Chapter 17

Tidus was completely alone in a place fully covered in darkness. He had been there ever since he left everyone two years ago. He just sat there staring at nothing. It was completely silent and no one was there with him.

But just then pyreflies emerged beside him and they took shape of a small boy.

He then looked at Tidus. "Hello again."

Tidus turned his head. "Oh, its you." He said without a care.

"Are you happy to be back?" The Prayer Child asked.

"Be back where? I've been stuck here the whole time." Tidus told the boy.

Everything around the two then began to take shape and they were now in the ruins of Zanarkand. Tidus then stood up and looked around, his eyes widened in awe.

"What…? But how?" Tidus asked.

"She whistled for you." He replied to Tidus.

"…Yuna?"

The Prayer Child nodded. "A second chance."

"A second chance for what?" Tidus asked.

"To see her again." He told Tidus.

"But does that mean I'm still……a dream?"

The Prayer Child nodded. "But never doubt what will happen to you."

Tidus looked at him awkwardly. "Say…didn't you go to sleep two years ago after we defeat Sin?"

"If Sin was truly defeated…I wouldn't be here." The boy told him.

"That—But—hey wait a minute! We defeated Sin! We defeated Yu Yevon! How can it come back!?" Tidus freaked.

"Yu Yevon lives now. But unlike before, he lives within someone. Waiting to be joined again with Sin. Unless that person can withstand that power and defeat Sin, it'll keep coming back." The boy told him.

"So once this 'person' defeats Sin, it'll never come back again, right?" Tidus asked.

"Correct."

"Sounds easy enough. So…who is this person?" Tidus asked.

"We don't know yet." The Prayer Child told Tidus.

"Well that doesn't help."

"Just stay out of trouble until we find out, okay?" He asked Tidus.

"Sure thing."

The sound of an airship soon approached the Zanarkand Ruins.

"Sounds like you're friends are here. I shall leave. Until we meet again…" He said then vanished.

Tidus smiled and looked out at the ruins, standing on the small cliff, He was back, but there was no telling when he would be forced to leave again. He ached to see Yuna again and she probably felt the same way.

After all this time her heart still longed to be with him. She whistled her heart out everyday just so he would whistle back so they can be reunited. Tidus loved her so much and now was his time to tell her. Unspoken words for two years.

Just then, footsteps came up behind him.

"…Tidus?" Yuna asked, wondering if it was really him or not.

"I got a theory. I think the fayth gathered up my thoughts and put 'em together to bring me back. Maybe. Something like that." Tidus told her, still looking out at the ruins.

"But…I'm still a dream." He said looking down at his hands.

"But…that means you'll… disappear…" Yuna spoke softly, wishing that there was another way for him to stay.

Tidus then turned around and looked at her. She had grown so much. She wasn't that shy quiet girl he once knew. Yuna was even more beautiful then before.

"Cherish me Yuna. And I'll cherish you. That's what we have to do to stay together." He then smiled then turned back around, facing the ruins of what he once called his home.

Yuna then smiled happily as she ran up to him and held him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Is that what the fayth told you?" She asked.

"Nah, but I like it."

They both then began to laugh. She missed those times when they would laugh together. Yuna then released her grip from him and pushed him off the cliff and into the water.

"Woah!" Tidus screamed as he fell in the water.

Yuna chuckled as he stood up from the depth of the water. "Hey, that's not cherishing!"

"You didn't disappear." Yuna said smiling.

"Yuna……" Tidus said softly.

"I don't want you to go away Tidus. I want you to stay here with me." She told him. They then both gazed at each other just longing with love. "I love you."

Tidus smiled pleasantly. "I—" But he was cut off from the sound of guns being fired coming from the airship.

"The others!" Yuna told him in fear.

Tidus climbed up the hill to Yuna, taking her hand and running towards the airship. Upon arriving at the airship, they saw it being attacked by Sin! It then began to depart from the ground.

"Yuna hurry!" Tidus said instructing her to jump up on the top deck of the airship. She made it up without troubles, but she turned around to see Tidus struggling to pull himself up. Yuna carefully crawled over to him and helped him up.

Sin was then preparing to attack. As it threw a massive gravity attack at the airship, Tidus shielded Yuna with his arms to protect her from the blast. The impact struck the airship as it struggled to get away from Sin, shaking it, causing Tidus to slip away from Yuna, almost falling over the edge of the airship.

Once the airship began to fly away and was in safety range, away from Sin, it began to slow down. Tidus crawled over to Yuna and placed his hands on her cheeks.

"Yuna are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" He asked worriedly.

Yuna smiled and said, "I'm alright."

Relieved, Tidus embraced with her for a moment. He missed so much being able to hold her again.

Afterwards, both headed down to the bridge to see the others. As they went down and into the bridge, everyone looked over and stared in joy.

"Tidus!!" Rikku yelled as she ran up and hugged him.

"You're back!" Wakka yelled also running over to him and giving him a hug.

Yuna giggled.

"Hey, it's good to see you all again too!" Tidus replied trying to shake the two of them off him.

"Its good to see you again Tidus." Lulu told him.

