Author's note: this is my second Beclem fanfiction even though the first one is still in progress. I do not own Beclem or Final Fantasy, but I do own the character Kaleila (pronounced Kuh-lay-luh). I hope you all enjoy.

The bitter winds rushed and scattered about, skimming over the ocean's surface and filling the air with a hint of salt. Rocky cliffs were heating up in the rays of the midmorning sun, but were kept fairly cool due to the wind and water. Mushroom Rock road was a fairly barren place. It was a place for a few fiends and the occasional traveler. However, hidden deep within the cliffs, the Youth League had set up headquarters. It was the perfect stronghold for those who were fighting for a new Spira.

The path leading up the headquarters was often overrun with fiends. Despite efforts to keep the path cleared, the fiends always returned. It was very dangerous to be on the path alone. Tonberries made their home in the area and were a fairly big nuisance. A lone tonberry could spell trouble for even a group of five people. On this day it was just a young woman. She stood with sword in hand as the menace approached, bearing a lantern and its chef's knife. It approached slowly, thrusting its knife at her, but she dodge it with ease and dealt it a blow from her powerful sword. The fiend swaggered backwards, trying to regain it composure. They had been at it for some time, and it had yet to even scratch. It contemplated its next move, but before it could do anything, she charged. There was a red flash and the tonberry fell to the ground and faded into pyreflies which disappeared into thin air. Slightly exhausted, the young woman continued up the path to headquarters, hoping that other tonberries saw what happened and took a lesson from it.

At headquarters, everyone was up and about, training and preparing themselves for whatever their leader might command them to do. Nooj hadn't been as preoccupied as he was before the Vegnagun incident. He now took his time to make sure things were going smoothly with training and recruiting. There was also a Youth League base in Kilika that had just been completed. It would serve as a meeting place and shelter for those who had no other place to reside.

Nooj patrolled the area, something that had become a daily routine for him. The younger members were sword fighting, but nothing too serious. Older members were going through their daily drills to keep themselves in shape for combat. Nooj looked over to see Lucille, one of his commanders, pacing around restlessly. He approached her to find the root of her troubles.

"Commander? Care to tell me what's bothering you?" he asked her calmly, but she still seemed a bit high-strung.

"She should have been here hours ago, Sir. She still isn't here," Lucille responded, continuing to pace around.

"Don't tell me you're upset. Things happens. Um- who are we talking about again?"

"The girl we got a letter from a few days ago. She said she'd be here by sunrise," Lucille reminded him.

"Oh yes, now I remember. It's always exciting to know we'll be having a new recruit joining our ranks. Try not to worry too much. I'm sure she'll be here soon with a valid reason of why she was late."

With that, Nooj continued on with his patrol. To his left he could see one of the master sergeants barking orders and calling his men slackers. Nooj shook his head.

'That Beclem. He could have worked his way to the top by now if it wasn't for that attitude of his. When will he learn," Nooj thought to himself.

At the lift, Elma was waiting for the new recruit as well. She had been directed to take her to Lucille as soon as she arrived. She wouldn't have to wait much longer as she saw her approaching, looking slightly exasperated.

"It's about time. We were expecting you around dawn. By the way, I'm Elma."

"Sorry, sorry. I can explain, and my name's Kaleila." She brushed her shoulder length hair back out of her face and wiped some sweat from her forehead before it seeped its way into her emerald eyes.

"Well, let's not hang around here any longer. The Commander is waiting."

Elma led the way onto the lift which carried them up. From there, she led Kaleila to a a more open area where they could see everything that was going on. Elma found Lucille right away and hurried over to her.

"Here she is, Commander," Elma said. Kaleila followed close behind hoping she wouldn't get into trouble. Lucille let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad to see you finally arrived."

"I'm really sorry about that. I got lost and then I finally got on the right track when I ran into that Yaibal fellow. I would have been here a bit sooner, but some fiends got in the way, including a tonberry," Kaleila explained.

"I hope you aren't injured," Lucille asked, knowing what a threat tonberries could be.

"Not at all. I was able to defeat it with a some effort."

"Wow, you defeated a tonberry on your own? I'm impressed," Elma said, already forgiving Kaleila for arriving a few hours late.

"And without receiving any injury to yourself. That is impressive. Anyways, let's get down to business. I am Commander Lucille. I receive orders from Nooj and then I give them to others. It's a lot of responsibility and if you work hard, you can be promoted to my rank and you'll be doing what Elma and I do."

"It sounds like you stay pretty busy around here."

"You have no idea," Lucille smiled.

After the introduction, Lucille took Kaleila to meet Nooj. Their meeting was brief as Nooj had some things to look over concerning the new base. Elma was given orders to show Kaleila around as Lucille also had work to attend to. Elma showed her the sleeping quarters and where meals were served. From where they were, they could hear Beclem shouting orders and insults as usual.

"What's up with that guy?" Kaleila asked, wondering how someone could be so mean.

