Author Notes: Credit for today's poem thingy to a friend of mine who inspired it from a conversation at the beginning of this year.

Caren – You're still running around with your misspelt name I gave you, aren't you? Yes, the poem. It's always the poem. Please don't get Meia to stab me for today's. (cowers) Or else I'll get Ten-chan to loom at her. XD No, I don't have time! I still have a crapload of things to do!

Atma Weapon III – Thanks. In the Playstation version Faris does speak piratey, but I think they over did it, and made the speech horrible to read. So I took a leaf from Al Kristopher's book and had it half/half.

B.B. Zuess – OMGWTFBBQ? Cumquat? And what random stories? I swear I don't have any. XP Did I mention you're an odd duck? A very odd duck? Yus.

Final Fantasy V – Elementus Crystalis

Part 1 – First World

Chapter 2 – Whispering Wind

Do you believe in fate?

I'm not sure if I do.

How can you be sure,

That what's coincidence.

Wasn't 'fated' to happen?

Bartz unconsciously took a step back, his hand by the hilt of his sword. He didn't trust this pretty boy pirate and his crew of bandits to keep their word. A blur of pink went by as Reina pushed past him.

"I'm sorry that we have intruded," Reina apologised, with a small bow, "but I'm the princess of Tycoon, Reina. Please, lend us your ship! I must get to the Wind Shrine immediately! My father is in danger!"

"Wha-at!" Bartz and Galuf gasped, eyes wide in shock.

If Reina was hoping to impress the pirates into taking her to the Wind Shrine, she was sorely disappointed. "Well, well, well," the captain said, the corner of his mouth turning up into a small smile, "We have quite the catch here. Not often royalty decides t' drop in."

He lazily walked up to Reina, gently forcing her to tilt her head up with his decorative cutlass. Bartz couldn't suppress the low growl that escaped his lips. The captain regarded the brunette with amusement. "Down boy," he said condescendingly with a smirk, "Unless you want t' see this pretty one's head roll."

"You wouldn't!" Bartz snarled viciously.

"I could and I would," the corsair replied, nudging his blade slightly further into Reina's skin. She winced as it drew a small line of blood across her neck. The captain withdrew the cutlass and pointed it at Bartz. "No one'd know except us," he continued softly, "and I'll make sure you and your friend's body's feedin' the fishes."

Bartz down bit down on his rage as he saw the other pirates draw their weapons, ready to defend their captain. "Please stop! I beg you!" cried Reina, her pendant slipping out from its hidden place and hanging freely from her neck. She stopped when she felt the prick of the blade return to her neck.

The captain stared at the dangling necklace as if caught in a dream. "That pendant..." he murmured faintly to himself. Recovering, he shouted to his crew, "Tie these landlubbers and throw 'em in a cell! I'll deal with them later."

"Aye aye, capt'n Faris!" chorused the crew.

They swarmed around the trio with ropes in their hands as Faris walked away, hair floating behind him, waving goodbye. The pirates tied the party's hands together, the knots tight and strong. Bartz toyed with the idea of trying to fight, but a pleading look from Reina made the idea seem more stupid than it already was.

They were lead below deck and into one of the cells. Before Faris' crew left, a pirate with the stereotypical eye patch over a scarred eye leered at them. "Now, don't be thinkin' of escapin', you lot," he said with a grin. As he walked away, the captive trio thought they heard him mutter under his breath, "Dunno why Faris dun't do away wit' the other two..."

Silence reigned in the cell as Bartz, Reina and Galuf mulled over the thought of being stuck in a pirate's ship. "This is just great," Galuf said loudly, "Who was the smart one who came up with the idea of stealing this boat, anyway?"

Bartz gave him a withering look. Kicking Galuf in the foot, he said, "Hey, I think it was you, old man."

Galuf hurriedly hopped away from the brunette's kicks. He leant back against the wall, his head resting against a couple of crates that were inside the cell. "Oooh, my head," he moaned, curling up as if in pain, "I can't remember anything."

