Tides of Time

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X, X-2, or any of the story or characters surrounding it. The speak of the Aeons was derived from Stephen King's Dark Tower series as is the game 'Watch Me'.

"But there is no love in thought, nothing that lasts in deduction, only death in rationalism."

--Mia, Daughter of None, Mother of One. (Dark Tower Six: Song of Susannah)

Chapter 4: What's in the past

Her resolve was set. Nothing could change her mind now, and no one could talk her out of this decision. She was going to the past. She had a myriad of reasons, but only one stood out in her mind the way a fiend stood out in the crowd. Him, Tidus.

She wondered what it would be like. Would he know who she is? Most likely not, for this Tidus Yuna had never happened, at least she thought that. Would he still have the same personality? Of course. Tidus is Tidus is Tidus. In fact, he might even be more himself because he would be at home with people he knew. He would not have been thrust into this future world where everything he knew was gone.

Unknowingly Yuna was grinning from ear to ear. She imagined Tidus in the bustling lively Zanarkand with that boyish grin on his face. He was talking to her on a lit up bridge they were walking on, telling her all about his latest Blitzball game complete with zealous hand motions she he could fully get his point across. And as they're walking he would trip over his own feet and stumble into her. He tried to catch him, but without success and they—

"Lady Yuna!" The Fayth's sharp tone snaps her back to the temple and she blinks at the child form in front of her. He looks grave and a bit scolding. "This is not the time to be having silly romantic dreams. You must remember that you are being sent back for a reason and not get distracted. Do you understand this?"

Yuna felt her face flush for being caught. Bahamut was right of course. She was not being sent back for a chance to find her lost love and she was foolish to have run away with such wistful thoughts. She would have to be focused. She would ha to be 'the summoner', all for the people not for the self. She'd done it before and she could do it again. Spira's salvation may depend on hr as it did before. Who else was capable of it?

Come to think of it, she thought, who else is capable? Certainly I'm not the only eligible candidate? True it was she and her friends who defeated Sin. She supposed that would make her the number one choice. But they had only been able to defeat Sin because thy were the only ones willing to take the extra risk, the only ones willing to defy all they had been taught. And that was the answer, they had been willing. Would any other summoner support the idea of time travel had Bahamut approached them with it? Almost certainly not. Issaru would never, even in these days he still cling to the few scraps of the teachings that remained. And Belgamine would most surely refuse him in her stubborn stuck-up way.

But Yuna was willing to, right? Of course, because there was something in it for her. A reward of some sorts should she agree to go. She suddenly felt a bubble of anger well up inside of her. She was being used; her feelings were being used. Who did the Fayth think they were? Who did they think she was? To toss her around like this and toy with her emotions. He knew she would say yes from the moment he proposed the idea she realized. She'd been played, led on, tricked, 'suckered into it', as Tidus would have said. She turned on Bahamut eyes flashing dangerously. It was a look so rare it almost frightened the Aeon.

"Thou'rt upset." He said needlessly, reverting to his most formal speak and keeping his emotions in check. He had an idea of the thoughts running through her mind right then. She was a trig girl and was bound to figure it out somewhere along the line. But the look she gave him was a bit of a shock.

Yuna bit lightly on her tongue to keep herself from shouting at him. What wanted to come out of her mouth was something Rikku might have said in an argument. "Upset? Upset? Why in all of Spira would I be upset? You're only exploiting my feelings for your own reasons!" But part of her argued with this. No, that part countered, Not for their own reasons, for the good of everyone else Yuna Did you forget that? You are the one doing this for your own reasons. It was true, she realized. Sure Sin not having existed would be a wonderful thing. But was that the reason she was willing to accept this mission? No. It's because of him, her mind whispered. She wondered when she had become so selfish. It wasn't long ago that she would have sacrificed herself for all of Spira.

