Chapter 1

"Yunie! C'mon! We're here!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard Rikku over the intercom. I left the cabin and took the elevator to the bridge.

"You good?" Paine asked as I got off the elevator.

"…Yeah."

"Seriously Yuna, are you really ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm sorry to make you worry."

"C'mon guys!" Rikku called. "Let's go!"

"Alright, alright! Geez, calm yourself!" Paine called back.

I had to laugh. Those two are just so funny whenever they interact like this. Me and Paine followed Rikku off the ship.

We landed on the beach of Besaid. I could see the village from where we were. The village where I grew up…and where I met him for the first time. I remember he was trying to get with me when we first met. I shuddered at the recollection of meeting Tidus in the same place I once called home. I think both Rikku and Paine noticed because I soon felt a strong hand gripping my shoulder and another hand lightly landing on my arm.

"Don't worry Yunie, he's not here. Everything will be fine, kay?" Rikku reassured me, while her hand rubbed up and down on my arm for comfort.

"Yeah, you're fine. He's gone." Paine added.

"…I know." I said softly. But in reality, I wasn't fine. I was completely terrified. I can still feel him here, and it scares me. I know he's gone and went back to where he should be, but everywhere I turn, I somehow sense his presence.

"C'mon. Let's go." Paine said as her and Rikku let me go and started moving. Before I even made a step to follow them, I heard the same dark, raspy voice that spoke to me in my dream, saying the same thing again,

"Believe… in the Shield"

"Believe… in the Shield" I whispered again. Somehow, that calmed me a little, even though I have no idea who is saying that and who, or what, the Shield are. But for some reason, that voice eases me.

"Yuna! You coming or what?!" Paine shouted.

I then ran to catch up with them and headed toward the village. When we entered, I noticed no change since the last time we were here, which was before we had to stop Shuyin from using Vegnagun, a machina that could have destroyed all of Spira. The village was relatively empty, except for someone coming out of one of the houses. We soon realized it was Wakka so Rikku called out to him.

"Hey there Tubby!"

"Hey! Haven't you guys in a while, ya?"

"It hasn't been that long." I said, "Only a few months."

"How's the baby?" Rikku asked.

"He's doing just fine." A familiar voice said. We turned in the direction of the voice to see Lulu walking out of the house with their baby in her arms. She looked at me, her face full of concern.

"Wakka, will you take him for a moment?"

"Uhh…sure thing. Something up?"

"Just wanted to take a walk, that's all."

She then nodded her head in my general direction. He nodded and took the baby from her. Rikku started gasping over him while Lulu ushered me to follow her out of the village. We past by Paine, who only smiled as she walked over toward Rikku and Wakka. We walked up the hill that overlooks the village and stopped when she spoke.

"You're wings have not fully spread, have they?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean? Does it still bother you?"

"…So you noticed, huh?"

"Yuna, we grew up together. I tend to notice when there's something bothering you."

"It's just…I relive it every night and wake up crying every morning. I hate being a burden to Rikku and Paine. For them to always worry over me, making sure I was ok."

"Yuna…"

"It won't go away, no matter how much I try to not think of it. But everywhere I go, I'm reminded of him."

I soon felt my knees buckle below me and could feel the tears flowing. I soon held my face in my hands. I hated this. Feeling weak, used and scared. Weak, used, scared. Those words perfectly describe me. I then felt Lulu's arms embracing me, pulling me close.

"Shh, everything's alright. He's not here and he won't be coming back. You're safe Yuna, remember that." Lulu said, soothing my hair. "They don't think of you as a burden. They want you to heal from this. They understand that it will take time for this to be forever in the past. You're not a burden to them, ok?"

But then I remembered what Paine said back on the ship, "Paine said I should just forget it happened, but it's hard when you're forced to relieve it every night."

"She's encouraging you to try to put it behind you. You should be moving forward, not to be stationary, forever stuck in the same memory for the rest of your life. I'm sure she meant to encourage you, not to hinder you."

