Thank you all so much for the reviews! ^_^

Emily Hato: Thank you ^_^. And I'm totally with ya on hearing the music. All through writing the chapter in Zanarkand, all I could hear was "Otherworld", LOL

And I put Auron? *laughs* I kept writing Auron instead of Zechs, heh heh heh.

xxkureanixx: Thanks ^_^. FF8 rocks, can't you just imagine Heero as Squall? (Another idea forming? LOL)

Pink Cherry Blossom: Thank you ^_^ Heero in Yuna's outfit, LOL! How cute would that be? As for the Al Bhed, there's a translator at this link. http://www.pixelscapes.com/twoflower/albhed.html

I tried to teach myself Al Bhed in RE once- I was very bored, lol. And FFX.2- Yuna looks awesome! And she has.......guns. I don't quite get that, lol.

lora_helen: Thank you! ^_^ Hope you enjoy!

Thank you all for reading, here comes chapter three! Enjoy!

Ow. Owwwww, my stomach was hurting so much. The familiar rocking motion of the sea, and soft humming of a motor told me that those people had taken me onboard a boat of some kind. Maybe they could give me a ride back to Zanarkand......

I heard footsteps approaching and kept my eyes closed, trying to keep my breathing normal. I didn't want them to know I'd woken up, they might hit me again.

"E'mm dyga ujan huf" (I'll take over now).

I recognised the voice as the one of the girl who'd hit me. Man, I got knocked out by a girl? I hoped Zechs never finds out.....

"Hu. Ra'c duu tyhkanuic! Fryd ev ra fygac?" (No. He's too dangerous! What if he wakes?) a man replied. I had no idea what they were saying, but he sounded kinda angry.

"E ryhtmat res pavuna, teth'd E? Fryd sygac drec cu tevvanahd?" (I handled him before, didn't I? What makes this so different?) the girl replied, her voice getting angry too. At a wild guess, I think they were arguing about me.

A deathly silence followed, before the man grunted.

"Veha. Lymm sa ev ra fygac!" (Fine. Call me if he wakes!) he replied, and just from the tone of his voice, I knew he was defeated.

"Ug." (Ok)

The next thing I knew, was a foot being shoved firmly into my side. I groaned, and clutched my torso. Why was everyone set on beating me up?

"I knew you were awake. C'mon, open your eyes!"

She...... that girl.....she spoke English?! My eyes snapped open to see her crouched down next to me, her face curved into a somewhat sheepish look.

"Sorry. I guess I kinda kicked you too hard"

"You can.....speak English?"

She laughed and stood up, offering me her hand. I took it, and she easily pulled me to my feet.

"Yes. I'm Lucrezia, but most people call me Noin."

"I'm Duo....." I replied, trailing off as I looked over the dark grey ocean. The boat we were on was tiny in comparison with the sea around us. There was no land anywhere.

"Hey..... Noin. Are we anywhere near Zanarkand?"

She turned to looked at me, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Zanarkand? We're miles away, why do you ask?"

I felt dread settle in the pit of my stomach. For some reason, that didn't sound too good.

"Cos' Zanarkand's where I come from" I told her, watching her confusion deepen. She blinked, and shook her head.

"Not possible. Zanarkand was destroyed over 1000 years ago-"

"What? But.....I was just there! When it got attacked by Sin!"

Noin sighed, and cocked her head on one side.

"You didn't get too close to Sin....did you?"

I nodded silently. I had been very close to Sin, nearly within fighting distance.

She smiled, as if relieved and ran her hand through her hair.

"That's ok. People's heads go funny if they get too close to Sin, they become all mixed up and confused"

What?! I had just been in Zanarkand, earlier on today infact! But..... she seemed so serious. Then again, how could all of my life just been a lie? It didn't make sense. Maybe I DID get too close to Sin...... or something. No....... no, I remember Zanarkand too clearly. I remember Zechs......and Blitzball. I couldn't of dreamt all that.

"Oh......"

For now, I decided to drop it. Noin looked pretty upset about the whole business. Maybe I did get too close to Sin.... Maybe I could figure out what was going on after I had got some rest, or found other people to talk to. Maybe I'd find Zechs.

"Tell ya what" she suddenly said, meeting my gaze, "I'll take you to Luca. Loads of people will be there, you'll probably recognise someone"

Luca?! I'd never heard of Luca. I sighed, and nodded, leaning on the ship's railing.

Everything was so different. These Al Bhed, I'd never heard of them before........ were they a race, a religion, a gang or what?

Luca. I'd never heard of such a place before........in fact I'd never really heard of any other place but Zanarkand. I'd taken it all for granted.....but now I found myself thinking. About the world outside Zanarkand.....

"Hey...... don't feel bad. Loads of people have been poisoned by Sin.... and they get out of it all right. Just give it time- then you'll remember" Noin added softly, her hand on my shoulder. I nodded again, lowering my gaze to the churning waters. Was it me, or was it getting rougher?

"Also.....don't tell anyone you're from Zanarkand. It's a holy place, you might make some people upset"

Holy Place? Zanarkand........... holy? Didn't make sense...........

"Ok......."

Suddenly, the boat tilted, making Noin and me slide across the deck. I instinctively reached out and grabbed the railing, and grabbed Noin by the wrist at the same time.

