Revolution by Shadray

Disclaimer- I don't own Legend of Dragoon or any of the characters or other things from it. I do, however, own this fanfiction and all of its contents. So, um…yeah. >.>;;;

Author's Notes- Alright, first new story of the year! Well, actually, second, if you include Broken Alliance.

Hopefully, if you all are good and my updating doesn't suddenly hit an all-time low, you will receive regularly updated chapters! Almost. Although I probably shouldn't have said that. And now…our featured presentation. Pretty proud of the story (even if I'm not so sure if it's my best work), so drop a review if possible.

And also, if any of you have played Final Fantasy X, I would recommend you read the great collaborated fic that a few other authors and I have just written. Very well-written, and really good, if you ask me! (Pen name: Crazed Unit). It should be online by now, so drop us a comment or review if ya will. Called Broken Alliance. Check my author's profile page for more info.

And with no further adieu, the fic please? (points below) My main character is already bothering me by asking why I'm going to put him through this whole fic…. (is annoyed) But don't worry about that. He'll have to deal. (grins maliciously)

Enjoy!


Revolution- Chapter One

Large, towering structures made of mostly modern metal had been built, lining up directly in a well-arranged manner, and stretching out seemingly for miles. Every place in the minute city was reachable by foot, and the sky, everyday, was gray and mysterious because of the large amount of smoke that rose up constantly into the atmosphere from various factories. Old, undersized churches had been replaced with a soaring tower, peering down on the rest of Erring from the area in the very center of the city. Circling this tower was a number of homes which occupied various residents of the city.

The specific home in the corner of the street was unusually quiet, the only noise inside being triggered by five long fingers drumming against the wall. This silence, however, did not last particularly long.

The Creator Soa dropped a seed from the skies, allowing hope and life to grow on the barren land, later known to all as Endiness. From this seed grew an enormous plant—one that covered an entire region. It continued its massive growth for days, until the tree was sure to be the largest form of life on the planet for the rest of eternity.

There were 107 different types of fruit that eventually fell from the many branches of this tree. These different fruits evolved into the 107 races that we have today. Among them—

Adam flung the book across the hall carelessly. He hadn't even gotten to the fifth paragraph, and it already was beginning to sound like crap. "I was not born from a plant," he said edgily. "What is this, a myth?" He fiercely rolled his eyes, his head shaking in obvious pity.

The girl next to him sent him an odd look, as if wordlessly telling him that she highly disagreed with him chucking the book across the hall. "Um…someone spent a lot of time writing that," she pointed out quietly, a faint frown forcing its way on her features.

"I doubt that, really. They probably whipped it up in just a matter of minutes." He shrugged, turning his attention to the door in front of him. The book had not occupied him long enough for the man inside it to stall. "Come on, we're late," he called into the closed room. "We'll be penniless—and will have no lives—if we don't show up at this thing."

The other voice, the softer, quieter, female one, answered this statement. "You should probably give him some more time; he's probably just fixing his tie or something… Besides, we're already penniless…" she pointed out.

"Penniless, yes, but lifeless, no." A small, faint frown found its way across the young man's face. "Besides, the Erring Army won't let anyone in who hasn't at least completed their twelfth year of school these days."

It was true. The new army had been desperately recruiting soldiers for the war—the one that was being fought against the Capalists. It seemed as though people from the Capal Region had been hiding a dire secret from the rest of the planet, and Erring intended to find out what, exactly, it was. Nothing too informational was known to normal people during those times—everyone outside of the small government had to make its own conclusions about what had been going on.

It was true that Adam, like millions of other average citizens, knew very little about the war, but as he had always been a very aware, very alert person (and his father had participated in the war a few years ago), he knew a bit more about it than most people. No one ever questioned this, although there were many people from his school who wondered why he'd want to fight for an army who had been at war for almost unknown reasons. Almost the entire world detested this war, as it seemed for nothing.

Adam, however, was not one of those people.

The last person who had asked him about this particular interest in fighting had ended up running away, hiding his face in shame, and avoiding questioning looks from unknown people staring at him uneasily.

