Author's note: It's about time we had a little decent romance in here, eh? Leave it to Mint to punch a guy before she kisses him, ha ha!
I also forgot about the URL, in the last chapter, sorry it'll be at the bottom, this time I swear! Visit the site for plenty of goodies!
"you know, I really think I need a break from this pilgrimage" sighed Rick.
"shut up, you only became a guardian today" snapped Jecht.
"he's sorta right, we all need a rest, ya" said Chappu.
"I agree, I need to get away from the real world for a little while" said Lexi.
"and we ARE on the farplane" added Shinra.
"it's the prefect spot to get away from it all!" exclaimed Evie.
"this place is pretty nice" said Leif. "I'll bet it's loaded" muttered Rick.
"This is a place of peace!" shouted Evie as she hit Rick over the head with her staff.
"Whatever, common Evie, you and I can watch my video sphere" said Lexi.
"Hey, girl talk? Na-uh." Interrupted Tidus. What a bold move. Both girls frowned.
"He means that both of you girls are gonna talk about us, we don't like that" said Leif.
"It's a free world. I can talk about whatever I want" replied Lexi.
"And we can just as easily gossip on or off the farplane" added Evie, laughing.
"Well, then different groups this time, ok?" said Tidus.
"Whose gonna pick the groups?" asked Leif.
"Sir Auron can!" said Lexi. "Hmmm?" asked the nearby ghost.
"Split us into chunks, ya" said Chappu. "Carefully what you say Chap, he might think you mean to cut us up with his blade" whispered Rick. Chappu swallowed hard.
"Alright, you and you" he said pointing to Lexi and Shinra.
"The chicken-shit, summoner and the wakka look-a-like with Tidus" he finished.
"YOU… come with me" he added grabbing Rick by the collar of his shirt.
"Why take him?" asked Lexi. Auron clubbed Rick in the head with his empty liquor bottle. "That'll teach you to steal my sake!" he shouted and carried Rick off.
"Ehh… makes sense ya?" said Chappu. "Not really…." Said Leif.
"Where are you kids off to?" asked Braska. The crew looked at each other. Then all at once took off in random directions in the small groups Auron had divided them into.
--change scene—
"whoo… what a rush" said Tidus stopping to catch his breath.
"ya…." sighed Chappu. "you know, for blitzers… we're both kinda out of shape" said Tidus. Chappu shook his head.
"no, I just gotta quit smoking ya?" he laughed. Tidus raised an eyebrow.
"I was only kidding ya?" Chappu laughed again.
--change scene--
Leif walked through the fields and looked at all of the flowers, Evie was nearby picking a few bunches and sniffing them as she went.
"Evie," Leif said, watching her.
"Yes?" Evie answered with a smile on her face.
"Why did you choose to be a summoner?"
"that's easy Leif, I wanted to rid the world of Sin..."
"Sure, but...WHY did you REALLY become a summoner?"
"to be the planet protector, and saving all the people is a bonus for me..." Evie smiles and continues with her flower picking.
"you're a tree hugger..." Leif laughed and watched her.
--change scene--
Lexi was running up and down the feild as Shinra walked, and watched her. chuckling as she tripped every once and a while.
"hey, careful, you might bruise some-" Shinra started as he watched Lexi run faster. Also, tripping halfway through the sentence.
"hey!" Shinra ran over to her, "are you ok?" She groaned with a smile and a little chuckle.
Shinra sat next to her, laughing. she gazed up at the big moon, Shinra seemed to have just noticed it.
"hm.... how could you NOT see that?" Lexi asked him noticing his mild surprise. He shrugged.
"Would it have anything to do with a certain summoner that I know?" she asked. Shinra nodded reluctantly.
"It's got me worried that since she has to choose between me and the rest of Spira. And that she might not choose me in the long run." he replied.
"Well, I know that she LIKES you, but I dunno if she can find a way to work it all out. I'd miss her too and I don't want a repeat of my mom's pilgrimmage" Lexi said and shuddered.
"Yeah, Yuna told me that summoner's had it rough. She told me that she never wanted you to go through all that. That you deserved better" Shinra said.
"But the Guado dude... he said my mother...." Lexi mumbled.
"Yuna what?" Shinra asked. "That I was to receive that rare sphere only if I became a summoner" she said.
"Yuna hated the Guado after all they caused and they hated her... I don't know what to think, and Yuna was happy to see you become a blitzer"
Lexi laughed, "Yeah, mom always loved blitzball and she supported me.... as much as someone like her can" Lexi said. Shinra nodded slowly.
"Lexi.... what's the deal with you and Tidus?" Shinra asked.
"I like blitzers..." Lexi laughed, "but I'm not so sure, he really loved mom and I don't wanna mess that up"
"Yuna's not happy with Virak, but you think she's too afraid to try again?"
"How should I know? All this thinking is hurting my head Shinra, stop" Lexi laughed. Shinra laughed too.
"so, lets watch that sphere..." She smiled at him.
"what?" Shinra asked,
"the sphere, lets watch it..."
"yours first," He answered, smiling.
"mine is a black mage sphere..." She answered, giggling.
"no, one's a dress sphere, but you have a video sphere too, i know auron gave you one" he replied.
"oh, ok. But let's watch that one later. I wanna watch your sphere first" she said.
