Disclaimer: I own nothing, yadda yadda yadda. I will not be saying this again.

For those new to the story, this is a spin-off of the work of another author. Yes, I had her permission, yes, I am friends with her... well, I wasn't when I first got permission, but that has since changed. If you want to read the tale this is based off of, try looking within my favourite stories list for 'I Wanna Go Home'.

For those of you not new to this tale, yes, I've extended and improved this chapter, along with a couple of others. Eventually, I will have gone through all of them to rectify any grammar mistakes.

Jethro Logan presents:

I Wanna Go Home 2: Ya Hear?

Chapter 1: Unforeseen Events

The teenage girl entered her home, cursing the weather, and the fact that she'd chosen to wear a white t-shirt on this day, of all days. Rain plus white t-shirt equaled not good, in her honest opinion. Obviously, most teenage boys would be inclined to disagree, but then, to say that teenage boys are generally perverts would have been an understatement. She shut the door behind her, and moved to the kitchen, noting that, as usual, she was the first one home. Ignoring a note from her mother, she treated herself to some chocolate chip ice cream, before retreating from the room.

Her next destination was her bedroom. Inspecting her admittedly small collection of Playstation titles, she mentally recalled how her day had gone.

"Life sucks." She muttered to herself, grabbing her copy of Final Fantasy 8.

Putting the first disc into her games console, she started the game, and shortly after, Maggie Thomas vanished from our world.

That was a day ago...

At the time, I knew nothing of Maggie, or what had happened to her. If I'd heard about what happened to her, I probably would have laughed it off. Being sucked into video games is the stuff of dreams and imagination. As much as one can dream about such an event, it was unlikely to ever happen.

Was I ever proven wrong?

My tale started a world away from where Maggie's began. A small country famous for its typically dreary weather to be exact. Yeah, England. The United Kingdom. Lovely place, on those few occasions that the sun actually decides to show itself. I prefer the colder weather myself, not being able to feel the cold has its perks, after all. But my adventure began across the Atlantic Ocean, a day after Maggie's mysterious disappearance, at the south coast of the UK, just as I was leaving my school. Well, on my way home from school.

I trudged slowly home from school, the sun deliberately aiming its rays at me, as I ignored various taunts from my peers. My god, I'm making a big deal out of this, aren't I? Who wants to hear about me being taunted? it's old news, quite frankly. Look at me, I'm the school geek. Everyone knows my name, and I do not know any of theirs. I honestly can't recall the names of half of the people in my own classes, how the Hell am I supposed to remember the name of every student in the whole damned school? Not bloody likely.

I charged up the hill leading towards my house, cursing God for making the sun so hot. I'm not a religious guy, but I need someone to blame, don't I? And quite frankly, if I didn't know better, I'd blame one of the dogs messing up my house for Nick Frank's antics. Or vice versa.

I banged on the door, waiting for one of my younger siblings to let me in. After about half a minute of nothing happening, except for some poor sap in America getting mugged (but this story isn't about him), I opened the letterbox, and peaked inside. I can always tell whose home just by looking in through the letterbox. Be it from who's bags have been dumped in the corner, or which shoes are near (but not in, never in) the cupboard meant for storing our shoes. Yea, I can tell a lot about my family's status just by a peek through the letterbox. Of course, it isn't something I do often; not after someone shouted out 'stalker!' at me. It's my house, aren't I entitled to peek through the letterbox?

Almost immediately, I released a groan of annoyance. Nobody in, I could tell, because the kitchen door was shut, keeping the 4 dogs inside. That and all the other things I mentioned. No shoes to be seen and no bags in the corner. Great, the one time I forget my house key, nobody is in as early as usual... just great. That meant I was probably going to die a very painful death. Kicking the door in annoyance, I moved slowly down the side passage, to the door that was never locked. This door led to a small corridor-like conservatory. It didn't hold much, it was pretty much dedicated to being used as a shed, but it did happen to have the door to the kitchen. The gamble here was a case of whether or not the kitchen door was open. However, I sort of hoped it wasn't open. If it had been shut, there was no key to open it from the outside, thus sparing me from the creature that my dad called a dog. The door was ajar. Open. Sighing, I braced myself for the wraith of the spawn of Satan.

Moving into the kitchen, I looked both ways, and even up and down, trying to find the monster before it found me. I'd prefer to keep my hands attached to the ends of my arms, thank you very much. I can play my video games that way, you see? God, I really am a geek, aren't I? Only wanting to stay alive just so I can keep playing my games. Well, and to avoid unnecessary pain, can't forget that. Pain is bad, and I don't like it.

