PROLOGUE

"If you touch her again... " the tanned boy spoke, gritting his teeth angrily, "... I'll kill you." There was silence in the darkened, ancient room. Tidus stood in front of the door he had used to enter this place. Sweat dripped from his forehead, falling onto his chest, which was covered with scars, and blood which was both his and others. His shirt had been ripped to pieces, leaving only his pants, which had been shredded near the trim. The shoes he wore were quite dirty with the colors quite faded, and his Blitzing armguard managed to stay intact. His exhausted yet well built frame rose and fell noticeably with every breath.

"Hm hm hm... you think I am afraid of you, Tidus? Pathetic." The figure laughed. As the cackling died down, Tidus noticed something floating in the air. It was quite dark in the room, so he couldn't make it out. Though uncertain, he thought he could see the silhouette of a person. A woman, in fact. She had a slim build and a sizable bust, a form that most men would be hounding over. With each passing second, his eyes adjusted more and more to the overwhelming darkness. And then he saw her. "Yuna!" Taking a step forward, Tidus demanded, "Let her go!"

Again, the figure couldn't help but chuckle at this man's naive bravery. He had to give him credit though, after all he'd gone to hell and back just to save her. To save the love of his life. But she was the love of his life as well. "Hm hm... protective, aren't we?"

She seemed lifeless. She wasn't moving at all. "Y-Yuna….." He stuttered. Anger started to take him completely, and he screamed "What have you done with her?!" Unable to bear the sight of his lover in such a state, he fell to his knees.

"Don't worry. I haven't killed her--yet." The shadowy figure edged slowly to Tidus.

In a rage, Tidus bolted from the ground, wielding his two fine swords, the Brotherhood and Caladbolg. The Brotherhood, a mesmerizing weapon, had a blade that looked as though it was made entirely of water. On the backside of the weapon, where the hand guard would normally be, was a dragon head that looked as though it was enveloping the blade. A round, yellow jewel was made to be its eye. The handle was wrapped in a creamy white material, and the black hilt had a long, red ribbon tied onto its end. His other sword, Caladbolg, though beautiful in its articulate design, was one of the catalysts that made this current situation possible. It's blade, a celestial blue, emanated as one of the only light sources in the dark chamber. The sharper side of the blade had a portion jutting out near the bottom over the handle, acting as a hand guard. The gold along the center of it only added to its wondrous, mysterious nature.

"Let Yuna go!" With impatience Tidus attempted to strike the man, though the result did not pay off. As the blade was about to sever him in two, the adversary swiftly took hold of the backside of the sword and moving with the momentum spun Tidus around and threw him into the wall.

As Tidus began pulling himself up, the man replied to his request, sounding almost remorseful, "I'm sorry, I want this no more than you, however it must be done. There is no other way to stop it, you know that." Raising his hand, Yuna's body suddenly jolted in her levitated position. Moving his hand forward, Yuna in turn began to move ahead. Eventually, she ended up on top of a simple stone table that was atop the small set of stairs in the middle of the room. She began to whimper, however she was quickly silenced after being struck to the face. The sound resonated in the room. "Quiet, please. It will be over soon." In contrast with his actions, he spoke rather gently.

Flinching at the sharp sound of the strike, Tidus's hatred for this man grew even more. It was hard to find the strength to pull himself up. Even using his swords as a crutch helped only a little. All the trials, all the losses he'd faced to reach this room were unbearable, and he was still surprised at the strength of his own willpower. How he kept moving forward, he couldn't answer.

Yuna let out another small cry, again shut up by a slap to the face. "You bastard, if you lay another hand on her, I'll carve your heart out!" Such words would have shocked the old Tidus, however all that he'd gone through had crafted a darker, fouler Tidus that had begun to lose sight of morals and values. A crimson aura began to shroud the Caladbolg, while the Brotherhood's oceanic glow began to dim.

Rather calm, the enigma replied, "Can the dead have a heart?" Tidus was taken aback by his words. Finally pushing himself up to his feet, he spoke, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" At that moment, the cloaked figure snapped their fingers, causing two torches to light up fierce, blue flames. All was visible now, all that had been veiled could be seen. The archaic architecture, the worn yet artfully made stone pillars and walls, all which had words and letters etched into them in a language unknown to the young blonde man. Before looking anywhere else, Tidus's eyes darted to Yuna, whom was not completely in his sight. There were a number of bruises on her arms and legs along with cuts and gashes of various sizes. Most were at least a few hours old, though some were quite fresh, made only in the past ten minutes. The glistening crimson proved that. Tidus whispered Yuna's name softly in desperation.

Ignoring the growing pain in his body, Tidus shouted, "Who are you?!"

In a simple reply, "You already know who I am. I'm Fayt, remember?"

"That's not you're damn true name! Take off your hood," Tidus howled, "let me see who you are!"

Silence filled the room. Yuna was trying her best to not let anything pass her lips, as it seemed she grew tired of being beaten. Regardless of his aching body, Tidus was about to charge until the reply was heard, "I suppose the least I can do is heed your last request." Turning to face Tidus, it continued on, "Are you sure this is what you want? I was hoping to stay anonymous 'til the end. But after all you've been through to reach her-- "

"Shut the hell up and show me!"

The figure stood still for a moment before looking back into Yuna's eyes. Her bi-colored orbs were filled with fear, hate, sadness, confusion. Not able to stand her pathetic gaze any longer, it shied its face away from her and shot towards Tidus. Without saying a word, its hands reached for the hood screening his identity from the world. Slowly it was lowered behind its head, revealing the person underneath.

Tidus's eyes widened in shock. "No... no. No!" His voice gradually rose from a low mutter to a deafening boom. "What the hell is going on?! This is a lie! You're not--you're not supposed to... " Dropping to his knees, his eyes remained locked on to this person, this individual who no longer hid under a mask. The secret was out. Though at this point, Tidus wished he was still lost in lies and obscure, bleak questions.

"So... you remember me."