Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. It belongs to Square-Enix. I do however own the character of Serin. Any questions please contact me at thefreeknight@yahoo.com

White and Silver
By David Knight

Chapter One: The Wish

Ritz Malbeur walked into her house, not surprised not to see her mother there at all. _Could be out late at the office._ She shook her head wondering which one her group had the really screwed up life as far as family went.

Marche Radiuju, whose parents had gotten a divorce and his younger brother Doned, who was diagnosed with an illness since birth and had gotten steadily worse. So bad that his mother had moved them here just to improve Doned's conditions.

Mewt Randell, whose mother had passed away from an illness, causing his father to turn to drinking and had caused him problems at work, a lot of problems. It didn't help that he was one of the prime targets of bullies at their school. Today they threw a rock, disguised as a snowball at his head.

But for herself, she had her own fair share of problems. Her father was always traveling, working to ends meet for them, even still that wasn't enough. Her mother also worked at an office, something she had done very well surprisingly and had moved through the ranks very fast. Yet, it did cut into the time she spent actually being a mother.

Which meant most days, Ritz would come home to a sight in which she would cry once she saw it, just as she had cried for the last three years ever since it happened. Walking up the stairs, she passed by her room... and walked into his room.

She felt terrible every time she walked in, seeing him lay there in that bed, unable to move, to speak, his eyes shut. What hurt the most was that if it wasn't for her, that car would have never hit him.

Sitting down on a chair next to the bed, she put her hand on top of his, "I wish you would wake up Serin. Just open your eyes, say anything at all. We all miss you so much," Ritz already felt the tears coming down her face, "They called me granny today again... I hate my white hair... I hate it so much. You were the only one that never made fun of it. I've kept dyeing it ever since the accident... I keep blaming myself for what happened to you. It's not fair at all!"

She brushed his short silver hair away from his face. She found it ironic how no one ever called him an old man because of it. On Serin, it looked like it was a part of him, that it just fit him. "I wish you were awake. Then we could go play together, be a team like we used to be. I miss having you around when dad was away and when mom wasn't available." She said softly, her voice full of sorrow and longing, "If magic really existed, if I could really wield it then I'd use it to wake you up. To heal you from this horrible existence."

"You're wondering where magic is coming from this time aren't you?" Ritz said with a quirked smirk, "Today I saw a book that Mewt brought with him to Marche's house. Mewt didn't even know the name of it, not even the guy at the bookstore knew. It was really old. We tried to read it but couldn't. I recognized it as Latin but I don't read Latin. We tried speaking some of the phrases in English, well as close as we could pronounce them. Even though we couldn't read it was saw lots of pictures of different beings, some human some not human. They were all so fascinating," She had a longing look on her face, "... I wish that world was the real world. I know it sounds selfish, but I can't take much more of this. Everything here is so wrong and so terrible. I wish I could be in a world like those from the Final Fantasy games. You remember those right, you got me into them remember? Mewt happens to like them the best."

Ritz glanced at the time on a clock on the wall and saw it was getting late. A scowl came on her face, "Getting late, time to get ready for school. I already dread it." She bent over and did the best she could to give a hug. "Good night… big brother." With that she walked out of the room and went into her own, though her face was tear streaked.

She got changed into her night gown and went to bed, yet before she went to sleep, she had a silent wish in her thoughts, _I know this probably wont ever happen... but I wish I could be in a world like Final Fantasy. I wish for that and I wish for my brother to be there as well, alive and awake and able to live just like any other person. I wish for that with all of my heart._ With that thought, Ritz fell asleep, hoping for pleasant dreams.

She had no idea how much her wish would become a reality.

* * *

In a place that existed between reality and fantasy, forces and powers now met to discuss the wishes of those that had been made.

"The will of those that have opened the seal are strong enough to make their wish to transform this world into what they desire. Only they will remember the truth. All else will become part of Ivalice."

