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The Desert Adventure: The Last of Tiny
Chapter 1: Intro
It was a cold day. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t that cold, considering it was the desert. With the sun beating down hard everyone who was brave enough wander out into the colder day, a small group of odd looking people stood in the middle of nowhere. Even the group looked odd to be together. There were six people total. Three of them were females and the other three were, of course, males.
One of the males wore a black, t-shirt like jacket with a red lion head on top a cross on the left arm. Underneath his jacket, he wore a white shirt. Around his neck dangled a silver lion head on a chair. With each step he took, his black pants, with a brown belt which formed and ‘X’ shape on the front and back, and black boots made little noise with each step he took. In his black gloved covered hands, he carried a scroll looking object. On his left arm, he wore two belts like bracelets. His shoulder length, brown hair blew gently with the wind as he walked. The face he wore was an expressionless one with a red scare across his face, marking his name as Squall.
The next male had spiky blonde hair which swayed ever so little in the wind. Covering his whole body aside from his arms was a dark blue body suit. His hands wore dark brown gloves and on his right arm, he wore a big metal bracelet like thing. Dragging his feet in dark brown boots he wore, he left big foot print in the sand. Around his waist and reach up around his right shoulder was a brown leather strap and on top of his right shoulder, there was a metal shoulder cover. This man’s name was Cloud.
As for the last man, there is only one way to describe him relatively quickly, cowboy. Atop his head was a brown cowboy hat and he wore a light brown trench coat. Under his coat he wore a purple vest with a light brown shirt under that. His pants were light brown with dark brown cowboy boots. On his hands were fingerless brown gloves. With mid-back length hair, his name is Irvine.
Attached to the arm of Irvine, there was a girl with a yellow overall dress and brown knee high boots. Containing hair that came to her chin and rolled out, her name is Selphie, a cheerful one in love with a care-free cowboy.
Somewhat close to Cloud, but not on top of him, was the next girl. She has a small tan and blonde hair pulled into a pony tail atop her head with at least 6 braids containing beads, all held up with a blue head band. Around her neck is a red and yellow scarf. She wears a yellow bra like top and a dark green, almost brown, super mini skirt with a darker yellow band with two pouches attached. Blue and white boots that come to about a forth way up her leg cover her feet. With brown fingerless gloves and light yellow unattached sleeves with tied like fringes all up them to top her outfit off. With the profession of a thief, she comes with the name Rikku.
Now the last women, she very unique with her dress, as well as with her attitude, as you will find out soon enough. Around her waist is a purple wrap with white flowers all over on it. Over that, she has on a white ballerina like dress which is covered in sparkles. On her feet is a pair of high heel like boot with a string working up her leg. With her waist length light brown hair pulled into a pony tail, her black, monkey like tail, sways gently in right below the bottom of her hair. Her hands wear light purple gloves that come up to mid-arm that are fingerless as well. Around her left ring finger, she wears a gold and silver twisted ring with diamonds all over in the ring. With light gray, lively eyes, to top her off, she has the name of Tiny, soon to be Tiny Tribal.
Anyway, now that everyone has been introduced to this point and we’ve established that the group is walking in the desert and there’s a small wind blowing, let’s move on, shall we. However, before we completely begin, you must agree that this is indeed a rather strange group to be seen together, am I correct? Of course I am! I’m the author of this! So anyway, let us move on for real this time.
With Tiny in the lead, Squall gave directions from the map he held… or at least as well as he could. “Tiny, you’re supposed to go left there,� he pointed to his left as he said that.
“Oh? Is that so? How are you supposed to know when all we’ve seen is sand for the past six hours?� Tiny asked stopping and turning around to face him.
Folding up the map and putting it in his pocket, he replied, “I have no idea.�
“Face it. We’re lost,� Rikku said from beside Cloud who was behind Squall as she shook her head. “So then, what should we do?� she asked as she sat down on the sand.
Sitting down beside her, Cloud suggested, “We could just sit here and wait for something to happen. Or we could always sit and think of a plan.� Almost as if agreeing with Cloud’s second plan, Squall sat down beside Cloud and Irvine and Selphie sat down across from the other three.
Tiny, however, crossed her arms and continued to stand. “Common. We’ve been in the desert for three days now and you guys are giving up now?� Everyone nodded, not having to think twice. Sighing, she finally sat down, but kept her arms crosses. “So then, does anyone have a plan at all?�
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads. “I mostly just wanted to sit down and rest for a while. After all, we’ve been walking for the past six hours and haven’t had anything to drink or eat or anything,� Cloud confessed. “And walking around in this hot weather is just killing me, even if it is a cooler day than most for the desert.�
Sighing and standing up, Tiny said, “You punk.� She then began to walk into the desert. “I’ll be back in a few. If I’m not back in a half hour though, come searching for me in this direction.� Everyone gave a tired nod and watched as she quickly disappeared into the picking up wind, blowing sand around, soon making her almost invisible to the eye. At the time, no one thought to go after her with the wind picking up. They were all just… too tired.

