Rewritten, and Beta'd by the fantastic TwiliPrincess049! (8/15/11)

::Chapter One: Breath Of Life::

The water below the bridge rose as I rushed home. I was trying to ignore the screams and the sirens wailing. The image of the great wall of water and the hideous image that was distorted beneath the surface was still burned in my mind: there was no need to look back refresh that horrid image.

What was going on? What in Alexander's name was going on? Did Bevelle create a new weapon? What kind a weapon was that? We had heard the rumors that they had created what they were calling the ultimate war machina. Van a gun or something like that. However, there had been no sign that it had been finished! Bevelle usually boasts and gives us plenty of warning before they launched an attack.

I paused when something crashed behind me. I turned and gasped when I realized the highway bridge I had ran across just three minutes ago now had a skyscraper crashing onto it. A tremor vibrated through the concrete beneath me, reminding me I wasn't safe in the least bit. However, I didn't move. I had caught sight of the wall of water behind me, which was now somehow taking on the shape of a Blitzball pool without any Machina. There was still that terrifying image underneath the water's surface that broke the spell of fearful wonder. I quickly turned and ran down the road as fast as I could.

I hoped Lenore and the other Summoners would know what to do, or at least what was going on. As the university's strongest student Summoners, they would be called to the front lines to defend the city. I would fight too; after all, I was my sister's unofficial Guardian.

Except, I didn't know how I would protect her against a giant water fiend. All I was good at was running and causing a commotion. Heck, I didn't even have any weapons training yet! I was supposed to start my Guardian training next week!

"Terra!" I looked up from my feet and gave a relived smile when I saw Mindy running towards me. She was one of our dorm mates, and girl aptly described her. She was only about 9 years old but already a magnificent Summoner just like her much older sisters, Cindy and Sandy. "Are you okay?"

"I'm peachy! Now turn around and run!" I grabbed her hand and tried to pull her with me down the street. Strangely, she didn't budge but instead yanked me back, sending me flying into the ground. I was dazed for a moment as she looked down at me. It was only then I noticed she wasn't dressed in her usually yellow tank-top and shorts, but a strange costume that resembled a wasp, complete with a stinger and wings.

"You're right: it is time to go," she spoke in an eerily calm voice as the wings fluttered, raising her a few feet of the ground as she looked back towards where the wall of water was. "The Dream is about to leave, and this is the perfect time for you to wake."

"Um, Mindy, I'm perfectly wide awake." I sat up before looking behind me. The wall of water had stopped moving, and was now rippling strangely. There was no way this was a nightmare-it was way too real.

I jumped to my feet, surprised as fire suddenly shot out of the water and struck the buildings closest to it. More and more volleys of fire shot out from the fiend, striking deeper and deeper into the city. "We need to go get the others!"

Mindy hovered in front of me, blocking my sight of the water fiend. "Terra, there is nothing we can do. It's up to you and the Dream." She grabbed my hand, and everything… changed. I screamed in pain as my I was torn apart, condensed, set on fire and frozen all at the same time. Images rushed past me so fast I could make sense of any of them, only recognize faces. Lenore, Lenne, Cindy, Sandy, Mindy, Shuyin, Yunalesca, Zaon, the Fayth of Alexander, and others that I couldn't recognize as the light grew brighter and brighter. One last image flashed before everything was faded. Auron.

'Was this what you meant?' I could still hear that dark chuckle in my head as everything turned white before fading to black as I lost consciousness.

x.X.x

My heart was pounding, and I totally blamed it on my run instead having to sit next to Auron again on the packed bus. After all, the bus had been about to leave me behind and I had made a mad dash for the closing doors as it had started to move.

Everyone around us was chatting, and the gaggle of elementary age kids in the back were really loud as they argued over blitzball teams and cartoons. I always loved the bus: it was nice being around strangers. My sister said I was strange for my people-watching hobby.

I told her that her infatuation with Blitzball was strange. Even if 98% of Zanarkand was equally, if not more, obsessed.

"It appears you still haven't learned your lesson," Auron's voice easily grabbed my attention despite the background noise.

