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.

Two days later the call came up from the docks; the small ferry to Kilika Island had been sighted on the horizon and would arrive late in the afternoon. Yuna had come by the Commander's tent earlier than usual that evening to pass on the information, then stayed to chat as Shepard began packing up the belongings she'd acquired in preparation for their departure the next morning. As she laid out her armour and performed last minute checks to ensure it was ready to wear, the teenager regaled her with stories of the High Summoners and the legends of the great battles that preceded each Calm. The idea of allowing an enemy time to regroup just for the illusion of peace curdled in Shepard's gut as she recalled the Council's dismissal of the Reaper threat as soon as Sovereign had been defeated. The more she heard of the legends of the men and women who had completed their Pilgrimages, the more a disturbing trend emerged.

"Has any High Summoner ever survived the fight with Sin?"

Yuna looked shocked for a moment, then shook her head with a sad smile on her face. "No. Summoning the Final Aeon - the only way to defeat Sin - is too much. It overwhelms them both, usually catching their Guardians in the backlash. Sir Auron is the only one I know of that has survived."

"Wait, back up," Shepard frowned, setting aside her work to give her full focus to the younger girl. "You're saying that this trip will ultimately end in your death? No second chances; do not pass go, do not collect 200 credits?"

Yuna looked briefly confused, then gave her a small, resigned smile and nodded shortly. The Commander stood abruptly and began pacing, muttering to herself. "A suicide mission. Why is it always a suicide mission? There must be something about that Final Aeon that overloads... no, no. If one person survived, there must be a blast radius; it implies a chance of escape."

"Right, well," Shepard turned back to her companion with a hard set to her jaw. Crouching to bring herself face to face with the kneeling Yuna, she grimly explained, "I don't believe in suicide missions, so here's the deal. You," she poked a gentle finger into the summoner's shoulder, "are going to live to see your Calm, even if I have to tear Sin to pieces with my bare hands to make it so. There's no way that monster will be coming back from it, either. Got it?"

There was a stunned silence for only a moment before that soft smile turned genuinely bright. Shepard watched, mildly alarmed, as Yuna's mismatched eyes filled with tears and then she had her arms full of laughing, crying teenager. Treat her like any other war orphan, the soldier told herself sternly, rocking back on her heels to keep from falling over. Don't shove her off just because you're uncomfortable. When she had calmed down somewhat, Yuna pulled back and wiped her cheeks with the back of one hand, still smiling.

"So," Shepard started, trying for casual in the wake of so much awkward emotion. "Who's this Sir Auron guy?"

"Oh!" Yuna clasped the the silver charm at her throat. "He was one of my father's Guardians when he made his Pilgrimage ten years ago. Sir Auron lost an eye, and nearly lost his life, to Sin's final attack. Kimahri found him at the base of Mount Gagazet and promised to look after me in his stead."

Shepard reminded herself to get a map of the world as soon as she could. "Why couldn't he look after you himself? This island isn't exactly a death trap or anything."

"I don't think he was sure that he would live," the summoner replied sadly. "Kimahri told me he fell unconscious as soon as he got a positive answer."

She began to make tea almost absently, and Shepard left off her organisation to scrounge up the makings for dinner. "I didn't always live on Besaid, either," Yuna sighed as the water boiled. "But this is as far away from there as we could get. I'm glad we came, too," she added with much more cheer. "I might never have met Wakka and Lulu and everyone otherwise!"

"You seem to have collected a fair number of Guardians," the Commander agreed idly. "Is there a set number you have to bring with you?"

What she wanted to ask was, Is the Pilgrimage some sick form of population control?

"Oh no, my father had only two but some have been rumored to travel with six or more."

Okay, now she was curious. "Who accompanied your father? Sir Auron and..?"

Before the blank could be filled, Lulu stepped into the open doorway. "There you are, Yuna. The priest is hoping you will lead a last prayer before tomorrow."

"Of course!" The teenager jumped up.

She gave a hasty bow to a bemused Shepard, who merely waved her apologies off. "Don't forget to eat well and get a good night's sleep, Yuna," she called after the escaping summoner.