Chapter 2: The Search

Squall looked out to in the direction where Tiny had left about fifteen minutes ago. “Do you think we should go looking for her? I know she said in a half and hour, but it looks like there’s a storm in the direction she went,� he said setting his carrot down.
Rikku took a bite of her sandwich and looked out in the direction as well. “True. But I’m sure she’ll be fine. I mean, she is strong, right. After all, how many fiends has she beaten out here so far compared to the rest of us?� Everyone gave small nods while eating their food. “See, Squall. She’ll be fine. Sides, let’s at least finish eating first,� Rikku said taking another bite of her sandwich.
Squall finished off his carrot before saying, “True, but what if a fiend comes around? You know, one she can’t beat. What would you do then?�
Selphie stopped in mid-bite of her apple before replying, “Just use either a phoenix down or recovery spell. There wouldn’t be much else for us to do.�
“I guess you’re right, but I still am beginning to think we should go after her. The storm in that direction has become really bad within just a short amount of time,� Squall said, again looking out that direction.
“Oooooo… Sounds like someone has a crush,� Rikku teased Squall as she finished the rest of her sandwich.
“…Why would I have a crush on someone whose about to be married?�
“Good point…� Rikku pondered for a moment. “Then why are you so worried about her?�
“Probably, because she’s our friend and friends look out for each other and protect each other,� Cloud said before taking a bite of his banana. Squall nodded in agreement.
“So… what are we s’posed to do then? Jump up an’ go a rescuin’ her?� Irvine asked as he downed the rest of his root-bear.
Looking over at Squall quickly, Cloud then looked at Irvine and gave a nod. Sighing, Irvine, stood up, followed by Selphie and everyone else. Cloud was the last one to stand up as he picked up their bag they were using for trash and burned it using a quick fire spell. “Let’s go,� he said leading everyone in the direction Tiny went.

~† ☼†~

Tiny kept walking forward, unaware that there was a desert storm following her. Somehow, she had managed to stay right in front of it. As she walked, she talked to herself, or should I say, she sung to herself. “‘The wheels on the bus go round and round. Round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all through the town.’ I feel so stupid. I can’t believe I took off without a map or anything. No, I don’t feel stupid. I feel intelligent. Like a genius to be exact,� she started out singing to herself, but stopped to talk to herself. “Great. Now I feel like I’m going crazy. Talking and singing to myself. I really am just the smartest person I know.�
Reaching into the little purse like thing she had hidden, she searched it thoroughly. “Oh that’s just wonderful. I don’t have any food either,� she said taking the purse from its hiding spot and turning it upside down. A canteen fell out onto the sand and made a noise letting Tiny know it did have something in it though. “Well, at least I have water that will last me, oh we’ll say, an hour. Maybe if I were to walk quicker I’d be able to last longer with less and hopefully get somewhere quicker? But then I would just exhaust myself sooner. Same with if I were to move slower, because I would be out in the sun longer,� she went on with this debate with herself for about an hour, speeding up a little every time she talked about going quicker, and slowly down a little every time she talked about going slower.
Letting out a sigh and stopping for a minute, she said to herself, “I really do wonder where Zidane could be? After all, he did lead us to the middle of the desert and even though I may be about to marry him, I must admit that he’s not the best map maker in the world.� She took in a deep breath and stood up before letting it go. Taking one more deep breath she began to sing, “’I’m bringing home a baby bumble bee. Won’t my mommy be so proud of me? I’m bringing home a baby bumble bee. OUCH! It stung me! I’m squishing up my baby bumble bee…’� This song took her all the way to nightfall, somehow. She kept repeating it over and over again as she walked. However, every now and then, she mixed two verses up. By time night fall came along, she didn’t stop to rest. Instead, she kept walking.
“Best time to travel in the desert is during the night. Nice and cool during that time,� she said to herself in a sing-song voice. Deciding to change her mind, she began to say, “Left, left, left right left. Left, left, left right left…� she continued this on till about midnight, changing to a marching style at the tempo she talked.