At the strange absence of any of the four dogs my family owned, I grinned at the realization that they were in the garden, likely doing their business. Power to them, I suppose. But that means I have a free moment to make myself something to eat. Something that wasn't the load of crap that the school calls a meal. The burgers and curly fries were alright, if you got to them before they sold out. If they were sold out by the time you got to them, the only edible thing left was a tuna and lettuce baguette. Healthy and tasty, but not overly filling for someone who hasn't had any breakfast. If they were sold out of that, then you were screwed. That's why I prefer going home for lunch, but as I mentioned previously, I'd forgotten my key on this hot and sunny day. I was probably lucky I'd even remembered to grab my wallet.

Hastily throwing together a basic sandwich, I opened the door to the utility room, where the fridge was located. Immediately, I slammed it shut, leaning against it. Of all places to take a nap, why did the Hell Spawn decide to do so in front of the fridge? Is it trying to starve me to death now? Either way, now it knows I'm here, and I can hear it growling from the other side of the door. Like that's a surprise; it'll growl at me from downstairs if I walk about upstairs. We need to put that thing down, and put it down soon. I do not provoke it, as my mother tends to accuse me of doing. Why would I provoke it into almost ripping out the tendrils in my right hand? That was painful...

My current situation meant that I had to leave the kitchen, and promptly. However, if I moved from my position, there would be nothing holding the door shut on the mutt, and he can move so much faster then I can. Then again, I only needed to outrun him for a couple of seconds, and then I'd be out of the kitchen, and I can easily shut the door on it. But then, it might manage to get out of the kitchen in the three second time frame that the kitchen door is open so that I can get out myself.

Screw it, I'm running.

After a most embarrassing few seconds where I screamed like a girl as I escaped the spawn of Satan, I slumped against the wall. That was a close call... But I was still alive, so therefore, it was a victory. An embarrassing victory, but a victory none-the-less. Now to go and enjoy the sandwich that... I... left... in the kitchen...

Shit.

Well, that was a perfectly good waste of a perfectly good sandwich. No doubt the Thing is feasting itself on my snack. Son of a bitch... quite literally, if you really believe that it's a dog. Well... so much for what meager victory I had. No I'll starve until dinner; dinner being whenever my mother gets home to cook the dinner. I heard she was going to do a steak for me today, so at least I'll have something good come out of what has so far been an absolutely crappy day. Well, that and my glorious game console. Lots of good games to play.

Smiling to myself, I ran up the stairs, barging into my bedroom and grabbing the box from under my bed. The box, well, a drawer that no longer had anything to slide in and out of, other than the dark and mysterious realm that was the underside of my bed, contained my large video game library. Pulling the box towards me, I started to read the names of each game, checking them off of my mental check-list, as I searched for a game I felt like playing.

Orphen? No thanks. San Andreas? Don't feel like killing random people today. Devil May Cry? No to both 1 and 3... Deus ex? Great game, but I don't feel like it at the moment.

I came to the line of Final Fantasy titles and paused, fingers hovering over the 3 PS1 and 2 PS2 cases. I did feel like going on an epic journey to save the world at that moment in time. And it had been a while since I'd played any of the Final Fantasy titles. But which one? Certainly not X-2. I don't even know why I keep that one, oh wait; yes I do, in case I ever feel like actually beating it 100 percent. Unlikely to occur any time soon though. IX? Save Gaia as Zidane and Vivi and co? I'm in more of a modern day setting mood. That left VII or VIII. Cloud or Squall, Buster Sword or Gunblade, AVALANCHE or SeeD... Seven is definitely better in the rest of the world's eyes, but Eight was the first Final Fantasy I ever owned, and that gives it a special place in my heart.

Muttering a quiet 'screw it', I shut my eyes and grabbed a random case. Opening my eyes revealed that today, I'd be beginning my battles against Shinra and Sephiroth. Moving over to my PS2, I ejected the DVD for Hitman Contracts and put in the first disc for Final Fantasy VII. As I waited for the game to startup, I put the Hitman disc back in its home and opened the cage that acted as the home for my pet lizard. The lizard in question, a Water Dragon that I named Spike, moved out from behind one of the rocks that littered the terrarium, part of what made the lizard's home look similar to his natural habitat, and perched himself on my waiting hand. I extracted my hand and stroked Spike's head, lightly, before pushing the button to start new game.

