Chapter 2: Briefing

"But my jeans are fine!" Ewok moaned, pouting slightly as Balthier flung various articles of clothing at her. All the clothing in the world seemed to be located in the crate, probably the spoils of pillaging some poor ship. She had initially been enthralled in finally seeing the Strahl, but she was less excited in exchanging her jeans and t-shirt for some bizarre Ivalice clothing that probably showed too much skin.

"No they're not. With your current attire you stick out like a Viera at a Moogle convention"

"So?"

He sighed, "Here you go. And no more complaining or I'll let Fran get you some clothing. And Viera clothing…" He broke, off shuddering, closing the door quietly on his way out. Ewok sighed and looked down at the clothes in her arms. She guessed they were not that bad, compared to Viera attire. She changed quickly, and examined her reflection in the dingy mirror. A green singlet, with swirls of darker and lighter green, pants of brown with tan interwoven in the weave, and knee high boots. She pulled her green belt from her jeans and tightened it around her hips. It could be much, much worse, she mused, tucking a brown curl behind an ear.

"I guess if I'm really in Ivalice I'll have to play the part" she murmured.

Somehow she managed to navigate to the cockpit, where Balthier and Fran were seated. The sky pirate was fiddling with dials and knobs, and occasionally pulling a lever.

"What are you doing?"

"Never you mind girl" Fran hissed.

"Geez, who got out of the wrong side of bed this morning…" she trailed off, the look in Fran's eyes could have melted Nethicite.

"Ok, I can see I'm not loved here, so can I go home now?"

"I'm sorry Ewok" Balthier looked up from his controls, "There may be a way to get you home, but a simple way I know not" She opened her mouth to complain, but one look silenced her.

"There is a story, in the times of old, of a person who could bring Ivalice together. My companions and I, after acquiring the command of the esper Belias, found more items in Raithwall's tomb, other than the dusk shard. It was that piece of parchment, with which I summoned you, and this disk" He held up a thin piece of mineral, which glittered in the dull cabinlight.

"It tells of…"

"Just show her it" Fran cut in, "That shall be easier than explaining it to one as thick-witted as herself"

Balthier slipped it into a slot below the console. The view of the hanger was blocked as the hologram image sprang up. It spat static for a moment, and then went black. Abruptly white writing appeared with a whooshing sound "Playstation 2". The hologram switched and showed a cloudy sky, and a familiar airship sped past "Square Enix presents…"

Ewok stared, mouth open, as the introduction trailer for Final Fantasy XII played, finally swishing into the black menu with the glimmering logo changing colours in the background. The commands new game and load game hovered, as if unsure if they should be there. She giggled slightly, looking from the real faces of Fran and Balthier to the computer generated renditions that had flashed across the screen.

"It's the game…"

"Silence" Fran began.

"But…" she looked up at the suddenly solemn eyes of Balthier, "…you can't use it?"

He shook his head, "No, we have not the tools and even if we did we do not know if we could wield them. They are too powerfull, too deadly to be wielded by any of Ivalice." He held out a piece of parchment. It was aged, spotted with grime and dust. But she could clearly see what was drawn on it in blotchy ink.

"A Playstation 2 controller? This is your ultimate weapon? I thought it was the Zodiac Spear"

"Apparently only through the combined power of the disk and the controller can we bring Ivalice together. This is as much as the Garif Elders could confirm for us." Somehow the seriousness of the situation had caused Fran to actually speak without contempt in her voice.

"We are headed towards Mount Bur Omisace. There hopefully we will find the information we need to restore peace" Balthier said, strangely out of character.

"Isn't that Ashe's job? She's the princess after all" Ewok was befuddled.

"The princess is in a bad mood at the moment. It's better to leave the world-saving up to the leading man"

"Right, I have a headache"