Final Fantasy X and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy X storyline (such as Rayne and Marcus) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(To The Command Center)

"Rayne, that had better be you."

Rayne snapped back to reality and stumbled, suddenly extremely dizzy and plagued by the feeling that she had just spent the last eight minutes standing perfectly still. She leaned on her staff and looked at the others, who looked just as dazed and confused as she did.

Tidus clutched his stomach and kneeled on the ground, groaning, "Ugh, what just happened?"

Rayne shook her head and thought about it, the memory of her brother sitting in front of the game resurfacing, "I think we were 'Paused'…"

"Huh?"

Rayne looked at the others, who were looking at her oddly, and shook her head, "Uh… it must have been Sin. Excuse me for a moment; I suddenly have the oddest urge to do something unexplainable and irrational." She then turned to the sea, looked up and screamed, "AT LEAST WAIT UNTIL WE'RE IN A COMFORTABLE STANDING POSITION BEFORE YOU PRESS THE BLASTED 'START' BUTTON YOU IDIOT!!!!"

She could feel all eyes staring at her, but she brushed it off and turned to Clasko, "Alright, so we go this way to get to the Command Center, correct?" When the Knight nodded, Rayne turned back to her company and smiled, "Let's go!"

They nodded slowly and waited until she went into the canyon first to follow her. When the ravine started to widen out, they found a familiar face waiting.

"Eh! It's Mr. and Ms. Generosity! Great to see you two again!"

Rayne and Tidus smirked and shook their heads, "Hey, O'aka." They then looked at each other and cocked their heads, "You know him, too?"

O'aka smiled and bowed, "Well, and here I didn't know that you two were traveling together. And with a group, too!"

Rayne nodded, "We're on a pilgrimage."

"Eh? Not the Summoner's Pilgrimage, I 'ope?!" O'aka looked at them with wide eyes.

Tidus nodded, "Yep, that's us."

The merchant whistled lowly and shook his head, "Dangerous business, that is." He then grinned widely, "And I take it you and your party will need weapons and supplies, right?"

Rayne smirked and untied her Gil purse, "As long as your prices are fair and your weapons and items reliable, I, at least, will continue to buy from you."

O'aka frowned, "Hey, hey, hey! O'aka never breaks a promise, and I'm still indebted to you two, so you and yours will always find fair deals at O'aka's."

Rayne smiled and bowed, "Forgive me for doubting you, O'aka, it won't happen again. So, what do we have to look forward to on the path ahead?"

"Fire. Lots n' lots o' fire." The merchant replied.

She nodded, "Very well." She turned to the others, "Weapons with 'Icestrike', everyone. Lulu, best we get our spells ready."

The group nodded and walked forward as O'aka began to lay out his bundles, unrolling reams of canvas to reveal weapons. Yuna and Rayne walked over to the tarp holding the staffs, looking among the different designs and labels for their preferred weapons. O'aka looked at the staff on Rayne's back and, somewhat grudgingly, tapped her shoulder.

"Beggin' your pardon, mum," He began, "But your staff already has 'Icestrike'."

"Eh?" Rayne took her staff out of its sleeve and looked it over, "How can you tell? I got it in Kilika, so I figured that if anything it had 'Firestrike'."

The merchant shook his head and pointed to the gem at the top, "That there's a diamond, telltale symbol of ice."

Rayne looked at the diamond and frowned, "It used to be a ruby, but it changed when I used my 'Blizzard' overdrive. I really thought it should have changed back by now."

"Well then," O'aka said, looking the staff over, "What you've got there is a stave equivalent of 'Arc Arcana', the four element stave, or a 'Dual Rod', the two element stave, though judging by that craftsmanship, I'd bet the former."

Rayne realized that, by admitting this, O'aka had removed her necessity of new weaponry and, in retrospect, had driven away a customer. She smiled, "Thank you for the information, O'aka. Had you not told me, I might have been fooled by another merchant into buying unnecessary equipment."

