Disclaimer: "The only characters that are mine are Connie, her family, her friends, and her family's friends. All the other characters are from FFX, FFX-2, FFVII, and Yu Yu Hackusho. Unless you count the dog and cat's names which are from Kingdom Hearts, the animals are mine, but the names are from Kingdom Hearts." See. I told you it would be in every chapter. Now, before I waste any more space or time, let's start chapter 2, shall we?

On Earth as it is in Spira: Chapter 2: Re-Acquainting

As I walked into the Celsius I could see nothing but darkness. Pitch black. Max, however, had an easier time. He just took off his sunglasses, and walked forward. "Follow me," he said. There was a loud wurring sound. "It's okay, it's just the engines. Just come on." I couldn't see him, but I could hear his voice, and I just simply did what he said to do. Did I have any other choice? Not really. Soon we turned a corner and light came bursting in through a door. Just when I had started to get used to the dark. "Come on," he said. I saw him walk into the lighted door. I trusted him, so I followed.

I soon entered a room that made me blink about 20 times before my eyes adjusted. While my eyes were adjusting I heard people start to talk.

"No way," I heard.

"This can't be her," said another voice.

"She looks different, Cloud. Are you sure this is Lulu?"

"Yeah," I heard him say, "This is her."

When my eyes adjusted I looked around the room. Everyone was there. Well, almost everyone. I started counting people. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Max made 11, and I was 12. There used to be more. I realized that Kurama was gone. As was Mrs. A, and Calli. I didn't ask why, didn't come to my mind at the time. "Hey guys," I said, still adjusting fully to the light.

"YAY! IT'S LULU!" screamed Rikku. She ran over to me and hugged me. Well, it wasn't exactly a hug. It was more like she was squeezing an orange, and she had mistaken me for one.

"Good to see you again too, Rikku. Mind letting me breathe?" I asked.

"Oh!" she let go, and I was breathing hard after that. "Sorry! You just… I… I mean we haven't seen you for so long! You look so…"

"Different?" asked Paine.

"Yeah! That's the word!"

"Funny," I said, "You guys all look the same." They did too, that was the weird part. They looked just like they had the day they left. Well, all that is except for Max.

By then my eyes had adjusted to the light, and I could see the bridge. It was incredible! I mean, sure, you see shots of it in the game, but in real life the Celsius looked so much… bigger! But, it looked just as it had in X-2. My eyes gazed around the room at all the high tech equipment. Brother was in his seat, driving, and Buddy was where he was to be too, as well as Shinra. I set my bag down, and walked over to the sphere in the middle. The big one, with all the words on it. I tried to read it, but it went to fast. I still don't know what it said. I took my eyes off that contraption, and continued to look around. "Nice, ain't it?" asked Yuffie.

"Yeah!" I said back. "Awesome!"

"She'll get over the shock of it all pretty quick. Then we can all get to work," said Max. I knew he was kind of making fun of me, but I really didn't care, this was incredible!

"So," said Yuna, trying to break me out of this trance I was in, "how have you been? Been doing anything interesting?" she asked.

"In the middle of winter, no, not really. But I do graduate in about 5 months!"

"That's good. Lookin' forward to it?" she asked.

"Yeah, freedom. It'll rock!"

She laughed. "Yeah, I bet."

Silly stepped up. She was the only one who looked different. Everyone else, well, except for Max, looked the same. But Silly, had gotten older. When she first came to see me and Max I think she was about one year older than me. That would make her about 18 now, or so. Just the right age. "So, got any plans for college?" she asked.

"Kinda. I was going to go to New York, and study there."

"New York? Is that a big town?" asked Rikku.

"You could say that. I think one of the biggest in the U.S."

"Wow…" said Rikku. "What's it like?" she asked.

"I don't know. I've never been there. But, I have seen pictures. It's really bright, with a lot of lights. Lots of people too. They call it the city that never sleeps. That's pretty true too. I mean, no matter where you go I bet there is always something open, or someone out, or something happening. That's just the way New York is. But, the college there is awesome, so I hear. And, it's perfect for what I want to go into. The perfect place to learn it all."

"What do you want to study?" asked Silly.

"Well, I want to go into acting. I think it would be fun. I've done a little, but I want to get better at it. So, I'm thinking of majoring in acting, and taking music as a minor."

"Artsy ay?" asked Rikku. "Sounds like fun."

"I hope so."

"Okay," interrupted Max. "I've had about enough of all this small talk. Let's get going, okay?"

Silly nodded. "Right. We have a lot to do, and we should probably get started. Yuna, why don't you, Rikku, and Paine get started. Work on some of your less used dresspheres." They nodded, and stared out. "Lenne, Tidus, Baralai, and Shuyin go get started, and warmed up. I'll be there in a sec." They all nodded, and started toward the exit of the bridge. "Cloud, I would like you, Yuffie, and Aeris to go get started too."

"You got it. But, wait, I promised Jill… uh… what about Connie here?" Max asked. I was amazed. He actually cared what was gonna happen. I guess he never was one for going back on a promise.

"Don't worry. I'll get her started. She and I have some magic work to do."

"I'll be okay, Max." I said, trying to encourage him. "I'll be casting fire spells before you can say, "Burn." I said. I laughed a little. Though, my hands got kind of hot, but I didn't notice it too much, just a little.

Max shrugged. "Okay, well, if you need me, just come and find me."

I waved, and so did Silly as the three of them left the bridge behind the others.

"So," I asked, "now what?"

"Now… we make an attempt at your magic skills. First a couple of questions."

"Fire away," I said. My hands got kinda hot again, but I just stuffed them in my pockets, and ignored it.

"Okay, you may find these questions kind of cheesy, but they are actually things that have to be answered, and correctly. Don't worry their easy. And, if you are the person I think you were when I first met you, you should be fine." I nodded, and she nodded back.

"Do you believe in magic? Do you think that you could perform magic, if taught? Not just illusions, or slight of hand, but the magic that you have seen on television, and video games since, well… forever! The magic that you aren't sure you can perform. The magic that you aren't sure anyone can perform. The magic you think to only be fictionous. Do you believe in the magic that no one can perform, that you can perform, that anyone, if given half the chance can perform?"

"That's a lot of questions," I replied. My head was spinning. It was almost like it were a dream, but I knew better. This was not dream. No, this was real. Almost too real. But, I couldn't exactly back down now. The engine sounds echoed in my ears. The room was almost blurry.

"Lulu… Connie, are you alright?"

"Yeah, fine," I said. I shook my head hard. "Yeah, just fine."

"Well… please. I need an answer."

"Okay," I said. I thought for just a second, and looked at the ground. I knew the answer, but I was thinking if this was something I wanted to do. Put my life in danger. Do a skill that no one, on Earth had mastered yet. Nothing anyone could do. I looked up, and met her eyes. "Yes," I said. "I do."