I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It deals a little with Rekks' feelings about finding out what he is. Also we get to learn a little more about Yul. Remember to send your reviews, thoughts, questions, suggestions, etc. I love getting feedback.

Chapter 7: Day Dreamer

Rekks sat on the bed in the room he was staying in. He kept the shades closed and the lights off leaving the room relatively dark except for the few beams that peaked through between the blinds. He thought everything over carefully. It was just a dream…..wasn't it? The things he saw, the things he felt, surely it must have all been in his mind, but then……the pillar. How did it become real?

Rekks clenched his fist and walked out of his room. He was feeling hungry, so maybe some breakfast would help clear things up. As he walked through the streets of the village he saw Zialas already hard at work on his training. Rekks stopped for a while to watch the Ronso warrior. Zialas focused hard and whipped his spear with lighting speed and deadly precision. Never once did he break that laser focus.

Zialas stopped, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When his eyes opened they focused on a nearby bolder. He clenched the spear tightly. Zialas snarled then let out a powerful roar as he charged at the bolder. He jumped into the air and pointed the spear downward driving it with tremendous force into the bolder decimating it. He pulled his spear out of the ground and took a deep breathe before he continued on with his training.

"Amazing." Rekks whispered

"What are you watching." Came a voice behind him

Rekks turned around to see Rose standing there. He tried to compose himself and answer her.

"Nothing." He answered

"Hey everyone's waiting for you." She replied

"Thanks. Hey you've gotten a bit nicer."

"That's because you really haven't screwed up much lately. But it's only a matter of time."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

The two of them walked off to go meet with the others. Meanwhile back in Cana's room she sat on her own bed lost in thought. Vid sat to the side of the bed on a chair watching her.

"So ya really think it's Rekks?" he asked

"What else could it be? He probably has so many questions, we need to tell him what we know."

"And what do we know. It's all just gonna make him madder, findin out that he's some type of freak that can warp reality wid his dreams, while he's awake."

"We're not freaks. Baralai called us Waking Fayth, Daydreamers. Our thoughts and dreams can warp and become real. But it's a dangerous power unless we learn to control it. Rekks has shown that he can tap into it, who knows what can happen if he doesn't learn the truth."

"All right, All right ya got me dere. How we gonna break it ta him, because as I said he not gonna take it very well."

"You're right about that."

Cana sighed as she turned her head to look out the window. Vid reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring case. He opened it and looked at the ring, then looked up at Cana. He flipped the case closed then shoved it in his pocket.

It around noon time now. Rekks was working with the soldiers on their training. He smirked as he found himself surrounded by ten of them. The first solider charged right at Rekks, he side stepped him then tripped the soldier to the ground from behind. The second came right afterwards, Rekks spun around and blocked his sword strike. With a flick of his wrist the disarmed the soldier then pushed him back knocking him to the ground.

Five of the soldiers nodded at each other then charged at Rekks together. Rekks cast Haste on himself and dodged each of their incoming attacks. Rekks grabbed one of the soldiers from behind by the collar and threw him to the ground. Another one took a swipe at Rekks but he dodged the attack then moved in close grabbing his arm then judo flipped him into the ground. The next three came at him together. Rekks blocked the attacks and pushed them back.

He tackled into one of the soldiers knocking him down, then spun around to knock down the second. Rekks blocked an attack from the third then moved his way to the side of him and tripped him. The last three soldiers approached Rekks cautiously. He motioned for them to bring it on. The all ran at him together. Rekks knelt down then swung his sword in a wide arc. The soldiers stopped dead in their tracks as their pants fell to the ground, their belt buckles sliced in two.

Rekks laughed as they scrambled to pull their pants back up. He went up to each of them and easily knocked them over as he sheathed his sword.

"Getting better guys." He laughed as he walked away

Rekks sat down nearby and took a drink from his water bottle. He looked over and saw Vid and Cana walking over to him. It looked like something was bothering them.

"What's wrong with you guys?" he asked

"Rekks we have something to tell you." She stated

Over by the main tent Rose was watching Chico look over the weather meters.

"A sand storm is coming?" he remarked

"When?" she asked

"An hour or two maybe. As long as we all stay close to the village it will be fine. But it might slow down construction for a while." He replied

"I'll let Tev know."

Just then they heard some shouting coming from the distance. They looked over to see Rekks turning the corner and stomping away as his sister and Vid were walking after him.