O'aka smiled painfully, muttering, "No worries, mum. I am, after all, a man of my word. O'aka promised to give you the best deal, and I have."

She chuckled, "That you have. And, as thanks for the information, I'd like you to charge me the price of two regular staves with 'Thunderstrike' and 'Waterstrike', as well as whatever the price you think it would be fair to charge for information of finding the name and background of my staff."

The merchant gapped at her, "I 'eard the part about the 'Rod of Thunder' and the 'Rod of Water', but what's this about information?"

"Well," She began, "I can imagine that you must be fairly well traveled to have as wide a variety of weapons as you have, correct?" He nodded. "And, from what I've seen, all weapons have a name, especially the more powerful ones, correct?" He nodded again. "Well, then, is it so hard to imagine that my weapon, which you believe has the four elemental strikes, has a name, as well?" He shook his head, and she smiled, "Therefore, on top of charging me for the 'Thunderstrike' and 'Waterstrike' weapons, I'd like to pay you to search out similar weapons and find a suitable name for mine, if it isn't too much trouble, that is."

"Ur…well…"

"Just say yes or no, already, so we can move on." Growled an angry voice from behind Rayne.

She rolled her eyes and turned to him, "Thank you, Auron, for your assistance."

O'aka stared at Rayne wide eyed when she turned back to him, "You sure about this?" When she nodded, he broke into a wide grin and nodded, "Alright, O'aka's on the case! I'll find a good and proper name for your staff, that I will!"

This having been said, Rayne paid the merchant in full for the staves of Fire and Thunder, then moved aside and allowed the others to pay. When they had finished, they moved on, Rayne and Tidus turning to wave at the merchant one final time.

"So," Tidus drawled, "Where did you meet him?"

"The same ship you met him on, only earlier than you did."

"Ah." He was silent for a moment, but stayed by her as the others walked on. He stretched his arms behind his head, casually glancing at her. "You been watching Yuna her entire life?"

She kept her gaze focused ahead, "You want to know anything specific? Or are you going to pussyfoot around it?"

"Gah!" He stumbled back as if she had bitten him, "Jeez, no need to get angry! It was just a question!"

"I wasn't angry. I just come of as… less than conversational."

"Heh, obviously."

She turned to glare at him, "Treading on dangerous ground…"

Tidus scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry, I got smart. My bad. So, um…"

Rayne sighed, "Pussyfooting…"

"What can you tell me about Yuna?"

Rayne froze and narrowed her eyes at him, "Treading on treacherous ground now, boy."

"No no, I don't mean anything by it! It's just…"

She frowned, "'Just' what?"

"Well…" He sighed, "You seem to know a lot about what goes on here. And, other than Auron, you're the only other one who completely understands and believes my situation. So I…"

Rayne shook her head and walked on, "So you have deemed me a second dealer of information and find it easier to come to me because you think I'll be more likely to answer you in a straight manner, right?"

"Right. Auron just speaks in riddles."

Rayne sighed, "He's definitely not the best narrator in the world, that's for sure…"

Tidus shook his head, "Yeah. So, about Yuna…?"

"She was born in Bevelle. Her mother was a commoner and her father was a priest. After her mother died, her father became a summoner. He left her in Bevelle and started his journey to rid the world of Sin to protect her. When he got to Besaid, he like it so much he decided he wanted Yuna to live there. When Braska fought and defeated Sin, Kimahri went to Bevelle and took Yuna to Besaid. In Besaid, Yuna became somewhat of a daughter to me, and I helped raise her. Then, when Sin came again, she decided she wanted to be a summoner. So she did, and three months later gained Valefor and began her journey. And here we are now."

Tidus stared at her and she noticed this and smirked, "Compared to Auron, I make more sense. Yet, at the same time, I'm much more vague."

"Alright then… what about Yevon?"