"We should limit our influence to just this town... at least at first." Another voice, a feminine one, spoke, "We have no idea what is left in the outside world." the female being felt the others agree. "Then I shall begin. The four children..."

"Five." a grave voice spoke. The speaker felt its four equals and its superior turn to face it. "The girl... her wish for her brother was stronger than all the others, rivaled that of the one twisted in pain and suffering. She deserves to have all of her wish granted."

"The boy is in a coma," a growling voice snarled, "What good can come of having a cripple in our world Exodus. He'd be better off changed into a grave marker."

"Always as foolish as ever Adrammalech," a purely calm voice spoke out against the growling one, "In our world, we are the ones with control. You forget about the cripple we are allowing into the game, the one in which will be cured of his disease and be allowed to walk."

"At least he wanted this," a deep masculine voice hissed, "The boy that is in eternal sleep didn't ask for any of this. Besides what good is he to us."

"Personally Famfrit, I think he would make an excellent addition to this game," the voice of the superior spoke. "However, as you are the Totemas, I'll allow you to vote on this matter. You five will decide if he should be allowed into the world or just remain lifeless once I change it."

"Allow him." Ultima voted.

"Deny him." Famfrit growled.

"Deny the human!" Adrammalech bellowed.

"Allow the child life." Exodus consented.

The superior looked on to the last of the Totemas, the only other female among them as well as their leader, second in power only to here. "Mateus, as Totema of Humans your vote is the most important and is the decider. Do you allow or deny?"

Mateus was silent for the longest time before she gave her reply, "... Allow."

"Then it is decided. The boy will be allowed to live and be awake in Ivalice. He will retain memory of the real world as the others do." the superior spoke.

"Do you realize he's been in a coma for three years?" Famfrit growled, "Don't you understand that makes him an absolute anomaly, that we will have no way at all of predicting what he'll do or what he's capable of."

"I do..." the superior said, a cold smile on her face, "... in fact, I'm looking forward to seeing just what he'll do."

If anyone had any more arguments, they could not give any, for the area became blinded with light and they knew what was happening.

Ivalice was being created once more.

* * *

Ritz woke up with a start as she felt her bed feeling very lumpy at the moment. She also felt a bit different. When she finally got up though she was in for a start.

"What the?!" she just let her jaw drop, her body entirely woken up as she realized she was no longer in her bed, no longer in her room but now laying on the grassy floor of a forest and there was absolutely no snow in sight.

"How... how did this..." she muttered until she looked down at herself and saw she was no longer in her nightgown but rather in dark red armor. It was lightweight and had a pink tunic under it, which went past the end of her armor, which only covered her upper body. She wore dark red leggings and dark red shoes. On the ground next to her she could see a green tinted rapier.

"What in the world..." Ritz stopped again as she heard her voice, feeling like it had gotten more mature, as if she had gotten older. Not that much but just so that she wasn't sounding like she was a child. Turning around she saw she was near a lake and she caught her reflection in the water.

She wasn't prepared for the reflection that she saw. It was definitely her, but older.  She looked as old as her brother did now, around seventeen or eighteen years old. She was taller and looking more like a young woman than a girl now. Ritz could hardly believe the change. "I'm... I'm beautiful..." she whispered, just looking at her reflection in the lake.

_How did this happen? I mean where am I now? I'm sure not in my own home and its pretty much impossible to age overnight. So how..._

"GRROOWL!"

Ritz whirled around and saw in distance a growling red panther. Its fangs bared and ready to attack her. She froze in sight of it. _I know that creature! I saw it in the book!_

Her distraction caught up to her, as she saw the red panther leap in the air, now practically on top of her. She had no time to get out of the way at all.

Fortunately, she didn't have to as the beast fell to the ground, an arrow imbedded into its skull.

"Judges aren't around when you need them," a strong feminine voice spoke out.