~† ☼†~

“Can we please stop and rest? It’s really late and I’m really hot and tired. Hungry, too,� Selphie complained stopping as everyone continued to walk, slowing to a stop.
Cloud let out a sigh. “I guess we can. At least the storm is no long in front of us. It’s weird how it moved as we moved though.� Looking around, Cloud nodded. “Irvine set up the tent. This should be a good place to rest.� As he said this, everyone sat down as Irvine began to set up the tent he carried.
Looking up at Cloud from the ground, Rikku asked, “How far ahead of us do you think Tiny is? Will she even be able to survive?� Cloud just shrugged to both of these questions. He didn’t know the answers and Rikku knew he didn’t. She couldn’t help but ask anyway.
“That girl somehow has a lot of energy. I’m sure she’ll be fine,� Squall said as he fell onto his back, looking up at the night sky, which was nothing like the previous night. “I’ll never forget last night,� he said giving a sigh. Everyone only nodded in agreement, looking up at the sky as well. With the barely visible from behind clouds, as were the stars, it made it somewhat difficult to see. Last night was quiet the opposite. It was a cloudless night with the brightest full moon to ever be seen, the night that would be remember by all in the group and cherished.
Irvine finished in about a half hour with no help. As he announced, “Tent’s up,� everyone was inside the tent almost as quickly as he said the word itself. He let out a sigh as he crawled inside himself. Selphie looked at him with longing eyes. Turning to her, he asked, “What do ya want?�
Still looking at him with longing eyes, Selphie said, “Food. Need food.� Reaching her hand forward, acting like a zombie, Irvine reached into the pack they used for food and gave her groping hand an orange. In joyousness, she shouted, “Yes! Glorious food! I welcome you into my stomach!� Quickly, she began to peel it as Irvine handed everyone else their food, all of which began to peel or whatever they had to do before they could eat. Also, he gave each of them a bottle of water and a can of soda.
“Why did we bring all this stuff again?� Squall asked watching Irvine hand out everything.
“Because Tiny insisted that we did. I must admit though, I’m not complaining at the moment,� Rikku said as she finished peeling her banana.
“I know you’re not complaining,� Irvine said in a dull voice. “You ain’t the one carryin’ it.� Lying back with his hands folded behind his head, he stared up at the sky through the sunroof like top on the tent. Every now and then in his staring, he would take a bite of his celery stick.
Selphie looked over at Irvine once her orange was completely peeled. “Is something wrong?� she asked before she put one of the orange slices in her mouth. Not answering right away, Irvine just shook his head a few minutes later, once Selphie had finished her orange.
Slowly, as everyone finished their food in relative silence, they began to fall asleep. Cloud was the last one to fall asleep. Once everyone was asleep, he left the outside of the tent and walked around, examining the sand and everything as best he could for any possible sign. Closing his eyes, he listened closely to the wind and all the sounds around him. From inside the tent he could hear Irvine snoring slightly and from outside the tent, he could hear the wind blowing ever so slightly. “Damn,� he said out loud to himself quietly. “I could have sworn I had heard her earlier. If only Selphie didn’t talk to much.� Letting out a sigh, he went back into the tent where he lay for about a half hour before falling asleep, thinking of how far behind Tiny they probably already were and how far they would be. Taking one final look at the sky, he guessed it was about two in the morning based off the barely visible moon’s position.