I watched the view of Midgar as the logo came up, revealing the main city of the game. The opening always made Midgar look like a great city to live in, you generally didn't think much of the smoke coming from the structures at the edge of the city until you played the game the first time, where you learnt they were polluting the Planet far worse than any fossil fuels ever could.

"Wish I lived there." I told Spike. "Join AVALANCHE, fight the fight. It would be much better than reality, and being bullied."

Spike, as usual, didn't reply to me. He never did. Still, I liked talking to him. He never judged me for any of my ramblings, and I do tend to ramble a lot.

Looking up from Spike, I noticed that the game seemed to have frozen. It was still stuck on the aerial view of Midgar, logo proudly being displayed for all to see. Cursing, I stood up, keeping a firm grip on Spike to ensure I didn't drop him. Damn. I know that my copy of Final Fantasy VII is old, but I take care of my games, it shouldn't be freezing like this. Grabbing the PS2, I tapped the reset button, hoping that this was a one time kind of thing. It happened with Metal Gear Solid 2, once. It froze at a cutscene once, and then it never happened again.

However, when tapping the reset button failed to do anything, I cursed again, slightly louder. Ok, instead of tapping the button, let's hold the button down. Ten seconds of holding the button, and no stand-by mode later, I was getting annoyed, and anxious that my PS2 might be nearing the end of its life. It was a first generation model... well, first generation to sell in the UK. What that came down to though, is that this Playstation 2 is real old. I did get it on release after all. I don't know what the PS2 life expectancy was, and I never did care.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed the eject button. As my finger left the black square with the blue symbol, I began retching. Groaning, I forgot about the Playstation troubles and reeled back, near falling onto my bed, wincing as the slats that held the mattress up collapsed from my weight being thrust upon them. I shut my eyes, continuing to retch. When I opened my eyes again, all I saw was blackness. Oh God, had I gone blind? Please, tell me I haven't gone blind. Another bout of retching had me groaning. Looking down, I saw my bed. Well, that ruled out me being blind, but why can't I see anything in the general direction of my TV and everything else electronic on my room. I could even see the door that was the only exit, unless you were willing to dive out the window, which I wouldn't advise.

I tried to stand up. Once on my feet, I took an unsteady step towards the door, but all feeling left my legs, and I fell. To my surprise, I didn't land on the floor, or if I did, I didn't feel anything. Instead, all that met me was inky blackness, and the strange feeling that I was falling. Somehow, the retching and general crappy feeling faded away. Lifting my hand, I saw that I still held Spike in a firm grip. Loosening my grip, I brought the lizard closer to my face, so I could see him clearly. He looked as he always did, grass green and without a care in the world. After several seconds, the Water Dragon seemed to liquefy, slowly melting.

My heart seemed to jump to my throat, and I felt myself shouting. Had I just killed Spike by carrying him when whatever happened to me happened? The liquid that was once my pet seemed to absorb itself into my flesh. I hoped that this was all just some bad dream, at least that would mean Spike was still alive.

I wasn't prepared for the pain that engulfed my body. It felt like I was set ablaze, all I could do was scream. Around me, through the screams, I could hear echoes, whispers. I paid them no mind; I was too busy trying to cope with this burning sensation that somehow felt familiar. A white light at the end of the tunnel approached, and suddenly, all I could see was white. I sealed my eyes shut, waiting for the nightmare to end.

And end it did.

I opened my eyes, slowly, when I realized that I was no longer moving. What met my eyes was a dark, brick wall. I blinked several times, before it registered, but that was indeed what I was seeing. But why was I seeing such? Shouldn't I be seeing the horrible cream white wallpaper of my bedroom? Groaning, I tried to pick myself up, but failed. Maybe I fainted in the alleys near my home? That would explain the whole freaky dream. I rolled onto my back and cursed. The sky was bitch black. If I had fainted, I was out cold for a real long time, and the alleys aren't secluded to the point where I wouldn't have been found for days. More like, I'd have been found within the hour.

Slowly, I pulled myself to my feet, using the wall for support. I felt pain all over my body. Not a harsh pain, like I'd just been punched, but a dull throbbing, but still hurting. Sort of like the end of a growth spurt, where it doesn't hurt as much, but still lets you know that it's there. That sort of pain.

"That didn't go as planned." A voice behind me grumbled.

I jumped, pivoting around. There, behind me, was a girl, who looked to be around 7 years old, who was frowning at me. It was too dark to make out any of the details of her appearance, but I could tell that she was annoyed. I didn't know who the girl was, so I made to move away, somewhere where I could figure out where I was in peace.

"Don't walk away from me!" The girl called out.

