Chapter 1: Meeting Vivi
I felt like I had been through hell. My entire body ached. I could no longer tell if I was conscious or not. I couldn't recall any of the events prior to my predicament. It all seemed so hazy to me.
All I could remember was fire and darkness then, out of nowhere, a blinding light came. My senses were distorted as I felt myself falling. I felt like I would fall forever, then it suddenly stopped. I could feel pain coursing up my left side as I hit what I assumed was the ground. I tried to regain my senses and that was when I first felt someone else's presence near me.
"Are you okay?" The person asked.
I was facing away from the person and couldn't muster up the necessary force to turn over. I was in so much pain and I could barely speak. I felt the unknown person approach me and ask again if I was alright. This time I could tell from the sound of the voice that it was a boy, and a young one at that, probably no more than nine or ten years old. This time I had enough strength to turn over and face the boy.
I was not expecting what I saw. My eyes widened 'This can't be' I thought. 'This is too unreal' yet there he was. It was definitely the Black Mage, Vivi Ornitier, from Final Fantasy 9. 'I can't be dreaming, otherwise why am I still feeling pain. If this isn't a dream…then what the hell happened?'
I was jolted out of my thoughts by Vivi's voice. "Are you alright?" he asked, again.
"Yes, I'm fine…thanks." I barely managed to speak. 'Well at least I can talk again' I thought.
"Do you need help?" Vivi asked.
"Nah, I'll be fine" I said as I tried to get up. I immediately regretted my hasty decision. I had no sooner sat up right when my head began to swim and the world around me started to swirl. I clutched my head and tried to regain control of my senses. After a few seconds I was seeing the right way again. I then looked over at Vivi, who was looking at me with a concerned look in his eyes.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" He had a questioning hint in his voice.
I smiled at him, "I'll be fine, but can you tell me where I am?"
He gave me a strange look before answering "you're in Alexandria."
I thought about this for a second 'I thought so.' I then addressed Vivi again "so, can you tell me your name, kid?"
He looked a bit nervous "V-Vivi O-O-Ornitier" he said.
I smiled at his stuttering "pleased to meet you, I'm Michael, so what are you doing here in Alexandria, Vivi?" I asked.
He still looked a bit nervous "I-I am going to see a play" he said.
I couldn't pass up this opportunity "mind if I come along?"
Vivi seemed a bit surprised, but nodded "s-sure."
Before we continued down the road I decided to check myself in a mirror I noticed on the side of a house. I was wearing a blue T-shirt, white short pants, my blue battle robe from my martial arts training, and had two swords strapped to my belt. I was surprised at this. I didn't remember wearing either the robe or my two swords. Aside from that everything else looked alright. I was still a nineteen year old man. My hair was still short and brown and my body was still slightly slim and well toned. My eyes were still brown, and I still had my slightly tanned skin and my white sneakers. And I was still only 5ft. 9in. in height, darn!
After seeing that I had no serious injuries, Vivi and I walked together to the ticket booth. On the way there though some rat kid punk, who I knew was Puck, ran right into Vivi forcing him to fall.
"Why you…get out of my way!" he yelled, before taking off.
I helped Vivi get back on his feet "are you alright?" I asked.
Vivi looked up at me and nodded "y-yeah, I'm fine" he said.
I then stared down the street Puck disappeared into. 'Some people' then I started shaking my head in dismay.
