Of wandering guardians and sphere hunters Chapter 2, a final fantasy x-2 fanfic

This is a fan fiction based on the ps2 game Final Fantasy X and X-2. I have no rights to this game, names or characters from the game. That right belongs to Square Enix. This story is based on the game and may differ slightly from the game play.

"Regular speech"

" VERY LOUD YELLING OR VERY LOUD SPEECH."

'thought'

"Song"

(A/N: my notes during the story. Stands for author's notes)

-- paragraph

We walked out of the room we had gotten the sphere in and the airship flew up.

"Brother, mission complete." Rikku said.

"Brother? He's not with you?" Buddy asked. We boarded and found Brother lying in the bridge.

"He said something about Yuna being in trouble and jumped ship." Buddy said. Rikku walked up to him and said: "He's alive, right? Let's just leave him."

"Can you analyse the sphere?" Paine asked Shinra.

"I'm on it." he said and I turned to leave.

"I'm going to rest in our room, watch the sphere before waking me okay?" I said to Yuna, who nodded. I carefully walked away, took the elevator to the cabin, waved at Barkeep, went into my and Yuna's room and plopped down on the bed. Instantly I was asleep. I didn't even notice the attention call from Buddy and I fell into even deeper sleep when I returned to my normal state. I had been using my power to move, and now I didn't have to. So it started to heal me instead.

I woke up when Yuna shook me and called my name.

"Okay…okay. I'm up. I'm up. Where's the fire?" I asked while I sat up and rubbed my eyes, my body still sore, but fine otherwise.

"We've got sphere weaves and are nearly in Zanarkand. Do you feel well enough to come with us?" Yuna said and I nodded.

"Sure, I'll go. Just a bit sore, that's all." I said and Yuna grinned before pulling me out of the bed.

"We're here!" Buddy's voice rang over the speakers. I and the girls jumped of the ship a little away from the shore we had held the wedding at when we were her last time.

Walking towards the shore, Rikku was exited. She was telling Paine about what we had done here.

"This is where we sat before Yunie and Flames got married. They stood on the hill there with all the people, and when they slipped the rings on, I couldn't help but…people?" Rikku said surprised.

Indeed, lot's of people were here, walking around, standing where I and Yuna had said "I do" to each other.

"What's with all the people?" Paine asked. She then noticed that both I and Yuna were really mad.

"Who's responsible for this?" I said and Paine winced at my tone, she knew it all too well.

I spotted someone who appeared to be having some sort of tour. I marched up to him, Yuna trying to keep up. The figure turned and looked at Yuna.

"Yuna?" he asked and she nodded.

"Then this must be Salmar. How nice to see you both again." He said.

"Isaaru?" Yuna asked and he nodded.

"That's me. How do you do?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm well, happy with my life and my husband." Yuna said and leaned against me.

"So the rumours are true, the two High Summoners did get married. I was wondering if it was true or not." Isaaru said.

"Yes, it is true, but please, tell us what is happening here." Yuna requested.

"Ah, I figured you would be curious. I am helping Cid with his work." Isaaru said. I turned a questioning gaze at Rikku.

"Don't look at me" she said defensibly.

"I guide people trough Zanarkand, once the most sacred of all places. People come from all over Spira. Sphere hunters, too." Isaaru said and Yuna sighed sadly.

"You seem saddened by this. Why?" Isaaru asked.

"Where we stand now, this very place…" I said and gestured to the hill we were on. "…is the place Yuna and I got married." I said and Isaaru smiled.

"I figured as much. It seems only fitting for the two High Summoners to be married in this place." He said and I nodded. Rikku was mad.

"Ugh! What the heck is Pop thinking?" she said and walked away.

"You're upset, and I can understand why, but this is a place of great historical importance for all of Spira." Isaaru said.

"I know, but…still…I never wanted anyone else to stand there!" Yuna said weakly.

"Yuna?" Isaaru asked worriedly

"Nothing. Forget it." Yuna said, shaking her head.

"If you say so. Oh, I must be returning to work now. Take care Yuna and Salmar." Isaaru said and left. Yuna stood next to me with her head bowed. I looked at her before pulling her into a hug.

"If you wish, I can release the restraints of the elements here." I said and Yuna looked at me.

"The only problem is that it would probably destroy what's left of Zanarkand. And would seriously mess up the other elemental restraints." I said and Yuna chuckled slightly.

"That's alright, thanks for trying to cheer me up though. But I think we should try and find my dear uncle." Yuna said, the dear uncle part was spoken very coldly.

Yuna and I started walking towards the stadium and when we got there, we saw Cid's airship.

We went over to the stadium entrance and saw three kids talk and go into the stadium. They said something about a clue being "key".

"What was that about?" I asked but the girls just shook their heads and we went into the stadium as well.

Inside the stadium we saw the three kids again. They ran ahead and tried to find the way.

We followed for a while before one of them turned and addressed Yuna.

"Lady Yuna, do you remember me?" one of the kids asked.

"Sure I do Pacce." Yuna said and he cheered.

"You remembered. Wee!" Pacce said while jumping up and down.

He then introduced his companions as Hana and Taro. Hana said hello but Taro looked at me for a while.

"What are you doing here? There are fiends around!" Yuna said. The three kids laughed at that.

"We laugh at fiends. Because we're sphere hunters!" Pacce claimed. The three kids then got into a stance and yelled: "The Kinderguardians!"

Yuna, Rikku and Paine smiled and got into their own stance, with Yuna kneeling in front with her guns aimed and ready, Paine slightly behind Yuna on her left side, holding her sword in what I recognised as the ready stance and Rikku parallel to Paine on Yuna's right side, her daggers in hands. I felt strangely out of place watching the show.

"We're the Gullwings!" Yuna said. They remained in their stances for a few moments before standing up again.

"You here on some kind of treasure hunt?" Rikku asked.

"And 'key' is a clue to finding the treasure. Right?" Yuna asked. Pacce nodded furiously.

"Yeah, it is. We're gonna find the treasure with that clue." Pacce said.

"Shhh! We paid fifteen whole gil for that! Let's go!" Hana said. Pacce nodded and they were about to go when Taro stepped towards me.

"Um…excuse me, but are you Lord Salmar?" he asked me and I nodded.