She took a deep breath calming her inner turmoil. It would do no good to lose her temper especially at Bahamut. She had to think about it rationally, and without her emotions distracting her. Emotion was not reason, it was anarchy within the self. So rationally there would be no question about what she should do. She would go and stop Sin from existing in the first place. She would make a thousand years of suffering and oppression (because Sin had oppressed them) disappear. And she wouldn't question the consequences of messing with time. It wasn't her place, she was no scientist. She was a former summoner. And once she completed this mission Spira would be an entirely better place. Rationally speaking.

"Have thee taken back thee's decision?" The Fayth spoke, having given her enough time to work things out.

"No. I haven't. I'll do it. I'll end Spira's suffering."

A smile crept across the dragon king's face, "No, you've already done that, Lady. You are going to make it so Spira never suffered in the first place. This time we will not make a mistake."

With that said his child form began to fade away. It flickered momentarily to reveal his true Dragon nature before disappearing entirely leaving a trace of Pyre-Flies for a moment before those too faded away. Yuna was left alone in the old temple to contemplate her objective and everything surrounding it. There were a lot of questions to be addressed, but she had no way of finding out the answers. Sighing she sat down in the middle of the chamber staring at the intricate designs on the wall.

- - - - - - -

Bahamut returned to the Fayth's section of the Farplane where the others were waiting for him. Valefor looked most anxious, stressing on the affect that this may have on her former summoner. She had been particularly close to Yuna, more so than an Aeon should have been. Then again Yuna had been special, they all knew it. It was why they had decided to help her.

"So?" Shiva asked, gliding over to their leader.

"She's accepted. We send her now."

"Good to hear!" Ifrit cried cheerily his booming voice carrying as he made his way across the flowers, Anima not far behind. Bahamut nodded at him, and cue. The fire beast's dark face grinned and he opened that big mouth of his, "Guardians to your leader! Now!" Said leader nodded his approval as Ifrit's voice roamed across the fields of the Farplane.

Within seconds they began arriving as quickly as possible. All were in human form, which was good, except in Valefor's case because she wouldn't not step fretting and wringing her hands. None remembered their time as a human with the exception of Anima. She was the most recent addition to their group and for a long time had been the summon of her former human self's son. The rest did not know of their mortal back round and things were better that way; no emotional nor moral ties to anything.

When all were present the childish seeming leader began, "The Lady Summoner Yuna of Besaid has accepted our proposal to fix our mistake. We will send her to the time of Zanarkand, to our dream. We will send her to the time of the love that she mourns."

"You know what this could do to her don't you!" Valefor protested once again. "it could tear the poor Lady to scraps. Does she really deserve that? She's already defeated Sin in the present, why must she now go back and do it again? Has she n done enough already!"

"Silence your tongue!" Bahamut roared. His authority was unmistakable no matter what form he took and she shut her mouth. "Good. The Lady Summoner will go to the world of our dreams and she will have a guide, one of us. Valefor I know you wish it to be you, but I must say nay. You are too emotionally involved to go as you have proven at this moment. Only of us will go and it will be Anima, for she is fresh, and new; she did not make our mistake."

Anima nodded, "I will guide Lady Yuna during her time in the Ancient Zanarkand."

"Aye. And now we send."

The dragon king closed his eyes concentrating on something he'd only done once before, Time Sending. Massive wings sprouted from his back and his body lifted from the flower-covered ground. Hot crimson energy flared around him and flowed into the center of the circle the Aeons had formed.

The others followed his lead closing their eyes and focusing their energy. It joined Bahamut's in the center, fusing and pulsing. Shiva's crystallized ice fought with Ifrit's blazing fire around the edge of Bahamut's starting point. A gust of Valefor's power spread itself evenly amongst the tangling energy putting an end to the quarrel. Ixion's lightning surrounded the fusing mass, crackling to life dangerously. Lastly Anima added her contribution of darkness that seemed to engulf the entire mess and then disappear into it as if sucked inside.

The combined power of the Aeons radiated and fluctuated in front of them. Breaking the circle Anima stepped forward, hesitating a moment before continuing into the chaos. With the final part complete, the energy vanished and they returned to the ground.

"Now all we do is wait" Shiva stated.

