Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ The Life of Erin Tribal ❯ Chapter 45

The Life of Erin Tribal Chapter 45

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A/N: Okay, I'm doing this one a bit differently. See, usually I just add it onto my main, 152 page file (that's the entire story up to this point people!). But this time, I'm actually going to write it out like the rest of my stuff! Anyways, I'm hoping to get the `Chapter 2 Revised Edition' done soon (I'm so far up to the little chat between Erin & Celes about the whole `parent thing'. I'm having a hard time rewriting those earlier ones [the ones before the game starts] because it has to be complete imagination).

Anyways, enjoy, and I hope I can make this a decent chapter! This will probably include the rest of the day once I find my little guide to how I'm doing this. I think I know where it is, and if I'm not mistaken, Cyan is the last character they go after on this day... Do you realize how many notes I've made for this thing? A LOT of them! And speaking of that, I cannot find that list! It's probably in a notebook instead of the binder where I have the order in which I find everyone, but not the dates.

I am also thinking of working on an all-new format on this story. Only starting on the World of Ruin though. Like, start of each chapter she can do a wrap up of the last chapter except when they are in a dungeon (I may have to do Kefka's Tower in two chapters, but I am currently not sure).

Okay, I will stop blabbing now (I'm almost halfway down the first page, and by the time I get the disclaimer done, it will be... maybe). Okay, new thought on the new format: Put it as close to the beginning of the chapter as I can, like if there is talking or something. There maybe be an entry or two a day (at halfway mark, must be shut up now).

Aquarian Wind: Ooh, love the new name! I would love to update more if I had the ideas, but I will try! Promise!

LuccaAshtear: Heh, thanks for the review. Glad to know you like it!

~*~

Disclaimer: See a chapter that has the full thing. I wasted enough time on that authors note as it is!

~*~

Erin sat down on the couch, Harry and Relm on either side of her. She swung her short legs back and forth while the rest of the group gathered. After several minutes, the small group gathered.

"So, now what?" Celes asked.

"We're still missing about half of our friends," Sabin pointed out.

"Let's see..." Setzer mumbled, thinking. "We have Strago, Cyan, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Relm, Erin, Harry, and then myself," Setzer said, naming off everyone.

"Who all does that leave?" Relm asked.

"Hey, I have a list!" Erin said reaching for her journal and flipping open the front cover, being sure to hide her entries. "Let's see... Terra, she's in Mobliz. Celes, found... err, I mean mom," Erin remembered after she got a stern gaze, and then went back to the list. "Locke..." Erin tried not to remember how nice he'd been to everyone.

"Not found," Celes whispered, also remembering the treasure hunter.

Erin nodded, and then continued. "Edgar, found. Sabin, Cyan, both found. Gau, not found."

"Probably on the Veldt," Sabin put in.

"Setzer and Harry, both found," Erin continued, making a mental note of what Sabin had said. "Shadow, still missing."

"He'll be a hard one to find," Sabin added.

Erin frowned, and then continued. "Oh, forgot Mog," Erin remembered, remembering her mistake a year ago. "So, Mog not found. And then Relm and Strago, both found. That's everyone I have down."

"Hmm. Why don't we head for the Veldt tomorrow?" Setzer asked. "You know, to find Gau and all."

"Why not?" Edgar shrugged.

"Say, anyone hungry? I could go fix up something to eat while we wait out the rest of the day," Celes suggested.

"Sounds great!" Relm said, which got some nods meaning that they also liked the sound of something to eat.

Celes walked off, and the rest of the group split except for Erin, Harry, and Relm. But even they were soon split after Harry and Relm said they were heading above deck to `talk'.

Thankful for the privacy, Erin flipped open her journal.

`January 29, 1996

Wow, what a day! Well, we have a very small part of the group gathered, so I've decided to write in as often as I can, especially if we've found someone. Here's who we've all found so far, and that's joined us:'

Erin's mind wandered to the conversation just a few minutes ago as a shadow passed over her. Looking up, she identified the owner to be Setzer.

`Mom, in other words, Celes

Sabin

Edgar

Setzer

Harry

Relm

Cyan

And of course, myself'

Another shadow passed over, but didn't leave. Erin looked up to see Setzer looking down at her.

"You going to stay there forever or get up and walk around?" the man joked.

"I'll be up in a minute! Geez," Erin sighed.

`Man, Setzer is being pushy! Well, I have to go before I'm DRAGGED from my seat here!

Erin Tribal/Shiva til Alexandros'

Tucking her stuff back into her bag, Erin got up and walked up to where Setzer was.

"See, I got up!" Erin smirked.

"Yeah, whatever. Go check up on Relm and Harry, would you? I get the feeling you need to listen to them, but don't make yourself heard or seen, okay?" Setzer suggested, bending down to the girls level.

