Final Fantasy X and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy X storyline (such as Rayne and Marcus) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.
(Somebody's Watching You)
The next day, they still weren't allowed to cross the blockade. Auron was moody, Yuna was downhearted, Tidus was upset, Lulu was ticked, Wakka was afraid of Lulu, Kimahri was… Kimahri, and Rayne was about to brutally murder the gate guard.
"Listen here, you little worm," She hissed as she grabbed the man's collar and twisted it, effectively cutting of his air supply, making him flail and take a slight purple tint, "There is a little girl over there who is on an important pilgrimage. I don't give a flying malboro if your stupid operation is concerning the defeat of Sin, the summoners are the only way to do it, and you're preventing that. So, just move your little gate, there, and let us through, or I'll—"
"Excuse me."
Rayne spun around and fell right into a partially bare and heavily tattooed chest. Hmm, so those were Celtic lions… 'Wait a minute, bare and tattooed, that means…!'
"W.T.F.H.?!" She stumbled backwards, nearly toppling the man whose neck she still had in a collar choke-hold, but was stopped when the long-fingered half-Guado hands grabbed her shoulders and steadied her.
"Are you alright, Lady Guardian?"
She couldn't conceal a twitch as she partially bowed to the man, "Forgive me, Maester Seymour, I didn't hear you."
He laughed, a sound which made Rayne's stomach writhe uncomfortably, and replied in his creepy-oily-smooth voice, "I can understand why, you seemed to be quite preoccupied with threatening that Crusader. You're still strangling him, by the way…"
Rayne looked at the man and deadpanned when she saw that said Crusader's entire face had turned blue and was foaming slightly. She quickly let go of his collar and stepped to the side, allowing Seymour to walk forward. The man Rayne had strangled tried to talk to the maester, but all that came out were strangled gasps, so another one of the guards stepped forward and spoke.
"Maester Seymour, sir, they're expecting you at the command center."
"Hold," The half-Guado held up his hand, instantly silencing the man, "I have a request. Please allow Lady Yuna and her guardians through to the command center."
"Uh… all of them… Sir?" The man looked at Rayne nervously.
Seymour chuckled, "Yes, all of them."
"B-but…but Sir!—"
"If anything happens, I will personally take responsibility."
"Uh…" The man looked between Seymour and Rayne, then back to Seymour, then back to Rayne. This went on for a few moments, and just as Rayne was about to lash out at the man's throat the guard bowed and muttered hesitantly, "V-very well…"
Seymour nodded and turned back to Yuna, smiling eerily, "It is done."
Yuna bowed, "T-thank you!"
The maester bowed slightly, then turned to Rayne, "Lady Guardian." He then walked through the gate and continued down the path.
Rayne walked over to Yuna, who was still frozen in place, and draped an arm over her shoulders, "You alright, hun?"
The young summoner stared after the maester's entourage for a few moments, then seemed to snap out of a daze and looked at Rayne, nodding and sighing in a hoarse voice, "Yeah."
"He give you the same feeling he gives me?" Rayne asked, noticing slight green tint to Yuna's skin.
Yuna stared at her for a moment, then looked away, "I don't—"
"Hey!" They both looked up to see that the group was already waiting on the other side of the blockade. Wakka waved at them, "You commin'?"
Rayne let out a stressed haggard sigh, waving back at the ex-blitzer sharply, "In a moment, Wakka!" She then turned to her ward, "We'll talk more about this at another time. Ready?" Yuna nodded and walked beside Rayne, head lowered and eyes cast to the ground.
When they caught up with the group, Wakka frowned at them, "What were you talkin' about, eh?"
Rayne growled and glared at the orange-haired guardian, "We were discussing the effect of the entropy of the universe when it comes to the subject matter of the impeccable timing of your interruptions, Wakka."
"Eh?" They all looked at her confusedly.
She rolled her eyes and walked passed them, "High school science and literature classes really never leave you."
They stared after her, then exchanged glances. They then turned to Auron, who shrugged, "There are things about her life before Besaid that we may never understand." A collective sigh, then they walked after her.
When they arrived at the cliffs, Wakka had a conniption at the sight of Al Bhed, Crusaders, Chocobo Knights, and Al Bhed machina moving around. After speaking with several people, Rayne was beginning to get the general idea of what was going down, and she didn't like it. She walked over to Auron, cracking her knuckles.
"I don't like the feeling of this…"
He nodded and they listened when Seymour walked over and spoke, both of them glaring at the half-Guado. When he walked away, Rayne started cracking her knuckles again, growling, "I like the feeling of this even less than before. Is he really getting at what I think he's getting at?"
Auron snorted, "Probably."
Rayne stared at him, then sighed and turned away, "You know, if you know what's going on, you could at least clue me in every now and then. I figure you owe me a few explanations, anyway."
