Through Grains of Sand

Story
John wakes up, finding that they were in a desert like area, the ground dried and cracked, tumbleweed blowing by. He sees Gwen out cold next to him.

John: Gwen, wake up. (She stirs, and gets up, confused by their surroundings.)

Gwen: What the? What happened?!

John: We were attacked, by someone. Though, I don’t know where we are. (The two get up and walk, finding an old town, with people walking around, looking hopeless. John approaches one that looks like a warthog, standing on two legs.) Excuse me, where are we?

Thunderpig: I am Thunderpig! And you, are in the Null Void. A special prison in it for those who break the rules of the Gold Saucer.

John: Null Void? I thought only Shinra had access to that.

Thunderpig: Rumor has it that the owner struck a deal with Shinra. Though, it isn’t a permanent prison.

Gwen: We can get out? How?

Thunderpig: You got to be chosen to participate in the Chocobo Races. They usually are only experienced riders, but they allow one of us to race each time, and if we win, we’re free to go. Though, there haven’t been any selections since the monster appeared.

John: Monster?

Thunderpig: There is rumored to be a monster living in the desert, that way. (He points off into the distance.) No one whose encountered it has come back.

John: Then we’re going to be the first. Let’s go Gwen. (John goes off, and Gwen follows.)

Gwen: Are you sure about this?

John: It’s probably one of my aliens, so I have to check it out. What’s more, if we do defeat it, then they’ll have to repay us by getting us into the Chocobo Races.

Gwen: How do we ensure that?

John: Easy. (He pulls out a walkie talkie like device.) Got these in Costa del Sol. We can communicate with the others with this. (He activates it.) Sakura, can you hear me? Sakura?

Gwen: Sakura?

John: I wanted to give it to Kai, but since she doesn’t speak.

Gwen: Oh, right.

Ian: (Voice only) Hello?

John: Ian? Where’s Sakura?

Ian: In the Battle Square. She’s kicking butt over here.

John: Alright, listen. Gwen and I were thrown into this place’s prison. Talk to the people at the Chocobo Races, saying that there are some prisoners that’ll defeat the desert monster in exchange for a position in the races.

Ian: Can you not stay out of trouble for even a few minutes?

John: Apparently not. See you in a bit. End Scene

John and Gwen make it to the edge of the desert, where they see Logan fighting Sixsix and Kraab. Sixsix is firing blasters down at Logan from above, while Kraab fires a sticky substance from his claw, trying to wrap around Logan. Logan jumps to dodge and uses his Air Claw to cut through the sticky rope. Kraab then digs underground, leaving Sixsix alone.

John: Logan!

Logan sees them, just as Kraab breaks out of the ground, catching him in his claw.

Kraab: Got nowhere to go now, do ya, you badger? Sixsix! Take him out!

Sixsix: (Responds in native language.)

Then, John and Gwen fire mana disks at Sixsix, forcing him to focus his firepower on them. Logan gets an arm free, and stabs his claws into Kraab’s pincer, freeing himself.

Kraab: Ow!

Logan: Let this be a lesson to you. (He swings his claws, slicing through Kraab with his Air Claws.) It’s not a badger, it’s a Wolverine.

Sixsix throws grenades at John and Gwen, and Gwen raises a mana shield. John fires a mana disk, which curves around and hits Sixsix’s jetpack, and he flies out of control, crashing into the ground. John and Gwen go over to Logan afterwards.

Logan: Good timing. Though I had it handled.

John: Sure you did. What are you doing in the Null Void anyway?

Logan: (Shrugs shoulders) Wrong place, wrong time. Saw something I apparently wasn’t supposed to see. What are you doing here?

John: Wrong place, wrong time. We’re looking for a desert monster, so the people of the Gold Saucer will let us compete in the Chocobo Races.

Logan: Then let’s go. End Scene

John, Gwen and Logan are now in the middle of the desert, looking for the monster.

Gwen: I don’t see anything. Are you sure this is a good idea?

John: Yeah. Though, I guess I thought it would be easy to find.