"Got it. Just make sure someone comes and gets us when the food is ready!" Erin smiled, and walked off.

~*~

A/N: No, I'm not done yet. Just thought I'd make a quick (let's hope) update. I remade that list, so now I know what's going on. Anyways, what do you think Relm and Harry are talking about? Oh yes, and that little thing with the names being spaced apart is me trying to outsmart fanfiction.net, okay? Good.

I am thinking about pulling in on one of these upcoming chapters and doing a past scene from either Relm or Harry's point of view. However, I have started to write Relm's story, but since this one is more major, why not?

~*~

The air outside was slightly cooler now than inside the ship, and even from earlier. As expected, Harry and Relm were at the bow of the airship talking. Sneaking up on them was easy, and Erin simply hid as close to them as she could, knowing, sensing that this was important.

"So, Relm, how come you hang out with Erin so much?" Harry wondered.

"Why do you care? I can tell something is good about here, and when we are around each other, you too, it feels like we are connected in a way," Relm explained.

"Hey, not to be too pushy, but umm... what's the weirdest thing about you?" Harry said suddenly.

`If I think Relm is who I think she is, then I know the answer. It's the same for all three of us. It's our tail,' Erin thought the answer to his question.

"Like I said before, why do you even care?"

"I'm just wondering."

"I'll only say if you say yours."

"Fine. But hmm, you know, since Erin, you, and I are all the same age... why don't we get Erin out here too?"

"Whatever," Relm said. This was Erin's cue to get up and go over to them before Harry left.

And she did just that.

"Hey," Erin mumbled, trying to sound innocent.

"How long have you been up here?" Relm asked.

"For just a few moments. I was told to come up and check up on you."

"Whatever," Relm said again. "Anyways, we were just asking each other what our weirdest feature was. Okay, so it was Harry's suggestion..."

"But I figured since the three of us are the same age, why not ask you too?" Harry sighed.

`If I tell, I'd be breaking my own promise to the others, and even to her royal life. I'd be telling my most guarded secret,' Erin sighed.

"So, who tells first?" Erin asked. "I say the youngest of us three."

"I agree," Relm stated, both of them looking at Harry.

"What, me? Fine! It's..." Harry stuttered, as if wondering how to put it. But, they never heard the answer, because at that very moment, Setzer announced that the food was ready. "I'll tell you later."

"You had better," Relm stated, before walking off, her shoulder-length hair blowing in the wind. Erin then remembered something, and ran after the girl.

"Relm! I have something of yours!" Erin shouted at Relm's back, her own waist-length hair billowing out behind her like a cape. Relm stopped, allowing Erin to catch up with her.

"What?" Relm asked, seemingly in an annoyed mood.

"The cap you sent to find me on that pigeon," Erin said, pulling out the cap.

"Oh, thanks, it's my favorite one," Relm said sharply, and grabbed the cap and leaving, causing Erin to stand there wondering what has gotten into Relm.

Harry walked up behind her. "What's HER problem?"

"Who knows? Mom might know, so why don't we ask her after we eat?" Erin suggested, looking over at the boy.

"You mean Celes, right? I guess so," Harry shrugged, and the two walked off.

~*~

A/N: No, still not done. Anyways, what's up with Relm? You know, when I started that conversation, I actually forgot what I was going to write! Oh well, I came up with something. And yes, Harry will eventually tell in say... three years. On with the story! I'm trying to make this really long, but I'm currently sitting at a really short amount of words (and I'm at five pages, almost six!). It's currently only at about 1600, and I'd like for this chapter to be about 3,000, even if I must continue to pry for ideas and writing ideas! (Now, if I can get that phone to stop ringing to finish my download already!)

~*~

Everyone sat down at the makeshift table and started to eat. They did this in silence. When finally everyone was done, they cleaned up, Celes saying she could do it alone. Erin and Harry volunteered to help though, so the rest of the group left the room to leave the three to their tasks. For a little bit, they were quiet, but Erin and Harry kept on making nervous glances at each other, as if wondering when to mention it. Finally, just as they finished getting everything sorted to wash, Celes noticed this.

"What's wrong you two? You seemed nervous during dinner, and now you seem even more nervous. Come on, tell me, maybe I can help," Celes said, setting down what she was working on and bending down on her knees so she could look the two in the eyes.

"You say, Harry."

"No you."

"Just someone, tell me."

"Umm, Relm's been acting all rude and stuff all night," Erin finally admitted.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well, you know, acting uptight and all. She seemed upset about something when I returned her `favorite cap' to her," Erin explained.

"I don't know what to say. Something strange, I can tell you that much. That definitely doesn't sound like her, no matter how little we've actually known her. Do you think she could be having nightmares about her past?" Celes suggested.

"She was just fine before we got Cyan, but it started when Harry, her, and myself were up on deck," Erin explained.