"Oh wow. My dad has told me so much about you. He said you and your apprentice saved him from a lot of fiends once." He said. I smiled at that.

"I'm glad. Is your father okay?" I asked and Taro nodded.

"Yeah, but he will be so jealous when he hears I talked with you. But I have to go now. Bye Lord Salmar." The boy said and followed his friends who waved at us. Rikku then nudged me in the ribs.

"Sooo…Lord Salmar has a fan club!" she teased.

"Paine also has a fan club. She was a wandering guardian for a short time, but managed to do some great things. But yes, I have a fan club, although it is a small one. I never did like the fame being a senior wandering guardian brought." I explained. Rikku was about to ask Paine something when she started walking away.

"Can we go now?" she asked and I followed, chuckling slightly.

We rounded a bend and saw one of Leblanc's goons stand there talking into his comlink. He said something about the real clue being 'mon' and not 'key'.

"So the clues are 'mon' and 'key'" Paine said. The goon whirled around and stared at us.

"The Dullwings. You're not getting away this time." The goon said and attacked. This time I wanted to fight, and the next thing he knew was that he was flying in the opposite direction he had intended and landed rather harshly in a pile of rubble.

I dusted of my hands and we continued our walk. After a while we came to the elevator that took us down into the chambers of the Final Aeon.

There we found Cid. I felt like strangling him, but Yuna stopped me.

"Well I'll be. If it isn't Yuna." The bald Al Bhed practically yelled.

"Come to buy a clue from uncle Cid, have you?" he asked.

"Why…you…!" I said, but Yuna held me back.

"What's up with him?" Cid asked.

"What are you thinking? Turning this place into a gift shop? Hello!" Rikku said and Cid got a puzzled expression on his face.

"What, you got a bone to pick?" Cid asked.

"Yes. This…is just wrong!" Yuna said softly but sternly, still struggling to hold me back.

"Huh?" Cid asked.

"This is just as bad as if we were to make the ruins of Home into a theme park!" Rikku said.

"Huh?" Cid said

"Besides, this is where Yuna and I got married. We wanted to cherish the memories we have here, and come back to see this place look the same as it used to, but now its crowed with people, and its bound to be littering and stuff like that." I said. Cid thought for a moment before he hung his head.

"I see your point." He said sadly and left. We looked after him, before we went into Yunalesca's chambers. A lot of monkeys lived there now, and when we walked into the area where we fought Yunalesca two years ago, a strange voice suddenly made its self known.

"Mohahahahaha. You have done well to make it this far, sphere hunters. But you will not get the treasure you seek sooo easily." The voice said.

"Then we fight!" Paine shouted.

"If you want the treasure, you must speak the password." The voice said.

"Password?" Paine asked.

"Oh, I know!" Rikku said, but I beat her to it.

"Monkey!" I simply said and received a bonk on the head from a pouting blonde.

""Um…yes. Now tell me, what is the meaning of life?" the voice asked.

"For me or for you?" I asked.

"Wait, isn't there something familiar with that voice?" Yuna asked.

"Now that you mention it…" Paine said.

"Isaaru?" Yuna asked.

"Yeah, that's got to be him." Rikku said.

"Is that…your final answer?" the voice asked.

"The jig is up. Come on out Isaaru." Rikku yelled.

"uh…Fine." Isaaru said and emerged behind us. We turned and looked at he walked towards us, looking slightly shameful.

"Um, what are you doing?" Yuna asked.

"My job. I bring excitement to those that come to visit this sacred place. I too once travelled and hoped to see this place someday. Working here somehow fulfils that wish." Isaaru said, using his normal voice.

"I see…" Yuna said, slightly lowering her head.

"I must apologize for the quiz. Here is something for your trouble." Isaaru said and handed Yuna a garment grid.

"Kay, thanks for coming. And remember, the ruins of Zanarkand will be waiting." He said in his lame voice again. He then left and I shook my head.

"Ex-summoners come in all flavours." Paine said.

"Apparently so." Yuna replied with a little laugh.

"That sure was strange. Shall we find the sphere now?" I asked and the girls nodded.

We searched a bit and found a stairway we followed down to find a hall. In that hall we sighted the sphere but a huge fiend was blocking the path.

"Aw man, not again." I said.

"Didn't we fight that thing on mount Gagazet?" Yuna asked.

"This must be another one then." Paine said dryly.

"Think we need a password?" Rikku asked.

"How about 'kick-its-ass'" Paine said in a tone I recognised.

"Is Paine falling back into hold habits?" I asked and she smirked.

"With you here, it's not so hard." She replied.

"Guys, we can joke all we want when the fiend is dead." Rikku said.

"No problem." I said and drew Caladbolg.

Paine and I charged at the fiend while Yuna fired a couple of shots at it. Rikku changed into the black mage dressphere. When she was done, she charged up a Firaga spell and killed the fiend with it.

After the fiend was gone, we walked over to get the sphere, to find half a sphere.

"What the? Only half a sphere." I said.

"All that, for nothing." Paine sighed.

"It can't hurt to take it with us." Rikku said and Yuna sighed.

"I can't believe how much this place has changed." she said and I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Hey, don't worry babe. We'll find a way to protect it." I said and she smiled at me before leaning her head on my shoulder.

"I hope so." She said.

We boarded the ship and immediately set course for Besaid. Yuna was a little nervous. Understandable though. She did leave without saying a word, making the whole village become worried.

"So, the runaway ex-summoner returns!" I said jokingly and Yuna blushed.

"Perhaps I should have left word that I left." She said and I nodded.

"Perhaps you should. Wakka and Lulu were worried." I said and Rikku scraped the ground nervously with her foot.

"I hope they aren't mad, with you leaving like that." She said.

"Yeah, you caused quite a fuss young lady!" Wakka said, appearing at the gates of the village. Yuna gasped before looking down.

"I'm sorry." Yuna said and Wakka waved her off.

"Nah, its okay. You're having fun?" he asked and Yuna nodded. Wakka then looked at me.

"Glad to see you're okay too. Last time I saw you, you were bleeding and your clothes were shredded. I like the outfit though." he said and I laughed.

"Being injured gets old fast. And I couldn't walk around in rags now, could I?" I said and Wakka chuckled also before catching sight of Paine, who as usual stood a little distance away from us. She had picked up that habit on our travels, and I hadn't been able to make her stop.

