Chapter 25: Out of Darkness, Earthrise

The next morning, the smell of breakfast cooking made Yuna hungry enough to wake, but when she opened her eyes and sat up, the cabin was still dark as night. The glow from Barkeep's kitchen below indicated electricity was still flowing within the self-contained airship, but no sunlight streamed through the windows. The Celsius had returned to Besaid's shore before the darkness spell fell the night before. And the magic of the teleporting spheres still worked to get everyone safely home. But gravity operations began to falter, causing some disturbing weightlessness. Thankfully, it didn't last long before Koji brought it back under control. However, anything that didn't operate on its own generator or magic was useless and dead. Rising to her knees, Yuna looked out the window above her bed.

The sky was gone. Instead, a black void full of shimmering points of light loomed over the horizon beyond the sea, and a large blue-green planet with tremendous, white cloud swirls hovered nearby. Jumping off the bed, Yuna ran downstairs. Everyone else was already awake and seated at the bar. "What happened to the sky? Is that Earth? Are we already here? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Rikku winced. "You really looked like you needed some sleep. Actually, we all slept in today because it was so dark. It's later than you think if you look at the clock."

"Shinra and Nooj left a message that they were trying to get information on everything that happened overnight," Buddy told her. "They said Koji seemed to have all the backup life support systems running. The Farplane and ship are no longer in immediate danger. But they said they would be calling you later today about something important."

"I'm done eating, darling. You can have my seat." Cid stood and passed his plate back to Barkeep. "You should have a look around outside, Yuna. It's a hoot."

"Is it safe?"

"Safe is relative. Stay close. But it's a sight you'll never forget, that's for sure." Cid left for the bridge.

More curious than hungry, Yuna hurried back up the stairs, grabbed her robe, and slipped it on over her camisole and shorts. Then, she headed out for the beach. Still barefoot, she walked out of the hatch like she was walking into the Farplane for the first time—walking into the surreal. The only light came from the ship and a sun too distant to be their own. Seagulls flew overhead, and palms swayed gently in the cool breeze. The ocean tide soothingly rolled over itself onto the white sands. Paine was even out running through her morning training routines. But there was no blue sky or clouds. And the mysterious planet of their origins loomed larger than life beyond the sea. Time on Spira would now be marked as an endless night with an Earthrise. And, lifting her gaze, she saw for the first time the machina structure that held the transparent panes of a biosphere dome high overhead in what was once Spira's sky.

Paine came to her side and stared at the dome and the incredibly close planet, too. Neither of them said anything for a long moment. Then Paine shifted her attention to read Yuna's lost expression. "You think he should be here to see this."

Yuna pulled the lapels of her robe closer. "He loved gazing at the stars."

"Then invite him to see it. He may look different now, but he's the same person underneath," Paine softly advised before walking back to the airship.

Yuna didn't want to see him like that again. It hurt too much. Yet, she knew he would want to see this. She had to stop thinking of him as an aeon and keep thinking of him as Tidus. Summoning her staff, she danced on the beach facing the rising planet and wove her magical glyphs in the air to thin the veil between the material and spiritual dimensions. And when her aeon answered her call, he was as amazed as she thought he would be, looking out over Spira's strange new horizon. "Wait here. I'll be right back," she told the golden dragon.

The summoner ran back inside, dressed quickly, grabbed the recovered magical documents, and loaded a plate with breakfast leftovers from Barkeep's bar. When she returned, she found the giant sea serpent settled in the sand where the tide came ashore, flowing around him before being drawn back out to sea. Studying the stars overhead and the swirls in the planet's clouds, he seemed lost in wonder. "Barkeep's Special Dragon Plate," Yuna announced as she set it down before him. "Just remember this the next time 'Tisu wants your food."

The golden aeon snorted and began enjoying his surprise meal.

Using her black magic sphere, Yuna tested her ability to use elemental magic by conjuring a bonfire. Then, she settled in the sand next to him, far enough back that the water wouldn't damage her magic documents, and spent the morning leaning against his back while exploring the knowledge hidden in the ancient treasures.