Turning around, I could easily tell that the girl was glaring at me.

"Who are you?" I asked, cautiously.

Something about this girl was off. The fact that a 7 year old sounded so serious was one clue towards that. The girl moved towards me, analyzing me. I shifted uncomfortably; the look she gave was so piercing.

"Did you have to be holding your lizard when you came here?" She asked.

It was obviously rhetorical; her tone conveyed plenty of annoyance to tell me that she already had an answer in her mind.

"What does Spike have to do with anything?" I snapped.

"Everything, apparently." She muttered, frown deepening.

"Look, if you have nothing important to say, then I wanna go home. Once I figure out where I am, I plan to do so as quickly as I can." I told her, turning away.

"Come back here!" She snapped, as I started to run off.

I ignored the girl, not wanting anything to do with her. She freaked me out, if I was to be honest. An aura seemed to surround her, saying that there was more to her, much more, then a mere 7 year old girl.

I stopped in a different alley, feeling lost. As I paused, looking for any landmarks I might recognize, I heard a voice whispering. Frowning, I looked around, trying to see where this mystery voice was coming from. The whispering stopped, and I got a sensation that someone, somewhere, was amused. When I took a step forwards, the whispering resumed. I shook my head, trying to ignore it. It faded as I ran through the alley.

I got a nasty shock when I tripped over though. As I placed my hands on the ground to push myself back to my feet, I stared at the flesh on them. Green. My skin was green. Once on my feet I examined them more closely. No, not skin. Scales... I have scales. Green scales. For a full minute, I just stared. My nails were longer, looking more like claws. Nervously, I looked over the rest of my body.

The rest of my body, like my hands, was covered in green scales. My feet had changed shape, becoming larger, three toed, with large claws at the end. I also only seemed able to walk on my toes, it being painful to force my heel to touch the ground. Like my feet weren't designed for it. Digitigrade, I believe the term is. And the real kicker? I have a long lizard tail coming out from just above my ass now.

And then there's my sudden new wardrobe. I had been wearing my school uniform, which was a smart pair of trousers, and, because it was the summer, a light blue polo shirt. That was gone. Instead, I was wearing dark blue jeans, with two belts, one actually looping around the top of the jeans, the other sort of sloping, so while one end is at the proper height, the other is partway down my thigh. Instead of the polo shirt, I was wearing a black, v-neck t-shirt and a sleeveless brown leather trench coat, that reached my knees.

My staring at this sudden (and welcomed) change in my clothing was interrupted when the whispers filled the air again. I spun around, looking for the source. Instead, I came face to face with the same girl from earlier. She looked at me, a bemused expression on her face. I didn't even wait for her to start talking before bolting.

Was my new look what hadn't gone as planned? Who was she?

In sprinted out of the alley and stopped, gaping.

Before me, stood a large, and very familiar tower. I shook my head, refusing to believe that this was real. It couldn't be. How could I be standing before the Shinra Tower?

"Will you stop running away now?" The girl asked, suddenly standing at my side.

I looked at her, nodding, numbly.

"Good. I'm sure you've noticed your current situation." She said, nodding at the tower. "Lizard hybrid, standing in Midgar..."

Again, all I did was nod. She grunted, looking at me.

"This is what you wanted. This is your chance to 'fight the fight', as you so elegantly put it."

"Who are you?" I asked, finding my voice.

"I'm the spirit of your PS2. I know all about you, and your dreams and desires."

"What the hell?"

"Look, I'll explain later." The PS2 snapped, pulling something from thin air. "Because of your stupid decision to run off, you're behind schedule. You need to meet up with Cloud and join AVANCHE. I'll explain more later."

I opened my mouth, but before I could utter a word, she tossed the item that she'd pulled from nowhere at me.

"This is your weapon. Don't lose it. You can buy a new one if you must."

And with that, the girl vanished. Not with a bang, or a puff of smoke, but in the blink of an eye.

I looked at the weapon I was to use: a gunblade. I placed it inside some weird sheath on the inside of my coat. I figured I should go look for Cloud and co. Only problem, I have absolutely no idea where I was, or where to go. You never exactly got to see much of Midgar in the game.

Great, I'm lost, again, happy days. I was being sarcastic if you didn't already know. So this is the chance for an adventure? I'd prefer to stick to computer games.

Doesn't look like I have much of a choice though.

The whispering once again could be heard. Groaning, I thumped the side of my head, certain I was imaging it. All I got in response was a dull throbbing, and the feeling that someone was rolling their eyes at me.