Disclaimer: I own nothing... but a lot of interesting dreams

A/N: This stays pretty close to the game story and i even used fmv dialoge to keep consistent but i really had a hard time believing that Wakka really liked Tidus so much because he looked like his brother (Tidus looks nothing like Chapppu) Well.. enjoy, or don't. Leave comments if you wish.

I opened my eyes, the blurriness from Sin's toxin finally wearing off. I find myself under water, gasping and coughing for air. I reach the surface and take a deep breath.

"Where am I?" I shout, only to find that I'm all alone. As I look around I have to squint, the blinding sun reflects off of the hot white sand into my eyes. …Sand? …Sin… Jecht…

"I forgive you this time, just try and be good for awhile."

I swim out of the water and find a chest full of elixirs, that'll come in handy while I'm all alone.

"Rikku? Wakka? Lulu? …Yuna? Kimahri? Auron? Anybody?" It's no good, just me and the desert, and something I awoke in the sand. A big black bird bore down on me, its wings trailing with darkness, its beak twice my size; it looked like it could cut me in half. I had to take action, but I'd never done this alone.

("Don't Cry")

I cast haste on myself and as I felt the adrenaline rush through my body I bounced up and slashed at the beast wildly. It didn't do much good, one flap of its wings and I was flat on my back and blinded. I felt like my whole world was caving in, and then I heard them.

"Need some help?" It was Auron; he's always been there when I needed him. I heard the beast crying out as a blade hacked into its bones, then a burst of fire engulfing the shrieking Zuu.

"Lulu, you too?"

"Yes." Nothing like hearing that sultry voice after a short, but unpleasant bout of loneliness. "Take this." She handed me some eye-drops and as my vision returned the beast exploded into a cloud of pyerflies.

"Where is everybody else?" I asked.

"Not with you?" Auron asked shortly.

"I don't know, but if every one is separated we should stay in one place." Lulu has a plan for everything.

"You can stay, but he's not." I replied with a smirk, pointing after Auron as he stalked off into the desert. He really is the trouble maker. We wondered through the desert for over an hour before we came to any kind of shelter. We made our way under some crumbling ruins just to stay out of the sun, we had cleared out a few sand dogs and some of those damn mech-runners and we found a tall orange haired man.

"Wakka!" It's good to see him. His carrot orange hair is still just as perky as ever in the scorching sun, although he doesn't look very happy to see us. I guess it's understandable.

"First I loose Yuna then I'm ambushed my Machina, damn!" He grumbled with a frown.

"It's okay Wakka, we'll find everyone," I said. Still, I wish he'd smile more often. We found Al Bhed first aid kits with a few potions inside. We brought them along just in case; Rikku will know how to use them. Auron lead us back out under the hot sun, searching for the rest of our party. We got pretty weary of fiends. By the time we spotted Kimahri I thought that I was gonna pass out from over exposure.

Kimahri was trying to climb up a sand dune, he'd get near the top then slip down and start on his way up again,

"Hey Kimahri, over here!" I waved at him.

"Yuna Gone." He said simply.

"It's not your fault Kimahri." Some times I just don't understand these people. Everything is about atonement, blame and punishment, why can't they just realize that bad things happen, and there's no good in blaming anyone.

("There's a point where you have to stop crying and move on") I guess Jecht's words were starting to sink in.

We started wondering through the desert, hoping that at some point we would find some shade or maybe a sign. By the time we found Rikku we were all completely baked and she was as cheerful as ever.

"Hey everybody! Where's Yunie?" Rikku asked with wide eyes.

"Not with you?" I spat out. It was too hot to think.

"No... Hey… I have something to tell you guys, but you have to promise not to say anything." She said looking over at Wakka. His eyes were filled with fire, for a second I thought he could glare us to death.

"You have to promise!" Rikku insisted.

"Come on Wakka!" I said clapping him on the shoulder.

"Promise, not to tell anybody… especially not Yevonites, they really hate us, you know? I know where we are. We're on Bikinel Island; the Al Bhed Home isn't far from here."

"And why do you have to insult Yevon, huh?" Wakka asked with a frown. All this prejudice was really wearing thin. Al Bhed, Spirian, Ronso, Guado, what does it really matter anyways?

"They did something really bad to us before."

"Well you Al Bhed probably—"

"Can you two talk about this later?" I interrupted. Rikku pouted and Wakka walked back over to Lulu, it wasn't a permanent solution but at least we started getting somewhere.

"Follow me!" Rikku shouted, running off into the desert. It was hard to keep up. We found a few High-Potions and Elixirs, even a few more pages of Al Bhed script but it wasn't really enough for me to understand. It wasn't long before we were moving at a crawl. I just couldn't walk any further.