By the fire's light, they watched Yevon's spheres together, which included Spira's recordings of the commissioning of the bio-dome ship, troubles between various Earth nations, some hefty natural disasters, and finally, an alien attack. She sympathized, considering what they had been through in the last couple of days—last thousand years, actually—in terms of global disasters. Then, she began reading her way through one of the books, as well as looking over more spells in Maedra's arcane collection. "If only Maedra himself were here to do some of these spells," she lamented.

"Woaaaaahohohoh!" Wakka could be heard in the distance as he approached the beach for a full view of the planet beyond the sea.

Yuna turned to see him approaching with Lulu and Vidina, and she smiled softly, surprised to see them with Arantisu.

But then he caught sight of the aeon. "Hey, Yuna? What the heck is that thing?"

"Are you referring to the planet or the aeon?"

"Ehh, both?" He scratched his head in curiosity and stopped with caution in front of the dragon, which impatiently thumped its tail, waiting for the inevitable commentary. "Oh my ... gah! It's you! What are you doing looking like that! Hey, looks like you finally sprouted some whiskers on that chin of yours, ya?" Wakka chuckled.

The sea dragon unhappily swooped its tail around the blitzball captain's ankles and knocked his feet out from under him. Wakka landed on his rear in the sand. But when the aeon made a noise that sounded almost like a snicker, the big man sat up with a wince and made a face at him.

"Yuna! Tidus! You're back! You're back!" Arantisu followed the sounds and reached out to them.

Yuna gave the blind child a sad smile and reached for her hand, though there was nothing to hold onto. "'Tisu, Tidus is a little different now. He's ... more like you. Only bigger and longer. And his scales are bright yellow like the sun. He doesn't have wings like you do, but he's still a very good swimmer."

The child was puzzled. "He's a dragon?"

"He's an aeon." Yuna lifted her gaze to Wakka and Lulu, whose expressions changed to sad astonishment.

"For real?" Wakka couldn't believe it. "For always? You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was." Yuna explained the entire mess with Seymour, Kyudou, and Meimo. She told them how the attempt to resurrect Shuyin drew the pieces of his soul back together. "And I don't know how to reverse it, other than sending him," she sadly admitted. "He can be with us like this, but if you want to talk to him, you'll need to go to the Farplane. That's where his tomb … is."

"Aw, nuts." Arantisu frowned and sat down in the sand to pout. "Just when I come here, Tidus goes there."

The water dragon gazed at the disappointment on the girl's face, even though she couldn't see him. Yuna realized Tidus had never seen the child's spirit form. Pushing his long serpentine body to stand, he waded into the water, then turned and looked back ... waiting.

Yuna smiled and nodded at his unspoken thought. "Tisu, would you like to swim with him?"

"Yes, please!" the ghost child scrambled to her feet.

"Stay close to him. And if anything attacks, let him handle it, okay?"

"Okay!"

Yuna did her summoning dance to call Arantisu into the physical realm. Then, the little white dragon romped into the water after the large golden one. "I think 'Tisu's just gained a big brother," she commented with a smile that faded as soon as she sat back down to watch them swim into the deeper waves. "This is killing me. How can he be so positive despite what's happened to him?"

))((

Late that afternoon, Nooj and Shinra invited Yuna to a meeting to explain what they had been doing toward recovery. Yuna banished Tidus's aeon form on the beach to enable him to speak in spirit form for the meeting in the Farplane. She was surprised, therefore, to find Shuyin waiting for her at their tomb instead.

"Thank you," she told him. Thank you wasn't really enough, but it would have to do since there were no better words for what he had done to help save Spira. "I'm looking for a way to undo this, you know."

"You could always just send me," he mildly joked.

Yuna saddened.

"But I know you don't want that for Tidus," he added in a more sober tone, realizing it was too soon after her loss to speak so freely about it, even if he was talking about a part of himself. "For most spirits, being in the Farplane is like sleeping in a fishbowl. Our souls can exist forever here, and we can see what's going on around us if we want to. But we can't touch it or interfere. For him, being in this place of the dead is the equivalent of wasting away to nothing. He was fading when I first met him. To manipulate pyreflies with memories of who he used to be, interact with other souls inside or beyond the glass, and even remember who he was—these things were much more difficult for him. But his being a dream, that's what protected me from being brought back as a demon. He may be nothing more than a bunch of incredibly handsome pyreflies, but his life was stronger than my death, you know?"

