Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X are copyrighted to Square Enix.
Word Count: 3, 480
Pages: 13
AN: Sorry for disapearing for an entire month. I was very social during the summer, and I lost the interest to type. Thanks to all my reviewers. I still want reviews though.

Hugging Tidus, thanking him for saving her life, Aerith embraces the bawling blitzer. Rikku looks for comfort in the arms of her father, crying for her lost cousin, while her father sheds a tear for his neice.

Although their responsibility as Yuna's Guardians ended with her Pilgramage, the sombre Lulu and her still feel the shocking grasps of failure ripping at their hearts.

Paine, Baralai and Gippal huddle in a group solemnly.

"I don't suppose we'll ever see Tidus the same again." Paine states melancholically. "And I was just getting used to his cheerful demeanour."

Baralai nods once and puts a hand on Paine's shoulder, while Gippal remains too dazed for words. Red XIII lets out a howl, mourning the Summoner. Shinra begans to sob and Tifa comes over to comfort the young Al Behd, while Barret wipes at his eye with his good hand.

Cloud stands with his head down, the feeling of guilt making its presence known. It was he who had gotten them involved.

Tifa hands off Shinra to Cid, who had released the crying Rikku to Gippal, the blondes needing comforting as well. Suffice to say the entire group is rather miserable and feel downtrodden at the moment.

The brunette bartender walks over to Cloud and places a hand on his shoulder. Cloud glances at her for a second before wrapping her in an unexpected hug. Rubbing the blond warrior's back comfortingly, Tifa said, "What's on your mind, Cloud?"

"They must have been best friends, Yuna and Tidus…"

"You can't blame yourself for what happened,"

Cloud shook his head, "It's not that…I'm…I wouldn't have wanted…I don't know what I would do if I were in his place."

Tifa tightens her hug, not knowing how else to comfort him.

Aerith finally lets go of Tidus and he stands, turning to the rest of the group with a determined look on is face.

"Rikku, you must remember happened after Yuna jumped at the wedding?"

The Al Behd girl looked at him with tear filled eyes momentarily before bursting out into a fresh round of sobbing.

"She summoned Valefor," Lulu replies in the Al Behd girl's place.

"Maybe she summoned something to help her again!"

"I don't think that's possible Tidus. All the Aeons are gone, and we don't know if they exist in this land. Even if she did, don't you think she would have come back to us by now?

"But…but what if…"

"I'm sorry,"

"It's not fair!" Tidus yelled. Flashbacks having to let Yuna go at the end of their journey played through his mind. "Why can't we be let to be together?"

Everyone gave him sympathetic looks.

"I empathize with you Tidus," Lulu tries to comfort.

"How can you! None of you know what its like to lose someone so close!" Tidus yells in frustration.

"I lost Chappu, and Vidina. The baby I never got to see grow up." Lulu stated in a saddened state.

"I lost my brother and my son, Tidus. They're both gone brudda." Wakka reinforced, yet not angry at his fellow blitzer, knowing of the pain his friend's experiencing.

Tidus gives him an apologetic look.

"I am the last of my race," Red XIII adds.

"Our families, our town," Tifa says while Cloud nods beside her.

"My kind, my mother…my first love," Aerith lists.

"My wife…my best friend…" Barret moans in misery.

"My wife, my sister, my son, my niece are all gone," Cid inputs.

"Yuna…she was my cousin…I lost her too, Tidus." Rikku sobs.

"We have all lost precious people to us, Tidus. Not to mention our ways of life have been destroyed," Baralai summed up.

"I'm sorry you guys. I didn't know…couldn't remember…" Tidus apologizes, blinking tears from his eyes.

Cloud looks up all of a sudden, realization printed on his face. "Lulu, you said that you and Wakka lost your son, didn't you?"

"Yes," she replied, tears threatening to spill.

"Was he with you when you were frozen?"

"I can't remember anything from that day, not how we were frozen or if Vidina was with us, but the chances are that he was. We never went anywhere without him,"

"Well, when Tifa, Barret and I overheard of your existence in a board meeting, the President stated that one of the 12 were awakened 5 years prior."

"And what else was said?" Lulu asks hopefully.

"It turns out the one that was released was in his infancy. Since he was too young to speak, they deemed him useless to the company and orphaned him. His last known whereabouts were in Sector 3."

"So Vidina may still be alive!?" Wakka exclaims.

"They freed him 5 years ago…if he managed to survive then he would be older, and possibly indistinguishable." Cloud continues.

"He has flaming red hair. That's a pretty rare trait, ya?"

"We have to try to find him, regardless of his age; I'll never give up on my baby."

