Prologue
Disclaimer: I own neither Harry Potter nor Final Fantasy 10.
A/N: Okay, forgive me. I am not British, I have never been to England, and I have no idea how to write a convincing British accent. I'll try my best, but forgive me if it doesn't go over well.
The wind howled loudly through the trees, and water poured from the sky in steady streams not unlike bitter tears. The sudden storm was almost welcomed by the populous as a brief reprieve from the humid heat wave that had hit England the week before, it was the warmest autumn they had had in years. Though due to the severity of the sudden storm, very few were brave enough to venture out of their dry homes. There were puddles of rain at the end of every driveway as the rain was coming down too fast for it to all drain away into the drainage systems. The wind howled like a wolf crying for attention, and the sky was an all encompassing black, even though it was only early evening.
Despite the storm, ten figures stood in the rain outside a large foreboding manor. They were staring at it with an intensity that was disquieting, and it appeared as if they were looking through the house, instead of at it. Of the ten figures, four were male and six were female. As bad as the storm was around them, they were all bone dry, and the storm seemed to be moving around them, instead of touching them. None of the figures even seemed to notice that a storm was raging.
"This can not be." The smallest of the ten figures said. He was little more than a child, and easily the youngest of the group, though even at a glance, it was clear that he was their leader. He was dark skinned and wore dark leggings with a purple hooded tunic that left his face hidden in shadows.
"It is. We failed." One of the five women said. She was short and slender with her blond hair in two braids. She wore a pale orange body suit, with pale yellow boots, and a pale yellow bikini over the body suit. It was obvious that she was related to two of the other women.
"No, we did not fail. To fail is to not try." Another of the women argued. She was noble in looks, with pale skin and silky blue tinted hair. She wore a pale blue flowing dress with a silvery blue headdress covering the majority of her hair.
"Spoken well, Shiva." The tallest of the figures spoke. He was tall and strongly built. He wore light beige leggings, along with an armored blue and beige top. He wore a helmet that covered his face and had a large sword sheathed at his side. Something about him just screamed samurai.
"What to do though?" another of the males asked impatiently. He was tanned with unkempt red hair that fell across his face in uneven spikes. He wore black pants and a dark navy blue armored top with an even darker blue headband over his forehead.
"We should make our dream deal with it." Two of the woman spoke simultaneously. They were clearly the older sisters of the girl in yellow. One was tall and slender and wore a pretty purple and yellow dress, while the other was shorter and heavy set, and wore a purple shirt and black pants. Both girls had the same pale blond hair as their younger sister.
"We just woke up." Argued the boy.
"Indeed. We did. Perhaps we can make him someone else's dream?" the last of the males asked. He was dark haired, with tanned skin, and bright electric blue eyes. He was older than the other nine, and wore a highly decorated dark green priest's tunic, dark leggings and a black hat.
"The idea has merit. Bahamut, what say you?" Another of the women asked. She had short brown hair, pale skin, and wore a flowery pale yellow dress that looked rather plain. Unlike the others, she looked rather frail.
"It certainly does have merit, Valefor. It certainly does." The boy; Bahamut murmured.
"Whose dream would it be?" the last of the women asked softly. She was beautiful, with long shiny black hair, pale skin, and dark, soulful eyes. She wore a low cut blue dress that flowed around her knees gracefully, and had a multitude of golden necklaces adorning her neck.
Bahamut continued staring at the manor in front of them thoughtfully. Finally, he turned to his companions, "Cindy."
The tallest of the three sisters stood at attention, her purple and yellow dress twirled around her at the motion, "Yes?"
"You and your sisters will go find our wayward dream. You must awaken him so he can be ready."
"Of course." Cindy replied easily. "Mindy, Sandy, come."
Mindy, the youngest sister hopped over to her sister's side with a smile, while Sandy, the heavy set sister moved over with a scowl. Once they were side by side, the three sisters vanished in a flash of light.
"Ixion, Valefor, and Anima. Find a host for our dream." Bahamut ordered mere seconds after the three sisters had vanished.
Ixion's electric blue eyes widened and he nodded. Valefor moved to stand next to him, and a moment later, the beautiful woman in the blue dress moved to stand on Ixion's other side.
"Before you go, remember, it has to be someone capable, but not in the spotlight. Also, he has to be compatible. Anima, you are in charge."
The beautiful woman nodded and the three figures vanished in a flash of light.
"And then there were four." The redhead commented.
"What is our mission?" The noble woman asked.
"We need to rescue the prisoners." The Samurai declared.
"He's right." Bahamut agreed. "We are not mere Fayth any longer. We are Aeons. We can interfere, even if we shouldn't. Shiva, Yojimbo, you must follow Ifrit's lead on this one."
Shiva nodded, while Yojimbo just scowled. Ifrit's smile turned positively feral.
"And what of you, Bahamut? What will you do?" Shiva asked curiously.
"I have someone to talk to." Bahamut replied vaguely. He looked between the Manor and the last three of his subordinates, "Remember, do not be seen." He warned before he disappeared in a flash of light.