Yuna smiled and wiped away a tear. That sounded like something Tidus would say.

"And yet, without being real, the only thing keeping him from fading again is this seal."

She nodded in understanding of how fragile Tidus's existence was now in the Farplane. "It sounds like he was fortunate to come back for the short time that he did."

"He was." Shuyin cast his gaze to his own tomb, then looked about the wilted Farplane. The falls were flowing with mist once more. The amount of light within was normal. The surreal sky was clear again. But the flowers were half gone, and now the pyreflies were strange—rising and falling like glowing snowflakes rather than swirling around as if still alive. The Farplane was forever different now. "Most of the souls that were in this place ... they're gone now," he told her. "Many of them were drawn away as if they were nothing more than dreams, just like him. Those that remain are more energy than memory now. They've lost who they used to be."

Yuna could read the sadness in his deep blue eyes as they met hers again. "Lenne?"

He gave a soft nod. "Bahamut, too. Koji's sister Kaila, my mom, my old man … If they're behind another wall in a different stage of existence, it's not as transparent as this one. I can't feel them anymore. I think I'm alone now, except for Tidus. The seal anchored us here, protected us from being drawn away like the others."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I'll miss them, too." After a quiet moment, she lifted her gaze to the rising and falling sparkles of light and held out her hand to catch one, but it melted away at her touch. "Maybe ... they've just been reborn in some way. The whole point of the Farplane was to enable Spira to keep its life energy. We lost a lot of our ship's magic, and Koji probably has to use what's left to make up the difference, just to put things right again. But I'm sure we haven't lost them completely. She's still here in this energy flow."

Shuyin knew that Yuna's words were based more on hope and theory than absolute knowledge, but he was glad for her perspective all the same. It was nice to think that Lenne was still here, sharing her life differently now. "Then, someday, I will find a way to join the energy flow."

Yuna was touched by his dedication. "Shuyin ..."

He smiled lightly and approached her, trying to place his ethereal hands on her solid shoulders. "But, until Spira is absolutely safe—until we can find a way back for him—I will stay with you."

Yuna wiped away another tear and lowered her chin. "It's not right to keep you bound to this place for his sake."

"I won't let you lose him," Shuyin promised as he folded her into a hug, then allowed Tidus to replace his spirit form.

Somehow, she could sense the soul shift. "I miss you," Yuna sniffled as more tears trickled down her cheeks.

Tidus sighed at her sadness. Hating to see her this way, he tried hard to think of something to cheer her. "This is better than nothing, though, right?" He backed away at arm's length to look at her. "Hey, you know what? You should finish my hut for me. And I want those ocean-colored things from Kilika if they still have them. You could live in the hut, and I could see it when I visit you there." He paused and leaned forward, hands to his knees, looking up at her. "Unless you ... plan on ... leaving me down here in the middle of nowhere, even though 'Tisu got moved to a luxury spot near the beach."

Yuna sniffled again and looked up, smiling at his attempt to humor her. "I could put your seal next to 'Tisu's in the lagoon," she suggested. "That way, you could come home anytime you want."

"That's right! And 'Tisu can have my futon. My aeon's too big to fit it, anyway, now. She can't have my Dragon Plate Special, though. Sucks to be her on that deal." He grinned.

She laughed lightly and dried her eyes as the New Yevon and Youth League guards entered the area to form a semi-circle around the gateway to the other world ... just in case anything went wrong. Then, Yuna turned around to find that Baralai and Gippal had joined them, looking better rested than the day before. And she was surprised to see that Tromell Guado and Kimahri Ronso stood among them as well.

"Tidus," Tromell Guado greeted him. "We were so sorry to hear of your misfortune, but at the same time, we are so very grateful for your aid. I heard what became of Lord Seymour, and it broke my heart to hear of him being so consumed still. He truly is a tragic case. Thank you for finally allowing his heart to rest."