"Your friend?" he asked. Yuna turned and looked at Paine.

"Oh, this is Paine. We're looking for spheres together." Yuna said. Rikku leaned in to Wakka.

"She is also Salmar's former apprentice." Rikku said, just loud enough for Paine to hear. Paine didn't reply but just nodded softly to Wakka, who replied with a nod of his own.

"So you're a sphere hunter now…I heard the rumours. To tell you the truth, I wasn't too worried. I knew you could take care of your self and when Salmar left, I felt sure he would find you. Looks like I was right. But, I got to say, you…do…seem pretty different." Wakka said. Yuna laughed slightly at that.

"I for one like her change. Yuna seems much more full of life now." I said and Yuna blushed a bit. Rikku gently elbowed Wakka in the ribs.

"You haven't changed a bit, tubby!" she said.

"Hey, I'm gonna be a father soon. Gotta have a little more presence, you know?" Wakka said.

"How much longer?" Yuna asked.

"Any day now!" Wakka replied.

"Wakka, a daddy." Rikku said dreamingly.

"I sure don't feel like one. How am I supposed to know how to act and all that?" Wakka asked.

"Just do what your parents did." Rikku said. Wakka shook his head.

"Don't remember em. Sin saw to that when I was still little." He said.

"You don't have any spheres of them?" Yuna asked.

"No, not a single…wait!" Wakka replied and thought for a bit.

"What?" Rikku asked after a while.

"Oh, no nothing. Anyway, you should go say hello to Lu. She's been worried about you." Wakka said and started to walk away. We were about to go to Wakka and Lulu's tent when Wakka stopped and turned to Paine with a weird glint in his eyes.

"So, how was it to be the apprentice of the 'fire demon'?" Wakka asked, the fire demon part was said jokingly, but Paine winced at that, before regaining her composure.

"I guess it was okay." Paine said simply and Wakka raised an eyebrow, wondering about the short answer.

"Paine isn't the talkative type." Yuna said and Wakka nodded slowly.

"I see. Oh well. You be sure to pay Lu a visit now." he said and walked away. I went up to Paine and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I know you don't like that nickname, but I have learned to live with it. Besides, he was joking." I said softly so that neither Yuna nor Rikku heard.

"I know, but master. It's just so unfair that you have to be called that when the real demons never get treated like that." Paine said, the sorrow in her voice evident.

"I know, but as I said, I have learned to live with it. Now come on, we're going to see Lulu." I said, let go of her shoulder and walked over to Lulu's hut. Knocking on the wooden entryway, I heard her give permission to enter. I walked in, just hearing Rikku start to ask Paine about what I had talked to her about.

Yuna came in right after me and Rikku and Paine followed shortly, Rikku pouting since Paine probably didn't want to tell anything and even more probably reduced Rikku's respect points.

Lulu didn't look pregnant, but I could feel something with her energy. She radiated a happy energy and I smiled at her. She looked and probably felt happy, and smiled back.

"Welcome back." Lulu said and Yuna placed her hands on her back and moved a little nervously back and forward.

"Hi Lulu." She said smilingly.

"So tell us about the baby! It's gonna be born soon, right?" Rikku asked.

"Not yet. Wakka is getting a little ahead of himself." Lulu said.

"Aw, bummer." Rikku said and Lulu stood up carefully.

"You look real happy Lulu. Guest that means everything is okay then?" I asked and Lulu nodded.

"Yes, thank you. By the way, care to go for a little walk?" She asked, walking past us.

"Can you?" Yuna asked.

"I could use the exercise. Come on." Lulu said and left the hut. We followed and we walked in silence for a while until we came to the statue overlooking the village. Lulu and Yuna talked and watched the sphere that had made Yuna become a sphere hunter. I stood with Paine, looking out over the sea. Rikku stood close, listening in to what Paine and I said.

Paine was silently watching Yuna and Lulu before turning to me.

"Isn't the gathering soon?" Paine asked and I absently nodded.

"Yes, it is. In the Calm Lands. I suspect you got an invitation." I said and Paine nodded.

"What is the gathering?" Rikku asked.

"It is a meeting for wandering guardians. It is held every two years. This will be Paine's first time participating. All wandering guardians, exes and their families get invited. This will be my sixth time, more than anyone else." I said.

"Wow, can I come?" Rikku asked. I looked at Paine who looked indifferently.

"That is up to Paine. You have to be invited by a wandering guardian, and I'm taking Yuna. If you are going, Paine has to invite you." I said and Rikku looked pleadingly at Paine.

"Fine. You can come with me." Paine said and Rikku cheered. Just then, Lulu suddenly bent slightly and a little gasp escaped her lips.

"What is it?" Yuna asked.

"It kicked." Lulu said and Rikku rushed over to her.

"I wanna feel." She said. I chuckled at that and shook the thought of the gathering from my head.

We walked back to the village and Lulu told us to at least spend the night. We agreed and Lulu walked back to her hut. The girls and I walked and stood next to the temple, looking out to the sea.

"Flames, tell me more about this gathering of yours." Rikku said excitedly. Yuna, who was holding my hand, gave it a slight squeeze and looked at me.

"You told her?" she asked and I nodded.

"Yes, I did, but no more than I told you." I said and Yuna looked at me suspiciously.

"What?" I asked, faking innocence.

"Nothing. So, can you tell us a bit more about this gathering?" Yuna asked. The three girls focused all their attention on me, and even Paine looked interested.

"I am the one who will lead the gathering, since I am the one with the most experience and wandering years behind me. The so called…" I began but Paine interrupted me.

"The high senior." She said and I nodded.

"High senior?" Rikku asked.

"The one who has been in the wandering guardians the longest. I am that person, although I rather not lead this meeting. But I can't back away now." I said and gave a short sigh.

"Hey, so I am married to the leader of the wandering guardians?" Yuna asked and Paine nodded.

"Wow, Yunie. You'll probably be treated like a queen at the gathering." Rikku said. Paine and I looked at each other and burst into laughter. Yuna and Rikku looked at us as if we were crazy. I managed to regain my composure long enough to say:

"If she wants to be treated like a queen, I have to do it myself. The last time a high senior's wife thought she get any special treatment, she got a free view of a mud pit. The ones that threw her in said it would be great for her skin. If Yuna wants to keep her dignity, she won't say anything abut special treatment."

