The next morning I was awoken by the noises of people talking outside the Lodge.

"It can’t be. I don’t believe it."

"In the name of Yevon..."

"It’s, almost as if the Aeon was never sacrificed."

These words and many others filtered into my mind. Slowly, it dawned on me that they were talking about an Aeon. And sure enough I heard a noise that akin to cooeing, and rustle of feathers, from what sounded like a large bird.

"It’s Valefore." Said a voice rather quietly, almost disbelievingly.

"How can that be? We saw them destroyed Yunie. We fought them Two years ago, after they came back last time."

Obviously there was something outside that the people were seeing, and it was causing a lot of confusion and grief. I thought to myself, as I ran to the door of the lodge, and threw back the curtain and tied it up. No sooner had I done that, then Paine had latched onto my arm and dragged me towards the crowd of people. Once we broke out of the main crowd into the front lines I saw what was causing the disturbance.

This Valefore was a large bird with a chain link on one wing. It had a peaceful look to it, yet something about it looked wrong.

"She should be on the Farplane." Said Yuna who stood next to me. "They tried to come back before, that was two years ago, but the darkness of Shuyin’s heart had taken them over, because of that fiends had poured out of the temples everywhere. Many people were hurt because of that. They all should be in the Farplane."

"Yuna, perhaps you should send it." Said Paine.

I turned then and looked at Yuna. She showed grief, regret, and yet, there was a firm determination to do what was right. Something told me that, this wasn’t the solution. I don’t know why, but I ran forward and threw my arms out to the sides and looked at everyone. Then I looked at Yuna.

"Don’t." I said. Yuna looked at me with a look of suprise. "There has to be a reason why She came back! Don’t you see?" I said pleading with her. "You said they came back before. Did you learn why?"

"They wanted to warn me of Shuyin. Yet the darkness of Shuyin’s emotions took them over. Even the Fayth of Bahamut said they were no better then fiends!" She said as she looked to the Aeon with a deep sadness in her eyes.

"Well, give them a chance." I said, as I turned to look at the Aeon. "She doesn’t look evil. I think. I think they want to help me."

"Don’t be foolish. They belong on the farplane." Said a follower of Yevon. "It’s obvious that Valefore came back here to be sent there by the High Summoner, Lady Yuna."

"You’re Wrong!" I screamed at everyone as a whole. "That’s not why she came back! That can’t be the reason why! You’re wrong!" I was pleading with everyone. I was distressed standing firm infront of everyone. My arms outstreched. "Please, just give her a chance. Let her stay."

"Unsent must be sent to the farplane." Said Lulu, "It’s Yuna’s duty as a Summoner."

"No! Don’t you dare!" I said looking at Yuna. "Don’t you dare send her. I believe. I believe that they’re here to help! Spira History states, that the Aeons are fayth, souls that lived in living stone. Created by an Ancient Yevon right, they were created to help Summoners in the fight against Sin. They were your allies! Your ultimate protectors, why must you send them to the farplane again? Why?"

The murmering in the crowd died away as they looked at me. Standing firm and against them all. Protecting this Aeon from certain death all over again. Yet my resolve was starting to fade, as hoplessness that nobody would believe me started to show in my face. I hung my head, but I still refused to move.

"If you send her, you’ll have to kill me first." I said loudly enough for only Paine, Rikku, Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka to hear. "Let it be known, that you’ll have to kill me first." I then sank to my knees and looked at everyone. My resolve completly gone. The last person I looked at was Yuna.

"Tina, it’s my duty as a Summoner to send the Aeon back to the farplane." She said as she stepped forward, her Summoner’s staff in hand.

"I think. I think your right as a Summoner Sucks!" I spat at her. When I said that, the look on Yuna’s face changed. She seemed to be remembering something.

"I don’t like your plan. It sucks." Said Yuna after she had listened to Nooj’s plan about how to defeat Shuyin, upon hearing this they all looked at her with various looks of suprise.

"Your plan is awful. Think about it. It's no different than what we did two years ago. We destroyed our own allies. We destroyed the aeons who had fought together with us, at our sides. We didn't have a choice then. We believed that was the only way we could save Spira. Do you know what it felt like to watch them die? Right before my eyes? It was the only thing we could do. It was the only choice we had. I gave in, I accepted, I believed. I allowed it to be true. I thought I'd be able to go through with it without ever doubting myself. But I... It hurts so much." Yuna moved her hand over her chest and gripped it into a fist. While she heard a voice, of a long forgotten fayth, that was defeated just two years prior, it was the voice of Jecht.