Nobody speaks for several minutes, pondering how to approach the difficult search or how hopeless the search truly appears to be. Rustling can be heard by the edge of the highway and all the fighters stand in a ready position, anticipating another being set on hunting them, but blue fur confirmes the presence of Kimahri.

"Where did you go Kimahri?" Tidus asks.

"Kimahri look for body of Yuna. Yuna not dead." The Ronso states, a smile on his furry lips.

"What!? Are you serious!" Tidus jumps up smiling.

"Kimahri not find body. Scent of Yuna lead toward city."

Rikku runs to hug the Ronso in joy.

Loud speech consisting of joy for their friend's survival erupts across the group.

"So how come Yuna's in the city?" Rikku asks.

"Maybe she did manage to summon a flying beast, or something carried her off. I'm pretty sure she would come back to us otherse." Lulu theorizes.

"So what now?" Aerith asked.

"We go find Yuna!" Tidus stated.

Cloud looks at the blitzer with a frown. "We can't all go Tidus. I know she's important to you, but I have to stop Sephiroth. There's no telling what he's up to!"

"I'll come with you Tidus," Aerith volunteers, knowledgeable of the city.

"We're going as well. We have to look for Vidina too, ya?" Wakka sats, wrapping his arm around his wife indicating that they too will join Tidus on his search.

Cid walks over to Tidus' side and claps him on the shoulder.

"I will come with ya. I know how much my niece meant to you."

"Thanks Cid. I know you want to be there for Yuna as well."

"I figure I'm not much use fighting but we need some brains too," Shinra pipes up.

"Obviously you're coming with, you're just a kid, do you think we were going to leave you on your own!?" Cid exclaims while Shinra broods.

The Ronso steps up, "Kimahri will join Yuna's guardians once more."

"Yunie needs me! I can't not go look for my favourite cousin!"

"She's your only cousin, Cid's kid." Gippal whispers audibly causing Rikku to fume.

Tidus looks at Paine, Gippal, and Baralai; the remainder of the Crimson Squad. Paine shakes her head.

"Us Crimson Squad, we weren't part of the original Pilgrimage. I don't think it's our place,"

"Well you can come with us after Sephiroth," Tifa suggests.

"If none of you mind our company, it is better than being inert," Baralai states.

"I suppose we can use all the help we can get," Cloud shrugs, not questionning this 'Pilgrimage'.

"What now?" Barret asks.

"Sephiroth is still alive, and he's after the Promised Land. I…I have to settle the score." Cloud says.

"Will that save the Planet?"

"Yeah…seems like it." Cloud nods.

"Awright, I'm going!" Barret enthuses.

Red XIII comes forward, "I'm going back to my hometown. I'll go with you as far as that."

"Goodbye Midgar. I guess this is the start of our journey…" Tifa farewells.

"It's going to be dangerous. You sure you want to come, Tifa?" Cloud asked.

"Mm, but you know it should be alright if you keep your promise."

"Marlene should be alright, right? We told Aerith's mom to go somewhere safe," Barret looks for reassurance.

"Yeah, she should be." Cloud said

"She said she didn't want to stay in Midgar anymore…Maybe it's for the best." Aerith says.

"Aerith, are you going to be alright without us?"

"Don't worry Cloud I can look out for myself, I grew up in the slums remember. And I have Tidus and crew to protect me after all."

Cloud gazes at Tidus intensely before giving the other blond a nod of his head, which the blitzer returns.

"Take care." Cloud directs at the party before splitting off. "We'll leave via the cable hook; you guys can backtrack into Midgar if you take an off-ramp. Good luck."

Rikku, Cid and Aerith each got behind the wheel off a sA vehicle while Tidus mounted his motorcycle. Shinra rode with Cid, while Wakka and Lulu got in with Rikku, and Kimahri jumped into the truck bed of Aerith's vehicle. They drove along the path they recently threaded until they found an exit, which they took into the nearest Sector.

Kimahri picks up Yuna's scent as they enter the section of the city, but it fades as they headed towards Sector 5. Turning around and heading the opposite direction towards Sector 3 proved to be more fruitful, as the presence grows stronger.

Entering the nameless town of Midgar, Yuna's scent increases in potency. They stopped at an inn for the night, seeing as there was nobody to question on the streets; the group figured it would be best to catch up on sleep. Lulu and Wakka woke up early so that they could ask about the fire haired orphan.

Their search wasn't very successful until they reached a woman in her mid 30's.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me if you have seen an orange haired boy, about 5 years old, around the area. He's most likely orphaned."

The woman gave Lulu a bewildered look but replied nonetheless, "Sorry, can't say I saw a child with orange hair, but if you're looking to adopt, then maybe you should head over to the old church. They take care of orphans over there."