"Who's there?!" Ritz called out, turning around and looking for the one that had spoken. She found her standing on a tree branch, but she wasn't human. She was a female being that was for certain. Her skin was dark brown, her hair was short white, her eyes were blue and she wore a green tunic with yellow lining as well as a yellow belt. In her hands was a long bow and over her back was quiver of arrows.

But what got Ritz's attention the most was the fact that she had two rabbit ears coming from the top of her head.

_She's... she's just like one of the pictures from the book... but that would mean..._ Ritz froze, daring to believe yet also trying to logically disprove it, that there was no way this could really be happening. Yet here she was. _... my wish... my wish came true! I'm in a different world! A world full of magic and fantasy!_

The rabbit eared woman jumped down and started walking towards Ritz, "Are you alright?"

"I am... just where am I exactly?"

"Nubswood Forest of Ivalice."

"Ivalice... not St. Ivalice?" Ritz asked.

The rabbit woman looked curiously at Ritz, "Is there something wrong?"

_Could it be that the wish affected all of St. Ivalice? Is that why I'm here? Because the real world changed?_ Ritz asked  herself, _If so then that's great! I don't have to worry about all of those rotten jerks at school, no more problems at home...HOME! Serin!!!_ Her eyes went wide as she remembered her brother, _What about Serin! I mean my wish...!!! Oh no! I wished for him to be here, but not with me! He could be anywhere, all alone without anyone to help him and monsters could be after him! I have to find him!_

"Hey, what's wrong?" the mysterious woman asked as she saw Ritz starting to rush off.

"I have to find my brother! I have to..." Ritz didn't get very far as something jumped out of the forest.

"A goblin!" the rabbit eared archer cried out seeing the short, blue clothed monster, but soon heard a growling sound and found another red panther, snarling at the archer. "Its mate most likely. This is why I wish Judges were around when monsters come out. So that they don't end up dying, thus you don't have to have a pack of angry relatives coming for your blood."

"What do we do?" Ritz cried.

"We fight or we die," she returned, "You're a Fencer aren't you. You can use your rapier against the Goblin. I'll take care of the panther."

Ritz felt the rapier in her hands, feeling fear inside of her as the goblin came at her. For the first few moments she just dodged and moved from it. But then she thought of Serin, of him being all alone and possibly even help less in this new world. She knew that she was probably the only one that would know, would even care about him and if she died here...

"No way! I'm not going to lose! Not here not now!" Ritz screamed, her face becoming a mask of anger and wrath as she stared down the goblin. "I have a brother to find and you're in my way. So get the heck out of my way or die!"

The goblin just charged at her, enraging Ritz even further, "Your funeral!" she roared as she charged the monster as well and struck out with her rapier. The two passed each other and then stopped, the goblin several feet behind Ritz. Suddenly, it crumpled to the ground.

Ritz let out a sigh, her tension fading but her awe and surprise was evident on her face. She had never held a weapon before in her entire life. She hadn't even seen a real sword ever. Yet she just used one as if she had been train to use it to fight. She wasn't a master; she wasn't really good; She was just a beginner. She could feel that much. _It's just like the game. You start right off at Level One in your own class._ She turned to face to see how the woman was doing, only to find she had taken care of the panther.

"Are you alright?" she asked Ritz.

"I'm fine, and you?"

"I'm alright," she said with a small smile, "You've been the first real person I've seen in a while now. I'm surprised to see a human working into the Viera job class of a Fencer though."

"Viera? What's a Viera?" Ritz asked.

The woman gave a look to Ritz, "... who are you? You aren't a normal human. You feel different. I can see that much from you, feel that much from you."

"It's a long story, one I really don't have time to explain. I have to find my brother," Ritz said, ready to run but the woman's voice got to her.

"And how do you plan to make it through the land on your own. Do you even know where to search? Do you even know where you are going?" That stopped Ritz's in her tracks. "I'll help you find your brother if you want."

Ritz turned back, her eyes hopeful, "You mean that?"

