I'm tired of Meeting Again. It's too old. Outdated. Doesn't cater to today's audience. Needs more violence, more sex, more dragoons.

And so, I have decided to undertake the monumental task of rewriting Meeting Again. Please understand that I aim to stay truthful to the original message, and leave most of the original script untouched. However, I will expand upon the plot of the original with more action, as the true Meeting Again is mostly a string of observations and flashbacks. Perhaps some day some one will even offer to turn it into a Flash video (/em crosses fingers).

Now, I present to you, Meeting Again: Redux.

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When I first came to Valkurm, I met a Tarutaru White Mage. I was a Warrior. I remember that I didn't even know what a Skillchain was.

Competition for Subjob items was fierce, and Ghouls would always spawn claimed. Every night we searched for the skull. Unknowingly, we had formed a static party.

WAR WAR MNK
WHM BLM RDM.

Finally, we all gathered the Subjob items. Since we had spent so much time together, we also leveled our subjobs together.

The first time we went to Jeuno, we were wiped out twice. I can still clearly remember the shouts of joy when we finally reached Jeuno after the long struggle. To commemorate, we all scrounged up every last Gil we had, and purchased a LS. The Taru WHM who lost the dice roll became our leader.

It was fun. I thought we would be together forever...

The dragoon to my left jabbed me in the ribs with his spear, and suddenly my mind returned to Altepa Desert. That's right, I remember now. I was exploring the desert when I saw her again - the Tarutaru white mage. Too distracted by nostalgia, the gil-sellers had managed to get the jump on me, and now I was their hostage.

"Ni hao!" shouted the dragoon behind me.

"Easy, fella... I may be resistant to piercing like everything else, but I still have my pride."

This earned me a hard smack to the head. Way to go, bub. Really thinkin' your way out of this jam, aren't you?

"Don't hurt him," said the white mage. "Finish searching his gobbiebag, but I want a word with my old friend alone..."

"Ni hao!" shouted one of the dragoons in protest.

"He doesn't have his great axe," she told him. "He won't try anything funny."

That's good - she thought I was still a warrior. I'll be able to use this to my advantage, I thought, but first... I wanted answers.

Memories came flooding back as I approached her. Was it around the time when the Taru WHM learned Teleports? Gradually, we all drifted apart.

The cause was the Taru WHM. Always quiet and calm, she started to avoid daily repetitive, killing, and leveling up. Without realizing, soon the gap was too big. The other members who wanted to get stronger, become high level, could no longer party. The level gap became too wide.

One day, she suddenly made an announcement. "I'm sorry. I'm no longer useful... please find another WHM."

Even before she made the announcement, our members had started to grow apart. We continued competing with each other. Now, when I think about it, I don't know why we wanted it so badly. I think I just wanted to become more powerful.

First one person left, then another, then I too found another LS. I crossed paths with many of my old comrades on my way to maxing out my Warrior. The white mage, however, disappeared forever.
Until today, that is.

She was in WHM AF, sitting there quietly. Next to her name was a familiar colored LS dot.

It was the LS we made together.

No, it must have been a similar colored LS. But somehow, I knew it wasn't. She noticed me. She smiled warmly at me.

"Long time no see," she tells me. "You look like you are doing well."

"Not well enough," I say, casting a glance over my shoulder at the team of dragoons looting my gobbiebag so that she knew what I was talking about, and like, didn't think there were other problems.

"I'm sorry about back then. I really wanted to apologize. If someday we met again, there was something I had to tell you."

What happened since then? What were her thoughts then?

"I am an adventurer of Vana'Diel," she said.

Of course. I am one too, I thought. However, her idea of 'adventurer' and mine were very different.

"Valkurm was fun. We didn't know our left from our right, thinking together we found the way. But then we went to Jeuno, doing the same thing everyday. We didn't have any spare time. Because I got the teleports, I thought we could all travel the world. But everyone was caught up with leveling... I wanted to see more of the world. There has to be places we have yet to discover. I thought it would be good if we could share that together. I still remember when we saw that rainbow in La Theine. I wanted to experience that again, with everyone..."

