A.N: Hi FFX-2 fandom! I can't believe I have never published a story for this fandom before! Well, I am pretty sure I have- maybe I just deleted them or something. Anyways, this was originally a drabble inspired by IU's song Cruel Fairy Tale, hence the title. It's quite dark and somewhat OOC. However I really wanted to write some angst and this is what I came up with. Feedback on this type of story would be great! *hearts and hugs for all*
Happy reading! :) Or not... I don't know :O
Cruel Fairy Tale
Pyreflies were such fascinating manifestations. They could be perceived by the naked eye, yet the moment one strove to feel the beautiful ghostly orbs- they failed to exist in the tangible world.
Yuna had always known this- it was what she had been taught at the temples from a young age. Still, seeing Tidus caught up in a rapture of swirling colours felt surreal. Before she knew it, she felt her feet drag themselves forward in their own accord- towards the swirling mass of colour that was Tidus. Ignoring the alarmed cries of protest from her guardians-her friends- Yuna let out a sob as she stumbled through her lover's embrace. Arms still wide open, Tidus turned his sorrowful blue eyes to her- still finding the strength within himself to smile.
Yuna drew herself up off the deck, her bi-coloured eyes regretful as she stared off into black night sky. Her Aeons dispersed into space, their pyreflies blending in with the starry sky. Yuna believe that Tidus's pyreflies were also joining the heavens. That way, she could always look up at the sky and know he was there smiling down at her cheerily.
It was hard, but Yuna managed to turn the corners of her lips upwards just as she felt Tidus' phantom embrace from behind. Closing her eyes, she felt the tell-tale wetness trail down her cheeks as she whispered an emphatic 'I love you' that only her young lover could hear. She could hear his footsteps, she could see him leap off the deck of her uncle's airship with that ever-present spring in his step. But as she reached out to grab him, to tell him not to go, to tell him to just stay with her… the reality of not being about to touch him, feel him… stop him bore down on her like a tonne of bricks.
She collapsed onto her knees, surrounded by a flurry of intangible pyreflies.
Yuna let out a ragged breath.
Pyreflies had never looked so ugly before.
When Lulu had announced that she was expecting, Yuna found herself growing frustrated. Lulu had spent so long mourning Chappu's death after he fell to Sin, yet marrying Wakka seemed to come so naturally to the black mage after the commencement of the Eternal Calm.
Yuna felt sick.
The two guardians were her older brother and sister in every sense but blood- how could she feel so much hate for them in a time of such joy? The High Summoner's felt scared of her feelings, fearful of the all-consuming rage that would inevitably take over. Forcing her expression to don that familiar 'Summoner's Smile', Yuna looked upon the happy couple with jealousy and longing.
If Tidus were a reality, then maybe she could have her dream ending- very much like Lulu and Wakka.
Unfortunately, Tidus was the dream and Yuna was living in her dreary reality.
Yuna's smile faltered as her gaze dropped to her lap. The blazing bonfire in the middle of Besaid Village cast a warm glow on Yuna's slightly tanned skin. She closed herself off from reality and revelled in the warmth, willing her negative thoughts away.
She sighed morosely at the warmth.
Yuna couldn't help but wonder if this was what Tidus' embrace would feel like, under a cool, clear night sky.
With that thought, she drifted into a fitful sleep- a real smile gently creasing her lips upwards.
The Gullwings were a motley bunch- that much Yuna was sure of. Slightly uncomfortable in her revealing outfit, the young High Summoner couldn't find the strength to complain to her younger cousin as the preppy blonde flittered around the Bridge, speaking non-stop.
"Yunie, I'm so glad you came along with us! Paine too!" Rikku rambled excitedly. Yuna offered her younger cousin a shy smile before glancing at the young woman clad in a leather outfit. She was definitely a warrior. Nodding politely in acknowledgement, Yuna turned her gaze towards the airship's surroundings.
Tidus would have loved to accompany her on this adventure.
Yuna frowned at the thought of her lost lover. She turned her thoughts towards the sphere Rikku had excitedly brought to her a few weeks ago. She found herself smiling as she thought of how she got to see his face- even though it was a little blurred out due to the age of the sphere. The young High Summoner felt the corners of her lips turn downwards as she pondered the age of the sphere.
Was it possible that Tidus was an Unsent like Maester Mika, Maester Seymour and Yunalesca? Yuna shook her head vigorously before refocusing her gaze on her whirring surroundings. Bahamut had clearly stated that once Yu Yevon was defeated, their dream would end. Clearly, Tidus was the dream and Yuna was reality.
Yuna fought a mental battle with her tears as she glared at the metal interior of the Celsius.
Sometimes she wished Tidus was reality and it was she who was the dream. That way he'd know just how much she was hurting.
Later that night, in her bunker, Yuna scowled into her pillow as she thought about the Eternal Calm and the never-ending hope she'd brought to the people of Spira.
Sometimes during the darkest hours of the night, just before the sun peaked over the horizon, Yuna would cry silently at the memory of her lost hope.
The Gullwings never suspected a thing.
Surrounded by a field of beautiful blooms, Yuna barely had the time to appreciate the mystical waterfall that was the heart of the Farplane as she heard that familiar, high-pitched whistle resonate in her ears. Letting out a slight gasp, the High Summoner turned on her heel towards the sound.
