A/N: Welcome to the re-write of my first fanfiction. The original was well received and can be found on my profile for those curious about the source material for this one. This rewrite intends to focus more on character relationships and narrative. As the original had potential but in my naivety I left so many loose ends as well as demanded a lot of suspension of disbelief from the reader. Hopefully with this reworking that problem will be rectified. Anyway enjoy the rewrite.

Chapter 1: The Start of it all.

Spira: A land formerly ravaged by a great Machina war a thousand years ago and in the subsequent years terrorized by the entity of Sin and the cruel machinations of the Yevon faith that continued to revive this behemoth to consolidate their own power and later threatened by a madman and a stolen war Machina: Vegnagun. Though as the sun shined onto the crystal blue waters surrounding Kilika and its port section nobody would have guessed that a world so at peace had suffered this much. The heroes responsible for this peace had all went their own way yet, that didn't mean they were apart….

As the handsome red hull of The Celsius gleamed in the sunlight 5 figures could be seen descending the rear gangplank into the sun. Though none were older than 20 they were all heroes. All but one that was…. The former high summoner Yuna walked in front holding the hand of her boyfriend Tidus. Behind them walked two women, a tanned hyper blonde woman her braided hair moving with each step she took, her emerald green eye alight with wonder, beside her was her polar opposite Paine. The stoic warrior, clad in her usual outfit minus the buster sword, walked with a purposeful composure her gelled up silver hair staying still. Lastly dragging up the rear was the most casual and newest addition to the group. A young man in black boots with his warrior trousers tucked into them, his chest was exposed showing his muscular shape; the product of years of training. His brown eyes held a sharpness yet friendliness. He may have been the most neutral looking second only to Paine but he was the happiest to be there. His new job as Security officer for the Gullwings and bartender to the Celsius itself offered a stability and opportunity he had been denied up until that point and to him each day got subsequently better as he grew to know the people in front of him.

With a smirk creeping onto his face his eyes locked onto Rikku, while the group neared the final stretch of walkway that went over the warm shallows of seawater he felt it the best moment to make his own amusement. Running so his boots thundered loudly on the wooden slats he gave the blonde a good natured shove into the water and laughed in his unique deep, heart warming chuckle, as she squealed and fell in. The group came to a sudden stop and began to laugh as she came up, a comically exaggerated frown on her face. "Aaron that was beyond unfunny!" Though she too laughed at his prank and began to relax into the warm water. Sensing the inevitable wave of copying among his friends he took the pre-emptive move and swan dived in, making a sizable splash behind him that soaked the other three. With loud happy laughter the others dived in with admittedly less elegance than Aaron but with just as much of a splash. As was their custom since their reunion three months prior Yuna and Tidus stayed close to one another, she clinging to his arm in a cute yet firm hold while he smiled and allowed her the closeness she needed to assuage her fears he would disappear again. Rikku meanwhile was below the water now chasing fish, both Aaron and Paine debated if it was possible for the ball of energy they called their friend to catch up with them.

Aaron and Paine remained there in the shallows looking at one another, the best thing about her, in his mind, was the ease of their silence, both found it to be a silence that simply accepted the others presence. Eventually he swam over to the woman and smiled politely "I was wondering, if after we grab lunch, would you show me how you use your sword? I learned my style from here and want to compare them. Though I prefer using my katana I want to compare with you and maybe spar with Tidus. Yuna says I'm a crack shot and knives ain't my thing so Rikku won't be any help." He fed her information about his reasons to keep her from declining. Though they had an easy bond it wasn't very developed and he wanted to change that. Before she could respond however Yuna, Tidus and Rikku were already strolling along the beach. Paddling over to the walkway he wraps his arms around a support pole and with apelike grace pulls himself up it, leaving Paine to swim to shore.

-x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—

Roughly a half hour after the antics at the beach the group was settled in town, taking refuge from the sun in a small bar they talked lightly and openly. Aaron sat beside Rikku who had her legs across his lap. Smiling he pushed his black sunglasses down his nose and sipped his water. Spending his time around alcohol only made him less likely to drink it. Rikku on the other hand was sipping a weird amber coloured liqueur made from local fruits. While the other 3 bickered about a blitzball outcome Rikku let out a loud giggle. She slapped Aarons shoulder gently and gave it a light squeeze before swinging her legs round and standing up. "I'm gonna stretch my legs a little and clear my head." Aaron rubbed his thighs which had gone to sleep, giving Rikku a nod. "Go to the beach, sea air might do you some good." With a snort and roll of her eyes she looked at him "Very funny, we're right above the sea." He gives a chuckle and puts his booted feet up. As a hooded man got out of his chair and headed for the door she gave a squeak and ran towards it. "Oh wait hold that open!" She bolted over and the stranger raised his arm to let her pass causing her to smile. She then took off and turned to the right, towards the islands dense forest section.

Aaron took another sip of his water then stood up. Pulling a chair across the floor he looked at the heated debate between Paine and Tidus. "All right ladies what's the problem?" Tidus gave a pissed off half chuckle and Paine filled Aaron in "Blondie insists the Psyches cheated yesterday against the Beasts. Even though the score was a clear 9-2 to the Psyches and under the EC rules any team who leads by 7 goals wins." With a confused chuckle Aaron looks at Tidus. "What exactly are you contesting man?" "I'm telling you they played dirty! The Beasts have never lost like that to them." With his brief flicker of interest gone Aaron shrugs "They just did man."

He jumped off his chair and pushed it under the table. As he approached the door he could see an elderly couple approaching. Fixing a smile on his face he pulled open the door and stood aside to let them enter, prompting a heartfelt smile from the old man. "That's how a young'un should behave. Not like that she-devil at the Woods…" Turning to his wife he stops, leaving Aaron to hold the door open. "Did you hear her? Screaming blue murder and throwing those knives about." He gave a few disapproving clicks of his tongue. "Thank ya sonny." As he approached his chosen table Aaron stopped him. "Excuse me… Was this troublemaker in the woods a blonde girl in a mini skirt and bikini?" The old man nodded. "No way for a young girl to dress. You know her?" Releasing him Aaron nodded. "I'm afraid so…" He jogged over to the table. "Come on Rikku's causing a fuss." Understanding Yuna and Tidus jumped to their feet quickly while Paine simply collected herself. Before long the group was jogging to the forest; a strange hush had descended on the area and within the canopy of the trees, a strange, tense dread was gathered. As they debated where to search for her Yuna gave a short gasp. "Look!" She had knelt to the ground and pointed to a trail of blood. "The old man said she was screaming and using her knives… Maybe something attacked her?" With a shake of his head Tidus explained "Fiends don't come this close to the village." With an irritated sigh Aaron retorted "Do you have any other leads?" The silence that followed his question was answered.

The group followed the trail to a small clump of rocks that looked recently disturbed. Raising his hand to the group he gave a short quick "Stop!" The unusual level of irritation caused them all to stop mid-step and watch him closely. Walking into the small clearing he knelt to the ground. "4 spent bullet casings. 3 slash marks on the trees…." He gave a nod and looked at one of the trees which did bear a deep gash in the trunk, just much shorter. It was this one that piqued his curiosity. "This one was stopped midsla…" He knelt down and from the well trodden grass produced a scuffed, broken knife, with a round handle and very distinctive red colour leaving no mistake to its owner. Running to the middle of the clearing he let out a lead scream full of terror and worry…

"RIKKU!..."

End of Chapter 1.