The man was wearing a blue robe and black, reflective shoes. A blue hat sat poised at the top of his head, and his pale, chocolate eyes corresponded with the spiky brown hair that sprouted from the top of his head, making its way to his eyes.

The girl standing beside him was wearing the same attire, her lengthy, auburn hair falling loosely past her shoulders. Her eyes brightly resembled a morning ocean—deep, with a sapphire color.

Adam groaned to her. "Still, it's hard to stand here patiently when Carter's been in there ever since we came, and the ceremony begins in twenty minutes," he continued, drumming his fingers against the wall he was leaning on.

A sudden annoyed voice came from the opposite side of the door.

"You act like I can't hear you," the young man called out in a dry tone. " Just hold on."

"As I recall, you said those same words three minutes ago," Adam declared scornfully. "And it didn't work, now did it?" His patience, which he never had much of, was draining rapidly.

"I wouldn't say it was his fault, really," the girl replied quietly. Arienna then shrugged her shoulders. "After all, what else was he going to say? I'm sure we could spare him a few more minutes…"

"Arie, you really are a bit too kind," Adam murmured, shaking his head.

Adam made a loud throat-clearing noise, trying to be heard through the closed door on the other side of the hall. He then shouted clearly in the direction of the doorway. "You're going to have to come out soon, before we run out of time. We are walking, after all, you know."

He was ignored.

On the other side of the door stood a young man, also wearing a royal blue robe and black dress shoes. He frowned at the hat that had drifted to the floor helplessly with the movement of his body, and he mentally willed it to magically pick itself up and plop back onto the top of his head.

It stayed put.

The frown deepened.

High school graduation had finally come—and it was about time, really. Four years of constant work and sweat had forced the 18-year-old to grow weary and bothered at the thought of college starting soon.

He sighed and shook his head, emptying his mind of this bothersome reminder, which had been pestering him all month. He checked his watch and blinked, mentally noting that he had less than twenty minutes before the ceremony began.

At the same time, Adam checked his own watch. "Sixteen minutes left! Let's go!" he shouted, his fingers still impatiently drumming on the wall from before.

"Thanks, I forgot," Carter muttered under his breath sarcastically, leaving the room.

Arie had hesitantly opened her mouth to say something to the impatient man beside her, but the starting words to her sentence were drowned out by the sudden sound of the creaking door.

It flung open and walking calmly into the hallway was a young man with heavy, black hair falling down his forehead in grouped strands. His pupils' exact color could not be determined; they were dark, like a shadow on a bright day, yet, somehow, whenever someone examined them closely, they seemed to think there was a bit of shining white bordering them. He had lost count of the number of times he'd caught someone staring straight into them, transfixed like a dummy. He looked at the two others standing in front of him oddly.

"Well? What are we waiting for?"

Arie frowned. "Um…we were kind of waiting for you to finish…"

"And it's about time, really," Adam commented dryly, narrowing his eyes at the man in front of him. "Well, you all ready?" His eyes narrowed even more, a threatening look taking place on his features. "You better be."

He was first to trudge down the flight of stairs, his feet slamming down on each creaking step. Carter was quick to follow, and Arie walked lightly behind the both of them, her auburn hair brushing against the top of her back with each stride. When the three reached the bottom of the stairs, a low-pitched, unconcerned voice called out to them.

"Carter. Do you three need anything before you go? It's a long walk, isn't it?"

The 40-year-old man hardly resembled the 18-year-old, with his chocolate, ruffled hair. His face was dark, and his eyes seemed to match, as the young man looked into them with a shrug.

"Nah, it's okay. We're fine." The black-haired man glanced at the two others beside him, who nodded urgently, not wanting to waste another minute of conversing—the electric clock in the corner of the room had been persistent in ticking with every passing second, as a constant reminder that time would not stop and wait for them to catch up.

The man nodded, gesturing toward the front door.

"Go on, then. I have things to do, too," he said gruffly, his hairy face turning away from the three. He had a low, raspy voice that seemed to echo throughout the room when he spoke, although his mouth barely opened. His skin had a very tough texture, and he towered over them, looking down his short, crooked nose.

