Well, the only thing I can say to explain 2 chapters, one right after the other, is this. I got inspired.

Iron Reaver: Okay, in order of questions. First, read to find out just what I see. Second, yes. It does. Third, I haven't decided yet what else I will get, in the way of customization. 3 more abilities to pick. Fourth, no, I will be keeping this sword. It's mine, and I can't bear to part with it. Fifth, I haven't written the outtakes for this yet,now, have I? (smirk)

Daniel Wesley Rydell: Thanks. Seymour will die in a few chapters. Heh heh heh...

Jiranto Valsis: Thanks, I'm trying to make it good. There will be some subtlety, and then some not-so-subtle things in this chapter. Read on to find out. And, thanks for checking out Shadow Slayer, it's not my best work, but I'm still proud of it. I may rewrite the first several chapters to make them better, but have no plans as of this moment. No offense taken, by the way. I don't think it's as good as this one either, to tell the truth.

MysticSuperSaiyanGohan: Yes, the romance continues this chapter, as well. An FF8 version of this...hmm...dunno. I have done a continuation of the FF8 plot in FF8: The Shadow Slayer, but not a self-insertion. I left a review for your story, by the way.

anbu713: Oh yes. Not just the Thunder Plains, either. (smiles evilly) Read on, read on...I checked out your story, but haven't left a review yet. A helpful tip, would be to replay the game, or find a script. Either of those would help. As for Ben and Seymour, just wait till Macalania Temple. Seymour's the Maester there, remember? (another evil smile)

Now, on to the chapter, and embarra...I mean, more story activity! Yes, that's it...(runs off quickly)


Chapter 20—Illusions and Confidants

"What the...?" is the first thing Tidus says upon entering the Farplane, and I think that pretty much sums it up.

The Farplane is amazing. Beautiful beyond belief, even. A stone platform, which we're standing on, is extending above a half-oval shaped waterfall, or series of waterfalls, in the middle of which is a gorgeous field of flowers. All different varieties adorn the empty space below the platform, and I have to refrain from gasping in shock. In the far distance, several pillars of water are rising into the sky, with a full moon in the center, seeming to oversee everything in the area and the great beyond.

After I get over the initial shock of entering, I notice that everyone has walked to a different section, and began to talk with the visions of their friends and family. Looking around, I notice Wakka and Lulu looking at an image of Wakka's brother, Chappu, while Yuna is looking at her father, Lord Braska. Kimahri is just standing around, as are Tidus and I for the moment. Tidus walks over to talk to Wakka, as I walk to the distant edge of the Farplane.

"I hope this works..." I think to myself, before closing my eyes and concentrating. I remember it works by memories, so I decide to try something that might work. When I open my eyes, I smile quite possibly one of the biggest smiles that I've smiled since being here. Floating in front of me is the image of a girl with long brown hair, almost down to her waist. Brown eyes, and a pair of earrings that reach to her shoulders are also present. She's garbed in a blue tank top and black miniskirt, with a ruffled piece of light blue cloth attached to the left side of the shirt, stretching down to her knees. Her forearms are covered by a ruffled piece of bluish-purple fabric, and black bands criss-cross her upper arms, from the shoulder to the elbow. A pair of knee length, brown boots completes the outfit, and I continue to smile, realizing that my idea worked.

"Lenne..." I say, as Tidus begins to walk up behind me. "So, you really are on the Farplane...I just wanted to say don't worry. We'll stop Shuyin when the time comes."

"Who's that?" Tidus says, interrupting my musing. I just turn around, smiling still.

"Don't worry. You'll know when the time comes." I say, and he just continues to stare at me, puzzled.

"What do you mean, 'when the time comes'?" he asks, and I try not to facepalm, instead opting to smirk evilly instead.

"Trust me. You'll know." I say, letting Lenne's image dispel itself, as I walk over to Yuna.

"So, Yuna? Have you decided yet?" I ask, as Tidus follows behind me. Yuna turns to the both of us, before nodding.

"I've decided." she says, and Tidus walks up beside me, crossing his arms.

"Oh, really? That's good." he says, as Yuna hangs her head.

I can almost hear him thinking, 'Please say no, please say no...', right about now, too. It's pretty funny.