"Well, even before you got up there Erin, she seemed like something was wrong," Harry pointed out.

"Something must have upset her then. Maybe one of you could bring her here so we could talk?" Celes asked.

"How about, me and Harry go find her, bring her here, and then leave you two to talk. The three of us can talk later or something, after you talk with Relm. Okay?" Erin suggested.

"Alright, I will talk to you two tomorrow morning, bright and early. Alright?" Celes smiled slightly. "Go ahead, I don't mind doing the work alone."

Erin and Harry left Celes and quickly found Relm on her makeshift bed staring up at the ceiling. They looked at each other, as if silently decided who would speak. Erin pointed at Harry and he sighed, stepping ahead of Erin to be next to Relm.

"Relm?"

"What?" the girl snapped back.

"Celes would like to talk to you."

"Harry, tell her I'm busy."

"You aren't Relm, both Erin and I plainly see that. We aren't about to lie to Celes. No come on, before we have to drag you there!"

Relm closed her eyes, and silently muttered something to herself, and then stomped off to where Celes, leaving Erin and Harry to stand there, wondering what was wrong. The two of them just stood there for a second before Harry finally spoke.

"So, now what?"

"Wanna talk? I mean, down here, as long as no one interrupts us."

"I guess," Harry plopped down where Relm had just been laying, and Erin sat down over on her bed.

~*~

A/N: No, still not done (I have about 900 words left til I reach my chapter goal). Anyways, hopefully you like this so far. I personally think it's going great! I think so far, it's taken me about two hours to write about 2100 words/7 pages. So, it'll be at about ten or more pages when I'm done, unless I write an extremely descriptive paragraph!

Oh yes, and this following conversation may surprise you!

~*~

"So, what were you going to say earlier Harry?"

"What about?"

"When you were asking about the weirdest thing about us, and we made you tell first," Erin explained.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable. There wasn't even a soft `pit-pat' of lighter footsteps, or a `thud-thud' of heavier ones. Everyone must have been above deck or something. They couldn't even hear the faintest noise coming from Relm and Celes' area, which meant that the door had sealed tightly.

"Oh, umm... it's nothing."

"Come on, tell me! I promise not to tell anyone!"

"Promise?"

"I swear!"

"You see, it's strange. I have this one thing that makes me different from everyone I know except for one person I know."

"Who's that? That Zidane guy?"

"Yeah, Zidane is my brother. You see, he has this tail, and so do I."

Erin almost gasped at the sound of this, but she didn't. `Does that mean that this Zidane is also my brother? No, it can't be. There's no way!'

"So, what about you, Erin?"

Erin thought for a second, knowing that she didn't dare say, `Hey, I'm a princess!' Because, well, truly it couldn't be the weirdest thing about her, right? No, it had to be her most guarded secret, even more than her princess secret.

"Harry, I... I... How to say this."

"Just say it."

"I have a... tail too..."

Harry was extremely surprised at the sound of this.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you," Erin took back immediately.

"No, no. It's perfectly okay. But could this mean that we are related somehow?"

"Maybe."

`More than you know it, Harry Lee Tribal. More than you would even guess.'

"Hey, well, it's getting late."

"What, you don't want to talk now?"

"Well, I guess we can. Until Relm comes back to `claim her seat'," Harry joked, and Erin smiled at the joke. "Hey Erin, have you been getting any strange dreams?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Because last night, I had this really weird one. And it wasn't the first time I had one."

"Yeah, I remember. It was those memories, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I remember. Well, last year, I don't really know when, I had this weird one about this `naming ceremony' of sorts."

"And they name the children Erin, Harry, and Relm. Yeah, I had that one too."

Harry glared at her and she just shrugged. They heard a `creaking' like a door opening and the two were quiet. Hushed whispers were heard, and then a muffled yell.

"Relm," Erin mouthed to her friend.

"And Celes," Harry mouthed back, finishing the statement.

"Relm, Relm! Calm down!"

"Why should I!? My own `friends' tell me to go talk to you basically by force! Why should I calm down!"

Erin sighed, closing her eyes and putting a hand on her forehead. She opened her eyes again and walked over to where Harry was sitting.

"I'll go get the others," Erin whispered in his ear.

"Okay," Harry whispered back, not wanting to be down here with an extremely upset Relm. It was as if Erin could tell this too.

"Hey, mom will be here too, so don't worry, okay?" Erin smiled the best she could, and then headed above deck.

Erin walked quickly and quietly to gather everyone, telling them it was `important'. They understood and headed downstairs. Erin took a seat next to Harry while they all gathered.

"Relm, tell everyone that's wrong," Celes commanded. Relm said nothing. "You told me. What you want me to tell them?" Still no answer. "Relm!"

"What, I had a bad dream, okay?"

"Oh, I've had plenty of those. So has Erin. So what?"

