Hello, and welcome to another one of my fics. Originally, I was going to call this fic Demention (sounds cooler, huh?), but I don't think that's even a word. Well, I had this idea one day, and I couldn't resist. As those of you who follow my work, you know that I'm a big Tidus fan and I am quite frankly tired of all the Tidus bashing and him being portrayed as a big sissy for lack of better word. I believe Tidus is one of the most understated and underestimated final fantasy main characters there is, and I believe Square Soft did a terrible job representing him. Frankly, I don't see why Tidus wasn't the summoner.

To all those concerned with The Dream of Aeons, the Battle of Magic, I do have the chapters ready except with some minor changes and of course editing. In between the times of my job and other life's little projects, I will, of course, have it posted up. It is not dead. It was just dormant along with the rest of the world in this snowy weather we have been having this year in the U.S. Enjoy the fic, and as always, reviews are always appreciated and looked forward to.

Any spelling errors or differences in the story are unintentional and are mine.

Dementia: severe impairment or loss of intellectual capacity and personality integration, due to the loss or damage to neurons in the brain

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X

In the silvery dark blue forestry of the Macalania Woods, a lone figure ran along the wide trail. Roving his eyes restlessly over the blue crystals, the silvery hued trees and dark green-silver grass carpeting the forest floor, he tried to pick up a familiar color; Rikku's sun gold hair, Yuna's white, blue and pink kimono, Auron's bright red coat, but found nothing. All he received for his efforts was the silvery terrain. Panting, he slowed to a halt on a patch of fine powdery snow that covered the trail in large patches and tried not to panic.

A shock of yellow hair framed a delicately chiseled face. Some would go as far to call it elfish. Sea blue eyes squinted in the thick vegetarian and clusters of crystals, still searching. Thick straps of black leather made his overalls. The right leg of his overall was cut above the knee, and left cut half-way down his calf with a icon of a jagged 'J' in orange etched in the leather. Around his throat a similar symbol rested on the hollow of his throat. Silver metallic buttons and chain studded his leather outfit which was fitted with a small yellow undershirt that exposed his chest. From his left shoulder down, thick plates of armor and leather covered the appendage ending in a gold armored glove. His right hand wasn't so protected, just fitted with a black leather glove. Even compared to the Spiran's standards, the outfit was unusual.

His muscled wiry limbs hid a strength that belied his slight frame. Grueling hours spent at the blitzball stadium training gave him unbelievable speed and nimbleness coupled with a solid strength.

"Okay Tidus, they couldn't have gone too far, right?" the eighteen year old whispered to himself.

Damn, this had to happen. The minute he let the group out his sight, they take off and he's running around like an idiot hoping he's on the right path.

He couldn't believe that they were so careless to forget him, couldn't believe he was careless to let them out of sight. Auron was not going to let him live this down. Yuna and Lulu had run into a hard-shelled Barbuta strolling around their makeshift camp. It was fortunate that they had run into it so close to the camp, otherwise they wouldn't have heard the spell casting. Wakka, Auron, and Rikku were just finished packing up and they had ran ahead to give the two mages a helping hand. Tidus was running behind them when another Barbuta, drawn by the noise, interceded him. He had skidded to a halt and drew Brotherhood. The battle didn't take long since this was only a teenager compared to human years, but it was long enough for everyone to leave him behind.

Exhaling, Tidus stared ahead at the winding trail that disappeared behind a sharp bend. 'Let's see, that battle couldn't have taken long. Ten, fifteen minutes tops.' And it wasn't like he was walking directionless. All he had to do was to keep walking on the path and he would run into them eventually. He thought uneasily. Ten minutes ago he had taken a split path. Was he even on the right one? Shit. He shook his head. There was no help for it. He would just have to keep going on this one. As much as he didn't like to, if he didn't find them in the next half hour, he would backtrack and take the other trail.

Yeah, that's what he would do.

Now that left the question whether he should carry one of his longswords. Reaching into his black pouch strapped to his upper leg, he drew out the four foot long blade. Tidus had long ago gotten used to picking out weapons that logically could never fit in a six inch long, three inch wide pouch, but he never lost his amazement over it. The pouch could hold virtually anything, never having a limited amount of space.

A scroll blossomed in his mind when he reached in the bottomless depths, a detailed list of everything that he had ever placed in there ready for him to take his pick. Potions, antidotes, Fish scales, Phoenix Downs, and finally, every weapon that he had decided to keep that he had used. He drew out Brotherhood, the water elemental sword. Gripping Brotherhood in his leather gloves, he studied the blue metal; molten blue rivers of steel circulating to the tip, bubbles moving in its current and when reaching the tip, popping out in the open air in a burst of white mist. Yet the water sword retained its sharp and unique shape. Solid yet always moving. A tip ended with a cruel piece of metal sticking out of the front, like an oversized sharp hook. It was his favorite sword. He didn't know if it was because the water element reminded him of himself, just as at home in the sphere of water of a blitzball stadium as the solid land beneath him or if it was because Wakka gave it to him, but he always used it above all other swords.

