Chapter Seventeen
My Immortal

Part One
It took three full months for to Yuna finally convince Rikku to go to the Farplane. "It will be good for you," Yuna had told her. "There's much you need to say to him. And I promise, it will make you feel better."

"What?" Rikku had snapped. "Seeing him at the Farplane, and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is gone? And I am alone? How will that make me feel better?"

Yuna had only smiled gently. "I understand. It's hard to explain how the Farplane works. It just – it brings peace to those who visit."

"Are you going to see Tidus?" Rikku had asked.

Yuna shook her head. "No. My parents. Wherever Tidus is – I don't think he's on the Farplane."

Rikku had nodded. Finally, she had given in. She had always known that one day, she would go, and she knew if she waited much longer, she would be unable to make the journey to Guadosalam. She was not yet showing, but in another month or so, she would be unable to hide the fact that she was indeed with child.

After much deliberation, the girls decided to make the trek without the aid of Cid's airship. There were many memories along the roads to Guadosalam, and they both needed the soul purging that they hoped it would bring.

Wakka and Lulu agreed to accompany them, since Rikku was in a delicate condition. They didn't doubt Yuna's abilities to heal, but there was always strength in numbers. Also, they had their own personal matters that they needed to tend to, but they didn't tell Rikku and Yuna that.

It was a long journey, one they made with many stops along the way. In Luca, Yuna had smiled softly. "This is where Tidus taught me to whistle. It's also where he officially became a guardian. He and Sir Auron." She looked at Rikku, and then sighed. "Sir Auron was really amazing here. And he offered to be my guardian. I remember – I was so surprised!"

Lulu and Wakka nodded. "We were too," Lulu admitted. "Happy, of course, but surprised."

Rikku managed a small smile, and the group continued down the Mi'ihen Highroad. There were only a few fiends to contend with, and none were very strong. They bypassed Mushroom Rock Road and headed straight for Djose.

They reached the Moonflow, and boarded a shoopuf to take them to the other side. They walked slowly down the path, until they came to the banks on the north side.

Rikku paused. "This is where – you found me," she whispered. She remembered everything about that day – the way her head had ached from the battle with Tidus and Wakka, the way her wetsuit had begun to constrict as it dried. The way he had looked at her . . .

"Let me see your face." His voice was gruff, leaving little room for argument. Yet, Rikku felt like defying him all the same. She lifted her head, keeping her eyes shut.

"Open your eyes," he had told her. He had told her later, that it had been all he could do to keep from laughing at her stubbornness.

"Oh all right," she had muttered. Slowly, she had opened one swirling green eye – and it had instantly locked with a deep and mysterious brown one. She was so entranced that she had opened the other eye without even thinking.
He had just stared at her, saying nothing. "Um, no good?" Rikku had asked uncertainly.

"Are you certain?" he had asked.

She had given an emphatic nod. "One hundred percent!"

That was how Rikku had become a guardian – and also how she had fallen in love. She felt the tears on her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she whispered to Yuna, Lulu, and Wakka.

"Hey, it's all right, ya?" Wakka said, throwing a comforting arm around the younger girl.

Rikku sniffled and managed a weak smile. "Thanks, Wakka," she said. Then she took a deep breath. "Not much further, huh?" she asked, nodding at the road ahead. "Soon, we'll be in Guadosalam."

Yuna squeezed her hand. "It'll be okay, I promise." And the quartet pressed on.

Part Two
Auron officially hated the Farplane. And he wasn't even actually in the Farplane. He was in the In-Between, the place where those who weren't meant for the Farplane had to wait to receive their living souls.

It should have been a simple process. Go in, and have your unsent soul swapped for the one you had while you were alive. Unfortunately, the Keeper of Souls was a bit of a dolt.

Auron had been In-Between for three months now. It was driving him crazy – for he didn't have the luxury of those in the Farplane, those who could watch their loved ones. So he had no idea how Rikku was faring.

He had asked the Keeper if those visiting the Farplane could see him. The Keeper had told him, yes, but the image they received would be distorted and blurry, since he was not technically dead.

There was nothing to do In-Between. It was simply a great white hall – sort of resembling a cloud – and there were very few people milling about. Not many unsent were ever given the chance of living again. Auron was the only one at this point in time. Auron didn't really know why all the other people were there, but everyone knew who he was.

"He's the one – there was a mistake when he died the first time," they whispered.

He'd heard that a lot. That his death had been a mistake – that for one so great and legendary to be unsent tilted the fragile balance of Spira too much on the side of good.

Auron had chuckled to himself. Of course. All the maesters had become power-hungry and mad after years and years of being unsent. They couldn't allow someone who was not evil to have as much power as they – if not more. They knew that the legendary warrior had something they did not. Something that made him stronger than all of them combined.

He had the capacity to love.

Auron didn't really care about all that. Without Sin, there was little the maesters could do. And even if they did try something, Yuna and Tidus, and Lulu and Wakka, and Kimahri and – Rikku – along with himself, were strong enough to overtake them. He had been In-Between for so long that he didn't even know that Tidus was long gone by then.

