Fuu: EVERYONE! It's time to celebrate!

Balthier: Celebrate what?

Fuu: This is 'Going into Ivalice's' TWENTIETH CHAPTER!! I didn't expect this story to make it this far, but it did! I am so proud!

Balthier: And that's the celebration?

Fuu: Well…yeah!

Balthier: Anything else? Is that all? If it is, then I'm disappointed…

Fuu: Just you wait, Balthier! There will be more to this dandy occasion! Maybe I should write another Final Fantasy XII story starring the Game Guardians!

Fini: HOLY

Misa: CRAP

Rozaline: ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Fuu: Yeah. The Game Guardians in this story need to have more secrets revealed about them! Sort of like a prequel to this story, and its all game guardians!

Rozaline: I could use the spotlight every now and then.

Misa: Same here! We need love!

Fini: Now this really IS a celebration!

Fuu: Score.

Garbuden: I found you!

Fuu: Ah, crap! What do you want?

Garbuden: The Disclaimer. Let me say it.

Fuu: Oh…then…go for it!

Garbuden: Fuu does not own Final Fantasy XII. This all includes characters, settings, and plots. She owns only herself, Yuko, Fini, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, and ME!

Fuu: Oh yeah, I own you too…

Balthier: I have so many questions...but I do not wish for them to be answered.

Fuu: Let's just go on with the TWENTIETH CHAPTER!!

Going into Ivalice

Chapter 20: Balthier's Confession

We all charged in as soon as Ashe opened up those doors in the Stilshrine of Miriam. And, as we all expected, there was the second Esper…Mateus the Corrupt. He was there, with captured sorceress and all, ready for a good fight. We were ready, too.

"Go!" Basch shouted. We all ran around the room like headless chickens, except we were pretty coordinated and not ridiculous looking, and we found certain spots in the large room where we can easily attack Mateus and distract him. At first, Mateus couldn't decide whom to attack first…but after a while of standing there, he let out an ice spell that shot out various, sharp pieces of ice in many parts of the room. One nearly hit me in the head but I rolled over just in time. I clenched my ninja sword even tighter when I ran up to Mateus, slicing him in the arm. He turned around and faced me…but instead of pushing me back or wiping me out, he stopped…

That same eerie feeling I had back in the Tomb…it was back.

Right then as Mateus stared at me, I felt all senses disappear. All I could see was Mateus.

"Mateus…it's been centuries…" I heard the voice of Belias…but it hurt! Pain! It was as if he was yelling so loud it would split through my skull!

"Belias! You are apart of this girl now?" If you would imagine Belias's voice deep and growly, Mateus's was just…scary. He sounded like a snake with the last word of his sentence slurred…it scared the crap out of me the first time I heard it, but then again, I lost most of my senses…I only heard these voices paining through my skull.

"This is the Dynast-King's chosen Legend! Surrender and become one with her!" Belias roared even louder, which did not help the terrifying pains in my skull. I saw visions of the two communicating…but they were very brief, like flashbacks in movies. Except this wasn't a movie, this was reality.

"I am stronger than you, Belias! You know that! I wield the power of ice to take you down quicker than the speed of light itself!" Mateus shouted. "I will not surrender until you properly defeat me in battle, which will NOT happen today or any day!"

I had just about enough of this…my skull was ready to burst in so much pain, but I didn't release eye contact from Mateus this entire time. I felt the warm dot on my back sizzle, and now I felt another part on my back freeze so much it burned. I had never felt this much pain in my life. I wanted to scream or cry and stop making eye contact with this power-hungry Esper, but I couldn't…something prevented me from breaking this eye contact. I think I grunted in desperation here and there, but I hardly remember that. Suddenly, I heard the gunshot. The beautiful tone ringing in my ears…but after that gunshot, I wish I hadn't, no matter how beautiful it sounded firing from Balthier's gun.

The worst of the pain came.

It really felt like my skull split into two. I screamed, clutching onto my head and falling backwards. The sizzling dot and the icy burn on the other spot on my back broke free from my back and managed to get inside of my head. I was clutching onto my head even harder now, tears streaming down my face. I was…dying.

"FUU!" Fini flew over to me, touching my hand. "What's wrong, Fuu?" I wish I could've responded properly, but I only answered with more earsplitting screams. I opened my eyes, and I saw Basch, Ashe, and Vaan taking down Mateus…

I was dozing in and out continuously…

I saw Mateus vanish…

I saw a blue card-like item float in mid-air…

I saw Balthier run over to where I was…

I heard nothing but my screams of tremendous, agonizing pain…

"FUU-CHAN!" I heard Yuko this time. "FUU-CHAN!" I could barely keep my eyes open now because I've had them shut for so long, so I could only make out the outlines of figures…but I recognized one figure just a few feet in front of me.

Balthier.

I recognized the outline of his face…but I didn't see the look on it. I couldn't tell if he was distressed or if he stayed calm. Either way, I didn't want to see. I just wanted to…die…right there. I wanted the pain to go away. And it did…suddenly, the pain in my skull vanished…I felt an icy sensation in my chest, as if you ate a bunch of ice cubes. I started breathing normally…but I lay there on the ground, staring up at everyone above me.