Bartz glared at the bogus old man. "What a convenient excuse..." Turning to Reina, he said, "But Reina, you never told us you were a princess!"

The pink haired woman looked down in shame. "Ehe, I forgot completely," she replied sheepishly.

The other two gave her a look of utter disbelief. "You're joking, right?" Bartz demanded, hoping for some semblance of sanity around her. To his utter horror, Reina shook her head and stuck out her tongue in strange, but oddly cute gesture of embarrassment.

Bartz' world came crashing all around him. The ground became a hole and hole soon became an incredibly deep pit. He had nothing but the shadows, looming high above him, to keep him company this pit of despair. All walls of resistance crumbled as he slumped in defeat resisting the urge to clamp his hands to his head and scream to the heavens the unfairness of it all.

...Not that he could do such a thing anyway...

Reina inconspicuously shuffled away from Bartz' melodramatic gloom, a dark cloud practically hovering above his head and shadows huddling in the corner he sat in despite the cell being fairly well lit from the lamps hanging outside.

I was only worried about my father, she thought uneasily.

As if reading her thoughts, Galuf discreetly hopped over to Reina. "How come you wanted to go to the Wind Shrine alone?"

Tilting her head so that she could see the wooden ceiling that would serve as their roof for the night, she replied, "If I told anyone I was going to the Wind Shrine, they'd try to stop me. Being the only successor to the throne, they can't afford to lose me. But..." She paused, taking a small breath.

"My father went there," she continued, "And with the wind stopping, I think something terrible might have happened to him."

Bartz' miniature 'despair aura' dissipated immediately. Standing up, he declared, "We'll find a way outta here so we can get to your father!"

"Yeah!" Galuf joined in, with an exuberant smile usually only seen on young children spreading across his old, wizened face.

Reina smiled, appreciating their support as they 'danced' crazily around their prison cell while she remained seated. They were strange people, but she couldn't help but grow to like them more by the minute.

"Oh mother, if only you could see me now," she whispered, a tiny tear slipping through her mirth unchecked.

Faris was not nearly as carefree or hyper as his prisoners. He leaned back on his chair in his private cabin and put his booted feet up on the table. In one hand he held a small wine glass with just a little red wine swirling at the bottom. There were a hundred questions running through his mind, all of them crashing into each other getting so muddied that he wasn't quite sure what the original questions were anymore. Despite all that, there was one question, just one, that remained vigilantly coherent within the chaos.

"Why does the princess of Tycoon have the same pendant as me?" he asked aloud, voice barely a whisper.

Almost without meaning to, he reached inside his shirt and took out a pendant matching the one he saw hanging off Princess Reina's neck. It was simple in design, with a clear, teardrop shaped gem encircled by silver. However, when more closely examined, within the gem were small grains that created a small, completely three dimensional depiction of a dragon.

He shook his head, as if trying to clear all the question imps prodding his brain with their tridents. There were too many thoughts, too many memories and too many blanks. He would figure it all out in time...perhaps.

He was starting to get a headache again. The fractured flashes of a little girl mumbling "Cure, Cure2, Cure3" echoing in his mind were not helping him any.

Faris poured a little more wine into his glass.

Dawn brought the pirate crew an unusually hard morning's work as they loaded the ororO with supplies to replace the ones given to the Stargazer. The first mate and oddly enough, Faris himself, oversaw the loading process, making sure nothing went wrong. The captain's right hand man shouted orders to the crew, as the barrels of food, water as well as the all important grog were rolled in. Faris held a gloved hand to his forehead, the bright light of the sun and the loud noises of moving barrels sending waves of pain through his head.

"Where're we headed, captain?" asked the first mate.

Faris raised his head, half closing his eyes. "To the Wind Shrine," he replied with a wince, pain lancing through his skull from the light reflecting off the water.

"Coz ya felt like it, or coz the princess asked you to?" asked the man quietly, absentmindedly scratching the stubble on his chin.

