Roisin Midnight – Yes, there is. It's called Eternal Darkness: The Coming Darkness. I took my character from that story and put her in this one, and it takes place a few weeks after The Coming Darkness. That's the story that tells you all what happened with my character and her sister in their struggle to uncover the truth of their grandfather's death and their fight against the Ancients.

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Chapter 4: Dark Secrets

Yuna looked over at Danielle, speaking softly. "What's wrong? And what happened to your arm…?"

Danielle looked up, noticing Kimahri standing nearby with his arms folded. While the Ronso was silent, he also seemed worried. She was overcome by a fresh wave of sadness. Even though she had lied to them, they still cared for her. She didn't deserve it. "I was… attacked," she whispered. "I just came up here to spend some time alone, and some monster came at me."

"But why are you crying?"

Danielle looked down at her wrists, the scar tissue a painful reminder of what she had done. Yuna's fingers gently traced the line on her left wrist, a concerned expression on her face. "What happened, Danielle?" she asked quietly.

Danielle's voice was heavy with sadness. "I… tried to make everything stop… the pain, the sorrow… the Darkness… I was stupid…" She looked up at her friend. "If I told you that I'm not from here, from Spira… What would you think?"

Yuna looked confused by Danielle's sudden change in topic. "I don't understand… Are you saying you're from Zanarkand like Tidus?"

Danielle shook her head, frustrated. "No. I mean a whole different world completely, one nothing like Spira. That's why I don't know anything about this place, why I had no idea what Sin or Yevon or pretty much everything was at first."

Yuna seemed to think about this. "It does make sense, but… How did you get here?"

Danielle closed her eyes, her voice taking on a quiet tone. "Beneath my grandfather's mansion are the ruins of an ancient city… I felt a dark power from within it the other day, so I checked it out. I was attacked by a powerful man who used some sort of dark magic more powerful than anything I had ever seen. He defeated me and said something about my sins devouring me. That was when I blacked out and woke up later on Besaid." She let out a heavy sigh as she opened her eyes and stared out towards the setting sun. "I just want to go home, but I don't know if I can or how to get back."

Shaking her head, Yuna spoke with a heavy tone. "I wish you hadn't hidden this from me in the first place… But I promise I'll help you find a way home, okay?"

Danielle looked up at her, surprised. "Really…?" Yuna nodded. "I… Thank you, Yuna. I'm in your debt."

With a gently smile, she stood up and held a hand out to Danielle to help her to her feet. The smile on Yuna's face fell away as she saw Danielle's arm. With a wave of her staff, she used her Cure magic, but nothing happened. The summoner frowned, obviously concerned now as she examined the claw marks. "It's not healing, but why?"

"Fiend may stop healing," a deep but gently voice suggested. Danielle realized with a start that it was Kimahri who spoke. "Danielle rest, not fight. Wound heal in time."

Yuna nodded. "Kimahri's right. Don't worry about fighting fiends. We'll help you to Kilika Temple. After that, we'll go to Luca. Maybe there you'll find guardians to help." She hesitated for a second. "Danielle, are you going to travel to Zanarkand to receive the Final Aeon?"

Danielle looked out at the ruined port of Kilika, thinking of all those who had been killed by Sin and who would die if it wasn't stopped. "Yeah, I am."

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Lulu carefully wound the bandage around Danielle's arm, and Danielle did her best not to cringe. It wasn't the pain that made her want to flinch, but Wakka. "That was a stupid thing to do, ya? That fiend coulda killed you!"

"Wakka, enough," Lulu said sharply. "I'm sure she's beat herself up enough. You don't need to do the same."

Wakka looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just dropped it. "Okay. Sorry, Danielle. I just don't want you getting hurt, that's all."

"It's okay. I understand," Danielle replied with a grin that soon changed into a grimace as Lulu tightly bandaged a particularly deep area of her injury. Her friend was soon finished, and the spellcaster nodded to Yuna.

The summoner smiled at them. "Well, it's time that we all got some rest. Good-night, everyone." Yuna turned and walked to her room, closing the door behind her. Lulu rested a hand on Danielle's shoulder. There was a solemn look on her face.

