Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Ad Interim ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Note: I figure I have nothing to lose by writing the next chapter. I want to get a few things established in the fic before I get a chance to abandon it for a couple months. I do have other fics to get finished. Anyways, I have tweaked ages for a few of the characters that appear in this fic. There's a list at the end of this chapter for future reference, should you be curious.

Warnings: Author hasn't a clue what she's doing, writing at six in the morning, already high on fruit juice, and unashamedly addicted to Wheat Thins. Please forgive her if nothing makes sense.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! …..Where the hell are my pants?

 

Chapter One

Her face was warm, but the rest of her body was shivering. She couldn't tell why, though. She was drifting, bobbing up and down between sleep and consciousness. Her mind was telling her to wake up, but her body told her to sleep. To her, it didn't seem to matter. She was content to just stay the way she was; bobbing and drifting.

“Selphie? Selphie!”

She grimaced and let out a moan. Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw Tidus looking down at her. Wakka was next to him and both of them looked worried. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and sat up. She was dizzy, so she laid back down.

“You okay, Selphie?” Wakka asked.

“Uh-huh,” Selphie replied, yawning. “Just a bit dizzy.”

“Well, we did almost drown,” Tidus said. “The lack of air would make you dizzy.”

Selphie looked at him. Come to think of it, yeah, she remembered falling through the water. She remembered a storm, black creatures skittering around on the island where they played, and a giant being made of shadows. Kairi, Sora, and Riku had gone to the island during the storm, Riku disappeared, Sora fought the large black creature and Kairi. . .Selphie paused. She hadn't seen Kairi on the island at all.

“Tidus, Wakka,” she said. “Did either of you see what happened to Kairi?”

Tidus shook his head. “No, but we've got other problems now.”

Selphie blinked. “Other problems?”

“Look around, Selph,” Wakka told the brunette. “This place look familiar at all?”

Selphie sat back up and looked around. They were in an unfamiliar room, filled with posters. Furniture was scattered around the room and there was a heater on one wall. A cool breeze came in from the other side of a red curtain hung in the doorway. Outside were buildings that Selphie had never seen before, laying beyond a chain link fence.

“W-where are we?” she asked.

“Neither of us know,” Tidus replied. “We must have washed up on one of the other islands. This isn't our play island or our home island. It might be the one across from us.”

Selphie shook her head. “No, I've been there before; this isn't it.”

“So, where are we?”

Wakka stood up. “And how do we get home from here?”

The three of them were silent for a while. Then, Wakka looked over at Tidus.

“Stay here with Selphie,” he said. “I'm going to find some help.”

Tidus nodded. “Okay. Be careful.”

Wakka disappeared out of the room and headed into the town. Selphie shivered in her still damp pajamas and crossed her arms, trying to get warm. Tidus noticed and grabbed a blanket from the couch in the room, covering the brunette with it. Selphie thanked him quietly and pulled the blanket tightly around her.

“What are we going to do?” she asked. “If we can't get home, that is?”

“We'll get home,” Tidus reassured her. “Don't think that we won't, Selphie.”

“How? We don't even know how we got here.”

Tidus shrugged. “I don't know.”

Footsteps outside made Selphie and Tidus jump. Tidus looked around for something to defend Selphie and himself, grabbing a long metal pipe from the corner when it was the only thing he could find. He listened to the footsteps, hearing voices accompany the noise. There was more than one person coming; it sounded like two boys. He gripped the metal pipe and stood in front of Selphie, guarding her.

The red curtain was pushed aside by a hand and in stepped two teenage boys, accompanied by a girl the same age. The three of them were smiling at each other, but the smiles disappeared when they saw Tidus holding the metal pipe. One of the boys, a taller blond, took on a defensive stance.

“Who are you?!” he demanded. “What are you doing here?”

Tidus didn't respond. He maintained his own stance, ready to fight. The blond boy glared at him. The girl with the two boys glanced at Selphie and gave a worried look. She stepped forward cautiously.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

Tidus looked at her, but didn't reply to her question, either. Selphie looked at the girl and nodded.

“We're okay,” she said. “We're just…a bit lost.”

The girl smiled. “So, I guess you're new in town, then?”

“We're not anything in town,” Tidus said. “We don't even know how we got here.”

The other new boy, a short, dark haired boy, put his hands up. “Hey, here's an idea. Put the pipe down and we'll see if we can help you two out.”

Tidus hesitated, but did put the pipe down. He looked at the three other teens. “Where are we?”