"Um… Are you sure you can't come with us?" Arie asked politely, wondering if the man knew that his only son would only be finishing the twelfth grade once.

His eyes widened angrily, his lips pursed tightly, as the man gave her a rather nasty scowl.

"No," he said sharply, his short temper rising as he spoke. "Weren't you listening? I told you I had something better to do." He grunted, wrinkling his nose in obvious disgust.

There was an awkward moment of silence, in which Carter smiled uncomfortably. "Err—what are you doing, anyway?"

He smiled shiftily, a slightly quivering finger pointing at the door. "You three better get going, the ceremony starts soon," he said in a shaky voice.

Carter had opened his mouth to say something to his father, but was cut short as he and two beside him were hurriedly ushered out of the house, with one final wave from the man as he slammed the door shut behind them.

"Well," Adam commented, after they had walked a small distance from the house, "wasn't that nice?"

Carter was reminded of Adam's distaste for people touching him when he, sighing, began brushing off the germs on his robe.

This sardonic question was left unanswered, so Adam answered it himself. "Yes. Yes it was," he spat sarcastically. Then he shrugged. "At least we'll almost be able to get there almost on time."

"And I can understand why you're so anxious to arrive on time," Carter said, smiling, once the three were walking up the sloping sidewalk.

"Huh?"

"You have been waiting for this moment for longer than any of the rest of us—twenty years old."

"Oh, that's right.." Arie agreed, nodding and remembering that the other man was two years older than Carter, and three years older than she herself.

"Oh, shut up. I've already had enough of that from my folks. Do you know how annoying it is for people to constantly tell you that you shouldn't have started school so late? I've lost count of the people who ask if I got held back," the older man stated, rolling his eyes tiredly. "I could be a millionaire by now."

At this, Arie and Carter exchanged looks. They were both vainly attempting to stifle noticeable laughs.

"It isn't funny."

But his words were lost in the loud laughter protruding from the others' mouths.

"Millionaire?" Arie questioned between deep breaths, beaming, as she calmly tried to control herself. Her smile did not fade when Adam nodded his head solemnly with narrowed eyes that glared at her coldly.

"Yeah, that's right. Millionaire. I could have been rich by now!" he shouted at full volume, his voice almost echoing.

Various people gawked at him oddly ("What are you starin' at?"), and Carter could have sworn he heard a woman rush her children away, muttering something about teenagers and their antics.

Arie smiled awkwardly. "So..um... Are you guys going to the party afterwards?"

The after-graduation party was one of the most talked-about topics of the entire year for the seniors. It seemed almost as though wherever Carter went in the hallways, there was always at least one person beaming and breathlessly speaking about the upcoming event. He, however, was not quite as interested as the majority of his classmates.

"You mean after the graduation? I guess I'll go if you two do." Carter's eyebrows rose questioningly until Adam nodded. His eyes then fixed on the shorter young woman beside him who had asked the question. "Why? Are you?"

"I guess."

He frowned noticeably. "No, you're coming, whether you like it or not. Besides, what else is there to do?" he asked, his brow furrowing.

There was a silence. Then, she said unfathomably, "Um, look at the sky."

Adam searched her eyes for a sign of this sentence being any sort of joke, but the girl was serious, and she had up at the heavens above her as she said the words. "Err.. Okay… That's…always a fun thing to do," he said uncomfortably.

Carter smiled nervously.

"Well…have you noticed the Moon lately? It's…not the same… I mean…I couldn't have been the only one…?"

This question imposed silence among the group as the schoolyard came into view from the top of the small hill. Adam looked at the darker-haired young man, as if asking what the woman was talking about, but he only shrugged.

"Um.. I guess I was the only one," Arie said, smiling sheepishly. The two males were relatively quiet, and she gently added, "I'll have to show you when it gets darker out…"

"Someone's been gulping down one too many drinks," Adam declared, earning him a rightful glare.

"Thanks, Adam, I needed that..."

