A/N: This story was written just as an attempt to do something slightly out of the norm from the traditional pairings and occurrences of most fan fiction. Don't misunderstand – most of my favorite stories are traditional pairings, but once in a while it's fun to change things around a bit. Enjoy this twist of fate and remember, Square-Enix owns the characters and the characters own you… for life, yo. Word.

Light

Chapter Two – Sapphire

What a strange feeling, to be completely submerged in darkness. Not falling, not really floating, just sort of existing. And to feel so indifferent about the whole thing. Here Yuna felt herself drifting in this world of darkness. She felt so empty. It was as if she had meant to do something, but every time she tried to remember what it was she was going to do, it slipped away from her without a trace. It's getting colder, she mused. The thought didn't even worry her. It just seemed so matter of fact.

"Hey!"

What? …

"Can you hear me? Hey! Wake up!"

The dark world was breaking down into swirls of gray and white. And suddenly it was very wet.

Yuna's eyes shot open as she sat up rapidly, shuddering at the coldness of the water. As her vision came into focus, she met two merry, emerald eyes twinkling back at her.

"I knew that would do the trick. Hey, are you feeling better now?"

"…I guess so…" Yuna replied slowly. She could now see that she had been ambushed by a young girl with chestnut hair that curled up at the ends. The girl peered down at her, water pail still in tow. Yuna searched around her. "Rikku?" She called.

The girl gasped. "You know Riku?" She jumped up and down excitedly. "Has he come home?"

Yuna stood up and dusted the sand from her legs. "He? I'm looking for my cousin, Rikku. She was with me a few minutes ago."

The girl just shrugged. "Sorry, you're the only one I've seen around here… Well, except the others."

"…Others?"

The girl slapped her forehead and let out a small laugh. "Ah! I didn't introduce myself! I'm Selphie." The yellow-clad girl extended her hand and Yuna shook it.

"I'm Yuna." She replied with a smile.

"Wait here!" The girl cried. "I'll get the others!" She started off across a small wooden bridge and reached for a wooden door. "Oh! And don't eat the Paupu fruit! We're saving it!" She quickly disappeared behind the door.

Yuna stretched her thin arms over her head and took in the view. She seemed to be on a small, sandy plateau overlooking a crystal blue sea. The plateau was connected to the main part of a small island by a wooden bridge and the whole place was dotted with palm trees – some bearing coconuts and some bearing strange, star-shaped fruit. What a beautiful place… This can't be the bottom of the Farplane…Where am I? She climbed down a ladder off to one side and jumped into the water. This place reminds me of Besaid… She waded out further into the sea and gazed out across the horizon. I wonder…

Meanwhile, Rikku had found herself perched precariously in a tree. Her eyes went wide as she realized the difference in height between herself and the ground. "AHHH! How the heck did I get up here? Oh… poopie…" She carefully swung her arms around either side of the palm tree trunk and scooted her was down. So far so good. Keep goin', Rikku … "AHH!" She crashed at the base of the tree. "Owwwie…" As she stood up and dusted herself off, she heard a familiar whistle. "Yunie?" She called. "Yunie, where are you?"

Yuna smirked to herself. It was worth a shot. Suddenly, she heard another kind of whistling sound – something hurling through the air. And before she knew it…

"OOoofff!" Something had assailed her head. She fell face first into the water and eventually shook herself out of shock, then made her way back to the surface. "What the heck?" Then she saw it. There, floating right in front of her, was a blitzball. She waded out and took hold of it. "…What's this doing here?"

"Heeeey! You mind tossing the ball back?"

That… voice…

"Hello? Hey, Miss? Can we have our ball back, please?"

Yuna could feel her whole body trembling. It's just a coincidence… There's no way… She slowly turned around. A small, messy-haired figure in shorts was running towards her. His face slowly came into view. The resemblance, the voice, it was all so similar. In seconds, he was right at the shoreline, laughing blue eyes looking straight at her.

The boy raised his hands up, ready to catch the ball. "Here!" He called. Yuna willed herself to move, but she remained frozen, clutching the ball tightly. The boy scratched his head and waded into the water. Yuna's wide eyes remained fixed on him as he came within a foot of her and regarded her curiously. "What's your name?"