"I will make sure of it," Lulu murmured as she followed her wayward charge at a more sedate pace.

Shaking her head, the Commander finished her preparations with military efficiency. As she sat down to her meal, she pondered what to do with the pistol. Ideally she would just wear it on her hip where it could be useful, but perhaps it would be better to pack it with her spare clothing and wait until they were somewhere isolated to bring it up with the two mages. Groaning softly at the complication, she slipped the weapon into the heavy canvas seabag she'd bartered from a tailor and the ammunition into the pouches on her armour. Setting an alarm for sunrise, Shepard closed the front flap of her borrowed home and tried to follow her own advice.

When Wakka came to retrieve her the next morning, he found the armoured soldier standing near the entrance to her tent, helmet in hand as she watched the sun rise over the temple. She was still as a statue, harsh lines of obsidian softened in the lifting fog, and he paused to take in the imposing sight she made against the crimson dawn. She tilted her head just so, catching him with the corner of her eye, so he stepped closer and set his pack down beside her own.

"Red sky at morning," she murmured when he'd come even with her.

"Huh?"

Shepard was silent for so long he wasn't even sure he'd heard her speak in the first place. Finally, she rolled her shoulders and brushed gauntleted fingers gently against the dagger hilts at the small of her back. "Only a memory."

He tipped his head in question as she nodded a greeting to the approaching Lulu. When the other woman was within hearing range, Shepard elaborated. "It's a line from an old seadog's rhyme. 'Red skies at morning, sailors take warning.' We should stay alert on the water today."

The black mage eyed her solemnly for a minute before nodding. "Yuna is saying her goodbyes. We will all depart together when she is finished."

"Kimahri also?" Shepard questioned, somewhat surprised that the standoffish Ronso would agree to join them on the walk down to the beach.

Wakka nodded, tucking his hands behind his head. "From here on out, we guard Yuna every step a th' way. He'll meet up wit' us 'fore we get too far outta town."

Yuna's appearance on the steps of the temple forestalled any further conversation. Lulu sighed as she saw the heavy trunk the young summoner was hefting. "You really don't need all that luggage, you know."

"Oh! It's not all mine," the teenager began, blushing. "I've got gifts for the other temples we're to visit."

Shepard stepped forward before anyone else could comment, tipping the trunk onto it's base and flicking open the latches. Layered beside a few spare outfits were less than a half dozen folded tapestries, intricately woven in the unique style of the island. She ran her glove gently over the delicate cloth, tracing a glyph she'd seen carved on the door to the Cloister of Trials. Turning just enough to watch the other Guardians' reactions, she commented softly, "These must have taken the weavers a long time to complete. Did you commission them just for this journey?"

Yuna's blush deepened and she fidgeted slightly. "Y-yes."

"Well," the Commander replied in a neutral tone, "all we need to do is teach you how to pack a little more efficiently, alright?"

She could hear Lulu sigh a little, but Wakka's chuckle and Yuna's tentative smile overrode any objections the older woman might have made. Pulling out the credit chit she had yet to actually use, she handed it to the young summoner. "Go see if the tailor is awake yet, and ask for a sailcloth bag like she sold me. I'll get these sorted while you're gone."

The summoner's grin as she rushed off, Wakka trailing behind her, was echoed on Shepard's face as she began to pull the tapestries from the heavy trunk. Lulu stepped up beside her, a faintly disapproving look on her face even as she reached down to help. "You shouldn't encourage her. This isn't a vacation."

"Nothing wrong with showing gratitude where you can," the soldier returned lightly. "I told her I would make sure she lived to see her Calm but if I can't keep that promise, why should I take away the joy she gets in giving to others? If she only has a limited time to live, let her do so as she sees fit."

The older woman was silent as they finished refolding Yuna's luggage. As the young summoner appeared on the other edge of the plaza, canvas bag in hand and brilliant smile on her face, Lulu tipped her head in a faint nod. "I understand," she sighed, braids tinkling. "And thank you."

