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The gang was on the beach near the dock. Wakka and Lulu were having a whispered convseration while Rikku ran around picking up shiny shells and interestingly colored rocks. Yuna had seemed to pick up Kimahri's lack of conversational skills.
"I was talking to Yuna in the kitchen earlier.. she doesn't believe Tidus is gone," Lulu told Wakka. "She tries to pretend that she's fine, but she isn't."
"That's Yuna... always trying to be strong."
Lulu, frustrated that Wakka didn't get the point, said, "She's in denial. It can't be good for her."
"What would you expect? You said yourself she'd be fine in time, ya? That's all she needs. It's all we can give her."
Just then, a blonde boy passed in front of them. Yuna just caught a glimpse of his hair. "Tidus!" she called. He didn't respond, of course, but she could tell it wasn't him. It wasn't him...
"See Wakka?" Lulu said to him.
"Yeah, you're right. But what can we do?" Before she got the chance to respond he announced, "Hey, this looks like a good spot, ya?" Yuna turned her gaze away from the blonde boy and nodded. Rikku came running over with a pile of shells.
"Lookie what I found!" Rikku told them. Lulu spread out a blanket for them to sit on and Rikku dropped the shells on top of it. Everybody laughed, including Yuna, in spite of herself. Rikku could make anybody laugh, she was always so cheerful. She did and said whatever came to her mind, without it ever occuring to her to be embarrassed about it. Yuna wished she could be like that.. and not be so weighed down by everything. Everybody took out a sandwich and started munching away.. except Yuna, who just took little nibbles.
"Ick, ants." Rikku tried to shoo them off the blanket but most of them got past her. Lulu looked over at them nervously.
Wakka saw this and said, "You're not afraid of ants, are you?"
Lulu looked at him with that stern look of hers. "Of course not.. It's just that they can.." Lulu paused for a short moment, "spread diseases. A friend told me that... better to keep them away."
Rikku nearly choked and looked a little pale. "They do that? Really?" She grabbed a nearby stick and starting shooing them away again.
Wakka laughed. "Yeah, I'm sure they do."
Kimahri was watching Yuna, the summoner he had protected ever since she was a small child. Her eyes had wandered back to the boy with Tidus' hair and she had barely eaten any of her sandwich. He could protect her from all the fiends in the world, but there was one danger even he could not guard against -- herself.
All Yuna could do was stare. *Maybe if I look at him long enough... and hard enough... he'll turn into Tidus. Maybe he is Tidus.. maybe the trip effected him.. maybe I should call to him again...* Yuna thought. They were crazy, desperate thoughts, but she couldn't help but think them anyhow.
For the countless time that day, Lulu looked over to see Yuna staring into space. *Maybe..* she thought, *maybe I know a way to help her.* "Perhaps we should take a trip to the Farplane."
All of the sudden Yuna was completely alert.. and looked a lot paler than Rikku did at the mention of diseased ants. "Th-the Farplane? ....Why would we want to do that?"
"To see Tidus. To help you accept that he's gone." Lulu said gently.
Yuna swallowed hard, even though she hadn't really been chewing anything. "I don't think that's a good idea..."
"I know it's hard, but it'll be for the best," Lulu assured her.
Yuna looked stunned. Rikku waved her hand in front of her face. "Yunie?" Wakka tapped her on the shoulder and she snapped out of it... mostly.
"Sorry.." Could she really visit the Farplane? What if he was really there? It would mean she didn't have a chance... but it didn't look like she was getting out of it. "I guess we can do that."
"I'll call Cid to bring the airship over so we can fly there," Rikku said, then ran off to contact him. Wakka and Lulu managed to pack up the food before the airship came in. It created a bit of a breeze and blew their hair and clothes.
Down came the door. "All aboard!" Cid called.
