Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X is the property of Square Co., Ltd./Squaresoft, Inc., Square Electronic Arts, and Sony Computer Entertainment. Mass Effect is the property of Bioware, Microsoft Game Studios, and Electronic Arts. I am none of these, and as such make no money from this venture.

It wasn't until nearly a local week later that Wakka broached the subject Shepard had overheard him discussing with Lulu. Yuna had pointed her to a semi-secluded freshwater lagoon not far from where she had washed ashore and the Commander had taken to swimming there in the early mornings when she woke from another nightmare or simply hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. The calm waters were cooler than the warm ocean they flowed into, owing mostly to the shade of the overhanging cliffs, but not chilly enough to freeze her out. It was also, thankfully, far less crowded than the beach due to occasional fiend attacks and the hard coral floor.

This particular morning, Wakka appeared as she surfaced from a dive. Spotting him lounging on the thin stretch of shore at the base of the cliffs, she swam over and tossed a fishnet bag up to him before hoisting herself out of the water. He whistled at the sight of nearly two dozen molluscs clattering against each other. "Ya been busy down here."

She shrugged and dried the blade of the small steel knife she'd traded from a villager off on the towel she'd left on the bank with her effects. While she tended to keep to herself, the old leatherworker had vouched for her honesty and willingness to trade and she had been able to acquire another change of clothing as well as a few essentials for jungle living. Yuna approached her occasionally, usually in the mornings to invite her to prayer in the temple and in the evenings to see if she needed healing. Lulu was the apprentice summoner's constant shadow, but Shepard had not seen Kimahri since that first day. Wakka himself appeared consumed with practicing something called Blitzball which resembled a hanar sport she'd seen once on shore leave, though adapted for far fewer limbs. Apparently there was a tournament coming up soon and the local Besaid team wanted to compete.

"Been talkin' t' Lu 'bout how t' get ya back where ya belong," Wakka began, setting the bag of oysters to the side.

Shepard hummed non-committally, drying her feet and pulling on her socks and boots. "Where's that, then?"

The redhead chuckled and skipped a stone across the lagoon. "If I'm right an' ya are a Crusader, there'll be records in Bevelle. People who know ya too, hopefully."

She had to ask. "And if you're not?"

Her companion's face wrinkled as he repressed a wince. Sighing, he picked up another flat rock and sent it jumping across the water. "Didn' want t' ask ya like dis, but Yunie's goin' on a trip soon. She's gonna need people t' watch out for her, so me an' Lu an' Kimahri are goin' too. Now, we got a lotta stops between here'n Bevelle, but if ya come wit we could help ya check dem all for anyone who knows ya."

He fidgeted slightly, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck and looking anywhere but in her direction. "If... If dey got nothin' an' no one else we find knows anythin'... I bet Yunie'd be happy if you came wit' us to the, uh, end."

Shepard didn't have to think about it long. There was no way she'd be content to stay on Besaid long term and she really needed to get back to Citadel space, so her options were to travel with people she knew at least somewhat or eventually travel with people she didn't know at all. Not a hard choice, really. Still, she was missing some information and she certainly hadn't missed Wakka's stutter about their final destination. Best to leave that for later, though. Her fingers sought a smooth pebble and, with a deft flick of her wrist, it skimmed lightly across the bay before sinking just short of the opposite bank. "Why is Yuna leaving and why does she require guards for the trip? I mean, I realise she's like some kind of royalty here, but..."

Wakka whistled low at her toss. "Not royalty," he corrected. "Not really. Her father was th' last High Summoner, so people honor her t' honor him, since he's gone an' all. She's an apprentice summoner too - an' dat's a big deal, you know? - so dey respect dat too. Once she finish prayin' here she won't be an apprentice anymore, but den she's gotta make her pilgrimage. Gotta go pray at every temple in Spira. 'S a dangerous trip, so we go an' take care a' her. You don't need t' decide now; th' boat'll be in dock in a few days, and then we get goin'."