"I think I'm lost." Rikku said softly. Great, just great, now what?

"Can't we just rest for awhile?" I asked finally. Auron grumbled a little, but I think even he was getting tired. "Well?"

"We can't wander forever…" Lulu agreed.

"Well… it can't hurt for a little while can it?" Wakka said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"If you must, then let us rest. We are only stopping once." Auron grumbled.

We made our way to a broken old tower; it was enough shade for us to set up a small camp. Kimahri scaled the whole thing and kept watch for fiends or any sign of Yuna. Lulu set up a small area with Rikku and started a fire. Rikku's black magic is really coming along; I wish I could learn some of that. Wakka and I were around the other side of a wall, I think he wanted to get away from Rikku, and all I wanted was to be with him. He treated me like family as soon as we met, being with Wakka made me feel… Home.

"Uh… Wakka?"

"Oh, I didn't hear ya comin'." Wakka said, I guess I startled him.

"Uh… sorry… I just wanted to know if you wanted some company." I said, hoping that he hadn't heard my voice crack.

"That was a kind thought Bradda, but I think I just need time ta think, ya?" He said, scratching the back of his head.

"Come on, it might make you feel better…"

"I'm so confused ya know? We killed a Maester… A Maester! We defied Yevon!" Wakka said picking a rock up out of the sand and hurling it against the wall.

"Is that really so bad?"

"Of coarse it is!" He shouted back at me.

"Why?"

"Well… I don't… it just is! I've believed in Yevon ever since I was a kind, ya? It got me through my parent's death… and Chappu…" He trailed off looking down at his hands.

"Its goof that is got you through some bad times… but Rikku is right, you shouldn't just follow 'the teachings' blindly. Something weird is going on with Yevon, and I don't think that we're going to like it." I said, trailing my finger through the sand, looking up to see if anything I said had any affect on him.

"But, without Yevon, what is there to believe in?" He said softly looking up into the sky.

"Your friends I guess… yourself… you're a smart guy Wakka, you just have to get past Yevon, hating the Al Bhed, trying to atone all the time… You're worth more than that, and so is Rikku."

"…It's hard, ya know? To trust myself… how I feel… I can't be right. There's a thousand years of tradition that says I'm wrong, ya?"

"To hell with Yevon then! Just because someone tells you to be one way, it doesn't mean you should go along with it."

"But it's not just the Al Bhed, ya?" He said twiddling his thumbs and crouching closer to his knees.

"Liiike?" I asked leaning in to see his face. Wakka turned a brighter red that Yuna when Seymore proposed, and the longer he paused, the more my mind started to fill in the blanks.

"Never mind." He said, sitting back and pretending to be interested in the empty blue sky.

The sword, the rough housing, begging me to play blitz ball… it was so obvious; I was ashamed that I hadn't seen it before.

"Wait Wakka, just tell me." I said trying to suppress a grin.

"AH! I don' know what I'm say'n, ya?" Not the answer I was hoping for. "I mean, we got Yuna to worry about, right? So why spend time thinkn' about all dis?"

"Because, it's important."

We sat there in silence. I remembered thinking: 'Is Yevon enough to keep to people apart?' but then I already knew the answer. The more we sat there the more I missed Zanarkand, the attention, the freedom. I thought about how I can never go home, before I knew it I was humming the blitz ball theme… the Hymn of the Fayth, I think. By the time I noticed Wakka still sitting there I was already thoroughly embarrassed.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

"No, no… it's nice, ya? You have a nice voice." He said with a grin.

"That's not what Auron says." I chuckled.

"Well, he doesn' know anyting about it." He said smoothly, I think I almost blushed. "Hahaha, oh you're great, ya?"

"You don't need to make fun of me!" I said frowning at him.

"I'm not, is just… you tell me not to believe in Yevon, then you start humming the Hymn of the Fayth, funny ya?"

"It's not just the Hymn of the Fayth you know; I learned that song in Zanarkand."

"Really?" Wakka said his eyes showing all his surprise.

"Yeah"

'Praise be to Yevon' I thought, but when those words didn't follow I realized that something was already starting to change.

"You don' plan on going back when it's all done… do you?"

"Well… I dunno, haven't really thought about it." I lied.

"You can always stay with me, ya? At least until you find somewhere else to stay, ya know."

"Thanks"

We gave up camp after a quick meal. Rikku led us through a valley of sand monsters, and then a narrow pass.

"This way!" She said it so merrily, she had no idea what was is store.