Shiva looked at the two males and wondered what she had done to deserve being stuck with the two of them. On their own, they were fine, but together, they clashed insufferably. She'd prefer to be stuck with the Magus Sisters', and they were more annoying than running out of MP just before reaching overdrive status.
"Let's go free those prisoners." Ifrit said determinedly.
"Finally. Something we agree on." The samurai agreed acerbically.
Shiva just sighed and followed after the two morons she was stuck with.
It was beautiful, much like the rest of the afterlife. Everything was always beautiful. The sun nearly always shone, and yet the wilderness was vast and plentiful. Sometimes the contradictions bothered him. His past home, while large and vastly technologically superior, held none of the beauty that now constantly surrounded him, and yet, the world this one was created in the likeness of was full of such pain and sorrow, while his home had been a place of peace and enjoyment. It didn't make sense.
Unimaginable beauty and Sorrow? Or easy and peaceful?
He leaned back on the hill he had been sitting on for the last three days. As far as the eye could see, he was surrounded in fields upon fields of flowers, with streams of the purest water he had ever tasted interconnected throughout. The sun was blinding in the sky, and yet the heat was always pleasant and never unbearable even though there was very rarely any respite.
He was never hungry, and his body felt no need for nourishment or sleep, and yet he was not satisfied. This perfect, peaceful, beautiful place was not where he wanted to be. Not even in the slightest. He wanted to go back to the war torn world he had only known for such a brief stay. The place he had claimed as his own. He wanted to go home.
The light grew behind his closed eyes for a moment, and he heard a polite cough that signaled someone trying to get his attention. He was tempted to just ignore it and let the peace ease him into another long slumber, but he didn't want to seem rude. Rudeness had no place here.
Tidus opened his eyes.
Three faces were peering down at him and old battle instincts reared immediately. He flipped himself into a sideways roll before throwing himself forward to put distance between him and the enemy. His sword appeared in a flash of light and he shifted ever so slightly so that all three women were in his range of attack.
"Be calm." The youngest woman ordered hastily. She held her hands up soothingly as if trying to calm a raging beast.
"I am Cindy." The tallest and eldest of the three said soothingly. She gestured to first her more rotund sister and then to the smallest, "This is Sandy," Sandy nodded curtly, "and Mindy." Mindy smiled soothingly.
"We're not here to hurt you, Dream-child." Sandy declared.
"We're here to save you." Mindy finished, still with her hands up showing she meant no harm.
Tidus's eyes widened as his memories of the three women came back. He had seen them only once, but like with all of the Fayth; it had left an impression upon him. He bowed his head slightly to three of the beings that were responsible for his existence. "Sorry." He apologized as he straightened from his battle crouch and banished his sword.
"We have need of your assistance." Cindy said carefully.
"It is very important." Mindy added.
Tidus looked around his paradise and nodded. He didn't care what they wanted him to do, as long as it involved somewhere less boring. "What do you need me for?"
"You will see. You are to become a dream in the real world again, is that what you wish?" Cindy asked.
"Yes!" Tidus pumped a fist in the air in time with his cheer, "Will I get to see Yuna and the others?" He asked immediately.
"I'm afraid I… do not know. If you do, it will not be for a very long while." Cindy replied. She looked hesitantly at her two younger sisters to see if they had any inkling of an answer to his question.
"Bahamut does not tell us much." Mindy admitted.
"We just know that you are to become someone else's dream, so you can leave here." Sandy added.
Tidus looked around the vast fields that he had all to himself. His Father, Auron, Braska, and many others were around somewhere. But mostly, they all went off on their own to deal with the afterlife. It was slightly different for Tidus though, as unlike his father, he hadn't ever really died. He had just… ceased to be.
"There's nothing left for me here. When do I go?"
"Soon. Young Dream. We must wait for the signal."
Tidus groaned loudly; he hated waiting. It had been a proven fact back on Spira that he was less patient than both Wakka and Rikku, possibly put together. "Oh, come on!"
"Someone who is close, but not too close… Someone who can protect the hero, but not be in the spotlight. Someone no one would ever expect…" Valefor murmured to herself.
"Do you have a plan Valefor?" Anima asked gently.
The frail woman nodded slightly and fingered a strand of her light brown hair, "My plan… is that we wait until we know who's going to be in the spotlight, and then we can choose our guardian."
"Wonderful idea. Vale." Ixion complimented, "We really should have talked things over more before we decided on our course of action."
"I—I know not who the chosen one is, but I do know where he or she will spend a good portion of their lives. So it would make sense to choose a guardian from the same area, would it not? Someone close to the chosen one, but someone everyone will overlook."
"And this is the area?" Ixion asked.
Anime looked around the soaked road and then up at the beacon of warmth and light before them, "Yes. This will be a home to the Chosen One. We will choose someone from within to bear our dream."
"And you are certain?" Ixion pressed.
"As certain as I can be. Yes." Anima replied.
"Here it is then." Ixion decided, as if it was his decision to make.
"Valefor, send for the sisters and the dream. Ixion, keep watch out here. I'm going inside to find a vessel."