"That's Beclem. Don't worry too much about him. You won't have him as a drill sergeant. I don't think you need it," Elma said. She looked over to see that the young woman had completely spaced out. Beclem had seen them and was wondering who the new girl was. She was protected by a dark blue armor that covered a small portion of her body, but left some parts exposed. Her eyes sparkled like jewels in the sunlight as her hair danced to and fro in the gentle breeze.

'Why does she look so familiar?' Beclem thought to himself.

Elma waved her hand in front of Kaleila's face.

"Hello, can anyone hear me in there?" Kaleila snapped out of her trance and looked away to hide her face.

"Sorry, I just thought I saw someone I recognized," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks flushing red.

"Who?"

"Forget it. It probably wasn't him anyways. Let's continue on, shall we?"

Elma led them in a different direction, but Beclem continued to watch them. He had never seen Kaleila before, so why did she look so familiar? He'd have to investigate the matter later in the evening. He had too much to do at the moment to be chasing some strange girl around.

The afternoon dragged by slowly as Kaleila was introduced to a few more people. It was decided that she would be tested the next day to see exactly what she was capable of. If she proved herself, she could be given the position of drill sergeant and work her way up from there. She was somewhat nervous, but Elma had every bit of confidence in her.

"Trust me, if you can handle a tonberry on your own, you can handle just about anything."

"Thanks. That really means a lot to me." She paused for a moment, but the silence was broken by her growling stomach. "Oops. Sorry."

"Hey, if you were hungry, you should have just said so. You go and get something to eat and I'll catch up with you later. I really should get back to the left. Feel free to walk around and do whatever you want for today, but just be ready for tomorrow."

Elma headed off, leaving Kaleila alone. Kaleila pondered her options for a moment, then decided to get something to eat. From there, she walked around a bit longer trying to get used to her new surroundings. She stopped at the cliff's edge and looked out at the endless expanse of ocean before her. She joined the Youth League with the hopes that she would find him, but what if it was all a mistake. What if she couldn't handle being in the league, and what if he wasn't here? What if it was all just a waste of time and she'd never see him again? She didn't even have an idea of what he looked like now. It had been fifteen years and anything could have happened and she never would have known about it.

Some distance away, Beclem watched her, wondering what she was thinking, who she was, and what she was doing here. He decided to give his men a short break and went over to her. She did not hear him approaching from behind.

"You should really be careful how close you stand to the edge of the cliff. It would be a shame if you fell over." Kaleila jumped at the sound of his voice. Time seemed to slow down as she turned to see who was talking to her. Her eyes locked onto his and for a moment neither of them said anything.

'Those eyes,' Kaleila thought to herself. 'He had those same green eyes.'

"I am Beclem. I am a master drill sergeant and have been with the league for many years now. I can safely say that I have never seen you here before," said Beclem, breaking the silence, but doing his best to keep his voice from shaking. Kaleila stared back at him for a few seconds before her words finally returned to her.

"I- uh- I'm- my name's--- Kaleila." She managed to say with great difficulty. Beclem's eyes widened as he began to get a better look at her.

'No, it can't be.' Memories of his childhood flooded his mind. Kaleila stood trembling, unable to move or look away from his gaze. She felt her knees giving way to the gravity of her thoughts and emotions. Afraid she was going to fall backwards off the cliff, Beclem reached forward and grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"I have to go," Kaleila blurted out, freeing herself from his grip and retreating to the women's sleeping quarters. Beclem watched her leave, wondering what had just happened. He waited until she was completely out of sight before remembering that he still had a few more drills for his men to do before it was time to call it a day. He called them back into order, and made sure to call them pathetic slackers in the process.

Kaleila sat in the barracks, alone for the most part besides the occasional person coming and going. She held a sphere in her hands which was one of the few personal possessions she still had from her youth. It showed a young girl, about five years of age, clutching the hand of a small boy, roughly the same age, as they investigated a small beetle that had found its way in their play area. The bug was crawling across a doll which highly upset the girl who wanted her toy back. The young boy bravely brushes the beetle aside, picks up the doll, and hands it back to the girl.

Kaleila remembered that day. The boy was a year older and lived next door to where she lived. They played together everyday since they were old enough to play. He was so protective of her. Her mother recorded the incident with a beetle, giving one sphere to her and one to him. She kept it safe as it was the only thing she had to remind herself of what he was like. It didn't seem like the sweet little boy and the gruff Beclem could be the same.

Kaleila stared up at the ceiling while lying on her back. She was drifting off into a deep slumber that she would not be able to escape from. She felt as if she were falling, and desperately beckoned for someone to catch her. Shutting her eyes as tightly as she could, she felt herself slow to a stop. Surrounding her was the courtyard where she used to play, but it had been reduced to rubble. A few feet from her was a brown haired doll in a blue dress. She stepped towards it, expecting to see a bug crawling across it, but there was nothing but dirt and bits of rock. Kaleila felt her heart begin to race as she knelt down to pick up doll; her hands were only inches from it when a tentacle erupted from beneath the debris and secured itself around her wrist. She twisted and jerk, but the creature was relentless and refused to let go. There was nobody around to help her.