This story belongs to me and my creative mind. However, most of the characters, names, and places all belong to their respective companies, so don't yell at me for copyright infringements! Remember, Italics represent a person's thoughts or the telling of past events.

Enjoy...

:Faraway Dreams:

Chapter Eight:

Fedrich hopped down from the saddle of his chocobo mount, holding the bird's reigns as it munched on grasses nearby. He stretched his arms and legs, working out the stiffness from a hard morning and afternoon of riding. Ahead of him lay the entrance to the massive system of caves that encompassed Gizamaluke's domain. The sun was at the right place in the sky to provide an eerie illumination of the mist that hung around the rocky walls. Shrugging off the unnerving thoughts, he led the bird into the grotto and to a central hall. One of the many Burman guards approached him.

"Good day to you, stranger!" The guard said in a cheery tone.

"And a blessed night for your family." Fedrich said in customary return. "My name's Fedrich Castor, and I'm seeking a room for a night's rest."

"Castor, eh? A respectable name, lad. Come! There are plenty of beds available and a warm meal if you need it." He leaned back to another guard present. "Red-Forge! Get someone to shack up his mount and alert the cook."

"Yessir!" The man saluted with a hand put across the opposite shoulder, then turned and entered one of the smaller halls.

"So, Castor, what brings you here tonight?"

"I'm returning home after a stay in Lindblum." Fedrich answered while putting his sword and travel bags onto the bird. "I was going after the Master Hunter title, but couldn't make it."

The guard laughed politely and slapped Fedrich's shoulder. "A worthy task, lad, worthy of a name like yours! Yer old man would be proud of you."

"You know my father?"

"Yep. I served under him for a years stint, then transferred here two months ago when the previous Gatemaster fell outta the loop." He gave the Burman a looking over. "So your his kid. I should've known, you look exactly like him! Sound like him, too, going after the big prizes and nothing less!"

"Thanks..."

"Ah, think nothing of it, lad! Lets go, the cooks probably got soup on already."

The two Burmans walked down the main hall, entering an unmarked side door and into a modest kitchen and seating hall. Others were present, mostly other guards and a few travelers like himself, but it was otherwise empty. Fedrich and the guard, who was named Copper-Tooth, talked until the cook presented them a simple vegetable soup. They ate mostly in silence, Fedrich regaling his stories about his work with the Regulators, getting a rise from him and some other guards as he talked about fighting off the Coral Dragon. Once finished with the meal, he excused himself to the barracks so he could get his sleep. In his nightclothes, he rested on the edge of his bunk, mind trying to rationalize his choice.

I could have stayed with her...or even asked if she would come with me. But I couldn't...she has a place with her sister and everyone else, and I have mine. There's no place for her on the front lines of a war like the one coming, no way for her to stay safe. This is the only way I can keep my people safe and keep her safe as well. Once this is all over, the war is gone and everyone is safe, maybe then I can tell her how I feel...

He shook the sad thoughts from his mind, sliding under the thick wool sheets to ward off the damp air that hung in the old caverns. Although he wondered what Ruthy was doing, knowing that he was gone, eventually his conscious mind slid into the darkness of his dreams.

Satisfied?

"No." Fedrich mumbled, leaning against the walls of his dreamworld..

Ah, stubborn pride rears its ugly head.

Fedrich scoffed. "Hardly, I just wasn't good enough to win the Festival. Of course I'm angry, but my pride is not what's wounded."

True, it looks like your heart has suffered the most wounds.

That made Fedrich flinch, and the phantom chuckled. You have the look of someone who just lost his love. It's plain on your face, and in how you've been acting as of late. Upset that fate isn't being kind to you?

"Maybe, but why the concern? Normally you aren't the one to go on in idle banter about my life."

The figure chuckled. No, I guess I'm not.

A long pause.

The times are changing again. Things are no longer as simple as we'd like them to be.

"How so?"

I cannot say for certain, but somehow...something in the future is changing. Our predictions are no longer as accurate as we thought.

"What does that mean?"

