Chapter 35: I Remember

I woke up when I heard something in the house. I sat up in bed and looked at the clock; it was 1:47 A.M. I heard the noise again. 'Someone's in my house' I thought.

I got out of bed and took off my pajamas. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a blue shirt, a pair of white pants, and my blue battle robe. After I put those on I walked over to my closet and pulled out my sword belt. My swords were still in the belt; one was a normal sword, and the other was a reverse blade sword.

After getting my swords I walked over to the door, but stopped. I turned around and walked towards the table that was by my bed. On it was a pearl ring. It was my dad's ring and now it was mine. I picked it up and put it on. After that, I quietly slipped out the door.

I slowly walked down the hallway and crept down the stairs of my two-story house. As soon as I reached the bottom, I listened for the sound. Sure enough, I heard it again. It was coming from the kitchen. That's when I noticed something. The house smelled like gasoline. 'Gas, why would there be gasoline unless…' I thought. I silently moved towards the kitchen.

The smell of gas was strong. 'How long has this guy been here?' I thought. I placed my hand on the hilt of my reverse blade sword, and slowly walked into the kitchen. That's when I saw him. A man was standing by the sink in the left corner of the room.

"Don't move. Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" The guy spun around, and saw me. That's when I saw the gun in his hand. He pointed the gun at me, and pulled the trigger. I dove to the ground, and slid across the floor, due to the gasoline. I hid behind the counter.

"You idiot, watch were you're shooting. You'll set the whole place on fire!"

He spoke. "That's the idea."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

He laughed. "Why? I bet your expecting some sad story. Afraid not. I'm doing this because I can."

"Oh, like that's a good reason" I said, sarcastically.

He laughed. "I hate to burn and run, but I gotta go." That's when I heard the gun shot and the explosion.

I poked my head out from my hiding spot. I saw that half the kitchen was on fire, and the smoke alarms went off. I also saw the guy run for the back door. I quickly jumped over the counter and tackled him to the floor. We rolled around in the gasoline for a bit, each of us throwing punches at the other. Eventually, I kicked him away from me and towards the fire. He missed the fire by a few feet and started to get back up. He pointed his gun at me again.

That's when the ceiling over his head collapsed. The burning debris fell right on top of him. I saw his body erupt in flames as he screamed in agony. I knew I couldn't save him. It was already too late. Finally he screamed his last scream and his body ceased to move.

I was brought back to reality after he died. The fire was blazing around me. I had to get out of here. I turned to the back door, but saw that the flames were already devouring it. I knew I couldn't jump through the flames, not while my clothes and skin were covered in gasoline. I ran out of the kitchen and ran for the front door. Unfortunately, the flames had already spread this far and a section of the ceiling collapsed in front of the door. I couldn't get out that way either.

I decided to run back up stairs and try to escape from a window. I ran up the stairs and stopped dead in my tracks. The flames had made it up to the second floor. The flames were blocking my only escape route. I wanted to panic, but I knew that was the worst thing I could do.

I ran back down the stairs and saw that the smoke was building up. I quickly got on the ground and crawled. It didn't really matter whether I was below the smoke or not. I knew that as soon as the flames got near me I would be dead.

I eventually found myself in front of my big screen TV. It was the only place I could go. I heard sirens outside, and realized that the fire fighters had come. Whether they came or not didn't matter now. They wouldn't reach me in time. The fire was closing in around me, and I could do nothing but watch.

That's when I knew I was going to die. I couldn't get out. I was trapped. I was finished.

That's when I heard something snap in the fire. I strained my eyes and saw that the support beam was on fire. My eyes widened at this new threat. That's when the support beam snapped in half. I looked up at the ceiling, but couldn't see anything through the thick smoke. I could feel the house shake and I knew it was going to collapse

Finally, I heard a large crash and my instinct told me that the ceiling was falling. I looked up and managed to see through enough of the smoke to see that I was right. Time slowed down as I saw the ceiling descend towards me. "Father…" I called out the name of the one man I really wanted to see at this point. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and I felt myself falling.

I woke up with a start. I could feel that I was sweating all over. I tried to get up, but I felt something on my chest. I tilted my head down and saw that Vivi had laid his head on my chest, and was fast asleep. I smiled at the sight. My smile quickly vanished though as I remembered my dream.

'I remember…those were the events that took place prior to my arrival here' I thought. That's when it all came back to me. When I turned eighteen I had inherited my father's house. After I graduated from High School. I went to Purdue University. I completed my first year there, and was ready to head back home, even if it was a big lonely house.

