"Distant Enmity," written by Fire Rules

Author's Note: For this to make any sense whatsoever, you must have read "A Time for Reflection." If you haven't read it, I suggest you do… review that too! :D

Chapter I: Dreams of Foreboding

The beautifully crafted machina clock ticked steadily, annoying his ears. He sat in the dark… how long had he been awake? He'd lost track of time somewhere between the steady deluge from the tropical storm and the awesome lightning crashes that illuminated the sky, but he knew he hadn't been conscious for very long.

Sweating profusely, with cautious eyes darting around the room like a scared animal, Tidus looked at his lovely wife, now six months heavy with child. Yuna was sleeping soundly, regardless of the thunder and his muffled scream of terror that filled the room earlier.

"It's unreal," he thought bitterly. "Why… how can this be happening?"

Images of what he had seen and heard in his nightmare invaded his psyche once again, as cold chills enveloped his being.

Tidus!

"Back to the real world," he thought solemnly, his fragmented mind yearning for answers. His thoughts refused to comply, however, and he continued brooding over the images and sounds bombarding his memory.

Listen carefully... I don't have much time!

"Who… who *was* that? No, it couldn't have been…" In his disturbing dream, her face was obscured in darkness, but her eyes were filled with fright.

We need your help… we're all suffering! He's evil, Tidus… nothing but evil!

"Was that? There's no way…" he mouthed silently as the memories of his vision flooded mind and soul. "What the hell did I see? Was that… Zanarkand?"

He silently begged for an answer from no one in particular as he recalled the horrendous vision. So many people, all beaten, maimed… malnourished. Atrocious cries of agony bombarded his sense of hearing; the echoes of angry whips lashed out in the stagnant air.

His mentality darted to what Imam Guado said many months prior. Screams… there were *thousands* of… screams.

He quickly tried to forget the horrible wailing for a moment as he once again shifted his thoughts back to his conversation with the mystery woman.

He's forcing us to make things… horrible things! You have to help stop him, or else...

The conversation ended abruptly… at that moment, Tidus recalled sullenly, he awoke from his nightmare, screaming wildly in the dark.

So he found himself in bed, wincing at the remembrance of his dream. As sweat trickled from his forehead down to the bottom of his chin, he contemplated the final sentence he heard before waking up.

"Or else what? Stop who?" he asked himself miserably. Seriously beginning to doubt his sanity, he anxiously reached for Yuna as his pillar of comfort; she was real and tangible, and he needed her badly. She stirred gently in his arms and opened her eyes reluctantly to a very terrified Tidus.

"Wha… what's the matter? Are you okay?"

Yuna's voice was distant to him, as was his grasp on reality at the moment. Her touch was comforting to his nerve wrecked body, however, so he sought complete refuge in her arms.

He sighed fearfully at the lack of clarity in the dream woman's voice. Nothing made sense, and it was very disturbing to him… was what he saw factual?

Not realizing that his behavior was rousing a heightened sense of dread in Yuna, his fearful reverie was unrelenting.

"Tidus!" Yuna yelled frantically, trying to get a response from her delusional partner. He yelled loudly as her frenzied cry mercilessly shoved him back into the real world. Wild blue eyes met Yuna's, and he completely fell into her arms as the demons that were his thoughts reluctantly left him.

"So… so many dreams Yuna," he choked feverishly. "She's alive… Zanarkand's alive, I…"

"Shh," Yuna whispered gently as she cradled him in her arms, much like she would do with her and Tidus' child in just a few short months. Tidus complied, and he gratefully buried his head into her chest for comfort. Upon putting her hand gently to his cheek, she gasped in shock… he was ablaze with fever.

Letting him go for a moment, she ran to the bathroom and wet a towel with cold water. Upon returning, Yuna quickly scooped Tidus back into her arms and put the towel to his scorching forehead.

After a while, satisfied that his temperature had gone down slightly, she took him in her grasp once again and cradled him to sleep.
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As time wore on, Yuna caressed his hair gently as she chewed nervously on her upper lip. Her thoughts made sleep elusive, and she looked at the totally spent expression on Tidus' face. She sighed longingly at him.

It wasn't the first time it had happened to him… but it was definitely the worst. "He… he actually saw something this time," she thought miserably.

As Tidus explained to her many times, it was just random voices and blurry scenery in his previous dreams. This time, she assumed, was much different.

Her mind wandered to what he said before falling asleep. Zanarkand… alive? Who was the woman he was talking about? All of her anxious thoughts were leading up to an extremely nerve wrecking night for Yuna.

Regardless of his comments or behavior, she didn't think he was crazy. Tidus was brought back to Spira by means of which no one could explain, so it was hard to refute his claims. They determined together that they should search for a reason as to why Tidus was having these dreams. It would be the best for both of them.

In all honesty, however, Yuna was scared… absolutely terrified of losing what she held so precious. She found herself dreading the answer to their questions even more with each passing day. Here she was, about to have a baby with the only person she could ever love… and questions about the duration of Tidus' stay in Spira were once again being raised.

"Well," she thought sadly. "I'm not sure about that." From the way things were shaping up, however, she was becoming mortified of losing him.

"It's not fair!" she thought bitterly. They had given so much for peace, and now… now her only source of happiness was having peculiar and foreboding visions in his sleep! She bitterly contemplated whether there would ever be an end to the madness.

Her thoughts made her nervous. Wanting to drown out all her fear and worry, she buried herself into Tidus' arms, moving her large belly to the side to get closer to him. Reveling in the warmth of skin against skin, she looked at Tidus sleeping soundly. She mouthed an anxious "I love you" in his ear and kissed him gently on the lips before tiredly putting her head on the pillow.

Giving up on questions that couldn't be answered as of yet, she decided to try and sleep. Tomorrow, they would find some answers… tomorrow, she would find out if Tidus was hiding anything from her…

"If that's the case," she thought solemnly, "I'll *force* it out of him if I have to."

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Author's Notes: Whee! Timmeh is back, and good to be back, it is! So, what has Fire Rules been doing these past few weeks? Well, a little side project, actually. I also make anime music videos, and I just completed one set to Final Fantasy 8, 9, and 10. The music is a song by The Corrs called "Breathless." If you're so inclinced, the link is as follows:

http://www.animemusicvideos.org/legacy/video.php?v=8881

Yes, this chapter was short. Consider it as more of a prologue than anything else. Also, if you didn't notice, the entire feel of this story is quite different. There will be fluff, but there will also be many more elements of drama and action. A good blend of stuff... you know what I mean.

Oh yeah! I'd like to thank Th' Lady Shadow for helping me brainstorm for the title. It's amazing how big of a headache a two word title can give you when you're trying to think of one! Thanks Shad!

Okay, well, that's that… for now. Review, please? Expect more soon.

Fire Rules