"Fuu-chan?" Yuko walked up to me. She had tears pouring down her little face.

"Is…this…?" I didn't know what else to say, I was left breathless.

"I have been sealed." I heard Mateus's haunting voice ring through my head, which was aching a bit. "I shall now be under your order, Master."

"What happened?" Jude asked.

"Chosen Legend, my future queen," Fran spoke up. I assumed she was quoting from some old tablet or something that was Raithwall's. "Sealing of mystical beasts will give you immense pain and suffering once communication takes its part, but afterwards, a beast will become one with you."

"Raithwall's texts." Ashe said, which made my assumption correct.

"So, in other words," Jude said. "Every time this girl makes eye contact with an Esper, the other Espers inside of her will go haywire and just start talking back and forth?"

"It's not that they go berserk," Basch stated. "It's more like their communicating skills through Fuu's mind are so powerful that they effect her."

"But why? Why would the Espers talking to each other hurt?" Yuko questioned.

"Think about it, Yuko-chan," I heard myself blurt out after a while of just laying on the ground, panting. "Mateus…we had to fight him, and when we were fighting him, he was obsessed with power, and he was obsessed with defeating us. He didn't realize that I was Raithwall's Legend until Belias talked to him through my mind. I had visions of them talking face to face…do you think two powerful creatures would try to be tame to get their point across to one another?" Yuko stood there for a little bit, and she understood what I meant.

"So your guess is that because of their strong powers," Jude cleared his throat from asking so many questions. "That the powers they have affects you." There you go.

"But wait a second," Penelo said. "Why didn't this happen in the Tomb? Why didn't she do the same when we were fighting Belias?"

"Because she did not obtain a single Esper at the time," Ashe stated. "Because there was no Esper to talk to Belias, she had no pain. Now that the communication has begun with Belias and Mateus, she endured pain."

"It's all great that we're solving this right now," I said. "But can I get off of the ground? My back is starting to freeze up." Basch came over and gave me his hand, and I took it. My legs were a little wobbly…okay, a LOT wobbly, like game controllers on high vibrate. I needed to lean against Basch for a while, and Vaan came over and took my other side.

"Can you move on?" Vaan asked.

"Y-yeah." I nodded, although honestly, I wanted someone to bring me a sofa and a warm, cozy blanket to wrap me in as I waited in here. Of course, that would be a pain to get. "Thanks guys."

We all looked ahead at the doors behind where Mateus was, and those doors would surely lead to our main priority: the Sword of Kings. Vaan and Basch still helped me walk and we all walked over to the doors. Yuko walked over to me.

"Fuu-chan, I was so scared for you. Are you all right?" She asked me tenderly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Honestly." I gave her a weak smile.

"We didn't know this was supposed to happen to you, Fuu," Misa stated solemnly. "We're so sorry we didn't warn you. We are…worthless."

"Don't say that." I exclaimed. "It's not your fault you didn't know about it. Now we know, and it's over with."

"What…did it feel like?" Yuko asked. "The pain?"

"As if…" I tried the best way to describe it. "As if something was slowly, deeply cutting your skull in half." Yuko looked down at the ground and nodded. I saw Vaan glance down at me and then look at Basch. I could tell by the look in Vaan's eyes that he was scared for me…same goes with everyone else, I bet. Even though some people don't show their emotions very often (EXAMPLE: Fran, Jude, Ashe) I knew that they cared for me, no matter how much they acted like they didn't. I didn't really want so many people caring for me at once, though; I felt like a celebrity in a storm of paparazzi…all eyes on me. The attention…I kind of hated it…especially when everyone was scared. Everyone's eyes were on me: Vaan, Basch, Ashe, Fran, Fini, Misa, Jude, Rozaline, Yuko, Penelo…Balthier…

Balthier…

I never heard him speak, and I never saw him look at me. I glanced around, my eyes darting rapidly all over the place, and I saw him behind me, and he was looking directly at me. His usual stare was gone…this stare was beyond compare. It looked heartbreaking.

I almost wanted to cry when I saw his solemn look in his eyes…it was so sad. I had to look away to prevent myself from trembling even more.

The obtaining of the Sword of Kings was a blur to me. I just remember Ashe seeing the ghost of Rasler again, picking up the sword and trying to break the Dawn Shard in half. She completely missed cutting it…that was about it. We all exited the chamber, and I pushed Basch and Vaan away.

"I can handle it guys." I stated. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Vaan asked. I nodded. My legs did feel better.

We all headed through the icy halls of the Stilshrine again, only this time monsters didn't pop out from random places at random times. And all I heard was the ceiling dripping again, and our footsteps echoing through the halls. All was silent, besides those two things, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to find myself looking into Balthier's eyes. His usual, plain look was back, and he didn't break eye contact.