"My pleasure."

Another glare took place, this one much more disgruntled than the last.

Adam kept quiet.

"Go Arie," Carter grinned, staring at her like she had gained some sort of magical power. "That's all it takes to get him to shut up?" he asked eagerly.

Arie smiled broadly.

->->-

The group took almost another two minutes to reach the school, which seemed to stare at them unwelcomingly as they edged nearer to the front doors, which had been propped open. They walked through the empty hallways, blank walls surrounding them on either side.

"My, how colorful this place is…" Arie murmured, glancing around her, aware of the fact that this would be one of the last times she walked through those hallways again.

"No kidding," Carter said under his breath, frowning at the completely austere surroundings.

The good part to all of this, however, was that this was the last time he'd have to come back to the school—he cheered mentally.

The hallway came to an end, and he pivoted on his right leg, leading the way to the spacious auditorium on the other side of the school. They walked in silence through the empty halls, the only sound coming from the clicking of their shoes against the floor tiles and the occasional reminder of "Walk faster! It's already started!" from Adam, who had been constantly keeping check on the time.

Soon, they approached two wide double doors, which were flung open by Adam, allowing the other two inside the auditorium. Several dozens of students were sitting in petite, blue chairs on the lowest level, listening to the thunderous boom of the speaker with the microphone standing on a platform at the very front of the room. The seats on this level were separated into two sections, one on the right, one on the left, and a narrow aisle between them led to the front platform. Above them sat the students' friends and families, peering down on the lower level of the auditorium with binoculars, muttering and whispering to each other.

The group slipped quietly inside, only noticed by a few people. The speaker paused, narrowing his eyes at the small group of late students, but soon continued with his speech. Arie turned behind her and, before joining the others and sitting down, grinned to a pack of six people high above her, who waved and murmured excitedly amongst themselves.

"Your family?" Carter whispered as she finally took her seat beside him. She nodded and, after settling in their seats, they fell silent, listening to the man's welcoming speech. He seriously resented the fact that his own father could not make it to hardly any of his activities. He wasn't much surprised earlier that day when he learned that this very father of his would not be arriving at the graduation.

"—These kids have come so far in the last four years," the speaker was saying in a rather monotone voice, "and we are very proud of them. They have been past rigorous courses, finals, and all sorts of other barriers blocking their paths to success. Let's give them a round of applause before we get started—"

Echoing ovation filled the air, and, moments later, died down again, and he continued, nodding his head shortly.

Something very peculiar occurred at this time.

The sharp, black suit the speaker was wearing suddenly seemed to have a very glazed look that stung Carter's eyes. The young man blinked furiously and furrowed his brow, trying to look away from the object—the sting surged passed his eyes and flowed uneasily through the rest of his body, forcing him to jerk forward and slam his knee into the seat of the person sitting in front of him—

"Urgh!" A stout young woman whipped around fiercely, snorting and shooting him a rather disgusted look. She muttered under her breath, rolled her eyes, and snapped her head back in the direction of the speaker, making sure to fling her hair in his face as she did so.

Carter fought his way out of the matted strands and looked back up at the droning man standing on the podium. The sting had faded away slowly, but as his eyes settled on the suit once again, his mouth dropped. What the hell?

The suit's jacket was no longer shiny or black, but was dulling to a dead, lifeless color.

He stared, wide-eyed.

The jacket and the pants were merging together, forming one long robe—much more different than the robe he himself was wearing. Long and wide, resembling some sort of religious costume, the gown seemed to gape back at him. His eyes darted downward and froze—the podium had…

Vanished?

Nah, couldn't beHe blinked hard, and there everything was, back to the way it was a few minutes ago. Black. Casual. Monotone. Nothing special.

He glanced around the room, but no one seemed to have noticed anything unusual.

Carter leaned to the right, not taking his eyes off the man up front. "What—what was that?"

There was a pause.

"What was what? I didn't see anything."

He looked up at Adam, wondering what, exactly, had been going on. Adam, however, looked oblivious of the little episode that had just occurred. "You didn't—?"