"okay, okay," shinra grabbed his sphere, pressed play.
--change scene--
"Tidus, why do you want to go back to Aunt Yunie, ya?" Chappu asked as the two slowly began strolling along the flower field.
"huh? what kind of question is THAT Chappu?" Tidus exclaimed, looking at him oddly.
"well, aren't you having fun with us?" he asked again, placing his hands in his pockets.
"...well...yeah I'm having a blast...but..."
"but what, ya?" Chappu looked at him, with pleading eyes. he really wanted to know. what was in the past that could be worth going back for?
Tidus was shocked. He just suddenly realized that he didn't know what he was going back for.
--Change Scene--
Rick groaned and sat up, all he remembered was being clubbed by Aurons sake bottle. He gazed at his surroundings.
'flower, flower, flower, Auron, flower, flower, flower.' Rick took a second glance to Auron. He was angry.
"oh...shit...no..." Rick scrambled to get up. Dirt, stones and flowers scattering as Rick tried to run.
"Come back here you no good al-bhed!" Auron shouted and threw the empty sake bottle at Rick's head. bulls-eye. Rick fell to the ground. Auron walked over to him and picked him up by his collar.
"let go! let go!" Rick scrambled to get out of the grasp.
"you sound like your cousin..." Auron said calmly, but you could tell he was getting annoyed.
"what?! that freak of nature?! no way!" Rick stopped squirming, the two glared at eachother.
--change scene--
"what about you?" Evie asked Leif, as she sat down in the dirt weaving flowers together.
"what do you mean what about me?" Leif asked with a smile.
"well, you're not like Rick who's trying to find a girlfriend...well...whos trying to ...oh just forget him...and you're not like Chappu who can't wait to play blitzball in Luca...or even like Shinra who wants to help save spira, or Tidus who wants to find his way back, then there's Lexi who wants to run away from Virak...what are you doing on this journey?" Evie asked.
Leif didn't know, all the things they've been through together...the whole gang. they each had a purpose, not counting Rick. They were on this journey to run, to find or to protect. what was Leif here for? was he just baggage?
Evie awaited her answer as she continued weaving.
"I...don't..." Leif couldn't finished his sentence. it was always the guys and Lexi. wether they were playing blitzball, fighting, practicing, laughing, crying...they never had a purpose. thier purpose was with eachother, right?
Leif sighed and flopped himself down, beside Evie, staring out to the distance thinking.
--change Scene--
Lexi and Shinra gazed into the sphere, watching.
The scene was blurry and was breaking up everyonce and a while, but you could tell what was going on.
A Man sat ontop of a large machine with a vaccum at the front. He was dressed in a dark blue suit.
"hey, i can make that easy!!" Shinra smiled proudly, Lexi laughed. The Camera went into a close up on the man, it was Shinra, but older.
he seemed about in his late 20s or early 30s. Lexi and Shinra gawked.
He buckled his seatbelt, and took hold of two joysticks. His thumb pressed a red button on top of the right joystick, and the machine began shaking. a bright glowly green aura flowed through the vaccum.
The scene moved back and they were in the far plane, the older Shinra was sucking energy from the far plane.
Outside at the Gate, a 60 year old Rin was paying Shinra millions of gil, for that energy.
"Your business will explode, Shinra...you'll have the power... but be careful, there's no telling what kind of monsters are out on the farplane"
There was a little interferrence in between and then another shot of Shinra at a desk in the middle of a huge office in a huge building.
"Evie... why did I have to lose you...? Now look at what I've become" he sighed and mumbled something else before turning to the window. The air outside was grey and the sky was black. Buildings covered the ground.
"Neo-midgar... I'll find the promised land Evie, I've found the last ancient and then we can be together again" he said sadly to himself. A scrawny man in a blue suit with short black hair entered the office.
"Sir, you're meeting will begin shortly. Hojo will also attend and update us on the subject's condition. Sir... this new mako idea isn't going to heal Midgar." he asked.
"Shut up Reeve. When I want your opinion I'll ask for it" Shinra snapped back. "President, this young girl is not an animal, she's an ancient... a truly rare thing of beauty and I think-"
"shut up Reeve! Don't lecture me about the ancients, i know all about them and Jenova. I first found that stinking virus on the Farplane of all places, she brought me... HERE..." Shinra said, cursing Jenova.
"Sir.. the meeting.... I hope that new Neo-Midgar works out to whatever you have planned" Reeve squeaked.
"I don't care for the people of the slums like you do Reeve. I admire that in you. Before I leave for the meeting, tell me, have you ever heard of the keystone?..."
The screen on the sphere flickered once more and then shut off, the two gazed at eachother. Lexi with hurt in her eyes, 'Why would Shinra do all that...?' was the only thought in her head.
--Change scene--
Chappu and Tidus kept walking silently, no words spoken. just the gentil sounds of thier feet brushing against the flowers.
"Shinra and Lexi, ya?" Chappu said, smiling, pointing ahead.
"yah, hey, why are they so quiet..." Tidus squinted trying to get a good look.
"they don't seem very happy, ya?"
"yah...c'mon let's find out whats going on..." Tidus said and they began walking towards them.
--change scene--
"are you okay?" Evie asked, with a smile.
