Okee. You guys are awesome! Thanks for the reviews, you know they really help! SERIOUSLY! Okay. Enjoy?

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Rikku was the first to wake up, from the sound of heavy footsteps from above. Her smaller, petit body had regenerated enough energy for itself after a short nap and she felt ready for an entire day of work. Her companion, on the other hand seemed to have trouble waking up. She pushed and tugged on his arm but with no prevail. "Man, Tidus. You can really sleep." She spoke to him as he continued to sleep through the day.

She watched as he silently slept next to her, barely moving other than the steady rising and falling of his chest. A smile appeared on her face as she noticed how innocent he looked as he slept. From the moment she saw him, she had thought that he was something special. The past few days with him really helped support her idea of him. There was no doubt in her mind the she had a crush on him; she loved everything about him. Rikku really enjoyed spending so much time with someone other than the usual Al Bhed on her ship; Tidus brought something new to her life.

"Hm. Zanarkand… together… hn?" Tidus twitched in his spot, causing the Al Bhed to smile even brighter. She bit her lip in excitement. He must have been dreaming about her! In actuality, his dream was about her but of someone else as well. He stood on the foggy docks again, confused and out of place as ever. As he made his way to the end, he found himself inside of the same dream he had quite a while ago. He was standing by Yuna, who asked him to go to Zanarkand together while Rikku appeared and asked for the same thing, confusing him as to what to do.

"Yep! So you're coming with me!" Rikku's voice was in his head as he turned from Yuna and began following the other girl. In his sleep, he whispered out loud, "Huh?... Rikku…" As soft as it was, the Al Bhed was able to catch his words. She almost fell over as she heard him speak her name in his sleep. She sighed, blushing as she watched him continue to sleep.

"RIKKU!" Brother's voice beckoned through the speakers, interrupting Rikku's daydreaming. "Fa ryja ynnejat!" We have arrived!

"Hey! Tidus! Did you hear that? We're there!" She gave a gentle kick, causing him to roll over and stutter as he tried to wake himself up from his dream.

"To- Fa? Huh!" He stumbled to his feet, rubbing his head and eyes. He shook his body to wake himself up, throwing his dream away at the same time.

"You musta had some dream there, huh?" Rikku smirked, barely able to control herself as she thought of what he had done. Her question caused him to blush as he thought back to his dream.

"Uh… yea…" He fiddled with his hair and tried to cover his face, trying to figure out why he had the dream. He knew he followed Rikku after their short discussion on the docks but did he want to and what did it mean?

"Come on, sleepy head. We've got to go upstairs." Rikku removed Tidus' hands from his face and beamed, feeling so much bolder than before.

"Heh. Yea." He nodded as his face continued to redden. Just seeing Rikku's face caused him to feel warmer and a little bit uneasy. Why was he feeling like this all of a sudden, was it his dream? He quickly dismissed his thoughts and ran up the stairs with Rikku right in front of him.

"We're just going to help set up weapons and stuff for now, you ready for a day of work?" She joked; of course he wasn't ready. He was probably still sore from the game.

"Yeah! I'm up for anything!" Tidus threw a few punches in the air and nodded, making Rikku giggle.

"Okay! You asked for it! Start by unloading those boxes of ammo, and then help Brother set up the cannon over there." Rikku pointed at the boxes on the deck and then the cliff above their ship.

"Huh? ... Uh… Okay." His face quickly darkened as he ran towards the boxes and took one in his arms, readying himself for the heavy lifting. Tidus struggled as he picked the box off the floor and inched his way off the ship and towards the other boxes that had already been unloaded. "What did I get myself into…" Rikku watched as he hobbled across the deck with the box of equipment and smiled at how hard he had been working. Simply watching him caused her heart to pound and butterflies to flutter in her stomach.

More work followed Tidus as he continued to finish his tasks as quickly as he could. Although he was sure he had proved himself in the blitzball game, he wanted to show the Al Bhed that he wanted to be full accepted by them. At the same time, he also wanted to impress Rikku and show how much he cared about her cause. After spending so much time getting to really know Rikku, he felt a certain connection between them. Whether it was simply friendship or something more complex, he didn't know but it was clear that he liked it.