"I remember, when I was seven years old, in Bevelle that day. My father had defeated Sin, and the whole town was out in the streets. Everyone was laughing, they all seemed so happy." she explains, looking back up at us. "If I defeated Sin, that would make everyone happy...wouldn't it? I must do what everyone wants, not just what I want."

Tidus seems excited now, I think he has the wrong idea about what Yuna's going to say. "Let's go back! You gotta tell Seymour!" he says, but Yuna stops him.

"Before that...call Sir Jecht. Give it a try." she says, and Tidus looks at her as if she were crazy. "Don't worry. He won't come."

Tidus looks kind of hesitant, but he also looks deep in thought right now. After a moment, Yuna smiles, turning back to Tidus. "See, told you!" she says, giggling. "That means he's alive, you know?" Tidus just looks down, a somewhat angry expression on his face.

"I'd rather never see him again." he says, causing Yuna to look confused.

"What makes you hate him so?" Yuna asks, and I turn to Tidus, in anticipation of an explanation myself.

"Everything he does just makes me so mad. It was his fault that me and my mother..." Tidus says, trailing off as he looks up, to see an image of a woman floating there, apparently his mother. "Mom? It's her!" he says, gasping.

"She's very pretty." Yuna says, as the three of us stay silent for a moment.

"But...wait. No one ever performed the sending for her." Tidus says, looking at the two of us.

"She must've accepted death while she was still alive." Yuna replies, causing my eyes to go wide. I didn't think Yuna could be so...blunt...with something like that.

"Whoa there, that's my mother you're talking about." Tidus says, looking at Yuna with a mix of a glare and a stern face.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Yuna says, a hand flying to her mouth as she realizes what she just said.

"It's okay." Tidus says, a hand going to his chin as he starts to think. "Ah. I think I just figured something out." he replies, looking back up at his mother's image.

"That would be?" I ask.

"Why I hate my old man." Tidus begins. "Whenever my old man was around, my mother wouldn't even look at me. Maybe that's when I started to resent him, even hate him. When he left us...Mom just lost her energy." he explains, and I look down, understanding how he feels. "The old lady next door told me...when a lovebird dies, the one left behind...it just gives up living so it can join its mate. It was just like that. I hated my old man even more." he continues, and I walk closer to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, man, I've been there. It's not easy."

"But really, my old man..." Tidus trails off, finally getting back in control of his feelings. "Oh, man...I must sound so stupid."

"I don't think so." Yuna says, trying to ease Tidus' mind.

"Neither do I. You've obviously been through a lot. It's normal." I say, offering some helpful words as well, as Wakka, Kimahri, and Lulu approach us.

"Well? Need some more time?" he asks Yuna, who turns around to look at him, shaking her head.

"No, I'm ready."

"Did I miss something?" Lulu asks, earning a laugh from me and Tidus, who scratches the back of his head, as we exit the Farplane, heading back to the world of the living at last.


As we exit the portal, Rikku and Auron are still standing there, apparently having waited on us since we entered.

"Thanks for waiting!" Yuna says, turning to the duo. "I'll go give my answer to Maester Seymour." Suddenly, several Guado gasp in shock, and point to the Farplane portal. Turning around, we notice a ghostly image of a Guado, beginning to exit the portal. As it tries to escape, everyone backs away.

"Lord Jyscal!"

"Lord Jyscal!" several people exclaim, backing away from the unsent spirit. The spirit of Jyscal just moans, continuing to shuffle out of the portal, looking remarkably like a zombie. Auron looks at Yuna.

"It does not belong here." he says, and Yuna turns to face him again.

"Why?"

"Yuna, send him." he instructs, and Yuna nods, beginning to walk up the steps to the portal, as Auron grunts and falls to his knees in pain. I'm the only one who notices, as everyone else is focused intently on Jyscal, who is now facing Yuna.

"Lord Jyscal..." she says softly, as Lulu looks up at her.

"He is Lord Jyscal no more. Send him now!" she says, quickly.

Yuna nods, and proceeds to send the unsent, who turns into pyreflies and vanishes, but not before leaving a small, blue sphere on the ground. Yuna picks it up, as Auron stands and speaks.

"Talk later. We leave now." he says, beginning to walk back down the tunnel leading to the middle tier.