When I heard this I was shocked. I remembered back to my days before I quit the linkshell. I was touched when we first got to Jeuno. But after that, did finding a new place matter to me? When I first came to a place, I just thought of it as a new hunting ground. The stone monuments, which detail the history of each area, was just a means to finish the quest for the Crawler's Nest map.

When did I forget what being an adventurer meant?

In the LS we all made, the last one to remain was the BLM. But eventually we all left, until it was only the WHM. She continued it all by herself, but as I saw now, she didn't stay alone.

My mind finally snapped back to reality: I had to escape, and now was the chance.

Her mind clouded with memories of better times, the white mage didn't notice me pull out my pistol. I flung my other arm around her waist and pulled her to my chest. The dragoons were quick, but they weren't close enough to do anything. I placed the pistol against the white mage's temple, and they backed down.

"Not a warrior anymore, huh?" the white mage chuckled.

"Things are not what they used to be, huh?" I answered. "My belongings."

The white mage managed a nod, and shouted the familiar "Ni hao" to her companions. They gathered my items and returned them to the gobbiebag, tossing it at my feet. I kept the pistol pressed to the white mage, and bent down over the bag. Without instructions, she picked up the bag for me. Smart girl.

I slowly worked my way toward their chocobos, keeping an eye behind me in case there were more I hadn't seen. Dragoons often traveled in large packs because they're weak and gil-sellers, but I counted six chocobos and five dragoons, so I appeared to be safe. I placed the white mage on one of the chocobos, and swung myself up into the saddle behind her.

"You boys forget about following me, all right? Once I get where I need to be, I'll let her go, and she'll meet you right back here at the telepoint."

I waved my gun at the dragoons watching me helplessly - they backed up a bit more, and I think they got the message. With a quick kick of my heels, the chocobo let out a wark and began racing away from my captors. I was finally free, but I knew it wouldn't be long before the dragoons followed my tracks and caught up to me. I knew of an outpost near here, and if I could make it that far, I should be in the clear.

We rode in silence for hours, watching the sun shift from one half of the sky to the other because that's what happens when lots of time passes. Luck was apparently on my side, as there was still no sign of the dragoons. We reached the outpost without incident, and the guards happily made arrangements for me to spend the night because they had nothing better to do.

We settled into our room, and after a dinner provided by the guards, I broke the silence.

"I believe I interrupted your story." She quietly nodded, but didn't speak. "Why gil sellers? And why did you still use our linkshell... the one we made together?"

"Because this is a special LS. I have been invited to many linkshell, but I turned them all down. One day, someone will return and I could say, 'Welcome back.'"

I became embarrassed. I had forgotten all about her, and everyone else too. I even threw away the pearl long ago.

"I traveled the world by myself. Whenever I found something new I would report it on the linkshell. Even though no one was listening."

She laughed at this, and I knew she was being completely honest. I said nothing, and just sat there while she continued.

"I've found out many things. The history of Davoi, the story of the towers in Beaucedine and Sarutabaruta..."

The Taru white mage happily told me her stories, and I felt myself become jealous. Her expression was so genuine and real. The sense of adventure I lost, she was sure to still have it. I had my own tales, of course, but none were happy. Nothing but the blood of monsters and the Gods themselves on my hands, and I had tried to wash that all away when I left the life of the Warrior behind me. Those memories still haunted me, and to think that my life could have gone down a different path had I stayed with her.

"I was so alone, xephoid," she started to cry. "No matter where I turned, I was shunned for my low levels. I was called n00b, and gimp, and sometimes worse... All the adventure in the world would not satisfy me... not without friends."

My eyes shifted away as her tears fell. She was too wrapped up in her tale to notice the guilt on my face, but it was there: big time. We had done this to this poor girl. I had done this. I spent so many years absorbed with the sins I had made against myself that I never once thought of the crimes I had committed against others.

She composed herself enough to finish her story, but I already knew how it ended.

"Gimp... That's what they called me," she continued. "And that's what they call them, the dragoons. It started with a simple teleport request, and then they invited me along to help sell gil. I was desperate, xephoid, you have to see that."