Faris leaned back against the railing, letting his long falls of hair hang over the side. "One day your mouth is gonna get you into trouble, Keith," he said, avoiding the question, "Just get someone to bring the prisoners on deck, will ya?"

Faris didn't see the small smile spreading on Keith's face as he turned back to his work. "Hadrian, Kyle, Renan, Zeke! Go grab the prisoners!" he bellowed. "An' no harrassin' them, especially the pretty little flower, ya hear me?" he added, seeing the looks on their faces.

Faris watched all the men loading through his long lashes, though his mind was elsewhere. His thoughts drifted a little, wondering what he was going to do for the future. He'd most likely die in a decade or so, probably by the sword of another pirate wanting to take his place. But something in the back of his consciousness cried out in protest.

No, there was something else he wanted to do...had to do.

"You're going to be doing something drastic, I know it," Keith said, barely loud enough for Faris to hear over all the noise the crew were making, despite the fact they had practically finished loading the ship.

The captain didn't honour him with a proper response, only snorting and closing his eyes completely. Keith laughed softly to himself. "Ah, capt'n," he mumbled to himself, "You're the only person I've met that can make a snort sound elegant."

"What's that you say?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing..."

There was some commotion as the pirates dragged their three prisoners onto the deck, one of them slapping Bartz on the back to get him moving with the flat of his sword. Faris frowned at the mistreatment of the brunette, making a mental note to discipline the pirate later.

"What'll we do with th' prisoners, captain?" a pirate with a wild, bloodthirsty look creeping into his eyes, "Cut 'em up and send their bits to their family?"

Faris glared frostily at the pirate. "Now why would I want to do that, Zeke?" Faris asked him.

"They intruded and tried to steal our ship! This calls for blood!" he retorted defiantly.

Faris narrowed his eyes in distaste. He'd never thought Zeke was as hungry for blood as this when he had stumbled across him. Perhaps seeing all that bloodshed as kid ruined his mind. "Not everything calls for blood. If you had your way back near Kerwin, all of our heads would be decoratin' Karnak's walls. Don't make me do something to you that I'll have to drink myself into a stupor later, Zeke."

The young pirate snarled and ground his teeth, a murderous aura hanging around him. Faris made a mental note to watch him carefully. Couldn't have any 'accidents' happening to himself later on, could he?

Jerking his head in the direction of the three prisoners, Faris shouted, "Cut their ropes!"

Everyone openly gawped at the pirate captain. "Why are you doing this?" asked Bartz suspiciously.

Faris' emerald green eyes stared coldly at Bartz long and hard. He sensed this man had already drawn a picture of how he depicted Faris, as a pirate captain, should act like. This sudden spillage of ink all over the picture from Faris' change in attitude towards him and his friends left him confused and distrustful. If he was still following the initial sketches of the picture, Faris was willing to bet that Bartz thought he was only doing this for his own gain. Tch, tales of pirate behaviour got around, but people forgot that the people the stories were centred around were human too.

He ought to be remembering that more often himself.

The captain's eyes softened slightly. "I have my reasons." Turning to his crew, he shouted, "Are you lot gonna cut their ropes or not?" he demanded, "Answer me!"

They hesitated, before shouting with gusto, "Aye aye, sir!"

They quickly slashed the prisoners' bonds before moving off to their assigned places on the ship. Bartz gingerly massaged the feeling back into his wrists. He was sure the pirates had tied his ropes extra tight on purpose.

"How in the world does this ship move without wind?" Reina asked curiously.

"Figure it out yourself," he replied shortly.

"How-" Reina began, confused.

She was cut off by a rumble underneath the ship. With an impressive roar, a long serpentine neck rose out of the water, somehow managing to not rock the schooner. Bartz, Galuf and Reina gasped in surprise and awe. The dragon stared at the three newcomers with his great beady eyes, their light green hue reflecting the same spirit as Faris himself. A collar attached to his neck was lashed to the schooner, though it was not there out of cruelty or ownership of the dragon, but so that he could pull the ship through the seas. Given the nature of the creature, he was the one that gave his services willingly, and could stop whenever he wanted.