“You're in Twilight Town,” the blond boy said, still in a defensive position. “And this is our place.”

“We're sorry,” Selphie said, before Tidus could retort. “We just kinda woke up here.”

The other girl stepped a bit closer and offered a hand. “It's okay,” she said, green-eyes sparkling. “But what do you mean, you just woke up here?”

Selphie took the other girl's hand and stood up, letting the blanket drop from her shoulders. “Last night, there was a storm on our island and a couple of our friends were sailing during it. We went after them and were thrown from our boat.”

“Island?” the dark haired boy asked. “There aren't any islands around here.”

Selphie blinked. “But…we…our home is the Destiny Islands!”

The boy shook his head. “Never heard of it. Have you, Olette?”

The girl that had helped Selphie up shook her head. “Nope.”

“I haven't either,” the blond boy said.

Selphie frowned. She looked at Tidus. “Now what?”

“First,” Tidus said. “We're going to wait for Wakka.”

As if on cue, Wakka pushed the red curtain aside and walked in. He hesitated when he saw that there were three more people in the room than when he left. Selphie informed him that the other three were okay and the tanned boy relaxed.

“So, what are you going to do now?” the girl called Olette asked.

“Well, we can't stay here,” Tidus said. “We need to get home. Dad's going to murder me for disappearing.”

“And my mother will be worried sick,” Selphie added.

“Is our home even still around?” Wakka asked. “You saw what happened to the play island, guys. There was nothing left of it when we fell into the ocean.”

Selphie paused. She had almost forgotten about that. What if the island where everyone lived had been destroyed as well? Was her mother all right? And her other friends and family on the island. . .what had happened to them?

“What do you mean. . .um. . .” the blond boy trailed off.

Wakka looked at the other boy. “Wakka.” He gestured to Tidus. “And this is Tidus.”

Selphie piped up. “I'm Selphie. What are your names?”

“I'm Olette,” the brown haired girl smiled.

“Pence,” the dark haired boy said.

“Name's Hayner,” the blond told them.

“It's nice to meet you,” Selphie smiled. She gave a small shiver. “Though I wish it had been under better circumstances.”

“Are you cold?' Olette asked, worriedly. “Your clothes are all wet.”

“A little,” Selphie admitted. “We did get thrown into the ocean.”

“I've got some clothes you can borrow,” Olette told her. “You look about the same size as me.”

“I appreciate it.”

Olette offered Selphie her hand. “Come with me. My house isn't far from here.”

Selphie looked at Tidus and Wakka with an uneasy glance.

“Go on, Selph,” Wakka said. “Get changed outta those clothes. We'll wait here.”

Selphie nodded and followed Olette through the curtain and into the town.

*****

“Again, I really appreciate this,” Selphie said, pulling on the green tanktop with a darker green and silver floral print.

“It's no problem at all,” Olette replied, going through her dresser for something to go with the tanktop. “Your clothes were wet and I'm assuming those were your pajamas.”

Selphie blushed slightly at the fact that she had met complete strangers in a pair of pink pajamas with chocobos printed all over the pants and on the chest of the tanktop. She had never expected any of this to happen when she chased after Kairi. Olette had been kind enough to lend her some clothes, let her shower, and had also offered to dry her pajamas for her as well. The other girl handed her a pair of beige cargo pants and politely looked away as Selphie changed.

“Yeah, they're my pajamas,” Selphie said, squirming into the pants. “One of my friends was heading off the island during a storm and I tried to chase after her. I wasn't thinking that I'd wake up in a town I'd never heard of.” She buttoned the pants, then leaned down to pull the towel off her head and began to dry her hair. “You can look now.”

“Did you lose your shoes when you fell into the water?”

Selphie shook her head. “Never grabbed my shoes when I left.”

“Hmm. What size do you wear?” Olette asked.

“Seven.”

Olette nodded. “Be right back. Hairbrush is on the bedside table.”

“Thanks,” Selphie said, finishing her hair. She went over and grabbed the hairbrush as Olette walked out of the room.

As Selphie brushed her hair, her mind wandered to her friends who had disappeared from the island. Were Sora, Kairi, and Riku okay? She was worried about the other three. But the thing that worried her most was what had happened to her mother? Was the main island gone or was it just the play island that had been destroyed by the winds? She gripped the hairbrush tightly.

Mom, I hope you're okay, she thought.

Footsteps told Selphie that Olette had returned. The other girl held out a pair of white and green sneakers with black shoelaces.