Now the question: should he travel with his sword in his hand or not?

This trail was littered with fiends. It wasn't wise to walk alone in Macalania Woods; the fiends here were difficult enough to handle without back-up. Sure, the airborne Virtigo's and the occasional hard-shelled Barbuta was okay, but the Chimeras and Rhyos were something that you didn't want to face alone.

Finally he stuck Brotherhood back in his pouch. Right now he was focusing on finding everyone and a sword would only weigh him down. He would just be as quiet as he could. A sword was difficult to run with, and not very smart to anyway. Tidus took a breath and resumed his run.

His breaths came in faint wisps of smoke, the air too cold if he stood still for a long time, but pleasantly cool on his skin as he ran. The woods simmered in their ethereal light, crystals shining in the glow. No crickets chirped. The only sound was the regular beat of his shoes, his measured breaths and the steady beat of his heart. A few flakes of snow from the ground somehow landed on his ankles and Tidus felt their chilly kiss before they melted and left his ankles soaked. Even in the evening, Macalania Woods was dark. The only difference in day and night here was the crystals and all the vegetarian glowed silver as nightfall descended.

'And the pyreflies.' He thought to himself with a blush. Memories of last night in the lake surfaced in his mind. He stumbled on a loose rock and pushed the memory away to concentrate. The trail winded around a large corner of thickly grown green trees and as he ran around the corner, the trail continued in a more or less straighter path. The sun scattered across grassy ground weakly. He slowed, but didn't stop running. Doubt was worming into his mind.

Shouldn't he have reached them by now? He couldn't see hide nor hair of Kimahri or anyone else ahead. The path stretched out straight far ahead before it rose out of sight. Sight shaded by the thick branches of leaves of the brown, green and silvery trees. Faint traces of worry puckered his brow.

Shouldn't he have at least seen a footprint? That thought stopped him dead in his tracks. Shoulders rising with chest, he gazed a little frantically at the ground. Snow covered half of the trail and to his unease, realized that the snow was smashed into the ground from tracks. Fiend tracks.

"Oh no." he uttered under his breath. He recognized the wide shuffling walk of the Flans and the taloned feet as wide as his arms from the Rhyos. Little points that were stabbed in the snow must be from the Tentacles that hovered too close to the ground. There were even chocobo tracks. Of course Tidus, he chided himself. This is a road. Fiends like roads.

But this many? The ground was practically smashed from the constant treading. There was no way to tell if his companions had passed through. The snow was too densely packed to leave another's steps as light as Rikku and Wakka. Fiends were heavy. Tidus gazed around. The tall tree and blue crystals grew on both sides of the road. Thick little vegetarian of dark leaves layered the ground where soft curly moss did not cover in the woods. In dark green leaves and crystals, the silver glow within had grown stronger, meticiouslously hiding the vicious fiends in this treachous maze. It was as if he was running in velvet green and blue world lined with silver. Even the air was sweet. Over the treetops, a pyrefly floated serenely by. Essence of the dead and the making of fiends. Despite the pressing matter, Tidus let himself be distracted with its distorted colors. Like oil in water.

The sphere of light was no bigger than his two fists he knew. However the beautiful sighting hid a grimmer fact. Pyreflies were parts of the dead, one puzzle piece in the whole picture, which were sent to the Farplane where they may rest in peace. However, if the dead were unsent, or their emotions were strong enough, they would remain in this world. If the soul of the person desperately wanted to become alive again, they would become fiends. There was no way of distinguishing between what pyrefly wanted to live or not, but that only made him more cautious.

And where there were pyreflies, there were fiends. Basic elementary. When the pyrefly had flown out of sight, Tidus looked warily around once more.

The woods remained innocently silent.

Flicking hands open, hands areal to each other like he was gesturing a straight road with hands close to his chest, he spoke sternly. "Okay Tidus, just for another ten minutes. If there's nothing, then turn around and take other path." Closing his eyes and nodding once, he took in a breath and let it out. But before he even took his second step, a body fell to the ground in front of him.

"Shit!" Tidus screamed jumping back. The fiend growled low in the back of its throat. Needle sharp teeth caught his eye first. It was vaguely resembled a lizard crossed over with a wolf. Lupine facial structures with the reptile replica teeth.