"What's wrong, don't like putting the clues together? And here I thought you liked stories."
She turned and glared at him, "If you haven't noticed, this is more than just a story, Auron. It has been to me for the past ten years. It's become personal."
He walked passed her, "Don't get in too deep. There will come a time when you'll have to wake up and realize that it's time to go home."
She stared after him, "Am I not awake now?" But she didn't receive an answer, Auron walked out of hearing range. She sighed and walked after the group.
Home… Was home really back in the world where Spira was just a game? Or was home here… in Spira… on Besaid… where she had spent the past ten years, growing both in body, age, and mind. She had never really belonged in Spira… But… after spending ten years in a foreign world, changing… did she really belong back on Earth?
Michael stared at the paused game, teeth digging into a tuna sandwich. He had been playing the game nonstop for several hours, and his stomach had finally gotten the better of him. Which was probably a good thing, seeing as he needed to digest the story line as much as he needed to digest food.
So far, what he had seen of the character 'Rayne' seemed to match his sister fairly well, save a few small details. Though this probably should have given him some measure of joy, it scared him. He had finally found his sister, but she was stuck in the game… and it was his fault. If he hadn't insisted on forcing her to play, she wouldn't be there, ten years older than she should be and battle worn.
As he played, he noticed that the game was focused on the young male character from Zanarkand, Tidus. All of the screens focused on him, he was the one narrating the story, and there wasn't a single cut-scene that he wasn't in. Well… save a few, all of which were strategically placed in the game.
And… save one other… the last cut-scene he had watched before he paused it and ate. The cut-scene the featured his sister following the party, lost in thought. …The game had played her thoughts out loud, and Michael had heard the character's doubts of belonging on Earth. That should have been the last straw, the final nail in the coffin, the deciding factor, the finishing touch, the end of the line for Michael's doubts. He figured that that was where he was supposed to believe, fully and wholly, that the character 'Rayne' was his Rayne. But he remained skeptical.
After all, his Rayne couldn't use magic. His Rayne never would have been able to do half of the things this one did. His Rayne was quiet, timid, and impulsive. His Rayne never would have been able to threaten anyone she didn't know. And, above all, his Rayne hadn't been missing for ten years. If she really had been sucked into the game, his Rayne wouldn't have existed there ten years before the actual in-game story line.
The phone rang, snapping Michael out of his daze. He stuffed the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and crawled over to the receiver, grabbing the phone and pressing the 'Talk' button as he put it to his ear.
"Hmph?"
"Ugh! Michael, honey, that is so gross! Swallow before you speak!"
Michael coughed and swallowed, smiling as he brought the phone back to his mouth and rasped, "Hey, Heather. How are you?"
He could hear her smile back as she laughed and replied, "I'm great. So, what're you doing? Everyone's going to the movies to see that new horror flick, and I was wondering if you wanted to come?"
Michael's eyes flicked to the TV and he reluctantly said, "Sorry, babe, I can't. I've got… something important going on."
Hearing his tone, Heather quietly asked, "Mike, is something wrong? You haven't been out a lot lately, and I'm a bit worried."
Michael pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, Heather. It's just… there's a lot going on right now, and—"
"Is this about the… well… the 'Rayne' thing?"
He scrunched his face and hit his head with his fist. When he had begun his search for anyone who remembered his sister, Heather had been one of the first ones he had asked. Heather and his sister hadn't exactly been the best of friends, but they had been around each other a long time, so he figured that if anyone would remember, she would. Of course, she hadn't, and she had been worried about him ever since.
"Mike? Michael?"
Michael shook his head and said in a falsely cheery tone, "No, Heath, this has nothing to do with the 'Rayne' thing. I've just got a lot of work right now, for school and for Dad, and I have to have it done before he gets back."
He heard her sigh, "Alright, Michael."
He flinched at her dejected tone and quickly said, "But I promise, as soon as I get a bit ahead, I'll spend time with you. Just you and me, none of the guys or the girls. We'll go see a movie, or I'll take you to a nice restaurant. You've heard of that new place, Le Chateau, right?"
She sighed again, though this time it was a bit lighter, and she laughed slightly, "Alright, Mike, alright. Go back to whatever you're doing, and I'll let you get your work done. I will hold you to your promise, though!"
He laughed at her 'threatening' tone and replied, "Don't worry, babe, I'll keep my promise. Bye."
"Bye." Dial tone.
Michael stared at the phone and listened to the mind numbing dial tone, "Heather, Rayne was really my twin sister and I've found her. She's stuck inside of the game Final Fantasy X." Hah! Yeah, right! As if he could have told her that?! He didn't even have the balls to tell her he had blown her off to play a game; he had to lie and say he was working on stuff for his dad!
He sighed and stared at the TV screen, "Rayne, that had better be you."