The Commander skipped another stone and stood, snagging the bag of molluscs and stowing her diving knife in its boot sheath. "Yeah, alright," she agreed. "I'm pretty good at playing bodyguard."

He laughed and stepped in next to her as she started back towards town. "Are ya?"

The question was deceptively light; Lulu must have drilled him in being a bit more subtle with his probing into her past. Shepard shrugged and nodded absently, twisting the truth. "I think so, anyway. Seems comfortable. Guarding people, watching their backs. Don't think I have the right weapons yet, though."

Wakka tensed a little at the memory of how easily she'd handled the al bhed pistol and they walked in silence for some time. Just before they reached the edge of town, he half-turned and offered a hesitant compromise. "Maybe we find ya somethin' better once we get t' Luca, eh? 'S th' next big city and we probably won't find much before den."

Startled at the concession, Shepard could only nod mutely as they stepped onto the central plaza. She doubted he was referring to guns - or any other kind of machina - but the gesture was still appreciated. The redhead opened his mouth to speak again, probably with an offer to share lunch or to see if she'd join him on a hunt in the jungle tomorrow, when the flustered approach of a robed priest from the temple cut him off. The bald man didn't appear to notice her at all, stopping just short of running into the tall redhead and peering up at him anxiously.

"You could at least go see how they're doing," he began, half-pleading and half-reproachful.

Wakka shook his head sadly, shrugging his shoulders. "We can't interfere, it's a rule."

"But," the priest tried again, eyes darting around and finally settling on her. She was politely looking away with a vaguely bored expression on her face. The man leaned closer to Wakka and lowered his voice, though she could still pick it up easily. "It's been nearly a day. What if something's happened?"

Wakka sighed and looked over at Shepard as well. "Hey," he tipped his chin up as she glanced back at the pair. "I catch ya later, huh?"

She shrugged and nodded, watching as they started towards the temple, the priest looking relieved as Wakka waved him forward. Only when they disappeared into the dark of the stone building did she turn towards her borrowed accommodations to put away her weapons and change out of the shorts and shirt she usually swam in. The exchange nagged at her as she pulled on her Alliance fatigues out of habit. Wakka's resigned acceptance of something that worried the priest and their oblique references to problems that may or may not have occurred ticked over in her mind as she prepared a small, simple lunch. By the time the Commander had finished eating, she'd already made up her mind to investigate.

Arming herself with Rikku's knives in case of actual danger, Shepard slipped into the main chamber of the temple. Spotting Wakka chatting with the head priest, she made her way towards them casually. The bald man gave her a cautious look as she approached and made his excuses before retreating to the other side of the room. When the redhead turned, somewhat surprised at her presence, she offered up a couple soft fruits as explanation. "I doubt you stopped to eat."

Predictably, he grinned, taking the food and thanking her happily. As he gamely tried to keep the juice from dripping down his chin, she cast her eyes around the dimly lit room and its unusually tense atmosphere. "Is something wrong?" she asked as he finished the last bite.

His expression soured slightly, she noted from the corner of her eye, and he glanced towards the stairway at the front of the room. Voice pitched low to avoid eavesdroppers, he sighed again. "Yuna hasn't returned from the trial yet."

"Trial?" She stayed deliberately relaxed, her tone carefully neutral.

"S'a room in dere," he gestured towards the steps and, presumably, deeper into the temple, "called da Cloister a' Trials. Beyond dat is th' Chamber a' Fayth, where the summoner prays. Remember I told you she gotta pray at every temple? Well, she starts here." He rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "But she went in jus' after breakfast yesterday an' hasn't come out yet. Nothin' to do but wait."

"What does the trial involve?"

Wakka shrugged, tucking his hands behind his head carelessly. "Dunno. Only summoners an' their Guardians're allowed into da Cloister, an' den tha Guardians gotta wait outside da Chamber 'til the summoner's done."

"So no one knows what goes on inside?" Shepard's brows came down and she stared hard at her companion. "How do you know she's even still alive?"