The shoulder haunches were broad and thick, tapering to an almost frightening thinness at its stomach, but widened out at the hips. Its limbs were thin and brittle looking. Its hind feet were paws whiles the front resembled more of the reptile type. Low to the ground were three very long, and very sharp milk white talons digging in the moss and grit. Its smooth hide was a rich purple, neither scaly nor hairy, just skin except over the head; which sported inch long white hair that covered the lupine like ears. Purple was the dominant color on this fiend. Even its eyes were a brilliant violet color.

It held a rabbit in its mouth. He couldn't tell what color the fur was anymore. The whole thing was encrusted with wet and dried blood. Puncture wound littered the whole body and amazingly, the rabbit was still alive. It kicked feebly, shallowly gasping. Tidus felt his heart go out to rabbit with nausea. There was no telling how long the rabbit had been kept alive, but judging from how dry the blood was in some places, too long. It cried feebly; a high, faint whine. The fiend's tongue licked the fur and shook its head like a dog with a bone. The rabbit's limbs flapped like a rag. A faint trickle of blood dripped on the snow, staining the pristine pearl white snow a scarlet drop. Done with its toy, the fiend closed its jaws with a decisive snap and discarded the rabbit on the snow without ever taking his eyes of him.

Tidus stared at it for a second before his hand fumbled for the pouch. But it was a second too long. The creature bunched low to the ground and jumped.

Tidus barely had time to activate his arm-shield before they he was knocked to the ground. At this point Tidus personally found out how sharp those front talons were as they scrapped across his chest. He didn't even have time to register the pain except as a slight sting as he desperately tried to hold off the fiend with one hand and block its mouth with his shield. Even holding it off like this strained his arms quickly enough it alarmed him.

The creature writhed, talons and claws scrapping bloody on his chest. Tidus cried out, struggling to summon a basic fire spell, but his mind was pulling in several different places at once. Finally he reined his mind to recall the spell. Heat built up in the palm of his hand that was holding the creature's body away. In less than a second, the heat blossomed into a full Fire spell, scorching the creature's belly. It shrieked and scrambled off. Tidus rolled to his feet and drew Brotherhood.

The creature drew up on its hind legs to lick its belly with an abnormally long wolf tongue. Snatching the advantage, Tidus attacked, drawing Brotherhood and bringing it down on the fiend. His sword bit air as the fiend jumped out of the way. It crunched and jumped again, hoping for a repeat and kill him this time. But there was a reason why Tidus was the star of the Zandarkand Abes. Strength wasn't always enough and when brute strength couldn't do it, speed won him his game. A cementer slower and he may not have made it, but Tidus managed to bring Brotherhood up and slam it into the fiend's side, knocking it off course and to the ground. It rolled to its feet and snarled. Perspiration beaded on his forehead. The hide was smooth and flawless. Brotherhood didn't even make as much as a scratch.

Tidus drew up the water blade in a defensive mode and grabbed a chocobo feather from his pouch. The yellow feather dissolved into the air simultaneous as an ornate clock of orange light appeared around him and faded. Equipped with Haste, Tidus took the offensive. His sword barely made a scratch in the hide, so he wasn't going to waste his time with physical attacks. Thrusting his hand in his pouch again, Tidus grabbed a Fire Gem and threw it. The creature blinked as if underwater, but didn't move at the seemingly harmless small jewel. The gem struck its chest and flames consumed the creature.

It screeched in agony. To Tidus, it was like listening to a movie being played at half-speed. Everything drawn out. The cackling of the flames. The different notes of pain in the fiends howl, the brittle limbs spasming with lips drawn back in pain. The flames dispersed. Blind with pain, the creature charged him, three dagger sharp claws from its paws slowly hitting the snow and moss-covered ground, eager to rind and mangle.

In a moment, Tidus saw what damage the Fire Gem did. The back was bone dry, all signs of moisture burned off but otherwise unharmed. However, the closer the flames got to the stomach, the more damaging the Fire Gem became. Along the sides of the belly, the skin became wrinkled, quickly becoming charred and black until it reached the belly, where most of the damage accumulated. The belly was black and smoky. Chunks of flesh had been completely burned to a crisp. The damage reached to the top part of the inside of its legs. Tidus gagged at the smell that wafted from it.

The fiend wasn't very imaginative or it was too occupied by pain to come up with a new strategy. It jumped, only the thought of tackling him to the ground and killing him had room in its predatory head.

As the fiend was in midair, Tidus ducked and drew back Brotherhood until the fiend was exactly above him. Springing up, Tidus thrust Brotherhood right into the falling bits of charred flesh and blood that was its stomach. He let go of the handle. The sword and fiend sailed over him and into the ground. Tidus watched their progress. The creature squealed faintly. The handle touched the ground first, shoving the blade farther into its mess of a stomach then tilted and split through the back. The fiend landed on its stomach, blade and all. It struggled weakly. Even in Haste mode, Tidus could see that its movements were sluggish.