Tidus quirked a brow at Tromell's take on things but supposed he was right to some extent. He decided to spare the man his own opinions of Seymour and simply nodded in acceptance of his gratitude and condolences instead.

"Ronso will honor Tidus now as before," Kimahri's sad, strong voice rumbled deep within his chest as he greeted his unfortunate friend. "Kimahri wanted to see Seymour's final defeat," he admitted once Tromell was out of hearing range.

"Yeah, you should have been there to see it, big guy. Of course, Gippal's bombs are what finished him off for good, but I hit him pretty hard and held him down before that." Tidus straightened and stretched his arms behind his head with a sigh as he tried to be modest about it. "So now you want to build a statue to honor me like you did for Yuna, right?"

Kimahri blinked at him and then looked to Yuna, who covered her mouth with a slight giggle. The ronso faced Tidus again, having made a decision. "Ronso not build statue of boy who hit Seymour next to High Summoner who defeated Sin. Ronso just honor him. Statue of Gippal, make sense though."

Gippal laughed as the blitzball player's expression fell. He would have teased him further, but Nooj and Shinra stepped front and center amid their little gathering.

"Looks like everyone is here, so I'll start," Nooj spoke. "First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for their part in helping resolve multiple crises over the past couple of days. And, Tidus ... we're all sorry about ..."

The blitzball player gave a small nod in acceptance. "I'll live," he answered with intentional irony, trying to make everyone feel more at ease.

Nooj sighed at the blitzball player's blithe response, but he understood Tidus's half-life situation perhaps better than anyone else. After a brief glance at his machina hand, he continued. "Shinra and I spent the night gathering damage reports and communicating with the new spirit running the ship. Koji reported that all basic functions are running again, and the Farplane is once again sealed in both planes. However, extensive damage has been done to the infrastructure, and our magic and fuel supplies are now low. After a lot of debate, we decided to limp the rest of the way onward to the planet Earth to ask for help with repairs. Before things went from bad to worse yesterday, the plans that Gippal and Baralai researched and laid out revealed that there were several pod-like means of transport in a landing bay in the middle of the ship, extending beyond it in a landing dock. It was apparently used for loading and unloading cargo during construction and colonization periods. It's been here all along, but it was hidden behind an illusion, much like the invisible bridge. It's been modified, though."

"Modified?" Gippal quirked a brow of doubt.

"Modified by Maedra's magic after he created the Farplane," Shinra answered. "He left his own notes in the related files on the bridge after he helped save the ship for Captain Spira."

Nooj continued. "Spira will live but is less stable than before. Evacuation may still be a good idea. Anyway, we tried to contact the old space base that was home to Spira's Founders, but there was no response. We tried several channels, but no one answered. So, we found the landing bay and sent down some watchers to scout the area. When we were sure it was safe, we went down ourselves to take a look around. We want you to see first-hand what we did." Nooj gestured to Shinra, and Shinra faced the gateway to the other world.

Shinra lifted an ancient device and pointed it at it. A magical pathway lit up, winding its way to one of the cloudy whirlpools.

"Follow me, please. To the left is the landing bay. To the right is our teleport," Nooj informed them, as he led the way, undaunted as ever, along the winding path through the gateway.

"I want to see it, too," Tidus told Yuna.

She nodded and summoned him back to life in his aeon form. Then, everyone followed Nooj.

At the end of the path, they passed through one more portal to stand on a high hill overlooking some ruins. An overcast sky loomed low beyond a flooded city in the distance. The top of a red tower and many broken buildings could be seen jutting above the water. But the hill on which they stood still had grass, tiny wildflowers, and trees. Birds still flew overhead, and insects could be heard chirping in the undergrowth.

"The atmosphere is comparable to what we have on Spira, but it could be better. Something happened to the civilizations that once thrived here. We're just not sure what," Shinra reported. Pulling off his mask, he breathed in the alien air. "Whatever it was, it was cataclysmic. My data reveals worldwide flooding, crater impacts, and tectonic plate shifts on a massive scale. It could take a long time to explore the ruins and find out exactly what happened."