~† ☼†~

Tiny sat on the ground looking up at the sky. Unknowingly, at the same time as Cloud. She stared at the moon behind the clouds and watched as the clouds moved slowly over the moon and then away again. Humming slightly a random tune, she stood up letting out a sigh. “Why did I leave them? I shouldn’t have done such a stupid thing. It’s too late now though to turn back. For all I know, they might have left already.�
She began to walk, but soon stopped and turned around quickly. “Weird,� she said slowly. “I… thought I heard someone…� As she began to walk again though, she almost as quickly spun back around. “Hello? Is someone there? Cloud? Squall? Rikku?� Looking around, she soon realized there was no way it could be any of them, because there was no place to hide.
Shrugging slightly, she turned back around and continued walking forward. Starting to become tired of the quiet around her, she began to sing again, “’Ooooooohh! Common try and catch me! Ooooooohh! Catch me if you can!’� As she walked and sang, she still could help but think that someone was following her and somehow hiding as soon as she turned around.
Once it was around six in the morning and the sun was starting to rise, Tiny began to start falling asleep as she walked. Finally giving in to her tiredness, Tiny dropped to the ground and almost instantly, she fell asleep.
How long she slept, she did not know, nor did she care at the time. However, when she did wake up, the sun was high in the sky. Giving a yawn and looking around, it didn’t take her long to notice a big building looking thing. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she had to make sure she wasn’t going crazy. Taking a second look, she quickly realized that it was really there. Smiling happily, she took off running towards the big building in the middle of the desert.
As she ran towards through the desert, a tall man with blue skin in a black toga and with blue flames for hair smiled a smile with sharp, pointy teeth. His yellow eyes watched as Tiny ran up to the large doors and as she opened them with relative ease. With his grin growing wider, he snapped his long fingers, disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

~† ☼†~

The group continued to walk in the direction that they were pretty sure Tiny had left in. None of them had bothered to mark the direction they were going or anything so all they could do was guess. In the lead of the group was Cloud once again who was trying not to seem tired in the least bit even though he had gotten the least amount of sleep and was the one delayed the longest, forcing them to leave later than they had wanted.
“Knowing Tiny, she has probably had little or no sleep and is still looking for wherever Zidane was telling us to go,� Squall said, cutting off Selphie from her excessive talking. He took the map that Zidane had sent them out of his pocket and looked at it, then looked up at the sky. “I could be wrong, but based off Zidane’s sun on the map; I think we’re going the wrong way. But then again, who knows what time it was when Zidane drew this thing out.�
“Why are we following a map that looks like it was drawn by a kindergartner again?� Irvine asked after taking a drink of water. “Wait, don’t tell me. It’s because of Tiny.� Receiving nods from everyone, he nodded himself and stopped, which caused the Selphie under his arm to stop as well. “So tell me, why are we still following it, trying to find Tiny?�
Giving a sigh, Cloud stopped and turned around. “Because she’s our friend and we shouldn’t have let her run off like we did let her do. This is Tiny we’re talking about. You know how at times she is extremely gullible and acts more like a kid than Selphie and then at other times she can be the smartest kid you’ve ever known, as well as the strongest. In short, we have to find her before something does happen.�
Shaking her head, Selphie said, “You know, Irvine might just be right, as well as are you. This is Tiny we’re talking about. We know her, she doesn’t normally stop going in one direction until she reaches where she was going and you know just how much she just loves to sit.�
“Glad to see someone sees it from my point of view,� Irvine said. Turning towards Rikku, he said, “Well, why don’t cha just radio you dad and ask him to come get ya. We all know you have the ability to do such and that your dad knows how to find us in no time at all. Who knows, we may even have the possibility of finding Tiny better in the air, but until we know for sure, lets just call your papa.�
Letting out a sigh, Rikku put her hand behind her head and turning her head towards the sky, she said in Al Bhed, “Vydran, lusa kad ic. Oui ghuf frana fa yna, nekrd? Kuut. Rinno ib. Tuh’d funno, fa fuh’d suja.� Bring her head back down and her hand back from behind her head; she said to everyone else, “He said he’ll be here any minute and just to hang tight.�
Sure enough, within five minutes, the airship came into view in the sky and came down to the ground. Over the loud speaker, the voice of Rikku’s dad, Cid, was heard saying, “Rinno ib yht kad uh dra creb pavuna E mayja oui ymm rana.�
“He said to get on,� Rikku said to everyone as they gave strange looks, but they quickly got on the airship and within five minutes again, they were off. Not paying attention to below them as they flew over the large building like thing, they flew right over Tiny.