Simply put, the farther away our predictions get, the harder it will be to determine what the future holds. If they keep getting worse, the future I've shown you may not be accurate at all. If any of my assessments are true, then it seems like our previous conversations with you might have been the trigger to this chain reaction. I've spent too much time here, and it's affecting the normal results...

Fedrich let the statement drift through the streets until it was drowned out by the dim background of falling rain. Seconds passed in silence, neither the demi-human nor the cloaked figure moving from their spots in the intersection. Fedrich looked at the figure, and from his point of view, it looked as if it was staring at the blood red jewel that was constantly in its hand.

"Tell me...what are you?" He struggled for the right words. "You know things, more than anyone ought to. How can you see the future? The future is always changing, it's never certain."

What you say is true, to an extent. The figure hesitated, rolling the gem around. But you assume one thing, that what I'm doing is changing the future. Perspective is not a constant, what may be the future for you may be different for me. What is time to those who choose to alter it?

That statement made Fedrich curious, and he looked at the figure again as if hoping to see an answer written on his cloak. No answer was seen, no facial expressions present to discern any meaning from. He chanced a response, one that he suspected to be true after thinking things over.

"You're from the future?"

A chuckle. Quick study as of late, I see.

"Talking about time and changing it all night long helps, you know. You're always concerned with making sure I stick to this plan of yours, and you act like it's already happened. You know too much about the world and it's future to be from anywhere else."

I'm glad to see that you're finally getting the drift of things now. The figure stood up from the fountain and stretched, revealing long and thin arms. Unfortunately, I have to go.

"Then I'll see you next dream." Fedrich stood as well.

There will be no next dream.

That caught the Burman off guard. "What?"

Now that you know what to expect and what to do, I can do little else to prepare you for the coming battles. All that's left to do is to let the experiment play itself out.

"But...you said that the future is changing! How can I do what you want if it does?"

It's beyond either of us to help that, you'll just have to go with what we know now and take care of the rest on the go. Be flexible, adapt, change with the times and try to foresee the future for yourself. I...have done all I can.

"So then..."

It's a final farewell for me. The phantom turned away.

"Wait!" Fedrich blurted.

The figure stopped and looked back.

Fedrich hesitated, actually feeling embarrassed about his question. "Could you..."

The figure turned to face him, and with slow motions, reached up and drew back the hood of the cloak. Black material fell aside, revealing stark blonde hair framing a face with blue eyes, angular features and a small grin. Fedrich could immediately tell it was a woman, a tall and masculine woman, but female nonetheless. Her eyes seemed to stare through him to his soul, catlike pupils making her seem all the more alien.

Nigata.

"Hmm?"

My name. You've always wanted to know who I am, right?

"Yeah." Fedrich grinned warmly at the lady. "But I had one more question."

Well, what is it?

Fedrich felt the emotional pain roar up, making his voice angrier than he wanted. "Why did you choose me?"

Because you were the one best suited to the job, Fedrich. Nigata smiled weakly, staring at the dark sky. People rally and scream at the uncaring workings of fate, but they are still bound to it. You were bound to this fate, Fedrich, long before you ever suspected it. Like we've said before, you are close to the important threads in this web of destiny, and alone have the power to change it.

"So all I can do is accept my fate and live with it?"

Yes. She nodded, staring with her piercing eyes. When you come to a crossroad, you must make a choice to go one way or another and to follow it, even if you mourn the possibilities the other road held. To follow this road, Fedrich, will ensure that thousands of people and future thousands will live on in happiness.

"So I'll take all this pain and suffering in their place?" Fedrich stated.

Nigata nodded weakly. It's been said that the ultimate act of kindness is to give your life in place of another. You'll be saving thousands the pain of the coming war, more than anyone could hope to do. That, I think, should earn you a place in history that would make anyone happy.

Fedrich nodded lightly at the words, the vast wisdom of her statements almost too deep to grasp. "I'll do by best. I won't let anyone else suffer while I can help it."

Spoken like a true knight, Fedrich. Nigata lifted her hand and waved. You'll do fine...I know you can do it. Farewell, the Goddess' blessing on your heart...