"yeah, let's get going. Everyone might be heading back already." Leif stood up brushing off his shorts.
"yah, you're probably right." Evie smiled and stood up, holding her wreath.
Leif smiled, and took it from her. and placed it on her head.
"honor the most wonderful summoner. She will be the one to defeat sin." Leif bowed, and Evie laughed. they began walking back to where they had started.
--change scene--
Rick and Auron still had thier staring contest. Neither of them blinking knowing that it would be thier last. (well Rick anyway)
"My...eyes...burn..." Rick said, trying so hard not to blink. Tears swell up and he blinked. Auron sneered at him and dropped him on the ground.
"Go on, get out of here. Your friends will leave soon" he said. Rick wiped hids eyes and took off as fast as he could. Blood shot eyes wouldn't stop him from findind him friends.
"stupid dead guy... bet he died from an overdose" rick mumbled to himself as he took off down the hill. Auron overheard him and couldn't help but laugh.
--change scene--
Shinra slowly got to his feet, he stood swaying slightly for a moment then turned away from Lexi.
"I don't know what any of that means" he sighed.
"It's what will happen to you if Evie dies fighting Sin" answers Lexi.
"That means she will be the one to face Sin... and deafeat it" Shinra said softly.
"There's gotta be a way to do it, mom...Yuna did it, so Evie can" urged Lexi.
"I need to go talk to Auron... and maybe Evie. I need answers Lexi" he said. Lexi walked beside him.
"I want answers too Shinra, I'm worried about what will happen. I wanna face sin but-" she said.
"Hoy!!!!!!!!" shouted a voice from afar. It was Chappu. Lexi turned to see him and Tidus walking casually over.
"Stay here Lexi. I'll see you all in a bit" Shinra said, forcing out a smile. Lexi nodded.
"Hey Chappu!" she shouted back, running anf jumping onto him, he fell over. "You're too big for this, ya?" Lexi giggled. The boys never noticed Shinra had walked away.
--change scene--
"hey look Evie, there's the rest of the gang" said Leif pointing to the bottom of the hill where almost everyone was, Evie noticed Shinra was missing.
"you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you" she said to Leif smiling.
"I can't lose you now Evie, I'm your guardian now... it's a duty i guess" laughed Leif, Evie giggled.
"Call me a privacy hog... I'll catch up don't worry" she assured him. Leif nodded and ran down the hill toward the others. Evie spead down the opposite side, over by where she saw Shinra walking amunst the flowers.
--change scene--
Leif arrived to where the others were and was greeted with the usual warm smiles and jokes.
"what took you so long?" laughed Lexi tossing her black mage sphere in the air and catching it over and over again.
"it's not hard to get lost on the farplane, this place is huge" replied Leif.
"whew, you're telling me, and there's nothing to steal either, except flowers" said a voice from behind Leif. It was Rick.
"Rick... are you crying?" asked Tidus squinting at him. Rick recoiled and yelled, "huh?! no way!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" laughed everyone, Rick's eyes had obviously been watering, but not from crying, from the staring contest.
"alright, i tried" he sighed. It was no use trying to explain it to them, they were all too narrow-minded.
"so.... anyone wanna watch that video sphere Lexi got?" asked Tidus casually.
"Lexi got video sphere, ya?" asked Chappu looking from one person to the next to total confusion.
"Yessssss... let's watch it" Lexi exclaimed jumping up and down.
"Not until Evie gets here" said leif crossing his arms. There was a sea of dumbfounded faces.
"where is she?" asked rick raising an eyebrow.
"she...... she was right behind me" stuttered Leif spinning around in circles.
"leif is a bad guardian, ya?" laughed Chappu, everyone else laughed along with him.
"she'll be ok, if i know Evie.. she followed Shinra" said Lexi with confidence.
"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Leif, still confused. Lexi shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. But it's the FARPLANE guys... common! Nothing can happen here."
"Well, i DID get beat up by Auron" said Rick laughing and scratching his head. "Yeah, but your dumb" shot Lexi. Everyone laughed again.
"Naw, I"ll bet it's ok. Yuna used to do that all the time. I guess it's a summoner thing." said Tidus casually. The group all agreed and pushed play on the video sphere.
--change scene--
Shinra trudged thru the field, each passing flower reminding him of what his future self had said. It all shocked him beyond words and scared him when he thought of confronting Evie about it.
"what in the world is neo-midgar anyways?" he mumbled to himself and he held the sphere tightly in his hand. A light brushing sound came up from behind him and something light dropped down on his head. He reached up to touch... flowers.
"Hey there" said Evie coming up beside him. He slowly took the flower wreath off his head and looked at it sadly.
"What's wrong?" she asked going in front of him. The walking stopped. "We both have to go see Auron" he said.
"Maybe we won't have you. Tell me what's bothering you" she said. Shinra sighed. "Evie, what's an ancient?" he asked. Her hand shot up tp cover her mouth. "Oh dear.." she breathed.
"Tell me" he said anxiously." Evie hesitated a bit before she spoke. "It's ummm.... it's complicated. And it doesn't have anything to do with me fighting Sin" she replied and shrugged.
"Evie.. maybe you should watch this sphere" he said slowly handing it to her, she reluctantly took it and pushed play.
