"It is strange how life works isn't it? Your world, it is so dull, and peaceful. People yearn for the adventure of a lifetime, yet they wish for peace and goodwill. How can that be? You can't have both at the same time, isn't that right? But don't worry, I'll protect you. An adventure for you may come up, but I will take you under my wing, just like I did to my first son. You will be strong, I promise, and you will then fight for me. That, is your promise."

Lakki never dreamt of anything while he slept the rest of the night, but a voice was telling him things while he was in the depths of his mind. It was a tranquil voice, calm and clear, like an echo on an isolated mountain. But the things this feminine voice said were hard to understand, and he wanted them to stop. But it was like time itself: No matter how hard he tried to stop it, the more this woman talked. It seemed to become more and more of an enigma by the second.

Lakki decided the moment she stopped, which seemed uncontrollable, to open his eyes and take flight to a new day. He opened his eyes effortlessly, something he was rather thankful for, and there was not a soul around his room. But there was something different about the way he felt. The aura around him was fine, but he himself felt warmer.

It made him feel a bit lightheaded, feeling this lazy energy inside. It didn't feel good at all, and his body, though not sleepy at all, wanted to fall straight back to sleep again. He started to close his eyes again, but thought better to force them open for now as not to hear the woman again. Lakki sat up, a little too fast maybe, because he felt dizzy. But perhaps that was it. He felt fine after that.

The young boy jumped off his bed, again feeling unusually unbalanced, and dragged himself one foot slowly in front of the other across his room through the hut and into the window door of his parent's room. His Mother Lulu was nowhere in sight, but leaning back in one of the wooden chairs was his Father Wakka, looking out through the window into the rising sun.

"Daddy?" He said slowly, feeling a bit weak. Wakka turned around from the open window and looked at his boy, a tiny figure looking faint. Under his eyes were the darkest circles, and his eyelids hung lazily over his dark red pupils. He was holding onto the door with one supporting hand, his head idly lying on his chest as he looked at the ground and closed his eyes. It was starting to feel warmer now.

"Lakki, are you okay?' Wakka asked. His son only mumbled something he couldn't understand, and fearing it had something to do with the rash he mysteriously gotten earlier ran over and picked him up. Like a Mother with a newborn, he cradled his tiny son in his arms, holding his head just below the chin, stroking his thick black hair. Lakki felt a little relaxed, just lying there, and more secure, but as much as he could feel himself ready to, he did not allow himself to sleep again. He wanted to say his dreams, and nothing was going to stop him.

"Daddy," Lakki repeated again, letting his open arms swing in the air. "Daddy, I had a dream."

"Ya did?" he replied, calming down a little. He smiled. "What kinda dream?"

"It had a man."

"What man? Do you know him?"

"Uh-huh. He was big, and had a white jacket one. It was big too. I was in a really cold bed with no covers, and he kept touching me with things that were really, really cold."

Lakki shivered, feeling the realism of the dream of the Jenova Cells. He started to realize his head hurt when he tried to talk now, and being so close to his Father made everything feel closed in. but it wasn't the same closed in as the dream; it was one that he wanted.

"Daddy, the man to a bottle with green stuff in it. He called it 'Jenova Cells', then he took a pointy thing and put some Jenova Cells in it."

"That's weird," Wakka said. He himself was wondering about this dream he had. Lakki didn't explain it vividly, but when he watched him talk, the look in his eyes was rid of weariness and fatigue and replaced with an undeniable fear. So, instead of explaining it wasn't real like most parents would, he wanted to hear more, like a child eager to hear a story.

"And then he took the pointy thing-" Lakki paused as he yawned a bit, then he lifted the hand that was swinging over the side and pointed to his neck. "And then he stabbed me here with it."

"He did?!" Wakka was then starting to treat it like it was real. It was so much a coincidence that his son ended up unconscious in the Temple, and then he turned up with a horrid irritation at the same exact spot. And since when had Lakki ever seen such things in his life? Wakka held Lakki even closer to him, squeezing him in his arms, telling him not to worry about it, and then he put him underneath the covers of his and Lulu's bed. He snuggled him close together with the covers and when he bent over to his forehead and to tell him to rest more, he felt him face was burning up; it was something he hadn't noticed before. Wakka felt his forehead with his large hand and knew that his son was now tired for a reason- could the rash or the dream have something to do with this? The questions never ceased from his mind.