Shepard didn't acknowledge her as Yuna rushed up to them, turning her focus instead to showing the teenager how to pack lightly. Wakka stashed the trunk in his house while Shepard latched her helmet and gathered up both their bags. With one last bow to the temple and town, the quartet set off for the beach. As soon as they rounded the first bend, Kimahri stepped out of the jungle and took the pack from Yuna's shoulder. Shepard ignored the teeth he bared in her direction, and struck up a conversation with Lulu about her dolls and the mythical or legendary creatures they represented.

They were undisturbed by fiends on the winding path they took - presumably a group as large as they were with openly displayed weaponry was not an attractive target to those with even limited intelligence - and they reached the stone monolith overlooking the town with good time. Shepard, near the rear of the group, watched as the other two women paused at the edge of the cliff. She pulled even with Wakka as Yuna turned away again to approach the monument and kneel before it.

"S'an ancient custom," the blitzballer explained softly, without prompting. "People leavin' th' island pray here for a safe trip. Chappu..." He trailed off and Shepard politely turned her attention to Lulu as the mage bowed before the stone. "He didn't pray when he left. Swore he'd miss 'is boat."

Wakka cleared his throat self-consciously and moved towards the monolith himself. Shepard watched him settle on his knees beside Yuna, a curious tilt to her head when even Kimahri pressed a blue-furred hand to the rock and closed his eyes briefly. She wasn't particularly religious - meeting Sovereign had really only cemented her disbelief in 'benevolent higher powers' - but a good soldier knows when to keep their head down, mouth shut, and follow the pack. The Commander stepped forward and lowered herself to one knee just behind and to the right of Yuna. She crossed herself, resolutely not thinking about her last Gunnery Sergeant, and placed her open palm over her heart, bowing her head. After a moment she stood again, stepping back to watch the treeline for fiends.

Both Lulu and Yuna gave her soft smiles as they passed on the way back to the trail and Wakka clapped her shoulder companionably, even if his own grin was strained. The second half of their walk to the beach was spent in contemplative silence, broken only twice by fiend attacks. The first was a pack of dingos, easily subdued between Kimahri's spear, her daggers, and Wakka's blitzball. The second was a single flan that had unfortunately gurgled its way onto the path. Lulu had huffed when their physical attacks appeared to do absolutely nothing against the jelly and raised her arm, calling down a shock of lighting that flash-fried the goo. Shepard grimaced as she cleaned her blades and sheathed them, resolving to find or build a codex of fiends so as to avoid wasted attacks in the future.

Though no one else had accompanied them and they hadn't passed anyone on the road, it looked like the entire town had beaten them to the beach in order to see them off. Shepard was glad for the distance her armour gave her as well-wishers crowded in to press presents on the departing summoner. Eventually they made it onto the quay and managed to usher Yuna up the gangplank before the mob could delay the ferry weighing anchor. The Commander hung back in the shadows of the wheelhouse as the rest of their entourage crowded the rails, waving furiously and calling back goodbyes to the islanders they were leaving behind. She was glad when they passed out of hearing range, because Yuna finally allowed herself to be escorted to her cabin.

Despite the dawn's omen, the seas were calm and Shepard took advantage of the small size of the SS Liki to explore. It was a bit of a comfort to find that after years of being formally enlisted in a navy, she didn't actually get seasick. Below decks she exchanged small talk with a flamboyant merchant who complimented her armour but sniffed disdainfully over the al bhed designs on her weapons. More amused than anything, she left him to his mutterings, waved a brief hello to one of Wakka's blitzball players, and made her way back up onto the deck. Yuna stood alone at the bow, Lulu and Kimahri watching silently over her from the shade at midship. Shepard picked her way to the fore slowly, exchanging nods and polite greetings with the crew as she approached the summoner. Idly, she leaned one hip against the rail post beside the teenager, tucking her helmet under one arm to savor the breeze on her face.

"I've heard," Yuna began after nearly five minutes of silence, "that somewhere up there in the sky is a great station floating amidst a cloud of brilliantly coloured star dust. It has three great arms, each longer than all of Spira, where anything you can think of can be bought and no one ever sleeps."

The soldier released a careful breath, forcibly keeping her tone casual as she stared out at the blue sea before them. "Where did you hear that?"