Cautiously, he approached it.

The fiend tried to get up, but failed, landing what few inches it gained back on grass and metal. Tidus made a quick grab for Brotherhood's handle and drew it out of the body. The fiend hissed, but could only writhe in pain. Breathing heavily, Tidus walked around to the head, careful to keep a safe distance from its white claws. Blood pooled into the ground around it. It was still alive, but just barely. It's body spasmed and collapsed. Panting, the fiend looked up at Tidus with its violet eyes. The raw hatred in that orb burned with a clarity that unnerved him. He could just leave it, but it would be more merciful to just put it out of its misery. Steeling himself, Tidus took another look in its eyes. Swinging Brotherhood up, Tidus brought the blade down across its neck. It snarled and snapped its jaw in defiance before there was loud 'crack'. The skin around the neck didn't break, but the bones did. The fiend's eyes dulled and it stilled. The hind legs with their black talons stopped scratching, the white claws of its front relaxed and collapsed. He stepped closer, foot brushing the white talons. It was dead. Tidus breathed out. Thank Spira.

A pyrefly ghosted its way out of the fiend and disappeared. Then another. Then the body burst into a cloud of the multi-colored spheres of the dead. Tidus widened his eyes as his world became veiled in pyreflies. The colored lights glowed in the dark blue of the woods.

Beautiful.

A small tingle formed in his stomach, foot and back. Without taking his eyes off the ascending pyreflies, he brushed his stomach absent mindly and felt nothing more. As the last pyrefly faded away, Tidus could only feel relief. He closed his eyes, and breathed heavily. When he opened his eyes, he saw the blood soaked ground and scarlet snow. Making a face, he stepped away from it only to wince in pain as the movement jarred the wounds on his chest, making his whole chest sting. Crap.

He looked down and cursed again, this time louder. His chest was coated with a thin sheen of blood. Dryness trickled his throat. There were at least ten gashes sliced on his chest.

There were three long gashes about six inches long on his right bicep. That one had dug and sliced right into muscle. There were five slices on his left bicep, one cut over the other, tearing his shirt and ripping his overall strap in half. His yellow shirt was torn in tatters, and dyed the color of his blood. Several little nicks had sliced his rib cage and his unprotected belly.

The part of his body covered by his overall's fared better. His overall's had scratches and several cuts the sliced through the tough leather.

Tidus traced the air over the deepest one on his right bicep, hissing as the movement heightened the stinging.

It felt like he had walked in a wasp nest. He coughed, jarring his entire chest painfully. He tasted blood. Anxiety flooded him. What did the fiend do? Puncture a lung?

He bit his tongue in pain and willed himself not to cry out.

Blood was pouring out like tap water, and though he was no white mage, even he could tell the damage was severe. Tidus breath quickened. He needed to do something fast, because he was could feel himself becoming weaker, and fiends were attracted to the smell of blood. He wasn't in any condition to fight. Tidus quickly, but carefully reached into his pouch, trying to move his chest as little as possible. His hands closed around a Hi-Potion and he pulled the little blue diamond shape vial. Slowly, he brought it up to his mouth, stopping several times when the pain spiked. He uncorked the lid and brought it to his lips. Dark blue liquid dripped on his lips, the scent and taste of flowers and sweet honey on his tongue. Then he tilted the entire contents in his mouth. Instantly the stinging subsided to a more manageable level. He felt something inside start to mend, something delicate. Stitching together like spider-webs. He gazed down to watch the healing.

The smaller angry red scratches of his ribs and stomach lightened and turned a bright pink. The smaller scratches disappeared altogether. Muscles knit together, but the wounds on his chest didn't shut. Tidus pulled another Hi-Potion out, less carefully this time and drank. This time the gaping wide splits slowly pulled together and seamed shut. When it was finished, the cut muscle slashes had faded to bright pink scratches. The smaller cuts had faded away completely, but the large scratches had turned into barely noticeable white scars. He tenderly ran his hand over his new scars, probing for soreness. Except the once gaping wounds that now resembled cat scratches, his torso had healed nicely. He looked up and noticed for the first time the guts that smeared Brotherhood. Making a face, he stepped away from the bloodied ground and to a clean patch of snow. He wiped the blade clean on the snow. The molten blue seemed to glow in the dark forest and silver glowing environment.

Now he needed to find Yuna and his group and fast. He got lucky this time, but who knew what he would have to face after this? The road opened modestly ahead and up the hill. He looked behind him, then ahead. The odds of running into fiends heightened if he went back. Guess there was only forward then.

Haste was still in effect and would be for a little while longer. Tidus stuffed Brotherhood in his pouch and ran.

I'm still a rookie at fighting scences, but I like to think I'm getting better.

Please read and review.