"Forgive us."

Yuna closed her eyes and continued, speaking directly from her heart, all the feelings and regret she had ever felt.

"Everyone was so happy. "Great job, Yuna. You did it. You saved us all." There were too many smiles to count. And I know that I was smiling, too. But now...when I look back... The people who should be here aren't. The ones who should be smiling with me aren't here."

Yuna paused and frowned, while she shook her head sadly, as another voice, twelve years dead came into her mind.

"We had no choice." It was the voice of her father. Braska.

Looking up at the three of them, Yuna opened her eyes and continued. "We had no choice." Almost rebotic. "Always, "We hand no Choice" Those are our magic words, and we repeat them again and again but you know... The Magic never worked! The only thing we're left with is regret."  

Yuna dropped her summoning staff. She turned to the others.

" My time as the Summoner is over. I won’t send the Aeons back to the farplane." She said aloud to the entire crowd. "When I went to fight Sin, they helped me defeat Sin for good. It was their sacrifice as free thinking beings that brought us the Eternal Calm." She looked at me then. "The Aeons did come back two years ago, and caused us alot of hurt and pain, but I know it was because of Shuyin, the man in the Sphere Rikku had found on Mt. Gagazet. His emotions were negitive. Over time they became a Shadow, and Veganagun nearly destroyed us all. They tried to warn us! So, if they’re back again, then I can only agree with Tidus’s childhood friend, Tina. They came back this time to help us." Yuna then held out a hand to me and I greatfully reached up for it.

At that moment, a thousand Pyreflyes burst from the Aeon and surrounded us. One by one they disapeared leaving behind only the two of us. Yuna smiling softly, myself, remembering what I had thought to be a dream.

That day marked in me a change. A change that even I did not know about. All I knew for certain was that I believed in the Aeons, and I knew that if I called on them for help I knew they would come. I was certain of it.

"Come on." Yuna said as Paine and Rikku came towards us then, and the rest of the crowd dispersed at the sujestion of Wakka and the Besaid Aurochs. "Lets get going to the Besaid docks. You have a game to play in the next few days."

"Don’t remind me. I have to live up to Tidus." I said with a groan.

"You’ll do great." Yuna said with a smile, "lets go."

The overall trip across the waters were calm. Without Sin to attack the boats, or the islands, things were for once peacful. One could go below deck and rest for the entire trip if they so plesed, and they wouldn’t have a worry about waking up to being attacked. The only threat to the vast waters of Spira, were the occasional storms.

There isn’t really that much I could tell you about the trip, except that I wondered where I would find the next Aeon. Would one be on Killika? I knew that on Killika Island, that Yuna had recieved her second Aeon, Ifrit. A large creature with horns, and fire all over it’s body, to represent the element of fire on the island of Killika. Yet, I had no idea if this Ifrit would be there or not. I would have to wait for nightfall to find out.

To pass the time I hummed the melody of the words from the voice I had talked to last night. I was mostly alone, but when I had found myself trying to place the actual words I soon found myself no longer alone.

The words drifted over to me from the left, and turning I saw Yuna singing the words to herself as she looked out over the ocean. She stopped when she noticed me looking at her.

"It’s the Hymm of the Fayth." Yuna said with a Smile.

"Never knew it as that. Though I know Tidus used to sing it lots when we were kids. It was sort of like a lulabye for kids." I said and shrugged. "He wasn’t a very good singer, but his father was even worse at singing it. Yet now, when I think of it. It makes sence that something Tidus and I knew as a Lulabye, is known as a religious song. Simply because, we came from the Dream Zanarkand. The Zanarkand that the Fayth dreamed about all the time."

"So you finally know about the Dream Zanarkand. Huh?" Yuna said as she turned and leaned against the railing and looked at me. "Who told you about it?"

So I told Yuna what I had learned in passing, from Lulu. We talked long into the day, and then retired into sleeping quarters on Killika Port. In order to get sleep for our treck towards the Temple of Killika Island.

That night, a roar was heard. People in Killika Port paied no attention to it. They said it could have been the roar of a Chimera in the Woods that surrounded the lower half of the temple.

I didn’t think it was a Chimera.

The roar sounded too powerful.