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As they approached Guadosalem, Yuna could feel every part of her tensing. So many emotions ran through her at once -- fear, anticipation, anxiety... and hope. If for some reason he didn't show up, that meant she had a chance... it might take her days, weeks or months to find him, but she had a chance. But she had seen him jump off the ship into the Farplane.. what chance was there? Still, she couldn't give up.
"Yunie... we're here."
They looked onto the city of the Guado as Cid landed the ship. They would all see if it had become Yuna's lover's new home soon enough. With a sense of darkness and despair about them, they left the ship and made their way to the Farplane.
With every nearing step, she felt her dread grow. Would he be there.. or would he not? Did she really want to know? She remembered what Yunalesca had told her. "It is better for you to die in hope than to live in despair." The words hadn't seemed right at the time, but they rang true now.. but no, she wouldn't get in to that. She had to be strong... When she looked up from thought, she saw the stairs leading to the Farplane. This was it...
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Tidus watched as his sword sliced through the liquidy Farplane wall. But, as liquids do, it sunk right back around his sword, filling in the hole faster than he could ever hope to get through it. And it was too thick... gel like... to just walk through. He sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot." Just then he looked at the sphere and saw Yuna. "She's here! She's at the Farplane! Yuna! YUNA!"
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Yuna walked up to the wispy Farplane surroundings. She tried to think of everything but Tidus... she forced one random thing after another into her mind -- butterflies, shoopufs, her home in Besaid -- but it was inevitable. Tidus' face forced it's way in, and she shut her eyes tight, not wanting to see. But then... she heard something. Forgetting for a moment what she was here for, she concentrated with all her might on the sound. It sounded familiar... but it was so quiet.. then it dawned on here. It was somebody whistling. Her eyes popped open, and she did her best to judge where it was coming from and whistled with all her might back.
"What in the heck is she doing?!" Rikku cried.
Lulu looked confused too. "I don't know..."
"Maybe she's gone crazy," Wakka suggested.
Both Rikku and Lulu glared at him.
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Tidus was thrilled. She could hear him... she couldn't hear him speak, but she could hear him whistle! But he couldn't tell her what she needed to know with a whistle. He could tell by the way she concentrated when she first heard it how soft it was. But what if he kept slashing at the wall... tried to keep it thin? He took out his sword again and hit it over and over, while whistling.. but it never stayed open long enough to make a difference. His hope was draining fast... and he couldn't keep the whistling up much longer... then he smacked himself on the forehead. Duh! A slow spell! That ought to make it slow down enough to thin down the walls with his sword and let his whistle through loud and clear... but he was still at a loss of how to tell her to use the teleportation spell. But he cast the spell anyway.. maybe she could hear him yell like this...
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She was beginning to wonder if she was hallucinating... it was so soft... how could she be sure she wasn't making it up in her head? Maybe she just trying to make herself feel better... give her that last bit of hope to hang onto... Just then, she knew it was real. It started coming in louder and louder. She couldn't be imagining it! She turned to her loyal protectors and friends. "You guys hear that, don't you? Tidus whistling?"
They all looked at each other, unsure of what to say. "I hear somebody whistling. Or something." Rikku said.
"How do you know it's Tidus?" Lulu asked.
"He said.. if we ever got seperated, he'd whistle so we could find each other again. I know it's him, it has to be."
"If it is him, doesn't that mean he's stuck here?" Wakka asked, perhaps a little too bluntly.
Yuna's face fell. Was he right? "Or maybe he's trying to tell me something! To get him out!" She thought out loud.
"But how are you going to tell from a whistle?" Lulu asked. Yuna wondered that as well...
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Tidus was desperately trying to think of a way to communicate with her. Whenever he yelled she showed no response... she must not be able to hear him. How can you tell somebody something with just one sound? *Wait...* He thought. *I wonder if any of them know...* He started whistling in patterns of short and longs.
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"Wait... it's changed." Rikku said. "It has like... a pattern to it now!"
They all listened. "So it does." Lulu said. "What does it mean?"
"Some kind of... code?" Yuna asked. Tidus hadn't taught her anything like that, though.
