A FFX-2 Fan Fiction
Chapter Four
The Journey Begins
---------------------
Darkness had fallen on Besaid. The sky above was full of tiny sparkling stars and a slender crescent moon hung over the temple. On a normal evening, Yuna would have enjoyed sitting around the bonfire with her friends, finding constellations with Rikku, poking fun at Wakka . . . but not tonight. Her decision weighed heavy on her heart and her mind. Everyone around laughed and chatted amongst themselves, but Yuna couldn't share in their enthusiasm. She was too preoccupied. It felt as if she were reaching for something that was not there, seeking something she'd never find. But there must be some hope, otherwise, Auron would not have suggested that there was a way . . . .
"Yunie?" Rikku asked. "Youuuunie!"
Yuna looked up at her friend, who stood over her, a look of concern on her face. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you."
"Yeah, obviously," Rikku said. She rolled her eyes. "You haven't heard a thing anyone's said all night."
"I know. I'm sorry."
Rikku took a seat on the ground beside her Yuna and patted her on the back. "This must be really hard."
"It is," Yuna said. "But I've made a decision. I'm going to find him, or at least find out what I can, anyway."
Rikku smirked. "I kinda knew you would."
"You did?"
"Sure. You're easy to read, Yunie, even though you try not to be," Rikku said, an impish gleam in her eyes. "When I found that sphere, I knew exactly what would happen."
Despite herself, Yuna laughed. "Rikku!" she cried. "Tell me you didn't give me the sphere because you want to fly around the world chasing ghosts again."
Rikku grinned. "Well, I am an Al Bhed. You know we have a reputation for not being able to sit still."
"So you'll go with me?"
"You betcha!" Rikku said. "Besides, I'm bored with hanging around Djose with Gippal. All we do all day is fix up machina, look at parts of machina, wires for machina . . . it gets old. Don't get me wrong, the pay's great and I like being there with Gip and all, but it doesn't compare to the fun we had as sphere hunters."
"You're right," Yuna agreed. "As much as I like my life here . . . it's . . . colorless."
Rikku jumped to her feet. "Woohooo!" she cried. "Yuna, leave it to me. I'll get the Gullwings back together and we'll find your man!"
Auron stood in the shadows, watching the group around the bonfire. He missed the days when life was this simple. He'd taken for granted the precious, seemingly unimportant moments in life. Moments like this one - a gathering of friends around a bonfire - the way the sky looked in those moments just before the sun set - the smell of fresh baked bread. These were things that seemed insignificant on the surface, but in retrospect became the memories that you looked back on when death stared down at you from the other side of a gun. He had never taken the time to appreciate these things. At the time, they seemed unimportant, but he now knew these were the moments that made life worth living.
When the group broke up, all of the patrons went to their respective homes, all of them except Yuna. She stood facing the temple, looking up at the sky with her hands clasped in front of her. Even after everything she'd done and seen, she was still so innocent. She'd witnessed corruption and seen death, yet she seemed untouched by the evils that seemed determined to touch her. She had not been tainted by anything she'd seen so far, and after everything, she still had hope. Auron had known men who had become bitter and despondent under lesser circumstances. Auron himself had lost his will to continue living long ago. But Yuna still had hope.
Auron knew it was false hope, and he felt guilty. It was hope he'd given her, under false pretenses, to motivate her into action. Once again, she would do the will of the Fayth and her reward would only be more sadness. It was with regret that he had approached her. He was ready to rest. He was barely human anymore, and he had to depend on Yuna to succeed or else he would walk Spira, unsent for eternity. It pained him greatly to have to do this.
When he was certain Yuna was alone, he stepped out of the shadows. "So you have made your choice," he said.
Yuna turned to him, a little startled at the sound of his voice interrupting the silence, but not surprised to see him there. "I had a feeling you'd come tonight," she said. "And yes, I've made my decision."
Auron nodded. "This will be a difficult journey."
"When has it ever been easy, Auron?" When she met his eyes, he saw there were tears in them. They reflected the dying firelight and spilled down her cheeks like twin streams of liquid fire.
"I suppose no journey is easy, Yuna."
Yuna sat down and pulled her knees to her chest. "So what do I do, Auron? Where do I go? What do I even look for?"
"You must go to the temples. Speak with the Fayth."
She shook her head. "They Fayth are gone."
"No. You're wrong," Auron said. "They have stopped dreaming, but they are not gone."
Yuna looked surprised.
"Go to the temples. Seek the Fayth. They will guide you."
"Will you accompany me Auron?"
"Yes. We leave in the morning."
Yuna got to her feet and looked at the temple again. "I'll let Rikku know, then I shall go to the temple."
The morning after the Blitzball tournament, the Abes victory was emblazoned upon the front pages of all the local news papers. There was a very nice black and white shot of Shuyin and Tidus beneath the caption and Lenne clipped the photo and article to add to her scrap book. Since the beginning of Shuyin's career as a professional ball player, she'd kept articles, scores, fliers and photos in a scrap book that she hoped to show their children and grand children one day.