Even with his enthusiasm, he couldn't keep the thought of his past from his head. Pictures and memories of dying soldiers flooded his mind as he peered at the beach before him. The equipment was starting to come together and everything was running as it did before. He bit his lip as he tried not to think of the tragedy that would come with this only to realize just how hard it was for him to sit and watch all the soldiers sacrifice themselves for a lost cause.

He felt an urge to talk to Rikku again, so that he could at least save most of the people who would die when Sin comes. He hadn't seen Rikku all day and the day was quickly turning to night after his long hours of labor. His muscles were sore and his body was covered in sand, dirt and sweat. The entire operation was really coming together by the time Brother ordered the men to retreat to the camp they had set up near their ultimate weapon.

"Rikku?" Tidus peeked into a few empty tents. "… Where are you?"

"Missin' me already?" Rikku tapped his shoulder, causing him to jump as she asked. He turned to see her clad in another armor, quite foreign to his eyes. It fit comfortably around her, showing off her curves without being immodest. It was similar to her old armor but more flexible for better movement.

"No wonder I couldn't recognize you!" He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I've got to talk to you." A blush burned against her cheeks as she smiled from his touch.

"Yea? About what?" She turned, leading him to a larger tent: the control center of the Al Bhed.

"About this operation." He answered as he was gestured to enter the tent with her. "I just don-"

"Isn't it exciting? Finally! We'll be able to show those Yevonites what we're made of! We'll defeat Sin, and then maybe they won't hate us anymore, you know?" She hopped breathlessly and twirled in her excitement.

"Uh…" His words were quickly crushed by her actions. He couldn't shoot her down when she was standing so tall but he just had to. "Well… what if it doesn't work?"

"Stop saying that, Tidus. We have to believe that it will work!" Rikku quickly stopped her festivities and sighed seriously. "I think you're taking your dream way too seriously. We've got some really high-quality machina here. Plus, the Crusaders are going to stun Sin so we can just finish it off with our cannon. It'll kill Sin and the people of Spira will be united again!" She nodded and closed her eyes, imagining what that would be like.

"But… don't you think we might fail? And then…" He hesitating, trying not to sound cruel or discouraging.

"Come on. You're so gloomy. Have some hope in us. We can do this! You said you would take on Sin with me! Don't back down on me now!" She said, sounding a little bit more annoyed. She was trying to promote her spirit and make everyone believe that this was going to work and she didn't appreciate how pessimistic Tidus was being.

"But you don't get it. Remember how I said I had a crazy dream about fighting Sin in another journey?" Tidus tried to explain. "I'm almost positive it wasn't a dream. I mean… everything that happened in that dream is happening now. It's just me that's different. Instead of traveling with your cousin, Yuna, I'm with you! And I remember a lot of people dying here."

"Tidus, you're not still sick from the toxin, are you?" She frowned and poked him on the head, not believing what he said. "Stop acting all weird, okay?"

"But… er…" He tightened a fist; he was getting pretty aggravated as well. "Yuna has brown hair and her eyes are different colors; green and blue… She's two years older than you and your father's sister was her mom. Lord Braska was her father, and he defeated Sin before so she's trying to follow in his footsteps." He listed most of what he knew to make her believe him. Tidus didn't want to resort to this, but he had no other choice.

"Wha-… How'd you know all that?"

"I-I told you. I wasn't dreaming." He concluded and sighed as he moved away from her.

"But that doesn't prove anything. Just because the people died in your dream… doesn't mean it'll happen tomorrow. I'll make sure of it." Rikku nodded stubbornly. She didn't want to give up hope that this was going to work, no matter what he said.

"Stop being so… you! If you're going to be a good leader, you have to know what's good for your people. What if everyone dies tomorrow!" He was officially angered to the point where things began to shoot out of his mouth without traveling to his brain first.

"What's wrong with me being me? I am a good leader! I know that this will help people accept the Al Bhed! And I'm going to make sure no one but Sin dies tomorrow!" She shot back, annoyed and offended. Rikku had never known he could speak to her like this; it was hurtful for her to see him yell at her. Everything she had thought he was seemed to be a foolish lie to her now.