Tidus looked over at her to she that she had a small child cradled in her arms. "Lulu, you have a baby now?"

Wakka then walked over to Lulu and placed his arm around her. "Yup. That's our baby boy Vidina."

"That's great!" Tidus cheered happily. Everyone had changed so much then the last time he had seen them. 2 years had passed, that was sure a long time. But he was so happy to be back with all of his friends again and also Yuna, the one person he couldn't imagine not being with.

"Tidus you much be tired, why not take a rest?" Cid suggested.

Tidus nodded. "Yeah, I am a bit tired."

Yuna then took his hand and smiled. "You can stay with me Tidus." Then together left the bridge.

"It sure is good to see Yuna happy again." Lulu commented.

"It sure is!" Rikku replied.

Later that day, Rikku peeked in Yuna's room to find them both peacefully sleeping in each other's arms on the bed.

"Aww, now isn't that cute?" Rikku whispered to herself then closed the door.

The next morning, Tidus woke up and noticed that Yuna was still asleep beside him. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek, then quietly got up without waking her and left the room.

Tidus went to the bridge where he found Rikku and Lulu and walked up to them. "Mornin' Tidus!" Rikku said.

"Good morning." He then stroked Vidina's little head. "And good morning to you too."

Lulu smiled.

"They're so cute at this age. It must be nice to have a family of your own." Tidus told Lulu.

"Well why not ask Yunie to marry you!?" Rikku suggested.

"Rikku! We're only 19 and still have much to do before getting involved in marriage." He replied.

"But wouldn't you like to marry her? I'm sure Yuna would be thrilled if you two did." Rikku said.

"I haven't really thought about it yet actually. It would be nice tho."

After a few more minutes, Wakka and Yuna entered the bridge and were deciding where to go next.

"How about we go get Auron and Sarah? I'm sure they would be of some help against Sin." Yuna suggested.

"That sounds reasonable. Okay, lets head out then." Cid replied.

Tidus then walked up to Yuna. "Yuna, would you happen to know where Seymour is?"

Yuna tilted her head at him. "Seymour? He's in Guadosalam. Why?"

"I need to see him, talk to him. Can we go see him after?" Tidus asked.

"Um sure I guess. Just make sure you let Cid know."

Tidus smiled peacefully kissing her on the cheek. "Thanks."

Soon after they arrived at Luca. Yuna, Tidus and Rikku stepped out of the airship to pick up the two when they noticed the entire city was in chaos. People were running all over the place, packing up and leaving.

"I wonder what's going on?" Yuna asked.

"Good question Yunie. Lets just go see Auron and Sarah for now and ask the questions later." Rikku replied.

Yuna took Tidus' hand for comfort as the three walked through the busy city in search for Auron and Sarah. As they continued wondering around they saw Auron come out of a house. Thank god they were there and safe.

"Auron!" Rikku yelled happily.

Auron turned his head to see the three of them walk up to him. His eyes widened to see Tidus especially. "Tidus? You're alive?" He simply asked.

"It's a long story that I can explain later." Tidus replied.

"We came to get you outta here!" Rikku told him.

"Yes. You AND Sarah." Yuna finished.

"People say that Sin is approaching. Everyone is leaving." Auron said.

"Hey Auron sweetie, did you see my—" Sarah began walking outside, but she interrupted herself. "Tidus!? Oh my god your alive!"

Everyone sighed.

"What?" Sarah asked smiling.

"Well in any case, we have the airship so lets get going before Sin drags its big ass over here!" Rikku said.

The five of them then left and walked back to the airship. But as they began to board, screams began to emerge through the crowds of people as Sin came. The five of them then rushed to the bridge where everyone else was.

"Pops! Lets get a move on it!" Rikku shouted at him.

"You got it!" Cid replied starting up the engines and ascending off the ground as Sin came closer.

"Sin is coming right for us!" Tidus told everyone as he watched from the window.

"Why is it following us?" Lulu asked puzzled.

"I don't know. But in any case I don't want to stick around here to find out." Cid replied to Lulu's question.

"This isn't the first time it followed us. Back in Zanarkand too." Tidus said.

As everyone continued to watch through the windows, they noticed that Sin then stopped following the airship and turned around, heading back to Luca.

"Whew! Well at least it'll leave us alone for a while, ya?" Wakka told everyone.

"But it'll come back eventually." Sarah replied.

Cid then put the airship on autopilot. He then took a deep breath. "So what's our next destination? Guadosalam?" He asked.

"Yes." Tidus replied. Everyone looked over at him strangely. "I uh, need to see Seymour."

"Huh? Why would you want to see him!? Aren't we enemies??" Sarah asked him.

"Uh, well its been two years, I'm sure he won't mind." Tidus replied.

Auron then stepped forward. "As long as it's for a good cause and that it won't slow us down."

Tidus nodded. "I won't be long."

They all waited patiently as they traveled to Guadosalam. It was only a short 2 hours when they arrived. Tidus left the airship alone, walking into the underground village and into Seymour's mansion.

He then walked into the living room and confronted Seymour.

"Welcome back Tidus." Seymour began, his back facing him.

"Hi." Tidus simply replied.