~† ☼†~

Looking up from inside what seemed to be the entrance of wherever she was, Tiny watched as the airship flew over her head. “That ship looks strangely familiar. Oh well,� she said and at the end, she shrugged. Bringing her head back down to the ground, she saw two large statues in the shape of the same man balanced on one foot, pointing the way down to a door right in front of her. Over beside the left statue’s foot, there was another door, which had a white piece of paper attached to it.
“Well, they say curiosity killed the cat,� she said as she began to over to the second door. To a point, you could say that the cat was killed, because what Tiny found next changed her life forever.

Chapter 3: Found?

“Alright every. ROLL CALL!� Cid shouted once the group was on the bridge. “Rikku?�
“Here.�
“Cloud?�
“Present.�
“Squall?�
“…�
“Nice. Irvine.�
“’Ere.�
“Selphie?�
“I’m here!�
“Ok. And lastly, Tiny.�
No one said anything. They all just looked up at Cid. Finally, Rikku said, “She’s not with us. That’s what we were doing was trying to find her, because she ran off.�
“Oh really. Well then, we have to find her. “PNUDRAN! Dinh drec creb ynuiht!� Cid said turning his head.
Without them feeling a change at all, the ship was turned back around and they were heading back in the direction they came.

~† ☼†~

Lifting the piece of paper off from the door, Tiny read quickly. Funny thing was, it was addressed to her and was signed by Zidane. Only thing that could mean was that they were indeed going in the right direction. The note said: “Tiny, Sorry about not being here when you read this. I just couldn’t wait here any longer. Don’t worry though. I’m going to go back to my hometown for a while, so you should be able to find me there if you decide to come that is. Again, sorry for making you come all this way to find a piece of paper. Love Always, Zidane.�
“How sentimental,� a voice said coming out from the shadows of the statue’s foot. Whipping around, Tiny saw a blue guy in black robes. “Hey, names Hades. Lord of the dead. And you would be?�
“Not interested,� Tiny said taking the piece of paper and putting it in her pocket. She glared at him, unsure of whether to trust him or to not trust this guy.
“Hey, hey. Come on now. All I do is come over to you to make conversation and this is how you repay me,� Hades said. “Let’s try this again. And you would be?� This time when he asked who Tiny was, he held out his hand.
“I don’t shake hands,� Tiny said looking down at his long fingers. “And my name’s Tiny. Why does it matter to you?�
Bringing his hand back down to his side, he said, “Well, I’ve been watching you. Seen your determination to get here and everything. I think I could use you on my side. Just think of it as I’m the king and you’re a knight for my kingdom. In return for you joining up with me, I’ll give you wondrous powers as well as other things, and in the only thing I ask in return is that you do a few things for me every now and then. So, what do ya say?�
Looking at Hades, she thought. “I say I’ll think about it,� she said as she turn around, getting ready leave his presence.
What she realized though didn’t hit her until Hades said from behind her, “There’s no where you can go. You’re in the middle of the desert. And just because you made it here doesn’t mean you can leave just as easily.�
Turning back around slowly, Tiny sighed and asked quietly, “What do I have to do?� When she asked this though, not only did she ask it quietly, she kept her head towards the ground. Maybe I am more gullible than I thought I was, she thought, waiting for an answer.
Grinning, Hades said, “Right here. All you have to do is shake my hand and it’s done. Also, in return for your help, not only will I give you strength in magic and fighting abilities, I will also do a little something for you. What do ya say?�
Looking up, Tiny asked, “So if I wanted you to, you’d find Zidane for me?� Giving a nod to Tiny’s question, Hades held out his hand a little more. “Ok, I’ll do it, but only if you promise to help me find Zidane,� she said still not putting her hand out there yet. “How long does this last anyway?�
“I’ll find Zidane for you and it lasts for life. Both the powers and the bond,� Hades said the last sentence as Tiny grabbed his hand. As soon as he had started to that he would find Zidane, Tiny began holding out her hand. Once the two’s hands touched, a bright light emitted from Hades hand which traveled through to Tiny’s body.