"Wh-What was that just now?" Wakka asks, pointing a thumb back over his shoulder at the portal. "That really Lord Jyscal?"

"I don't understand how a man like Lord Jyscal could die and not be sent." Yuna says, and I decide to speak up as well.

"Yeah, don't they make it a rule to always send authority figures?" I ask, and Lulu nods her head.

"I would think he was sent once...but he stayed on Spira. Something, a powerful emotion, could have bound him to this world. Such things happen." she replies, and I shudder. The dead tormenting the living, something I thought I would never see, or hear, in my lifetime.

"That's against the rules, isn't it?" Rikku says, and Auron turns to her, face solemn as always.

"It means he died an unclean death." he says, as we approach the manor doors.

"I will go...meet with Maester Seymour." Yuna says, turning to walk in the doors, as Auron says something to her.

"Yuna! Jyscal is the Guado's problem, not yours." he yells, but Yuna ignores him, entering the manor. As the doors close, everyone walks off in different directions. Tidus goes with Lulu, though, and so I decide to go with Rikku. I have some things to ask her anyway.

"Rikku, wait up!" I say, causing her to turn to me.

"Oh, Ben! What do you need?" she asks, and I smile.

"Just want to talk." I reply, as we walk towards a shop on the lower tier. "So, what do you think about Yuna being proposed to by Seymour?" I ask Rikku, who gives me a strange look.

"I don't know, really. It's all fine with me if Yunie wants to get married, but something about that guy just gives me the willies." she says, shivering as she says the last part for emphasis. I laugh, shaking my head.

"Yeah, same here. There's something I wanted to ask you." I tell her, causing her to look at me again.

"Sure, what is it?" she says.

"Do you think that you could teach me how to speak Al Bhed? I'm already fluent in another language, but knowing how to speak another while I'm here can't hurt." I ask her, and she smiles.

"Of course I can! You've come to the right person!" she says, and I laugh.

"I sure hope so, considering you're an Al Bhed and all." I reply, still laughing. Rikku joins in after a moment, and I just shake my head. "Come on, let's get back to the manor. Yuna must've told Seymour by now, don't you think?"

"Yeah." she says, nodding, and so the two of us begin to walk back to the manor.


As we approach, we notice Lulu and Tidus standing there, apparently continuing a conversation that we missed the first part of.

"If she is to marry, I would want her to marry for love." Lulu says, and Tidus crosses his arms.

"See?"

"But..." Lulu continues, "If Yuna said she wanted to marry the one she loved, I would have to object."

"Huh?" Tidus says, now thoroughly confused. "You're not making much sense." I have to stifle a laugh at this point. Poor Tidus, he just doesn't get it. At all.

"I know." Lulu says, and Tidus just looks at her strangely.

"Lulu..."

"I've talked enough about that." she says suddenly, cutting him off.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. Just forget about it." she says, beginning to walk off.

"Geez! Grumpy!" Tidus responds, seemingly trying to pester Lulu into explaining. Doesn't seem to be working, though.

"You'll understand one of these days. I just don't want to give it words. Not yet." she says, walking away a small distance, before turning back to Tidus.

"I shouldn't have to say this, but don't fall in love with her." Lulu says, and Tidus gives a small smile.

"Too late." he says, and Lulu just shakes her head, walking off again.

"Ah-ha! So, you do have feelings for Yuna!" I say, seeing a perfect opportunity to tease him.

"So? I could say the same for you about Rikku!" he retorts, causing my eyes to go wide, as well as Rikku's.

"But...what...how the...how do you know that?" I stammer, completely shocked that Tidus figured it out.

"Oh, come on! I'm not that stupid! I could tell by the way you look at her." he says, and I turn to Rikku.

"Is that true?" she asks, after a moment. I'm still a little shocked by the fact that Tidus of all people was the first to notice, but I slowly nod.

"Yeah, it's true. I do like you, Rikku. I think you're cute, and funny, and..." I trail off at this, rubbing the back of my head now. "Yeah...I'm really not good at this..." I say, starting to walk away, completely embarrassed now. Before I take more than five steps, though, I'm stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I find myself looking face to face with Rikku.

"Well, I like you too. I never could figure out how to tell you, either." she says, and I smile.

