Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ I Want to be Your Chicken Wuss ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

I Want to be Your Chicken Wuss :: Chapter Five

Author's Notes :: Again, another short one. But I just found a good stopping point… Anyway, you have my apologies. Just read and enjoy. (And review. Please.)

~O~

Riding a Gargant was not what I was expecting. Actually…I don't know what I was expecting when Zidane informed me we'd be riding to Treno on a giant insect. Maybe something bigger and more insect-y. Not the beetle-like, ceiling-clinger that was summoned by the flip of a switch. It was kinda cool, really, like something out of a sci-fi novel.

But the Gargant didn't even begin to measure up to Treno. The city was gorgeous; like something of a mixture between Deling and Alexandria. It wasn't completely Medieval, though the cobblestoned walkways and towers did have a certain charm. The city was brightly lit, and, from what I had been told, in a state of perpetual night; which was kinda cool when you thought about it.

As things turned out, everyone had wanted to go off on their own and, as much as I wanted to go with them and explore, I thought it'd be best if I spoke to Tot first and Zidane agreed, introducing us before going off to enter his card tournament. The short man seemed greatly intrigued after I'd finished my explanation. He sat on a stool, cleaning his glasses and swinging his stubby legs back and forth. I swear, he had to be a Tonberry disguised as a human…

"This is quite an interesting situation," he mused, fixing his glasses back on their rather large perch. "I've never heard of something like this before Mr…ahh…Dincht, was it?"

"Yeah, Zell Dincht."

"Mr. Zell, then. Do things like this commonly happen in your world?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I mean…There's time compression, which is kinda like this, but only a little."

"Time compression," Tot leaned forward in his chair. "I've never heard of this… Could you…ah…explain?"

"Uhm…" How was this supposed to help me? I hadn't really given it much thought, but I was certain that I hadn't been caught in Ultimecia's time compression. Squall and Irvine would be here with me, if that was the case. Wouldn't they…? With a wavering resolve, I outlined to Tot all I knew (or thought I knew) about time compression.

"Amazing," the man said at last, his buggy eyes widening in awe. "A single person can accomplish this? And you were sent to stop them?" He shook his head in disbelief. "Amazing…"

"Yeah…you said that… Just…Well…Do you really think that that's what happened to me? That this could be the past, or the future, or whatever?"

"Actually…I…don't think so. You were right that time compression is similar to your circumstance, but it's only that. This sounds more like a complete shifting of planes."

"Of what?" This guy wasn't making any sense…But at least I knew that Ultimecia hadn't succeeded…yet…

"Planes, dear boy, astrological planes. See…There's a theory that, well, different worlds, alternate realities, if you will, can exist simultaneously next to each other; lined up one after the other. Each world, or plane, is completely ignorant of the other planes, but there are instances when two or more will connect, or briefly come into contact with each other. Or…so some believe…"

Ehh…?

"I can tell by the look on your face that this is a little much to take in. Come, come, I'll show you," Tot jumped down from his stool and hobbled over to a pile of books and papers, rummaging through it until he selected the one he was looking for. "See here?" he said, opening to a page and pointing out a surprisingly simple diagram. The page showed a planet, labeled as Gaia, overlapped with lightly shaded circles roughly the same size and shape as the planet. "This is our world, Gaia. Those circles," he traced his finger around the edge of one, "are proposed planes. Each one is an entirely different reality. It's very likely that one of these is the world you're from."

"So…Let's say it is…How would I get back?"

Tot scratched his chin in thought. "I'm not sure…I can only speculate but…I think there might be a…ah…portal, if you will, that connects your world to ours. If we can find this portal, we could send you home."

Okay…That didn't sound too hard. "How do we find this portal-thing, then?"

Tot shrugged. "Look for it?"

Look for it? What the hell kinda answer was that? Tch. I'd have been better off if I just stayed in Alexandria and let Ruby fuss over me. Well… I guess just hoping things could be solved easily was asking too much. Frickin' hell.

I kicked a pebble from the cobblestone street as I walked; my hands stuffed down in my pockets and my eyes on my red high-tops. How long had I had these things? Damn, I needed new shoes. Too bad red high-tops were so frickin' rare.

"Why in the world would you buy something like that?"

"But honey, it's a limited edition model of Regent Cid!"

"I don't care who it is! That piece of diddly is not worth twenty thousand gil!!"

The couple passed me without so much as a glance. I suppose the man was too busy cowering and his wife too caught up in chewing him out. I'm never getting married… Oh, hey… Blue guy!

"Hey! Blu-uhm…Amarant!" I yelled, waving my arms wildly and running up to him, clapping him on the arm when I was close enough. I wonder if that annoyed him…

"…"

Yup, guess so. Blue-guy was pissy. "Ehh," I lifted my hand from his arm, "I'll just…be going then…" I started to walk off, content to leave him in peace, until I heard his sigh of relief. The jerk. Pivoting fast enough to snap my neck, I gave him my most nefarious grin and strolled back to where he sulked. "Actually…I don't know a thing about this city. Maybe you could show me around?"

"…"

"Great!" I grabbed his arm and yanked as hard as I could, almost causing him to stumble over me. The rather large man issued a comical sort of surprised squeal as he struggled to regain his balance. As soon as he could stand straight again, he fixed me with a dreadlock-shrouded glare. I sighed; he didn't look very likely to comply. "Just find me something that'll keep me occupied and I'll leave you alone."

He stared at me for a few moments before breaking into a wry grin. "You sure are easier to deal with than the others," he pointed behind me at an illuminated building. "Try that first. If you get bored, I'll be around." He nodded as a way of goodbye and walked off the way I had come.

Huh. Weird guy. I looked over at the building he had indicated; it looked harmless enough. Figuring I had nothing to loose, I pocketed my hands and strolled over to the building, examining its big doors carefully before going in.

"Three thousand five hundred!"

"Four thousand!"

"Five!"

Hee… "Six thousand!" I loved the Auction. What better way to spend gil on useless items than this?

"Six thousand five hundred!" shrieked the fat woman in the front row.

I didn't have a clue as to what I was bidding on but I wasn't about to let her win. "Seven thousand!"

"Eight!"

"Nine!!"

The woman paused, her numbered sign trembling in her meaty hand. She began to lift it, stopped, then started again, only to drop the sign resignedly into her lap.

The auctioneer slammed down his gavel. "Done!" he proclaimed. "The Dark Matter goes to the young man in the front. If you will come with me, sir, we shall settle things over here."

Ehh…too bad I had forgotten that my gil was slightly-less than welcome here.

Running with my winnings tucked under my arm, I hardly noticed Zidane until I had slammed into him. Glancing over my shoulder to make sure I had lost my pursuers, I turned back to grin at the shorter man.

"Zell," he said, glancing down at Horn-kid, who I hadn't seen before (she was just that short), "I'm glad you're here. Something's happened in Alexandria. Dagger's in trouble."