Final Fantasy X and PlayStation are owned by Square Enix and Sony, respectively, meaning they do not belong to me. I am in no way, shape, and/or form claiming to be the owner/creator of these concepts, though I do claim any characters not apart of the original Final Fantasy X storyline (such as Rayne and Marcus) mine. As such, I would appreciate fellow authors and readers to give credit where credit is due and not steal any of my characters and/or concepts. Thank you, and have a pleasant day.

(Then He Closed the Door)

They perused a bit more, then, after Rayne paid for her sphere, Rayne decided to hit it solo and go train. Jecht offered to go with her, but she declined. She needed to think. On her way out of the village, she saw several teens playing at the entrance of a large and familiar hut. One of the teens, a girl, had black hair and red eyes, while the other two, both boys, had orange hair and brown eyes. One of the boys was Wakka. The other boy and the girl were holding hands. 'Chappu and Lulu…'

When Wakka saw her looking at them, he motioned to the other two, who turned and looked at her. Rayne smiled a bit and raised her hand. They looked at each other, then turned back to her and smiled widely, raising their hands and waving. She lowered her hand and was about to walk out of the village when Chappu waved her over. She hesitated, then headed over.

"Hey!" Chappu greeted when she was close. "We haven't seen you around here, ya? You just come in on the Likki?"

Rayne nodded, "Yes. My name is Rayne."

"I'm Chappu. This is Lulu, and my big brother Wakka."

Rayne preformed the Yevon bow, "It is a pleasure."

Wakka stood and returned the bow, as did Chappu and Lulu, and then he asked. "So, what brings you to Besaid?"

"I am on a pilgrimage."

Their jaws dropped and Lulu's eyes flickered to the staff on her back. "You're a summoner?"

Rayne laughed and shook her head, "No. I am a guardian. I am traveling with Summoner Braska of Bevelle, along with the guardians Auron and Jecht."

"Ah!" They bowed again.

"So," Wakka began, "What're you?"

"Huh?"

Lulu rolled her eyes, "Sorry about him, he often doesn't finish a thought before the words leave his mouth. He means, as a guardian, what do you fight as?"

"Oh! My apologies, I'm new to this whole guardian thing. I am a Black Mage."

"Hey!" Chappu exclaimed, "So is Lu! You gotten to the second level spells, yet?"

Rayne laughed, "Not quite. Then again, I haven't upgraded my Grid since Kilika, so…"

"May I see your Grid?"

Rayne blinked, then nodded and dug her Grid out, handing it to Lulu. The teen Mage scanned the front, then the back, and her eyes widened when she saw the stats. "You haven't done much, but your Magic is amazing! Do you come from a magic family?"

Rayne shook her head, "No. I believe that I am the first."

Lulu's head snapped up, "The first? And you're already using magic at a 45? You must have a high magical affinity, then." She handed Rayne her Grid back.

"That would probably be the best explanation for it."

"Hey…" Rayne looked to Wakka, who was looking at his feet and shuffling them, "Could we… could we watch you fight? We've never seen a real guardian in action, and it… it would be… it would be a real learning experience for us, right guys?" The other two nodded, looking at Rayne with hopeful eyes.

Rayne scratched the back of her head, her eyes falling to her feet. "Hey, listen, you guys. I just became a guardian today, so I'm probably not the best example of a guardian's power and abilities."

"Time doesn't always matter! Lord Braska picked you, even though he's already almost done with his journey, so you must be good! So, please, could we?"

Rayne looked at their faces, immediately regretting it, and couldn't say no. "Alright, let's go."

They cheered and jumped to their feet, running back inside their hut after excusing themselves for a moment. They soon all came out carrying their weapons; Wakka his blitzball, Lulu her stuffed moogle, and Chappu his sword. They all headed out of the village, the three teens jumping for joy and Rayne working hurriedly on her Grid, her entire body tingling. Her stats improved largely, and she came closer to activating the second level magic. Her strength, though, was still low. 'Gotta steal Auron's Grid.'

"Lady Rayne!"

Her head snapped up at the mention of her name, and she looked between the teens in confusion. "Huh?"

Chappu waved his hand, "I said we're almost in big fiend territory. You ready?"

She nodded, "Yeah, but… did you just call me 'Lady'?"

Wakka nodded, "Yeah, it's what all female guardians are called. No one's ever called you that?"

She shook her head, "I did just become a guardian today. Though, everyone has been a bit more polite…"

Chappu laughed, "Ah, the advantages to being a guardian, eh?"

She was about to say something when the air was shattered by a loud screech. She saw a giant bird-fiend coming and shouted, "You guys get down!"

They jumped behind a bush while Rayne dropped to the ground, the fiend just barely missing her back. When it had flown over, Rayne was back on her feet in a second, unsheathing her staff and twirling it around her head. She grinned as the bird came back at her, "Let's dance!"

The bird swooped at her and, the upgrades she made on her Grid fully functional, Rayne spun to the side, reaching out with one of the bladed arcs of her staff and raking it across the fiend's right eye. It screeched loudly, swerving to the left and crashing into the ground. Rayne took advantage of its turned back and yelled, "Blizzard!"

The attack aimed at the fiend's wings, freezing many major nerves and tendons, permanently crippling it (unless someone cast 'Cure' one it, but who's gonna do that?) The fiend turned and faced Rayne, screeching in pain as its frostbitten wings drug on the ground. She dodged as its head came at her again, aiming with her staff and taking out the birds other eye. The wingless and now blind fiend cried out in rage and agony, thrashing in every direction.

