A/N: Myrrr… M'dad wants to reload my comp within the next few days, so until I can get things rolling after the reload, I won't be able to make any progress on this.

Step Seven

Yuwain was fuming as he advanced on Phoenix, eyes glaring.

"THAT wasss your PLAN! THAT little stunt!"

"There's a reason I did it-"

"I DON'T GIVE A CARE TO WHAT REASSSON YOU SUPPOSSSEDLY HAVE!"

"I know what I'm doi-"

"Obviousssly you DON'T!"

"YUWAIN! QUIT YELLING!"

"WELL, YOU'RE NOT SETTING A GOOD EXAMPLE!"

There was a glow from the corner of the room, and quite suddenly, both Phoenix and Yuwain found they couldn't move.

"Kupo! You're like a couple of bickering two year-olds, kupo! How about we settle this like MEN, kupo?"

He gave both Phoenix and Yuwain a sharp thwack with his Firewheel Rod.

After a few minutes, the two were brought back in time, albeit a bit calmer than before.

Mack looked at one, and then the other.

"Well then, kupo… are we going to be big boys now, kupo?"

Yuwain rolled his eyes.

"Yesss, daddy…"

THWACK.

"Alright, alright!" He turned to Phoenix. "Ssso… what's your BIG plan?"

Phoenix sighed. "Well, I figured it was a good idea…

(FLASHBACK)

It was a cold and dreary afternoon, perfectly suited for the mood of a particular human Hunter and a particular viera Sniper. Everyone at the table could sense the moodiness. They all stared at their drinks, sipping from the mugs occasionally. Finally, Phoenix cleared his throat and stood up. They all turned to look at him with curiosity in their eyes, except for Jullianne, who looked at him with hatred. Phoenix shot a quick glance at Yuwain and Mack. He told them to go along with whatever he did, or else things would really take a turn for the worst. He turned his attention back to the rest of the table, cleared his throat again, and said the two fateful words he'd been planning on saying since he came up with his own "plan".

"I'm leaving."

Silence. To Phoenix, it seemed like a three-quarter stunned silence and a one-quarter betrayed silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuwain just staring at him.

"What?" Dave gave Phoenix an incredulous look.

"You heard me… I'm leaving. And so are Yuwain and Mack."

"Care to tell us why?"

There was a pause, Phoenix looked directly at Jullianne, and then, "Personal reasons."

Dave gave a small laugh, stood up, and put his arm around Phoenix's shoulders. "Buddy… can I have a word with you for a minute?"

Phoenix shrugged and let the clan leader take him over to the space under the stairs to the second floor.

"What in the blazes are you trying to do with this?" He hissed.

"It's simple, really. Jullianne hates me, and I can't concentrate AT ALL with that knowledge in the back of my mind, so I know my performance in engagements would drop considerably."

"Hogwash!" He growled. "Either you tell me WHY you're doing this, or I'm going to hunt you down in a Jagd after you leave the clan and slice your head off."

That seemed to work, for Phoenix gave a small sigh, closed his eyes, and explained. "I'm doing it to impress Jullianne."

"… I hate to say it, but I'm not following you."

"Here was what I was planning on doing. I would leave Armageddon, start my own clan, called Clan Jullianne, work the hell out of my clan members, and become one of the top clans in Ivalice. That way, I was hoping Jullianne would see that I would actually do that much for her and understand that I truly do care about her."

"Just because you'll name this clan of yours after her does not mean she'll think 'oh wow… he really does care!' Trust me buddy… it'll take a lot more than that. And besides, it's gonna be a while 'till you get rolling." He sighed. "But you know I'll try to help you… covertly of course. I'll recommend your clan to kids who try to join mine, I'll lend you some money, and I'll be slow on the uptake when it comes to missions."

This surprised Phoenix. "You'll really do that?"

Dave looked him straight in the eye. "Buddy, I'm not as stupid as you might think. I KNOW you love –yes, love- Jullianne, so I'll try to help you impress her. Of course, it won't be anything outright… just some of the stuff I mentioned."

Phoenix smiled. "Thanks Dave."

And they walked back to the table.

(END O' FLASHBACK)

"… Ssso that'sss what he sssaid to you…"

"See, kupo? If you didn't blow up at Phoenix, that would've come out earlier, kupo, and you would've saved yourself a lot of breath, kupo."

Phoenix nodded. "So there's my plan. My glorious, amazing plan… Go ahead, shank me with your Ultima Blade… hit me with your Fire Sword… hell, IMPALE MY CROTCH ON YOUR TEMPLAR SPEAR… I feel like an idiot… and I probably am one for doing that…" He looked thoroughly distraught.

Yuwain cracked a grin, nudged Phoenix in the side, and winked. "Well, for the time being… it looksss like we're back to three man battlesss!"

A/N: I'm finding that my chapters are becoming shorter and shorter… But the problem is, I've put all I need to in the chapter, so there's no more for me to write, unless I want to cram two chapters into one, and that'd be a big no-no (no pun intended).

Action-seekers, be still! There WILL be at least one battle scene in one of the upcoming chapters!

… that is… when I can actually get to writing them… stupid computer…