"Rekks please, come back and let's talk this out." Cana pleaded

"Talk this out? You keep something like this from me and expect me to just……." He was at a loss for words

"What's going on?" asked Rose as she walked over to them

"I'm leaving that's what!" shouted Rekks as he walked away

"What happened?" asked Rose

"I'll explain it later." She said as she chased after her brother

Rekks stomped over to the chocobo corral and grabbed one of the Chocobos. He quickly mounted the creature and started heading out of the village.

"Where are you going?" shouted Cana

"Away." He replied

"Rekks Wait there's going to be a…." He didn't listen to Rose

The chocobo took off down the street and headed out the village into the desert. Rekks rode through the vast desert for a while just trying to clear his thoughts. Cana and Vid laid something big on his plate. He just needed to get away for a while and sort things out. He stopped for a second to take a look around. Maybe he should head back. Just then Rekks felt a strange breeze. He looked behind him self to see a massive sand storm coming his way.

He urged the Chocobo to run as fast as it could. It took off through the desert trying to get away. The storm drew closer and closer, Rekks urged the beast to move faster, but it was no good. The sand storm engulfed Rekks and the Chocobo.

When Rekks awake he found himself laying down on a piece of cloth next to a roaring fire. It was night time and the desert was freezing cold. Rekks moved closer to the fire to warm up. Just then he heard the soft sounds of someone playing the flute. He looked up to see Yul sitting by the fire, playing. Rekks panicked and scrambled to get away from him.

"Relax, If I wanted to kill you I would when you were asleep." He stated

Rekks cautiously moved back toward the fire keeping an eye on Yul. Yul tossed him a bottle of water and a sack full of stuff to eat. Rekks looked over it carefully.

"It's not poison. If fact it's pretty good for what you can find around here." Yul smiled

Rekks gobbled up the food and chugged down the water.

"What happened?" asked Rekks

"I found you after the sandstorm. It's amazing that you survived such a thing. Then again considering who you are it's not surprising."

"And who do you think I am? You don't know a damn thing about me."

"We're kindred spirits."

"We're nothing alike."

"More than you think."

"Why did you rescue me?"

"Because I don't want to kill. You only stand in the way of something I do want."

"The Caves."

"No what's in the caves."

"Like you know what's in the caves. Mr. Kurosawa just discovered them, nobody knows what's in those caverns."

"Is that what you believe? In those caverns is something that I lost a long time ago?"

"And what was that?"

"Something I can never get back."

"You're full of sh!t you know."

"I know what you are. And we're not that different. Different begins, but same outcome."

Yul closed his eyes and held his palm over the ground. A black glow came from his palm. As the light hit the ground a small plat sprouted forth and grew into a small tree within a matter of seconds. Rekks stared at him with amazement.

"How?" he asked

"All men dream: but not equally, Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did." He replied smiling

"Who are you….really?"

"A man, at one time I went to sleep for a very long time. I dreamed then and now as I sit here awake. I find I can't stop dreaming."

"You're a waking Fayth."

"Something like that. Let me tell you a story."

Zanarkand over a thousand or so years earlier……..

Zanarkand was a bustling metropolis. They millions of people of the city walked through the crowded streets. It was around noon time as the man in the yellow blitz outfit strolled down the city streets. He smiled as he reached a small night club at the corner of the street. It was closed around now, but he knocked on the door anyways. A buff bald headed man opened the door with a snarl.

"We're closed….Oh hey Shuyin." Chuckled the man

"Hey Katsushiro. Can I come in for a drink?" smiled Shuyin

"Anything for you." Chuckled the man as he welcomed Shuyin in

Shuyin walked into the club. He saw a black haired man sitting at a stool plucking away at a guitar as he walked up to the bar. Shuyin took a seat next to the man and ordered a drink.

"How are things going Yul." Smiled Shuyin

The man stopped playing and turned to face Shuyin. He smiled as he clasped hands with him in greeting. Yul smiled at his old friend.

"Shuyin you old dog, what brings you around here?" chuckled Yul

"Good drinks, Good music, Good Company." Laughed Shuyin as he held up his drink and took a sip

"Well we haven't been that great since Lenne left us for the big times. But we always knew she was destined for better things."

"I don't know about that. She loved playing here, no matter what the crowd. As long as she got to sing it didn't matter to her."

"You have an interesting way of looking at things Shuyin. Although I must admit, that does speak volumes. I don't know what I'd do without my music. Even sometimes I just go home and play on this flute I own just to keep the music going."

"You're a sad man, Yul. You need a girl."