He looked down at her, startled, and his hands dropped to his sides once more. Rallying himself, Wakka shook his head. "Yunie's fine. She come out any minute now." He didn't sound entirely sure of himself. "Sometimes the prayer jus' takes longer than expected, ya?"

Shepard wasn't ready to let this go now that she had committed to protecting the younger girl. "Longer than expected?" she demanded in a harsh whisper. "Does she even have food in there? Water? It's been over twenty-eight hours since they went inside, by your own estimation. Forty-eight without water and you're looking at moderate to extreme dehydration, especially in a tropical environment like this. How much physical activity is she doing in there? Has she slept?"

He held up his hands in a gesture of surprised surrender. "Whoa, whoa. Slow down, ya? I don' know what happens in da inner chamber; no one does but da summoners. Lulu an' Kimahri are right outside it, though, so as soon as she's done they bring her out t' see us, okay?"

"You're remarkable okay with the idea of injury to someone you've sworn to keep safe," she remarked sardonically, shoulders twitching as she straightened her spine and started towards the stairs.

Wakka caught back up with her just as the head priest blocked her path. "You cannot go up there," the robed man stated boldly. "Yevon grants access to the holy places only to a summoner and their Guardians. The precepts must be obeyed!"

Her lip curled in a snarl. "Your god cares little for its chosen ones if they are denied basic necessities."

She made to push past him but, just before her feet hit the first step, the door above them slid open to reveal Kimahri cradling an exhausted Yuna as Lulu acted as his guide. At the sight of the crowd below, the older woman smiled faintly and announced their summoner's success. Cheers rang out from behind the Commander and the head priest shot her a smug smile, but Shepard saw only Yuna's flushed skin and the dark circles beneath her eyes. As Kimahri descended the stairs, she could make out a pinched look on the summoner's face and noted the ragged tenseness in her small frame that indicated she was in pain and trying to hide it. Turning to Wakka behind her, she began snapping orders with deadly seriousness.

"Go get fresh water - cool but not too cold - and soft rags. Also fruit juice, or even the fruit if it's moist enough, and some of that fish soup, as she'll need to replace salts. If you can, get a fan and a change of clothing, as light as possible."

As soon as she'd finished speaking, she dismissed him without another glance and he hesitated only a moment before ducking out of the temple. Turning her attention back to the two Guardians before her, Shepard pinned Lulu with solemn eyes and twitched her chin to the right. "She can't go outside in this heat; it'll only make it worse. Put her in the room she healed me in and we'll go from there."

Kimahri snarled wordlessly and tightened his grip, pulling a moan from the girl in his arms. He looked down, assessing his charge, and Lulu placed a hand on his arm. There was another moment of silence in which Shepard stared them down before the older woman nodded silently. The crowd that had gathered parted as the trio strode purposefully towards the antechamber, Yuna curled protectively in their midst.

The head priest watched the byplay silently, weighing the strange woman's previous actions with the distinct aura of command now surrounding her. Luzzu stepped forward as the curtain swung shut behind the small procession. "Wakka may be right," he murmured, eyes on the covered doorway. "She certainly carries herself like a Crusader General."

"She has no respect for Yevon and his teachings," the priest grumbled back.

Luzzu shrugged. "It seems to me that, rather than not respecting him, she simply places the lives of people above the wishes of a god."

He turned away as Wakka rushed back into the temple, nodding a greeting and gesturing to the side room that contained his friends. When the Blitzballer had slipped around the curtain with a nod of thanks, Luzzu gave the priest a deferential bow and retreated outside to begin preparations for the celebrations later that night. The bald man he left behind glanced towards the antechamber once more before sighing and making his way to his small, quiet office to compose a letter to the Maesters.

