Quick Backtrack

Paine received a call from Runy whom asked her to cash in the favour she owed him. After a fulfilling supper, Yuna and Milano sat on top of the Celsius and reminisced over old times. Unbeknownst to them, Rikku was eavesdropping on their every word and continued to do so even after Paine's advice not to…

Author's Notes

Disclaimer: I don't own any Final Fantasy Characters or anything mentioned from the franchise. This story was written for non-profitable purposes so please just read and enjoy people. Adding to the previous list, Tiara is also mine. :)

And now for Chronicle II…

The Invincibility of Choice

.: A Tactless Tales Production :.

Chronicle II, Part 1 – The Pursuit For Jade

3 Weeks Prior…

Blue eyes blinked awake. A sweaty darkness shrouded the space around her, hints of passion trapped in the stuffy air beneath the sheets. With a soft groan, Leblanc poked her head out of the blankets and proceeded with a stretch of her arms. In union with her yawn, a grumpy moan came from the body beside her. She froze in place respectfully, letting the heap to her side roll into a more comfortable position. Thankfully, it wasn't long before sleep had dawned over him once more.

Leblanc tiptoed out of bed as carefully as she could, doing her best not to stir him again. Late morning was hardly the time she'd usually wake up but Nooj always had a way of making her do things out of the norm - not that it was something to complain about. She wrapped the silk gown around her body and stepped into a pair of bunny slippers.

Admiration tingled in her waking face as she watched him sleep peacefully, his soft snores composing a soothing song for her ears. The surprise wasn't going to prepare itself, she realised. Saluting him with a final weak smile, she turned and snuck out the room.

The stairs were uncooperative, creaking at the slightest touch of descending toes. When she finally overcame the last step, she looked back up and gave a triumphant smile. The carpeted living room floor made the rest of the journey safe and soundless. After side stepping a few items of furniture, Leblanc arrived in the kitchen. She smiled again, anticipating the look on his face when he received his breakfast in bed.

The morning kitchen was yet to be attended to by servant hands, reminding her of the generous mood she must've been in to give them the next few days off. Scraps of the previous night's wealthy dinner sat untouched on several plates scattered across the centre table, and mountains of dirty dishes stood tall in the double sink. Surprisingly, it wasn't as horrible as she thought it would be. Not even the random splats staining the marble tiles could blemish her spirit.

Leblanc's smile stubbornly stuck onto her face as she began humming while she prepared a tasty breakfast. Bubbling kettle water soon joined the harmony and cooking oil crackled avidly beneath brewing eggs. She parted the translucent blinds distracting the warm rays of light, giving the heavenly figure a set of pearly whites in return. If she knew retirement was this good, she would have taken it a long while ago. There were better things to do then compete with the dullwings for the rest of her life.

"Done!" She flagged one of the sandwiches with a toothpick-pierced olive. It was time to claim the prize for her 'hard labour'. Halfway into the living room, she realised that she had left the cup of coffee in the kitchen. She settled the tray of delicacies onto the closest table before marching back for the final piece of the puzzle.

A small blotch interrupted the morning's serenity in the form of the doorbell's tune. Slightly shaken, Leblanc calmed down with a sigh of relief. Mostly she was thankful that not a drop of hot beverage spilt over in her sudden hop.

The doorbell sang again but this time Leblanc was halfway there already. Using her free hand, she unlocked and turned the knob. She smiled mechanically as the door slowly revealed her visitor.

"Hi!" She greeted happily before re-looking the person. "H-hi…" Her voice trailed off. It was hardly a guest that stood on the other end of her shocked expression. Old regret and forgotten fears stuttered in her widened blue eyes. Trembling fingers could no longer support the grip on the mug, allowing the steamy drink to flow freely onto the welcome mat...

There went the morning.

ooOOoo

Yuna was surprised at how much she learnt to appreciate tranquillity over the years. Her morning routine had expanded, growing to accommodate hours for visiting the airship's deck. The elevated air was always fresh and supportive to the thought process. She sat on the warmed ruby surface, hugging her legs close to her chest and resting her chin on firm knees.