"What brings you here? Shouldn't you be with Yuna?" Seymour asked.

"I need to talk to you about Sin."

"Ah, yes Sin. I can feel its presence coming closer as we speak." Seymour replied. "It is calling for Yu Yevon."

"Yu Yevon? If it's searching for Yu Yevon then why is it following us?" Tidus asked puzzled.

Seymour then turned around and faced Tidus. "It might be hard but it's your destiny. The spiral of death will continue forever on if you don't make the sacrifice."

Tidus shook his head. "Just what the hell are you talking about? I…don't understand."

"Tidus…Sin calls to you because Yu Yevon lives within you now." Seymour told him calmly.

Tidus' eyes widened in shock. "What!? But… what!? How is that possible!? We defeated him two years ago! Him and Sin! Why doesn't this make any sense anymore?" Tidus shouted at him.

"He emerged with you when you rested in the farplane. You and your father are the only connections between Zanarkand and Spira. The Prayer Child of the Fayth knew of a way to once again reunite the living with the dead."

"You mean Yuna and I?" Tidus asked.

"Correct." Seymour continued. "Yu Yevon was once a Summoner 1000 years ago. He was one of the most powerful Summoners of all, someone who cannot underestimate. He had the power to hide within you and return once again to Spira. Now Sin calls to be united with him." He explained.

Tidus lowered his head and stared at the floor. "So that's pretty much why the Prayer Child brought me back." He shook his head once more. "This is too much…Does this mean I have to leave Yuna…again?"

Seymour then walked over to the window to see Sin in the far distance. "Yevon destined each and every one of us with our own fate in which we must except. There are no guarantees on the outcome of the battle you and your friends will be engaged in with Sin." He then turned and faced Tidus. "They must know."

"I don't know if I can…I just…need more time." Tidus replied.

"There isn't much time left. Sin will continue to follow you to the very edge of this planet to unite with Yu Yevon. It will never stop." Seymour then turned away from Tidus once again. "Meet me at the Calm Lands in five days at the crack of dawn. There our battle for the well being of Spira will begin."

And that ended they're conversation. Tidus walked out of the room and headed back for the airship. "Tidus…I hope you'll be prepared."

Tidus returned to the bridge to see not much going on. Wakka and Lulu were in they're room putting Vidina to sleep, Rikku was talking to Yuna and Sarah was bugging Auron about moving out of Luca and going to Macalania.

Rikku and Yuna then looked over to see Tidus back.

"Took you long enough!" Rikku complained.

"Sorry." Tidus replied softly walking past her and up to Cid. "In five days we have to go to the Calm Lands."

"Sure thing kid."

"The Calm Lands?" Yuna asked walking up to him.

"I'll explain later." Tidus told her saddened. "I'm gonna go get some rest." He then walked past her and left.

"Hmm I wonder what's wrong with him? He looks so down." Rikku asked Yuna.

Yuna couldn't help but wonder too. What was going on?

The next day, everyone met up in the bridge. Tidus walked in with the Prayer Child.

"Greetings. I am the Prayer Child of the Fayth." He introduced himself. Normally he wouldn't show himself in front of anyone besides Yuna and Tidus, but this was an important matter that he felt that everyone should be concerned about.

"So what's going on?" Wakka asked. "We having a meeting about something?"

"Sin." The Prayer Child replied.

"Sin?" Everyone besides Tidus questioned.

"Someone in this room is being possessed by Yu Yevon, and by doing so is calling Sin towards this airship."

Everyone looked at each other in shock. Well at least that explained why Sin was always following them.

"So uh…who is it?" Sarah asked.

"Not now." The Prayer Child began. "In four days you all will meet Seymour and I at the Calm Lands to confront Sin and put a final end to Sin and Yu Yevon."

"Is this suppose to be making sense to any of us?" Wakka asked.

"Completely. I believe that this concludes our meeting. I look forward to seeing you all next we meet." The Prayer Child replied then faded away.

"This is totally not making any sense anymore." Wakka said walking around the room.

"Ditto!" Rikku replied.

"Well we might as well trust his word and prepare for battle then." Lulu told everyone calmly.

"How can you be so calm about this Lulu?" Yuna asked.

"I am not afraid to die if it comes to that." Lulu replied. "Are you Yuna?"

"To be honest…no. I'm used to the pressure of not being afraid of dying. If I accepted that fact two years ago when I became a Summoner, this time isn't any different."

"But that means one of us are gonna die! And wheatear were afraid or not, we're all going to lose a friend." Rikku told Yuna.

"The consequences are great but I know for a fact all of us here should be prepared to die if it does come down to that." Auron told Rikku.

"Well no matter what any of you say, I am not ready to die. I want to live my like, thank you very much!" Rikku replied.

"Well in any case, we should use our time to get prepared." Tidus told everyone.

More or less, everyone agreed with Tidus. It was only a short 4 days before they would know the truth. Was Tidus prepared to show everyone his secret about Yu Yevon? Only time would tell.

The next chapter is the FINAL chapter of this story. I hoped you all enjoyed this nice long chapter and that you can't wait for the shocking conclusion of A Love Like No Other.