Wakka, on the other hand, walked into a room as charged as the air on the Thunderplains. Yuna had been laid out of a pile of cushions, her eyes closed and her feet elevated. Her boots had been removed, as had her sleeves. Her obi had been loosened, but she was still flush and feverish. Kimahri stood over her prone form, teeth bared at Shepard who merely stared him down with a dangerously flat look. Lulu stood to the side, watching impassively and toying with one of her moogle dolls in case she needed to interfere. At the redhead's appearance, Shepard looked away from her staring match, pulling a growl from the Ronso as he was once again dismissed. Lulu sighed and stepped forward to take the change of clothes from Wakka, gesturing him to put the provisions he'd rounded up on a low table that had been pushed against the wall.

"Everythin' okay in here?" he asked cautiously.

"It'd be fine," Shepard muttered as she sorted through the various containers of fluid he'd brought, "if a certain giant blue lion man would leave so we could get Yuna out of that stifling outfit. She's retaining too much heat but I refuse to expose her body to him without express permission just because he thinks I'll stab her the moment he's not looking."

"I will not allow you to harm Yuna," the Ronso snarled lowly. "She merely needs rest, preferably without your interfering presence."

"What she needs is water," Shepard snapped back, pinning him with a blazing look. "Your negligence has put her life in danger. She's overheated but she isn't sweating; she has a headache and, I suspect, stomach cramps. If you don't allow me to cool her down now as well as get some damn fluids into her, this condition will deteriorate until she wastes away before your eyes."

Wakka raised his eyebrows at Lulu, who nodded faintly. Sighing, he stepped up to Kimahri, breaking the line of sight between him and Shepard. "Come on. We be right outside an' Lu ain't helpless. She take care of it, ya?"

Lulu nodded again and moved forward as well, but Kimahri refused to be swayed. A frustrated noise exploded from Shepard's throat and the room turned to her as one. In three deft movements, she'd removed her daggers and boot knife, thrusting them hilt-first towards Wakka. Impatiently, she ground out her concession. "Look, take them. Now I'm unarmed and you'll be just on the other side of the curtain with that big spear all ready to gut me. Lulu will be here the whole time and as soon as she's changed you can come back in, but for now get out you paranoid bastard."

The silence after that statement was brief. Shocked as they were that she was willingly giving up her weapons, Lulu still snapped into action to usher both males out of the room. She made sure Wakka held the three blades - correctly assuming Shepard was concerned Kimahri would simply fail to return them - and tugged the curtain closed on their startled faces. Immediately, the two women began tugging the heavy silks from Yuna's frame, Shepard muttering darkly all the while.

Kimahri was gone when they pulled the curtain back again. Wakka shrugged uncomfortably but didn't offer any other explanation as he returned the Commander's weapons. Rolling her eyes, Shepard put the issue aside and returned to her temporary patient. She was no Chakwas for sure, but even the basic field training she had was better than nothing. Without a thought for her audience, Shepard activated her omnitool and began flipping through the programs for the health diagnostic that would normally route squad status to her hardsuit.

A sharp gasp from Lulu made her look up just as she found what she was looking for. The mage was staring at the orange glow over her arm while Wakka had darted up to close them off from the temple at large once more. Ignoring their stares to select the program she wanted, Shepard was about to begin her scan of Yuna when tiny plush limbs wrapped around her hand. Her brow furrowed as she looked down on a the little white... what is that, anyway? A bear with an antenna and wings? Lulu was holding it earlier...

"This thing yours?" She asked, lifting her arm and bringing the doll with it.

Lulu ignored her question entirely. "What is that and what were you about to do to Yuna?"

"Do to her? Nothing. I was going to scan her to get a better idea of her status, but if you'd rather I didn't..." Shepard shrugged, gaze shifting from Lulu's focussed expression to Wakka's cautiously wary one and back as she lowered her arm again and deactivated the omnitool.

"But what was that?" The mage didn't seem to quite believe her, though both she and Wakka had relaxed somewhat.

Shepard looked down at her hand, twisting it to grab the plush bear-thing and holding it up for inspection. She flicked the red bobble on its antenna and raised an eyebrow. "Magic. Want me to demonstrate on someone else first?"

"How about yourself?"