Both Yuna and Rikku stood there open mouthed at that.

"What kind of barbarians are those wandering guardians? No offence!" Yuna said shocked.

"None taken." Paine said smugly.

"We…or should I say They aren't. But as I have said before, the life of a wandering guardian is a difficult one, and they take every chance at some fun they get. It is a way to keep sane. That poor woman was just at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong words just spoken." I explained and Paine nodded to show that I wasn't kidding.

"Well…good. I don't want to be thrown into a mud pit." Yuna said.

"Don't worry Yuna. I'm sure they wouldn't dare do that to you. Master would stop them." Paine said. I grinned at that.

"She's right. No one is going to dirty out my babe, except me." I said playfully and Yuna reddened. From anger or blushing I'm not sure. After a moment, Yuna's redness went down and she said smugly:

"You better not. Or else…"

I paled at that, and the three girls broke down laughing. Or rather, Yuna and Rikku broke down laughing. Paine just smirked broadly.

We walked back to our hut and spent the night there. Wakka and Lulu came over and joined us, and we had a good time catching up again. When they left, I and Yuna fell asleep in each others arms, both smiling happily.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was Yuna. Or rather, the lack of Yuna. She wasn't lying next to me and I got up and looked around. Then I heard voices, and then Yuna, Rikku, Paine and Lulu walked in.

"Hello sleepyhead." Rikku said. I glared slightly at her before Yuna sat down next to me.

"Wakka is acting strange. He left this morning without saying a word to Lulu." Yuna said worriedly.

"He said something about a cave. We have heard around the village a bit and we found out that there is a cave near the forked road by the beach. We also found some strange numbers." Lulu said.

"What kind of numbers?" I asked

"I think they open some sort of door." Rikku said and Paine nodded.

"Okay, and now you want us to go see if Wakka is alright?" I asked and Lulu nodded.

"He can take care of himself, but I would feel better if I knew you were with him. It's not like Wakka to hide things." Lulu said worriedly and I smiled.

"Of course. Shall we go girls?" I asked and they nodded. I got dressed quickly and we went out of the village.

We found the forked road quick enough, but the door was harder to locate. After searching for a long while, we found a panel where we could input some numbers. I looked at the panel for a while before calling the girls over. Rikku looked at the panel and grinned.

"What were those numbers again?" she asked.

Paine retold the numbers and Rikku punched them in.

"1846" she said and the door beeped and opened.

"Hey, Rikku saves the day!" Rikku said and jumped up and down.

"Don't let it go to your head little one!" I said and went inside the cave. I could hear Rikku sulking and muttering: "I'm not little…."

We walked in and found Wakka sitting on the floor of the cave, deep in thought.

"Wakka!" Yuna and Rikku yelled and ran up to him. Paine and I walked slowly. Wakka looked up at us and Yuna crouched down next to him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked and I rolled my eyes.

"That's our line. Lulu is worried about you." I said and he looked slightly guilty.

"Talking to you guys yesterday, I remembered something Chappu said to me once. We fought over something and he told me about a sphere of our parents, but said he wouldn't tell me where it was, other than it was in a cave. After talking with you, I wanted to find it, but when I got here, I began to think." Wakka explained and I snickered.

"Never a good idea." I said softly and Paine snorted.

"I began to wonder. What if the sphere isn't real? What if it is? I don't even know if I want to watch it. So I sat down here and started to think things trough, and then you four showed up." Wakka explained and I nodded before heading deeper into the cave with the girls following me close behind.

"Wait, where are you going?" Wakka called after us.

"To get that sphere. We are sphere hunters after all." I said and we continued into the cave.

The cave was long and dark, and Rikku didn't let us forget that she didn't like dark, and to her, scary caves.

"It's so dark in here. Do I really have to come?" she moaned and Paine lost her patience.

"Complain again and I will hurt you." She growled and Rikku wisely shut up.

After beating a couple of walking fish, and coming to a fork in the path, the radio beeped.

"This is Brother. Are you okay Yuna?" Brother asked.

"Yessir!" Yuna replied in her usual happy tone. I couldn't help but smile at that. 'Always happy. Well, almost anyway.' I thought while watching my wife. Apparently Rikku and Paine weren't as amused.

"Just ignore him." Rikku advised and Paine nodded. I shook my head while walking down what turned out to be a dead end. So we had to turn back and go the other way.

After a while, and a bit of annoying jumping on crumbling pillars of rock, we saw the sphere in front of us. Unfortunately a fiend was there as well. A huge fire breathing lizard actually, that liked to stand really close to us and practically breathe down our necks.

"Find the sphere and the fiends appear." Paine said, half turning to look at the fiend.

"Do you think it will go away if we ignore it?" I asked and Yuna chuckled.

"Let's just kick it around a bit and get it over with. Lizards annoy me." Rikku said and pulled out her daggers. Paine brandished her sword and grinned.

"I agree with Rikku! Let's show it not to breathe down our necks." She said and I shook my head before pulling out Caladbolg and reading myself.

The fiend started by blasting Yuna with a fireball, which simply passed her without doing anything to her. Instead she shot a couple of times at it before she decided to change dressphere. She began to change into her black mage dress, and the fiend tried to stop her, but I blocked its attack. Paine and Rikku attacked with their weapons, making the fiend fall back a little. Then Yuna was finished changing and began to power up a Blizzaga. I guarded her to make sure the fiend didn't attack her, but it didn't get the chance since Rikku and Paine were constantly chasing it around. It was kind of funny watching, but then Yuna cast her spell and the fiend was killed. When the fiend was gone, we walked up to the sphere and retrieved it. Yuna did her bounce thing again and we went back to Wakka, who hadn't moved at all.

"Find anything?" Wakka asked while standing up. Rikku bounced happily while Yuna showed Wakka the sphere.

"Sure thing. Wanna take a look?" she asked and Wakka nodded.

We watched the sphere, which only showed us some scenery.

"This is?" Rikku asked but Wakka shook his head.

"Nah, 'fraid not." He said sadly

"Wakka, if you wanted to find the sphere, why didn't you just find it?" I asked

"Sin got our parents not long after Chappu was born. We were both too young to remember their faces, you know? I was to boneheaded to ask Chappu where he found that sphere and now its to late. But then again, I don't know if I really want to know how my parents were." Wakka said and I looked curiously at him.

