Wonderwall
Author: Chaos Valkyrie
Date Conceptualized: January 2, 2006
Posted Chapter 01: January 27, 2006
Updated: April 15, 2008

Disclaimer: I looked through the manual and credits, and damn those Squaresoft people! They left my name out again! So until this whole matter is straightened out, I guess "Random Fangirl CV" doesn't own jack or shit.

Author's Note: Ah yes, the plot bunnies of Hell and Happy Fun Land mugged me in the back alleyway again, and forced me to start another story. This has an OC, will shy away from the game plot a bit, and will probably include some Rikku-Auron-OC love triangle-ness. Maybe, if I'm not too afraid of the Aurikku fans to do it. But definitely some Auron-OC because Auron rocks my socks. Oh, and if you'll remember the opening blitzball scene with Tidus, my 'OC' – Jael – is the brown-haired Duggle that you see floating upside down and making a really cool pass. Just so ya know.

Chapter One: Unmarked Helicopters

I'm panicking, and I know I'm panicking, but I can't stop myself. I'm obsessive-compulsive, that's just how it is, don't stop me now. My hands rip my duffel open, checking and rechecking my equipment, uniform, etc. Keys. Check. Goggles. Check. Favorite blitzball. Che– Nope.

Nope?! I run back into the office, checking under my desk, the worktables, through the lockers, everywhere. I know I packed the damn thing this morning. How could it have fallen out of my bag?! My head is under the desk again when I hear a low, muffled chuckle behind me, and my spine stiffens. Eyes narrowing, I stand up and turn to face the man sitting across the room. Brown hair, twinkling eyes, and a smile like mine… when I'm smiling, that it. Right now, I'd say I'm snarling.

"Brother," I grit out, my hands balling into fists, "Give it. Now." I'm surprised I'm actually able to talk, because rage doesn't usually let me get too many words out. Or at least, words that are acceptable to polite society.

He gives me the cute bunny look. Normally that'd work, but this is the Jecht Memorial Cup we're talking about. The game my team has fought for all season long. The chance to beat that little whelp Tidus and his Abes into the ground. "The game I'm going to be late for if I DON'T GET THAT BALL RIGHT NOW!"

Oops. Shouted that last part. Rage receding as blood rushes to face. And Janus, oh brother dearest, merely laughs louder.

"Now sister," he snorts, "Whyever do you think I would steal your Pooky?"

I swear to all that is Zanarkand, I did not give the blitzball that name. He did. I would've called it something like Killer or Bloody-Stump or something… violent, along those lines. But he decided to call it Pooky in his brotherly torment and the name stuck and…

Waitaminute.

"Who said I was missing my blitzball, brother?" I smirk. He was so trapped.

"You did," he grinned. I frowned, retracing my words. Okay, maybe I did.

"Give it to me anyway," I said, marching up to him and grabbing the front of his shirt. He holds his hand up in defense, reaching behind himself with the other. I drop him with an "oof" as I grab the ball and cradle it close. Big smiles.

He laughs. I frown again, before marching back to my bag and shoving the ball back in. Flinging it over my shoulder, I look at him and frown.

"See if I help you out at the office again," I snarl. He gets a slightly (only slightly, mind) worried look on his face. I grin inwardly and change the subject.

"You coming to the game?" I ask, holding the door open. He shrugs.

"I want to, but probably not. With the deadline coming up on the R24, I'm probably going to work all night revamping the OS and working out the kinks in the interface," he replies. Ah, the jargon of the techno junkie.

I grin. "Well…" I trail off, mock-thinking, "Leave me some for tomorrow," I say with an air of great generosity. He grins in relief.

"Will do," he sighs, grabbing my arm and pulling me into a hug. "Good luck tonight, Jael."

"Thanks, Janus. See you tomorrow." For some reason, I pull him into another quick hug, then skip down the steps and turn towards the stadium, waving to him as he stands in the doorway.

Maybe, somehow, I already knew that I'd never see him alive again.

The game has barely started, and I am violently reminded why I really hate Jecht's son. Prince of the Abes and all that. I play forward for the Duggles, because I'm great at passing and shooting, lousy at guarding and defense. But Garen would just laugh at me if he heard me say that.

Garen is our captain, our coach, everyone's best friend. He drives us with a passion, focusing on our strengths, helping us to cover for our teammates' weaknesses. As for me, that's why I often drill with Luke and Bannon, midfield and left defense. They're decent with passing, but they have some of the best defensive records in the league. Their shooting… well, that's why I work with them.

Anyway, Wenno blocks a shot, passes to Luke who kicks it to me. I grab the ball, pass to Garen, who shoots and then…

That little blond-haired bitch rams my coach and captain and best friend and flings him into the stands. I wince. That's definitely going to leave a mark.

The Abes score, and we're desperately trying to regroup our forces until Garen gets back in the game. As the only forward now, I motion for Bannon and Heath to step up the defense, and Luke swims desperately for the ball. One of the Abes flings the ball upwards, out of the water. We all watch as Tidus, star of stars, shoots out of the water, does his fancy little flip…

And I scream as the blitz field seems to explode around the rest of us. We were so focused on him, we never saw the fireballs until it was too late.