"My father's Guardian told me, long ago."

"Not Sir Auron, I presume, but the other one?"

"Un," Yuna agreed, folding her fingers together and peering at the Commander from the corner of her eye.

Unclenching her jaw, Shepard managed to ask, "What was his name?"

"...Major Shepard."

There was an ominous creaking from her gauntlet as her free hand fisted tightly. Shepard forced herself to relax at Yuna's soft gasp. "When?" she managed to choke out.

"E-eh?"

"When did he arrive here?"

"T-ten years ago," the summoner replied softly, concerned. Her gaze dropped to her folded hands as she added, "I remember because it was the day my father left."

The Commander's bitter laugh echoed over the bowsprit. "Yeah," she gasped hollowly. "Mine too."

Yuna's eyes widened and she stepped closer. "Really? Then.. our meeting like this must be the blessing of Yevon!"

Shepard shook her head at the thought of divine interference. "He shipped out on the Cartagena, which was lost with all hands somewhere in the Maroon Sea."

"I... I'm sorry."

One shoulder rolled in a distracted shrug. "There's nothing to be sorry for. I certainly didn't mourn him."

Yuna made a distressed noise and inched closer still but before she could say anything, the ship rocked violently, tossing them both towards the portside rail. Grasping the rope railing in one hand and her helmet in the other, the Commander managed to catch Yuna in the crook of her arm before she was tossed overboard but it was a close thing. Bracing her feet wide, she grunted a command to hold on tightly as the Liki rolled down the other side of the wave that had crested beneath them. The younger girl's arms came about her shoulders and Shepard twisted to shield her from the spray that shot up over the bow. Kimahri leapt up to their position as the ship leveled out again, pulling Yuna from the soldier's arms possessively. Ignoring him, Shepard used the reprieve to don her helmet, sealing it just as the water roiled off the starboard quarter. A scaled black fin surged forth from the spray, arching easily as high as the main mast and moving forwards to cut ahead of the ferry. Someone screamed.

"SIN!"

Passengers hurried to get belowdecks as the crew scattered to furl the sails and tighten the riggings. Two sailors stepped forwards to man the deck-mounted harpoon launchers, faces set with grim determination.

"What ya think ya doin'?" Wakka yelled. "Stick a harpoon in 'im an' we'll all get dragged unda!"

"Sin is headed for Kilika," one of the men called back. "We've got to distract it!"

The other looked over his shoulder sadly. "Our families... Forgive us, Lady Summoner."

Yuna held his gaze for only a moment before nodding in understanding. Blowing out a relieved breath, the two lined up their shots and let the barbed projectiles fly. "Oh boy," Wakka muttered as one fell short and the other bit deep into dark flesh.

The line snapped taut, jerking the Liki forwards and sending another wash of seawater over the deck as the bow dipped briefly under the surface. Shepard cursed as what she'd first taken to be scales broke off the main body and shot towards the ship, thudding into the deck with deadly force. She drew her daggers as they split open and unfurled to reveal chittering four-legged bird-fiends. Sin swerved, drawing astarboard, and Lulu raised her arm to call lightning down upon it. Wakka hissed a breath between his teeth and wound up a hard shot with his blitzball. Kimahri released his charge and drew his spear and, for a brief moment, Shepard was sure he would attempt to launch either the weapon or himself at Sin but he called out what must be some of his own magic to siphon energy from the huge beast.

Wishing desperately for a rocket launcher, the Commander instead turned her attention to the fiends on board, darting between the flickering wings and grasping claw-like jaws to rake her daggers down their vulnerable spines. She staggered as they turned their attention to her rather than the fleeing crew and her kinetic barrier collapsed under their suddenly focussed assault. Twisting, she ducked behind a crate to let it recharge, but groaned as she realised Yuna was still standing exposed on the deck. Charging back out, she grabbed the summoner by the arm and dragged her behind a pile of boxes. "Stay here; stay out of trouble," she growled impatiently, thrusting a knotted rope into the teenager's hand and bracing them both as Sin swung back aport.

