A/N: Guess what?! I own FFX!! … Okay, okay, I don't really. But I do own this, copywrite and all. So to all of you thieves out there… = p

Lulu squealed and ran behind Chappu. The smallish boy gulped and brandished the blitzball in his shaking hands. The dingo that was eyeing them growled, its wiry tail swishing back and forth in a moment of indecision. Then, the fiend howled and lunged at the two frightened children.

"Back off!" Another blitzball hit the dingo square on the nose, making it yip and retreat. Wakka picked up his ball as it rolled back to him.

"Ha! That outta teach ya to pick on my little brother, ya?" Chappu frowned, his aqua blue eyes narrowed, as he grabbed Lulu's hand and stalked down the path.

"Hey hey hey! Where you two goin'?!"  Wakka ran in front of Chappu and Lulu holding out his arms.

"There are more fiends down there. You goin' nuts?" Chappu's glare only intensified as he stared down his older brother.

"I could have handled it." Wakka's jaw dropped to the ground.

"You're six an' you wanna go fight fiends?! No way!" Chappu stood on his tip-toes so he could look Wakka in the eye.

"You're only eight!"

"That don' matter!"

"Yes it does!"

Chappu shoved Wakka backwards, yelling at the top of his lungs, "You're just a big bully!"

Wakka shoved back and shouted, "I'm your big brother!"  Lulu hugged her doll tighter and closed her eyes. Her mommy and daddy fought like that all the time. She was only five, and she already knew about love and marriage. She already knew about the thing that was called divorce, back in the days of the machina cities. Maybe that was why Chappu was her only friend. Chappu, with his blinding orange hair and insane war games, was like an older brother to Lulu. Whenever Lulu ran down to the docks, wailing and constantly wiping her round, chocolate eyes, Chappu followed and sat down with her. Whenever Lulu's dark brunette braids got caught on a tree branch, Chappu was the one to untangle it. And those were probably some of the reasons that Lulu felt afraid, watching Chappu and Wakka fight. Lulu started snuffling and plopped down in the grass, on the verge of crying. Her sniffs escalated to whimpers, but they couldn't be heard over the brothers' shouting. Lulu's eyes filled with tears and her lower lip trembled, but then she froze. Barely even daring to breathe, Lulu peeked over her shoulder. The dingo was back, and it was staring right at her.

"Chappu!" Lulu scrambled to her feet and stumbled down the path, tripping in her panic. Both the brothers had noticed the dingo, but during the fight they'd dropped their blitzballs, and the fiend was too close. The monster's eyes shone a demonic red as it leapt into the air after Lulu, ready to tear the terrified child apart. Lulu squeezed her eyes shut and put her hands up, trying to stop the monster.

Wakka and Chappu both gaped as a burst of flame erupted from Lulu's outstretched hands, engulfing the dingo as it howled in agony. The petrified girl's eyes slowly opened, watching as the fiend's defeated spirit dissolved into the air. Both Chappu and Wakka forgot their argument and rushed to Lulu's side. Chappu picked her off the ground and stroked her hair.

"It's okay Lu. Don' be scared. I'm gonna take you home now."

Braska stood still as he listened to the woman pleading with him.

"Please, don't test her. If she is a mage, I'll lose my only daughter. Lulu is my darling baby." Braska smiled and patted the woman's shoulder.

"I understand your concern. Don't worry. If your daughter is a mage, she won't be trained until she is fifteen. And I'm sure you'll be able to go to Macalania with her when the time comes." Anama smiled and made a sweeping bow, ending it with the prayer of Yevon.

"Thank you sir."

Wakka and Chappu pushed their way to the front of the crowd in front of Besaid Temple. Lulu was sitting on the steps, glancing around with frightened eyes. Braska walked out of the temple, carrying the staff he used for ceremonies. It was for show really, but it strengthened the faith of the people. The beautiful gold, fashioned into the spreading branches of an ash tree, and the dangling charms and bells seemed to reassure even the most hysterical believer. Braska knelt down by Lulu's side and smiled reassuringly.

"Now Lulu, this is nothing to be scared of. I want you to walk down to the center of the town square. I'll go down with you. I'm going to put my hand on your forehead, and I want you to relax. It won't hurt. You should actually feel very warm and happy. And that's all I'm going to do. Okay?" Lulu smiled. Braska was the father of her friend, Yuna. She could trust him. Nodding bravely, Lulu gave him her hand.

"Okay Mr. Braska."

The crowd parted as the awkward pair descended the stone steps. Lulu let her doll hang at her side, no longer frightened. Braska held his staff in one hand and with the other brushed her hair back.

"Now close your eyes." Lulu obeyed, and she felt him resting his hand on her forehead. A funny, tingling feeling started to spread through her body, starting where Braska had his hand, all the way down to her feet. And then, she was floating. It wasn't dark, it was light, almost like midday sun, despite her closed eyes. And she felt so warm. What had she been afraid of? This felt nice.

Chappu and Wakka covered their eyes as a flash of light enveloped Lulu. The little girl's sandaled feet lifted gently from the ground as she rose into the air. Braska gently removed his hand and there, glowing an iridescent violet, was the mark of Yevon. Braska smiled slightly and closed his eyes.

"Yevon has blessed this little one. She could be one of the strongest mages since the First Calm." Chappu ran to Braska and tugged at his robe.

"What does that mean?" Braska smiled again.

"It means that she'll be sent to Macalania to become a mage."

Seeing the fallen look on Chappu's face, Braska added, "When she's old enough, that is."

"Over my dead body you prick!" Braska's head shot up and he scanned the crowd for the speaker.

"She is a mage Adain. She must be trained, for the good of Spira." Lulu's father stumbled into the open, brandishing a half-empty bottle of liquor.

"She's not a mage. She's a piece of shoopuf crap. It would be a waste of time to send her to the Farplane, for Yevon's sake." Anama ran up to husband and grabbed his arm.

"Adain! Please! Don't do this to her too!" The back of the man's hand slapped across Anama's face, making her stumble backwards, on the verge of tears.

"Shut up, whore! She's my daughter, sadly enough, and I'm not going to let some prick send her to Lake Macaroni to become some mage. She's eight and she won't even let go of her doll." Amana's face reddened in rage, to the point where her cheeks matched the mark on her jaw.

"Your first daughter would have been eight, if you hadn't stabbed her!" A thought visibly registered in Adain's bloodshot eyes.

"You shut it! I never hurt her! She tripped and cut herself!"

Amana climbed to her feet and screamed, "NO SHE DID NOT! YOU STABBED HER! YOU KILLED HER!" The broken woman collapsed to her knees and sobbed.

"Because I let you. It's not happening twice, Adain. You're going to move out, and Lu is going to Macalania. My Lu. My daughter."

Braska put two and two together. He broke the connection between Yevon and Lulu, picked the dazed girl up, and delivered her to her weeping mother. It was then that the little girl's eyes focused again and she smiled.

"Mommy…" She climbed into her mother's lap and her short, chubby arms encircled the older woman's neck.

"Sis says hi, and that it's okay. She wanted me to tell you that it wasn't your fault."

Anama's eyes widened and she whispered, "How did you know about Nikia?" Lulu smiled.

"I saw her mom. You're so silly." Chappu and Wakka glanced at each other. Nikia had been born three years before Lulu. She'd died just before Lulu was born, from a knife wound. Nobody had ever mentioned the girl's death until then. Especially not to Lulu. Chappu, Wakka, and Amana all glanced at Braska, as if to ask the question that was on their minds. Braska smiled.

"When being tested, a person's soul goes to the Farplane."