"May I…talk with you?" He asked me. By the serious but saddened tone in his voice, I knew it was going to be something related to my incident with Mateus. I couldn't help myself but nod my head slowly. He put his other hand on my other shoulder, and he bent down so our faces were just a few feet apart from each other. "First off, are you sure you are all right?" He asked me. His voice was slow; smooth…a masterpiece in my book.

"Yes." I said softly.

"Secondly," He said, looking down at the ground, and then looking back at me. "Maybe…you shouldn't…be with us anymore."

My heart stopped.

"N-no." I took his hands off of my shoulders. "What are you saying, you're gonna abandon me?"

"Not abandon…but…" Balthier looked at the ground again. "I don't know how to directly put it with you, but…"

"Yes?"

"But…I don't want you feeling any more pain." Balthier exhaled slowly. I was standing there, and his eyes looked solemn again. Remember when I said before that I would start to cry if I kept looking at them? I did now. I felt hot tears burn up and fall down my cheeks.

"Don't worry about me." I tried my best to give him a smile, but through the tears and my chin trembling, it didn't turn out as one. "I'll be fine." Balthier looked at me, and right there, he grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I don't think you can keep that promise…" Balthier whispered in my ear sadly. "If I were to lose you…I don't think I could forgive myself." I sobbed loudly when I heard this. Balthier cared for me and my safety.

"Don't you dare say that you want me to leave you!" I cried in his chest. "What would I do without all of you?" Balthier rested his chin on my head, pulling me in tighter.

"The pain you endured back there." He said. "I know it will happen again when we encounter more Espers. I will have to see you in so much pain again."

He had a point. This wasn't the last time I would have that terrible pain.

"I know," I said. "But I am Raithwall's Legend…I won't die, I assure you. I promise you, Balthier." Balthier said nothing for a while, and he didn't dare loosen his grip around me.

"I trust you…Fuu."

I blushed at this. It was the first time he called me by my name since we first met in the Garamsythe waterway. No "young lady" or "you" or "girl". It was my name. I held on even tighter when this happened. It felt like hours…just us standing there, him holding on to me.

"I trust you." He said again. "But believe me, I will not be fond of this. Forgive me if my worrying is overkill." He finally let me go.

"Don't worry," I finally gave him a smile. "It's not. I like how people care about me, no matter how much they act like I'm annoying them." He gave me my favorite crooked smile yet again.

"Not annoying, but a pleasure." He said. He then took his finger and wiped away all of the tears on my face. Good thing I had waterproof mascara on this time. As we slowly glanced to our left, we noticed that everyone was staring at us.

"Isn't that just precious?" Fini grinned.

"Uhh." I glanced around to see what to do, and I stepped back from Balthier. "We should probably go. This place isn't warming up one bit." I could tell that my face was probably redder than a tomato. Balthier just looked at me, and then he smirked…and I thought I heard him chuckle a bit. He walked over to me and picked me up.

"We're going uphill. Fainting again will bring us even more worry." He stated.

"If that's what you think." I sighed. I then looked at everyone else. "Okay guys, enough care-for-Fuu time. Let's head back to Mt. Bur-Omisace already." Everyone agreed and we finally headed out the main doors to the Stilshrine…but as we exited…

"Hey. Look." Vaan pointed at the sky. There above us was an airship from the Imperial army. At first we were all concerned that it would land right in front of us, Garbuden and his scoundrels running out and tying us up…but it passed right over us.

"Look." Fran pointed in the distance…where we saw pitch-black smoke rising from the top of the mountain…smoke was coming out of Mt. Bur-Omisace.

"We have to hurry." Basch said. We then heard someone gasp loudly. We all looked to see Yuko, her hands covered over her mouth.

"LARSA MIGHT BE UP THERE! DID HE LEAVE YET?"

No one answered her. How were we supposed to know? Yuko looked around frantically, and then, as if she participated in a 100-meter dash…she sprinted like no other five-year old could in the direction of Mt. Bur-Omisace.

"Yuko!!" I shouted.

"Yuko come back here!" Misa called after her, flittering her wings madly as she was trailing behind Yuko.

"Put me down," I said to Balthier. Instead of him letting me down, though, I pretty much jumped out of his arms, almost slipping in the snow. "Yuko!" I put all agility into my feet as I began following Yuko all the way through Paramina Rift and up the mountain. Everyone else was actually pretty far behind, but I could see them if I turned around. They were about fifty yards back. I then looked forward. The smoke was much closer now and I could smell it, and it almost made me sick because of how strong it was.

"Come on! We're almost there!" Fini shouted. I nodded my head as we continued sprinting up the mountain. Now a one-hour walk up and down turned into a twenty-minute sprint-fest. And finally we reached the top.

I gasped at the sight.

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 21!!!

This chapter didn't have much humor in it this time, but I still hoped you liked it. But wasn't that just SWEET between Balthier and Fuu? OMGGGGGGG!!!!

Okay. Enough of my thoughts…write YOUR thoughts down on a review!

Oh, yeah, and tell me what you think about my idea about the story all about Final Fantasy XII's Game Guardians! I think its a pretty neat idea to let them have their own story!! :)

BYE!