"Sin!" someone yelled, and the ship tilted again, this time the other way. Noin crashed into me and I was sent flying down the deck, over the railing and into the water. I could see Noin rush to the edge and yell something to me, but my head crashed into the side of the ship, and blackness filled my vision.....

My chest felt tight as I came to, and my mouth was full of salt water. Yuck.

The water suddenly gushed down my throat as I started moving, and I struggled to get my face out of the water, before I suffocated.

My eyes stinging, I whipped my head backwards, inhaling the precious oxygen. Air.... good, sweet air.

Choking, I looked at where I was. This time I was in beautiful aqua waters, and I could actually see the sandy sea bottom. I sighed in relief, and started scanning the landscape. No sign of the ship anywhere.

I coughed again, and rubbed my sore eyes. How many times had I nearly drowned today? Scratch that, how many times had I nearly been killed?

Suddenly, something collided with the back of my head, sending me back down into the water. I surfaced almost instantly, and was met with a Blitzball, floating inches away from me.

"Blitzball!" I exclaimed out loud, turning to see that I was only a few metres from shore, where a bunch of guys were, dressed in a Blitzball uniform of some sort.

One of them, a tiny blond haired guy shielded his eyes and waved at me. I squinted, trying to see him better.

"Hey! Are you ok?" he called. I grinned, and waved back. Finally, someone closer to home!

"Heeeey!" I called back. I let the ball float on the surface and dove underneath it, rising out of the water so it balanced on my head. I propelled myself upwards, and headed the ball, finally back-flipping round and kicking it, sending it flying in between the men. The blond whistled, and gestured for me to come ashore.

My aching body forgotten, I swam over in a few seconds and dripped onto the land, my damp braid heavy on my back.

The blond approached me, and held out his hand. I grasped it and he smiled at me.

"I'm Quatre Winner, captain of the Besaid Arouchs. That.... what you did out there......that was amazing. What team do you play for?"

"I'm Duo, Star Player of the Zanarkand........" I began, then I remembered Noin's warning. Quatre seemed like a really friendly guy, and I didn't want to get off on the wrong foot.

"What team did you say?" Quatre asked suspiciously, looking at me strangely. I grinned, and rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.

"Uh...forget that. I got.......too close to Sin you see....and the toxin....."

There were murmurs of understanding all around and Quatre placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll take you to the temple, so we can pray to Yevon for your recovery"

Yevon? I was really confused now. I paused, and then looked out at the open sea. No sign of Noin's ship anywhere. I hope they were ok.

I turned back to Quatre. There was something that I'd been itching to ask him.

"Quatre....... Zanarkand was destroyed......1000 years ago, right?"

He nodded, smiling.

"Yeah. See, you remembered something", he began, looking out over the ocean, "This world used to be filled with many machina cities- so full of machines that everyone relied on them to do all the work. So, one day, Sin turned up and destroyed them all- to teach us a lesson. Now, we must repent our Sin's, by living in the way that Yevon wants us to"

"We..... worship Yevon, right?"

He nodded, and frowned sympathetically.

"Yes, you forgot that? I feel so sorry for you.....forgetting Yevon must be awful....."

He shook his head, and his smile returned. Only knowing him for ten minutes, I could already tell he was the type who tried to keep happy all the time. He seemed really sweet.

"Ok then. Let's go to the village, and you can pray for your recovery"

We'd been walking through the forest for around five minutes, when Quatre suddenly spoke up.

"You know...the Blitzball Tournament starts soon, in Luca. If you want, you can come with us. Maybe you'll find your team there......."

"And.......?"

He scuffed his foot against the ground nervously, and lowered his gaze.

"Would you...... join the team? Just for the Tournament? We could really use your help....and I know it sounds selfish but......"

"No it doesn't. Course I will, I'd be happy to"

"Oh thank you!" he exclaimed, beaming, "I can't thank you enough. Last year....I let the Besaid Arouchs down. We lost our first match.... all because of me"

"Why?"

"My mind was something else........"

"Nice excuse"

"Hey!" he exclaimed angrily, "It was, ok?!"

As suddenly as he had flared up, he calmed and smiled apologetically.

"Well, it doesn't matter now. We're near the village now. You remember the prayer?"

I shook my head silently. He tutted, and raised his arms.

"Ok. Watch this"

He swooped his arms round, and brought his hands together, bowing his head. I froze. The sign for victory in Blitzball.

I followed suit and he nodded, looking surprised.

"Wow. You remembered that pretty well. You go rest up, and then we'll go see the Temple Priest, ok?"

I nodded dully, and followed him as he led me to a small hut. I sighed, and flopped myself down on the bed. I was so tired..... my bones were aching.......everything was so different. Zanarkand, was destroyed? Why would both Noin and Quatre lie to me?

I turned over on my side, and felt tears fill my eyes. I felt so alone.......

TBC.....

Darn. Couldn't fit the shounen ai in *sobs*

But I *promise*, next chapter will have it! I'm sure this time!

Hmm....I didn't really like this chapter. Too boring I think.......

Please, let me know what you thought!

Thanks for reading!

Merry Christmas!

~*~Tawny Eyed Angel~*~