“Here,” she said. “I don't know why I kept them, but you're lucky I did or I wouldn't be able to give them to you.”

“Olette, you've done enough for me,” Selphie told the other girl. “You don't have to give me shoes.”

“They're too small for me, so I have no reason to keep them.”

“But—”

“Go on,” Olette smiled. “You can have them.”

Selphie gave a hesitant smile, then took the shoes. “Thanks, Olette.”

Olette smiled back and went over to sit on her bed. “I really hope you and your friends get home safely. Though, I don't know how you could. The trains from Twilight Town only go to a few other cities and none of them are the Destiny Islands.”

“We'll find a way,” Selphie said, remembering Tidus' promise that they'd get home.

“I hope so,” Olette said, again. “But first, why don't I show you around Twilight Town? We could shop on Market Street.”

Selphie smiled. “I don't have any munny.”

“So we'll window shop,” Olette shrugged. “Come on, it'll be fun.”

“But I really need to find out how to get home,” Selphie said.

“You will. After Market Street. Come on, you need to enjoy yourself a bit after something like this happens. It's not every day you wake up in a completely different place than where you were.”

Selphie smiled and let out a soft laugh. “All right.”

“That's more like it,” Olette grinned. She took Selphie's hand and led her back into town.

*****

A couple hours after Olette had taken Selphie to her house, the boys were sitting in the room where they had woken up. Hayner had brought Tidus and Wakka some of his own spare clothes to change into, which the other two boys were thankful for. They had already changed and were beginning to get tired of waiting for Olette and Selphie when the girls came back into the room. Both Selphie and Olette were smiling and giggling and carrying bags.

“What took you so long?” Hayner asked.

“We stopped on Market Street for a bit of shopping,” Olette said. “We found the cutest hairclip and it took me forever to convince Selphie to let me buy it for her.”

“We wound up getting two,” Selphie added. “One for each of us.”

“You went shopping when we're supposed to be finding a way to go home?” Tidus asked, stunned. “You're unbelievable, Selphie!”

Selphie pouted. “We can still find a way home! What's a bit of shopping?”

“Tidus is right, Selph,” Wakka said. “We were waiting for two hours! Don't you want to go home?”

“Of course, I want to go home. I just got distracted.”

“Well,” Pence said, before things to worsen. “Why don't we get over to the station and see what we can do from there?”

“But,” Olette hesitated. “The trains don't go any farther than Aurora.”

“But that doesn't mean that trains from Aurora don't go any farther,” the dark haired boy pointed out. “And for all we know these Destiny Islands aren't that far from Aurora.”

“It's worth a shot,” Selphie mused. “I never paid much attention anything off our islands.”

“So, let's try Aurora,” Tidus said. “If anything, maybe there's someone there that can take us home.”

“One problem, guys,” Wakka spoke up. “We don't have any munny to pay for train tickets.”

“We can help there,” Pence said. “I can spare part of my allowance to pay for a ticket.”

“I guess I could use the munny I got from Seifer to pay for one, too,” Hayner agreed.

“I'll run home and ask for my allowance early,” Olette added.

“You guys really don't have to do all of this for us,” Selphie told them. “We can get some munny on our own.”

“Nonsense,” Olette replied. “We want to help you, so don't you dare refuse us.”

“But you've helped us so much already,” Selphie tried again.

Olette took Selphie's hand. “Selphie, I've only known you for a half a day, but you're already my friend. Friends help each other. Okay?”

Selphie paused, then nodded. “Thank you.”

*****

Tidus looked from the train to the other two he had arrived in Twilight Town with. “You guys ready to go?”

“Give Selphie a minute,” Wakka replied. “She's saying good-bye to Olette.”

“Girls,” Tidus muttered. He turned to Hayner. “Thanks again for the clothes and for the ticket.”

“Hey, it's not a problem,” the blond replied. “Besides, you wouldn't really want to work for a ticket, would you? You are in a hurry to go home.”

“Yeah,” Tidus said. “I can only imagine how much trouble we're going to be in when we get back.”

Hayner gave a short laugh. “Well, it can't be that bad.”

“Come on, three, maybe six, kids from a sparsely populated island disappear overnight?” Tidus asked with a grin. “We probably made the front page.”

“Let's hope your parents are too relieved to see you that they forget about punishing you.”

“Not likely.”

“Hey, Tidus!” Selphie called from the train. “Let's go!”

“Sorry!” Tidus called, running to the train.