"There a dime a dozen."

"Except for Lenne."

"Yeah she's one of a kind. You're a lucky man, Shuyin."

"I guess I am."

Shuyin looked down at his drink solemnly and took a sip.

"What's eating you?"

"Something weird is going on. These government guys keep coming over to Lenne's place asking her questions. Something's going on."

"Don't worry about it. It's wartime, everybody is kinda on edge. They probably want her to do an inspirational concert to the troops or something."

"You know what Lenne can do. I don't think that's it."

"She's an icon to Zanarkand. They're not going to go mess with her."

"I hope your right."

"Trust me."

Later around 3 a.m. Yul was walking home from the nightclub. It was a cold night as he turned the corner. He stopped for a second cart passed by on the street. He looked up at the nearby wall to see a mass of missing poster covering the wall. He noticed the latest one that had been posted. It must have been the twelfth one this week.

Yul continued on down the streets of Zanarkand on his way home. He turned the corner and headed down an alley when he heard a weird sound. Yul hid behind a trash bin as he took a look ahead. A man screamed as two people chased him through the alley. One finally managed to grab a hold of him and threw him against the wall. The other quickly knocked out the man, together they carried him off toward the other end of the alley.

Yul panicked and quickly ran off the other way. One of the men noticed him running and chased after him. Yul ran as fast as he could, quickly he ducked into another alley and hid behind another trash bin. He waited their until he was sure the man was gone. Yul breathed heavily as he tried to calm himself.

The next night Yul was on stage finishing up a song. As he played the last note, the crowd stood up and applauded him. He took a bow then told them he was going to take a break and headed for the bar. Yul ordered a drink as he saw a beautiful woman approach him. He gave her a hug and offered her a seat.

"So how's my brother doing?" smiled Yul's sister

"Just fine. I'm doing what I love. Life is good. How many men can claim that?"

"Not many. Where's that girlfriend of yours?"

"She's at her mother's right now. We had a bit of a fight, but as soon as she gets back I'm going to try and patch things up."

"Well you better she's a great girl."

"Yes she is. Are you here with anyone?"

"Yeah I brought a date."

"Maybe I should go over there and meet him?"

"Please don't start up with the over protective big brother stuff, I really like this guy."

"Okay, why don't you order a drink on my tab. Oh and Shuyin came by and gave me some Blitzball tickets wanna go see the game for old time sakes?"

"Thanks, I'll come over tomorrow." She gave her brother a hug

"Enjoy the show."

"Who doesn't?" she laughed

"Keep safe, with all these disappearances its note safe out there."

"I'll be careful."

Yul smiled as he watched his sister head off. He took one last sip of his drink and headed back for the stage.

It was dark as Yul walked home. After what happened the other day he kept his eye on everything. Every time he passed an alley he froze for a second to scope things out before he headed on. He was visibly on edge, he rubbed his hands together for warmth. As he quickened his pace. The faster he got home the better.

Yul turned the corner and bumped in to a rather large man. He excused himself and tried to walk around the man, but was stopped. Yul turned around and tried to go the other way when another, shorter man appeared blocking his path.

"Mr. Yul is it? We're from the Zanarkand government. We want you to do something special for us." Smiled the shorter man

"What is it?" Yul asked

"We need you to help us protect all of Zanarkand. Don't you want to help?" asked the shorter man

"I need to get home. I have things I have to do tomorrow."

Yul turned to leave but the larger man grabbed a hold of him. Yul struggled in vain before he was knocked out by the shorter man.

When Yul awoke he found himself on a cold metal table shirtless. He screamed out in terror as he fought against his restraints. Yul looked around the room he was in was dark, he could barely see anything. Behind him was a strange statuesque contraption that Yul had never seen before.

The doors of the room opened as a man in white robes came in accompanied by the two men who had kidnapped him. Yul recognized him instantly he was Yu Yevon one of the leaders of Zanarkand.

"What do want from me?" Yul shouted

"Shhhh. People are trying to sleep. Things don't look well for Zanarkand in the war. It would be a shame if we lost everything we have created here." Stated Yu Yevon

"What are you talking about?" cried Yul

"I have a plan. And it will allow Zanarkand to live forever. It's a special procedure we just developed, but as with all things we need to test it out. We can't very well save Zanarkand until we know the Fayth project will work." Replied Yu Yevon

"What are you talking about? I'm just a musician!"

"You're government files shows you to be a perfect candidate for these test. A musician over your caliber must have a wealth of imagination."