Before I left for home, however, I had received news of some pyromaniac burning down people's houses. This was happening in my town. When I arrived home for my summer vacation, they still hadn't caught him yet. He was the one who burned down my house. He died in that fire though thanks to his own overconfidence.

'That answers what happened to me before I came here, but it doesn't explain HOW I got here' I thought. 'Should I tell the others…probably not, they probably won't believe me, and even if they did, I don't see any reason as to why I should tell them unless I have to' I thought.

Vivi stirred in his sleep and lifted his head off my chest. He opened his eyes and looked at me. His eyes widened and he threw his arms around my neck. "Michael, you're awake. You're alright. You are alright, aren't you?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yes, Vivi, I'm alright. Thanks for the concern."

He got off the bed and I got out of bed as well. It was morning now. Vivi looked up at me. "You had me really worried, Michael. Don't do that again."

I smiled at him. "I'll do my best, brother." I could see the smile in his eyes.

I spoke. "Let's go to the dinning room."

On our way to the dinning room I looked down at Vivi. "Vivi, when we first met, did I smell…funny?"

Vivi looked up at me with a confused expression in his eyes. "Y-yeah you did, but I didn't want to tell you. I was afraid that you might get mad."

I smiled and placed my hand on his shoulder. "I'm not mad at you, Vivi. You're entitled to your opinion, and your opinion means a lot to me."

Vivi looked happy. "Thanks." I smiled at him, and we walked through the door and into the dinning room.

The first thing I noticed was that everyone was in the dinning room. They all turned and looked at us. Zidane spoke "Michael, you're alright. What happened to you?"

I knew this question was coming. "I got this terrible headache, and fell unconscious."

He nodded his head. "I'm glad you're okay, we all are."

I smiled. "I know, thanks for the concern."

Dagger spoke "there's something I need to tell you and Vivi."

Vivi looked at her. "What is it?" she told us about her origin.

When she was through, I spoke. "So that explains how you can use summon magic."

She nodded. "Yep."

Vivi spoke. "So Queen Brahne isn't your real mother?"

Dagger shook her head. "No, she's not, but she's all the family I have left. I have to try and save her."

I nodded "We'll do our best to help you."

She smiled. "Thanks."

I turned to look at Zidane. "So, when are we leaving?"

Zidane smiled. "Well, now that you and Vivi are up, we can go right now."

I smiled. "Alright, let's go." Everyone nodded and we walked towards the entrance to Madain Sari.

Eiko stopped at the entrance and looked back at Madain Sari. "Grandpa, I'll be back soon!"

Vivi looked at her. "Oh, you're coming with us?"

She turned and looked at him. "Hey, why the long face?"

Vivi shook his head. "Oh, nothing…my face is always like this."

Eiko spoke. "Mog's coming, too!" She turned and looked towards the village. "Mog!" after that Mog showed up, as well as all the other Moogles.

Morrison spoke. "Lady Eiko! Now, don't forget that you'll always have a home in Madain Sari. Don't let our memory become a burden. You must always be light-hearted and free. Thoughts of the Eidolon Wall will always lift your heart." After that, Mog jumped into Eiko's shirt.

That's when I felt a presence to my right. I turned and saw Red approach us. Zidane saw him as well.

"What now? You want some more, eh?" he said.

Red spoke. "The victor rules, the defeated dies. You know the rules. Your actions yesterday were incomprehensible to me. Tell me! Why didn't you kill me?"

Zidane thought for a moment. "Well, that's a tough question... Are you really that unhappy that I let you live?"

Red spoke. "I'd rather die as a warrior than live as a beggar."

Zidane spoke. "Then come with me."

This got an immediate reaction from most of the group. Dagger was the first to react. "Zidane?"

Then Vivi. "What?"

Then Red. "What are you after?"

Eiko was too stunned to speak. I was the only one who kept a neutral face.

Zidane paid them no mind. "Follow me and maybe you'll understand. Besides, you're pretty good in a fight. We could use someone like you. We're hunting a man down." Red said something under his breath. Zidane noticed "huh? You say something?"

Red spoke. "Very well. I'll find out what makes you so strong."

Zidane nodded. "What's your name?"

Red spoke. "Call me what you will."

Zidane thought for a moment. "Lani called you 'Red,' right?"

Red spoke. "Some call me the flaming Amarant."

Zidane nodded. "Alright, we'll call you Amarant. The more the merrier. Let's go. Next stop, the Iifa Tree!" we left Madain Sari and started back towards the Iifa Tree.