CHAPTER THREE: Forgotten Memories

He was alone in the dark suddenly. Where had everyone gone? Why had he come here? Had he come here on his own or had he been sent? He lifted his head, but it felt heavy. Sounds of howling filled his ears and echoed in his mind. In the distance somewhere he could hear water. It was rushing at an incredible speed and falling. A waterfall. It sounded massive. Why couldn't he see anything?

Just then, a pyrefly floated in front of his face. Swirls of green, blue, purple and white surrounded him until he was completely engulfed in pyreflies. He watched as they flew out from underneath his feet, from his fingertips. He felt them in his hair, against his cheek. They were warm and fuzzy.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice echoing.

"You've come home." a voice said in response.

"What?" he looked around, "Who said that?"

"The dream has ended." the voice said again.

"The dream..." he muttered. He remembered what the fayth of Bahamut had told him; that he was simply a dream and would fade when the fayth were released from their slumber.

"Yes. It's over, Tidus. We won."

"But... Yuna..."

The voice didn't respond.

"What about Yuna?" he cried out, "Will I ever see her again? Is she okay?"

Still, no answer.

"ANSWER ME!" Tidus cried.

Yuna shook Tidus awake. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, breathing hard. His entire body was covered in a cold sweat. He looked over at Yuna who was gazing back at him with concerned eyes.

"What--What happened?" he asked, breathless.

"I don't know." she said softly, "I think you were dreaming."

"Dreaming..." he echoed.

"Yeah... you were screaming at someone. At first I thought you were screaming at me, but then you started asking if I was okay."

He looked at her with an expression that said that he had no idea what was going on. She seemed to understand, though. After all, they'd been separated so long that it was only natural for him to wonder about her well being. He embraced her and they lay back on the bed. The sun had begun its ascension already and the room was illuminated with a cool blue light. The colors that surrounded them were dull only differentiated by shadows of lights and darks.

"I am so glad you are here." she whispered.

"Me, too." he responded.

"I thought you were gone forever."

"Hm." Tidus closed his eyes for a moment; his head felt like it would explode.

There was a sudden flash of light. He saw himself standing in the middle of a field of flowers surrounded by cascading waterfalls. Pyreflies did their ethereal dance all around him. The scene faded to black in his mind, but only for a quick second. Next he was standing beside Yuna on Luca's port. She was whistling out to the ocean. He had heard her and had come to her, but she didn't seem to notice that he was there. Then Lulu came. The scene faded out again.

"Argh!" He sat up again, holding his head in his hands.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yuna asked.

"I think I just need a shower." he said without looking at her.

"Okay." Yuna placed a hand on his shoulder. "The bath house is in the back."

Tidus thanked her with a quick peck on her lips and exited the small house. He rounded the right hand corner and went to the wooden structure that Yuna had referred to as a bath house. He opened the door and locked it behind him. Three giant metal showerheads were in the narrow section of the bath house. A seating area had been built in around the three walls of the shower room.

It was hot and muggy in here. Tidus looked around to see an area of hot coals set aside and covered by a metal grate. A bucket of water and a ladel sat beside it. He got the idea and poured a ladel of water across the hot coals. Refreshing steam rose and filled the larger area of the bath house. He sighed and placed the ladel back inside the bucket. He undressed and went into the shower area. He turned the brass knob to open the flow of water. Warm water sprayed from all three shower heads, drenching Tidus' weary body from head to toe.

He sighed and closed his eyes, allowing the water to flow over his face. He saw it again then-when his eyes were closed. A quick flash of light. The fayth of Bahamut stood in front of him; his boyish likeness made him seem harmless. His face was covered with the hood of the robe he was wearing. Another flash before another scene. He was watching Yuna sleep, but she wasn't really sleeping. She was crying. He could feel her sorrow as clear as if it had been his own. A tear dropped from his eye and rolled down his cheek. He swiped it away and sat beside the crying girl on her bed. He took her hand in his. She slowly stopped crying and shut her eyes.

Tidus opened his eyes suddenly. He was still standing in the shower. He cursed himself for not being able to remember anything about his ordeal. He grabbed the bar of soap from the wooden seating area and began to scrub all over. He wasn't sure if he'd ever remember what had taken place. He finished his shower and turned the knob again to close the flow of water. Steam still flooded the room.

He rummaged around in the storage closet and picked out a towel. He wrapped it around his waist, grabbed his dirty clothes, and exited the bath house. He pushed the cloth aside and stepped into Yuna's home. She had redressed and was standing at the fire plate in the kitchen. She was cooking something in a pan. It smelled wonderful. Tidus took a few steps towards her and she turned to face him.

"Hey." she said, "Do you need some new clothes?"

Tidus nodded sheepishly. "Yeah... I mean, if that's possible."

"Follow me." Yuna led Tidus to the bedroom and rummaged around in her trunk.

She emerged with a neatly folded pile of men's clothing. A white gauze shirt and black linen pants with a drawstring at the waist. She went into the closet and took out a large pair of sandals. He looked at her gratefully.

"Where did you get these?" he wondered aloud.

"Oh, they were Chappu's." Yuna explained, "This trunk used to be his."

Tidus waited for Yuna to excuse herself before dropping his towel and redressing. He went back into the main room where Yuna was setting the fold-out table with dishes and utensils. She poured fruit juice from a ceramic pitcher into two clay cups. Tidus noticed that she had cooked bacon, chocobo eggs, and potato pancakes. When she noticed that he was standing there, she looked away shyly.

"Smells great!" He said, sitting on the floor beside the small table.

"Thanks." she smiled and wrapped her arms behind her back. "Eat! I worked hard on this, you know? It's been a while since I had a guest."

Tidus paused, his mouth full of eggs. "A guest? I thought I was more than that!"

"Well, you know what I meant..." she plopped down on the ground across the table from him. "Is it good?"

"Delicious." he said, inhaling the contents of his plate.

Yuna took time and precision to consume her food. She took small and careful bites, washing each mouthful down with pineapple juice.

"So," Tidus finished and pushed his plate into the center of the table, "What should we do now?"

Yuna finished her food soon after and shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Tidus thought for a moment. "Think we can go to Zanarkand? I just want to see it again."

Yuna nodded. "Then we can go see Kimahri on Gagazet! I'm sure he'd love to see us."

"Sure!" Tidus agreed, "I'd love to see that big, blue, furry lug."

Yuna just laughed.