"I'm gonna get your Mother, okay?" he said before leaving. Lakki barely nodded in reply, a deep moan escaping him. Lying back down in the bed was comforting, and he felt a little better, but the dizziness that he had before was coming along with the constant headache pounding, and he was ready to welcome sleep- even if it meant having to hear the woman again. He closed his eyes, and careless of the short half-hour he was awake, he fell asleep yet again and left the real world.

"My dearly beloved child, you are my wonder, my joy, but my slave for kill. You must trade your soul for your strength, and you must accept. What better way to reward my young Prince? Come to me. Find a way to come to me, and I'll reward you graciously. Find me, and you'll have unspeakable powers that not even the most powerful soul to date can dare whisper. You will have the power of the Black Materia."

Again with the voice. Such a beautiful voice, so strong and powerful in words, yet so soft and attractive. But those weren't the thoughts he had when he woke up again. It was dark, he had slept all day. He had rested for nearly two whole days, occasionally waking up for a small bit, then falling asleep again. But even though Lakki couldn't understand a lot of the things she said, he was curious about the things he could understand. Could he really find this woman? The only place that constantly played in his mind was the Temple.

Suddenly feeling wide awake, headache free and clear of dizziness, he climbed down his parents large bed, reaching up to put the warm, fluffy maroon covers over the pillows as far as he could pull them and darted through the doorway, not even noticing Wakka and Lulu nestled into each other on the edge of the bed. But lucky for him, they had long since fallen asleep, and he was free to leave as he pleased.

He walked out on the barren streets once again at night, the full moon and a few torches the only thing guiding him to the Temple he had loved to play in every day. But there was now a side of it he never noticed before; the darker side of the Temple that was usually glimmering in the sun, full of happy surprises just waiting for him and his to best friends to look in. Even though it wasn't long ago, he had already started to miss those days like forever.

But there was no time for regret of discovering the newer and deadlier secrets. It was now the time to face it, and maybe by doing that, the sudden sickness, the dream, even the Jenova Cells would be a thing in the past. He walked to the Temple, not fearing at all of being caught, but the curiosity taking over more and more of his fear by the minute. He crawled up to the top of the stairs before entering, where the pillars stood to hold the roof up, and his feet echoed on the concrete floor. Only a few torches of flame called his own shadow to walk bravely beside him.

Lakki entered the door-less Temple, the echoes of his small feet growing louder in the stagnant silence. He was in the round room where there were stairs leading to walls like stands in nearly every direction, and in the very front were the two large pillars and the large lifeless statues of two people. On one side was the beautiful Yunalesca, and on the other side was none other than Yuna's Father, the high Summoner Braska, his face carved into a gratifying smile. And in between the two pillars and people, were the doors he never noticed before, the ones hidden behind walls that were opened mysteriously.

Lakki had trouble climbing up these stairs because they were so big, with a strong effort he had made the top and was standing before the two double doors he and his friends stood in front of lest than three days ago. They were still opened a little bit, just enough for him to reach inside and pull it open. The one door creaked loudly, and he feared it might wake someone, but he knew that no matter what he did he must continue. When it was open wide enough for him to go through, he walked into the small room with markings and slashes on the walls.

The hallway was short, and so he walked through the Temples and the doors, having the glowing spheres on the walls and doors to guide him. It seemed especially dark in here, that the darkness from the outside crawled in here, and covered almost every possible glow. Only the very first room showed much sign to light, from the reflecting fire in the previous room. Lakki often used the wall to guide him, feeling his way through the Temple, but even if there were multiple paths, something inside him told him whichever way he went was the right way.

At last he had reached his destination, back in the place his mind was telling him over and over to go to. The room was tall, and had several unrecognizable statues with details of armor and feeling of great power behind him. He didn't dawdle on looking at them for long though, because of the pressure he felt inside, feeling almost anxious to walk into the next room and discover a new dream or finding to fear. It was a thrilling feeling, telling him to go, but somewhere inside, another was telling him he would regret it for the rest of his life. But when is it that he ever thought this deeply?

Without anymore question or consent to his conscience deep inside, Lakki walked onward to the tall door that Matto and Chekkre had tried so desperately to open themselves. But all he did was touch it and it opened. So, he tried it again. He walked the short and small steps to the door till he was mere inches from it and put his full palm on the door. It reacted and opened almost immediately, and then he stepped through.

The whole with the decayed animal was gone, but it was just a flat cobblestone floor and above it, just floating idly was a round circle. It glowed colors like from purple to green, green to blue, and blue to gray, then started over again. It filled nearly all the necessary space in the whole room, and he was tempted to walk in it. And that he did.