"Why not?" I asked. We started walking back towards the village.

"See, I got this picture of my parents in my head, ya? Strong, and kind…Whenever things got tough, those were the parents I imagined. But what if they weren't like that. That thought made me stop." Wakka explained and I nodded understandingly.

"I understand. I too have a similar picture of my parents." I said and everyone turned to me.

"Huh?" Rikku asked and I continued to walk.

"I never knew much about my father. He died about a week or so before my brother and sister were born, and my mother died when I was five. So I don't remember my dad at all and what I remember of my mother was how nice she was to me, how pretty she was, how kind and wise. Yuna reminds me of her a lot. I know mother would have loved Yuna.

I have always imagined my father to be strong and gentle, like my master was. But I don't know if he was like that." I said while looking towards the sky.

"Where are your brother and sister now?" Wakka asked. I looked down on the ground and Paine swallowed silently although both Yuna and Rikku saw it.

"Dead. They died almost five years ago." I said sadly.

"Oh, sorry. Seems we both have a bad past with parents and siblings." Wakka said and I nodded.

"But, what's past is past, ya? Can't let it get to us. I am going to be a father soon. Gotta pull it together!" Wakka said wisely and I smiled at him.

"That's right Dad!" Rikku teased. Wakka pumped a fist in the air before becoming worried again.

"But, uh…how am I supposed to pull it together? Sure wish I had something to go by, you know?" he asked and I nearly tripped in surprise.

"You and Lulu will be alright." Yuna said and Wakka nodded.

Then the comlink beeped.

"You read me? You four about finished down there? Brother's starting to get on my nerves." Buddy complained and I laughed at that.

"Yeah, we will be back soon." Yuna said and Brother yelled in joy.

"That guy is really weird." I mumbled to myself.

We boarded the ship and Brother said something about incoming data. The girls ran to the bridge, while I followed lazily. I arrived and heard Buddy say something about a awesome sphere in Kilika woods.

"I want that sphere." Yuna said and Rikku nodded.

"It's as good as ours. Let's scramble!" She said.

"Who is the leader? I am. I give the orders around here!" Brother said.

"Oh, just get a move on. Yuna wants that sphere, so let's go get it." I said and Brother agreed, although he mumbled something about lost leadership respect.

"Wow, Kilika port sure has changed since last time." Yuna said and I looked at her.

"Huh? I don't see anything different than it was the last time I was here." I said playfully.

"That was not two years ago. I haven't been here since before we defeated Sin, remember?" Yuna huffed and I laughed a bit.

She was right though. Kilika had been completely rebuilt, and was a bustling town now, thanks to the Youth League, which has its head quarters here.

When we landed, we looked around a bit and started walking towards the town centre. We were met by a red midget and a band of musicians. The midget introduced himself as Tobli and told us about some show he was going to put up. I didn't pay much attention, but I heard him say he was going to hold the show in the Moonflow and said he hoped we would join him there. After that we continued walking.

Rikku was as exited as always, bouncing around.

"Where does that girl get her energy?" I asked. Yuna and Paine didn't respond other than silent laughs. Rikku apparently heard, since she came running towards us again. Yuna gave her own exited bounce and the two of them were almost hopping around each other.

"I wonder what the awesome sphere is like." Yuna said

"Well, it's definitely awesome!" Rikku replied and I could see Paine rolling her eyes.

"It will be won't it?" Yuna asked again. Paine rolled her eyes again.

"Keep this up and someone will beat us to it." she said while walking past the two girls.

"Sorry, sorry. Hey, wait up!" Rikku half yelled and ran after her. I shook my head, amused at the spectacle and walked after them.

We were walking past some houses when we heard someone getting kicked out of their home.

"Huh?" I said and looked up to see a big, very familiar man standing outside his door, talking to the door.

"Dona!" he said and I looked at Yuna. She was smiling slightly, although I couldn't see why.

"My,my,my…Fine, have it your way!" A voice I recognised as Dona, the rude summoner said. The big man, now identified as Barthello, sagged his shoulders.

"Dona…." He said sadly

"Go on, leave!" Dona commanded. Barthello took a few moments before trying to go trough the door. When he found it locked, he ran away, screaming. I stared after him before I realised Yuna, Rikku and Paine had left and were now standing outside Dona's door. I quickly made my way up to them. Yuna knocked on the door and Dona allowed us to enter. Reluctantly I followed.

"Why are we here again?" I asked Paine, but before she could answer, Dona spoke up.

"Well look who we have here." she said and walked to stand by the window

"Good to see you." Yuna said. I was tempted to disagree but held my tongue.

"What's with Barthello?" Rikku asked and Dona turned to look at her.

"He's with New Yevon, I am with the Youth League. Nothing out of the ordinary." She said and I shook my head.

'If that's all it takes…' I thought

"It makes living together rather difficult." Dona finished and Rikku groaned.

"But you've been together for so long…" Yuna said and I looked at her.

"To each his own." Paine said and I had to bite my tongue to stop from grinning at Paine's, to me, rather predictable response.

"Exactly, butt out." Dona said. I turned on my heel and left, Paine following close behind. Rikku and Yuna also followed and we went towards the woods, where we saw a gate being guarded.

The guards said that Youth League members should go trough the gate and opened it up to us.

'Do we look like Youth League members?' I thought, but went trough the gate anyway.

On the other side of the gates, a huge collection of people were, including Dona. It looked like the group was waiting for something.

"Are all these people sphere hunters?" Yuna asked.

"I don't think so" Paine replied

We walked forwards to see what all the fuss was about.

"Look over there!" Rikku said and pointed over past the crowd. There stood a man in red clothes, his left arm and leg was machina and he had a rather long ponytail. I recognised him as the founder of the Youth League, Nooj. He was walking in front of his loyal followers and prepared a speech.

"Who's that?" Rikku asked.

"Nooj." Paine said and I looked at her. Her tone suggested she knew him.

"Meyvn of the Youth League, right?" Yuna asked and Paine nodded.

"Greetings, friends!" Nooj began and a cheer erupted from the crowd.

