Chapter 5: Farplane Shadows

We all just stared there, Lulu and Wakka looking amazed, and Chappu smiling a proud

smile. Rikku looked between Wakka and Chappu, and said, "You two related?"

"I'm his brother ya," Chappu said.

Lulu seemed to regain herself and said, "Chappu, you're alive?"

Wakka regained himself again and said, "See Lu, I told you he would just pop back!"

"Just pop back?" Rikku repeated to herself. I was feeling more and more confused,

wondering to myself what was going on. I didn't like feeling confused, and I was definitely tired

of feeling confused.

My jumbled thoughts immediately jumped to Yuna. What was up with her actions? I

had noticed tears streaming down her face, and then she had bolted into the temple. Without

warning, I found myself sprinting toward the temple, deciding that if anyone could help me clear

up the confusion, Yuna could.

The temple was rather vacant, just a few people in the corner talking. There were two

elderly men sitting on the steps leading to the fayth, and I ran up to them.

"Excuse me," I said, "Have any of you seen the Lady Yuna?"

"Who wants to know?" one of the men asked, not snottily, but not nicely either.

"My name is Vance, and I'm...Er friends with her." I found myself looking around,

amazed at how different this temple was to the temple in Bevelle.

I had never believed in the Teaching of Yevon, being that I was Al Bhed. Or at least, my

mother had been Al Bhed. I never met my father, and my mother told me that he was killed by

Sin the same year that I had been born. My mother died when I was five, leaving me at Home to

care for myself, basically. The temple in Bevelle was the only temple I had ever been in, until

now.

To tell the truth, thinking of Bevelle made me bitter. That's where I had been born,

anyway. I moved when I was three. I barely remembered it. However, I knew that Bevelle was

where my father had been killed, or at least around Bevelle. Or...Or at least I assumed.

"The Lady Summoner is in the fayth," the second man said then, and I felt my thoughts

all drift away.

"What's she doing in there?" I asked, not thinking.

"She said something about being alone," the first man said, and they both stood up, "You

can go find her, if you want."

"I will, thank you," I said, and ran up the stairs and through the door. I was hit by another

cloister, and quickly found my way through it. Once more I was in the guardian waiting room,

and ran up to the fayth. The door was open, so I let myself in.

"Lady Yuna?" I said, looking at her. She was kneeled by the no-longer working fayth,

and immediately looked up at me. She stood up quickly, wiping her eyes. "Uh, what's wrong?"

I asked her, and she looked at the ground.

"It's 'cause Chappu looks like Tidus!" I heard Rikku's voice come from behind, "right?"

Yuna gave a mutter, but then shook her head, busying herself by looking at the ground.

"I don't know," she said softly.

"Sure it is!" Rikku said, walking over to her cousin, "Don't you miss him Yunie?"

"Well, of course I do," Yuna said, still looking at her feet, "But he's gone, and that's all

there is to it."

"So," I said, deciding I didn't care to interfere with Yuna's love life, "Who's Chappu?"

"Wakka's brother," Yuna said, "He died a few years back."

"Died?" Rikku asked, "But, how's he back?"

Yuna sighed. "I don't know Rikku."

"Maybe there's something wrong with the farplane?" Rikku suggested, "And maybe then

Tidus will be back too!"

Yuna shook her head. "He's not in the farplane," she said slowly.

"You've checked?" Rikku asked.

Yuna's head shook again, "No, but Wakka and Lulu have. They wouldn't lie to me."

"If he's not in the farplane..." Rikku said, "Then he's still alive?"

Once again, Yuna's head shook, and she looked away from us. "He doesn't exist," she

said slowly, "And it's about time you learned to accept that, Rikku. Anyway, maybe we should

ask Chappu about what happened."

Yuna stood up and started toward the exit. Rikku looked at me, and gave a rather queasy

smile. Then, side by side, we followed Yuna out of the door to the temple.

"So he doesn't recall anything about being dead?" Yuna was saying.

"No, that's just it," Lulu said, "he seems to think he's been here this entire time. We even

tried explaining it to him, and he still doesn't remember dying. Wakka and me just can't figure it

out."

"Where is he?" Rikku asked.

"With Wakka, playing Bitzball on the beach, I think," Lulu replied, and for the most part

shook her head. She looked tired, and seemed rather distraught over the whole deal. Lulu

suddenly looked up at Yuna, and a worried look overcame her face.

"What's wrong?" Yuna asked.

"I've heard rumors, Yuna," Lulu said, gazing at Yuna with a worried look on her face,

"I've heard that Chappu isn't the only one back. They're saying that Maester Seymour is back."

"Seymour!" Rikku yelled, "But that's impossible!"

"Is it?" Lulu said, appearing deep in thought, "Chappu is back, isn't he? Why wouldn't

Seymour be back too?"

"I wonder if Seymour remembers dying?" Yuna said more to herself than to us.