Yuna and her aeon exchanged glances of dismay. Considering the time-capsule-like spheres they had viewed earlier, they wondered which one, if any, of those recorded events was to blame.

Shinra looked down at another device in his hand that monitored readings of the atmosphere. "Most of the cities have already been reclaimed by nature or have sunk beneath the sea. Since no one has responded to our messages, we're assuming there is no human life on the planet, or they've gone underground. There are, however, signs of other life on the remaining landmasses and in the oceans, even on this island."

A gentle breeze swept through Yuna's hair and skirt as she stood next to Tidus's silent aeon and gazed at the remains of the civilization that gave birth to theirs. It was disheartening to see it this way when she had so many unanswered questions. "It looks like Zanarkand ... a little."

Nooj spoke again, addressing them all. "We felt it was appropriate that each of you have a say in what we should do next—whether we should evacuate here or risk looking for another planet elsewhere. Now that we have Spira's travel logs working, we also have the option of locating the homeworlds of the ronso and guado ... and all the other species that Spira added to her biodome against Earth's wishes. My arguments in favor of this place are that we're already here, it seems to be empty, and it seems to have enough sustainable landmass left that we might be able to make it inhabitable for ourselves ... in time."

"How long can Spira sustain us in her current condition?" Baralai asked, staring into the deep waters and wondering what mysteries they held.

"As long as Koji keeps doing what he's doing, we've got time to transition," Shinra answered. "But without more life energy on board, Spira will never recover what is lost. And there's still the matter of repairs. If we don't make some necessary repairs while we can, we might not make it to another place. If we stay, we could lower the ship back into the atmosphere and land it in the ocean near here. Then, Koji could try to form some kind of symbiosis with the life forms that already exist here while we work on long-term repairs."

"Symbiosis?" Yuna considered the recovered documents and spheres with a startling realization. "Oh my gosh! That's why all that stuff was kept together! That's what she wanted to do!"

Everyone in the group responded to her outburst with confusion.

Yuna became excited. "Captain Spira wrote in her journal about hating the Founders for what they did to Spira, but she knew attacking Earth wasn't the answer. I think she wanted to help them. I think Spira was afraid this kind of global disaster might happen. She kept spheres recording several events among her magical notes from Maedra. She kept a book about planets having spirits within. Since Maedra was able to save her ship by creating the Farplane on it, Spira may have been wanting to come back to Earth to do the same thing here."

Nooj nodded in agreement with Yuna's theory. "But not being familiar with alien magic and already facing catastrophe on other fronts, they didn't want her brand of help. If Zanarkand was prospering and becoming more powerful while Earth was growing weaker, and she was talking about bringing alien spirits here, I can see how that would seem threatening, especially when you're talking about things like letting the dead continue to exist and creating aeons."

"They tried to seize command of her ship and destroy the magic onboard, so she gave her life to keep it operational for as long as necessary," Yuna added.

"And by the time Yevon came along, he was able to convince her to just give up on Earth and run," Baralai finished. The praetor was pensive for a moment as he squinted into the hazy, cloud-covered sun lowering itself toward the watery horizon. Seeing the whole picture now somehow made Spira's ship seem like one gigantic memory sphere with particles of Earth floating in its magical waters. "Do you think her plan would have worked, injecting magic into a planet this big?"

Yuna shrugged, uncertain how to answer. "According to her book, real planets have a natural balance, rather than needing someone like Koji to operate the flow. The planet itself is a collective of spirits. Maedra's book has a spell for creating a reservoir of life from the energy and knowledge of spirits. It must be the spell he used to create the Farplane—to make those spirits semi-tangible as 'living' energy. I don't think it has to be big, just ... respected. I know I'm not strong enough to do that spell on my own, but if many summoners worked together, maybe we could create something similar here and bring life back to this place the same way Maedra brought life back to Spira's ship. Like she wanted to do herself had her father and the Founders not tried to destroy them first. And if Koji tries to connect to Earth's spirits, this could help him help us, as well." Yuna turned her eyes back toward the flooded ruins. "Earth created Spira as a means of preserving this planet's life. Now we've come back to find them gone. So despite their efforts to stop Spira from returning with magic, it seems it's up to Spira and us to try to heal the wounded spirits of this world and re-establish life here … if we can."