"An important sphere is hidden in Kilika Temple. A sphere which shows the true history of Spira. We are here today to demand that New Yevon make the contents of that sphere public. The public has a right to know. Yet, as always, the voice seeking truth goes ignored. My friends, I ask you: why? Because New Yevon wants to hide the truth! Like the temples before them! I tell you now; this has gone on long enough! My friends, stand with me and together we will bring the truth back to the people." Nooj said and the crowd cheered again. Nooj turned to leave, but stopped and half turned back to his audience.

"But… let's not overdo it, our opponents aren't as young as they used to be." He said and left as the crowd laughed at his joke. Four people didn't laugh though; me, Yuna, Paine and Rikku.

"Not exactly what I had expected." Yuna said and I nodded in agreement.

"Hey, that's our sphere! Oh, poopie!" Rikku said and stomped the ground.

"So what now, call it quits?" she asked and Paine crossed her arms.

"Don't know about you, but I could use an awesome sphere!" she said confidently

"Hmm…okay! They can' decide who it belongs to? I say we make it our own." Yuna said half commandingly and I started walking towards the woods.

"What are we waiting for then? Come on!" I said and the girls rushed after me.

Inside the woods, things were bordering on chaos. Youth League wanted to go to the temple, New Yevon wouldn't let them.

"This could get bad real fast." I said and the girls nodded. We started to make our way trough the woods, staying on small trails, and that eventually lead us past the security. But we took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end. Just as we were about to turn back, Paine heard voices. We decided to take a little peak.

There was some New Yevon guards talking about two passwords and when they were in use.

"Oh man, I'm no good with those kinds of things." I groaned and Yuna shushed me.

When the commander told the forgetful solider that if he forgot another time he would feed him to the blasted monkeys, we made our way back to the right track and came to the steps where the soldiers were.

'Oh no, is it craven monkey or carved monkey?' I thought but Yuna answered.

"Carved Monkey!" she said. Which was wrong, so we had to fight. After beating the crap out of the guards, we ran on.

I learned something new about Yuna that day. She is just as bad at remembering passwords as I am. Each and every one was wrong, and we had to fight almost a dozen guards, just to get to the top of the stairs.

"Yuna, honey. I think we should ignore the questions for passwords now, and just attack right away. It would save us time." I said after hitting another guard in the head. The poor guy fell to the floor, a huge dent in his helmet. Yuna didn't reply, instead she pouted cutely.

We came to the same spot we fought a Sinspawn two years ago. There was a crowd gathered, New Yevon had a priest who tried to diffuse the situation. We ran up to the crowd just as a Youth League member came running down towards us, yelling: "I got it!"

Behind him though, a huge machina came.

"We can't let you imbeciles have that sphere, can we?" the priest said and made the machina attack.

The machina ran towards us and we started to run away, but it followed. Just before it reached me, I drew Caladbolg, spun around and slid past it while I used Caladbolg to cut of one of the machina's legs. It started to fall on me, but Paine and Yuna attacked it, changing its fall just enough for it to miss me. Then, while it was down, I got up and Paine, Rikku and I used our swords to cleave the damn thing in two, ending its functionality. I noticed Paine was a little rusty with the sword, but decided to leave that till later.

"How do you like that?" Rikku yelled excitedly while I shook my head.

"Phew, that was a little close." I said.

"Don't worry. We won't let you get hurt." Yuna said confidently and I laughed a little at that.

"Hey, we didn't do bad at all!" Yuna said, obviously slightly miffed at my response. I looked at her, and she fell into a stance, raising one of her hands in the air in what looked like a celebrating pose. Paine and I exchanged a glance and had to look away to stop laughing. Yuna looked really funny, not ridiculous, but funny.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Dona asked, bursting Yuna's bubble.

"Actually, we're sphere hunters." Yuna said a little shyly. Everyone fell silent, we could practically hear the dust balls roll past.

"Tough crowd." I mumbled to Paine, who chuckled a bit.

"So?" Dona asked and I wasn't sure if she asked me or Yuna.

"Gullwings, let's go! Sorry, Dona, the sphere is ours." Yuna said and the girls got into their Y.R.P stance again.

'I really have to figure out why they do that.' I thought while eyeing the spectacle.

Then the Celsius came, and we ran towards it, but not before Paine picked up the sphere from some guy.

"Tough luck!" she said and we left.

We went to the bridge and were met by Brother and Buddy outside the elevator. Rikku ran up to them, exited as only she could be.

"Wohoho. Did you see their faces? They totally wet their pants." Rikku exclaimed bouncing up and down.

"Maybe we overdid it?" Yuna asked, looking at me. I just shrugged.

"Overdid it? There is no such thing. The Gullwings shall be notorious throughout Spira." Brother said while striking a 'heroic' pose.

Paine walked up behind Rikku, keeping her cool.

"They weren't all that happy." She said and Rikku turned to her with questioning eyes.

"Huh?" Rikku asked. I and Paine walked towards the bridge.

"Don't forget that notoriety can be a bad thing." Paine said and Yuna chuckled.

"That coming from the student of the most notorious wandering guardian in Spira." she said and I huffed a bit.

"Whatever do you mean?" I said, mimicking Leblanc.

"So what if noto…ri…ety can be bad? I want to have fun!" Brother yelled at Paine, struggling a bit with his words.

"Just make sure you don't do anything to land us in hot water, okay?" Buddy asked and Rikku ran up to him.

"Aw, where's the fun in being plain old regular sphere hunters?" Rikku asked.

"Um, yeah, yeah. What she said." Brother yelled and did a little dance with Rikku.

"Oh no..." Paine groaned.

"What?" Yuna asked.

"Whenever Brother and Rikku agree…" Shinra said

"Bad stuff always happens." I finished.

"That can't be good." Yuna said while watching the two siblings play together. They started running after each other in the bridge, while Shinra analyzed the sphere. Paine and I stood and watched, while Yuna tried to calm down the two over energetic blondes.

"Master…?" Paine asked suddenly when she noticed I was deep in thought.

"Yes, I agree. We definitely went too far. I wonder what we are going to do about it." I said and Paine nodded before looking at Brother and Rikku.

"If bad stuff happens…" Paine began but fell silent. I looked at her and recognised her look. It was the look she used to have when she felt danger.

"You having a bad feeling Paine?" I asked and she nodded.

"A very bad feeling. Something is bugging me master, and I can't figure out what." Paine said and I laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out great." I said and she gave me a very rare smile, namely a real one.