"Do you see us going all moody?" Erin finished for him. Relm just glared. Erin sighed. "Relm, please, explain what happened."

"Yeah, fine. It's no big deal, so just forget about it."

"Relm Arrowny, you will not speak to us that way," Strago said sternly.

"Oh you be quiet, old man."

Erin looked over at Celes with a look of `please, say something' in her eyes. Celes apparently saw this.

"Relm, I don't really see why you are getting so upset over it. If you want to know, Erin and Harry had the same exact dream as you described to me. Yet, do you see them getting upset?" Celes exclaimed.

"No."

"Well if that's the case, I'm off to bed," Setzer said with a dramatic yawn. Others mumbled their agreement and walked off.

Strago took Relm by the shoulders to have `a serious discussion'. Harry and Celes also left, leaving Erin alone.

`Relm, there's nothing to be scared about, I swear,' Erin sighed to herself and went over to try and get some sleep.

That night Erin had another dream.

She was sitting in a room. One that was defiantly from her past, but she was still seven years old. Also in the room were Relm and Harry.

"What's going on?" Erin asked.

"I don't know, but I recognize this room for some reason," Harry mumbled.

"Hey, over there," Relm pointed out, sounding a lot calmer now after that discussion she had had. Or maybe it was because it was a dream. Who knew?

Where Relm was pointing revealed to be the younger versions of the three along with Kuja.

"Who is that man?" Harry mumbled. Neither girl said anything.

"I don't know what Garland has done to you three, but don't worry. I'll take care of you," Kuja said.

"Angelrin..."

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL HER THAT!" Kuja roared at the source of the voice.

"Fine, be that way failure. Erin, Relm, and Harry. The Genome Triplets. Only ones of their kind, and most likely will always be the only ones of their kind. Failure, what have you done to them?" Garland smirked, stepping out of the shadows.

"I have done nothing to `You Precious Angels'. Well, unless teaching Relm here a spell or two," Kuja remarked.

"You will do nothing of the sort, failure."

"Just try and stop me!" Kuja shouted back at the man, and picked up all three of the children and ran.

"Let's follow," Erin whispered, even though it wasn't necessary.

"No, stay and listen," Harry said back.

"Why doesn't one of us follow that man? I say Erin," Relm suggested.

"Fine, whatever. Come see me when you wake up I guess."

Erin ran after Kuja and found him down in the lab.

"I'm sorry Erin, but I can't take all of you at once. I promise I will show you Gaia. I promise I will take you there. But not now," Kuja explained to the child, and he ran off again.

Erin lingered a bit to see that she was left crying, and it almost made her cry herself. It did make her cry. She ran of after Kuja instead of watching her own self any longer.

Kuja was standing outside the same airship she remembered that brought her to Gaia. Erin ran in after him before he could shut the door. As she stood there, gazing down as the ship left, she could see Garland standing on the ground furiously looking up at the ship.

Erin headed for the bridge and found Relm and Harry sitting behind Kuja, who was steering the ship along with talking to Relm and Harry.

"Now, be nice to whoever takes you in. I know they will find you different, but I'm sure they will compromise. I don't know why I'm being so nice to you two. I never was to Zidane..."

But she never got to hear the rest of the speech.

Erin was shook awake. She could tell it was early yet, but she had always been an early riser.

"Erin? Oh good, you are awake," Harry mumbled. Relm was sitting up on the other couch, head in her hands, mumbling to herself.

"Well?" Erin asked the two.

"That man, Garland, just kept on going on about how that other man was a failure. Then he ran off, and that's when both of us woke up."

"Well, that man dropped `Erin' off in this lab of sorts, and ran onto an airship. I followed him and saw Garland furious that `Relm' and `Harry' were leaving," Erin explained her side of the story.

Relm look up. "Might as well wait for everyone to rise. I know no one may agree with this, but how about a party of us three for the Veldt."

"Yeah, Gau may join us more likely if there's only three people," Erin sighed. This wasn't going to easy, but they had to be strong.

The three of them headed above deck to wait for everyone else to wake up.

~*~

A/N: Dun, dun, dun! I actually had a friend help me with the problem with Relm. Oh well. Wheh, this was ONE LONG CHAPTER! Well, for me anyways. Only like, twelve pages (Times New Roman font, size 12), with over 3700 words. Like I said, long!

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this about three to four hour chapter (that's how long it took to write it, not counting breaks). I'm thinking once I finish up the FF6 part, I'll put an info chapter with:

-Journal entries (only the ones that were included) for recap.

-A timeline of the events.

-Info on the reconstruction of the world.

Well, hope you liked it (just hit 13 pages, which officially means, no questions asked, this is my longest chapter EVER!). If you did, or even if you didn't, like it (I hope you like it though), please do review with any comments or suggestions. I will welcome flames as long as there is good reason shown in the review!

Thanks, and please review!