Shrugging again, she set the doll on the floor and it obediently trotted back to its master. "It doesn't work on the user," she replied, twisting the answer to avoid their questions.

In truth, she wasn't even sure if it would work on Yuna. She hadn't had a chance to try it on anyone else, though she'd already run the program on herself several times as she tested the limits of her omnitool on nights she couldn't sleep and didn't feel like making the trek to the lagoon. It synched with her hardsuit just fine, but it failed to list her vitals even when she was wearing full kit. She refused to believe it was anything but a glitch like the ones she'd found that first night.

"Alright. You try on me, ya?" Wakka volunteered, stepping closer to the door to keep Yuna out of the line of fire should something go wrong.

Lulu watched her closely as she stood, rolling her shoulders and reactivating her omnitool once she was no longer standing over the summoner's prone form. Selecting the diagnostic again, Shepard swept her orange-covered hand in front of the Blitzballer, crouching to cover the whole of him in one go. Relief and worry filled her in equal measures as a generic human male wireframe model appeared and text began scrolling beside it, noting old injuries and inconsistencies in muscle mass and bone density. She managed to keep her face blank, channelling her medic's professional nature even as she buried her fears on why she couldn't pull her own vitals from the technology.

Wakka stepped around to peer over her shoulder, curious at what information it showed her. "What's it say?" he murmured, practically in her ear, and she glanced up at him, startled.

"You can't read it?" The words were out before she could check herself and he shrugged.

Lulu frowned at them, but said nothing; Shepard mirrored the action. "It's only an initial assessment, but it's pretty good for physical abnormalities."

She pointed to the model's left arm and the program zoomed in obligingly, peeling away virtual skin and muscle. More detailed text appeared at the side, and she skimmed it briefly. "You broke your arm when you were younger."

The redhead's eyebrows raised in surprise even as he rubbed the offending limb. "Got healed up jus' fine though, by a mage an' everythin'. How'd you know?"

"The bone is different at the break point, where the magic sealed it back together." She turned and held out her hand, the tool still glowing brightly against her palm.

"There's a secondary part to the... spell. It'll be more useful for Yuna, but I assume you'll want me to demonstrate on you first. I'll need your hand. The ungloved one," she clarified when he started to offer up his left.

"This might sting a little," she muttered, maneuvering him so that his palm hovered just above hers, directly atop the orange circle.

A small beep sounded after a few seconds and Shepard twisted away from the almost-contact to watch the new results scroll across her screen. This time Lulu shifted closer as well, her curiosity finally pulling her to see if she could read what Wakka couldn't. Blood type, cell counts, skin moisture content, and genome anomalies scrolled almost too fast to catch but the Commander was well versed in picking the necessary information from excess jargon. Twitching her fingers to pause at the genetic breakdown, she frowned deeply.

"Wakka," she began slowly, "are you capable of magic?"

"Sure," he replied easily with a tilt of his head. "Why?"

It made no sense, she grumbled mentally. The sections normally associated with biotic use were dormant, and a whole new area had lit up like the Citadel on the anniversary of the end of the Krogan Rebellions. Flagging the section with a note and saving the results as a baseline for future reference, she looked up at her audience. A wry smile twisted her lips, completely at odds with her internal turmoil, and she gestured to their patient with her unadorned hand. "Can I check her out now or do I have to do you first, Lulu?"

The mage huffed quietly but retreated. "Do as you will," she allowed, skirts rustling as she sat beside Yuna once more.

Several hours passed before they allowed the young summoner to leave the cool stone building. Shepard had relayed her recommendations - a lot more water, no alcohol, fish soup and fruit for the next several meals, minimal exertion and cool baths only for the next few days - to the pair before they emerged into the temple proper. The villagers had crowded on the steps outside and cheered as Yuna waved to them all joyfully. She looked much better than when she had first stumbled from the Chamber of the Fayth into her Guardians' arms, and her good mood lifted the spirits of everyone waiting below. Shepard hung back in the shadow of the walls, unwilling to draw more attention to herself as Yuna, Wakka, and Lulu were escorted down onto the plaza by the head priest. The townspeople clustered around her to offer congratulations but soon they backed off towards the edge of the stone circle, leaving Yuna alone in the center, clutching her staff.