"What do you want from me?"

"All we want is for you to sleep. To dream."

One of the men approached Yul and started putting him to self. As he became groggy, he heard Yu Yevon begin to chant something. He felt himself be lifted up and placed into the stone. He wanted to move, but he could, he wanted to scream, but he couldn't. He breathed heavily, everything was going dark. He felt tired, so tired, his eyes began to flutter. Maybe he could rest for just a few seconds he thought. Yul closed his eyes and slipped into slumber.

"Put him with the others." Stated Yu Yevon

"So what happened to you?" asked Rekks

"A great deal of the subjects didn't survive the Fayth process. Eventually they worked out all the kinks and well…you know what happened. As for me I placed with all the other rejects, the dead one, and the others who just didn't work out the way they planed. The test Fayth who did work were too powerful and out of control for Yu Yevon's liking to he stored us away. He only wanted what would serve his purpose."

"So they shoved you all in the desert."

"They couldn't just get rid of us, so they put us in permanent storage."

"How did you get out?"

"Well I woke up I found myself in a dark place. I didn't know what was going on, where I was, or even who I was at the time. I was only filled with one thing…..fear. I struggled and struggled until finally I broke free. I fought my way out and found myself surrounded by sand. I wandered the desert for days until a group of Al Bhed found me. It was after they cared for me that I snapped out of everything and my senses came back."

Present Day

Yul and Rekks were still sitting around the came fire. Yul stoked the flames a bit then tossed in some more kindling.

"After that I wandered the world learning about everything that had happened in the past 1000 years. It's funny when you have you're whole life stolen from you then learn that the grand thing you're life was sacrificed for was cast a side and destroyed by later generations. I lost everything so Yu Yevon could create the Fayth, and then it was all gone. I had no purpose. And then the Vegnagun thing happened."

"Shuyin."

"I could really understand where he was coming from. In a way I thought my old friend was fighting for all of us. Those who were sacrificed. And then he was gone. And I had no purpose again. So I wandered, I observed everything I could about this new Spira. It made me sick. Everything I lost forgotten, Everything I was sacrificed for cast aside, Everyone like me, gone. I lost everything and I wondered why….what was it all for?"

"That's hard to imagine."

"It's easy if you try. One day during my travels I just wanted it all to end. I found a flute and on it I played what I thought would be my last song. But as it turned out fate is cruel. I discovered that the fayth process had changed me. Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge."

"So what do you want from the caverns."

"In lies all the others like me. Some are still sleeping. I want us to all come together and form our revenge. A creature that is the embodiment of all our frustration, a creature that embodies all the wrong that has been done."

"Sin. Why, why do want to do that?"

"I have only one purpose now, to get revenge for all of us. To get revenge for the Fayth."

"Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Every man no matter who he is has a reason they fight. Being a kindred spirit I just thought you'd like to know mine."

"This isn't going to hold me back from stopping you."

"I wouldn't want it to. If anything I want you to try and stop me. If I reach that cavern then I will destroy everything in this world, but if you can stop me maybe there will be some hope. But make assumptions when the time comes I will come at you with everything I got. Everyday I grow strong as I realize more of my power. I will kill anyone who gets in my way."

Rekks remained silent. He focused on the fire intently.

"The village is that way. You'll reach it fairly soon. Although my guess is that they sent a search party out for you so they'll probably find you. I won't be here if you come back."

Rekks stood up and started walking away. He took one last look at Yul then continued on. As Rekks walked away Yul put his lips to his flute and began playing a song. Rekks walked for an hour or so. Finally in the distance he saw a person riding a Chocobo and waved out toward them. The person approached revealing herself to be Rose. Rose leaped down from the bird and socked Rekks in the face.

"What the hell are you thinking, Everyone was worried about you." She shouted

"It's nice to see that you care." He replied as he rubbed his cheek

"So how are you feeling?" she asked

"Better."

"Come on, everyone is waiting."

"I just want to head back to my room and rest. It's been a big day and we have some Heavy Preparations ahead of us."

Rose helped Rekks onto the Chocobo. They headed of toward the village. Rekks took a deep breathe and turned back toward where Yul was. He could almost swear he could still hear that music…..oh well.

To be continued…………….

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next one is going to be action packed. With the clock slowly ticking forward Yul will make his first move before his big attack. Remember to send your reviews, thoughts, questions, suggestions, etc. I love getting feedback. Keep an eye out for Chapter 8: Heavy Preparations. See ya!