“Boys,” Selphie muttered under her breath. She went over to a seat and sat down facing the window. Pulling it open, she leaned out a bit and waved to Hayner, Pence, and Olette. “Bye! Thanks for everything!”

“Take care!” Olette called back.

“I repay you for this someday! I promise!”

Selphie pulled back into the car as the train began moving away from the station. She gave one last wave and sat down. She looked at her two friends with a sad smile.

“We'll probably never see them again, will we?” she asked.

“You promised you'd repay her someday, didn't you?” Wakka replied with his own question. “You'll find a way to keep that promise.”

“Yeah,” Tidus agreed. “You always keep your promises.”

Selphie smiled again. “You're right.”

The three of them became quiet for a while. Minutes passed without a word between them. Selphie hugged the small backpack Olette had given her to hold their clothes in. Tidus shifted to make himself more comfortable on the seat.

“So how long until we get to Aurora?” he asked.

“Pence said it's a day-long trip,” Wakka said. “We should arrive in the morning.”

“Man, I'm going to get so bored waiting to get there!”

“You'll figure out something to do,” Selphie said.

“Fifty munny says he can find a string, a pencil, and a piece of paper and create a game on his own,” Wakka grinned.

“Hey!” Tidus exclaimed.

Selphie laughed. “Sixty-five says he'll not only create a game, but also a complicated way to keep score.”

“I hate you guys,” Tidus muttered, crossing his arms.

“We love you, too,” Selphie replied.

*****

Morning came and the train pulled into the station at Aurora just a little before mid-morning. Selphie stood up and stretched, sore from sleeping in an upright position. She shook Tidus and Wakka awake and informed them that they had arrived. Tidus gave a yawn and slowly got up from his seat. Wakka pulled himself up and led them out of the car and into the station. He looked around for a moment and located the station's information booth and headed towards it.

“Can I help you?” a young woman at the booth asked.

“Two things,” Wakka replied. “Could I get a map of scheduled routes and can you tell us a good place to get a cheap and easy breakfast?”

“Certainly,” the young woman replied. She reached over to a rack of pamphlets and picked up one. “Here's a map of the train routes. And your best bet for a cheap breakfast is McDougal's on Main Street.”

“Thanks,” Wakka said.

“Have a nice day!”

Wakka smiled in return and went back over to Selphie and Tidus, who waited not far away. He unfolded the pamphlet and looked through it. Selphie and Tidus gathered around him to sneak a look as well. None of the locations on the map seemed familiar to any of them.

“Día City,” Tidus read out loud. “Duskton, Lunaville. . .none of these places are anywhere near the Destiny Islands.”

“That's because these are all on a mainland,” Wakka said. “Aurora is the only town on this map with access to the ocean and a harbor.”

“We should go to the harbor and see if any ships can take us to the Destiny Islands,” Selphie told them.

“If the Destiny Islands are anywhere they can go,” Tidus said.

“Why don't we go get some breakfast before we think about this?” Wakka asked. “Selphie, how much munny did Olette and the others give us?”

Selphie rummaged through the backpack and pulled out a coin purse. She counted the munny inside. “We have 2,000 munny.”

“Well, let's go to the McDougal's and see what we can get on a tight budget,” Wakka said. “We don't want to spend everything right away. We may need some of that to get home.”

Selphie and Tidus nodded. Wakka folded the map back up and stuck it in the pocket of the jeans he had borrowed from Hayner. He led Selphie and Tidus out of the station and looked around. He approached someone and asked for directions to Main Street. After thanking the person for their help, he told Selphie and Tidus to follow him. They headed west down one street and came across another. Ahead was a small restaurant with a sign that said “McDougal's” in neon lettering.

The three of them went inside and got in line to order the cheapest breakfast they could find on the menu. After receiving their orders, they found a booth in the corner and sat down to eat. They ate in silence, not really wanting to talk at the moment.

“Another star went out a couple days ago,” a voice from the booth next to them said.

“I reckon them Heartless got another world, then?” another voice asked.

Selphie sneaked a peek at the three occupants of the booth next to them. They were all men, the youngest looking perhaps late teens or early twenties. The youngest had spiky black hair and wore a blue knit tanktop and baggy black pants. Next to him sat another young man with wavy brown hair held in a ponytail and a leather vest with white tank underneath. The third sat across from the other two and wore his black hair long and loose. Selphie couldn't quite tell what he was wearing.

“At this rate, Vince,” the man with the spiky hair said, “there won't be many worlds left to search.”

