Author's Note: Okay, first off, I will say this is my first official FFX venture, so be kind! Also, I hope I haven't any mistakes here...If I have, email me at and let me know! Or just review it and tell me there. Either one works.

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Squaresoft, Square Enix, or whatever the stupid company's called. The only thing I own is Camilla and all that goes with her. Even though the Green Magic spheres kinda resemble materia, but yeah...

Sleepless Dreams
by Judanim

Chapter One: "On the Brink"

Camilla awoke with a start as she felt something bang against the side of her house. She checked the clock on her nightstand and was horrified to find that it read 5:30. Then, she heard a youthful male voice coming from outside. She touched a hand to her forehead and rolled her eyes. She got out of bed and pulled on a pair of black pants and a green shirt, putting her long dark chocolate brown hair into a ponytail. She left her bedroom and walked up to the deck of her house.

Much to her surprise, she saw a teenager with shaggy blonde hair tossing a blue and white ball, more commonly called a blitzball, into the air then flipping up in the water and kicking it towards the nearest solid structure. This of course happened to be her house.

"Tidus, isn't it a little early to be practicing blitzball?" she asked, yawning a bit.

Tidus surfaced after faintly hearing her voice in the water. "What?" It was almost too easy to see the annoyance in his neighbor's green eyes. "Oh, uh, hey Camilla."

Camilla rolled her eyes. "So, where's the rest of the Abes?" she asked, noting that he was alone. Probably asleep like everyone else, she thought.

He shrugged. "Dunno. Didn't call 'em. I couldn't sleep, so I came out here."

"So you decided to practice at five-thirty in the morning?" Camilla posed.

The blonde teenager merely nodded. "Why?"

This is what reminded her of the eleven-year age difference between them. She was twenty-eight, while he was only seventeen, but they'd known each other for so long that it didn't seem to hold any weight between them. Except the fact that most Zanarkand teenagers hadn't a drop of sense in their entire beings. That might have been because mostly all they did was blitz or think about members of the opposite sex.

Camilla half-smiled. "Nothing. Just don't hit my house again, okay? Some people actually sleep when the sun is down."

Tidus gave a cocky grin. "But I thought Zanarkand was the city that never sleeps?"

"Good night, Tidus," Camilla replied over her shoulder as she walked back to the door leading into her house.

"Good morning!" Tidus called as Camilla slammed the door shut.

Later in the morning, at much more decent hour, Camilla and her friend Jilah were sitting on one of the many overpasses in Zanarkand. From their perch they could see the entrance to the stadium inside the dome to the north, which was in preparation for the Jecht Memorial Cup.

"So, who are you betting on to win the cup?" Jilah asked.

Camilla smiled at her friend. Asking her that question wasn't the smartest thing her friend had ever done. "The Abes of course. Why would I bet on anyone else?"

Jilah shrugged. "Just checking, 'cause if you had lost faith in the Abes, then I think the entire city has to worry." She sent a playful grin towards her friend.

"That, and you probably would have lost half your savings on a bet, right?" Camilla quipped, glancing at her companion.

The dark blonde woman looked mildly offended. "What would make you think that I, of all people, would lose nearly all of my gil over the biggest thing to happen in Zanarkand since the creation of blitzball?"

Camilla had to roll her eyes. Her gaze wandered over the city, until she saw a man dressed in red walking towards the northern limits. Unbeknownst to her, a smirk found its way onto her face. Yes, I caught him today.

At this very moment, Jilah was trying to explain to Camilla the technical information of the two competing blitzball teams: the Abes and the Duggles. Trying was the key word. "Camilla? Are you listening?"

"Yeah," she replied distractedly, her eyes still watching the man in red. "Hey, listen, I've gotta go. See ya at the match?"

Jilah nodded, an eyebrow raised, as Camilla dashed off. Most days this happened. They would be talking about something important, and then Camilla would see something interesting and leave. The thing was, she never explained where she was going or what it was that had caught her interest so quickly. But, Jilah never asked. Even if she did, Camilla wouldn't answer.

Camilla raced down the overpass to the lower streets of Zanarkand, heading dead north. She was following the man in red, and even though she couldn't see him, she knew exactly where he was going. She ran into quite a few people. Some yelled insults at her, others greeted her kindly with a wave. This wasn't her first run through the city chasing the man in red.

