Quick author's note:

Hello, Final Fantasy fans! After being immersed in the wonderful world of Spira for years, the inspiration to write this came from the absolute shock I was in when reading what happened in the Japanese novella and the audio drama. It really seemed to me like all integrity for the world and its characters was lost on the original creators. When I found out I was not alone in my astonishment, I decided to write what I feel was not only a more realistic continuation in the chronicles of Spira, but also a means to tie up loose ends in some lore-related details that never got a concrete explanation in the actual games. Disclaimer: All rights still belong to Square Enix for these characters and the world of Spira, and I never intend to sell this fiction in any way.

TL:DR: The goal of this story is to be as canon as possible, as what I feel is a more enjoyable and believable alternative to what was described in the final audio drama. Enjoy!

A light drizzle fell upon Yuna during the daily walk along the white sandy beach outside of her home. She always had trouble keeping her waist-length hair neat as it was—she hadn't cut it in five years, since her beloved returned to Spira. After settling down with him, with the world at peace, she stopped caring about much else. She trudged through the wet sand in bare feet and patted her white robes dry.

It was almost Yuna's favorite time of year—the end of blitzball season, when her husband would return to her on the isle of Besaid. The rest of the village always left before the tournament would begin, in support of their championship-reigning Aurochs, but Yuna always stayed behind. Whenever she left home, she still attracted crowds. Even though her beloved Tidus had led the Aurochs to four straight blitzball championships, the real attraction from the isle of Besaid was the former lady summoner Yuna. Since declaring herself an independent Yevoner to free herself from party politics and attention, some of the attention died down. Most important, it was the seclusion from all outside influence she craved. Hers was a lifestyle full of meditation and prayer, along with crafting and songwriting, and peaceful time spent with her husband and friends.

Eventually her walk led her to the shelter of the Besaid temple beneath the palms, where she spent much of her recent days. A spot of candlelight beneath the statues of the ancient summoners made motes of dust glitter in the air. Scorch marks marred the walls, the floors and ceiling still from when she battled to save the temple from the dark aeons five years ago. The once-bright murals lay faded, ashen and dusty. Whenever someone suggested refurbishing the sacred place, Yuna always told them to leave the temple as it was, to preserve all of its memories, good and bad.

Finally, she reached her quaint little home on a ledge overlooking the shore, and smiled at it. She did this every day before opening the door; this was a home for them that Tidus had put up with his own hands three years ago, priding himself on it by saying 'My old man always told me I'd never build my own home!'.

Having experienced so much chaos, tragedy and uncertainty in her early years, Yuna savored the comfort, despite what others thought. She tucked herself beneath the covers on the bed, blew out the candle light and laid down for the night. The grey sky and slight pattering of rain eased her into a gentle sleep; she thought about tomorrow, the day she would see the Aurochs on the horizon of the far shore, returning triumphantly off the boat from Luca.

The dream came to her vividly then: she was kneeling to the ground in darkness. She was alone, and the only light was a small pyrefly ten paces in front of her. Where is this? The ground was dirt, the air was cold. It was not like anywhere she had seen in the Farplane. She dared not move or speak.

Yuna then heard Tidus' screaming in the distance. She knew his voice perfectly, there was no mistaking it; she lifted herself up immediately and ran in the direction of the echoes, away from the light of the spirit. It became pitch black soon and she couldn't see the hands in front of her face. The pyrefly then shone in front of her face and at her feet she saw Tidus, crawling, gripping her bare foot with a weakened hand. The wisp shone little upon the assailant, merely the silhouette of a hooded figure attacking her fallen husband. She screamed, and lunged to hit the shadow.

She woke up with a rush, having fallen out of her bed.

"Yuna!" whispered a voice she recognized. Her nightmare was quickly consoled when she saw who was leaning to help pick her up. It was her dear old friend Paine, whose face was dirty from long travel. Her black cloak was ragged and torn, and hair had been flattened by the rain, but she channeled all of her concern toward Yuna. "Are you okay?"

"Oh my," Yuna said, flustered. Happily surprised, she clutched Paine's arms tightly. "Yes, I am fine, just let me just recover. Paine, is that really you? I barely recognize you."

"You don't recognize me? Look who's talking. I was waiting outside," Paine paused uneasily, her words still as tense as Yuna remembered. "Well, I heard you scream so I hurried inside."

"Goodness Paine, its raining, you could have just come in." Yuna shuffled around to hand some towels to Paine. "Its been so many years, old friend; How are you?"

"I'm fine, its great to see you Yuna," Paine wiped her face clean. She smiled at first, masking her concern. "But..."

"But?"

"Are you having nightmares?" Paine changed the subject.

"Paine, I'm happy to see you, its true, but I'm no good with idle chatting. What brings you here?"

"Of course. Its about that rain. Come outside."

Yuna followed her former companion outside to see the early morning, where the drizzle had not subsided, but hadn't grown worse either. The sky was a mass blanket of grey as far as she could see. Paine plodded her leather boots into the low tide and prompted Yuna to look high in the sky to the west.

"Over there."

"A storm," Yuna replied.

"More precisely, the eye of the storm," Paine explained. "Gippal and I—we checked out that storm before it got this close to Spira. Well, I work with the Al Bhed now, and we were all curious. Something unnatural was brewing, something that none of the machina could measure properly, and we thought it was something just distorting our sensors. Some weird magic, maybe from Baaj temple right? Four months ago that squall wrecked my airship and has only grown bigger since."

Paine paused and sighed before continuing, but Yuna didn't respond.

"We were told later by the experts its not in conditions where a proper tropical storm could form."

Yuna swallowed nervously and felt her hands shaking already. "You don't know that."

"Yuna, we both know what it is."

"Don't say it."

Paine closed her eyes.

Clenched fists at her side, Yuna's head lowered and a tear trickled down her cheek. "Sin."

Paine put a hand on her old friend's shoulder in comfort. Yuna didn't speak, fighting more tears. If its true, why? Spira had been made great in such a short time. What was so wrong with peace? Hasn't Spira seen enough anguish and suffering?

Yuna steeled herself, folding her arms, trying to quiet the screams of denial and pain that came from the back of her mind. There was a pattern in these constant disasters. She often saw the patterns in things—in this case, she could never possess any happiness for too long. Something was always there to snatch the good times away. She set her jaw against the urge to cry. "It can't be."

"I understand its difficult to believe." Paine always spoke with uncertainty and nervousness in her tone, as if she were constantly forced into saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

She seemed so earnest that Yuna found herself wavering. "Thank you for coming to me," Yuna said dryly. "You mentioned Gippal—where is he?"

"Bikanel. Recovering... though he should be on his way to Bevelle with Cid by now. He would have died if I hadn't helped him out of the wreckage, but that stubborn Gippal... his pride was hurt more than anything. Don't worry, we agreed not to tell anyone until we consulted with you, which is why I'm here. Only a few of the Al Bhed know, and they're not eager to tell or take action without your blessing."

Yuna heard Cid had been made a member of the Spiran Council years ago, giving the Al Bhed a strong voice in Spiran politics. Her uncle was a stern man who rarely took no for an answer; and, usually, he never blindly believed in something. Cid was a man who always went with what he was sure about. "Is Rikku with you?" Yuna asked.

"No."

"I see."

"I know, I am worried." Wind gusted then, hoisting the ragged frills of Paine's coat along. She stood in front of Yuna, gripping her shoulders firmly and gazing straight into her eyes. "You know I'm with you, Yuna, whatever happens."