"It was sunny earlier!" I defended once again, pausing only for a moment before I shook my head, splattering him and the other passengers with rainwater from my shaggy brown hair. I didn't even attempt to hold back my laughter as everyone in the bus scolded me. Truth be told, their complaints barely registered. I was more focused on Auron's 'I am not amused' death glare combo he was shooting over his sunglasses. "Besides," I continued cheekily, "do you know what rain is?"

"What." His tone had a definite irritable tone to it, but any feeling of guilt that might have developed quickly evaporated when he took off his sunglasses and wiped them on the edge of his red coat. Actually, my brain blanked and my words were trapped in my throat. I hadn't paid much attention before, but there was a huge vertical scar running from his hair line, across his left eye, and continued past the grey collar that hid the rest of his face.

I mean, I had known it was there before-it was kind of hard to miss, after all-but I didn't think it was that... bad! I had never seen such a scar-usually a white mage's magic could heal even the most horrifying wounds without leaving the tiniest of flaws. My continued silence must have gone noticed. He raised an eyebrow at me that practically said 'well?'

I quickly chastened myself and plastered a smile on my face. "It's the sky offering free showers!" My grin became more real as he rolled his eyes before he placed his glasses back on his face. Part of me wanted to snatch them away and pester him about the scar, but my experience with my grandpa stopped me. My grandfather had served during one of the older wars with Bevelle and had scars from when no mage was available to heal his wounds. He hated it when I would ask where they were from.

Instead, I opened my bag and pulled out my wages of my part time job: two slices of Zucchini bread. Mrs. Karla couldn't afford to put me on her payroll, so instead she paid me in treats from her kitchen. I was perfectly happy with that arrangement.

"Want some?" I offered a slice to him. "I promise it's not poisoned! Mrs. K makes the best food in all of Zanarkand, and probably all of Spira! She's a baker down in the B-District; she owns a little place called Just Desserts. It's not that well known, but it's so good it should be."

He hesitated for a moment, making me nervous before taking the slice out of my hands.

x.X.x

Quiet singing woke me gently from sleep. By the time I was completely awake, I could tell the song was the Prayer of Summoners, which made me worry. The song was only sung in times of hardship and loss. Who was singing it? Why?

My body felt sore as I gingerly opened my eyes and sat up. The concern was now overwhelmed with fear when I surveyed my surroundings. This wasn't my room! This wasn't even the dormitory! Where was I? The room was dimly lit, the walls and ceiling made out of dark stone except the very top of the conical ceiling, where a hole let in bright sunshine. Nothing at all like my bright orange bedroom, or the faded but warm common room of the dormitory.

"So you've decided to wake, have you?" I turned around, surprised to see a woman standing in front of a strange glowing door. She had on a strange green dress that matched the strange things-maybe they were hats or something-on both sides of her head.

"Who are you?" I demanded as I stormed towards her."Where am I…" I trailed off as the vibrant colors beneath my feet caught my attention. At first I thought it was a beautiful mural with three women laying half-buried in the floor, parts of their bodies more bug-like than human, before I realized it was no life-like mural. It was a Fayth. This was the chamber of the Fayth! Only Summoners were allowed here! "Oh crap! I'm sorry!" I sprinted off the Fayth, and stood next to the woman. I was less concerned about her, and more concerned what the Fayth would do in retribution for blatant disrespect. I had heard horror stories of the Fayth carrying out extreme punishment, ranging from execution to sending people to alternate universes of despair.

"There is no need to apologize," the woman stated. "The Magus Sisters demanded that you be brought to them." She did not look to me, but continued to stare down at the Fayth. "They say that you know of the Fayth that Yevon fears."

Yevon? As in High Summoner Yevon? I crossed my arms and turned towards her. "Tell Lenore this is a really bad prank. This makes absolutely no sense."

Finally the woman turned towards me. "This is no prank, Terra. Though, I was informed you may be confused at first. My name is Belgemine. I am the Summoner that serves the Remiem Temple."

Remiem was the country in the grasslands on the other side of Gagazet mountains. Technically it was neutral in the wars between Zanarkand and Bevelle, but generally fell to Bevelle during the peak of fighting because it had no real defenses. They tended to be hostile to both sides, and that was why not many Summoners travelled there to pray to the Fayth of the Magus Sisters.