"Hey, who's for a game of Watch Me" Ifrit offered.

- - - - - - -

Yuna traced circles in the dust on the ground as she waited. What she was waiting for she wasn't sure really. How exactly did you time travel? Was it a quick process? Would she blink and suddenly be in the past? Would she fall unconscious and wake up in Zanarkand? Maybe it would be this whole bit magic whoop-Dee-do that would send her falling though the sky right into Tidus' arms? If only.

She sighed and flopped backward staring up at the high ceiling. She wondered what the others would think. They certainly wouldn't be happy with the disappearance. Even less that she hadn't mentioned it to anyone. She could see Lulu having a fit, yelling at everyone around. That brought another thought. They wouldn't know what had happened. Maybe she could tell them somehow. Or maybe Bahamut would. She certainly hoped he would.

In the distance she heard a soft humming. It seemed to grow louder as the seconds passed. She turned her head looking for the source but found none. Just as Yuna stood up to look outside the chamber a bright glowing orb appeared in front of her. She let out a gasp and her hands flew to her ears as the song roared in volume. It was then that she realized it wasn't coming from around her, but inside her. It was a melody she recognized but with a new sound, something added yet incomplete.

"Lady Summoner." The voice came from the orb, cleanly breaking through the swelling Hymn of the Fayth. It was angelic and haunting. Yuna thought that it might have been on of the Aeons; Anima perhaps.

Yuna was entranced by it, by everything about it. The humming of the Fayth's hymn was still there as loud as ever but it was in the back of her mind. The voice wanted her and she would go to it, to hr, to whoever it was. There were good things in that light. There were things she wanted. And if she did as the voice bid her, maybe she could have those things.

A hand stretched out to the summoner and she took it without hesitation. She felt as if this hand would make all her dreams come true. And that's how it wanted her to feel. This would have been done sooner had she refused Bahamut's offer, luckily she didn't. The world began to fade around her. Not into black though, into white. Bright, brilliant white. And standing next to her was the vengeful Aeon's Fayth, Anima. Distantly Yuna recalled that in her previous life Anima had been Seymour's mother, but that fact was unimportant now. Now she was Anima, her guide through time.

"Lady Summoner Yuna of Besaid thou have accepted the Fayth's' offer to correct their mistake of one thousand years ago. I am Anima, as thee will knows. I will be thee's guide on thee's time in the past. We are well met, I hope?"

"Yuna curtsied awkwardly. It had been a while since he had heard the full archaic tongue of her (former) summons, and it had thrown her slightly. Valefor who had always been the conversational one, spoke to her regularly after a while. She cleared her throat, "Very well met Anima. And thank you."

" 'Tis my pleasure, Lady. Now close yer eyes. When ye open them once more ye will be in another time."

She did as she was told and closed her eyes. Most of the lull had left her and the Hymn was now faint. Soon she would begin this quest to save countless lives across years. But now she would rest in this peaceful light. And dream, she would dream of blue eyes, tan skin, and that flawless grin.

- - - - - -

The street buzzed with people, some coming, some going, some stopping, and some yelling. It seemed alive, it was alive! Because it was night. Zanarkand never really woke up until after dark. After the sun went down thought it was awake and teeming. People, parties, noise, games. Blitzball being the favorite of that last one. All of it was the heart of the great Machina City Zanarkand.

End Chapter Four.

Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this out. I got caught up in life and school. Not to mention a case of nasty writers block. I hoe you enjoyed this chapter though. I got somewhere didn't I? If anyone has any questions review and ask. I'll do my best to answer. Also for sneak peeks, looks at my other works, events in my life (from time to time), and little fun quizzies, visit my greatestjournal at already started on the next chapter, so hopefully it won't be too long before I get it up. I warn you now it will start to get a little A/U from this point. I'm also doing it in Tidus' (third person) POV for a kind of switch. Also because I couldn't' resist him in the story, and I wasn't sure what to do with him, I made Shuyin Tidus' older brother. That's why they look so much alike and all. Yeah.

((Ignore the underlines if they're there.))