The Liki listed dangerously as the harpoon line pulled her into the swell of another wave. Shepard swept back into the fray as soon as the ship levelled off, grimly pleased to see that only a scant few fiends had managed to stay aboard through the abrupt directional change. Cutting down one as it leapt for Lulu's exposed back, she slid sideways into Kimahri as a second lit up her barrier with an energy blast. A blue paw settled on her shoulder and the Commander tensed for his shove but it didn't come. Risking a glance up, she met one piercing eye through her faceplate before the Ronso nodded and returned his attention to Sin. Setting her jaw, she did the same with its spawn. It was as the last scale-bird went down that the over-stressed rope connecting the ship to Sin snapped, lashing across the deck and catching an unprepared Wakka across the chest. Shepard hit the water a half-second after him.

Powerful strokes guided her through the churning deep to the rapidly sinking Guardian-adept, omni-tool glowing orange as she scanned for his vitals. The Commander swore as the wide-angle search revealed a hostile convening on their location as well. As swiftly as possible, Shepard looped an arm around the unconscious blitzballer and began swimming for the surface. Her unoccupied hand palmed a spare pack of medigel, slipping under his loose shirt to split it open on his bruised chest. She lamented the lack of spare breather as they broke the surface, Wakka choking and gasping as he came to abruptly. Her fatigue burned away, and she glanced up to see Yuna standing at the Liki's rail, deep in concentration with Kimahri and Lulu flanking her. Wakka perked up as a second healing spell enveloped him, just in time for them to both be wrapped in tentacles and dragged back under.

Snarling, Shepard stabbed at the restricting appendage viciously until it let go. She really didn't want to have another underwater fight, but one look at her companion showed her he wasn't going to retreat. Cursing again, she grabbed the retreating tentacle and let it reel her in to the mutated jellyfish it came from, aiming for the fleshy orange ribbing beneath its 'head.' Her daggers bit deep, but she was soon tossed away with a hard slap to her chest. Wakka's blitzball knocked hard into the fiend in retaliation, and Shepard could see a dark powder shake free of the hide and cloud the waters. Filing it away as one more thing to question, the Commander pushed forward again, intent on finishing the fight.

Despite her will, it took several more passes before, with a last muted, moist thud of Wakka's unconventional weapon, the jellyfish dissolved into pyreflies. Without hesitation, Shepard grabbed the blitzballer's arm and tugged him towards the dark shadow of the ship above. When they had clawed their way back on board, she turned to see the cresting swell that was Sin race its way forward towards the unsuspecting town. In a rage, she tore her helmet off, barely stopping herself from flinging it down to the deck as she pressed against the bow ropes.

"No!" Shepard screamed over the cries of the terrified crew. "Come back and fight, coward! Oath-breaking, planet-burning, honourless son of a pyjak! I'll crush your eggs beneath my boots! I'll tear off your plates and feed you to a vorcha, you quadless, barefaced varren-spawn!"

She broke off into a bastardised mixture of Palavish and Tuchankan insults she'd learned hanging around the hold with Garrus and Wrex. Throwing in some of Tali's more colourful Fleet expressions for flavour, she alternately goaded and cursed Sin until her throat was raw and she sagged with exhaustion. The entire ship's complement watched in mute horror as Sin finally broke the surface of the bay, creating a tidal wave that swept destruction through the port. Even when they thought the worst was over and the wash had begun to retreat to the sea, the abomination was unsatisfied. Yuna sucked in a startled breath and the crew began sobbing anew as the wind picked up and the docks, trees, houses, and people were ripped up and flung into the air like so many broken toys. They hung in a morbid spiral for too many long moments before Sin seemed to grow bored and dropped them. As swiftly as it had appeared, it was sinking beneath water that should be too shallow to hide its bulk and disappearing.