But I had studied the three sister Aeons, and the Fayth were not three blondes laying in stone like the ones before me. "They are not the Fayth of Magus Sisters!" I accused, "The Fayth for the Magus Sisters does not look like that!"

Belgemine didn't even bat an eye. "The Fayth you knew were Sent shortly after Sin appeared. These three took their place. I believe you knew them as Sandy, Cindy, and Mindy."

My heart skipped a beat as I looked back at the Fayth. While I could not see the sister's faces, their forms were familiar. But... How? I was just talking to Mindy before I passed out!

But Mindy had been dressed as the Wasp Aeon. If I hadn't known the strict young girl as well as I did, I would have believed that she was in on the prank. But I did know Mindy well, and I was convinced that she had been born without a sense of humor like her older sister Sandy.

"What-What in Alexander's name is going on here?" My voice shook as I turned back to Belgemine. There was a pitying smile on her face, and I was overcome with the desire to run far away and forget everything.

"Tell me, what is the last thing you remember?"

Obviously, that was talking to Mindy. But... I couldn't remember why I had been talking to her. I closed my eyes and attempted to force myself to remember. We were on the streets, and I had been running from something. Sirens had been sounding, and the water...

The water fiend!

My eyes snapped open, "A super-fiend was attacking Zanarkand! I have to get home! I'm my sister's Guardian!" I didn't wait for her response, but shot towards the door. I only went two steps before I felt a stop spell paralyzing me.

"That 'super-fiend' was Sin," Belgemine stated calmly behind me. "You cannot return to Zanarkand. Yevon has forbidden any but Summoner parties to enter the city."

That didn't make sense to me. Yu Yevon, the High Summoner, was completely dedicated to Zanarkand. Why would he forbid people from returning to the city? And I had never heard of a fiend called 'Sin' before.

"You were brought here for a purpose, Terra," Belgemine continued. She made no sound as she walked around me to face me. "You know of the Lost Aeons, correct?" She cast Dispel with a simple wave of her hand, and I couldn't catch my balance before landing hard on my rear.

I whined lightly as I climbed to my feet and rubbed my backside. "You have the wrong person," I complained, "I don't know anything about any lost Aeons. Besides, how can you lose Aeons in the first place?"

"There are five Fayth that Yevon teaches of. Valefor, Ifrit, Shiva, Ixion, and Bahamut. The rest have been hidden, or forgotten, like the Magus Sisters."

I gaped at her while doing a mental head count. "Five? Out of sixteen Aeons! How do you lose eleven Aeons?"

"Fear," she stated simply, as if it was obvious. "The people feared Sin and looked to Yevon for protection. Thus, Yevon feared Sin's destruction and the loss of their power. So they did everything in their power to keep the Spiral of Death."

Spiral of death? Was that some twisted theory based off the Spiral of Life Spira was named after? But I was confused about Yevon. "Are you talking High Summoner Yevon?" Sure, the High Summoner of Zanarkand was a little on the crazy side, and don't get me started on his daughter Yunalesca, but I had a hard time believing he would do something like that for power.

Belgemine frowned and crossed her arms. "I have never heard Yevon referred to as a Summoner and I didn't believe High Summoners existed before Sin."

"High Summoners have been ruling over the city-states for like, ever!" I scoffed and crossed my arms. "I don't care what is going on. I need to get home! I'm Lenore's Guardian, and wherever she goes, I go!"

Belgemine quickly stepped in front of the door, "The Zanarkand you know no longer exists. You cannot return there."

Sin destroyed Zanarkand. I fell back to the ground, my stomach feeling queasy as my mind replayed those few images I had before I had passed out. "Lenore…" I whispered, "Please, tell me Lenore's okay!"

My stomach turned as fear rose in my chest. "Where's Lenore?" Belgemine was silent. No… no! "Where is Lenore?" I repeated, desperate. "Where's my sister?"

"We've all lost someone to Sin," she finally whispered. "The only thing we can do is to live our lives in remembrance of them."

x.X.x

Days passed, and then a week before I had gathered the energy and courage to step outside the protection of the Remiem Temple. Or rather, before Belgemine got tired of my depressed listlessness and shoved a shotgun into my hand.

