The twilight of evening gave way to the depths of midnight as his feet finally stepped into the place he'd been journeying to.

Once the home of so many, destroyed so easily in a war none could prevent, or win.

This was the holy city of Yevon.

The monument of a dead age of machina.

"Zanarkand."

His own voice startled him. Since he'd came near the heights of Mount Gagazet, he'd been silent. He'd avoided contact.. though he wasn't sure why. However, as he came to the ruins, he realized he couldn't remain hidden any longer. His eyes had seen from a distance a small cluster of people, as well as many others wandering about the entrance to the ruins.

This bothered him. How many of them knew of the total deception that this place had been?

How many would actually find out? And the last thought that disturbed him...

How many would care?

He shook his head as he made his way through those gathered there. No one paid him any heed, and in truth, he was glad. The darkness of night allowed him to walk almost unnoticed. He continued through them, almost as a ghost until he was able to reach an area where none were.

He started on his way towards the blitzball stadium. Whatever he had to discover here, he would find there. As he started along the seemingly boundless, empty path, his eyes wandered and he stopped.

When he had been here in the past, his goal had been simple. He'd never needed to stray from this well worn path. But as he stopped and contemplated the former city, he realized there was much more to it. Paths, that lay untouched, unfolded before his eyes. Buildings, or ruins of such stretched out before him. As he continued his search, he saw a large group of what looked like more or less intact buildings. Without another thought, he headed that direction.

Pyreflies swirled around the path as he walked. These paths were almost undisturbed, and he could tell he was the first to walk on them in years. As he passed, the pyreflies showed him the past of a city that was the living, yet dead, past of this world of death. They showed him children running, and laughing, a silent echo of the dead. They showed him adults, watching those same children...

Before he could see more, he continued on, focusing on why he was here. He was here...

Why was he here? What had he hoped to find a thousand years after Lenne? How could he help someone who was long dead? He shook his head.

"No!"

His voice startled him again. He wouldn't give up. Not yet. There would be something here. He strode ahead, once again assured of his purpose of being here. He would continue, and there was very little that could stop him.

Before he realized it, he had come across a building. It looked perhaps to be an arena of sorts, and he stepped warily inside.

It was smaller than the blitzball arena, but he could tell it served a purpose much like it. The pyreflies were gathered in here, and the memories of Zanarkand came to life...

The stands were filled with adoring fans. The songstress on stage waved to them, having finished another song. Loud cheering filled the stadium as she walked off stage, to be swept up in the arms of an unknown man.

Auron stepped closer to see who the mysterious person was.

"Shuyin, I've missed you."

The figure turned, and Auron stopped.

"I've missed you too, Lenne."

... Was it the son of Jecht?

"Is it you... or does it just bear your face?"

As he turned to leave, a glowing caught his eye. He almost passed it off as one of the thousands of pyreflies, but it's glow was strangely different. He approached it slowly, and realized again, he had found another sphere. Quickly, he freed it from the debris, and as he went to activate it, he stopped.

A good portion of the sphere was missing. Searching it however, he found a switch...

The room was dark, but then a single light came on. A person wearing long black pants walked towards a chair and sat down. As her face came into the light, he immediately recognized her. Lenne.

I'm not sure... what I'm here for.

Music was playing in the background... music he didn't recognize, but the voice he did. It was her again.

There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
But You sing to me over and over and over again

Tears trickled down her face. She started to wipe them, but as more broke loose, she realized the futility and stopped.

They say.. I have some sort of special gift. That I can.. summon. I know they aren't lying.

But... does what I want really matter?

So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands
and pray to be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now you're my only hope

She stood up, pacing, the tears still steadily pouring.

I just... want to be happy. That's not what I am right now.

Sing to me the song of the stars
Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing
and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again

Shuyin, he says... he doesn't want me to go out to war. That's what they want me to do. To fight for Zanarkand. They want me to fight for Zanarkand. But... I've heard the numbers. Summoners who go out there... they don't come back.

I don't want to die.

I give You my apathy
I'm giving You all of me
I want Your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs I'm giving it back

She was frightened now. She had sat back down, but she was shaking. She was distraught, he could tell, even though the fuzziness of the recording. Tears were constantly pouring down her face.

He's my only hope... he'll help me. I don't want to go...

And I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only yours
I pray to be only yours
I know now you're my only hope

A door opens, and the sound is clearly recorded.

Lenne.

Yunalesca? What do you...

-

The sphere shut off, as it didn't have the full recording. He searched the area near it, to no avail. Whatever happened...

Yunalesca... what did she have to do with Lenne, and her lover... the one who looked so much like the son of Jecht... Shuyin...?

He placed the sphere gently in his pouch, and walked away from the ruins...

...Author's Notes...

So yeah. You guys have a right to be irritable. Truth be told, this chapter was finished about two weeks ago. But then the program I used decided to freeze up my entire computer before I could get a chance to save. Suffice to say I was irritabletated. That's right, I made a new word to express my unhappiness with it. Now that me and this unruly program are back on speaking terms, things should be progressing.

Couple notes. One, the song listed above in Italics/Underline are the lyrics from the Switchfoot song "Only Hope." Since this is a.. sort of quest of sorts, for Lenne, there's gonna be a song on and off. Most of the time, it will be a song done by a woman, but the version of this that's sang by Mandy Moore... well, I didn't like the small changes on lyrics, at least in the context of this story. Anyway... what else...

Uhm. About now, YRP should be coming into Zanarkand to find the sphere in the temple. Either that, or leaving. I don't have the entire timeline quite figured out yet, but I don't need to until a upcoming point.

Hm.. Anything else?

Nope.

Not at all.

... Go away.

...Stop looking at me like that.

Gosh. Fine.

Shout Outs!

Iron Reaver:

I'd quit that if I were you. Your review wasn't insightful, and I think that you smell. Just kidding. I know you enjoyed it.

Madmaz:

I'm glad you liked that. I was planning on having something like that happening every chapter, but I figured out it would get rather... repetitive. This in turn, would have bothered me. Anyway, here's another chapter for you, I hope you liked it.

Jasmine32:

Awe, you wouldn't sign in for me? Meanie. I'm just kidding. Thank you for your compliments, and I hope the wait was worth it.

KJ8673:

Let me say first, welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed my foray into the unknown lands of the "What if..." And truth be told, I'm looking forward to it as well. I don't know how entirely I plan to incorporate him into plot. Although, I don't plan on having him a complete part of it, up until later, probably around chapter 3 in X-2. But I could be wrong. I go the way my inspiration takes me. And however that may lead, I hope it doesn't disappoint you.

Now. I'd like to point out that I started this around.. .let's say 1:30am EST, and as I type this sentence, it's 6:21am. The things I do for you people. Mainly because I had some difficulty in a few sections, including the song selection. But I digress. I should tell you all about the...zzzz...zzzzz