"Thank you." She said and I turned back to Shinra.

Yuna eventually got tired of the two hyper blondes and stood beside me.

"How did the sphere analysis go?" she asked Shinra.

"Hmm…it's just a regular movie sphere. it doesn't appear to have any special functions. Wanna watch?" Shinra asked and I nodded.

"Sure, play away." I said, not realising I just rhymed.

The sphere showed a blonde man that looked a little like Tidus walking towards a huge machina. He said something about the machina being the only thing he could count on to save someone named Lenne. Then an alarm went of and he turned and looked behind him.

'Looks like Tidus, but it isn't. I'm almost positive. That machina is enormous though.' I thought. Once the sphere ended, Brother got real panicky.

"What in Spira is that machina?" he asked, bordering on hysterical.

"Any ideas?" Buddy asked.

"Nope, not one. But as machina go, it looks extremely dangerous. Definitely a weapon." Shinra said, while Rikku turned to Yuna.

"Yunie, that's him. Tidus." She said and I could almost see Yuna's thoughts.

"No, that's not him. There is a resemblance, but I don't think it is him. I noticed something different in the way he walked, talked and his clothes are way different. I don't think this is Tidus." I said and Yuna and Rikku looked at me.

"You sure?" Rikku asked.

"No." was the simple reply.

"I don't like this sphere." Brother said and thought for a bit. "Gullwings, front and centre!" he commanded while doing his ridiculous pose and he and Buddy and Shinra gathered around the sphere in the centre of the bridge.

I looked at them and heard Paine whisper to Yuna:

"The Gullwing boys sure like playing together, don't they?"

"Hey, what about me?" I asked Paine, and she and Yuna nearly broke down laughing.

"So, uh… let's give back that sphere, what do you say?" Brother said.

"WHat?" I asked, a little loudly.

"But we worked so hard to get it." Rikku objected but Brother wouldn't listen. Instead he threw a temper tantrum.

"That thing is uber bad news." He said and Buddy was quick to try and calm down the situation.

"What if we donated the sphere to the study of Spira's history? That was what being a sphere hunter was originally about, right?" Buddy asked and I slowly nodded.

"It's a little late to be bringing that up." Paine pointed out.

"Yeah, we already swiped it!" Rikku said while stomping the ground.

"Well, I still don't want it. We're giving it back, now!" Brother yelled and Yuna nodded.

"You don't mind?" Rikku asked.

"Well, I have seen it. And all it showed was a huge machina and someone who might be Tidus or might not be. Not all that exiting." Yuna said and I smiled at that.

"Still, it is pretty shameless to just give back the sphere we just stole." Buddy said.

"True, and if the Gullwings reputation is damaged like that, then the Gullwing leader's as well." I said while grinning at Brother, who was mad.

"Shut up!" he yelled and hung his head.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to be notorious? With worthless reputation, you can't get notorious." Paine said smartly and I had to suppress the urge to laugh loudly. Brother hung his head even lower, almost past his knees.

"Oh, man. This isn't any fun at all." Yuna said after a few moments of silence.

"I have to let of some steam." Rikku said

"You have anything in mind?" Buddy asked.

"Why don't we ask Yuna to dance?" Shinra suggested, taking Yuna by surprise.

"Dance?" she asked. The idea exited Brother.

"Oh, that's it. Yuna, you must dance. Our sanity depends on it." he said.

"Your sanity is already lost, but watching Yuna dance would be fun." I said and Brother half glared at me.

"That sounds like an order, Yuna." Paine said and Yuna looked questionably at me and Brother.

"Yea, but from whom?" she asked. I just shrugged.

"Alright, the exercise will do us good. Hang tight while I go get ready." She said and Brother whooped in joy. After Yuna left, I turned to Paine.

"Are you going to dance?" I asked and she stared at me in disbelief.

"You got to be kidding." She said and I grinned evilly at her. Just as I was about to say something, Yuna came back.

"What's that sound?" she asked Brother.

"Oh, just some hitchhikers I picked up. They are a colourful bunch." He replied.

"Oh, like us then?" I asked and Paine snorted.

"Um, master?" Paine asked. The two of us were headed to the deck.

"Hum? Yes?" I asked.

"Brother and Rikku were agreeing again, weren't they?" Paine asked.

"Yeah, so…oh. We better take cower." I said and the two of us snickered for a bit.

On the deck, Yuna and our new passengers were dancing, singing and playing. We all had a good time; even Paine showed she enjoyed the song. Brother was ecstatic at seeing Yuna dance.

After the song ended, Yuna walked away while Rikku took over the microphone. I walked after her and sat down next to her near the edge of the deck.

"Is something bothering you babe?" I asked. Yuna responded by scooting closer and laying her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her waist and just enjoyed sitting there.

I felt Yuna tense against me and looked down at her. Her hands were clenched into fists, and her whole body seemed tense.

"Yuna?" I asked, but she didn't appear to hear me.

"Who's Lenne? Why am I so mad? WHO THE HECK IS LENNE!" Yuna shouted, jumping to her feet, casing me to roll away from her. I blinked and stared at her without getting up.

'I think I'll just lay here for a moment. At least until my hearing comes back.' I thought. I thought I heard Yuna say something about going to bed, but with the ringing in my ears I couldn't be sure.

Paine came walking over and helped me sit. I could see she tried to talk to me, but I couldn't hear anything.

"Um sorry Paine, but I can't hear anything except some damn ringing." I said and Paine looked at me before taking out a X-potion and giving to me.

"Thanks." I said and drank the potion. I could feel a tingling in my ear and then the ringing stopped.

"Better?" Paine asked and I nodded.

"Yeah, thanks." I said and rubbed my ear.

"What happened?" Paine asked me and I shrugged.

"I don't know. I just sat there, enjoying the peace and suddenly Yuna tensed up and yelled loud enough to damage my hearing. I didn't know she could be that loud." I said and Paine chuckled slightly.

"Poor master." She said mockingly and I glared.

"Anyway, I don't think I'll go to bed tonight. Don't want to face Yuna's wrath if it was me she was angry at. Don't know what I did though." I said. Paine chuckled at me again but didn't say anything.

So I ended up sleeping on the deck that night. Not that I complained, since I control the elements I never feel cold anymore, but it was quite hard to lay on the metal, so I decided to make a bed of ice, which surprisingly was really comfortable.