I stared blankly at the silver and brown machina before looking back at Belgemine, who had her arms crossed and a severe look on her face. It hadn't been that hard to figure out that she wasn't exactly the cheery type. Kind of like Sandy was, but worse. Sandy had a dry sense of humor at least. Belgemine didn't.

I clenched my hand, the wood of its handle not reassuring. Sandy, Mindy, Cindy, Lenne, my own sister, Lenore. All of them, dead, or close to it, in Sandy, Mindy, and Cindy's case. And who knew what kind of shape Zanarkand was in? Whenever I asked Belgemine, she refused to answer.

"You've mourned long enough," she stated sharply. "It's time for you to learn how to fight. You may not be very strong or have any magic, but you're agile. Anyone else would use a sword, or a claw, but I was told that Machina would suit you, despite the teachings."

"And how do you know that?" I asked, looking numbly back at the gun. It wasn't anything fancy: a dark wooden handle -I think it was called a stock- and a single silver barrel. However, instead of answering me, I felt a strange but familiar sensation of white magic swirling around me.

"Terra, a descendent of a long line of Summoners. She is unable to cast any magic herself, but is agile and accurate. She loves a good time and is always the first to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but she is heartbroken over the loss of her family and friends. She is also rather immature and transfers blame onto others rather than herself."

"Hey, I'm not baring your heart for all to see!" I snapped as I wrapped my arms around my waist. It felt wrong to hear myself summed up with such casual words. Lenore and the others had used me as practice when they were learning the spell, but I felt almost violated that she, a virtual stranger, had cast the spell.

"You are a Guardian now-get used to your privacy being invaded." She threw a small fluorescent purple and green bangle at me. "That will protect you from the monsters in the area. Don't wander too far."

I was tempted just to stay put, but after a few moments her dark look became a pointed glare as she pointed at the temple doors. I sighed before shuffling as slowly as possible over to the door until a Thunder spell cracked behind me, then I rushed as fast as I could away from the crazy Summoner. Once outside, with the thick stone doors between me and Belgemine, I turned my focus once again to the shotgun in my hand. Did it have any bullets? Did it need bullets? My studies had always been more focused on magic; we only had a brief overview of machina weapons like guns. The most I knew about it was that some took bullets, some didn't, and there were magic bullets, blue magic bullets, and regular metal bullets. You loaded it, pointed, and pulled the trigger.

Hopefully, it was really as simple as that.

When I finally looked away from my new weapon, I was stunned at what I saw. There was a rickety wooden bridge that led over a deep chasm, and below it there were simple and very dangerous looking paths leading downward, mostly below the temple. However, I trusted the stone paths far more than I trusted the rickety wooden bridge. I mean, really, who used wooden bridges anymore? I thought there would be a machina to cover the gap!

For a moment, I debated just sitting down on the steps of the Temple, and waste my day away in the sunshine. However, Belgemine already seemed a bit testy, and I didn't particularly want to be zapped. And I admit, I was a bit curious to see if I could fire the gun. I sat the shotgun down for a moment as I strapped the bangle to my forearm before picking the shotgun back up, examining it. It was kinda heavy but no more than Lenore's staff-just more compact. I bounced it in my hands for a moment before I brought the gun up experimentally, feeling a bit like a child. The long stock pressed uncomfortably against my shoulder, but no amount of adjusting helped the pressure any. I sighed, trying to dispel my nerves before pulling the trigger…

Nothing happened.

The trigger was stuck.

"Oh come on!" I complained as I pulled the trigger as hard as I could. That was a mistake. Suddenly the trigger gave and the gun fired with a resounding 'bang' the echoed through the canyon. I screamed as the gun recoiled into my shoulder and sent me into the ground. Ow. That hurt.

I coughed and waved my hand of the non-injured side to get rid of the dust and smoke. I was shocked and mildly pleased to see a nice sized chunk missing from the first plank of the bridge. That was awesome. Painful, but awesome.

Suddenly, the Temple doors opened and I scrambled down the stairs. When I looked back, Belgemine was standing at the doorway, looking as if she could kill me. "I meant hunt fiends, not destroy the temple."

"Uh, hee hee, right." I chuckled, embarrassed, before turning around and running down the path that led downwards. I could hear Belgemine groan behind me before the stone doors closed loudly. She was exasperated? She wasn't shoved into a strange place, told that Zanarkand was in the hands of Bevelle and that a big thing called Sin was wandering around killing everything, and that I was going to be her Guardian whether I wanted to or not.