Faris looked on with disapproval, but couldn't help but wonder why the dragon had shown himself. He was the ship's secret, a secret that had not been revealed to anyone other than Faris' crew. The dragon saw his expression and blinked his large eyes with a mischievous expression on his face. Faris couldn't help but feel a little lighter of hear, sure the dragon knew what he was doing, but he still sighed and shook his head in resignation. Well, he couldn't control every single thing that the dragon did.

"Syldra and I grew up together. We're practically brothers!" Faris said with an unexpected hearty laugh. "Syldra, meet..."

"Bartz, Galuf and me, Reina," Reina provided helpfully.

"Yeah, meet Bartz, Galuf and Reina."

Syldra gave them a wide, toothy grin as a second greeting before he slowly sank back into the water he came from, careful not to disturb the ship. Faris watched the patch of water where the dragon had left for a few more moments longer, then strode over to the stern. Taking hold of the wheel, he shouted, "Alright you lot! We're leaving!"

The Wind Shrine towered above them, the top of its pillars sculpted into fantastical flying dragons. The dragons didn't seem ferocious as most 'guardian' dragons are depicted, actually looking rather friendly and playful. However, dangerous looking dragons curled around the marble pillars' bases, suspicion etched onto their features. Reina felt that the creatures were almost daring them to defile the shrine so they could feed their unending hunger.

The mismatched quartet climbed the marble stairs and entered the Wind Shrine to find a small group of men anxiously pacing around the room. All of them were muttering worriedly to themselves, their feet scuffing on the tiles. Reina saw this as a bad sign and hurried towards them.

"Princess Reina!" gasped one of the men, relief passing over his face, "I'm so glad you came!"

"What's going on?" she asked him, urgency in her voice.

She saw him give a double take at Faris, as if noticing the pirate for the first time.

"Um...er..." he began uncomfortably, glancing meaningfully at Faris.

"I don't pillage from shrines," Faris said flatly, not fooled in the least.

"Go on," Reina encouraged the man.

He paused, still hesitant about speaking of the Wind Shine's problems in front of someone he considered a common bandit. Oh what the hell. Things couldn't possibly get worse. "Monsters have been spawning from inside the shrine ever since the wind stopped," he replied, "They'll be down here any moment if something isn't done soon!"

Reina was suddenly gripped with worry. "What about my father? Where is he?" she asked, unconsciously clasping her hands tightly together.

"He went to the Cystal Room on the top floor, but he hasn't come back."

Reina's heart plummeted a few feet, her worry increasing tenfold. Something terrible must have happened...she thought, her anxiety building.

"Somethin' big must've happened," Faris said, turning towards the stairs leading up, "Let's go."

He left for the stairwell, cloak flowing behind him. Bartz and Galuf quickly followed, the old man pausing only ask "Are you coming or not?" with his eyes.

Reina nodded, swallowing her fears for her father and trailed after them.

They fought against blue-white serpents and mutated bats, but most of the monsters consisted of hideous black goblins, bigger and meaner than their brown skinned cousins. Reina couldn't help but be disgusted as their blood spilled in huge amounts across the marbled floor. She found that despite the martial arts training she had endured during her youth, it still wasn't quite the same as fighting actual opponents.

Her fist connected with a goblin's stomach, blasting the air out of it and leaving it stunned, giving her the time to slit its throat with her small dagger. It wasn't quite the same having resistance to her attacks, and Reina found that her fists were starting to ache from all the monsters she had struck.

The party fought their way through the creatures until they managed to get to the third floor, the floor leading to the Crystal Room. They sported few injuries, luckily, as the monsters only attacked in small packs, rather than large waves that would've easily overpowered them. Even so, they found that they were beginning to tire. Fortunately, the third floor seemed to be almost devoid of monsters, and they were grateful for the brief reprieve. However, they pushed on, urgency powering them forward.