Valefor nodded and vanished in a flash of light while Ixion just shifted his weight and crossed his arms to wait. Anime gave him a swift nod and entered the future home of the Chosen One.
Bahamut wasn't above manipulating people. He wasn't above putting commands into their heads to make them do something. He also wasn't above messing with the dimensions of time to do so. Time held no meaning to an immortal being of extreme power. That was why he sat in a bar, one year and eight months into the past from where he was an hour ago. He was watching a bug eyed woman who was draped in shawls, talk to an elderly man with a beard so long it was tucked into his belt.
He focused closer on the woman, and with a twitch of his mind, possessed her.
Across the room Albus Dumbledore was trying not to wince at the obvious fake before him. When he had put the wanted add out for a new Divinations Professor, he had expected to get some crazies, but this woman was the top of the list.
The woman was in the middle of telling him about how she was so sorry that one of his students were going to die, when she suddenly stiffened, her voice lost its airy quality and seemed to come out hollow, emotionless, and much deeper.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."
Albus looked on in shock as his swift, intelligent mind began putting the pieces together. For starters, this woman had just told a prophecy; a real one. Also, if he went by the look on her face, and the fact that she was continuing where she had left off before the prophecy, she had no idea.
Albus nodded silently to himself, "Professor Trelawney? You're hired."
Bahamut smiled to himself and left the pub the same way he had entered.
No one noticed.
"What I want to know," Ifrit griped, "Is why tonight? The prisoners have obviously been here for longer than just today, so why free them tonight? Why is it so special?"
"The barriers between worlds are thinnest once a year on this day. That is how it is possible for us to be here without wasting an enormous amount of energy." Shiva explained tiredly. He had asked the same questions three times since they had invisibly entered the manor a few minutes prior.
"I'll not be the one to question Bahamut's orders." Yojimbo stated boldly, "Has he ever led us astray before?"
"Well, no." Ifrit admitted, "Hey! I am in charge! Do not question me!"
Shiva would have rolled her eyes if such an action wasn't so far beneath her.
"Up ahead." Yojimbo said. "There are no guards by the cells."
"Suspicious…" Shiva murmured.
"No. I don't believe this is a coincidence. For some reason, the guards are elsewhere, and that is why we are to free the prisoners right now." Ifrit said seriously.
"Right."
Shiva moved to the cell door and had it unlocked within seconds. Yojimbo took the lead, as he was their combat specialist. The samurai was a master of the sword. "Clear." He said after a moment. Shiva entered, followed closely by Ifrit. The blue haired woman started towards the cells, while Ifrit guarded the door and Yojimbo stalked around the room making sure no one was around.
"You're free now." Shiva said to the prisoners in the cell as the door swung open of its own accord. Or seemingly, at any rate, as the prisoners could not see or hear her.
The prisoners jumped to their feet as their cell door opened and it didn't take them long to leave the cell. There were fifteen of them, six females and nine males, three of which were children.
"That way." Ifrit ordered. The message was sent into the subconscious of the healthiest man among the prisoners.
"I will follow them out and make sure no harm befalls them." Yojimbo offered.
"Good." Ifrit agreed. "Shiva, you are with me. I want to know what the guards are up to and why they are no where to be found."
"Of course." Shiva responded. She watched Yojimbo follow the freed prisoners until she could no longer see him anymore, "Let us go."
Six hours later, the only sign that there had been a storm was the branches strung across the wet road and the faint smell of ozone in the air. The Ten Aeons once again stood outside the manor, though this time, the Manor was in ruins. There were bits of fire here and there among the rubble of the once glorious mansion, along with the occasional half buried body. All was silent save for the faint crackling of flame against centuries old wood. The sky, once a cloud of black, was crystal clear allowing the stars to light the way.
"It's done."Anima stated calmly. "We have chosen our avatar, and the process is complete. Our dream is no longer our own."
"How is the dream-child?" Shiva asked.
"He is well. Confused, but well. He knows who he is supposed to protect, though only at a subconscious level. I could not rewrite the vessels soul into that of our dream, so in a sense; it is one body housing two people."
"Who's body?" Bahamut asked seriously.
"That… is hard to explain. It is our dream's body, merged with the boy who hosts him. In time, the dream will overtake reality, and his body will evolve into what it once was."
Valefor nodded and elaborated, "The power that was put into creating our dream overpowered the power of the host tenfold. It's only a matter of time."
"Good." Bahamut murmured, "That's good."
"Will he know?" Yojimbo wondered.
"It's hard to tell at the moment. The Dream knows, yes. But his host is the one in control of the conscious mind at the moment. Until that changes… our dream will only be able to effect the choices of his host on a subconscious level, and perhaps through dreams." Anima replied.
"So, it's only a matter of time…" Ifrit said. "Let us hope this works. Another Sin is something none of us want to see come to fruit."
"Agreed." Bahamut said.
"And now we wait." Ixion murmured.
"And now we wait." Anima confirmed.
They had all the time in the world. Even if the rest of the world didn't.