Logan: It’s a desert monster. It’s probably waiting under the sand. (John looks down to the ground.)

John: Oh, man. It’s not under the sand, it is the sand.

Gwen: What? (The sand then shoots up into the air like a geyser, taking a solid form. Soon, a giant Desert Storm was staring them down, releasing a roar.)

Logan: You didn’t think it would be that thing earlier?

John: I thought it’d be some giant serpent kind of thing. I’ve encountered those enough times.

Desert Storm roars, and swings its fist at them.

John & Gwen: Contego! (John and Gwen raise their arms, creating a mana shield. The sand fist goes around the shield, starting to come back behind them. Logan fires his Air Claws, keeping the sand back.)

Logan: (Snarls) We’re at a disadvantage here in the desert. We need to get out of here!

John: Or at least out of the sand. (John creates a mana platform under their feet, and lifts it into the air.) Hit it hard!

Logan: Cannonbolt!

Logan’s red materia glows, and he swings his claws, Cannonbolt materializing in the air, rolling towards Desert Storm. He then swings his other arm, releasing an Air Claw, which hits and accelerates Cannonbolt’s speed, as he tears through Desert Storm’s head. Cannonbolt lands on the other side, as Desert Storm regenerates. Logan swings his Air Claws several more times, tearing through Desert Storm, who regenerates instantly. Cannonbolt rolls through it, as it regenerates again.

Logan: That’s not working. Come back! (Cannonbolt glows, as he returns to materia.)

John was creating mana platforms, him and Gwen running around and firing mana discs at Desert Storm. Desert Storm’s arms then shoot out of the ground, knocking the three of them out of the sky. Logan comes out of the sand, continuing to fire Air Claws at Desert Storm. John and Gwen get up, John spitting sand out of his mouth.

John: That wasn’t pleasant.

Gwen: (Sand in her hair) Now what? We can’t stop it.

John: And can’t get close enough to capture it. We need to immobilize it. (John activates the Omnitrix, slapping it down.)

Chaos Reign: Chaos Reign! Okay. Hit me with the spell Magnum Vox.

Gwen: Hit you with the spell?

Chaos Reign: I’ll be fine. Do it!

Gwen: (Nervous) Okay. Magnum Vox!

Gwen fires a powerful mana blast at Chaos Reign, and he absorbs it. She continues the attack, as Chaos Reign grows, transforming into his Perfect form. Gwen gets on a mana platform, and rises into the air. She sees Logan trapped in Chaos Reign’s water body, and extends a mana rope, pulling him up.

Logan: (Gasping for breath) What is that thing?!

Gwen: John.

Chaos Reign extends his water claws forward, as Desert Storm raises its arms to catch them. The sand of the hands harden, and Desert Storm roars in pain. It raises a large amount of sand to propel as a wave of sand, and Chaos Reign creates a water wave to counter it. The water wave breaks through the sand, and hits Desert Storm. His body hardens, and Chaos Reign fires a mana beam from his mouth, injuring Desert Storm and it shrinks down to regular size. Chaos Reign turns back into his normal form.

Chaos Reign: Omnitrix! Capture mode! (The Omnitrix fires a beam of yellow light, capturing Desert Storm. Chaos Reign then reverts. Gwen and Logan come back down to the ground.)

John: There we go. Nothing to it.

Logan: (Still soaked) You’re saying that because you were the beast.

John: (Forces a laugh) Sorry. Now, let’s go see if we can get into the races.

Characters

 * John Spacewalker
 * Gwen
 * Logan
 * Ian (voice only)
 * Thunderpig

Villains

 * Sixsix
 * Kraab

By John

 * Chaos Reign (normal and Perfect form)

Summoned by Logan

 * Cannonbolt

In Wild

 * Desert Storm (first re-appearance)

Trivia

 * It's revealed that the Gold Saucer has a special Null Void prison for offenders.
 * Desert Storm takes the place of Ruby WEAPON as a giant monster in the sands of the Gold Saucer.
 * This makes it the only WEAPON to appear before the official debut of the WEAPONS.