Prologue: Gateways

***Jessica's POV***

"Finally…" I sighed. School could be long and drawn-out sometimes, but I'd managed to stay focused until the bell rang at the end of the day. Now I was home, on a Friday afternoon. My best friend Kate had gotten the flu, so we couldn't go out to the mall as we had planned. So I decided, as homework could wait till tomorrow (it was Friday, after all) and my chores were finished, that I'd go play my favorite game, Final Fantasy X.

I enjoyed the game because I loved the world it showed, Spira, and I also liked the characters and their story. Sure, the battles and the Sphere Grid were fun, but that's not why I bought it. Sometimes I wished that I could leave my boring, teenage life behind and go off somewhere, whether it be with Tidus, Yuna, and their group, or others that I hadn't "met" before. I played these games to escape boredom and my incredibly mundane life.

"Huh? What happened to my save files?" I was confused, as I had been playing this game a few days ago and remembered having three save files- two at the end of the game and one halfway through. I sighed, apparently something had corrupted my card, and I would have to start over. I began, watching the awesome Zanarkand cutscene, but there was something… different… about the scene. It seemed clearer, more real… Almost as if the screen weren't there, as if I could touch the sphere pool. I dismissed it as my imagination and continued playing. Soon the second scene, with Sin in the giant sphere of water, came up, and I swore that Sin, that horrible weapon, was staring straight at the screen… at me. The water seemed to part, and I was looking through a tunnel at Sin's many eyes. Strange, that never happened before… I became aware of a weird sensation, almost as if I was being pulled into Sin's eyes. I went to look closer, and touched the screen. It felt like my hand was passing through water, and then my hand disappeared. It just wasn't there. Like it had been cut off, but there was no blood. Sin's eyes flashed, and then I was being pulled… Not into the screen, but into those glowing eyes… I felt as if I was dissolving, and then there was no feeling at all.

I became aware of another presence. I couldn't see or hear; I could just sense it, something inside my mind. Words formed in my head, long and drawn-out, and "sounding" very tired.

You have been brought here for a reason. They must not be allowed to part… You must not allow him to fade… It is our will that they should be together.

"What? Who are you? Where am I? Who are you talking about?" I had so many questions, but the words continued, heedless of my thoughts.

All will come clear in time. Do not worry. You will be granted power, the power to change your form… Simply concentrate on what it is that you wish to be. You must use this power to help them. Go, now. There is little time… You will learn your mission soon.

"Wait! Where are you taking me?! What if I don't want to do this 'mission'?"

You will see. And we doubt very much that you will hesitate, once you understand your mission. We will send you to the nearest plane from us. You must prepare. There is little time. Now go!

There was a bright light, and then sound. Again, I felt that sensation of dissolution, and then I was standing in a field of flowers, with water falling into a deep crevasse all around me. There were lights in the air, thousands of them. I shook my head to clear it, but then I recognized those floating lights. That was when I realized where I was.

"Pyreflies! Then this must be… The Farplane?!"