“Don't call me `Vince,' Zax,” the long-haired man told him. “My name is Vincent.”

“Sorry, Vincent,” the man called Zax apologised. “But still, what are we going to do next? I asked everyone I could if they'd seen him or any of the others and nobody said they'd seen them.”

“Same `ere,” the wavy-haired man said. “We got no luck, guys.”

“We were lucky enough to be off Radiant Garden when it went,” Zax said. “We'll be lucky enough to find the others, Irvine.”

The wavy-haired man, Irvine, gave a sigh. Then, he looked at Vincent. “Anyways, Vincent. Like Zax `ere said, what next?”

“Simple,” Vincent replied. “We get back to the ship and go on to the next world. Cloud and the others couldn't have gotten that far.”

“Ya said that three worlds ago. . .” Irvine paused and glanced over Vincent's shoulder to Selphie. He flashed her a smile.

Selphie let out a small `meep' and turned back around. Tidus looked at her questioningly. She mouthed the words `he saw me!' Tidus shrugged it off and bit into the breakfast sandwich he had ordered. Wakka leaned over.

“Did he look mad?” he asked quietly.

Selphie shook her head.

“Then I wouldn't worry about it,” he said.

“Okay.”

“You know,” Tidus said. “The food here sucks.”

“It's a cheap place. What did you expect?” came the voice of the young spiky-haired man from the booth next to them.

Selphie, Tidus and Wakka looked up and saw Zax standing next to their booth with a smile on his face. Selphie swallowed the juice she had been drinking and looked at Zax guiltily.

“I'm sorry I was eavesdropping,” she said.

“Ah, that's okay,” Zax said, waving the matter off. “It's no big deal.”

“Tha's right,” the man called Irvine smiled, standing up next to Zax. “But, by any chance, have ya seen a kid `bout this tall. . .” he gestured a height a little shorter than Zax, “with spiky blond hair an' bright blue eyes?”

Selphie shook her head.

“No?” Irvine asked, putting a hat on his head. “How `bout a gal with brown hair an' green eyes like yers?”

Tidus looked at Selphie. “Olette had brown hair and green eyes.”

“Nah, that's not her,” Zax said, shaking his head. “The girl we're looking for is named Aerith.”

“Sorry,” Selphie apologised. “We haven't met anyone named Aerith.”

“We just got here, sir,” Wakka said. “The only people we've talked to were the lady at the station and the person we asked for directions from.”

“I see,” Zax said. “Well, thanks, anyways.”

The spiky-haired man turned and began to walk away. Irvine smiled at Selphie and politely tipped his hat to her before starting after his friend. The third man, Vincent, had gone ahead before them.

“Wait!” Selphie called after them. She got up and ran after Irvine and Zax.

“Can we help ya, little miss?” Irvine asked.

Selphie, embarrassed, blushed. “Um. . .by any chance. . .h-have you heard of the Destiny Islands?”

Irvine put a finger to his cheek in thought. “Can't recall if I have. Ya from there?”

Selphie nodded. “But, my friends and I are lost and don't know how to get back home.”

Zax, overhearing, came over and elbowed Irvine in the ribs. “Why don't we offer them a ride?”

Irvine thought about it. “Well. . .I reckon we can spare the room. The ship's big enough it shouldn' be a problem ta have a few more people on board.”

“No children on board,” Vincent said, crimson eyes peeking out from his black bangs.

“She's not yer ship, Vince,” Irvine told him. “Uncle Cid gave `er to me and I'm in charge of who's on the ship an' who's not.”

Vincent silently huffed as he opened the door and headed outside. “I'm going back to the ship.”

“Ah, don' mind `im,” Irvine said, seeing a worried look on Selphie's face. “Not yer fault he doesn' like kids.”

“We're not kids, though,” Selphie said.

“Yeah, I know,” Irvine said, smiling at her.

“So, will you take us with you?”

“Well, we can't promise to get ya home right away, but yer welcome to tag along,” Irvine said. “Just so long as ya don't cause any trouble or anything.”

“We won't!” Selphie promised.

“Go grab your friends over there and we'll take you to our ship,” Zax said. He turned to Irvine as Selphie hurried over to Tidus and Wakka. “I'm going to run a couple errands before we take off. We'll need a few extra supplies.”

“Be sure to get a couple weapons fer the kids,” Irvine said. “No tellin' when we'll run into a bunch of them Heartless. The kids should be able to defend themselves.”