A gigantic vulture-like creature loomed in front of them, completely blocking the stairway to the Crystal room. Its great wings were black, the feathers edged in fiery orange, and were raised threateningly, making the beast look much larger than it truly was. Despite having such enormous wings, the bird's equally large grey black body seemed much too heavy to be able to fly. Its clawed feet were as thick as Reina's arm and were digging holes in the tiles on the floor.

"Oh crap?" Bartz offered.

Glaring at them through tiny, glowing little piggy eyes, the bird opened its beak wide and gave a loud ear-splitting screech. The whole party understood it as a battle cry, saying, "Bring it on!"

Bartz and Galuf happily obliged, charging in. Faris followed a little behind, drawing his cutlass from its elaborate sheath. Reina trailed after them, having a sinking feeling that her small dagger would do little to damage such a monstrous beast.

Bartz found himself rolling to the side as the bird's talons came crashing down where he would've been had he kept running forward. Rolling to his feet, he looked up just in time to see the black wing before it smashed into him.

While the brunette was sent flying, Galuf leaped onto the creature's outstretched wing, holding on tightly as the bird went crazy trying to shake him off. Faris threw himself into forward roll as its flailings threatened to clobber him repeatedly in the head. Reina stayed out of range, wondering where she would fit into the fray as Galuf was finally slammed against the wall. Bartz picked himself up off the ground and shouted to Reina, "Try to get past its wings!"

He dashed off, swinging his broadsword, managing a vicious cut along the bird's belly. Faris cursed loudly, trying his best to roll out of the way as it went into a frenzy, stomping all around it. It raised its gigantic wings.

"Look out!" Reina yelled, sensing something bad about to happen.

Galuf looked up, only to see the bird begin to flap its wings. Suddenly he found himself slammed into far wall (again) along with the others. As quickly as the wind began, it stopped, dropping them all painfully to the floor. The monster screeched in triumph, and wrapped itself tightly in its wings.

"Ugh, pain," Bartz mumbled, leaning heavily on his broadsword.

Walking right up to the creature, Bartz blinked in surprise as the creature didn't do anything. It simply sat there, in a shell created by its wings. Galuf after a while strode up next to him, Faris and Reina following.

"Something's wrong here..." Reina mumbled, the other three warily approaching it.

Finally, Bartz tightened his grip on his broadsword, picked a spot in the winged shell at random and plunged the sword through it. Before he could even blink, the shell exploded open, slashing at him with the tips of sharp edged feathers at the end of each wing. Faris and Galuf were bodily swept aside from the barrage of attacks.

Reina, too far away to get close, saw a chance. The creature's attention was completely focused on Bartz. She held onto her dagger, unsure whether she'd be able to hit the mark. But remembering the danger her father was probably in, especially with all the monsters inside the shrine, she drew courage from it.

She threw her dagger with all her strength at the bird, the bird that was barring the way to her father. The beast roared as the dagger buried itself in the flesh just by the base of its beak, spreading its wings wide as it jerked wildly, crashing into the doorway.

"Get it!" bellowed Faris.

They didn't need to be told twice. Bartz and Gaulf jumped the bird, Bartz hacking and slashing at whatever part of the beast he could reach, Galuf doing the same, only he was pummelling with his fists. The monster went insane, but they kept on attacking, knowing that if they slowed down, it would eventually gain the upper hand again. Reina had prudently stayed where she was, knowing that she would be more of a setback if she leapt into the fray with her bare fists. Watching them a little way from the screeching bird, unable to join in without being knocked back by the creature's flailing wings, Faris heaved a long suffering sigh.

"Idiots," he muttered under his breath. "You're near its head!" he roared to Bartz, "Stop bashing its body and stab it in the eye or something!"

Bartz paused for a second before smacking himself in the head. "Now why didn't I think of that?"