"You think so?"

"I know so. We all want you to return to your former self. We want to see you smile again, to not be in constant fear and depression."

We sat like that for a while, her holding me while I try to regain my composure a bit. During that time, I took her words in. They want me to try to put the past behind, to move forward in my life. But, everywhere I go, I get flashbacks with him. He traveled with us, helped us defeat Sin. He was with us the whole time, constantly whining and complaining like a spoiled child. I was pulled away from my thoughts when Lulu spoke.

"Let's head back. Wakka might send a search party soon if we don't hurry."

Oh Wakka, the overly-worried father.

"Ok."

We stood up and headed back. Wakka suggested that we stay the night, since we came a long way. During the night, I was laying awake, unable to sleep. I decided to take a walk outside, to clear my head. I ended up leaving the village and went to the beach. The sound of the ocean was calming. I sat near where the waves ended on the sand. I tried to clear my mind a little, but it was impossible. Everywhere I go, there are flashbacks of him and I feel his presence, thinking the memory will happen again. I pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them and rested my head on them, crying softly. I hated feeling so weak where I cry at the mere thought of him. Then, I heard that voice again,

"Living in the past is not a way to move on from it."

I looked up and saw a man standing next to me, looking at the sea. He was fairly tall and well built, very wide shoulders and a wide stance. He seemed to be deep in thought, his lips pursed slightly, and his hands in his pockets as his dirty blonde hair looked to be gelled back. He continued to stare at the sea with brooding eyes while he spoke.

"The past can bind you; trap you like a caged animal. It's relenting at times, making you revisit memories you'd rather forget. Over time, the memories appear less and less until eventually, they're gone. Nothing left but faint memories."

"Faint memories?" I asked.

He merely nods and sits next to me. Our shoulders almost touching.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him.

"There will be a point where the memory won't haunt you as much as before. It'll appear less often until it barely gets replayed in your mind."

He then looked over at me. His deep blue eyes seemed full of…concern and…sadness.

"But constantly thinking about it is not the right way to get over it."

"But…the memory comes all the time, uninvited. It's… destroying me."

He placed his warm hand on my back, rubbing in small comforting circles.

"You will feel that way for a while. The feeling of it controlling you, making you relive it constantly. But you need to show it that you're not afraid of it. You need to find the strength to push it away. That will take time, but it will happen."

I took notice on how his voice changed, from his normal deep voice from my dream, to a quiet tone that seemed to be full of despair.

"Does something trouble you? Have you dealt with a painful memory?"

He face changed, it looked between sadness and anger. I felt his hand gripping the back of my shirt tightly. Maybe his past was painful as well.

"My apologies." I said quickly, "I did not mean anything by it. You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable."

"It's…alright." He said softly, "It's just…it's nothing. Don't worry."

I looked closely at him, his eyes showed sadness, but if he's not going to tell me then I'm not going to push him for answers. He unclenched his hand from the back of my shirt and drew it back. He then stood up, those sad blue eyes looking at the sea again.

"Think my times up." He shrugged.

"What do you mean?" I asked, panicking.

"I was sent here to meet and talk to you. Some weird looking kid sent me here. He had this purple hood that covered most of his face."

The Banamut Fayth sent him here? To speak with me?!

"Anyway, he wanted me to try to calm you. He didn't say what happened to you, just that you're having a hard time dealing with a painful memory and needed more support."

"I do, thank you for your words. But, will I see you again?"

"Yeah, I heard from the kid that you and your friends are coming to my world. He said our paths will cross, because of some prophecy or something. So yeah, we will."

He then started to fade away. I then began to panic, I didn't want him to leave.

"Wait, what's your name?!" I shouted.

He looked at me, "…You'll find out soon. Until we meet again…Yuna." He said with a smirk. I reached my hand out to grab his wrist, but before I could touch him, he was gone; I just grabbed the air where his wrist used to be.

"Who…are you?" I asked out loud, staring at where he once was, my hand still holding the air where his wrist used to be.