Despite the idle scenery, time snuck by, swiftly like the cool breezes pressing past her face. The previous week had been spent re-visiting Spira. She showed Milano her favourite locations, and the landmarks that made an appearance in her past journeys. As Yuna expected, Kilika had sailed fairly well with her friend's interests. Open seas had become Milano's preferred method of transportation, and knowing this, Yuna had done well to introduce her to the port.

Wakka, Lulu and the others welcomed Milano with open arms to their home of Besaid. The stay was rather enjoyable, and Yuna cherished the moment she convinced Milano to change the baby's diaper. It was a laughable shame that the child lacked the common sense to distinguish her face from a toilet bowl.

The memory returned Yuna to the conscious realm with a giggle. She smiled weakly, realising that she had spent more time on the deck than she should have. If anything, the fact that she was sitting in pyjamas half way into the day was an indication of this. Finding the sense to lift herself from the deceivingly comfortable position, Yuna left the open confines of the deck and descended into the Celsius.

With a sudden ping, the elevator came to rest on bridge level. She stepped into the bustling room cautiously. So many different sounds were active simultaneously, each sound considered noise to the next.

It puzzled her how Brother and Paine could enjoy a game of chess over Buddy's banging music. Even if they were seated in the corner, the music trampled every bit of serenity hidden in the room. The elevator shut closed behind her and escaped upward via its shaft.

Hearing this, Brother poked his head over Paine's shoulder and spotted Yuna standing there in white pyjamas, tiny blue poke dots scattered about the pants and shirt. Messy strands of morning hair lingered carelessly to the sides of her face, partially hindering her bright eyes. But for the moment, anything Brother needed to know could be found in the contagious smile connecting her ears.

"Good morn–er, afternoon to you too lady, Yuna." His salutations were unnecessarily formal but they still managed to bring giggles to her. "Look! I'm actually winning this time!" He pointed at the chess board.

How nice of Paine to take the time to teach Brother the game of chess, Yuna thought. The Celsius's autopilot feature took away from the captain's work. Not to mention with the rare occasion of missions they had these days, world travel wasn't as vigorous as it used to be. Yuna was just happy that Brother found something educational to dedicate his free time to. She gave him a wink for good luck. Knowing his competitor, he would need it.

Paine turned around to Yuna as well. "You're up early," she said sarcastically. Then she mimed the words 'I let him take my queen', so Brother couldn't detect them. Yuna covered her mouth, suppressing laughter, then gave Paine a wink with her other eye.

The two of them turned back to their game. Yuna was sure Paine was going to find a different board then she had left. That's how Brother was; his best moves were always made when his opponents weren't looking. Who in their right mind would let him move one of their pieces if they're watching after all? Even though Paine picked this up every time, she would never let on, but simply shake her head and sigh. The gesture signified the end of any mercy she my have granted him before. Though, she had to admit, without the illegal moves he made, the game would hardly be worth playing anyway. At least this way, there was a bit of a challenge.

Moving on, Yuna walked past the forever busy Shinra. The young boy genius slaved away on that computer of his most of the day. Sometimes she'd challenge him in a game of Sphere Break, knowing full well that the high percentage of the time she'd lose. The objective wasn't to win however, but give him the break he often denied himself. They exchanged hand waves as Yuna walked by.

Clicks and clatters of computer keys faded into the heavy music by the time she reached the bottom of the staircase. Buddy was a different kind of busy. As far as Yuna could tell, somewhere between the kicks and drums in the songs was some sort of satanic message that fooled his brain into making him move like that. On a really good day, he'd even challenge her to a dance contest. But sliding down the stair railing or swinging from the roof's lantern is where she drew the line between dancing and being a maniac.