Fortunately, there had been no word from Bevelle regarding Maester Yu's feelings about all the Machina in Zanarkand, and she'd had no haunting dreams last night. She decided the dream was no more than that - just a dream, brought on by the stress of everything going on. Her dark mood had lifted and she felt like her old self again.
Shuyin, however had been acting a little weird since the club the night before. He was more clingy than usual, wanting to be with her from the moment they'd entered the apartment last night. He'd repeatedly checked the locks and windows before they went to sleep, and he'd done the same upon waking. Even now, he occasionally checked the doors and peeked out the windows, searching for some imaginary threat. She supposed it was due to the end of the blitz season and he didn't have anything better to do. However, it was almost as if he were trying to protect her from something, but when asked, he would not give a definite answer as to why. She didn't mind the extra attention, she just didn't understand his sudden paranoia.
Presently he was at the piano, working on a new song and it was driving her a little crazy. Normally, he wrote jazzy or romantic pieces, but this one was dark and angry. Not a song she liked at all.
She got up from her place at the table and sat beside him on the piano bench. "Please," she said. "Stop."
He lifted his hands from the keys. "You don't like it?"
"It's fine," she said. "It's just not you."
"I play what I feel."
"I know," she said. "But I'd like for you to be able to tell me what's on your mind."
He shrugged and put his arm around her. "I guess I'm just a little grumpy 'cause the blitz season is over."
"Are you sure?" She was suspicious of his answer. It had to be something more than that, something deeper. He loved Blitzball, but it wasn't his entire life. The end of the season had never got him down before. Usually, he was happy for the break. He would have a full month to relax before the pre-season training began.
He nodded. "I'm just worn out from the last few weeks of practice," he said. "How about we take a vacation? Go somewhere quiet for a couple of weeks?"
"That might be fun," she agreed. "Oh. But, I have to be here because Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaon are going to Bevelle. I have to stay here in case anything happens."
Shuyin got up and went to the window. As he stared out at the city beyond, his hand lifted, almost as if on it's own, to check the lock. She shuddered at the thought of whatever he might be afraid of. Shuyin was never afraid of anything. He'd made the long pilgrimage with her, fought fiends that were so tough that Lenne hadn't thought that she would make it. But Shuyin would smile at her and keep fighting.
Whatever was bothering him, bothered her too.
"I wish you wouldn't put the temple before me," he said.
"Shuyin, this is my job," she said. "Just like Blitz is your job."
"I've never put Blitz before you," he said in a quiet voice. "And I'd gladly give it up if you ever wanted or needed me to."
"Shuyin . . . " She went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. She leaned her forehead against his bare back and sighed.. "When Lady Yunalesca returns, maybe we can go to that little island you were talking about. Spend a few weeks lounging in the sun . . . . what do you say?"
"I'd say that sounds great," he said. "We can swim in the ocean."
"And look for sea shells."
"And drink those tall drinks with umbrellas in them."
Lenne smiled. "I knew I could cheer you up."
"Yeah, so did I," he said. He grinned at her, a little sheepish. "So you didn't like my song?"
Lenne shook her head. "It was . . . violent, dark."
Shuyin nodded. "It's the damnedest thing. I dreamed about this giant machina . . . and that song."
Yuna entered the Chamber of the Fayth with her heart pounding. She wasn't sure why she was supposed to be visiting the Fayth or what they could tell her that would have any bearing on her journey. Certainly they knew the answers, but the Fayth were not usually the straightforward type. They preferred to let her figure things out on her own. But it was worth a shot.
She knelt before the hole in the floor and closed her eyes. She would pray to them, as she had the very first time she'd entered this chamber, the day she was to become a summoned. Now, she was just an average girl with a title.
It didn't take much prayer to call a Fayth to her. One appeared only a moment after she began to pray. This one was an elderly woman, her white hair pulled tight into a bun.
"Spira is slowly dying, day by day," the Fayth whispered. "The spiral of death continues within Spira's very core."
"I don't understand."
"We are dying. Soon, the Fayth will be no more."
"Why?"
"Sin and corruption have robbed us of our souls. The ravages of the last thousand years have scarred us too badly for us to heal."
Yuna was surprised. "Is that why the forest in Macalania is dying? Why the Sphere Springs are fading?"
"Yes," the Fayth said. "If something is not done, then Spira will die."
"And this is something I can fix?"
"If you are willing."
Yuna shuddered. This was more complicated than it seemed. Auron had come to her with thinly veiled promises of finding what she sought, only to discover that there was some higher purpose, something else expected of her. She was angry that she'd been deceived. It was like dangling a prime piece of meat in front of a starving dog.
"Your heart is wounded."
"Yes," Yuna agreed.
"You will find what it is that you are looking for in Zanarkand."
"In Zanarkand?"
"You are to retrace the steps of your pilgrimage. You must walk the roads you walked before, visiting each temple on the way," The Fayth said.
"Why must I visit the temples?"