Her heart almost stopped beating as time came to a stop and there before herself stood the familiar outline of Tidus' silhouette. For the first time in months she felt her heart soar with that familiar sense of hope she had lost two years ago. Reaching out to the silhouette, the soft-spoken brunette called out.
"Wait, don't go!" Slowly fastening her pace into a jog, Yuna ignored the petals that tickled her ankles as she ran forward. Her breath soon grew ragged and it was becoming harder to breathe- but still she ran towards the fading remnants of her love.
Oh, she was so close.
Just one more step… she could smell his oceanic scent. He was there!
But then, just as she stepped close enough… he vanished into thin air.
And even amongst the cries of relief from her friends and family at her safe return, Yuna felt empty.
It just wasn't fair at all.
His name was Shuyin.
He loved a woman called Lenne.
He wasn't Tidus.
The man in the sphere wasn't Tidus.
Yuna let a laugh of disbelief escape her lips as she stood on the deck of the Celsius with Paine and Rikku.
"Yunie?" Rikku questioned cautiously. Paine turned her attention towards the distraught High Summoner and tilted her head to the side in silent curiosity. Yuna sighed and shook her head at their concern.
"This… was all just a waste of time. I shouldn't have been involved in this whole Vegnagun fiasco," Yuna stated, absolutely defeated. Rikku gasped and lunged for her cousin's arm. Grasping the older woman in her tight grip, Rikku stomped her feet in protest. Paine took a step forward, entering Yuna's line of sight.
"Yuna, you don't mean that." She stated simply. The brunette shot the silver-haired woman a glare.
"I do. The world should have died along with the false hope that was Yevon. Vegnagun could have done the job but no- I had to go and get involved in that too!" she exclaimed, her bi-coloured eyes blazing with fury. Rikku dropped Yuna's hand and took a few shaky steps backwards, her spiral green eyes as wide as saucers at Yuna's admission.
"What are you saying Yunie?" Rikku questioned softly, her voice wavering as her backside hit the deck in disbelief.
Yuna merely stood silently alongside her travel companions.
After a few moments of taking deep breaths, Yuna sighed and shook her head as she dropped to her knees in despair.
The man in the sphere wasn't Tidus.
The world was safe again.
She was still alone.
Yuna let a few tears fall onto her cheeks. She was tired of being Spira's pillar of hope.
"I don't know. I'm sorry."
Yuna wondered why the beach was so empty at night. The sea was so black, its gentle ripples reflected the starry night sky in a distorted perfection that sent tingles up the High Summoner's spine.
She took a step into the water, wearing her Summoner's kimono. The silky material wetly clung to her calves as she slowly waded into the rippling black and gold.
Smiling down at her barely visible reflection, Yuna could make out the trails of tears that reflected the silver moonlight onto the rippling black of the sea.
She diverted her attention to the water that ran like liquid darkness between her fingers.
She was the darkness. Tidus was the light.
She was suffering. He was content.
Yuna let herself smile as she quietly lowered herself into the water, letting her face fall below the surface.
She was the moon. He was the sun.
She was reality. He was a dream.
She rose up, back to the surface and took a deep, cleansing breath of the cold night air. She looked up at the black sky littered with spots of twinkling lights with tears in her eyes.
She was the future. He was the past.
Yuna shook her head at the thought. If she was the future, then the future looked bleak. For without his resonating light, Spira would cease to be and she would crumble to the beckoning darkness.
"If there was a way… to go back in time… I would. I liked that time, that place- where you and I could be together and I could just be me. Even though I thought I was walking to my death… truthfully, I was happy." Yuna spoke softly, her lips caressing the water as she spoke.
"I just want you back. But I know that's not possible. So I'll live the remainder of my time for both of us. And when my time comes, I'll come and find you on the Farplane. I promise." Yuna whispered, her voice filled with resolve.
That night, she spent a long time in the water, pretending she was back at the Macalania Spring where the magic had first began before her vision faded to black.
The following morning, when Lulu screamed for Wakka, the two loyal guardians failed to notice a crumpled piece of paper on the shores of the eerily quiet beach.
A little boy sobbed beside his mother as he watched the two guardians try to desperately revive the long-gone High Summoner. Feeling the piece of paper at his feet, he messily wiped his tears and reached down to clasp his hands around the stray piece of paper.
He found the neat hand writing of the Lady Summoner on the piece of paper, with an eerie message written on it. Wrestling out of his mother's weak grasp, he approached a defeated Wakka and tapped him in the shoulder. The Legendary Guardian spared the little boy a brief glance before nodding and taking the paper with the familiar scrawl of his baby sister.
Reading it quickly, he closed his eyes and shook his head before tucking it into his pocket before Lulu could realise what he'd just been handed.
It was for the better. Lulu didn't need to know just how much Yuna had been hurting.
She didn't deserve that.
Yuna was floating in a sea of pyreflies, completely lost.
She had no one to guide her.
Yuna cried out in sorrow but no one heard her.
Nothing lasts forever.
Nothing really matters.
Those parting words of hers haunted her intangible existence.
Note: Did I over-do the angst? I'm sorry. I hope I didn't scare anyone away! *sticks to romantic humour* LOL. Thanks for reading :)