A few minutes later, the summoner and his three guardians made it onto a ship that would take them to Kilika Island, the next stop on Braska's pilgrimage. They stepped on the ship and once they did, they sailed away because they had caused the ship to run late.

Shannon watched the peaceful island of Besaid fade away into the horizon, finally having time to process what had happened to her. Ending up in a strange world, with strangers, to suddenly going on this journey with three of these strangers whom she had grown to trust. Sure, without one of them whacking her in the head with a blitzball, she would have never met the other two. Yet, one of them was confusing her, Auron.

Does he really care about me, or is he just another guy like Gerald? How can I not only trust him, but Braska and Jecht as well? For all I know, they're all like Gerald! Yet, something in her heart told her to trust these three guys.

They never mistreated her, but they protected her whenever trouble came. Shannon tried to defend herself, but whenever she got into trouble, they always saved her, well, mainly Auron. Which brought her mind back to her original question: What did Auron truly think of her?

Her mind was snapped out of its train of thought when she overheard someone say, "Aren't we going back the way we came?"

She looked and saw Jecht pouting, as Braska answered calmly, "Yes, we will end up there soon. Why so impatient?"

"I wanna see something new, see a different site!"

"You haven't seen Kilika Island yet, so that will be brand new for you, right?"

"Good point...but what else is there to see?"

Braska laughed, "You'll find out soon enough." Braska looked over and saw Shannon and waved her over, "You haven't seen any of these places, have you?"

She walked over calmly and nodded, "That's correct, this is a brand new world for me."

"What is your world like?"

Shannon scratched her head, "Am I allowed to talk about who I truly am around here?" She gestured to all of the people, "I don't wanna be accused of being crazy!"

Braska sat down at a table and Jecht followed suit, "Of course, you are always welcome to be your true self around us."

Shannon sat down and took a deep breath, looking around the boat before she started, "I'm Shannon, a wizard from the Fairy Tail guild. Fairy Tail is in a place called Fiore, and the town that it is in is called Magnolia. I'm a Sky Dragon Celestial Spirit Wizard, but I was not always in possession of those powers. I was mainly a Sky Dragon Slayer, meaning I could be one that harnessed the powers of a Sky Dragon. I was training for being an S-Class Wizard, which is a big deal, you get to go on more powerful quests, until I met Gerald."

Shannon sighed and put her head on her hand and leaned her elbow on the table, "Gerald basically stopped me from becoming an S-Class Wizard. At first, I thought he was the perfect guy, but then he started to control every aspect of my life. It got to the point where I couldn't even wear clothing like this, even if it is the norm here and in Fiore. I had to be a housewife, which made me weaker than I ever was. Hence, the fainting spell. That was the first time I used my magic power like that in a long time."

Jecht held up his hand, "Hold up, why didn't this Gerald guyer want you to fight?"

Shannon sighed and frowned, "Well, you see..." She kept telling her story, about why Gerald didn't want her to fight, but right around the corner was Auron.

He didn't want to be seen as a person with feelings, so he hid himself. He was thinking to himself as well, about Braska's pilgrimage and the recent events. When he saw Shannon looking at Besaid, a part of him wanted to go over to the girl and ask her what was she thought about. He couldn't imagine what her life was like-everything she knew, being turned upside down, and being accused of being crazy. Yet, he lived it.

He was supposed to become second in command to Yevon's forces, but he refused the offer. He saw what corruption was being spread within something he had defended and believed in for years. Plus, he didn't want to marry the priest's daughter. Auron had never really liked her at all, plus, he didn't want this status as being tied to something he started to hate. Yet, Shannon made him feel something different.

He saved Shannon because she looked so helpless once she hit that water. Something inside of him snapped and he outright destroyed the bird that had tossed her into the water. Soon after, he took off his coat and jumped in after the girl. He saw her: the halo of hair surrounding her face, her eyes closed, and her face frozen. If she was on dry land, he would have thought she was fast asleep.

He grabbed her hand and embraced the girl with one of his arms as he used the other to get them safely back to shore. They made it, but he was worried that Shannon had stopped breathing. As he swam, relief washed over him as he heard the girl quietly breathing. Once they were back on shore, he sat back and waited. Waited to see her eyes open up and her smile again.

And when she hugged him, he did almost cry. He was happy to know that Shannon was okay and he had no idea how much he wanted to cover her up with his coat because she was shivering. Yet, he just calmly picked it up after the embraced and played it cool. Braska saw right through his act.

Auron tuned in right as Shannon said, "Wait, I have them now! I should probably work on making contracts with them!"