Rayne sighed, "Yevon had existed since Zanarkand. Sin was born there, and Yevon says that it is because of Spiran's dependence on machina and their vanity. Yevon says that until Spira has truly repented for its sins, Sin will continue to come. When Sin is born, the people go to Yevon to prey. From Yevon, the summoners are born to defeat Sin, and the people prey for their success. When Sin dies, people praise the summoners and prey to Yevon to prevent the return of Sin for as long as possible. Every time Sin comes back, Spiran's know they have not yet repented. Yet, every Calm that exists is a beacon of hope, and the people prey to Yevon that this Calm may be the last."

Tidus nodded, "Sounds like a cycle."

"That's exactly what it is. A spiral of death. But… never you mind all of that. When we reach Zanarkand, you will return home. There is little point in burdening you mind when for you, it will all soon enough be over."

"Well… what about you?"

Rayne glanced at him, "Me?"

Tidus nodded, "Yeah. You aren't from Spira either, right? So, why do you burden yourself with this?"

Rayne sighed, "I have lived to witness a Calm, and I have lived to witness Sin's effects twice. Twice I have been deemed worthy of a position as a guardian, and twice I have set foot on a pilgrimage. Though one time ended early, I plan to see this one through. I have been here longer than you have and, as your father once pointed out, there may not be a chance for me to return home."

Tidus gapped at her, "He said that?!"

Rayne nodded and looked at him, "Nevertheless, Tidus, he was one of my best friends, and an overall good man."

"Heh, yeah, right."

She sighed and was about to retaliate when she heard something behind them. "Look out!" She grabbed Tidus's arm and yanked him in front of her, a sharp pain stabbing into her back.

"Rayne!"

She ignored him and turned slowly, facing a small and agile-looking purple lizard. She frowned and turned back to Tidus, "Looks like one of your friends, kid."

He nodded and lunged at the fiend, his blade slicing through its scaly hide. Rayne dropped to her knees and watched him, but pushed herself back to her feet when several other fiends jumped out of the shadows and attacked. She pulled out her staff and slashed the throat of one, then set off a 'Blizzara' spell in the face of the other right behind the first.

At this point, the others noticed their comrade's plight and joined the battle; Yuna covering Rayne with a 'Cure' spell, Lulu joining Rayne in casting multiple 'Blizzard' and 'Blizzara' spells, and Auron and Kimahri joining Tidus in hacking and slashing whatever came their way. The battle was over a time later, and Yuna was looking at the injury on Rayne's back.

"It's deep, but small, and I already closed most of it up. There's going to be a hole in your clothes, though…"

Rayne frowned, "Great, and there are no Besaid weavers nearby. I really need to find armor."

The summoner stepped back and shook her head, "That may prove to be a challenge. Remember when you tried to use rings and bangles?"

"I shudder at the thought," Rayne muttered, "Your rings exploded and Lulu's bangles…" She shuddered, "They tried to eat me. It wasn't a fun experience."

Wakka shook his head, "I remember that, ya. Took us two days to convince the bangles that you didn't taste good, and there wasn't much left of the rings…"

Tidus started laughing and Auron turned away. Kimahri just shook his head.

Rayne pursed her lips, "Alright, so it's been established that it's pointless for me to try and use magical weapons and armors that weren't suited for me, so I'll just have to keep looking in shops for something and we'll just have to move on. I'm sure that the last thing we want to do is make Maester Seymour wait for Lady Yuna's arrival." She said this last sentence loudly and full of sarcasm, rolling her eyes for emphasis.

"Lady Rayne!" Wakka stopped when she turned to shoot a piercing gaze his way and he stuttered the rest. "W-well… um… it's just… y-you shouldn't… t-talk… a-abou…"

Auron shoved passed the stammering ex-blitzer and continued down the path, "Let's go."

As the others shoved their way passed Wakka, he was left to stare at their wake. His shoulders drooped and he sighed, "You shouldn't talk about a maester like that…"

"Wakka!"

He snapped back to reality and ran after them, "Commin', Lu!"