Rayne dodged its head as it came flinging passed, then began to cast spell after spell on the fiends head. "Thunder! Fire! Water! Fire! Blizzard! Thunder! Blizzard! Fire! Water!(etc.)" Soon enough, the fiend collapsed and exploded into pyreflies, leaving a triumphant Rayne to spin-toss her staff into the air like a baton, spin once, and catch it with one hand. The teens burst out of the bushes, all of them running over to congratulate Rayne.

"That was amazing!"

"I've never seen anyone beat one of those by themselves."

"Your technique was great! You went for the weak points immediately!"

Rayne smiled, "Well, one thing I have learned about big fiends is this; you take out their eyes and their far easier to beat down. And speaking of beat…" She reached into her acid green bag and pulled out an Ether, downing the powder. "Hmm, not bad. Kinda tastes like apple."

Lulu stared at her wide eyed, "That's your first time having an Ether?!"

Rayne smiled sheepishly and swallowed, "Hehe, well, there was always one of those blue spheres nearby…"

"Here," She looked and saw Wakka handing her a handful of Grid spheres. "From the fiend."

She smiled and shook her head, closing Wakka's hands, "You keep them. I have until Zanarkand to get as many as I need, and I already beat two of those today."

He looked at his hands and then her with wide eyes, "Really?"

She nodded once. She had overkilled that fiend, so it had spewed out a lot of spheres. They could probably use them more than she. After all, Lulu and Wakka would have to guard Yuna soon…

"Well," She clapped her hands. "If you guys are done, why don't we head back? I'm bone tired."

The teens readily agreed; it was growing dark and all of the more ferocious fiends came out after dark. When they were almost back to the village, Rayne was engaged in another battle, this time with several dog-fiends. She turned to the teens and smiled, "Care to join?"

They gapped at her, but hurriedly agreed when she had to dodge another attack. Rayne noticed that Wakka's and Lulu's techniques wouldn't change much, and Chappu fought a lot like Tidus. When the battle was over, the three teens insisted that Rayne keep all of the Grid spheres from that battle.

As soon as they walked back into the village, several other teens noticed their friends walking with an older stranger and hurried over. Rayne hastily excused herself and left them to spin their own tales, speed walking back to the Crusaders lodge. Inside their room, she found her three companions all awake and whispering to each other. As soon as she shut the door, they stopped and looked away.

Rayne quirked a brow and put a hand on her hip, "Well if that doesn't raise suspicions…"

Jecht speedily said, "We weren't talking about you!"

The other two groaned and Rayne laughed, "You never struck me as the type who was bad at telling lies, Jecht."

Knowing he had gotten them caught, Jecht sighed and hesitantly said, "Well… it's just…"

"We saw you with those kids, Rayne."

She snapped her gaze to Auron, "And is there a problem with me being with people close to my age?"

"No, Rayne, not at all!" Braska exclaimed, pausing before he continued. "It's just that… you looked happy with them, with kids closer to your age, and that made us happy. It also made us wonder…"

Auron sighed, "We wondered if you would be better off here. If you would be happier in Besaid. If we should really let you come with us, to Zanarkand."

Rayne felt her blood run cold, "Then, you mean to leave me here? After making me a guardian, you mean to abandon me?"

"Look, kid. You're still young, only nineteen! You have your whole life ahead of you; a life that could easily be lost on this pilgrimage. Like I said before, the chances aren't in our favor for you and me getting home. But you could start fresh here. You could live a full life."

Rayne glared at Jecht, "So could you! You could start over in Luca, and be a famous blitzer again! You could remake the life you had in Zanarkand in this current Spira, but I don't hear that being suggested!"

Jecht sighed, "I have a family I want to get back to."

Rayne gave him an exasperated look, "So do I!"

"I know kid, but you're younger than I am. I can't easily start over, but you can. Besides," He looked away, obviously feeling guilty about what he was going to say. "Chances are in better favor for me getting home than you. I touched Sin and got transported a thousand years into the future. Something 'happened' to you, and you were transported here from another world entirely, never mind the time span, which we wouldn't be able to measure anyway."

Rayne stumbled backwards, "I can't believe I'm hearing this… Braska, do you feel like this too?" The summoner closed his eyes and turned his head, nodding slightly. Desperate, she turned to Auron. "Auron…" He kept his gaze focused on his shoes.

Even Rayne could hear the tremor in her voice as she spoke, "Auron, I know you don't like me, but I still want to hear you speak. I want to know what you think. I want to know what goes on inside of your head. Please, tell me… I need to hear your voice. Please…"

She saw Auron clench his hand tightly. He then stood and walked towards her, his eyes piercing into hers, "Nothing is possible between us."

"Auron…" Rayne took a step backwards.

"You're too young… too full of life for this." He walked towards her, his voice never rising.

"Auron…" She looked at him with wide eyes, her voice trembling, taking another step backwards.

"You may be powerful, but power isn't everything. You aren't ready for this." His voice didn't betray him, and his face was too shadowed for her to see his eyes. He stepped closer.

"Auron… why…" She bumped into the door. She was cornered.

"It was never meant to be." He pressed up against her, placing his hand on both sides of her head. "You came in too late. It never would have worked. You came in right after my life had changed. Had you come earlier, things might have been different. I just might have…" His fingers brushed the side of her face, wiping away her tears.

"Au… ron…"

His face bent closer to hers, but stopped just before her lips. "You can't come." His hand lowered to the handle. "You have to stay." His eyes were shadowed; she couldn't tell if he was looking at her or not. "You have to have the chance that we don't." His hand turned the handle. "I'm sorry."

The door swung outward and she fell through, landing sprawled on her back. Before she could look back up, the door shut. Her journey was over…