--change scene--
Elder Millad and about a dozen Guado guards stormed onto the Farplane, looking for the summoner's party that they had met earlier. They all looked seriously pissed off.
"What are you doing on the farplane?" snapped Auron as he appeared not far from the Guado soliders and Millad. The Elder frowned and yelled "Tell us where those pesky kids have gone!"
Auron laughed out loud and then disappeard while he said "I feel sorry for the soldiers that you send to go after those kids".
--change scene--
Lexi's sphere started up and there was Yuna and her friends standing before a dying Yunalesca. She was lecturing them about something in a tired, yet passionate voice.
"There has to be another way to defeat sin!!!" shouted Tidus. Yunalesca shook her head, mumbling something more and disappeared into a shower of pyreflies.
"Holy....he killed Yunalesca?" asked Leif in shock. Tidus recoiled and scratched the back of his head. He nodded slowly.
"You bastard, ya?" said Chappu. Lexi giggled, "Cool.... I mean, you guys kicked the crap out of goddess" Tidus laughed.
"dude... that's not funny" snapped Leif. Tidus shrugged and rick punch him in the stomache "you just rid the world of one incredibly hot chick! goddess or not, it was a great loss!" exclaimes rick.
Tidus buckled onto his knees and moaned in pain, he remembered all they went thru as they fought Yunalesca, heer messed up zombie attacks and how weird it was to not know why you have to kill someone.
"shhhh.. stop your whining, there's more on this sphere" said Lexi, nudging Tidus with her knee.
There was Auron showing Tidus a sphere of himself taking a last request of Jecht... Yes,it is was a video sphere of a video sphere. It showed that there had to be another way to defeat sin. without the final aeon, or losing the summoner.
This was a shorter portion of the sphere, it was fuzzy and you couldnt understand much of the dialouge, but... it was vlear that there had to be a way.
"Yu Yevon...." mumbled Tidus. Everyone looked at him in confusion, waiting impatiently for the rest of the sentence. But there was only silence.
" you wanna share the rest of that meaningless sentence with us or are we gonna have to hire a private investigator?" asked rick. Tidus snapped out of some kind of dat dream.
"I don't really remember... let's go see Auron." he said. EVeryone moaned. They were going to have to find that old ghost all over again.
--change scene--
By the time Evie had finished watching the sphere, she was in tears. "Why?" she squeaked. Shinra looked down and said, "because when yuo fight sin you die.. and I don't wanna lose you Evie" he said. "Boys and Aeons don't mix" she said lifting his head with her hand.
"I know, but as I said in Moonflow.. you know" he said, getting redder. "You didn't say much, and you didn't have to" she leaned forward and pecked Shinra on the lips. He laughed soflty and looked back into the video sphere.
"Just... what IS an ancient?" he asked. Evie took and deep breath and replied, "I'm an ancient and I got here through the farplane, from one thousand years ago. That place you saw in the sphere, that's where I'm from. Ancients are everywhere and we protect the planet from all kinds of danger"
"danger like sin?" he asked. She nodded "yeah. it's not all that complicated, tidus came ahead one thousand years and so did i, but the only difference is that... I never planned on returning home." she said. "why save spira?" he asked.
"spira is young and it has so much left in it, my world... even though there are many ancients left... there are more humans. And we're dyinf out... maybe you went thru the farplane to my home to find me.... but more ahead" she added.
"I would miss you so muc if you died, and I would find... that land thing." Shinra mumbled, tossing his words around. "The promised land, it's a place of energy, I suppose you would look there but if i died here.. I dunno wut would happen, but I know I can count on Tidus for another way to deafeat sin"
Shinra nodded and said, "I'll bet Auron knows more about the final summoning than Tidus does... I mean, Aron's dead" he said . Evie laughed and nodded. Shinra lead her by the hand to go and find Auron.
--change scene--
Our "other" heroes wandered hoplessly around the farplane, trying to find the place that they had started. Calling out Auron's name as they went and pausing to argue every now and then. But Guado guards were closing in and surrounding them. Did they even notice? Nope.
"We're lost" whined Leif dragging his feet thru the soft soil.
"hmm... when i get a girfeind... girlfreind....uhhh..." began Chappu. "Girlfriend?" asked Rick. Chappu nodded stupidly.
"Yeah, when I get a girlfriend ya... I"m gonna bring her here" he said happily. everyone paused.. chappu with a girlfriend... Hey, it could happen.
"Why would you bring her here?" asked Leif. "'cause, it's the farplane, it's kinda romantic and there ain't no place in spira like it." answered Lexi.
"Hm... Macalania is pretty romantic too" said Tidus. EVeryone looked at him. "been there with a girl lately?" asked Rick. Tidus shook his head. "Well... there was this one time with Yuna that we-"
"save it! I do't wanna hear it blondie!" exclaimed Lexi running ahead. Leif and Rick follwed close behind. Chappu walked at a steady pace along side Tidus. "You gonna tell me or what, ya?" he asked.
Tidus was slightly startled but began to tell the story. Chappu.. seeing as how he wasn't remotely related to Yuna, he could stomache Tidus kissing story.
Fast Forward Site (yeah it's on geocities.... go us! Whooooo! and it's updated everytime we add a new chapter so check bak, review and sign the guestbook!)
www.geocities.com/fast_forward_fiction/
I also forgot about the URL, in the last chapter, sorry it'll be at the bottom, this time I swear! Visit the site for plenty of goodies!