She felt lost as the SS Liki cut slowly through the detritus of a once-vibrant town. With leaden limbs, she helped the crew pull corpses from the waves so they could be given a proper funeral when they docked. She hadn't known any of them and yet she could feel the weight of their lives like the touch of her own ghosts. Shuddering, she sloughed them off before they could drag her under. The crew walked the deck like the living dead and each body brought new anguish; she couldn't afford to drown with them. It looked as though everyone who had survived Sin's rampage gathered on the Kilika dock as they finally drifted into port. Yuna was first off, searching out the nearest elder and asking to be brought to any wounded. Lulu and Kimahri followed her closely, leaving Wakka and Shepard to help the crew unload their morbid cargo.

The sending was performed at sunset three days later. Shepard had already breathed prayers over the dead as she helped push them into the ocean. No one questioned it as she murmured entreaties to the drell goddess Kalahira to take their loved ones across the sea; those rites seemed fitting for the manner of their burial. Everyone gathered on the docks as Yuna made her way down to where the planks disappeared beneath the waves. She spoke softly to the elder who had guided her here before bowing deeply, then turned and stepped out onto the ocean. Time seemed to slow as her bare feet slipped almost soundlessly over the water, carrying her delicately above the flower-draped reed coffins that had been sunk into the bay.

The Commander saw her pause, head down, before bare shoulders dropped back and her spine arched with indrawn breath. The blue and golden rod arced out and someone on shore began to sing. A rhythmic drum picked up only seconds later, backed by the ethereal chime of bells. The haunting melody shivered down Shepard's spine and she tipped her head to catch one of the women of the town, two desperately sobbing children clutched to her sides, raising her voice above their cries to sing her farewells.

Yuna danced on, spinning and leaping over the bay as her skirt and sleeves trailed after her. She dipped, twirling her staff like a baton as she rose and Shepard had to close her eyes against the sight of so many pyreflies rising from the sea. Her heart faltered and her lungs froze in her chest. She was grateful to be at the back of the crowd so that no one saw her grip the fatigues over her sternum with white knuckles. The torch fires guttered and Shepard's eyes snapped open, unseeing, as they flared anew with blue flames. The ocean swelled beneath the summoner, lifting her as the rainbow lights spiraled loosely upwards. A man's deep voice joined in the soulful chanting and a low howl sounded across the docks as the wind picked up. The Commander barely noticed another young woman collapse to her knees, shaking with the force of her tears. An elder followed her down, concern drawn in every line of her aged face.

The twining pyreflies slowed as Yuna did and she twisted once, twice more before coming to a rest facing the last rays of the sun. She didn't seem to notice as the platform of water she stood upon lowered her gently back to the surface, her eyes raised to the darkening sky as the last of the dead dissolved into the growing night. Then she turned and stepped back onto the docks and the spell was broken. The song trailed off, drums and bells fading with it, and Shepard felt like she could finally breathe again. She released her cramped fingers one by one and tried to smooth the wrinkles in her shirt discreetly. Seeing all three of her fellow protectors move forward to embrace their charge, Shepard slipped back into the shadows of the ruined town. She needed to be alone to catalogue the phantom pains that had dug into her ribs. She didn't see the pair of mismatched eyes watching her leave.

This time when she dreamt, it was of a cold and desolate planet. She was numb and paralyzed, the chill in her bones and twining through her mind was not from the landscape she could barely see through fractured, snow-blind eyes. Ice crunched under boots nearby and she tried to move, to call out to whoever was there that she had survived but she found her voice frozen and her lungs shriveled in her chest. Almost against hope, her charred helmet was wrenched from her head and the darkened visor of another's suit came into view. She wanted to cry when it turned away without acknowledgement, but soon she was being rolled gently onto a stretcher, pushed into a shuttle, and taken away from a planet that surely would have been her grave.

Images flashed by then, ships and med bays and the interior of a too-white base. Faceless medics and soldiers swam in and out of her line of sight, until her view was washed out by a bright light placed directly over her bed. She tried to close her eyes, to snap at the doctors to move the lamp, anything, but her lungs still refused to draw breath and her lids refused to shut. The tendrils of ice in her mind sank deeper and the chill seeped from her bones to her blood even though she could feel the warmth of the room around her. Turning her focus inward, she began to try to catalogue her injuries, as she did every time she was submitted to a medic's tender mercies, but her thoughts stuttered before they could start.

Her heart did not beat and she screamed without sound.