Misplaced
By: Rikkoshaye
Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim to own any of the characters in Final Fantasy X, or anything Final Fantasy related. Do not sue me, unless you want a moldy cookie and a few pennies.
Updated August 8th, 2007
- - - - -
- Revelations -
"I am here... beware..."
Sucking in quickly my eyes snapped open, my torso rising with my quick heartbeats. A cold sweat covered my skin and my hands shook, a remnant of fear circulating in my gut. I waited slowly for my breathing to slow, as a headache began to throb dully at the back of my head.
"That was odd..." I said, putting a hand to my head as soon as the fear melted away. Looking over to the window I saw early morning light filtering through the blinds, the clock flashing 7:01. "Why am I on the floor again?" I asked no one in particular, cracking my stiff neck. As the film from my eyes began to clear I looked over into my nook.
"Holy. Shit."
Rising quickly I looked down at Rikku, who was laying on her stomach and drooling onto the floor. One bare foot stuck up into the air as she mumbled, shifting a little. Now I remembered why I was sleeping on the floor. And pinching myself proved I wasn't dreaming.
"Mmmm... yeah..."
Looking to my right I saw Lulu, clad in an over shirt of mine that was just a little too small. Tucked around her was my comforter, leaving Yuna shivering on the other side of the bed.
"Huh, Lulu, a cover-hog. Who would have guessed?" I giggled a little, taking my own blanket and placing it over Yuna. Opening my bedroom door I frowned as it caught on Tidus's shin, which was poking out of his bunched-up pants. 'Man does he have hairy legs...' I thought, grimacing.
Looking up I saw Tidus's hands latched around Wakka's waist, face buried into Wakka's exposed stomach. Every time Tidus exhaled a smile fluttered onto Wakka's face. I figured it must tickle.
Yeah, that was it.
Stepping over both of them I turned the hall corner, entering the room I had first found my seven 'guests' in. A pang of sadness touched my heart as I saw the broken remains of my PS2 littering the floor, the carpet scorched and black.
Kimahri was sleeping next to the remains, curled in a feline position. His tail thumped softly against the floor as one hand loosely gripped his curled legs, the other stuck out at an odd angle. He looked peaceful and happy, much unlike his usual stoic demeanor.
Looking to my right I saw a pile of weapons, including a couple swords, a doll, a spear, a ball, a staff, and a weird machine-like contraption.
"Ah, so that's where they went..." Stepping around the weapons I saw a few sheaths as well, and other weapon-holding equipment. Smiling a little I remembered wondering where the team kept there 'tools' out of battles. Right with them, so it seemed.
Finally noticing a shadow that covered some of the weapons, I looked up to a window that faced the rising sun. And there, of course, was Auron.
"Hey, what are you doing up so early?" I asked, walking up and placing my elbows on the windowsill next to him. The window was open, the morning breeze making his hair sway slightly, and goose bumps rise on my arms. Without even turning to look at me he spoke, voice steady.
"I should ask you the same thing."
Smiling a little I turned and looked out at the sunrise, red and orange with clouds floating across lazily.
"It's beautiful." Auron nodded, closing his eye.
"It is."
Watching him I saw a sad, lonely look pass his face briefly. My heart went out for the man, in a sympathetic way. In his world he was loved, famous, practically even worshiped. But in a sense he was more alone then anyone could ever imagine.
Turning his head slightly he looked at me, glasses flashing in the morning sun. He seemed to be studying me, thinking about something and placing me into his thoughts. I shuffled my feet, looking away.
"Last night, you said something..." I looked up and saw him looking back out the window, head turned toward me slightly. "...something about a game."
Brow furrowing I racked my thoughts, brain still a little foggy from waking up. Then it hit me.
"Oh, that? No I screwed up. I meant pilgrimage." Laughing a little I felt my face grow hot. I hoped Auron didn't notice.
"I disagree."
Turning to look at me I saw his one eye slit, glasses flashing once again. He and caught me, and he knew it. Mumbling I looked back out the window, a gust of wind pushing my hair back.
"Well, if I told you, I doubt you would believe me. Hell, I certainly wouldn't, in your situation." There was a short pause as Auron seemed to think, breathing in the morning air.
"A fact does not need to be believed for it to be true." Looking at him sideways my brow furrowed.
"Are you saying you won't believe me?"
The pause was longer this time, and I watched a cloud turn colors as it drifted across the sky as he contemplated his answer.
"I have known many facts that are thought to be lies."
Looking at him oddly I dropped my elbows from the windowsill, studying his stoic face.
"What kind of answer is that?" He smirked, glasses flashing.
"A good one."
Laughing I walked into the middle of the room, pausing by the pile of weapons. Plopping down on the ground I ran a finger around what could only be Auron's blade, the shininess and sharpness surprising me. It was apparent that this man cared for his weapons deeply.
"Well, you see..." A shadow dulled the weapons as Auron stepped closer, his bare feet making surprisingly little noise. Sitting down cross-legged next to me he grabbed his sword with his hands, flipping around slowly while bringing it into the light.