Auron didn't care that he was giving up immortality, a fact that had been brought up on more than one occasion. She was waiting for him, and that meant more to him than living a thousand years.

Yes, she was waiting for him. But he knew that she wouldn't wait forever. Which is why he was so impatient. If she came to the Farplane, even once, and saw him – she would have to accept.

And that would mean that she would start to move on. He hurried in to speak to the Keeper once more.

Part Three
They reached Guadosalam by nightfall. "We'll go to the Farplane in the morning," Yuna told Rikku. "After we've had a good night's sleep."

Rikku had nodded. She was tired, and she knew she needed rest – and food. She had been so hungry for the past three months, it was a wonder she wasn't already twenty pounds overweight.

After they had eaten and had gone to bed for the night, Rikku had decided to ask Yuna a question that had been plaguing her for the entire trip. "Yunie?" she asked from her bed.

"Mm?" Yuna said sleepily from her bed on the other side of the room.

"Can they hear you? On the Farplane? If you speak to them, do they know what you're saying?"

Yuna sat up. "I really – I really don't know, Rikku," she said honestly. "I speak mainly for myself when I speak to my parents. I don't know if my voice is heard. I'd like to think that it is, though." She looked at Rikku. "You want to tell him about the baby, don't you?" she said softly.

"I do. And I really want him to hear. I want him to know. Even though – even though I know that he can't be with me. I want him to know that he kind of still is." Lying on her back, she put a hand on her still- flat stomach. "I still have some part of him with me." She sighed. "I want him to know – that we're okay."

The next morning, the four of them set out for the Farplane. Rikku was uncertain. She had never entered the Farplane before, and wasn't sure what to expect. She worried something would strike her down upon entering since she was Al Bhed.

Yuna laughed at her when she vocalized her fear. "My mother is here, Rikku!" she cried. "She's Al Bhed. Nothing bad has happened to her."

"Yeah, but she's – you know – dead. I'm not," Rikku said.

Yuna shook her head. "It'll be fine. Come on."

She pulled her cousin through the shimmery portal and into – nothing. Rikku looked around, confused. The Farplane was nothing but a floating slab of rock surrounded by beautifully colored skies that looked like perpetual sunsets, fluffy pink and gold clouds, and dazzling waterfalls that splashed down into eternity.

"It's not what I expected," she said honestly. "Where are all the people?"

Yuna smiled. "You have to think about who you want to see. Close your eyes, and imagine them in vivid detail . . . " Yuna did so as she spoke. Rikku gasped before Yuna had reopened her eyes.

"Braska!" she breathed. "And, Irina, your mother!" Rikku was amazed at the detail in which they appeared. Almost as if you could reach out and touch them and pull them back to you.

Yuna opened her eyes and smiled softly at her parents. They were holding hands, they looked happy. Yuna hoped that it wasn't just her memories playing tricks on her. She hoped that they really were together and happy once again.

Rikku looked over towards Wakka and Lulu. They had of course, called Chappu. She knew they were telling him of their plans to be wed. They had said they had wanted to speak to Chappu about it, before they made it known to the islanders on Besaid.

Rikku walked over to her own area of the Farplane. Slowly, she closed her eyes and thought about a man. His tall, muscular build, his dark but graying hair, his crooked smile, the dark mysteriousness of his eyes, the cruel scars that marked his body, the long crimson coat . . .

She heard Yuna gasp before she opened her eyes, and when she did, she couldn't believe it either. He was there, but he was nowhere near as vivid as Braska and Irina, or Chappu.

He looked distorted, and very blurry. "What the . . ." Wakka's voice broke in.

Rikku burst into tears. "It's because I'm Al Bhed, isn't it?" she cried.

"No, I'm sure that's not it!" Yuna said, immediately comforting her cousin. She looked to Lulu. "What does this mean?"

Lulu shrugged. "I really don't know. I've never seen anything like this before." But Wakka could see the wheels turning in his fiancée's head. She did know something; she just didn't want to say.

He would ask her about it later. For now, the most important thing was getting Rikku out of the Farplane. Too much stress was bad for the baby.

Rikku looked back as they led her back to Guadosalam. She had come here for closure, and all she had gotten was a whole mess of new questions.

A/N: I know, I know. Another cliffhanger. Sorry I can't help it. I'm vindictive and evil that way. lol I'll be writing more later on this evening --I hope -- so you shouldn't have to wait long for an update. I'm sorry I didn't update as often this weekend. I was really busy with work and a stupid assignment for my stupid summer class that I stupidly decided to take. lol As if college isn't bad enough -- I take classes in the summer too! Anywho -- Once again, thanks to all who review, and keep those reviews coming! It makes me happy to see "review alert!" in my inbox:) So I hope you like this chapter, and I hope you'll like the ones to come as well. Until then, Rhianna :) Who promises to write more very very very very soon :)