"Guess I'm not the only one who has trouble admitting their feelings, huh?" I say, causing her to laugh.

"Guess not!" she says, giggling. Laughing, I take her by the hand, walking back over to the manor.

"Heh, who would have thought? Me and you together? They say opposites attract, but we're almost the same!" I say, still laughing, which causes her to laugh harder. After a moment, I stop laughing, noticing that Tidus left while me and Rikku were talking.

"Hey, where'd he go?" I ask, and Rikku shrugs.

"Beats me." she says, and I look around a little, finally spotting his blond hair near the tunnel leading to the Thunder Plains. He also appears to be talking to...

"Shelinda? Aw, no..." I moan, and Rikku just laughs.

"Problems?" she asks, and I nod.

"I do not like her...even worse than Seymour." I tell Rikku, as we walk over to her, once again holding hands.

"My...was the lady Summoner not with you?" Shelinda asks Tidus, as they both notice us approach.

"Hey there, lovebirds!" Tidus says, before turning back to Shelinda. "No, she's at Seymour's place." he says to her, causing her to frown slightly.

"That's 'Maester Seymour', or 'Lord Seymour.' she replies, before smiling at us. If I could see my face in a mirror right now, I'm pretty sure I would be blushing a furious shade of red right now. Rikku doesn't seem to care, though.

"Oh, I'll be careful. Sorry." Tidus says, and I just shake my head.

'I will never call Seymour 'Lord' or 'Maester', as long as I can still breathe.' I think to myself.

"That's all right." Shelinda says, clasping her hands in front of her. "Maester Seymour left Guadosalam a short while ago."

"You serious?" Tidus says, crossing his arms.

"I believe he went to the temple in Macalania." Shelinda says, nodding. "Maester Seymour is also the high priest of that temple." Tidus' eyes go wide at this, as do Rikku's. I already knew, so I remain calm at this, though I think my eye does twitch a little.

"Whoa, I gotta tell the others!" Tidus says, waving a quick goodbye to Shelinda, before running back towards the manor, the two of us following. Everyone has gathered back at the manor entrance again, so we don't have to hunt them all down. Luckily for us.

"Hey, Shelinda said that Seymour's gone! So, what's Yuna doing in the manor?" Tidus says.

"She's probably looking for Seymour now." I say, turning to the group.

"Okay then. We find Yuna, then we leave for Macalania." Auron says, walking inside the manor. As we walk inside, we almost immediately find Yuna, looking at a picture of Lord Jyscal, which is mounted on the wall between two doors. Rikku is the first to run up to her.

"Lord Jyscal, please tell me. What can I do to help?" Yuna says, apparently talking to the picture.

"Yuna, lets go!" Rikku says quickly, causing Yuna to nod. She does the prayer gesture to the portrait, before turning and following us out of the manor.


"They say Seymour went to Macarena Temple." Tidus says, as we leave the manor.

"Macalania Temple." Wakka and I say simultaneously.

"Aye." Tidus replies, as Wakka speaks again.

"What I don't get is...why would the lord maester head off without a peep to anyone?" he asks, causing Rikku to shrug.

"Maybe he wasn't expecting Yuna's answer so soon." she replies, causing Wakka to nod.

"Ah, that's probably it." Wakka says, causing Yuna to laugh.

"Yuna, what is it?" Auron asks, and Yuna stops laughing, turning to the monk.

"Oh, nothing." she says, smiling. Auron, apparently, doesn't believe her. I can say the same. Smiling, from someone like Yuna, usually isn't a good thing.

"Hmm...you're a poor liar." he says after a moment, and Yuna's eyes widen.

"It's true. It's nothing!" she says, slightly indignant now. No one says anything, and Yuna's face goes back to normal, as she realizes no one is going to push the matter. "Come on, let's go." she says, walking towards the path that leads to the Thunder Plains. As we're walking, I feel Rikku grab my hand, and I smile. I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy the rest of my time here in Spira.


Oh yes, I will enjoy the rest of this immensely. Ben and Rikku are now officially a couple, and Tidus has revealed his feelings for Yuna as well. Although, she wasn't around to hear it...unlike Rikku. Hope you caught the X-2 allusion, as well! There will be more, so look for them. Anyway, please review!