~† ☼†~

The airship was heading back around from the point where the group had been picked up. They had flown over the coliseum at least three times, but never noticed it until there was a bright blue light coming from it, shooting straight up into the sky. “The hell is that?� Squall asked looking at the light as the ship swiveled around it.
“I don’t know,� Rikku replied, looking at the light as well. Everyone else in the group was looking at the light as well.
From over the loudspeaker, Cid’s voice came over and said, “Well, I hate to tell you guys this, but I’m not picking up and signal from Tiny or anything. We might as well give up and go on home.�
Everyone exchanged glances before nodding at each other. Rikku turned her head upwards and said, “Alright, father. We’re ready.�
As the airship flew by the coliseum, the light died down. Only thing was, none of them knew what the building like thing was or any of the other details.

~† ☼†~

Tiny sat on the ground feeling a little weak. Hades looked down at her and said, “You might feel a little funny at first, but have no worries. You’ll feel like normal in no time. Until then, just go into those doors and rest on one of the beds. We shall start training tomorrow.� With that said Hades walked off and soon disappeared right in front of Tiny.
Laying there for a few minutes, Tiny’s eyes slowly turned began to turn a darker gray and they seemed to die some and loose their life contained in them. Slowly, her clothes began to change as well. A black, sleeveless turtle neck appeared instead of her dress. Her gloves turned black as well, but stayed the same length. The wrap around her waist turned completely black, but her shoes stayed the same. As she stood up, her head felt a little funny, but aside from that, she did feel the same.
Walking over to the room and opening the door, she went over to the neatest bed. Little id she know, this training that Hades spoke of consisted of long drawn out lectures of what all she could and couldn’t do. Also, over time, her personality began to slowly turn a little darker. I mean, whose wouldn’t when you hang around the lord of the underworld almost everyday. As well as personality changes, there were many other things that changed about her over the years as well. Even the way she felt about her friends, but not the way she felt for Zidane.
One thing that really changed was the fact that she was almost never able to get any sleep, no matter how hard she would try, she just couldn’t sleep most nights, or if she could sleep, it was a very broken up and restless sleep. The next time she would sleep somewhat well would be the second night she met up with all of her friends again, because over time, she saw Cloud and Squall when they were with Hades, but they never saw her and she made sure of that.

The End

Vydran, lusa kad ic. Oui ghuf frana fa yna, nekrd? Kuut. Rinno ib. Tuh’d funno, fa fuh’d suja = Father, come get us. You know where we are, right? Good. Hurry up. Don’t worry, we won’t move.
Rinno ib yht kad uh dra creb pavuna E mayja oui ymm rana = Hurry up and get on the ship before I leave you all here

PNUDRAN! Dinh drec creb ynuiht = Hurry up and get on the ship before I leave you all here

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Sorry about it being so long. I typed this in word and it was 10 pages. Also, for those who don't know which Cid I make a reference to, I'm talking about the one from FF X/X-2. Also, I typed this story up for an RPG I've been doing a lot with on of my friends. Feel free to leave comments and what not. I don't bite mind you.