(Prologue)

No one had in any way expected the man to just suddenly walk out of the Kilika Temple. No one had ever seen him go in, or for that matter, seen him at all.

And yet, everyone knew that he did not belong. But only he knew the entire truth.

So when they asked him his name, he merely gave the same answer that he'd given everyone else…

"…Vincent Valentine."

(Author's Notes: Part of my "FF in Others Project". Basically, characters from FFVII join the teams of other FF games. This time, it's Vincent in FFX.)

(Chapter 1)

Kimahri watched impassively as the villagers of Besaid waved their goodbyes to his charge, Yuna.

They were leaving Besaid aboard the S.S. Liki, and were headed for Kilika Island.

When the group had boarded, Kimahri had noticed someone that none of the other Guardians had. There was a man clad in black and red on the top deck, with an aura that felt slightly… alien.

Of course, he was much more attuned to nature than any of his comrades, given that he was a Ronso warrior and they were humans.

Kimahri would certainly keep an eye on this stranger….

Vincent watched as the group of five boarded the ship and recognized Yuna among them.

"So these are ones I have to protect? I see…"

He walked towards to the bow of the ship, but stayed on the top deck. Once he had reached the railing, he merely stood there, perfectly still, save for the wind slightly blowing his cloak.

For nearly an hour he stood there, listening to Yuna and her Guardians. Although at first, he had been completely oblivious to the terms people used here, he had simply lied and said that he had been nearly crushed by a boulder and thus had amnesia.

He suddenly heard screams. Opening his eyes, he saw a massive fin emerge from the sea.

"So this… is Sin."

It launched a trio of scales onto the deck of the ship, which then uncoiled… not unlike insect larvae hatching from a cocoon. Yuna and two of her Guardians were in a battle stance: a blonde, and a tan-skinned man holding a blitzball…

The blonde, Tidus, slashed at one of the Sin-scales, and his comrade, Wakka, threw his ball at another one. Neither Sin-scale was destroyed, but they were, at least, injured severely.

Then, Tidus switched places with the larger blue warrior, Kimahri, who cut through one of the Sin-scales in one strike.

As Wakka finished off another one, the third lunged at Yuna. Before anyone could stop it, however, there was a noise like a thunderclap, and the little monster died.

Looking around for the unseen savior, they were surprised when Vincent came walking out of the shadows with a gun in his hand.

Before they could say anything, Vincent said, "We can introduce ourselves later. But for now, let's see if we can destroy this thing."

As he said that, Sin launched another trio of scales. Lulu shouted, "It could do this forever, so attack the fin!"

Vincent shot another Sin-scale, and then aimed his handgun towards the fin. When he fired it this time, there was a lot more recoil. A small red orb flew at high speeds towards Sin, and then blew up on contact. Lulu cast a Thunder spell, while Wakka just threw his ball again.

Yuna then summoned her first and only Aeon, Valefor.

It cast a couple of spells at Sin, decimated the scales on the deck, and then unleashed a massive blast of energy at the fin.

The boat shook violently, and Tidus fell over the side of the ship. Wakka jumped in after him.

Twenty minutes later, they were found and pulled back up.

Lulu asked, "Wakka, what happened down there?"

"We were attacked by Sin-spawn, and they almost got us. But needless to say, we sent them packing, ya?"

Lulu then turned her attention to the crimson-clad gunman. "And just who are you? Not that we're ungrateful for your help, but…"

"It's simple: your group was attacked, and I could assist, so I did."

Yuna continued, "You still haven't told us your name, Sir." Although it was a statement, it was spoken more as a question.

"Vincent Valentine."

Wakka then asked, somewhat levelly, "So Vincent, are you a follower of Yevon?"

Vincent had been asked that before, so he gave his traditional answer.

"I come from a distant part of the world, a place without such concepts as Sin and Yevon. So I must say that I am not a follower of Yevon, mostly because I know nothing about it. However, I am not one of the… Al Bhed, either."

That seemed to satisfy Wakka, until he noticed the gun. "If you're not an Al Bhed, then why do you use a machina weapon? Well? Only heathens use machina weapons!"

Vincent actually stepped back from this. Not because he was afraid, but so that he could retaliate more easily when it came to blows.

"I don't know what a 'machina' is, but I use a gun so that I can destroy fiends from long range. It's true that I could use something like a bow for that purpose, but I find that a gun is more powerful, as well as faster and more precise. Furthermore, a gun is much easier to channel magic with than a bow is."

Wakka looked like he was about to argue, but then stayed silent and left for another part of the ship. Lulu said, "Please don't mind him. He's rather… narrow-minded. Now then, Vincent, if you're really from so far away that you've never had to deal with Sin, then what brings you to this part of the world?"

"There was something I had to do, and I had to come here to do it."

"Would you mind telling us what that 'something' is?"

"Three years ago, a friend of mine died. I was recently told that if I came to a place called Spira and helped to destroy something called 'Sin' for eternity, then my friend would be returned to life."

"Oh…"

Vincent then asked, "Now it's my turn for questions. First, are you the ones who are going to try and destroy Sin? I was told to find and join a Summoner named Yuna."

Yuna spoke out, "Sir Vincent, my name is Yuna!"

Vincent, half-confused, asked, "Sir Vincent? I'm not a person worth calling 'Sir'. Just 'Vincent or 'Mr. Valentine' will do."

Tidus asked, "So Vincent, you plan on joining us then?"

He couldn't help but smirk with his reply: "Didn't I say as much?"

(Author's Notes: I should probably list Vincent's abilities at this point. He's got all of his Limit Breaks, Cure1-All, Fire1-All, Quake1, Bio1-Added Effect, and the following E-Skills: Beta, Big Guard, and Shadow Flare. Basically, his 'Cure' and 'Fire' spells have multiple targets, all of his physical attacks can inflict Poison, and he's the only party member with Earth-elemental magic. Oh, he also has the Contain materia, which means that for now, he can cast 'Freeze', the ultimate Ice-elemental spell short of a summon. Finally, he's got a Summon from his world: Odin, King of the Gods!)