Auron stepped out at that moment and saw Shannon gasp and smile, "I was wondering where you were! Come on and join us, you're about to watch how I summon creatures!"

Auron smiled and sat at the table, "If you don't mind, I'm curious about this."

Shannon nodded, "Of course!" She stood up and looked through her keys, the ones that used to belong to Gerald. From what Auron heard, he wanted that guy out of Shannon's life. Out of her mind, out of her world, heck, if he could wipe Gerald from the face of the Earth, he would.

He was pulled out of his train of thought when he heard Shannon say, "Here it is! This spirit is more like a pet, but this can work!" He turned and saw her take a deep breathe, "I call upon thee, in the world of the Celestial Spirits, I beckon you to my side at once, pass through the gate. Open, gate of Canis Minor, come Nikora!" As she did, she crossed the key vertically and horizontally to her body and after she said what she did, a magic circle appeared in front of her and the middle resembled a lock.

Suddenly, light came flying out of nowhere and combined into a little snowman. Shannon bent down to its level and cried out, "Nash, it's been a long time since I've seen you!!"

Braska, Jecht, and Auron looked at Shannon as she held Buddy, shocked. Jecht spoke up, "Uh...is that a spirit used for fighting?"

Shannon nodded, "Nope, Nash's type is usually a pet, like I said earlier. It doesn't take much to summon him from the Celestial World, but here's the most important part. Nash, are you still able to come all seven days of the week?"

Nash nodded and cooed out. Shannon picked up the creature and smiled, "Then it's a deal then! Welcome to my team!"

Nash cheered along with Shannon, then squirmed out of her arms. Shannon smacked her forehead, "Right, you like dancing, while Gerald did not, so let's dance!" The two of them then started to dance around in circles and celebrated the newfound freedom that they had. She started to sing quietly as she twirled Buddy around, I close my eyes and I can see a world that's waiting for me, one I call my home. Through the dark, through the door, Through where I've been before But it is my home They can say, they can say it all sounds crazy....They can say, they can say I've lost my mind. I don't care, I don't care, so call me crazy. We can live in a world that we design...'Cause every night I lie in bed, The brightest colors fill my head, A million dreams are keeping me awake.

She picked up Nash and started to spin him around in her arms as she kept singing, I think of what the world could be, A vision of the one I see, A million dreams is all it's gonna take...A million dreams for the world we're gonna make. Shannon then put down Buddy and once she did, the creature took a bow for Braska, Jecht, and Auron. The three men, along with others that were on the boat, started to clap.

Shannon blinked and looked around and blushed, "I didn't realize everyone was listening to me! Ugh, I feel so embarrassed now!"

Braska smiled, "Relax, you're fine, I think every enjoyed your performance."

Shannon looked around and saw faces beaming back at her. She smiled and curticed for everyone, "Thank you so much!"

A gentleman came up to her and he looked rather rich and fancy. Auron felt his hand clench up in a fist a little bit, afraid of what this guy could do to her. He also didn't want Shannon to go away from his side ever again. The gentleman shook Shannon's hand and beamed at her, "What an amazing performance! If you want to, there's a performance in Luca soon, you've got what it takes to win it! There's a prize of 10,000 Gil involved too! What do you say?"

Shannon nodded eagerly, "Yes, I would like to sign up for it to just perform again. How do I sign up?"

The man pulled out a piece of paper, "Just sign your name right here and you'll be good to go!"

Shannon took it and signed her name on it. As she handed it back to the older man, she smiled, "There you go! I do have a request: can I please travel with Lord Braska's party there? I know the paperwork says travel will be covered, but I am obligated to stay with him."

The man nodded, confused "Why though? Wouldn't the travel make you weary?"

Auron stood up and spoke, "She's a guardian for Lord Braska, she must always put the pilgrimage first."

The man shrugged, "That works then, good luck Miss Shannon on your journey!" He then walked away from her, fearful of being hurt by Auron.

Shannon saw that Auron seemed tense, so she gently touched his arm, "You didn't have to defend me."

Auron looked at her and smirked, "I was just doing my job, that is all."

"What is that job exactly? I don't have to be defended at every step."

Auron smiled at her, "Don't sweat about it. You are a guardian after all."

Shannon jumped up and down, "Sweet! I'm a guardian now!!! This is the best day ever!"

Braska came over and hugged the girl, "Welcome to the team."

Shannon teared up and smiled, "Thank you guys so much!"

_______

A/N:

Aye Carumba!  I haven't posted in a long time!  I will do my best to get what I have completed (timeline wise!) on here in a reasonable fashion.