"Go on."
Nodding I continued. "You see, in our world... Well, my world, I suppose. Anyway, in my world, there are these things... things..." Auron stopped fingering his sword and looked at me, brow arching. I swallowed, and began running my finger around Tidus's sword, which was rusted at the corners and not nearly as shiny.
"On Earth, there are these things we call video games. They are played on a TV, and the person who plays them gets to control one character in the game. The games are never real, and are created of data and numbers and pixels." I said this all very fast, looking over at Auron who had his stoic mask firmly in place. "Are you getting any of this?" Auron nodded.
"They had similar things in Zanarkand." Raising my eyebrows I 'ooohed,' nodding once or twice.
"That's right, you went to Zanarkand after you died, didn't you?" Visibly flinching Auron looked back toward the window, setting his sword down on his lap gently. Grimacing I knew I had touched something deep inside that still hurt. And perhaps he was not ready to talk about it yet.
"Uh, anyway, the story of Zanarkand, of Spira and Yuna's journey to defeat Sin is... well, this might sound a little odd, but it is a video game in our world." I saw Auron's head turn toward me slightly.
"I have heard... worse." His voice was tender, quiet. I continued, looking at the sun as it shined through the window.
"And, I have finished this video game. Multiple times. I... well, in a sense, I know your future." Lifting a corner of my mouth in a half-hearted smile I looked at him, hoping for some sort of response. What I got wasn't exactly what I expected.
"So, in Zanarkand..." I nodded, looking away.
"I know everything." Auron said nothing, still keeping his gaze averted from mine. After a few minutes of this I began feeling a little uncomfortable and stood, planning on going and checking on how the others were faring.
"Wait." Looking down I saw Auron slowly turn to face me, eyes still hidden behind his glasses. "Promise me-" I smiled a little, stopping him in the middle of his sentence.
"Don't worry. I won't tell them anything." A half smile touched Auron's lips.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
- -
Listening to the mechanized ringing sound I waited for someone, anyone to pick up. The house was quiet, besides Auron's light footsteps as he paced the kitchen. Biting my lip I hoped that Tony was home; though he was the weirdest of my friends, he was the only person I knew that even had the chance of believing my story. Unfortunately, without any idea of what to do with my new-found guests, asking him for advice was the only option I could think of.
"Hello?" A yawn emanated from the other side of the machine, and I looked over at the clock. Grimacing I noticed it was only 8:12.
"Hey, Tony?" I waited as another large yawn came rumbling through the phone.
"You woke me up. YOU WOKE ME UP!!!" Rolling my eyes I waited as Tony's sarcastic fit flew by my ear, sighing into the phone.
"Hey, Tony, your not gunna believe this..."
"Yeah, but you WOKE ME UP!! ARGHHH!!!" Holding the phone away from my ear I clenched my teeth as Tony yelled again, ending in his choppy laughter. His unusually high voice was not helping my headache, and I wasn't in the mood for his regular weirdness.
"Tony, come on, I really need to talk to you. It's serious!"
"Oh, serious huh? Huh? HUH?" Growling I yanked the phone away from my ear and shoved it next to my mouth, breathing deeply.
"TONY! I HAVE A SITUATION HERE! IF YOU DON'T CUT THE SHIT I WILL NEVER LET YOU COME OVER AND PLAY GRAND THEFT AUTO EVER AGAIN!!!!!" Placing the phone back onto my ear I heard Auron's footsteps slow, and I looked over at him. Eyebrow raised he looked at me over his glasses, chuckling a little to himself. Rolling my eyes I switched my attention back to the phone, as Tony began to talk again.
"Okay, fine, be that way. Humph." I clenched my teeth as he kept up his sarcastic act, trying to keep my anger at bay.
"Okay, you aren't going to believe this, but you know FFX?" I waited as Tony thought for a second.
"Yeah…?"
"And you know the people in FFX?"
"OH! OH! You mean... wait, I have the name here... Tidus is one of them, right?" Clenching an eye I looked off into space, confused by his oblivious answers.
"Tony, have you ever even played FFX?"
"Well, I saw my friend Jake play it..." Slapping my forehead I ran my hand down my face, moaning loudly.
"You've played every other Final Fantasy game! Why not this one?" Hearing a mad 'humph' from the other side of the line Tony's voice became serious, as it always did when he launched into his life problems.
"Sara. I have been grounded off the computer for 2 years. I have had my games taken away for even longer. What makes you think I would even have a console to play the game on?" Moaning again into the phone I racked my brain for another idea, but came up with nothing.
"Hey Sara, why are you calling me so early about Final Fantasy X? I mean, is it important or anything? What does it have to do with me?" Sighing I slumped down into the living room couch, shaking my head. "Never mind, it's not a big deal. Sorry for waking you up Tony, I hope you have a good rest of the day…"
- - - - -
Oh no! Tony was a flop! Will I find another contact for my FFX dilemma? What will happen when my other six guests finally wake up? And what about my grandma? We shall find out, after a few messages...
Rikkoshaye