"Come. We shall share a room. There's something I wish to discuss with you." Danielle nodded and stood up from the chair she was sitting in, following after Lulu. She said good-night to Wakka and Tidus as they passed by and entered the room that she was going to share with Lulu. "Danielle, are you sure about this?" she asked, sitting down on her bed.

Danielle was slightly confused as she sat on her own bed. Yuna had told them about Danielle not being from Spira, and they had taken it rather well, actually. "Sure about what?"

"You know what happens when a summoner receives the Final Aeon in Zanarkand. If you do this, you will never be able to return to your world. Are you willing to give up your life to stop Sin?"

Danielle hesitated, really not sure of what to say. She hadn't really given it any thought. Lulu had a point, though. "I… I want to help Spira. I can't let Sin continue killing countless innocents. I know my sister's waiting for me back home, but I have to do something here. I can't just stand by and watch people die."

Lulu nodded slowly. "I understand. Just give it some thought. If you change your mind, I won't be disappointed with you. I just believe that you should consider this in advance."

Danielle rubbed her eyes and laid down in her bed, aware that Lulu was still staring at her. She went over her friend's words in her mind. Would she give up her life to save Spira, or would she just let some other summoner, possibly Yuna, die instead?

No… I've gotta help. But… can I really do this to Alex? We've both just lost our grandfather, and she very nearly lost me. With all that's happened, it could push her over the edge…

Danielle gently held the necklace under her shirt, caressing the ring that had belonged to her grandfather, Edward. "What should I do…?" she whispered, closing her eyes.

"Follow your heart, Danielle," Lulu said quietly.

"For it shall lead you through the darkness."

As Danielle heard the soothing voice of her grandfather, the one who had called her from the darkness of her own heart that fateful night not long ago, she felt a calm inside of her. Slowly, she sank into sleep.

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Danielle's arms shook as she pushed hard against her opponent's blade with her own. He was incredibly strong, and she wasn't able to hold off his blows. He kicked her hard in the chest, slamming her into a wall. In an instant, his hand was around her throat, crushing it tightly. As she struggled, she finally saw the face of the man who attacked her from under his hood. It was a familiar face, one that she never expected to see again.

"D-Dev…"

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Danielle jumped awake, suddenly drenched in water. She looked around quickly, spotting Lulu and a giggling Yuna. She rolled out of her now-soaking wet bed, wringing out her shirt. "What was that for? Couldn't you wake me up the normal way?"

There were faint traces of a smirk on Lulu's face. "No."

Yuna smiled at her. "You wouldn't wake up, so Lulu decided to try using magic."

Danielle shook her head, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I still say you two didn't have to drench me like that."

"Sorry," Yuna apologized, "but we're about to leave for the temple. Also, Kimahri brought your sword to a blacksmith in town so that it could be repaired. They were more than happy to do a favor for a summoner." She turned around, heading out the door. "Well, let's head for Kilika Temple. We have to pass through the forest to reach it, and it's full of fiends. We'll deal with them for you, though." Yuna left the room, and Danielle was about to follow when Lulu put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Tell me… That fiend that attacked you yesterday… What was it?" Danielle hesitated, glancing down at her bandaged arm. "A fiend that prevents healing is a dangerous foe, Danielle. I've never heard of such a thing in Spira. Did it come from your world?"

Danielle shook her head. "No… And I can't risk telling you what it was, Lulu. But darkness is closing in on Spira, and that thing I fought is possibly just the new beginning of a long fight I thought was over…" Danielle looked back at Lulu as she walked out of the door, noticing her friend's confused look. "We're dealing with something older than Sin itself, and it's something I have to handle on my own."

Danielle walked out of the room, recalling the fight with the Xel'lotath zombie yesterday. What if more really did come? What if Horrors, Guardians, and Gatekeepers came? Spira wouldn't stand a chance.

Her right hand throbbed painfully, and she clenched it into a fist, the fingerless gloves she wore hiding a painful scar on her hand. The Ancients… Her fight was not yet over. The war had continued.