Author's Notes: Right now I am in shock!!! I had no idea that I would get the reaction I did to that chapter!!! 00 Soooooo speechless!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Wow…I figured I would be stopping my story today instead of writing the beginning of Part 3!!!! My heart seriously goes out to all of you for reviewing me. Oh…it was so funny…after I checked my e-mail and read your lovely reviews I started opening the necessary programs and getting whatever when I realized that I couldn't remember what the third part was supposed to be about!! Luckily I found my old notebook with all my ideas in it, so that was a relief!! So anyways, I hope you enjoy the next chapter and I hope it answers all your questions about the cliff hanger!! 8) Falcone (8
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or Final Fantasy X-2, but I really, really wish I did. ;;
Part 3: The One Recurring Dream
"Nalien! Come back to me!"
"I will not let go of the dream!"
"Nalien, look at me!" a young man whispered, as he crouched down in front of young woman who sat numbly on her knees. His hands were grasped lightly on her wet cheeks to direct her terrified face towards his. "Nalien, please!" He said his voice straining back the sobs that his brave façade wanted to let forth. Nalien shifted her striking green eyes to look directly into his brown ones, salty tears filling them to the brim.
"Nothing will happen to us right, Laji?" Nalien said, her mahogany brown hair falling over her face as she looked down in despair.
"Nothing at all will happen," Laji said pulling Nalien into his arms, while he surrendered to his sorrow and let the tears flow down his dirtied cheeks. "We will always be together."
---
Laji opened his eyes slowly, his head spinning as he looked around the place where he was lying. Drawing his hands up to his chest, Laji lifted himself up, his tired arms straining to hold his weight. Once he found his balance, he turned his head in every direction, the land around him covered in death. Laji walked forward not noticing the destruction that was around him.
"I must—I must find Nalien. I must get to Zanarkand!" Laji said, his voice rough and his eyes distant. Flying around him, were many Pyre Flies, creating an ethereal glow that floated about him. Laji noticed the colours but didn't comprehend what was going on.
"I must get to Zanarkand," he said again as he walked away in his haze, the ruined city of Zanarkand behind him, and the destroyed body of Nalien behind him.
---
Yuna saw the man walk down the ramp again, the clunk of his boots the same sound as last time. He walked down, carrying his pike-gun. And then suddenly raising it to his eye, firing that soundless shot that would end Tidus' life. That one moment again, replayed in it's exact accuracy; the exact same. No, this time it wouldn't be the same; it would be different. She would stop it; stop him.
The man walked to the bottom of the ramp, raised the eyepiece to his face, and began to press his finger into the trigger. Yuna ran to Tidus, who still had not comprehended the situation.
"Stop!" she cried as she stopped in front of Tidus with her arms spread out, the bullet inches from her chest.
"Stop!"
Yuna sat up straight in her bed, her eyes dripping with tears. She put her hands on her chest to try and suppress her rapid breaths. As she began to calm down again, Yuna lay back onto her damp sheets, her head pounding as she moved. Yuna placed her hand on her forehead and pulled is down her face to wipe off some of the sweat that had drenched the line of her hair. Turning onto her side, Yuna faced the open window in her bedroom, bathing her in a shower of white moonlight. Sighing deeply, she let the cool night air sweep over her, her pale arms spread wide open on her bed.
Why is this happening? She thought. Why do I keep having this dream?
Yuna let out a frustrated grunt of anger and pulled the covers over her moist skin. She didn't know why she was having these weird dreams; they were a mystery to her. All this started a couple of days before Tidus was found lying on the beach unconscious just over three weeks ago. In her dreams she would usually see herself and Tidus somewhere in Spira, but in the end off all of them something tragic or sad would occur. But since the day she had seen that sphere of the young man in the Zanarkand ruins, she would have the same dream. She had, had this dream on the night that Tidus had come back. She saw herself walking in the Zanarkand ruins and remembering the time on her pilgrimage when she and her guardians had sat there when suddenly, Tidus was running in front of her through Zanarkand. Yuna followed Tidus into the city, in all its wonder and glory, until they reached the Dome. There the young man, who had been in the sphere, came down the ramp leading into the Dome and shot Tidus. Seeing this man in her dream first, and then in the sphere had really shocked Yuna, causing her to see that same dream since then. But every night the dream was somehow altered; it was always changed slightly. She didn't know why or how, but the ending was always different. But not only did she keep having this dream, but Yuna always saw this young man in other threads of dreams as well. He was always there somehow, like he would never let her mind free. It was all so confusing.