"you know, I really think I need a break from this pilgrimage" sighed Rick.
"shut up, you only became a guardian today" snapped Jecht.
"he's sorta right, we all need a rest, ya" said Chappu.
"I agree, I need to get away from the real world for a little while" said Lexi.
"and we ARE on the farplane" added Shinra.
"it's the prefect spot to get away from it all!" exclaimed Evie.
"this place is pretty nice" said Leif. "I'll bet it's loaded" muttered Rick.
"This is a place of peace!" shouted Evie as she hit Rick over the head with her staff.
"Whatever, common Evie, you and I can watch my video sphere" said Lexi.
"Hey, girl talk? Na-uh." Interrupted Tidus. What a bold move. Both girls frowned.
"He means that both of you girls are gonna talk about us, we don't like that" said Leif.
"It's a free world. I can talk about whatever I want" replied Lexi.
"And we can just as easily gossip on or off the farplane" added Evie, laughing.
"Well, then different groups this time, ok?" said Tidus.
"Whose gonna pick the groups?" asked Leif.
"Sir Auron can!" said Lexi. "Hmmm?" asked the nearby ghost.
"Split us into chunks, ya" said Chappu. "Carefully what you say Chap, he might think you mean to cut us up with his blade" whispered Rick. Chappu swallowed hard.
"Alright, you and you" he said pointing to Lexi and Shinra.
"The chicken-shit, summoner and the wakka look-a-like with Tidus" he finished.
"YOU… come with me" he added grabbing Rick by the collar of his shirt.
"Why take him?" asked Lexi. Auron clubbed Rick in the head with his empty liquor bottle. "That'll teach you to steal my sake!" he shouted and carried Rick off.
"Ehh… makes sense ya?" said Chappu. "Not really…." Said Leif.
"Where are you kids off to?" asked Braska. The crew looked at each other. Then all at once took off in random directions in the small groups Auron had divided them into.
--change scene—
"whoo… what a rush" said Tidus stopping to catch his breath.
"ya…." sighed Chappu. "you know, for blitzers… we're both kinda out of shape" said Tidus. Chappu shook his head.
"no, I just gotta quit smoking ya?" he laughed. Tidus raised an eyebrow.
"I was only kidding ya?" Chappu laughed again.
--change scene--
Leif walked through the fields and looked at all of the flowers, Evie was nearby picking a few bunches and sniffing them as she went.
"Evie," Leif said, watching her.
"Yes?" Evie answered with a smile on her face.
"Why did you choose to be a summoner?"
"that's easy Leif, I wanted to rid the world of Sin..."
"Sure, but...WHY did you REALLY become a summoner?"
"to be the planet protector, and saving all the people is a bonus for me..." Evie smiles and continues with her flower picking.
"you're a tree hugger..." Leif laughed and watched her.
--change scene--
Lexi was running up and down the feild as Shinra walked, and watched her. chuckling as she tripped every once and a while.
"hey, careful, you might bruise some-" Shinra started as he watched Lexi run faster. Also, tripping halfway through the sentence.
"hey!" Shinra ran over to her, "are you ok?" She groaned with a smile and a little chuckle.
Shinra sat next to her, laughing. she gazed up at the big moon, Shinra seemed to have just noticed it.
"hm.... how could you NOT see that?" Lexi asked him noticing his mild surprise. He shrugged.
"Would it have anything to do with a certain summoner that I know?" she asked. Shinra nodded reluctantly.
"It's got me worried that since she has to choose between me and the rest of Spira. And that she might not choose me in the long run." he replied.
"Well, I know that she LIKES you, but I dunno if she can find a way to work it all out. I'd miss her too and I don't want a repeat of my mom's pilgrimmage" Lexi said and shuddered.
"Yeah, Yuna told me that summoner's had it rough. She told me that she never wanted you to go through all that. That you deserved better" Shinra said.
"But the Guado dude... he said my mother...." Lexi mumbled.
"Yuna what?" Shinra asked. "That I was to receive that rare sphere only if I became a summoner" she said.
"Yuna hated the Guado after all they caused and they hated her... I don't know what to think, and Yuna was happy to see you become a blitzer"
Lexi laughed, "Yeah, mom always loved blitzball and she supported me.... as much as someone like her can" Lexi said. Shinra nodded slowly.
"Lexi.... what's the deal with you and Tidus?" Shinra asked.
"I like blitzers..." Lexi laughed, "but I'm not so sure, he really loved mom and I don't wanna mess that up"
"Yuna's not happy with Virak, but you think she's too afraid to try again?"
"How should I know? All this thinking is hurting my head Shinra, stop" Lexi laughed. Shinra laughed too.
"so, lets watch that sphere..." She smiled at him.
"what?" Shinra asked,
"the sphere, lets watch it..."
"yours first," He answered, smiling.
"mine is a black mage sphere..." She answered, giggling.
"no, one's a dress sphere, but you have a video sphere too, i know auron gave you one" he replied.
"oh, ok. But let's watch that one later. I wanna watch your sphere first" she said.
"okay, okay," shinra grabbed his sphere, pressed play.
