might have been attempting to terraform the soul of the planet and decided that random murder was a good idea.
As the Alchemist back in the hotel clicked finalize on his most recent purchase on his new, Shinra brand phone and he was notified it would take a week to be delivered since he wasn't in the middle of Midgar, he hoped this would be a good thing.
He could feel a presence here, pushing directly against him. Closing in around him. It was in the air, the water, -the liquor- even. He was fairly sure he knew what it was, too.
His further navel gazing was pushed back by a knock on the door. He opened it and found Jinx, a concerned look on her face. Dressed in sweatpants and a loose shirt, likely ready for bed.
He stepped aside, and she walked in.
"Alchemist? How expensive is this place? I just took a look at the gold coins from Bitterblack and we've already spent two and a half million." She was fidgeting in place, probably thinking it was on her. "I know these things are expensive but-"
"Actually, that's mostly me." He'd been thinking about saving it for a surprise when he got around to further upgrading their gear, but she was actually paying attention! What teenager in an amusement park does that? "I just finished purchasing some things that will vastly improve our abilities."
"Oh!" She dropped down to sit on his bed. It creaked and groaned, even though it barely sank. "That's... Still a lot of money. Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Jinx?" He grinned, even as a new pop-up appeared in his system. "This is going to be amazing."
They joked and talked for almost an hour, Jinx finally leaving to go back to her own room... And it was only after she had left that Alchemist let the smile drop off of his face.
~~ Local Administrator Override! ~~
~~ Emergency Quest Initiated! ~~
~~ From: GAIA ~~
~~ Quest: Help M͓e̝̻̳̙!͙͖̩̳͙ ~~
He'd just known something was going to go wrong.
-----
Items Get!
Consumables
Elixir X5: Fully restores HP, VP and MP
Megalixir X3 Fully restores HP, VP and MP to the party.
Items Ordered!
Accessories
Element Blade: Adds fire, ice, and lightning elements to attacks; MP +50%, ATK, MAG +5
Sniper Eye: All attacks are critical
Wizard Bracelet: Absorbs fire, ice and lightning; MP +60%
Precious Watch X2: Doubles the amount of Gil looted from enemies; LCK +10
Mog's Amulet X2: Items dropped by or stolen from enemies are always rare; LCK +5
Brigand's Gloves X2 : Guaranteed successful steal from an enemy
Jeweled Ring X2: Doubles the number of items or Materia dropped from enemies; LCK +20
Genji Helm X2: Zero MP and AP costs. Adds Libra effect.
Materia
Drain (Magic): Absorb HP from target
Dualcast (Independent) X2: All spells are cast twice
Edited to correct spelling!