"To receive the Aeons, of course. You can not complete this task without Aeons."
Shocked, Yuna shook her head. "I thought . . ."
"We are still able to manifest ourselves in this manner, young Summoner. We are still here, but we have had no need . . . are you ready to receive the power of Valefor?"
Yuna nodded, though she didn't understand how any of this could be. "Yes. I am ready."
------------------------------
Yuna had returned to her home to find everyone asleep. Gippal and Rikku were snuggled together on the fold out couch and Baralai was sleeping peacefully in the recliner. She'd already told Rikku that they would be leaving in the morning, but she had not yet told Baralai. She knew he would want to go with them, but she thought it was best that he stayed behind. Spira needed a leader in these trying times, someone to hold it together. The people trusted him, they liked him and he was doing a good job of restoring order to the confused masses. Besides, it would be difficult for him to go on a journey like this. If what the Fayth said was true, then Baralai would have to face the man who had claimed Yuna's heart and accept the fact that Yuna would choose to be with someone else.
Auron had said she needed her friends around her. She already had Rikku and Gippal aboard. Perhaps Paine would be up for another journey, but she wasn't certain her taciturn friend would agree with what she was about to do. Paine was trying hard to leave her past behind. She'd made a lot of progress, but Yuna knew that she wasn't entirely over the things she witnessed during her time as a recorder for the Crimson Squad. Those things took time to recover from and Yuna would understand if she didn't want to go.
She lay down in her bed but knew she'd be unable to sleep. She was too excited to sleep. She had so many questions swimming around in her head about what the Fayth had said. Spira had been deeply wounded. Yuna would have to find some way to fix that, but she didn't know how. She didn't have enough information and she wasn't sure she had it in her to go on another journey to save Spira, with the promise of her reward at the end of the road.
That reward had yet to manifest itself.
Near dawn, she climbed from the bed and began to pack supplies for the trip. Without thought, she tossed in potions, remedies, and all types of medicines. Dried fruit, granola bars and juice packs. She threw in some spare ammo.
What else?
She stared at the drawer where she'd kept all the spheres she'd found so far. She didn't know why, but she wanted to take the sphere Tidus had made for her. She wanted it close to her, to be able to watch it if she needed to.
Yuna took the sphere from the drawer and wrapped it in a pair of socks to protect it, then placed it in her pack.
"Take them all, Yuna," Auron whispered.
She spun around to find him right behind her. "Don't do that!" she hissed.
"They will remind you of why you are doing this."
"Why am I doing this, Auron?"
"Because you are the only one who can."
"So what you were suggesting, about Tidus, isn't true?"
"I'm not allowed to say more."
"I'm not going unless you're straight with me!" Yuna cried. "I'm tired of getting my hopes up, only to find out that I've wasted my time looking for something I'm not going to find, so if there's nothing at the end of this road but another battle, I want to know now!"
Auron looked her in the eye. "You will find what you are looking for."
"So there really is a way to find him?"
"Yes, but first, you must make your pilgrimage to Zanarkand."
Awakened by Yuna's outburst, Rikku appeared at the door. "Yunie, waddaya yellin' 'bout?" she asked through a poorly disguised yawn. A second later, her eyes popped open in surprise. "Auron!"
"Rikku."
"You're going with us, right?" Rikku asked Auron. She no longer looked as if she'd just woken up.
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Oh, goodie! This is gonna be just like old times . . . " she cried, then closed her mouth when she realized what she was saying. After an uncomfortable pause, she found her voice again. "Just let me get my things and wake Gippal and Baralai up and we can get this show on the road!"
"Rikku," Yuna said, "don't wake Baralai."
"Why not?" Rikku asked. She looked confused and then it dawned on her that Yuna had reasons for leaving him behind. "Oh, yeah. I guess that would be kinda weird . . . but are we just gonna leave him?"
"Leave a note," Auron said.
"Yeah!" Rikku cried. "That's a good idea. Yunie, get a pen."
Yuna was already one step ahead of her. "Rikku, be quiet," she hissed. Yuna scribbled a short note of apology to Baralai and then a note to Wakka and Lulu. She felt bad about leaving again without saying good bye, but it was necessary. She wanted to begin her journey as soon as possible.
Ten minutes later, Rikku and Baralai were ready to go. The four of them snuck out of Yuna's hut like thieves in the night, taking great care not to wake Baralai. Yuna knew it was a cowardly thing to do, but she was not emotionally able to handle a confrontation with Baralai, whether friendly or not. She might be tempted to change her mind.
Dawn was just breaking when they arrived at the beach, where Brother and Buddy waited with the airship. Yuna took one last look around at the island before boarding, suddenly struck with the feeling that this was a journey that she would not be returning from.
--------------------------------
Author's notes:
I'm sorry if I'm posting too often. These chapters are coming fast - I can't help it. I'm that kind of writer - it's all or nothing. I'm either writing or I'm not. I can't help it! Enjoy it while it lasts...
BabyRose ---- once again, you rock!