"Um, why is stud sleeping on the deck?" Yuna asked as she, Rikku and Paine walked out of the elevator and headed towards the ice bed I had made.

"Don't know, perhaps it was because you burst his eardrum last night." Paine said smartly.

"I did?" Yuna asked and Rikku nodded.

"Flames couldn't hear anything after you left. I think he was scared that he made you angry or something." Rikku said and Yuna looked embarrassed.

"I yelled that loudly?" she asked herself. Then they reached the bed and the three girls gasped before laughing.

There I was, on the bed I made last night. Only that the ice had cowered me completely, encasing me in something that resembled disturbingly a coffin. I didn't know though, since I was sleeping.

"Okay, maybe he was scared of Yunie, but this is a bit much." Rikku said and tapped the solid ice.

"Um, is he okay?" Yuna asked worriedly, seeing I couldn't move. At all.

"Don't know. Should be break him out?" Paine asked.

"Hey, I have an idea." Came a voice from behind. It was Brother, with Buddy and Shinra trailing behind. It was then that the girls noticed that the Celsius had landed. They were far out at sea, so the airship had lots of space to float.

"What's that idea of yours then?" Rikku asked suspiciously.

"Drop him of the ship." Was Brothers simple, disturbing reply.

"WHAT?" all three of the girls yelled in unison.

"Yeah. Under us is nothing but water. Imagine his face when he wakes up surrounded by water. It will be so cool." Brother said.

"Um, what about breathing. Have you thought about that?" Shinra asked.

"Well, it doesn't seem like he can breathe so much now either." Buddy said thoughtfully.

"True, but still." Paine said.

"Hey, he can control water right? Then he won't drown, he'll just do… something that will stop him from drowning. Right?" Brother asked Shinra.

"Brother!" Yuna scolded, shocked that he seemed to be serious about this.

"I won't let you throw master into the sea. Even though he can control the water." Paine said firmly. Brother was about to say something when a large wave made the Celsius cringe. Everyone steadied themselves, and saw the ice block with me in it slide over the edge.

"Master!""Salmar!""Flames" Yuna, Rikku and Paine yelled and they rushed to the edge along with Brother, Buddy and Shinra. They were in time to see a huge splash.

"Looks like he went into the sea anyway." Buddy said, which earned him a light smack to the head by Rikku.

"We got to do something?" Yuna said, but no one knew what to do.

I was dreaming about…something when I felt the sensation of dropping. Then I heard the muffled sound of a splash and felt a sinking feeling. That woke me up. I blinked and discovered I couldn't move.

'Huh? Oh, right. It began to rain last night, so I made a box of ice.' I thought and expanded the ice enough to move my head. I was about to 'open' the ice and allow myself to breathe properly when I saw trough the ice. Water. And not just water from rain either. No I was submerged in water. I looked around and saw that I was sinking.

'What the…?' I thought right before I hit the bottom.

'Okay, this is a tricky situation. Here I am, without much air, on the bottom of some sea. I wonder how I fell of. Hope they haven't flown to far.' I thought as I expanded my power and pushed away the water around me before I did the same to the ice. I took a couple of breaths. The air was thick with sea food. Go figure.

"Well, this is new. Never been to the bottom of the sea before. Oh well, better get up and see where I am." I said and made a platform of ice form under me before rising into the air. I took care to push away the water above me as I rose.

Not too long after starting to rise, I saw light.

"Oh, good. Fresh air." I said and speed up.

"How long do you think he will under?" Brother asked cheerfully. Yuna got mad and punched him on the head, almost knocking him out.

"Hey look!" Rikku shouted as the water began to move out of the way and out I rose. I looked around and saw the Celsius, complete with six sets of heads sticking out over the deck. I waved and rose up to them.

When I landed Yuna first launched herself at me and gave me a huge hug, before she hit me.

"Ouch, what did I do?" I asked while rubbing my sore head.

"Why didn't you come to bed last night?" Yuna half yelled, half demanded.

"Are you kidding? After you broke my eardrum I thought I had made you mad or something, so I decided to give you some space." I said and Yuna slumped in defeat.

"I was a bit loud wasn't I?" she asked and I nodded.

"But how did I end up at the bottom of the sea? I clearly remember falling asleep on the deck." I asked puzzled.

Then Paine and Yuna told me what had happened and I glared at Brother.

"You wanted to throw me overboard?" I asked and he gulped a little.

"I was sure you would be alright. And it seemed like a funny idea." Brother said in his defence. I glared a little bit more before shaking my head.

"I won't even begin to thing how much was wrong with that. Can we go and eat now? I'm hungry?" I asked. Paine and Yuna rolled her eyes at me.

'He just survived a trip to the bottom of the sea and he wants to eat?' they thought at the same time.

After eating Yuna, I, Rikku and Paine went to the bridge, where Brother, Buddy and Shinra were waiting. When we arrived, Buddy turned to us.

"Giving back the sphere is all well and good, but who do we return it too?" he asked.

"With the Youth League and New Yevon, it's a lose-lose situation." Shinra said.

"What do you think Yuna?" Brother asked and Yuna smiled sweetly.

"I'll follow your orders, leader." She said and Brother grumbled. He then brightened.

"AHA. I got it. I order Yuna to decide." He said.

"Hey, that's cheating." Yuna shot back, but Brother didn't flinch.

Yuna resigned to fate and started thinking. I stood with Paine and Rikku when Yuna got enough of thinking on her own and came over.

"The group that gets the sphere will love us, but the other one…" Paine began

"Will hate us. Like Shinra said, a lose-lose situation." I said and Yuna sighed.

"Well, I don't like New Yevon. It's got Yevon in its name, enough said." Rikku argued.

"But the Youth League is the ones picking the fights." Paine countered.

"They seem to be reckless." I said and we were no where closer to a answer.

"Well…WELL?" Brother pressed. Poor Yuna.

"Ummm…." She said and looked at me for help. I sighed and said.

"The Youth League." I said.

"Why?" Shinra asked. I shrugged.

"No reason. Just felt like picking one." I said and everyone stared at me.

"I've got nothing against it." Rikku said, Paine nodded in agreement.

"The Youth League it is then." Yuna said cheerfully.

"Alright, of to Youth League head quarters." Brother yelled and rushed for the pilot seat.