And there he came at her, bopping his head like a drunken chicken and throwing his arms about as he glided closer. Before she could even greet him, he had grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling her into a dance with him. Yuna knew better than to resist and entertained him as a dance partner for a bit. As the song came to an end, Buddy gave her one final twirl and a big dip.

"Good going, Yuna," he complemented, pulling her back to her feet. "One day, you'll be just as good as me."

"Not in a very long time," Yuna replied modestly, watching gleefully as Buddy moonwalked his way out of view.

To the far end of room, Rikku was doing a dance of her own to her favourite T.V. show. "Aw, poopie! I hate commercials."

Yuna headed towards her agitated cousin, plopping down besides her. "So what's up?"

"You mean apart from Buddy's volume?" Rikku pulled the cushion from beneath her bottom and threw it at Buddy behind her. "Turn it down! I can barely hear what I'm watching!"

That explained why she was sitting an inch in front of the screen, Yuna thought. "Meh, let him be, he's just trying to have some fun." She smiled, ignoring the booming melody that forced them to raise their voices at each other.

WHAM!

Something soft had collided firmly into the side of her head then dropped onto her laps. It was the cushion that Rikku threw before, returning with a vengeance, only it attacked the wrong person. Yuna frowned. "One second, Rikku." But she was stopped halfway in her stand by a strong grip pulling down on her wrist.

"Let him be, he's just trying to have some fun!" Rikku mocked, but Yuna wasn't exactly laughing. "Oh sit down!" She tugged her cousin hard back onto her bottom. "Besides, I've got something I know you'll be interested in."

The only time Rikku ever said that, was when she had some sort of gossip to spread, but this time, there were no shady glimmers evident in her green eyes. In fact, the playful teen managed to hold a straight face. Intrigued, Yuna sat down, resting her chin on her fists wisely. "Okay, you've got my attention. By the way, you just saved Buddy's life and if this isn't good, you're going to have to save your own."

Rikku gulped playfully.

"So, what is it?"

Pretence could only be taken so far, especially when the music reminded her of its presence every noisy second, pounding her ear drums with droning beats. Buddy hadn't taken notice of the lethal glare Rikku shot him. Something this important should've been told as oppose to read, but the disturbance left her no choice. She handed Yuna a piece of scrunched up paper she had picked up earlier in the cabin.

The flyer unfolded into something more readable in her hands. Keen eyes skimmed through the text rather quickly, growing wider at the final words. The shock cemented onto Yuna's face searched for an answer in her cousin's expression, and received a friendly smile accompanied with a nod of confirmation. Questions played on impatient lips, jumping on top of each other in a dispute to be asked first. Yuna leant to Rikku's side, positioning herself to place loud whispers into Rikku's ear.

"Where did you get this?"

"Somebody must've dropped it in the cabin." Green eyes scouted the area for potential eavesdroppers. "Who ever it was obviously didn't want us knowing about this. Realising how important this is to us all, they should've brought it up the moment they found out. But they didn't. I say we follow up on this. We'll find out who it is because they won't be surprised."

It sounded like a plan to Yuna. "Or, they'll be surprised that we found out. In that case, they would be promoting resistance, leading us straight to them." They nodded at once in agreement. One thing still troubled Yuna about the whole thing, however. She called Rikku forward with a finger to better whisper her concern. "But … why would anybody onboard keep this a secret?"

Rikku frowned. There was only one conclusion she could come up with. "Just because we're all on the same airship, doesn't mean we're all on the same boat."

ooOOoo

Restless anticipations travelled noisily amongst the small groups making up the diverse crowd cluttered on a huge corner of Mi'hen Highroad. Men, women and species of assorted kinds gathered to take part in the day's special event. The loud mass and intense sunshine seethed the courage brought along by some parties, while other nerves leaped more keenly with the passing time. In common, they all shared some interest in the first prize, which must've been worth a lot if the contenders (or victims) were required to survive the gruesome challenge with their lives intact.