"Whoa, wait a minute," I said, feeling confusion spread over to me again, "He's just some

Maester. Aren't you guys happy he's back? How'd he die, anyway? He was that ugly guado

guy...guy..." I couldn't believe I had lost all sense of formalities like that. I felt my cheeks

growing hotter and hotter, and even hotter. I wanted to just disappear. Me, calling a maester an

ugly guado guy! I was sure I was about ready to die.

"We killed him, Vance," Rikku said then, which was the most surprising thing I'd heard

in my entire life, "But it had to be done, right Yunie?"

Yuna looked somewhat shaken, as if recalling the incident. "You know," she said, not

really answering my questions or Rikku's, "We didn't really spend a lot of time convincing

people that Seymour wasn't a good guy, did we? I guess once we defeated Sin, no one really

cared that we were traitors anymore."

"But now he's back," Rikku said, sounding quite unhappy.

"We need to take care of this," Yuna said softly.

"Oh no you don't," Lulu said, "Yuna, you're in no position to run off to take care of

Seymour. Wakka and me can't come, you know that. Not with Chappu running around not

realizing that he was once dead. Kimarhi has his own problems too."

"I'm open!" Rikku put in, "Yunie and me can go." Rikku looked in thought then, as if

knowing that Lulu still wouldn't budge on the idea. She looked at her feet, and then looked at

me and smiled, giving me a queasy feeling in my stomach. "What if Vance went too!"

"I'm here to...," I started, as I was going to say that I was there to play blitzball,

something I hadn't even had the chance to do yet. Then I recalled that I was actually here

undercover to help guard Yuna. "I mean, I guess I could come."

"Well..." Lulu said, looking off into the distance, "I still have to put my foot down on this

Yuna. Why, with all of those crazed Yevon-haters and Yevonites..., and with your wedding...."

"Lulu!" Yuna protested, "This needs to be done. If Seymour really is back, who else

could take care of him, than Rikku, Vance, and me?"

"I know but..." Lulu was looking defeated.

"We can take my dad's airship!" Rikku said, "But where will we go?"

"To Guadosalam first," Yuna said, "I'm sure Seymour will be there." Then, very softly,

she said, "And I'm sure he won't be the only one."

"I'll go see if I can signal my dad!" Rikku said, cheerfully, as she jumped up, "I have

some machina in my room!"

It was then that I felt my stomach drop. Another ride in the airship? Uh, I felt sick just at

the thought. Still, I decided I couldn't very well tell them that I was afraid of heights. It seemed

to me like Yuna and Rikku weren't afraid of a single thing.

Rikku ran off, and Lulu and Yuna were suddenly in deep discussion. I wasn't paying any

attention to them, being that I was far too interested in my own thoughts, about how I would ever

overcome my fear of heights.

"He does kind of, doesn't he?" I heard Yuna giggle. I looked up, and noticed that Lulu

and Yuna were both staring at me. I wondered what it was they were talking about, and Yuna

answered my questions that were running through my head.

"Rikku says that we might be related to you," Yuna said with a smile, "She said she was

going to ask her dad."

"Huh?" I said, hoping I didn't sound as confused as I looked.

"Rikku says that you might be a second cousin to us or something," Yuna said, clarifying

what she had just said.

"Oh," I said, "That'd be different, I guess. I never really thought about that."

"Well, Lulu and me were just saying that we kind of look alike, that's all." Yuna smiled

at me, and I wondered if I should tell her about our eyes.

I hadn't noticed it until that moment, but her eyes were blue and green. Mine were too.

Except, actually, they were both blue. When I had moved into the Calm Lands, I had put blue

dye in my green eye, hoping to conceal the fact that I was Al Bhed. I'd died my hair black years

and years ago to conceal that I was only half Al Bhed, hoping that everyone at Home would think

I was Al Bhed fully. However, now my hair had just turned to a dark brown, and it didn't seem

to matter what I did. I couldn't look fully Al Bhed, but I couldn't hide the fact that I was Al

Bhed either.

Rikku returned then, smiling and said, "Pop's on his way!"

My stomach sank, and I felt kind of sick. I decided that I wasn't going to show it, though,

and decided that it was going to be quick, after all.

"Now wait a minute," Lulu said, "I don't like this idea at all. What if something happens

to you?"

"Nothing'll happen, Lulu," Yuna said, "You just have to believe."

"Yeah, believe!" Rikku said, throwing her fist in the air happily.

The sound of the airship was suddenly very apparent, and Lulu was looking incredibly

unhappy.

"I don't like this at all," she said, "But if you really insist. Still, don't be doing anything

to get yourself killed, understand?"

"Don't worry!" Rikku said, and then turned to us, "Ready?"

I looked at Lulu as if giving her a begging look. I didn't want to go. I wanted to play

blitzball! This was definitely not what I wanted to do at all.

"Okay, no problem," I told myself, "We'll just go talk to this dead maester guy, and then

come back, and I'll blitz all day. No problem..."

Rikku ran ahead then, saying her final farewells to Lulu. Yuna smiled almost wearily,

and said goodbye to Lulu, telling her to also say goodbye to Wakka and Chappu for her. I just

nodded my farewell, deciding that it didn't matter too terribly much to her anyway.

"This is so exciting!" Rikku said, as she skipped ahead. Cid's airship had parked in the

water, near the docks, so we were skipping up the hill to the forest, on our way to the water.

Yuna had become incredibly quiet, and I too felt quiet, not wanting to talk.

I walked behind Yuna, while Rikku continued skipping ahead. Finally, I sighed, deciding

that the worse my attitude was about this, the worse it would be.

"So," I said, walking in front of Yuna, "Mind filling me in on exactly what's going on?"

"It's an incredibly long story!" Rikku said, still skipping about, "But in a short little bit,

Seymour may be back, and I'll bet he has something to do with Chappu being back too.

Seymour's bad news, isn't that right Yunie?"

It was then that I noticed just how distracted Yuna looked. "Huh? Oh, sure," she said to

Rikku's remark.

"Come on you guys!" Rikku then urged, obviously not making a note of Yuna's's

distraction, "Let's go already!"

"Wow, nothing too exciting must happen to you, Rikku," I said, but smiled anyway, and

ran up by her.

"Maybe," Rikku said, when I reached her, and Yuna's couldn't hear us, "If we go on this

mission, it'll discourage Yuna's from marrying! You think?"

"Maybe she really likes Pinelli," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Come on Vance," Rikku's eyes rolled now, "She's only met him three times in her entire

life. Something's up."

"Like what? You think Yuna's hiding something from us?" I asked, wondering if that's

what was on Rikku's mind.

"I do," she said, and was about to continue, when Yuna's ran up behind them.

"Do what?" she asked, and I watched her put on one of her forced smiles.

"Do...Do hate Seymour!" Rikku said, and put on one of her fake smiles. Rikku's smiles

were so convincingly fake, however, that Yuna's just gave her a puzzled look.

"Do me a favor Rikku," I said softly, "No more forced smiles from you."

Rikku's tongue was stuck out of her mouth pointed at me, but she smiled one of her real

smiles.

The airship was now in sight, being that we'd reached the beach. Rikku ran ahead, and

ran into the airship, while Yuna's and me made our way slowly toward the ship.

Before I knew it, we were boarding the dreaded airship. I gripped the handle and pulled

myself up the stairs, trying hard to convince myself that it would be over before I knew it.

We climbed into the ship, and I found my way to the cabin, where I decided I would stay

for this trip. There were no windows in it, and for all I knew, we could still be on the ground.

As I sat there, alone in the cabin, thoughts began to dwell in my head. I was feeling so

confused that it was unreal.

Rikku came bursting into the cabin after a few minutes or so, and said, "Hey! There you

are! I've been looking all over for you!"

"Oh," I said, trying not to sound sickly or anything, "You have?"

"Yeah! Guess what my pops said?" Rikku said, giggling, "Did you know that your mom

was my pop's sister? That means we're cousins, you know. Same with Yunie too. Imagine,

you've gone your whole life not realizing it!"

"Are you sure?" I asked, wondering if Rikku was simply making everything up.

"Yeah! My dad said that your mom married some guy who wasn't Al Bhed, and then

they lost touch. Same with Yunie's mom!"

"Hm..." I just said, sounding in thought, "Where's Yuna's?"

"She's around, I guess," Rikku said, "She seems kind of distracted, don't you think? This

Seymour stuff must be too much for her."

"Who's Seymour?" I finally asked, "I mean, I know who he is, but why's he back? And

why do we care if he's back or not?"

"Because Vance!" Rikku said loudly, "Seymour's like evil! He tried to kill us and

everything, and not only that, but he's like a psycho! And if his return gets around, then

everybody will be on us again about killing him. It's impossible to convince them that

Seymour's bad. So, we just need to take care of him again, that's all."

"That's all?" I said, "You make it sound pretty easy."

"Well, we'll look for Tidus on the side!" Rikku said, "And then when Pinelli comes back,

we'll say, "Sorry Pinhead, but Yunie's not marrying you now!"'

My eyes rolled, as I watched Rikku smile as if she'd just said the funniest thing in all of

Spira.

"But that guy's dead," I said, more to myself than to Rikku. In fact, she didn't hear me,

because at that moment, she ran out the door.

Soon after she left, I heard Cid's voice over the loudspeaker, as he said, "We've landed in

Guadosalam!"

I sighed, glad that we were finally there. I stood up, stretched quickly, and ran out to the

main room.

I was feeling kind of drowsy, being that I had wanted to play Blitzball more than battle

some deceased Guado. However, I continued to convince myself that we'd take care of

Seymour, and return to Besaid, where I would spend the rest of my days playing Blitz. If only I

had known then that that wasn't how things were going to be.