"But that's stupid! Everyone is going to die! And then they'll blame the Al Bhed. Do you want that? To have everyone hate you guys even more than they do now!" Tidus screamed, infuriated and stubborn. He knew this was for her own good but he hadn't realized just how hurtful it had sounded.

"I'm sick of talking to you, Tidus! Everything you say is 'but this' and 'but that'! Can't you just let things go?" Rikku advanced towards him. "Get out! I don't want to talk to you ever again! Don't you care about how I feel? You ruined everything and took away the hope! I hope you're happy!" She pushed him out of the tent and screamed, stomping her feet against the ground as she ran towards the table and collapsed on the seat. Her heart was beating painfully and angry tears were stinging her eyes. Her emotions were a blur to her. She was disappointed, angry, confused, sad and frustrated all at the same time.

Tidus was no better; as he picked himself from the ground he threw a fist at the floor and gritted his teeth. He was so annoyed and angry about how stubborn she was and ignorant she sounded. "So stupid!" He screamed at her from outside the tent and ran to the beach to relieve his frustration. As his mind finally cleared, another emotion took over; guilt. He was out of line to tell her what to do and to take her optimism and hope only to throw them on the ground and step on them.

"Hope… it's really the only thing we have these days, huh?" He remembered himself saying that, he had just contradicted himself and make himself look like a total hypocrite. "…And I said I would fight with her…" He reminded himself as he threw his body against the cool sand on the floor. "…what now?" Tidus sighed in disappointment. What will happen to the people tomorrow? Could he still stop it?

Thoughts of guilt, anger, and gloom occupied the night for the two as they rolled in their slumber, thinking of the day awaiting them. Tidus could barely sleep as memories of Operation Mi'ihen filled his dreams. Rikku laid pensively on her bed for most of the night, unable to get Tidus' words from her mind. It was a night of anticipation, the anticipation of both hope and disappointment.

Morning came with the sound of hundreds of Crusaders marching in with their own machina along with large carts of Sinspawn. The two of them almost didn't want this day to come. As they worked to finalize everything, Rikku and Tidus passed each other several times but refused to talk to each other. Brother, along with a number of other members of the ship noticed this and shrugged, thinking it was just the serious atmosphere of the operation.

On his way towards the command center, Tidus found Gatta and Luzzu arguing in front of the entrance.

"Why only you, sir? I want to fight, too!" Gatta asked after getting orders from his commander.

"Orders are orders." Luzzu answered bluntly.

"I'm not a cadet anymore, sir! Let me go with you, and I'll prove it to them!" The soldier requested again.

"Guarding the command center is important too, you know."

"But I came all the way from Besaid to fight Sin, sir!"

Tidus reminded himself of how Luzzu died in battle, leaving Gatta confused and disturbed on the beach. He had to save people from dying, so he started small. "Actually…" He directed to them, clearing his throat to sound more intimidating as he placed his goggle in front of his eyes. "I just got an order to tell you that both of you are to guard the command center."

"Impossible, I was just ordered to fight in the battle while Gatta stayed to guard the command center." Luzzu looked Tidus up and down, he didn't trust the young man.

"I just received orders from the Maester. He asked you not to question his actions." Tidus lied through his teeth while adjusting his goggles.

"Oh yeah? … Uh…" Luzzu scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess… See, Gatta. We must guard this command center with our lives. It is an important job that we both will do!" This gave Tidus relief, leaving a smile on his face as he walked away from the two. He knew that he had at least saved one person from death.

"Why did they assign both of us to protect the command center? Do they think I'm not good enough to do it alone now?" Gatta continued to complain to Luzzu as a group of people arrived.

"Hey, at least you won't get hurt, ya?" Wakka was leading the group towards the two crusaders.

"Wakka…" Tidus whispered under his breath as he turned to spy on the group of familiar faces. Lulu, Kimahri, Auron, Yuna and Wakka were looking extremely tired and beaten from their travel; Tidus had never known how much he had helped the entourage until seeing them that day. Careful not to overreact, he decided not to confront them and instead left to help the Al Bhed. Lingering only for a moment to sigh at the memories of his past 'dream', he stole a glimpse of Yuna and ran off to find Brother.