When the crowds thinned out, Camilla knew she was heading in the right direction. Sometimes she got lost, but only when she wasn't paying attention. Just ahead were the northern limits of Zanarkand, but still west of the dome. In the distance, she saw his outline standing by the water, still as the statues in front of the stadium. She slowed her pace to a walk so she wouldn't seem like she had been chasing him there, but in truth she was. And he knew it.

Before long, there wasn't much distance between the two of them. She slowly stepped forward to stand next to him, gazing out onto the ocean.

"You're early," he said in a deep, controlled voice. "Jilah quieter than usual?"

Camilla felt something strange in her stomach when he spoke. Ever since they'd met ten years ago, when she had only been eighteen, he always had the same affect on her. She could never explain it, though. Teenage clarity had long since passed her by. "Talkative as ever. One would have to say that you're early."

The man didn't seem to notice the subtle changes in her tone. He never did. It wasn't that he was dense or anything, he was just very silent about most things. "I didn't stop by to see Tidus. He was practicing with the Abes."

"That's probably because the tournament's tonight, Auron," she replied. She had to give a little laugh. Maybe he was a little dense. "Are you coming?" The question was pointless. He never attended a blitzball match, even one as important as the tournament.

Auron continued to stare at the ocean. He felt something out there…he just couldn't figure out what. "I have some things to do," he told her.

She sighed. "You always do." She glanced at him, then followed his gaze. "Can you honestly tell me there are things more important than watching Tidus win the Cup?"

He was silent. Then, he looked at her. "Do you remember Jecht at all?"

Camilla was surprised. "I was nearly eighteen when he died. Of course I remember him. He was an egotistical drunk, for the most part, but I've seen him be the nice guy on occasion. Why? What brought this up?" She didn't notice Auron's wince at the sound of the word "died."

"That's not the Jecht I remember," he answered.

More surprise filled Camilla's expression. "You knew Jecht? But…that's impossible! You came here a month after he died. How could you have known him?"

Auron turned around and finally looked straight at her. "How could you have lived next door to him for eighteen years and not known him?"

Camilla felt the sting in his words. Still, she was confused. Using logic, it was virtually impossible that Auron had known Jecht at all. It seemed, though, that he had indeed known him, and known him well. No words passed her lips because she wasn't sure what to say.

The thirty-five year old knew from her silence that she was at a loss for words. Though, he couldn't explain how he knew Jecht. For one, it was an unbelievable story to begin with. Secondly, in the dream world of Zanarkand, there were things that people didn't know about, things that they shouldn't know about. It was a sheltered life, to be certain, but it had to be kept that way. Bad things could happen if the bubble burst.

Suddenly, there was a rumbling in the ocean. Both turned, momentarily forgetting their dispute over the legendary blitzball player. The seas surrounding Zanarkand were always calm. Any storm, inclement weather, or anything else came from towering Mount Gagazet to the south. Everything else was peaceful.

"Something's out there," Camilla said quietly.

Auron squinted with his good eye, looking for anything unusual on the horizon. He couldn't see anything, but he could sense it. That's probably how they both knew it was there. Then again, nothing said that it had to be on the surface. It could've been deep underwater. Was it possible that…? He stopped the thought. Even if it was the truth, he didn't want to put it to words. Logical or not, he didn't want to make it official.

Camilla glanced at Auron and saw the far away look in his eye. What could he have been thinking about? It was one of the many moments where she'd give up anything to know what his thoughts were, to be able to read his mind. He was silent so often, that it seemed sometimes that she needed the ability just to have a good conversation with him. Then it dawned on her. "You know what's out there, don't you?"

He was one step away from answering the question. Yes, he knew, but he couldn't tell her. He didn't want to take that risk. Even though he knew that Camilla wasn't like the other people of Zanarkand, she cared too much about his existence for one, but he still couldn't tell her. Regardless of who she was, she was still a part of a world that might die if he told her. So, he remained silent.

She sighed. "Fine, don't tell me. Go ahead and curl up into your little shell like you always do. Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow, if you remember that there are more people than yourself in this world."

With those words, Camilla turned around and left the small area. Auron watched her leave with heaviness in his heart. Somehow, he knew there wouldn't be a tomorrow, for Zanarkand at least. He looked at the ocean one more time. "I'll be seeing you later, then…Jecht."