"…Y-Yuna…" She forced out.

He held out his hand. "C'mon. I'll help you to the shore."

Yuna nodded and clutched his smaller hand. Ordinarily, she would never have needed help in such a shallow expanse, but at the moment, all feeling in her legs had left her and she could feel her entire body going numb. All except for her mind, which seemed to be screaming for her body to regress by four years. Her heart was beating rapidly, its deafening boom echoing in her ears. This must be a dream…

Unaware of his charge's chaotic state of mind, the boy continued to make small talk. "I'm Tidus. I've been practicing a new shot and I can't seem to aim right yet. But that's okay. If I can't do it, no one can do it. I'm the best blitzer there is. Well, all except Wakka. He's as good as me… Well, sometimes I'll bet I'm better…"

"Wakka?" Yuna cried in surprise.

"Yeah," the boy replied. "That's him over there." The boy nodded towards a slightly taller boy on the shore who was waving at them.

"Heeeeey! What's uuup?"

What's going on here? Yuna's mind screamed. Calm down… There's got to be an explanation for all of this… The two reached the shoreline and Wakka ran up to meet them.

"Sorry 'bout dat. My frien' here is still kinda a newbie."

"Heeey!" Tidus piped up. "Who you callin' 'newbie'?"

"You, dat's who," Wakka replied. "We're both sorry for hittin' you."

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Tidus chimed in, scratching his head. Apparently it had slipped his mind.

"U-uhm… That's okay…" Yuna replied lamely.

"So, where you from?" Wakka asked, placing a hand on his hip.

"I-I'm from… Besaid…" She replied warily.

"Besaid, huh? Don't think I heard of it." The red-headed boy replied scratching his chin.

"They got blitzball?" The younger blonde boy asked excitedly.

"Yes, they do. Their team is the Besaid Aurochs." Yuna smiled slightly. This is insane. It has to be a dream. I might as well play along until I wake up. "In fact, I know the coach of the team personally."

"Seriously?" Tidus exclaimed.

"Uh huh," Yuna nodded, tossing the ball to him. "And I know the star player of the Zanarkand Abes, too."

"Wow… Lucky, ya?" Wakka replied, nudging Tidus with his elbow. The blonde nodded in return.

"YUNIE!"

Yuna turned to see Rikku careening towards the shoreline. She waved towards her. "There you are!"

Rikku was only a short distance away from the three when she caught sight of the two boys and stopped dead in her tracks. "Ohmygosh…ohmygosh, ohmygosh!" She cried, hands clasping the sides of her face. "Y-Yunie! Do you see what I see?"

Yuna nodded nonchalantly. "Rikku, this is Tidus and Wakka. Wakka? Tidus? This is my cousin, Rikku."

"Hey," the two greeted Rikku at the same time.

"H-hey…" Rikku replied, eyes still wide in shock.

Just then, Selphie ran down from the other side of the beach. "Guys! There you are!" She stopped in front of them, panting hard. "Well, I'm glad you've all met. It's time to head back to the village, guys." She added, addressing Tidus and Wakka.

"Awww… I wanna practice some more," Tidus whined.

Selphie shook her head. "Nope. It'll be dark soon. We need to head back right now."

"Eh… fine… Hey, next time you can tell us all about those blitzers!" Tidus exclaimed, turning towards Yuna.

"Sure," Yuna replied, nodding.

"See ya!" Selphie cried as she and the other two headed towards their boats.

Rikku just stared dumbfoundedly as Yuna waved goodbye. "Okay, didn't ANY of that freak you out? Just a little? Huh? Huh?"

Yuna laughed. "Rikku, this is just some weird dream. I mean, c'mon. A smaller version of Besaid – complete with a mini Tidus and a mini Wakka?"

Rikku sighed and pinched Yuna's arm.

"OW! Hey!... Oh no…"

Rikku nodded. "It's real."

"Real…" Yuna repeated. She wanted to cry or throw up or do something. Anything to make this madness stop. Nothing made sense anymore. She wanted to just collapse and shut her eyes tight and wish this whole situation away. But I can't… The former summoner took a deep breath and shut her eyes tight. For a moment she listened only to the peaceful crashing of the nearby waves. Slowly, she opened her eyes and faced her cousin. "Let's find shelter. It'll be dark soon."