--change scene--
"Tidus, why do you want to go back to Aunt Yunie, ya?" Chappu asked as the two slowly began strolling along the flower field.
"huh? what kind of question is THAT Chappu?" Tidus exclaimed, looking at him oddly.
"well, aren't you having fun with us?" he asked again, placing his hands in his pockets.
"...well...yeah I'm having a blast...but..."
"but what, ya?" Chappu looked at him, with pleading eyes. he really wanted to know. what was in the past that could be worth going back for?
Tidus was shocked. He just suddenly realized that he didn't know what he was going back for.
--Change Scene--
Rick groaned and sat up, all he remembered was being clubbed by Aurons sake bottle. He gazed at his surroundings.
'flower, flower, flower, Auron, flower, flower, flower.' Rick took a second glance to Auron. He was angry.
"oh...shit...no..." Rick scrambled to get up. Dirt, stones and flowers scattering as Rick tried to run.
"Come back here you no good al-bhed!" Auron shouted and threw the empty sake bottle at Rick's head. bulls-eye. Rick fell to the ground. Auron walked over to him and picked him up by his collar.
"let go! let go!" Rick scrambled to get out of the grasp.
"you sound like your cousin..." Auron said calmly, but you could tell he was getting annoyed.
"what?! that freak of nature?! no way!" Rick stopped squirming, the two glared at eachother.
--change scene--
"what about you?" Evie asked Leif, as she sat down in the dirt weaving flowers together.
"what do you mean what about me?" Leif asked with a smile.
"well, you're not like Rick who's trying to find a girlfriend...well...whos trying to ...oh just forget him...and you're not like Chappu who can't wait to play blitzball in Luca...or even like Shinra who wants to help save spira, or Tidus who wants to find his way back, then there's Lexi who wants to run away from Virak...what are you doing on this journey?" Evie asked.
Leif didn't know, all the things they've been through together...the whole gang. they each had a purpose, not counting Rick. They were on this journey to run, to find or to protect. what was Leif here for? was he just baggage?
Evie awaited her answer as she continued weaving.
"I...don't..." Leif couldn't finished his sentence. it was always the guys and Lexi. wether they were playing blitzball, fighting, practicing, laughing, crying...they never had a purpose. thier purpose was with eachother, right?
Leif sighed and flopped himself down, beside Evie, staring out to the distance thinking.
--change Scene--
Lexi and Shinra gazed into the sphere, watching.
The scene was blurry and was breaking up everyonce and a while, but you could tell what was going on.
A Man sat ontop of a large machine with a vaccum at the front. He was dressed in a dark blue suit.
"hey, i can make that easy!!" Shinra smiled proudly, Lexi laughed. The Camera went into a close up on the man, it was Shinra, but older.
he seemed about in his late 20s or early 30s. Lexi and Shinra gawked.
He buckled his seatbelt, and took hold of two joysticks. His thumb pressed a red button on top of the right joystick, and the machine began shaking. a bright glowly green aura flowed through the vaccum.
The scene moved back and they were in the far plane, the older Shinra was sucking energy from the far plane.
Outside at the Gate, a 60 year old Rin was paying Shinra millions of gil, for that energy.
"Your business will explode, Shinra...you'll have the power... but be careful, there's no telling what kind of monsters are out on the farplane"
There was a little interferrence in between and then another shot of Shinra at a desk in the middle of a huge office in a huge building.
"Evie... why did I have to lose you...? Now look at what I've become" he sighed and mumbled something else before turning to the window. The air outside was grey and the sky was black. Buildings covered the ground.
"Neo-midgar... I'll find the promised land Evie, I've found the last ancient and then we can be together again" he said sadly to himself. A scrawny man in a blue suit with short black hair entered the office.
"Sir, you're meeting will begin shortly. Hojo will also attend and update us on the subject's condition. Sir... this new mako idea isn't going to heal Midgar." he asked.
"Shut up Reeve. When I want your opinion I'll ask for it" Shinra snapped back. "President, this young girl is not an animal, she's an ancient... a truly rare thing of beauty and I think-"
"shut up Reeve! Don't lecture me about the ancients, i know all about them and Jenova. I first found that stinking virus on the Farplane of all places, she brought me... HERE..." Shinra said, cursing Jenova.
"Sir.. the meeting.... I hope that new Neo-Midgar works out to whatever you have planned" Reeve squeaked.
"I don't care for the people of the slums like you do Reeve. I admire that in you. Before I leave for the meeting, tell me, have you ever heard of the keystone?..."
The screen on the sphere flickered once more and then shut off, the two gazed at eachother. Lexi with hurt in her eyes, 'Why would Shinra do all that...?' was the only thought in her head.
--Change scene--
Chappu and Tidus kept walking silently, no words spoken. just the gentil sounds of thier feet brushing against the flowers.
"Shinra and Lexi, ya?" Chappu said, smiling, pointing ahead.
"yah, hey, why are they so quiet..." Tidus squinted trying to get a good look.
"they don't seem very happy, ya?"
"yah...c'mon let's find out whats going on..." Tidus said and they began walking towards them.
--change scene--
"are you okay?" Evie asked, with a smile.
"yeah, let's get going. Everyone might be heading back already." Leif stood up brushing off his shorts.