"Coz you don't have a brain?"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that!"

He drove his broadsword into the bird's brain, the weapon going straight through to the other side with a splatter of blood and gore. Bartz dropped his sword as he clung for a dear life as the creature jerked crazily in its death throes before it finally crashed heavily to the ground, never to move again.

"Come on! Let's move!" cried Galuf, an instinctual need to hurry adding lines to his old face.

They ran to the Crystal Room, jumping the steps leading up to it two at a time. Reina reached the huge double doors first and attempted to push them open, but failed. As the others caught up to her, Reina backpedalled before furiously charging at the doors, bodily slamming into them. They swung open, and Reina, unable to stop her momentum, flailed her arms wildly to prevent herself from falling over herself. Right behind her, Galuf caught her just before she fell, but not before she took a step forward that sounded out a loud crunch. Just like stepping on shards of glass...

"The Crystal!" Reina gasped in horror, tearing herself away from the old man. "It's gone!"

Bartz knelt down and inspected the ground, lightly brushing his fingertips along the tiled floor. A few of the glassy shards clung to his fingers. After a closer examination, he said quietly, "It's not gone. It's shattered."

A ripple of shock came from his words, and afterwards, a combination of fear and wonder at how powerful the being that brought about the shattering must have been. Then, to the party's immense surprise, the larger shards of the broken Crystal flashed, their shining lights causing them to wince in the dark room.

"What...in the world?" Bartz said.

The dancing colours of the Fire Crystal flared for a moment, glowing reds, oranges and yellows. It flashed in time with a melody only it could hear. Then, settling into a soft shimmer of understanding, a small light emerged from the fire crystal and flew away.
A small ripple passed through the still waters, quickly becoming lost in the image of the Water Crystal. Suddenly the ripple changed into a violent waterspout in the middle of turbulent seas as the Crystal heard from a line of communication known only to it. Just as quickly as it had begun, the waterspout died down, the Crystal emitting a soft glow over suspiciously calm waters. The Water Crystal created a small light, following the Fire Crystal's example.
Plants and trees flourished contentedly in the Earth Crystal's image. The paradise soon disappeared when the Earth Crystal was informed of the recent happenings. The fertile soil soon became a barren wasteland, a chocobo's skull making its way into the picture. With a rumble that went unheard, the Earth Crystal split the illusion, letting a lone light shining brightly in the dark to tail its brethren.
The shards of the shattered Wind Crystal flashed in appreciation of the others' response to its call as their lights appeared in the room. Then, ponderously, it created its own light. However, unlike the others, it flickered dangerously, sometimes snuffing out completely before it came back. With a determined flare, the image of gale force winds howling through each broken piece of Crystal, the lights grew stronger and brighter. Satisfied, the winds ebbed away.

The light from the Fire Crystal moved a little closer to the party, evoking the image of fiery infernos in their minds' eye, before drawing nearer to Faris. They 'heard' the next words, though their ears never registered hearing them at all.

The Spirit of Fire bestows its blessings upon Courage

It flashed brightly, before disappearing. The Water Crystal's light conjured the image of a river and jumping trout, their scales shimmering in the sunlight, then floated towards Reina, who stretched out her hand to touch the light.

Blessings upon Kindness, from the Spirit of Water

It too, shone brightly, before it winked out. Bobbing slightly, the light from the Earth Crystal created an illusion of gigantic, snow capped mountains, unscaleable to all except the most adaptable of creatures. It slid, almost shyly, towards Galuf, its words echoing in their minds as it flared once and faded away.

For Hope, the blessings of the Spirit of Earth

The light of the Wind Crystal glided towards Bartz, its soft glow shimmering in the darkness. They all expected another illusion, but the Wind Crystal surprised them all by almost blowing them back into the wall with its sudden strong winds.

The Wind Spirit gives its blessings to Pursuit

The winds died down as quickly as they had come into existence. The party blinked, wondering whether what had just taken place was real or not. Bartz was the first to say something, his voice trembling in awe.