All conversation ceased when the young summoner raised her arms, circling them wide before bringing the staff back to center. Concentrating deeply, she lowered it until the carved golden disk was just above her head. Shepard furrowed her brow as the gathered people seemed to hold their breath as one. Without warning, Yuna moved. Left arm down and right arm up, the staff raised to the heavens behind her, she twisted and bent in a strange sort of half-bow as though she was beginning a dance with an invisible partner. In a swirl of power, colours began to appear at her feet, twisting upwards and out as a circle of runes surrounded her briefly. Yuna held her pose as the lights coalesced on her form before erupting into the sky. Shepard had to check her automatic reach for a pistol she wasn't carrying as a tinny chime sounded and its shockwave swirled the clouds angrily. A bright flash came from the center of the miniature storm. Then a roar echoed across the island like the noise of a frigate-class ship coming into dock and a huge winged creature swept down from the suddenly too-blue sky. Shepard pinched herself discreetly as the massive bird-dragon flapped its wings and came to settle directly in front of its summoner.

She was so caught up in watching Yuna reach out and tentatively pet the feathered neck of a monster that could snap her in half with barely a thought that she didn't even notice she had company until a massive hand wrapped around her bicep and dragged her around the corner of the temple. Snarling, Shepard drew one of her daggers and twisted, slashing blindly. The disgruntled huff and answering growl kept her from lopping Kimahri's hand off at the wrist, but it was a close thing. She jerked her arm from his grip, glaring up at him balefully. "What the hell is your deal, fuzzy?"

"My deal," he rumbled back dangerously, "is that you are an unknown. A danger to Yuna's mission. You will remain here when she leaves on her Pilgrimage."

"Like hell I will," Shepard scoffed back, returning her weapon to its place and crossing her arms defiantly. "I'm only an unknown because you've been off hiding for the past week and a half while I've been interacting with the rest of the island."

She looked him up and down blatantly, "You're the real danger to this mission if you keep letting personal problems get in the way of actually protecting your target."

"I have watched over Yuna since she was a child," Kimahri bristled. "I do not need your assistance."

"You wouldn't think so, would you?" Shepard muttered rhetorically.

He planted the butt of his polearm in the dust at their feet and nodded with finality.

"And yet here I am." She spread her arms wide and raised her chin in a gesture of confident defiance. "You have an issue with me, that's fine. We don't have to get along on a personal level to work together. The problem is that Yuna was practically dying in your arms and you fought with me rather than do what was best for her. Think about that and tell me truthfully that I am the real danger on her mission."

"You have already come close to disrupting the rites she must perform and we have yet to truly set out," the Ronso returned. "You do not even know our destination."

The Commander sighed and crossed her arms again. "Putting aside the fact that you didn't acknowledge my concern, have you actually talked to anyone about my coming along?"

When he only looked confused, she snorted in disbelief. "My destination is Bevelle. Wakka is convinced I'm a Crusader and that someone there will know me. If that doesn't pan out," she stressed the conditional, "then it will be up to Yuna to ask me to continue with her."

Kimahri gave her a scrutinising look and she quirked her eyebrow. Let him look, she laughed to herself. It's not as if he's any scarier than my first drill sergeant. After a few minutes, he broke their stalemate with a snarl and leapt away into the jungle without another word. Shepard stared after him in disbelief before shaking her head once and turning back to the plaza just in time to see the huge beast take off from the ground. Hands on her dagger hilts, she leaned back to watch it soar out over the temple before dissolving into a hundred brilliant lights to disperse in the upper atmosphere. Filing the encounter away to examine later, she rolled the tension from her shoulders and headed off to find her new charge.