"Hey... I know this..." Rikku cocked her head to the side.
"What is it??" Yuna asked.
"Shhh!" Rikku replied. "S-E-L-E-P-O-R-S-A-S-I-O-N," there was a gap of silence, "T-P-E-L-L."
"Huh?? What does that mean?"
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Tidus saw that they all looked confused. Rikku seemed to recognize it... was she having trouble translating? He repeated the pattern, hoping she'd figure it out.
Jecht laughed. "You got the "T" and the "S" mixed up!"
Tidus, trying to remember from when he learned it, realized he was right. He quickly corrected the sequence and started over.
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The whistling stopped. "What's going on? Why'd he stop?" Yuna asked.
"Shh.." It had started again. "He's doing it differently this time. T-E-L-E-P-O-R-T-A-T-I-O-N..... S-P-E-L-L. Teleportation spell!"
Lulu looked at Yuna with a curious look. "What teleportation spell?"
"It was something Tidus and I found in an old book laying on the ground. We tried it... but it was too hard... we decided it was useless and I haven't thought about it since."
"But if you can't do it, why'd he--" Wakka began, but Yuna cut him off.
"I don't know. I just.. don't know.."
"Wait!" Rikku called out. "He's doing another one."
"What's he saying this time?" Yuna.
Rikku didn't bother shushing her that time. "T-O-G-E-T-H-E-R."
Yuna sighed. "I know... I want to be together, too," she whispered to herself.
"Maybe that isn't what he meant." Lulu said.
Now it was Yuna's turn to look confused, "Then what does he mean?"
"When two people perform a spell at once... it can be much more powerful. Perhaps he means that if the two of you cast the spell at the same time, you will have enough magic to complete it."
That was it! It would work! Yuna felt like she was floating on a cloud.... they could be together again. She didn't have to be alone! She began to recall the spell from memory. She lifted her arms up in the arm, and began saying,
"Guardians of light,
that shine down upon us.
We ask for your--"
Lulu reached for her arms and cut her off. "Are you sure about this? If this spell was hidden away.."
"No, it'll work!" Yuna cried. How could she stop her, when she was so close that she could practically feel him? Oh, to be in his arms once more. She was about to begin again when Lulu stopped her once more.
"We should leave the Farplane first. If you just transport him this far... who knows if he will actually escape?" It was a sore excuse, but Lulu had a bad feeling about the spell. "Let's go home and do it there. It'll give him time to prepare as well."
Yuna sighed. She was probably right... she wouldn't want anything to mess it up. "Rikku?"
"Yeah, Yunie?"
"Could you tell him something for me?"
"I... I can't whistle." She laughed and blushed slightly.
"Could you tell me what to whistle?"
"Sure. What do you want to say?"
"I understand. I'll do as you say. We'll be together again."
They somehow managed to get the message through, and heard another one in reply.
"What's he saying this time?" Yuna asked, with excitement in her voice.
"I... L-O-V.... it stopped. I guess, he couldn't do it anymore. Maybe he ran out of breath."
Yuna paused for a moment. Had something happened? If something came between them now... no, there's no point in thinking that. "What do you think he was trying to say?"
"He loves you." Lulu said. Even though she was still worried, she gave a slight smile. Yuna gave a bigger one. "Come on, it's time to go." Lulu told her. They headed back to the airship, so Yuna could perform the spell at home.
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The slow spell wore off and the wall closed up. He tried to cast it again but it had no effect. Right in the middle of his last message... how he wanted her to know, needed her to know. He looked to the sphere, to try and see if she understood it. He saw her walking out with a smile... she must know then. He smiled too, then started to prepare for the spell.
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Will Tidus' and Yuna's spell work, or will it go horribly wrong like Lulu fears? What will they do if he comes back.. or even worse, if he doesn't? You'll just have to wait and see! Please leave a review to let me know you're reading this and that it isn't all for nothing.:)