"Kimahri thinks ronso could find good home here," the lion-man cast his vote.

Tromell smiled at Yuna. "And I'm quite sure that Maedra, father of the guado, would have gladly aided this planet as he did the ship. My people and I would consider it an honor to participate in such an endeavor. With ancient guado magic, our new generation could create a Farplane on this planet unlike any other."

Nooj affirmed their input with a single nod. "Then, it's decided. We stay."

"Magic, Farplane, unsent and all ..." Gippal snorted in amusement. "Looks like Captain Spira had the last laugh if you ask me."

))((

(One month later ...)

Under a bright, blue sky, beneath an array of seagulls and festive balloons, Luca's rowdy stadium quieted its excitement as Nooj the Undying stepped forward to the microphone. "People of Spira ... The first time we addressed you as a unified group like this, I told you that my friends and I once dreamed of flying. Each of us found new ships, and each of us wanted to be a captain. At that time, we had forgotten that we all belong to a much bigger ship—one that we've been riding ever since we were born—Spira."

He paused to let the cheers rise for a moment, then held up his hand and bent his tall frame to the microphone once more. "Citizens of Spira, you now know the secret that has been kept from most of us for over a thousand years."

The crowd responded with disapproving sounds and gestures for a moment.

"We spoke those words without even knowing their truth back then—that our small world is, in fact, a literal ship. Those of us who stand before you today, as your captains, have worked to discover what we could about those secrets so that we could bring them to you. Unfortunately, disaster struck before we had all the answers. As you all know, we had to make an emergency homecoming call and land our ship in the largest ocean available on planet Earth. Once our creator, then our enemy, Earth now has a new, man-made continent, and its name is Spira."

The crowd responded with more cheers as Nooj stepped back and allowed Gippal to speak.

"We have a sky once more!" He grinned and threw a fist into the air, rallying people to cheer at that good news. "But now it's Earth's sky—a real sky with a real sun. We're safe now, as far as we know. And our engineers have all been working hard to repair the surface damage, and everyone here has been doing their share to help Spira transition to being part of this planet." He clapped along with the crowd in appreciation of everyone's efforts—too many to name. "However, the internal damage is not something easily fixed. With the help of all our summoners, we experimented with creating another little Farplane in a place on Earth. The spot chosen was carefully selected by our High Summoner and New Yevon Praetor, so I'm going to let them be the ones to tell you all about it." He grinned at Baralai and winked at Yuna, prompting them to come forward next.

Yuna moved forward and bowed in greeting to the crowd before continuing. "The Forest of Memories was inspired by the memory spring in Macalania. It was created to honor all the souls that gave us life, whether it was friends and family we knew and loved or the ancient people whose knowledge and labor contributed to the civilization we have today." Yuna's soft voice echoed across the stadium as she lifted her eyes just beyond it to the bay. She couldn't see him, but she knew her aeon was out there listening and waiting. "As with the Farplane, it is a special dimension drawn from the plane of magic, where we can retrace our memories and see the faces of our loved ones once more. But also, just as before, it is a world apart from us—a place where only spirits can dwell. Unlike the Farplane, however, this spring in this magical forest is directly connected to the planet's life. It nourishes the spirits of the planet itself to heal it … and it, in turn, heals us. We have taken a Spiral of Death and turned it into a Spiral of Life." She smiled and bowed again at everyone's cheers before stepping back to allow Baralai the final say.

"People of Spira." Baralai looked into the crowd and saw the faces of his friends. "You may now choose whether you wish to stay in our small familiar world or travel to places far beyond it. The gateway is now open to you, and for your convenience, we have installed new teleporters at each prominent location to take you there. As we gather more information about this planet, we will add it to the library in Zanarkand. We invite you to help us explore this new old world to learn what happened to it—so we can continue to learn more about ourselves. We have so much to hope for on the new horizon. So, to all the people who made this possible, and to those of you who have been patient through the disasters and the recovery process ... we thank you." Backing away from the microphone, Baralai and the other faction leaders on the platform bowed low and respectfully to the roaring stadium.