That night saw another bonfire, this time on the beach. The smell of roasting fish and vegetables was underscored with wood smoke swirling in the salt air. Long after most of the townspeople had returned to their beds, the Commander sat at the edge of the sand where the scrub grasses began and the light of the dying fire barely touched. She was joined by others in groups of twos and threes until all those who were still awake had formed a cluster high above the incoming tide.

"Shepard?"

"Mm?"

"Where did you get those scars? I-if you can remember, I mean."

Gatta's voice was soft, as if he was afraid of letting it reach the dark of the jungle beyond their loose circle. Despite his initial standoffishness she'd come to like the young Crusader, so when Wakka opened his mouth to protest she silenced him with a look.

Turning slightly, she favoured Gatta with a softer glance. "Which scars?"

"The ones on your face." He seemed startled that she might have more and that they might not have all come from the same incident.

"A fight, when I was younger," she replied quietly, rubbing the line that bisected her eyebrow. "I was lucky to escape with my life, never mind the scars."

She barely noticed as other conversations fell silent around them, everyone eager to hear more about the enigmatic stranger in their midst. Swallowing heavily, she consciously relaxed and focussed on the sound of the waves.

"It was a fiend," she wove her tale with care, mindful of what they knew and what they only thought they knew. "Larger than any I had ever seen before."

She gestured expansively to demonstrate, and eyes widened around the circle. "I was small and had gone out alone, far away from where I was supposed to be and without telling anyone. It surprised me, leaping onto my back before I could draw my weapon. It was only luck that kept my neck from its jaws."

She turned her head and tugged the collar of her fatigues down across her shoulder to expose a ragged line of discoloured tissue disappearing beneath her shirt. It was the leading edge of a wound that, even a century before, would have caused the loss of her arm. Some of her audience gasped, and she shrugged her clothing back into place. "We fought and I managed to kill it, but I was badly wounded. I don't recall how I returned, or even who healed me. These scars are all the reminder I have."

The silence when she finished was broken only by the crackling of the fire. Eventually, a young girl she'd seen hanging around the Lodge spoke up hesitantly. "D-do you remember anything else? F-from before, I mean."

Though everyone was likely wondering the same, Shepard noted that the question earned the girl more than a few stern looks. She tipped her head back, staring up at the sky. "Stars," she sighed. "The infinite night sparkling with jewels all around. I felt like I could touch them all."

It was Yuna who spoke up next and no one dared to glare at Braska's daughter. "What was it like, so close to the heavens?"

The Commander hesitated, her eyes still on the deep blue-black of the night above them. "Beautiful beyond words," she finally replied, "and so unforgivingly cruel. I lost more to their glittering promises than I could ever imagine and yet I would return in a heartbeat if I knew how."

Only Wakka, seated closest to her, heard the final words she whispered into the night.

"They're the only home I have anymore."

This chapter comes with a bit of an extra. Originally I was going to have Shepard head down into the Cloister, but I decided that ultimately it would be better if she didn't tip her own hand too soon. The scene was written however, and I enjoy the righteously-upset Commander enough to share the first draft of the temple scene with you. So here you are, one Tidus-esque rule-breaking snarl-fest. Enjoy!

ooo

He watched as her face darkened with each word he spoke. Finally, she could take no more and twitched towards the stairs. He grasped her elbow and tried to placate her. "Wait, there are already guardians in there. Besides, it's forbidden."

"Forbidden?" That single word held more scorn than he'd ever imagined, especially considering their earlier argument. "You would leave Yuna - a person you know and care for - to face unknown trials and possibly death, alone? You have the means to help and yet you stand by and say you are not allowed? Childish."

Knocking aside his restraining hand, Shepard sprinted upwards, the priest reaching futilely after her as he called out, "The precepts must be obeyed! Yevon-"

Turning at the top of the stairs, a fire blazed in her eyes as she snarled back at the quivering man, "I am a Spectre. I am beholden to no one but the Council, least of all a simple god."

And with that, she spun and entered the Cloister of Trials.