Emotions were not an object for him as he made his way towards the Al Bhed camp; he didn't even feel anything when he saw Yuna's face. Could his new life have numbed him to the point where he has lost all feelings for his past friends? Or perhaps he had already accepted that he had no need for them? Maybe it was just the lack of contact that caused his feelings to fade. Whatever it was, it was strange for him to see something so familiar and yet feel so distant.

Tidus shook his head, determined to clear it from his confusing thoughts and settled on focusing on the issue at hand: Operation Mi'ihen. He had already accepted that he couldn't possibly save everyone and the death was inevitable. Even if Rikku had believed him and tried to stop the operation, she couldn't have been able to save everyone anyway. The Crusaders and Al Bhed had their own beliefs and no one could change them. Tidus remembered speaking to several young Crusaders in his old dream and realized how determined they were. Ignorantly determined.

The sound of roaring Sinspawn was enough for Tidus' stomach to start churning; it signified the beginning of the operation. He knew that Yuna and her party would need some help with fighting Sinspawn Gui but he had committed himself to the Al Bhed. There was no point in lingering in the past when there was a future to take care of.

"Alright, time to fight my old man… again." Tidus whispered to himself as he made his way into the large cannon mounted on the cliff above the water.

"Oui yna hud haatat rana. Fa femm ubanyda dra machina, ajanouha amca femm ramb dra Crusaders." You are not needed here. We will operate the machina, everyone else will help the Crusaders. An older Al Bhed told Tidus, not knowing that the blitzer had no idea what he was saying.

"He means you're going to help the Crusaders in battle." A man's voice explained to Tidus.

"Rin?" He turned to see the tall Al Bhed before him. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I that well known? Well, I am here to deliver a few items to my fellow Al Bhed. I see you're not familiar with the language?"

"Right. I'm just… uh…" Tidus removed his goggles to show his aqua eyes. "I'm not Al Bhed."

"You're not a spy are you?" Rin retreated, eyeing him.

"No. I'm working for the Al Bhed. I just don't know the language."

"Well, if you're interested. I can give you a few Al Bhed Primers. Al Bhed Primers are scattered through out Spira, so if you wish to learn, you should try finding them. Here are a few that I have." Rin reached into his bag and handed Tidus a few books. "Kuut milg… it means Good luck."

"Thanks!" Tidus smiled, holding the books in front of him.

"This is a very honorable thing you are doing." The Al Bhed looked around, noting all the hard work everyone had done. "Risking everything for the people of Spira. I commend you… but I must go back to the Inn. Good luck with your battle and if all is well, please visit one of our many Inns scattered through out Spira. Maybe I'll have a few more Al Bhed Primers for you then." The man turned, giving Tidus a nod before running down the road back to his Inn.

What Rin had said to him cause Tidus to feel even guiltier… and maybe a bit more enraged. He knew it was a practical idea for the people to think they could defeat Sin and it made sense for them to have so much hope. But at the same time, Tidus felt the ignorance radiating from them. They knew that there was a large possibility it would fail but they had to keep their optimism; it was all they had left, even if most of it was fake.

Once again, he began to think of Rikku's beliefs and how he could have truly crushed her confidence in this operation. He sighed, knowing he shouldn't have spoken to her in such a way. He was determined to find Rikku and apologize for his actions when suddenly, all thoughts were set aside as shouts and commands echoed through the beach. Crusaders were to take their positions as the Sinspawn were released. The few Al Bhed operators ran into their large machina, ready for battle as the others took their own weapons and waited.

"Sin!" The numerous voices called as a shadowed loomed over the ocean and sand. A gigantic body rose from the depths of the ocean and revealed itself as Sin. Tidus could feel the blood pulsing as he stared at the monster, a familiar and painful sight. The Crusaders began to shoot their cannons as the Chocobo riders gave commands; foot soldiers ran towards the water. The sounds were vibrating through out the area; shouts, growls, shooting, explosions and the horrible screams of dying soldiers. The Al Bhed waited as they began to load their ultimate machina, the one that was said to kill Sin. The operation had started.

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Jeez, that was a long one! Rushed? –shrugs- I started bsing halfway through lol. ' How did I manage to write so much for nuthin'? Lol. my friend seemed to like it though.