Rikku nodded. "That's the spirit, Yunie."

After trekking across the small island for a few minutes, they came upon what appeared to be a treehouse. The giant, hollowed out trunk could easily fit the two. They climbed up into it and let their bodies wearily fall to the floor. For a while, the only sound that could be heard was the wind softly dancing through the leaves.

"Ugh… Today really sucked…" Yuna said as she stared at the ceiling of the makeshift house.

"You said it." Rikku agreed. She looked over towards the brunette. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay." Yuna replied, smiling a little. "I probably should've expected something like this."

"What do you mean? How could you expect something crazy like this?"

"A fayth once said 'Our dream will disappear. We will give you a new sea to swim in.' It makes sense now. This is his new sea. It's a second chance at life. One where he won't have to worry about disappearing." She paused for a moment. "I'd rather know he was alive and well and didn't remember me than… you know…"

Rikku nodded. "But… How do you explain Wakka?"

Yuna thought for a moment. "Maechen once told me, 'Every person in the universe has a twin.' …But I never thought a twin could be so similar."

"How do you know Tidus isn't just our Tidus's twin?" Rikku asked, placing her arms behind her head. "Wait… did that make sense?"

"I don't know for sure… But, he was really a dream. I don't think it works the same way with dreams…" She rolled over onto her side. "Let's get some sleep."

"'Kay… 'Night, Yunie."

"'Night…" She stared at the twisting patterns of the wood's grain. I can't be selfish. Now I know he's all right. Maybe now I can learn to let go of him… She closed her eyes, a few crystal tears escaping down her cheeks.

A little while later, she could feel more wet droplets caressing her cheeks. "…Huh..?" She slowly opened her eyes and moved to look outside. The peaceful, summery weather had been replaced by a rather menacing storm. Large gusts of wind were throwing handfuls of the pouring rain into their wooden shelter. Yuna moved towards Rikku and began to shake her. "Rikku… Wake up."

"Ungh…"

"We need to find better shelter or we'll be drowned out."

Rikku reluctantly opened her eyes and sat up. Then she caught sight of the outside world. "Holy fayth! What the heck happened?"

"C'mon. Before it gets worse." The two carefully made their way down the slippery wooden stairs and began to search for a more convenient hide out. Luckily, they didn't have to look far.

"Yunie! In there!" Rikku called, pointing to an opening in a stone wall. The two scrambled into the small opening and closed the branches surrounding the opening behind them.

"It's so dark in here…" Yuna searched the ground in the dim light and found a few small branches at her feet. She cast a small fire spell on them and they quickly flared up. She and Rikku gathered more dry brush into the center of the cave and soon they had a nice fire going. Now that they were able to get a good look at the cave, they noticed that it was decorated with various drawings. One in particular caught Rikku's eye.

"Hey, look at this. Two people and…stars?"

"Those are Paupu fruit. They must be important. Selphie told me they were saving them for something." Yuna explained.

Rikku tilted her head at the drawing again. "…You sure they're not stars?..."

"Hey..." Yuna moved to the left of the drawing, noticing for the first time the wooden frame set into the stone. "What do you suppose this is?"

Rikku shrugged. "A door?" She pushed against it. "Kind of a stupid place for one, don't you think?" She began to kick it. "Stupid thing doesn't even work!" Yuna started to help her kick and beat against the immovable wood.

They became so caught up in opening the door that they didn't notice the thing vein of red smoke that began to encircle them.

"Let's get a running start and knock it down." Yuna suggested.

"You got it," Rikku replied.

Yuna counted to three and they both dashed towards the door. As they did red and black ringlets of smoke gathered at the center of the door. They couldn't make their legs stop running. They braced themselves for the impact…

…but it never came.

They were falling again.

To be continued...

Crazy-go-nuts, huh? I'm sure Rikku and Yuna are sick of all this falling-into-darkness business, so this will be the last time they have to... for now... But where do they end up and who will they meet next? You'll see... In the meantime, thanks for reading and please review!