))((

Outside the stadium at the docks, the golden water dragon in the bay watched his friends' faces on the giant screens that once displayed his blitzball games. Since Yuna had been busy with the Forest project, Tidus had spent the past month staying out of her way, occupying his time training Arantisu on the beach in Besaid. He was never alone, though. He had become quite the village attraction, among both the old and young, in his aeon form. His friends still passed by—or through—him daily. And, after his tomb was relocated to the bottom of the lagoon with Arantisu's, his spirit could easily visit and talk with Yuna under the stars on the beach at night. And though he was the only creature of his kind, there were always two souls at conversation within him.

"Hey, that's so cool! I didn't know they were modeling it after Macalania's spring. We should go see it now that it's done!"

"I don't know, Tidus. It might do something strange to us."

"Oh, come on, Shu. It's not like we'd actually go IN the water ... unless it's a hot spring. That might be hard to pass up. Especially if it has those little water jets."

"It's a natural spring. They're not going to put water jets in a natural spring."

"They could put in those little volcanic chimneys, though."

"It's meant to be a memorial for the dead, you idiot. They're not going to turn it into a hot tub."

"Well, if we're dead, then I want to be honored with a hot tub. I might not be able to feel it, but I can remember how to feel it, and it's the thought that counts, right? Like leaving your dad's favorite beer on his tombstone."

"We never left dad's favorite beer on his tombstone."

"I know, but he would have wanted us to. And that what counts."

"Wait a minute. That's where Spira's old energy flows now, right?"

"I suppose. But if you're thinking of talking to our old man, I think he'd vote for the hot tub."

"Would you shut up and listen to me for a minute? If it combines the planet's new energy with the souls left in the Farplane to form that symbiosis thing Yuna was talking about one night, then ... maybe now I can tell if Lenne's still here, or if she's lost."

"Um ... "

"It's time."

"Time?"

"Even if she's not there, Spira is stable now. When we spoke to Koji at our last visit, he said he would continue to run the ship's operation until the energy within the planet was strong enough to take over for him, and then he would be leaving, too."

"Too? You're leaving? But, what about me? I'm not ready to go yet!"

"You won't have to, you little idiot. Don't you remember what she told us? Geeze, you're such a whiner."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Heh. Just shut up, and go."

The water dragon bowed its long body down into the depths and swam to where the Celsius was docked. He waited patiently for the Gullwings to return from the public announcements, then rose in an arc over Yuna as she ran to greet him.

Yuna patted the firm scales on his underbelly and smiled up at him. "Well, I guess that's it for here! The gateway to Earth is open for everyone now. They can come and go as they please. And that means it's time for us to go home." She waited for him to lower his head, and then she kissed his jaw. "See you there." With that, she dismissed him back to his tomb until he could be recalled to her side later.

"Goodbye, Yuna. Take care," Shuyin answered, though she could not hear his thoughts.

After returning to his tomb, relocated beside Arantisu's in the lagoon east of Besaid, Shuyin rose in spirit form and swam through the water to the beach. He ran to the new teleport station set up at the narrow passage through the cliffs at the beach's entrance and set his hands on the sphere.

Nothing happened.

Frustrated, he turned and scanned the length of the beach. "Kusa! Come here for a minute!"

The boy ran to his side to see what he wanted.

"Make this thing work for me, will ya?" Shuyin stepped half into the boy's body and waited. "Take me to the Farplane."

"Ew! No. There's nothing but dead people there. Hey, you're his brother, aren't you?"

"Kinda sorta." Shuyin impatiently tried to touch the sphere himself, but it had no effect. "Just do it, alright. Before I have Tidus mistake you for a blitzball again."

"Okay, okay ... " The boy touched the teleport and drew the spirit into the Farplane with him.

"Okay, now go home," Shuyin told the boy as he started to walk away.

"But, how will you come back if I don't stay to take you with me?"

Shuyin stopped and looked over his shoulder but chose not to answer. As the boy shrugged and set his hands back on the teleporter to return home, the blitzball player's ghost walked toward the gateway and followed the magical path out to the hills and the Forest of Memories.