"What just happened?" Bartz asked.

Galuf sighed in contentment, as if what had just happened had relieved him of a heavy weight upon his shoulders. "Feels warm."

Reina looked down at her empty hand, only just realising the light had disappeared from sight. She cupped her hands for a moment, holding the last dying images of water running through her fingers. "The Crystal's Spirits?" she murmured in fascination. "I don't understand..."

"Rei...na..."

A familiar man in armour seemed to fade in from where the Wind Crystal was usually placed. His sword lay lax in his gauntleted hand, the point of it dragging against the tiles. His body language alone spoke of immense physical weariness and possibly mental exhaustion as well. Even though his helmet and the darkness veiled most of the features of his face, Reina could still recognise him.

"Father!" she cried, relief and joy flooding into her voice.

There was no was no way that Reina could see the look of shock, as plain as the day, on Faris' face. The king of Tycoon didn't give them much time to get a proper hold of their emotions.

"You've seen what has happened to the Wind Crystal. The other three Crystals are in danger of shattering as well." His voice grew stronger, a sense of ominous doom lacing every word. "You must protect them!" he urged as he began to fade from view. "An evil spirit is about to return. One that will change the world as you know it into a place of darkness."

"Father!" Reina cried, running to his fading body. Her hands passed through his ethereal form.

The king of Tycoon's voice came back, much stronger, before he completely faded away. "Go, chosen warriors! Protect the Crystals at all cost!"

"Father!" Reina screamed, hands clutching for something that wasn't there anymore. She seemed to crumple inwards, bits of Crystal biting into her knees and palms as she knelt on the ground, tears of frustration and agony dropping to the tiles. "Father..." she whispered.

Six of the larger Crystal shards flashed brightly before they settled into a soft glow. "What?" Reina blinked through her tears.

Bartz bent down and picked up a shard. He could feel the energy pulsating through the Crystal pieces as the final words came through the party's minds.

Even parts of Crystal still have power. The shards hold the powers of the ancient heroes within. They won't make you invincible, but they will aid you and help you to learn as you journey. The rest is up to you.

Bartz could almost see the images of the heroes long gone in the gentle pulses of the Crystal shard. "They're lending us their power?" he echoed in disbelief, staring at the Crystal in his hand as if it was an all powerful being that needed to be respected and revered.

"We need to get out of here," Galuf said practically, picking up the other glowing Crystal shards. "We can talk later."

"You guys go first," Reina said quietly. "I'll stay here for a little longer. I'll meet you at the ship."

They nodded in understanding and prepared to leave. Faris lagged behind a little, an almost gentle expression on his face. He squatted down and clapped a reassuring hand on Reina's shoulder. She looked up in surprise at the unusually kind gesture. Faris met her surprise with an honest smile before he stood back up and walked away to join the others.

Reina watched his cloak flow gracefully behind for a while, then turned back to the shattered crystal shards. She smiled, picking out the pieces that had gotten stuck in her hands. There was still hope. That was all she needed to keep going.

Author's Notes: Hm...I was doing a little research on piratey stuff, and I got a little confused. It's kinda hard to keep true to the way of life of the pirates in the past, when in FFV the pirates act differently from how pirates in reality did. So I guess my representation of pirates isn't really right, both ways.

I'm not really sure of the usage of double take, so help on that would be appreciated. Argh, and for some reason, I think most of the talking seems to go to Faris and Reina. It's the same all the time! I seem to breathe more life into (ackt! Crap! Spoiler! I forgot about that...), I mean, into certain characters. If anyone thinks I'm abandoning Bartz or Galuf or anything and not developing their character enough, please tell me.

Also, if anyone could help me with the monsters that are roaming about in the duration of the game, like say, what monsters there are in the North Mountain, it would be most appreciated, since I can't remember what lurks where. I will fall over and die now. Before I make an attempt to make my chapters longer.