Merchants would've been fools not to take advantage of the abundance of potential customers. Hotdog stands and small tuck-shops were stationed for every set of eyes to notice, regardless of their position in the crowd. Cool winds did their bit to counter the heat, but only nearly frozen beverages could pleasingly soothe most victims of the open sunlight. Penniless, and full of desperate courage, one kid snatched a can of soda from a nearby cooler box and ran for dear life, inadvertently brushing past a woman's black pants in his hasty escape.

"Ugh," Paine complained. "Kids."

Another one was coming, but this one, three feet taller and three belts wider. The pierced sausage on the end of his long fork shimmered like a weapon to threaten the young bandit. His stained apron and frantic complaints told her he was the owner of the stolen property. He looked like he wanted to get his hands on that that kid so bad, but the only place his hands were going were on his knees. Bent over and out of breadth, his attempt to capture the kid had been exhausted.

"Want me to hurt him?"

"… huh …?" He gasped between breadths. When he looked up, he was blinded by the long sparkling blade the grey-haired woman held out to him. "Er … generous offer … but – "

"Surely there are better ways to settle this," Yuna stepped in. She pulled out a couple of round, gold coins and patted them into the man's chest pocket. "That should cover it. You can keep any change left over." The man thanked her in shock before returning to his post.

Paine glared at the pleased smile on Yuna's face. "You're no fun."

Her words did nothing but amuse the former high summoner, granting her a giggle. Paine stared past the banner held high into the air, looking for something to keep her interested in sky. She wasn't even supposed to be there, and neither were they…

Yuna pulled out the flyer she crumbled into her pocket earlier and re-read it:

Come, fun waits for all.

Whether kings, knaves, beasts or slaves

For death holds no prejudice for names

Still, great rewards await those who're brave

Live to the end, and take the glory we claim

The extraordinary Apula of Jade.

It was a good thing they found the advertisement when they did. Yuna didn't know what she would've done if she had lost this opportunity. Failure wasn't an option. Not for this mission. One down, they only needed three more Apulai. And then … She smiled hopefully, clenching the Azure Apula that rested on her chest.

"I wonder how serious they are when they say your 'grave could very well be on these grounds'," Rikku said grimly, and then found a laugh in it all. "Rin can be the quiet the drama king sometimes."

"Yeah," Yuna agreed, half distracted by a gang of shoopelo doing the Macarena. Their 'shinging" butchered what was left of the classic. "Er, are you sure we're in the right place?"

Rikku shrugged. The handout didn't say much about the location or time, but the commercial on T.V did say Mi'hen Highroad if she could recall correctly.

"We're in the right place alright," Paine stated confidently.

"How can you be so sure?"

A shrug of her head led them to the skies. Three brave riders descended from the high clouds on the backs of ferocious-looking beasts. The huge, scaly lizards bared long, black claws on their foot-long paws. Dark tamed eyes surveyed the grounds below hungrily, but dared not make a move unless ordered to by their riders, who, arguably, were the real beasts. The hooded figure riding the centre dragon was recognized by them all.

"Amu! He's the guy that tried to steal our Apula back in the desert!" Rikku exclaimed, her cheeks fuming a little at the memory. Thankfully, Yuna's long lost friend had come in the nick of time to win them back what was theirs. Rikku caught a half-smile Paine failed to hide as she observed the redhead rider. From past experience, asking her about it was the absolute wrong thing anyone could do. Instead, she thought back at the guests they had over a week back.

"Hey, Yunie. Do you think Milano's going to be here?"

"No need to think about it." Yuna pointed through the crowd towards Milano, who was half-devoured by the large mass. "What a surprise that she'd be here too. Looks like we've got competition."

"I wouldn't say the surprises are over just yet." Everybody gave Paine a blank look. She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. Yuna and Rikku's jaws dropped at the same time.

"LeBlanc?" They said together. It had been almost half a year since they last saw her.

"I thought she said she retired." Rikku remembered.

That was supposed to be the case, Yuna thought too. "I wonder what made her come back…"

End Of Chronicle II, Part I