Masonry is falling everywhere, and the blitz sphere rocks crazily, like its melting. The water pulls me along with it as it spills out onto the stadium floor. Dazed, bruised, tasting blood, I pull myself shakily up on my arms when I feel someone fling themselves on top of me. Grunting, I hear more explosions, feel my body shake with the ground beneath me.

The weight lifts, and its Garen. His blue eyes are wide, frantic, but his voice when he speaks is calm. He pulls me to my feet, taking my hand.

"C'mon, we've gotta get out of here," he says. We run out of the stadium, ducking and dodging debris. I have a gash on my arm, and Garen has a black eye from the Princeling's tackle. We run out into the hallway, and Luke and Wenno are pelting down the stairs, bags in hands. They toss me my game bag, and I look at them blankly as I take it. Was our stuff really so important that they had to go back for it?

"Where's Bannon?" I ask Luke, whose eyes shift away from mine. "Heath?" I ask, heart sinking. Garen takes my arm and pulls me towards the stadium gates.

"We're all that's left now," he mutters, and I want to stop, to cry, to rush back and hold their broken bodies. But I don't. I can't. The guys usher me outside and we run like hell across the bridges. Where we're running to, I can't guess. Nowhere is safe anymore.

I'm appalled at the city before me. My eyes are glazed behind my goggles, as are those of the others as we just keep running. Maybe later I'll be able to allow myself the luxury of thinking again, but for now all I can do is sprint past the falling buildings, the crushed and mangled bodies, and look on in glassy, absent-minded horror, the images burning themselves into my mind.

I don't think I'll be sleeping for a very long time once this is all over.

Sounds rip through the air, connecting with the bridge about us. Projectiles imbed themselves in the ground and we keep running, running beyond them. Then Luke screams, and we turn to see that the projectiles aren't just missiles, they're alive…

And Wenno is pulling Luke along, bleeding, trying to back away from the monsters before him. I shriek and lunge towards them, but Garen holds me back. Wenno kicks the creature in the head, and it dissolves in a mess of smoky lights.

He picks up Luke and we run, seeing other people fall around us. I think I see some people behind us, fighting the creatures with swords, but I never got a chance to look as Garen lugs me forward.

We dodge past more of the creatures, but soon we're overwhelmed. Luke is coughing blood, his uniform stained a deeper crimson. Wenno is grunting, tired of carrying our friend, but refusing to set him down. Garen and I start fighting, kicking, punching, swinging my bag. The monsters aren't too difficult to kill, but there are just so many…

We hear explosions behind us. I turn, looking back as one of the buildings starts to fall towards the bridge. Wenno's arm comes out of nowhere, obscuring my vision as he flings me out of the way. I hear him grunt, and Luke yelp, the Garen is pulling me to my feet and backwards. I glance back. Wenno's on one leg, blood gushing from where a creature clipped him on the other. Luke rises to his feet, and they both look back at me, at Garen, then motion us to run back the way we came. The monsters are pouring towards them as they both stand up and prepare to fight…

"NO!" I scream, wanting to rush to them, help them, end this foolishness. But Garen grips my arm and runs.

"They want to do this, for us. Make their sacrifice an act of honor," he pants in my ear. He pulls me towards the stadium again, and we stop, dazed, as the building that had exploded seconds ago crashes into the bridge. Someone, two someones really, jump onto it and rush towards us as it sinks into the ground. My eyes narrow, but not entirely in anger. Tidus, luckiest s-o-b-blitzballer in the world is running for the bridge…

The bridge beneath us is starting to crack, and I feel Garen grab me from behind, lift me up bag and all, and fling me forwards. I roll along the asphalt, looking back from where I lay to see him. The bridge beneath me is rocking, lifting, enveloped in light, and he's standing in the darkness below, fighting off the creatures that were behind us. He turns to me, one last time, and gives me the half-wave-thumbs-up that's his trademark.

I think I screamed, but my ears were already ringing so I couldn't tell. I see our friends' mangled bodies beyond, I see him take a hit to the stomach, blood seeping out…

Then the bridge lifts so high I can't see anything anymore. I turn and see Tidus and the other guy, not too far from me. They probably think I'm dead, and I look up, into the light.

Something's there, something huge, and the one guy is staring at it like he's talking to it. He grabs Tidus' shirt and lifts him, and I crawl towards them, hoping they may help me, help Garen…

But the light is too bright, and I feel like my soul is aching, crying, screaming as something pulls me into the light, absorbs me…

The light flares once, then I'm blinded as the darkness takes me.

Song of the Chapter: Essentially, I've been listening to a lot of old CDs lately, and have hence been picking songs to pair with chapters. "Wonderwall" by Oasis is where the title comes from – it reminded me of Auron. This chapter was originally "Champagne Supernova", but the chapter ended up needing a faster paced, less peaceful song. Hence, Chapter One's song is now "Unmarked Helicopters" by Soul Coughing.

Borrowed Quotes: "Make their sacrifice an act of honor." – paraphrase of 'Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves'