Darkness. Everywhere. It enveloped the 19 year old gunner, instilling in her a fear that she didn't understand.
"H-hello?" Her voice was shaky, and her entire body trembled though she didn't know why. She walked aimlessly in the darkness, seemingly walking on air. Unable to see, she tripped and fell. The ground was unexpectedly hard, but it was smooth. Something had cut her cheek; she could taste the blood as it trickled down onto her lips. A sudden hopelessness filled her, so much so that she thought it useless to even stand up. Something in the back of her mind told her of the iron will and determination she was supposed to have but she ignored it and lay on the cold surface, waiting for something to happen.
No one could have told how much time passed then. The ex-summoner was running her thumb along the barrel of her gun, thinking about firing it one last time. Just before she made up her mind, a blinding light illuminated the place that she was in, almost like a sunrise would have. Looking up, she saw, to her surprise, a great firey sun rising in front of her. She stood up, astonished, and looked around. She was standing on a great, empty, rocky plain, with nothing in sight in any direction.
"There has to be something somewhere..." she murmured, rubbing her eyes. When she opened them again, she found the ground to be covered in flowers. She blinked. Where am I?! The sun was the same firey red sun she'd seen a moment ago, and the sky was the same, unending black that she'd seen before as well, but the ground was covered in many flowers in every colour imaginable. She looked behind her, and saw a huge mountain range rising in the distance. That wasn't there a moment ago, was it? When she turned back to the direction she'd assumed to be east (because of the sun rising), she saw a creek weaving its way through the flowers, fresh and fast-flowing. She stared at it. She slowly turned around. Things were appearing everywhere. It was as if she was witnessing the creation of a planet in just a few moments. To the north, a huge pine forest had sprung up out of nowhere when she'd had her back turned. To the south, a cliff appeared, with a beautiful waterfall feeding the creek. Seems the only consistant thing in this place is the sun. She thought, turning east again. The huge red sun she thought she'd see had been replaced by a smaller, brilliantly white sun. She gasped, stumbling backward. Just as she thought she was going to fall, a pair of arms caught her. She yelped, pulling away from the person. She spun to face them, her gun poised to fire. She nearly dropped her weapon when she got a look at who it was.
"If this is some kind of cruel trick, I'm not finding it funny!" She yelled to whomever she thought might be messing with her mind. She wanted to look up to the sky, half expecting to see her supposed tormentor looking down on her, but she couldn't pull her eyes away from his. He watched her, smiling oddly.
"Cruel trick? Yuna, what are you talking about?" he asked, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"But, but, this isn't real, is it?" Yuna asked, amazed, terrified, confused, hopeful and dreading all at the same time.
"Define real." He said slowly, slipping his arms around her waist. His presence filled her senses: his touch was warm; his voice, inviting; his scent, calming. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Tidus..."
"I love you, Yuna." He murmured.
"I love you too." She whispered in reply, resting her head on his shoulder. Suddenly, she got the sense that the whole situation was too good to be true. Everything was wrong. The world had been created in less that two minutes, and Tidus had just happened to appear here with her. She stepped away from him, tears rolling down her cheeks. Tidus looked guiltily at her, wiping her tears away with his thumb.
"I'm sorry I left you. I can make this end right now if it hurts you too much. I just...wanted to see you again..."
"Is this a dream?" Yuna asked, her voice thick with tears.
"Not a dream exactly."
"Is this the Farplane?"
"Yes...well, sort of. It's hard to explain."
"Then don't explain. How long can I stay here for?"
"Until the sun goes down. Then you have to go back to Spira." Tidus told her. Both of them looked to the sky. The sun was already nearing dusk, and it was moving a lot more quickly than the sun usually does.
"I missed you." Yuna whispered. Before he could reply, she kissed him, soft and sweet. Immediately, Tidus returned the kiss, gentle but passionate nonetheless.
"I missed you too." He spoke breathlessly. He glanced at the sun, which was setting. Quickly, he unclasped the chain what hung around his neck and put it into Yuna's hand.
"What...?"
"Remember me." Tidus said urgently.
"I will. Find me again." She whispered, closing her hand around the pendant.
"I promise" His voice was fading. Everything was fading. The sun went down and the world plunged into darkness once again. Taking a few steps, Yuna could tell the flowers were gone, and that meant so was everything else. The irrational fear tried to sweep over her once again, but she clasped the chain around her neck, the pendant heavy and cool on her skin and it seemed to ward off the terror she'd felt before. She touched her cheek where she had been cut. It had healed surprisingly fast, but there was a scar there. Odd, the cut wasn't very deep... Her thoughts seemed to escape her, and she became inexplicably drowsy.
Yuna's eye's snapped open. The sun was just rising, its rays lighting up the cabin of the airship. She was lying on her stomach, her right cheek on the pillow. Her eyes filled with tears. It was just a dream then...Why? Why does my mind have to put me through such pain? She thought, frustrated. She started to sob quietly. Sitting up, she felt a sharp pain on her cheek and strange weight on her chest. She ran her fingers over her cheek. Her finger tips were covered in blood. I pulled off a scab? She thought, confused. Her other hand had gone to the odd weight. It was metal, cold against her warm hand, and oddly shaped. She didn't have to look at it to know what it was. She closed her eyes, smiling. She could see Tidus' face in her mind's eye. She saw him as their meeting came to an end.
"Find me again."
"I promise."
She stood up, smiling wholly and sincerely. He doesn't need to find me. He never left me in the first place.