"Thank you for your help,"

Everyone was waiting by their motorcade. Aerith looks up with a hopeful expression.

"She said that they may have orphans at a church,"

"Oh! They have churches over here too!? Wonderful!" The flower girl smiles.

"Sorry, but what's a cher-cech?" Rikku ponders.

"Well, it's a place of worship." Aerith explains.

"And what do you worship?" Rikku questions with a raised eyebrow.

"It's…slightly complicated. The head of the church could explain it better."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Tidus pronounces.

Aerith asked for directions and they drove around until she claimed they had found the proper address. Stopping their trucks the little crew exit their trucks, while Tidus dismountes his Hardy-Daytona.

"Alright Cid, we'll be back soon. You and Shinra guard the vehicles. Kimahri, you survey the perimeter."

"Okay Lulu,"

Lulu enters the church in the lead with Aerith and the rest picking up the rear.

The architecture is old, but the place wasn't abandoned. At the altar stands was a priest, who looked up from his reading when the doors opened.

"Ah, guests," he smiles kindly.

Walking to the entrance, he bows to Lulu, Wakka, Aerith, Rikku and Tidus in the traditional pray gesture used in Spira. Lulu is caught off guard slightly, but returns the bow nonetheless. Tidus is greeted with another flood of memories.

He sees himself receiving the bow from a group of young Blitzball admirers, then from Wakka who was showing him how to pray properly when he was to enter the temple of Besaid.

Tidus thinks that the 'prayer' was making too many appearances; possibly even following him through time.

"Ah, you are knowledgeable of the customs of the church. It's a pleasure to have you. I'm afraid this church, and many others in fact, hasn't had many visitors since the Shin-Ra Company's rise to popularity."

"Why is that, priest?" Aerith asks.

"The citizens of Midgar neglect the ways of the Lifestream now that they depend on the Mako energy Shin-Ra harvest." The priest shakes his head in sadness.

"My sympathies go to you. However we are not here to worship. I was hoping you could provide us with some information." Lulu presses.

"Very well. How may I be of service to you?" The priest continues with a smile, unperturbed that his visitors were not here to pray.

"We are looking for my son. I was told there were orphans being taken care of here at the church. His last known whereabouts were in Sector 3. He has his father's flaming hair."

"Ah, yes. There was a child with orange hair here. He arrived around a month ago with a tall, dark haired man. They never gave there names but they took refuge here up until several hours ago."

"And? Did they say where they were going? Why did the leave all of a sudden?"

"The man left the boy here while he went out during the day, like he usually does, but he returned with a brown haired woman."

Tidus springs into questionning at the mention of the brunette, "Did this woman have two different coloured eyes?"

"One green, and one blue." The priest smiles with a grandfatherly twinkle in his eyes.

"That's Yuna!" Tidus explains. "Why did they leave?"

"The woman and the boy both exerted a certain power. She recognized the child and referred to him as 'Vidina'/ I suspected that they were Ancients, because they appeared to have the ability to hear the Planet. The man had been wondering about the boy for weeks and with the arrival of your Yuna, she confirmed his suspicions. I assume he has taken them to a place where they can fully explore their power; perhaps the legendary Forgotten City?"

"How can you hear the Planet?" Tidus asks.

Aerith smiles and answers for the priest, "You just have to listen."

The group stopped speaking and paused for a minute, as if waiting for he Planet to spill it's heart to them that very moment.

"I can't hear anything!" The temporarily silent Rikku whined.

"Shh!"

The busy city's noise permeated through the walls but whispers could be heard inside the church.

"Welcome…Yuna's guardians…" a soft voice spoke to the group.

Tidus jumps in surprise but Lulu puts a finger to her lips to indicate the need for silence.

"Thank you…please… protect my daughter once more." The voice fades.

The group stand stock still for another minute waiting to hear more, but the voice doesn't speak again.

"That was Lord Braska's voice." Lulu states.

"Hi uncle!" Rikku shrills.

"How'd he get here, ya?" Wakka ponders.

"Are we still on Spira?" Tidus wondered.

"I don't think so. Somebody should have recognized us. We did save Spira after all." Lulu points out. "As for how Braska spoke to us, I have no idea."

"That's true. Why did uncle Braska stop speaking though?"

"Midgar is always noisy. It is difficult to hear the Planet within the city." Aerith says.

"Conversations with the Planet? Perhaps it would be easier to communicate with the Ancients at a Cetran temple."

"Is this not one?" Tidus questions.

"Oh no! It would be truly wondrous if it were, but I'm afraid we haven't discovered one yet. I believe only an Ancient or a Cetran tool can find the way."

"Then what purpose doest this church serve?"