"yah, you're probably right." Evie smiled and stood up, holding her wreath.
Leif smiled, and took it from her. and placed it on her head.
"honor the most wonderful summoner. She will be the one to defeat sin." Leif bowed, and Evie laughed. they began walking back to where they had started.
--change scene--
Rick and Auron still had thier staring contest. Neither of them blinking knowing that it would be thier last. (well Rick anyway)
"My...eyes...burn..." Rick said, trying so hard not to blink. Tears swell up and he blinked. Auron sneered at him and dropped him on the ground.
"Go on, get out of here. Your friends will leave soon" he said. Rick wiped hids eyes and took off as fast as he could. Blood shot eyes wouldn't stop him from findind him friends.
"stupid dead guy... bet he died from an overdose" rick mumbled to himself as he took off down the hill. Auron overheard him and couldn't help but laugh.
--change scene--
Shinra slowly got to his feet, he stood swaying slightly for a moment then turned away from Lexi.
"I don't know what any of that means" he sighed.
"It's what will happen to you if Evie dies fighting Sin" answers Lexi.
"That means she will be the one to face Sin... and deafeat it" Shinra said softly.
"There's gotta be a way to do it, mom...Yuna did it, so Evie can" urged Lexi.
"I need to go talk to Auron... and maybe Evie. I need answers Lexi" he said. Lexi walked beside him.
"I want answers too Shinra, I'm worried about what will happen. I wanna face sin but-" she said.
"Hoy!!!!!!!!" shouted a voice from afar. It was Chappu. Lexi turned to see him and Tidus walking casually over.
"Stay here Lexi. I'll see you all in a bit" Shinra said, forcing out a smile. Lexi nodded.
"Hey Chappu!" she shouted back, running anf jumping onto him, he fell over. "You're too big for this, ya?" Lexi giggled. The boys never noticed Shinra had walked away.
--change scene--
"hey look Evie, there's the rest of the gang" said Leif pointing to the bottom of the hill where almost everyone was, Evie noticed Shinra was missing.
"you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you" she said to Leif smiling.
"I can't lose you now Evie, I'm your guardian now... it's a duty i guess" laughed Leif, Evie giggled.
"Call me a privacy hog... I'll catch up don't worry" she assured him. Leif nodded and ran down the hill toward the others. Evie spead down the opposite side, over by where she saw Shinra walking amunst the flowers.
--change scene--
Leif arrived to where the others were and was greeted with the usual warm smiles and jokes.
"what took you so long?" laughed Lexi tossing her black mage sphere in the air and catching it over and over again.
"it's not hard to get lost on the farplane, this place is huge" replied Leif.
"whew, you're telling me, and there's nothing to steal either, except flowers" said a voice from behind Leif. It was Rick.
"Rick... are you crying?" asked Tidus squinting at him. Rick recoiled and yelled, "huh?! no way!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" laughed everyone, Rick's eyes had obviously been watering, but not from crying, from the staring contest.
"alright, i tried" he sighed. It was no use trying to explain it to them, they were all too narrow-minded.
"so.... anyone wanna watch that video sphere Lexi got?" asked Tidus casually.
"Lexi got video sphere, ya?" asked Chappu looking from one person to the next to total confusion.
"Yessssss... let's watch it" Lexi exclaimed jumping up and down.
"Not until Evie gets here" said leif crossing his arms. There was a sea of dumbfounded faces.
"where is she?" asked rick raising an eyebrow.
"she...... she was right behind me" stuttered Leif spinning around in circles.
"leif is a bad guardian, ya?" laughed Chappu, everyone else laughed along with him.
"she'll be ok, if i know Evie.. she followed Shinra" said Lexi with confidence.
"What makes you so sure of that?" asked Leif, still confused. Lexi shrugged and said, "I'm not sure. But it's the FARPLANE guys... common! Nothing can happen here."
"Well, i DID get beat up by Auron" said Rick laughing and scratching his head. "Yeah, but your dumb" shot Lexi. Everyone laughed again.
"Naw, I"ll bet it's ok. Yuna used to do that all the time. I guess it's a summoner thing." said Tidus casually. The group all agreed and pushed play on the video sphere.
--change scene--
Shinra trudged thru the field, each passing flower reminding him of what his future self had said. It all shocked him beyond words and scared him when he thought of confronting Evie about it.
"what in the world is neo-midgar anyways?" he mumbled to himself and he held the sphere tightly in his hand. A light brushing sound came up from behind him and something light dropped down on his head. He reached up to touch... flowers.
"Hey there" said Evie coming up beside him. He slowly took the flower wreath off his head and looked at it sadly.
"What's wrong?" she asked going in front of him. The walking stopped. "We both have to go see Auron" he said.
"Maybe we won't have you. Tell me what's bothering you" she said. Shinra sighed. "Evie, what's an ancient?" he asked. Her hand shot up tp cover her mouth. "Oh dear.." she breathed.
"Tell me" he said anxiously." Evie hesitated a bit before she spoke. "It's ummm.... it's complicated. And it doesn't have anything to do with me fighting Sin" she replied and shrugged.
"Evie.. maybe you should watch this sphere" he said slowly handing it to her, she reluctantly took it and pushed play.