Fighting the bad guys is what I've always dreamed of. However, I had dreamed of being beside my sister and friends-not shoved into this kind of situation!

x.X.x

After about a week of hunting the small fiends and being dragged forcibly multiple times from the Chocobos that gathered by the Temple, Belgemine and I left the secluded Remiem Temple and entered the 'Calm Lands' as she called them. Honestly, I wanted to know what was so calm about the Remiem city. It wasn't until after we walked out from the canyon that I saw what she meant. Where a small but still busy city used to be was now a long stretch of grasslands. "Woah!" I ran ahead of the Summoner to get a better look of the flat lands. The grass probably as tall as my knees, stretching as far as the eye could see. "It's beautiful!" I had never seen such a vast open expanse of land in my life; I didn't think places like this existed anymore!

"Deadly beauty, perhaps." I looked back at Belgemine, confused before she pointed towards the north. I looked over, and jumped with a small startled scream when I saw two Coeurls stalking through the grass. One of them paused, and my heart started to pound in my chest. I had been shooting at Nebiros and Skolls, and compared to Coeruls they were just regular bees and wolves. "Fiends are more common here than at the Temple: you have to be on guard constantly."

"Um, right." I watched as she gracefully jumped down the 10 foot ledge, and felt very jealous when she acted as if it had been nothing. Ten gil said she had some nifty spell for that. I'm not afraid of heights or anything, but I was pretty sure if I tried her stunt I would be lucky if I just twisted my ankle. She turned and looked up at me, an expectant look on her face. "Are you nuts? I'm not jumping!" I defended, crossing my arms.

"Then climb down," she stated simply. Easier said than done.

I pushed away my fear and sat on the ledge, cursing my flip flops and their poor traction. After a moment, I felt confident as I carefully made my way down the rock face. Until I lost my grip. My scream was short lived before I hit the grass on my backside. "Owie," I whined, rubbing my butt. I had been falling down on it too many times these last couple of days-I was sure I was going to end up breaking something.

"Get up; we need to hurry," Belgemine snapped as she grabbed my arm in attempt to pull me up. I was tempted to just ignore her, but then a very foreboding roar sounded across the plains. In a flash I was on my feet, pressing close behind her. She had Aeons; I didn't. She sighed and rolled her eyes before stalking off, following the rock ledge to the west.

"So, hey, where we going?" I asked after I caught up with her, surprised how fast she could walk in that dress of hers.

"The Maesters are going to Luca for the Blitzball tournament." If she saw me briefly stick out my tongue in disgust, she ignored it. Blitzball had never been my cup of tea, and it brought up sore memories of Lenore. I had skipped the last Blitzball game to try to find Auron despite his comment. I had wanted to say goodbye, and figure out where he was going. "Consequently," Belgemine continued, "many Summoners will be there, and perhaps the one the Aeon's dream is guarding."

"Cool," I said, but honestly had no clue what she was talking about. I put one hand in my pocket and rested the other one against the shoulder strap of my shotgun. "So… how far is Luca exactly?" Because if memory served, Luca was quite a ways away from Remiem. It took at least a day by airship from Zanarkand to Luca.

"Too far to walk in a week. We'll board a ship in Bevelle."

"Bevelle?" I complained, stopping. "I'm not going to Bevelle! Why can't we catch a ship at Macalania instead?"

Belgemine paused, giving me a strange look as she studied me. "Macalania isn't near the ocean," she said slowly as if talking to someone who wasn't quite in the right state of mind.

Really, she was the stupid one. "Why does having to be near the ocean have to do with anything?" I asked, "It's an airship, for crying out loud!"

Belgemine confused expression became dark, "We're not taking an airship." The venom in her voice was surprising, "We're taking a sea ship. Now, come." Without another word, she turned and stormed off. I groaned but hurried to follow her. I didn't want to be caught by a fiend without an Aeon out here. I did look towards the north, where I could see Mount Gagazet standing tall and proud on the horizon. I would go back home someday. I would do whatever it took to free it from Bevelle's hold, and then I would go home, forbidden or not.