"It exists to study and pray to the Planet. There were temples in each Sector and each one prayed to a different god of the Planet."

"Aeons?"

"I am not familiar with that term. Of course, they are now called Summons by the majority of the public as their power can be unlocked via materia. People used to pray for the power of a Summon in the old day, when these parts still had a name instead of a number, and the Cetra's powers were unlocked without materia."

"Most of the churches were destroyed by Shin-Ra or abandoned. This one still remains because we give shelter to orphans but most the houses of worship were moved to the other towns outside of Midgar."

"Did Yuna pray for this Summon?" Tidus asks.

"Yes. It was quite an experience. Most people wouldn't be able to acquire the power since most of the ties with the Planet were lost after urbanization."

"Do you remember the original name of this sector, priest?" Lulu asks.

"Yes, I am one of the few that due, although the name of the church is direct indication. It's called the Church of Macalania."

Everyone's mouth -save for Aerith's- drops in astonishment.

"It was a name taken from an ancient culture, as old as that of the Cetra."

"So they founded the city?"

"Most of that history was lost or forgotten, so we can only speculate."

"Thank you for your information priest." Lulu says, "But we must be on our way to find our friends. Which way were they headed?"

"I recall calm being mentioned."

The priest and the group bows to each other before turning to leave.

"I will pray that you will be reunited with your loved ones. May the Planet bless you."

Once they were outside, Aerith turned to Tidus and throws herself into his unsuspecting arms.

"You're an Ancient! All of you! I'm so happy that I'm not alone." The flower girl squeals in joy.

Tidus returns the hug awkwardly, but Lulu looks perplexed.

"I'm not certain that we are this Cetra race you speculate us to be."

"Maybe, but you can all understand the Planet, yes? That certainly makes us close. All my life I thought I was alone…" Aerith smiles in the mystifying way that hints at her being more knowledgeable on the subject.

Tidus gives her a fragile smile, which falteres almost immediately.

Before anything else can be said, a screeching of tires can be heard and everybody turns their heads to see a large red vehicle pull up in front of the church stairs. Cid jumps out with a goofy grin on his face.

"Isn't she beautiful!?" He enthuses.

"It's a monstrosity," Lulu scoffs, looking at the huge bus-like truck.

"What happened to the trucks? And my bike!?" Tidus exclaims.

"A kind man was walking by when he saw the trucks and said he'd give me anything for the latest model!"

"And you gave him the others as well!?" Tidus cries in outrage.

"Don't be foolish! He gave me Gil for those, and traded the Buggy for the bike and the sA-37."

"But I liked my Hardy-Daytona!" Tidus broods, as Aerith pats his back sympathetically.

"I figured we needed a bigger vehicle to fit us all, and we need the Gil!"

"For what!?" Tidus shoots back, evidently peeved at the loss of his motorbike.

"A change of attire because we stand out too much and we can't begin a journey looking like we're attending a wedding. We need weapons and we can't survive without food and supplies."

"Cid is right Tidus. We can't go without provisions. Let it go." Lulu tries to calm the blond.

The blitzer sighs in defeat.

Kimahri steps out from behind a cluster of bushes, seeing the timing fit to come out of hiding.

"Yuna's scent strong here," he grunts.

"That's right! Yuna and Vidina were here just hours ago. They're heading for Kalm." Lulu informs.

"Together?

"Yes, along with a black haired man, apparently, who appears to be Vidina's guardian."

"We best get going then, ya?"

Rikku's already bouncing on the balls of her feet ecstatically as she got into the back of the Buggy, followed suite by Tidus. Shinra can fbe found already situated inside.

"Hiya Shinra! Do you think my Dresspheres still work? Pops said that we needed new weapons."

"Let me have a look," Shinra said before Rikku handed over her Sphere grid to him.

"Hmm...it appears to be broken…I don't know if I can fix it. I don't have any tools either."

"Poopie! I worked hard for those!"

"We'll keep it in the Buggy. I'll see what I can do with it."

"Thanks Shinra!"

"I can't promise anything, I'm just a kid."

Rikku look pensive for a second, as if she was going to ask Tidus a question, but Aerith got into the vehicle and her chance is lost.

The group got into the monstrous vehicle, all ready to explore the Planet.

"Let's get this journey started!" Cid exclaims.

AN: So the journey has finally started. I apologize for keeping you in suspense about Yuna's state. I didn't have the courage to kill her off, nor did I ever have the intention to keep her that way. Sorry to disapoint you ScreamingHeartstrings, and Stormie...we'll see about character mortality in future chapters.

AN2: This chapter was updated, with a new tense and slightly altered beginning. I was disapointed in the way it was written.

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