"And on yours." Fedrich replied in turn, watching as Nigata's cloaked body faded into the darkness of the streets, and the pathways and city itself disappeared with her. The darkness that surrounded Fedrich no longer radiated a cold feeling, but felt familiar and secure. With a content sigh, he let himself sink into the darkness of a deep sleep and gentler dreams. The pain of loss and the joy of gain, he eventually learned, are what made life truly worth living.

..........

"Do you suppose it will be successful?" A tall, plain faced man asked.

The woman shook her head slowly, removing the helmet and sensor gloves. "Don't know."

"When will you?"

A glance at the massive display at the front of the operations room told everything. "Once our timeline is overtaken by the temporal change we've instigated, we'll know damn well if it worked or not."

"Do not be rash with me, Nitaga, less you forget your place."

She was quick to fault him in return. "And don't pull rank with me, Tyr, I'm the one who had to pick up the pieces you left behind. Your lucky that I managed to get the system aligned to my specs in so short a time! We only had ten hours to work with, and stopping a marathon time modification is never wise." She stood up and smoothed her rumpled jumpsuit, chuckling. "Anyway, we've got about three hours until the wave catches up with us. We need to bring the Temporal Distortion Field generator online and prep a bubble, now."

"I know." Tyr grumbled, stepping away from the control station the woman worked at. He slowly moved over to a massive series of data stations, sliding a metal key in the center console. Nigata followed suit, and he looked at the small screen to ensure the lock recognized both keys were in place. A glance at the masculine woman let him know she was ready.

"Turn...now." He ordered.

Two keys twisted clockwise in their locks, and the screen flashed a symbol, then started running lines of code. A klaxon sounded in the massive room, and red lights flashed from the ceiling. The dozen other workers present all stopped their tasks and looked around the room, all of them bearing the same expression of curious fear. Speakers within the walls crackled with energy, and a recorded voice began to speak.

Attention! Attention! Temporal Distortion Field program initiated. Approximately one hundred fifty five minutes until Temporal Bubble formation. All non-essential personnel please evacuate the premises! Officers and technicians please assume your stations immediately! Repeat, all non-essential personnel...

"No turning back, now." Tyr deadpanned, crossing his arms behind his head.

"There was never any chance to turn back, you know that. Messing with the timeline, altering it so greatly, we might as well consider ourselves separate of time itself." Nigata chuckled to herself. "Once the bubble is formed, we'll be forgotten by time, left alone in our own personal existence."

"I know that, you do not need to remind us." He nodded, sighing like the weight of the world pressed on him.

A door leading to the outer halls slid open with a mechanical hiss, and a tall, imposing figure stepped into the center. Everyone stood up and saluted, and the figure returned the gesture and walked to the front of the room. He craned his head up to look at the massive screen, a countdown at its center and various meters recording the activation of the field listed at the sides. His ears twitched in response to Nigata's step towards him.

"Sir, as you can see-"

"The final action has been completed, yes." The man interrupted, crossing his arms. "There are no problems in the current timestream, Nigata?"

"None, Sir, everything is within acceptable parameters." She rubbed blonde hair across her scalp, looking to her personnel terminal. "According to the information, the event was changed as you predicted. It took a seven-hour marathon immersion, but all necessary modifications were completed as per your instruction. Data reports that at least several thousand Burmecians escaped and gained refuge in Lindblum's walls after the conquest. All activities past that mark show a steady rise in their populations across the continent up to as far as the wave as progressed."

"Sir, permission to speak openly?" Tyr asked suddenly.

Hesitation made the imposing figure pause, but he nodded approval.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?"

The figure looked back to Tyr, greenish eyes glaring. "Why shouldn't we save them?"

"No, I did not mean that! I meant this, activating a temporal bubble so the wave passes by us and we are not overwritten? Aside from the slight possibility of avoiding a class two paradox, is it not going...will it not..."

"Won't it leave us alone, only we few left of a time written anew?" The man chuckled a sad note, turning to face the other workers as they looked to him. "You all understood that this operation would make us strangers in a land we cannot foretell. The temporal bubble separates us from the timestream like a bubble of air in a river. Once the wave passes, it will fade out into the future and change everything except us. Where it will leave us...heaven's know."