She completely broke down after that, and probably would have kept crying into the night. But I found myself in love with this Taru white mage, this friend from so long ago. I scooped her up in my arms, and she gasped in awe. Our eyes locked, and the tears slowly stopped.

Then we started making out furiously. Later that night, we totally made love. It was pretty hot.

After a few hours of Taru-lovemakin', I turned to my lover and nervously asked her if she could once again give me a linkpearl.

"Next time you go adventuring, please take me with you," I said to her. "I know it is a shameful and selfish request, but I have to be there... I need you."

She just smiled and produced a linkpearl from the linkshell at the side of the bed.

The color...

The color brings back memories.

And that's when the dragoon Super Jumped my new girlfriend from above.

Her blood splashed my face, and I watched in horror as she tried to call out for me. Her life ended almost instantly afterwards, and I was inches from her as it happened. I screamed with 25% horror and 75% fury. The fury won over, and I rolled out of the bed, naked from the previous lovemakin'.

Not a moment too late, either, as another dragoon came crashing down on the bed, and the other three crashed through various windows like they do in the movies. I leapt towards the shelves where I had my equipment, and grabbed the pieces that I would need to kill the dragoons who just killed my Taru white mage girlfriend.

It was payback time. Payback, with a side of vengeance.

The rage within me grew. Memories of bloodshed returned to my hands, and they were eager to spill some more. I may not be a level 75 Warrior anymore, but I still had the instincts. With a mighty battle cry, I began the slaughter.

"KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELHAUL!"

I threw an anchor at the dragoon who Super Jumped my girlfriend. It caught him right against the jaw, and he stood there unable to attack for 30 seconds. He would be the last. I would make sure of it.

The other dragoons watched this in horror, and the one dragoon who tried to Super Jump me on the bed cried out in terror.

"NI HAO! NI HAO! PIRATE CLASS!"

I first produced my pistols, and then produced my rapier. I said, "stand and deliver, or Promathia he may take ya."

The four remaining dragoons rushed me, so I used my level 40 Harpoon skill to pin the second dragoon on the bed against the wall. I quickly run him through with my sword, and leave it in his chest so I can take up both pistols.

"Pirates get Barrage at level 60 when they sub ranger!" I shout as a create a whirlwind of gunfire. Two more dragoons drop, and another shot to the forehead takes out the last one.

I turn around to see the Keelhaul 2 hour ability wear off the first dragoon. I try to reload my pistols, but he thrusts his spear at my head, forcing me to tumble away from the bed. This causes me to drop both guns to my side, and gives him the opportunity to Jump onto my body. 100 damage.

"Ni hao," he says triumphantly. He raises the spear above his head, determined to strike the finishing blow. Before I can act, the spear comes down towards my face...

...but stabs harmlessly to the side of me.

"You forget," I inform the awed dragoon. "You have terrible accuracy because you can't equip accuracy items."

I grab the pistols at my side and unleash a hail of gunfire on the dragoon. He flies back across the room, and impales himself on the handle of my rapier, which is not easy to do since it's not sharp like the point of the sword is, but I shot him pretty hard so it worked.

"I think he gets the point," I say to no one in particular, but I had to do it because that was the next line in my macro.

The carnage over, I scoop up the body of my Tarutaru white mage girlfriend and take her behind the outpost. I make out with her for one last time as I proceed to bury her. Tears well up in my eyes when the task is done, and it's at that point that I remember the linkpearl.

I hastily equip it. The voice of the Taru white mage began to ring in my ear.


"Welcome back. Welcome to the adventuring world of Vana'Diel."

I dropped to me knees and began to cry like a big girl. I raised my head to the morning sky, and shook the world with my mighty level 60+ Pirate scream.

"Oh, Altana! Why?!"


THE END

Credits

Created by Chia
Translated by Amaterasu on Kujata
Made awesome by ircgeek of GameFAQs


After credits roll...

We're behind the outpost again. Off in the distance, we see xephoid pressing on with his journeys. Out of the shadows, a cloaked figure appears. His hands glow, and slowly the body of the Taru white mage rises up out of the sands.

She slowly opens her eyes... She's in a daze, but she recognizes the face of the robed man.

"You were... our black mage..."