He growled exasperatedly. "Will you shut up? I'm trying to watch," he said, returning his attention to the front.

Carter shook the wondering thoughts out of his head and looked up at the podium. People were already being called up one by one to collect their diplomas and shake the hands of the school's staff on their way back down. The dull-voiced man on the stage spoke into the microphone in his hand, calling up the first student.

"Kit Arnolds?"

A tall, bony woman with very tan skin was walking across the stage, her blue robe dragging behind her. She grinned and snatched the diploma from his hands, waving it to the crowd excitedly. She did not move until one of the staff members had to shove her off the stage, smiling awkwardly to the people in their seats.

"Daniel Blaring?"

An unsmiling person slouched over to the man with the microphone and grimly took the certificate from him.

"Jane Brone?"

Things went smoothly for a while in this manner, Carter not noticing anything particularly unusual (he was watching very intently). After a while, he gave up, realizing how paranoid he must be to actually believe that the changing of a suit to a church robe was at all possible. Who cared, anyway? They were clothes. He was almost beginning to feel ashamed that he'd ever believed something like that in the first place—until another very strange thing occurred.

"Hollis Taylor?"

A man strolled to the stand, a broad grin implanted on his face. When he received his diploma, however, this grin faded completely and the object withdrew from his hand. His mouth drooped closer to his chin, his eyes narrowed into a slit-like manner, and wrinkles formed across his face. Slowly, the rest of his body began to morph horribly and, a moment later, a chubby, elderly man with a cane was kneeling on the floor, panting.

Carter gaped noticeably. He shook his head and blinked, not daring to believe his eyes—

And then the young man looked around wonderingly. The people sitting in front of him had turned around to glare at him, as if waiting for him to do something. The black-haired man smiled sheepishly.

A voice whispered harshly in his ear: "What are you doing? They just called your name, go up." He was shoved forward by Adam.

The short path to the stage seemed like an hour of walking, he realized, as everyone stared impatiently at him. These were the benefits of being one of the last people to go up, the young man thought sardonically. After four small steps leading to the higher platform, he reached the stage and looked out at the crowd of sitting people waiting for him to continue.

Carter walked on as casually as possible, suddenly feeling a rather cold spot in his stomach. He ignored it and smiled contently at the man, who handed him a thick certificate.

He grinned up at Adam and Arie, who grinned back, and was about to go to shake the hands of the staff members to the right of the stage when out of the corner of his eye, a swirling mass of meshing objects caught his attention.

Damn it, what this time? he mused, the grin on his face quickly replacing itself with a great glower. He had had enough with these bothersome hallucinations—

But he soon realized that what he'd been seeing weren't hallucinations—something very irregular was happening.

Everything around him soon was swirling about like a heap of clothes in a clothes washer. They all merged together, colors running with other colors, forming one massive spinning circle. Slowly, however, things were going back to normal—

Minus the small little detail that the seats were no longer made of plastic, the students were no longer wearing blue robes, there was no longer any second floor above the first, and, mysteriously, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed a small window—on the other side of it was a small town being shown, and—even more strange—a colossal, blood-stained object shone in the sky.

And suddenly, he knew exactly what Arie meant when she had spoke of the strange-looking moon earlier on.

The faces surrounding him were different. Nothing was the same—not the stage, not the lights, not the walls—and Carter could only gawk and recoil with very, very wide eyes.

In the exact spot where the man had handed him his certificate stood a different person: Elderly, gray-haired, and wrinkly skin could be seen easily from Carter's viewpoint. He was clutching a cane tightly in his right hand, and as he drew closer to the young man, he utilized it to jab Carter's shoulder hard.

What the hell? was the thought screaming through his mind as he frantically dodged another jab from the angry senior.

His head snapped in the direction of the seats in front of him, and the man searched desperately for his friends, hoping for some kind of support. His mouth dropped to the floor—

Neither Arienna nor Adam were anywhere to be found.

The elderly man pointed a bony finger at him.

"Heathen! Take no step closer to King Albert! Or Soa have mercy on your soul."