"But is it right?" Tyr pressed, concern pushing his brows together. "Doing all this to the timeline, is it not it selfish of us to go on while everyone else is overwritten? Are we really willing to bear the weight of playing God?"

A long pause, and the man sighed. "It is the most selfish thing anyone could want, yes, I won't deny it. But I want to see it, I want to see a new world where I am not the last of my kind. Try to understand...nothing else will satisfy me, this is the only way I can validate my existence. Even if no one believes me, at least I can know that I did 'something' with my life, that my life had meaning, had a purpose."

"But this much?"

The man shook his head. "Although your moral standards make even gods feel like sinners, you know that they have no place here. This operation is just one man working to immortalize his name in history beyond mere words, even if no one will remember. It's a greedy thing at heart, but you can agree that it's more than that, can't you?"

"We understand, Sir." Nigata spoke up, hugging her arms together. "If it wasn't for Elder Tribal's efforts in the past, during the conflicts that took your people away...we too wouldn't exist. I think that all of us can sympathize, know what it means to be the only thing that can save your people from the void."

The figure nodded, and Nigata took a hesitant step forward and placed a hand onto his shoulder. "That's why we opted to help you. We Genomes almost fell like the Burmans, and now it's up to you to save them like our Elder Tribal did for us." Fingers slid down his arm, smoothing gray and aged fur. "I don't want to see such a thing happen again, Degras Iron-Tail. You're doing so much for others that no one would dare call it selfish."

The demi-human snorted a laugh. "Iron-Tail...a name belonging to one of the Burman's greatest knights of lore, my ancestors. I can only hope that I live up to it's legacy."

Silence reigned within the center, many of the blonde workers sitting down at their terminals again and monitoring the progress of the temporal bubble. Tyr went to his station to allow Nigata some personal space with the Burman. His tail twitched as he recalled her feelings to the elder man, the kind of father-daughter relationship she held with him. He wasn't one to understand it, or approve of it, but he knew that nothing he said would change the situation.

One hundred fifty minutes until Temporal Bubble Formation. The speakers alerted.

"It's not too late for you, if you want to leave." Degras reminded.

Nigata shook her head.

The Burman grinned. "Stubborn Genome hooligan."

"Absent-minded codger."

The two shared a quick laugh, the Burman staring into the screen. "...I hope this works."

"You put too much effort into this for it to fail, your dream will come true."

Degras murmured to himself, grinning weakly. "My dreams...I'll be able to dream freely once again..."

..........

...in the future...

"Listen up, men!" Fedrich shouted over the rush of cold mountain wind. "It's time to take our stand and show these bastards what for!"

The hundreds of remaining grunts and common guards of the once mighty Burmecian army remained still, their self-appointed leader pacing along a rise in the sandy plains. Armored clothes clinked together over hastily sewn metal patches, scabbard slapping his side. He stopped suddenly, then faced his charges with an honest expression of fear overridden by courage and honor.

"Gizamaluke's grotto has fallen, and the North Gate lies in ruins and flame. I won't kid any of you with speeches of glory and honor, we're in too deep to think so lightly of this." He paused a moment, gathering his words. "We're the last. All other regiments have gone on to face the monsters and fell without doing enough. Even the Dragon Knights, lords over the battlefield and bringers of swift death, have been trampled and washed away in the royal castle. Behind us stands the monument to our people, Burmecia, our homeland and capital, the proud house of King Hiryuu and his court! Ahead of us comes the demons, the golems who have yet shown any sign of stopping their march of chaos."

The men all shifted on their feet, worry surfacing on their faces as their leader went on his speech in depressing tones. Sensing this, Fedrich raised his arms and pointed back to their hometown.

"Burmecia has stood the testament of time for a thousand years and more, under the protective rains of the mountains and the whirling sands of the basin. Now a threat has come to it, and will we be the ones to allow it to fall? Think, each of you, to your hearts most precious gifts. Family, friends, loved ones and homes, history and legacy, the entirety of our people lies within those walls! Will we be the ones to let it fall? Even now the populace flees to the mountain villages and towards refuge in neutral cities, and will we be the ones to fail in protecting them?"