--change scene--
Elder Millad and about a dozen Guado guards stormed onto the Farplane, looking for the summoner's party that they had met earlier. They all looked seriously pissed off.
"What are you doing on the farplane?" snapped Auron as he appeared not far from the Guado soliders and Millad. The Elder frowned and yelled "Tell us where those pesky kids have gone!"
Auron laughed out loud and then disappeard while he said "I feel sorry for the soldiers that you send to go after those kids".
--change scene--
Lexi's sphere started up and there was Yuna and her friends standing before a dying Yunalesca. She was lecturing them about something in a tired, yet passionate voice.
"There has to be another way to defeat sin!!!" shouted Tidus. Yunalesca shook her head, mumbling something more and disappeared into a shower of pyreflies.
"Holy....he killed Yunalesca?" asked Leif in shock. Tidus recoiled and scratched the back of his head. He nodded slowly.
"You bastard, ya?" said Chappu. Lexi giggled, "Cool.... I mean, you guys kicked the crap out of goddess" Tidus laughed.
"dude... that's not funny" snapped Leif. Tidus shrugged and rick punch him in the stomache "you just rid the world of one incredibly hot chick! goddess or not, it was a great loss!" exclaimes rick.
Tidus buckled onto his knees and moaned in pain, he remembered all they went thru as they fought Yunalesca, heer messed up zombie attacks and how weird it was to not know why you have to kill someone.
"shhhh.. stop your whining, there's more on this sphere" said Lexi, nudging Tidus with her knee.
There was Auron showing Tidus a sphere of himself taking a last request of Jecht... Yes,it is was a video sphere of a video sphere. It showed that there had to be another way to defeat sin. without the final aeon, or losing the summoner.
This was a shorter portion of the sphere, it was fuzzy and you couldnt understand much of the dialouge, but... it was vlear that there had to be a way.
"Yu Yevon...." mumbled Tidus. Everyone looked at him in confusion, waiting impatiently for the rest of the sentence. But there was only silence.
" you wanna share the rest of that meaningless sentence with us or are we gonna have to hire a private investigator?" asked rick. Tidus snapped out of some kind of dat dream.
"I don't really remember... let's go see Auron." he said. EVeryone moaned. They were going to have to find that old ghost all over again.
--change scene--
By the time Evie had finished watching the sphere, she was in tears. "Why?" she squeaked. Shinra looked down and said, "because when yuo fight sin you die.. and I don't wanna lose you Evie" he said. "Boys and Aeons don't mix" she said lifting his head with her hand.
"I know, but as I said in Moonflow.. you know" he said, getting redder. "You didn't say much, and you didn't have to" she leaned forward and pecked Shinra on the lips. He laughed soflty and looked back into the video sphere.
"Just... what IS an ancient?" he asked. Evie took and deep breath and replied, "I'm an ancient and I got here through the farplane, from one thousand years ago. That place you saw in the sphere, that's where I'm from. Ancients are everywhere and we protect the planet from all kinds of danger"
"danger like sin?" he asked. She nodded "yeah. it's not all that complicated, tidus came ahead one thousand years and so did i, but the only difference is that... I never planned on returning home." she said. "why save spira?" he asked.
"spira is young and it has so much left in it, my world... even though there are many ancients left... there are more humans. And we're dyinf out... maybe you went thru the farplane to my home to find me.... but more ahead" she added.
"I would miss you so muc if you died, and I would find... that land thing." Shinra mumbled, tossing his words around. "The promised land, it's a place of energy, I suppose you would look there but if i died here.. I dunno wut would happen, but I know I can count on Tidus for another way to deafeat sin"
Shinra nodded and said, "I'll bet Auron knows more about the final summoning than Tidus does... I mean, Aron's dead" he said . Evie laughed and nodded. Shinra lead her by the hand to go and find Auron.
--change scene--
Our "other" heroes wandered hoplessly around the farplane, trying to find the place that they had started. Calling out Auron's name as they went and pausing to argue every now and then. But Guado guards were closing in and surrounding them. Did they even notice? Nope.
"We're lost" whined Leif dragging his feet thru the soft soil.
"hmm... when i get a girfeind... girlfreind....uhhh..." began Chappu. "Girlfriend?" asked Rick. Chappu nodded stupidly.
"Yeah, when I get a girlfriend ya... I"m gonna bring her here" he said happily. everyone paused.. chappu with a girlfriend... Hey, it could happen.
"Why would you bring her here?" asked Leif. "'cause, it's the farplane, it's kinda romantic and there ain't no place in spira like it." answered Lexi.
"Hm... Macalania is pretty romantic too" said Tidus. EVeryone looked at him. "been there with a girl lately?" asked Rick. Tidus shook his head. "Well... there was this one time with Yuna that we-"
"save it! I do't wanna hear it blondie!" exclaimed Lexi running ahead. Leif and Rick follwed close behind. Chappu walked at a steady pace along side Tidus. "You gonna tell me or what, ya?" he asked.
Tidus was slightly startled but began to tell the story. Chappu.. seeing as how he wasn't remotely related to Yuna, he could stomache Tidus kissing story.
Fast Forward Site (yeah it's on geocities.... go us! Whooooo! and it's updated everytime we add a new chapter so check bak, review and sign the guestbook!)
www.geocities.com/fast_forward_fiction/