Yuna closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind of all the thoughts that were wandering about. She would figure out what to do about them in the morning.
oiioiio
That morning the sky was dark with the transparent grey of heavy clouds, casting the Island in shadow. Accompanying the dismal haze, the cold wind rang its morning call through the trees, causing them to shake and rustle their leaves in fright. The foreboding weather warned of a storm that would soon hit Besaid, putting the entire village in a miserable mood.
The mood wasn't different for Yuna as she sat in the main room of her home, sipping gradually at a cup of island herb tea. Wrapped in her maroon shawl to fight off the cold, Yuna slowly took a sip to bring back some warmth to her body that had left her through the night. Yuna stared pensively down at the cup held tightly in her hands, watching the reflection of her face graze the surface.
Yuna looked up from her cup and took in a deep breath. That morning she had figured out what she had to do to discover what was happening in the depths of her mind. There was some sort of connection to the man in her dreams and the same man in Lulu and Wakka's wedding sphere, and she needed to figure it out before the dreams she was having drove her to insanity. It was all planned. All that was left to do was to tell Tidus.
"Good Morning!" came Tidus' cheery voice from the other side of the main room. Yuna put her cup down and turned her head to look over at him, her face pale and nondescript. Tidus put his arms down, which he had been previously stretching and the smile that was on his face disappeared.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice full of concern as he walked over to Yuna and sat down beside her. Yuna nodded, bending her head to look down at her hands, which seemed to have had all the blood sucked from them. Tidus put his hand underneath her chin and lifted her face up. His bright blue eyes were pursed with unease, as he took hold of Yuna's hands in his.
"Something's wrong," Tidus said to her, his face wrinkling in a loving smile. "Whatever it is, you know you can talk to me about it. That's why I'm here!"
Yuna cleared her voice, and swallowed hard.
"I need to leave Besaid," she said, her hair falling across her cheek as she turned her head. "And you need to stay here, where it's safe."
"What?" Tidus said, not comprehending what she was saying to him. Yuna stood up and walked to the window on the other side of the main room. Pulling her shawl tighter around her, Yuna looked out at the village distantly.
"Since you came back a few weeks ago, I've been having these weird dreams." Yuna said, her voice tense. "When you were gone I used to dream that you would come back to me. These dreams would be happy, but they would always make me sad when I realized that they weren't real. When you did come back my dreams began to change. They always had you and I in bad situation, where everything turned out wrong. I really thought they were nothing but dreams. But when we watched Lulu and Wakka's wedding sphere and the scene with that man, I realized that I had seen him before in one of my dreams of you."
"I was walking around the Zanarkand Ruins, when it suddenly became alive again. All the magical lights came back and it was filled with people that looked so happy. You were there and you brought me to the entrance of the Dome. I looked at the people around us and I remember seeing them frightened. I looked up at the entrance and saw this man with a pike-gun. He walked down and raised it and killed you. That man was the same man in that sphere."
"I've had that dream every night since we watched that sphere, and I just can't handle it anymore. It's making me anxious and restless and I never get any sleep anymore. It has to all stop; it has to end. I need to find out what the connection this man has with my dreams and with you. That's why I need to leave without you." Yuna turned away from the window to look over at Tidus, who had gotten up from his seat to stand behind her. Yuna looked down again, so to hide her glistening eyes.
Don't cry, she thought. Don't cry.
Tidus walked up to her and drew her into his arms, his face covered with concern.
"I don't want you to leave me again," she said against his chest, her voice distorted by the sobs that were chocking her. Yuna's eyes spilled out her warm, salty tears that soaked into his cotton shirt. "You just can't!"
"I will never leave you," he whispered into her ear, "But I can't let you go alone. I love you just too much to let you face danger without me to guard you. Please let me help you." Yuna looked up at him, her eyes red from crying, and nodded in consent.
End of Part 3
End Notes: Sorry, It's a bit short. I really could've added a lot to this chapter, but this coming Tuesday is my Birthday so I won't have time to write more. Also, on Wednesday, I'm going up to Princeton not the university, the little town in the moutains with my class for a couple days and won't be back until the weekend. I thought it would be cruel not to post until next weekend. So anyways…sorry if that doesn't answer any questions but posses more. I really hope you enjoyed that and that you are still interested in reading the rest. Man…it's really hard getting back into writing after taking a long break from it!! If it's a bit choppy tell me, and I'll try harder next time!! Bye bye for now!! 8) Falcone (8