He pointed down to a middle aged Burman near the front. "You! What are you doing here? What are you fighting for, in your heart of hearts?"

"I..." He began, unsure. "I'm...I'm here to kill the bastards who took my wife and child in the Gate!"

"And you!" Fedrich pointed to another.

"For my family in the capital!"

"For the baker who makes my sweetbread in the Daines market!" Another man shouted.

"For the kids who I read to in the historical library!" An elderly one proclaimed. "And my wife, daughter, and grandson!"

"For my neighbors! My big sister and her kids!"

"My poor sons and daughters...!"

Caught in the moment, everyone else began telling their commander their reasons for fighting, not a single man saying it was for anything else but the things they cherished. Fedrich smiled warmly, feeling the wash of pride and strength his men could summon once they focused their minds and hearts to the task. Raising his arms again, he turned to the side and glanced into the field, the misty forms of golems approaching a hundred meters close.

"Now keep it!" He commanded. "Keep your reasons in your mind's eye! Today we fight not just for king and country, but for the people that make that kingdom what it is. Today we go into battle to defend the history of our people, our homeland, and everything that makes the Burman people what they are! We fight for the bakers, the children, the fallen and the living and everything we hold dear!" Drawing out his sword and holding on high, he offered one last call to battle. "The Goddess Rei at our heels, let these bastards taste the rage of the children of the sky!!"

A battle cry roared from the hundreds of Burman warriors, all of them charging ahead to the steadily approaching waves of golems. As magic bolts began to form in their hands, the Burmans all leapt into the sky. Time slowed a moment to witness the event, and hundreds of nimble Burmans rained into the golem ranks like a rain of hail. Swords rang out as they pierced cloth and solidified mist, explosions of magic force bruised flesh and burned fur.

For the first time since their start, the flood of golems ceased moving.

The rage of fire, ice, and lightning tore across the grass and dirt, sending bodies flying into the air, friend and enemy alike. Despite the overwhelming odds, the remaining regiment attacked with a ferocity unlike anything they thought they could muster. The brilliant flash of dragoon magic from their commander roared into the ranks of mages, fiery blossoms tearing at their clothes and bodies. For a time, it seemed that the Burman's last stand was holding the flood of mages back. However, as time progressed, the violence in the basin lessened, the forms of fewer and fewer soldiers taking to the winds. Another dragoon spell was cast, a last climax to the battle as more golems roasted and fell to death. Ten minutes after the call to battle was made, the last Burman fell to the earth with an unforgiving crack of bones. The golems, content that the danger was gone, continued again their march towards the walls of Burmecia.

.

A cold feeling rushed along his spine, and Fedrich's conscious mind struggled out of the mires of sleep to awake. Pain soon replaced the chill, and he felt as if all parts of his body were broken and flayed open. Slowly he reached to his armored vest and pulled out his pocketwatch. A glance at the face showed that it was broken, but still functional.

Eight...

His mind dimly registered that his battle was only a little before noon. Somehow death passed him by and let him live at least that long. He dropped the timepiece and groped at his waist, picking at a final high potion that he wasn't able to get in the heat of combat. He uncorked it with his teeth and swallowed the bitter salve, hoping it would give him some energy to move to a safer place. Leaning up, his sword almost a part of his hand, he pushed himself onto his feet and stumbled to a stand. The omnipresent rain of the basin was lightening to a sprinkle, the skies almost dark with sunfall. Off in the distance he could see the faint outline of the North Gate, walls illuminated by raging fires in the small community within.

"I've...got to save them..." He wheezed, voice cracked with his screams of fury. "I...must avert the disaster...so I can return to her..."

Putting one foot in front of the other, he began a slow journey towards the Gate, unable to think clearly in the face of the slaughter surrounding him. The bodies of his comrades, his command, littered the grass like stones. Intermixed were an equal number of golems lying listless in the dirt, gold eyes forever closed. He, alone in a field of ruin, spat in death's eye and chose to go on living...