"I've stayed in these woods long enough. I feel the wind calling to me. Telling me it's time to travel again," The woman showed a slight smirk, "Besides, I've missed having actual company and you look like you could use it just as much as I do. I have a feeling with you, things are going to be very interesting."

"... I don't know what to say..." Ritz muttered, "Except thank you."

"Come on and follow me. We'll need to go to my home first to pick up supplies and then we'll start moving. Head to Cyril or Sprohm to see what the latest news is. That will help us out the most in trying to find your brother." She said to Ritz.

"I hope so." Ritz prayed.

"By the way what's your name?"

"Ritz Malbeur. And yours?"

"Shara. Shara D'lan."

"That's a beautiful name," Ritz said to her new friend. She heard her say thank you, but Ritz was more concerned about only one person. Her brother. _Serin, where are you?_

* * *

On top of a mountain cliff, some distance away, the person that Ritz was thinking of was laying down on the rocky ground. His face looked calm, but it was a calm that was about to break, as for the first time in years, though he himself did not realize that fact yet, Serin Malbeur opened his eyes and cried out, "RITZ!" He sat up and then immediately regretted it as he felt pain over his body. "Oh man... it hurts... what..."

Serin's pain became forgotten as he took in his surroundings and took notice of where he was. "... the mountains... but... I was in the streets. I pushed Ritz out of the way of that car and then... then..." Serin tried to remember what happened next but to his frustration couldn't, "I don't remember a thing... what happened to Ritz? Ritz!"

He tried to get up but that's when he looked at himself and saw what he was wearing. He was now dressed in dark black pants and brown boots. He wore silver blue armor over his upper body but over the armor he wore a black leather coat that was long enough to act like a cape as well.

"How... how did I end up in these clothes?" Serin muttered, "I look like I came out of a Final Fantasy Game... not that that's a bad thing but still..." His voice broke off as he looked into the sky and saw something he couldn't believe.

Coming down near him from the sky was a twenty feet tall, red-scaled dragon. Serin couldn't help but feel fear when the dragon stared at him. Looking as fearsome as he did, when his mouth opened Serin saw all of its teeth flashing.

"No. He's alive, not dead," said a feminine voice, "What have I told you about eating living people? You don't."

The dragon, to Serin's shock, bowed its head and allowed its rider off. Something that surprised Serin even further. Standing only a few feet from him was a female figure dressed in reddish-pink armor, armor that covered every part of her body. There was a white skirt cloth with golden lining that had an emblem of a dragon in the same golden color, and the cloth was attached from her the bottom of her breastplate and went down until it reached her feet. She wore a rich purple cape that was attached to her shoulders. In her right hand was a long wooden spear with a curved metal blade attached to it. Lastly, her face was entirely covered by her helmet, which was shaped to resemble that of a dragon.

Serin knew what she was, she was from one his favorite Final Fantasy character classes, "A Dragoon... but... that's... impossible..." The pain he still felt, coupled with the shocks that he had just been given, caused him to black out but not before saying one final thing, "Ritz..."

Darkness welcomed him.

* * *

The Dragoon looked down upon the young man she had found, unable to tell of his class. _Doesn't look like any of the normal ones I've seen. Then again, I'm not exactly normal myself._  She lifted up her helmet's visor to reveal a purely human face behind it. Red hair tucked inside and a pair of purple eyes that sparkled like amethysts. _Probably the only human to have ever been trained by the Delia Wyrms, best Dragoons in all of Ivalice. I wish I were a Bangaa sometimes. They're better than some humans I know._

Putting thoughts of the past behind her, she lifted the unconscious young man over her shoulder and walked back to her dragon. _It's too much to head back to Delia Dunes, and we don't have a skilled healer there. Delia Wyrms pride themselves in being able to heal on their own power. Muscadet isn't that far away and I think Dinah's staying there helping out her sister with the shop while she's between her Journey Quests. Best plan I've got anyway._

Getting on her dragon and securing the young man as well, the female Dragoon ordered her dragon to take flight and headed for the city of Muscadet.

To Be Continued...