“Gotcha,” Zax said.

“Nothin' big like that buster sword of yers.”

“Yeah, yeah, nothing like my sword,” the black-haired man said, waving Irvine off and heading out of the restaurant.

Irvine waited by the door for Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. When the three of them came over with just one backpack between the three of them, he raised an eyebrow.

“Tha' all ya got?”

“Yeah,” Selphie said. “Our pajamas were wet when we got to Twilight Town and we had to borrow what we have on.”

“I see,” Irvine said. “Well, let's get goin', then.”

He led the three teens out of the restaurant and across the city. Along the way, he explained a few things to them that he thought would be important for them to know. After asking them if they knew what Heartless were and receiving blank looks in reply, he knew he'd have a lot to teach them.

“Ya have to realise, now,” he said. “Vince, Zax, and I have run into groups of them Heartless from time to time, and we've all got fighin' experience behind us. Ya three know how to fight?”

“We have some experience,” Tidus replied. “Nothing serious, though.”

“All righ'. . .we're goin' hafta teach ya some serious fightin' skills, then. Them Heartless are nothin' to take lightly.”

“But. . .what are the Heartless?” Selphie asked.

“Oh, boy. . .” Irvine sighed. “How to explain `em. . .lessee, basically, they're the darkness of people's hearts made real. They've got no minds to control `em; they jus' attack in search of more hearts. If yer not careful, they'll snatch yer heart right from ya. Tha's why ya gotta fight `em.”

“But we don't have anything to fight with,” Wakka said.

“Yeah, I figured as much. Tha's why I told Zax to pick ya up some weapons.”

“What kind of weapons?” Selphie asked, hesitantly.

“Tha' I dunno, little miss,” Irvine said. He snapped his fingers immediately afterwards. “Which reminds me, I don' remember ever getting' yer names.”

“Oh!” Selphie exclaimed. “I'm sorry, my name is Selphie.” She gestured to Tidus. “This is Tidus.”

Wakka spoke up before Selphie could introduce him. “And I'm Wakka.”

“Pleasure,” Irvine said. “Name's Irvine. The spiky-haired guy with me is Zax an' the other guy is Vincent.”
“So, where are you guys headed, anyways?” Tidus asked.

“Oh, here an' there,” Irvine said. “We're on the look-out for a few friends of ours tha' disappeared when the Heartless came ta our world.”

“And you don't know where they went?” Selphie asked.

“Not a clue.”

Wakka stopped in his tracks. “Hey, Selphie. Tidus.”

Selphie and Tidus both stopped and turned to their orange-haired friend.

“I was thinking about what Irvine's been telling us about the Heartless,” Wakka said. “Do you think. . .they're what destroyed the island?”

Tidus looked at Selphie, then back at Wakka. “I think you might be right.”

“Then. . .” Selphie trailed off. Her eyes widened. “Our parents! The island!”

“'Fraid there might not be an island for ya to go home to,” Irvine said. “If the Heartless got a hold on yer world, there's a chance it might not be there.”

“But. . .” Selphie began, tears welling up her eyes. “My mom. . .”

Irvine shifted uncomfortably. “Please, don' cry, Miss Selphie. . .” He scratched the back of his head. “I'm sure everythin's all right. . .”

Selphie sniffled. Tidus put an arm around the girl's shoulders.

“Come on, Selph,” he said. “Don't cry. We'll find everyone. We'll get home and everyone will be okay.”

“Promise?”

Tidus gave her a soft smile. “I promise.”

“Don' go making promises ya can' keep, kid,” Irvine muttered under his breath, turning to lead the kids to the ship. “Wouldn' want to make `er cry when the promise is broken. . .”

 

Author's Note: Yeah. Finished the first chapter. Finally. Yeah, I'm making Irvine Cid's nephew in this. Don't know why; it just kinda happened on its own. But there you go. That's how Selphie and the others will be getting around; with Zax, Irvine, and Vincent, who are all looking for Cloud, Aerith, Leon, Yuffie, and Cid, of course. Anyways. . .I borrowed “McDougal's” from Hana-chan, who I'm sure doesn't know this, yet. Love ya, Calico!

Oh, yeah. One more thing. I may or may not be going on hiatus. I desperately need a job so I can move out. I don't know just how much longer I can stand living at home. And once I move out, I may or may not have a lot of time to write anyways.

 

Character Ages:

Selphie: 15

Tidus: 16

Wakka: 16

Zax: 21

Vincent: 27

Irvine: 23