A FFX-2 Fan Fiction
Chapter Five
Believe
It was Tidus' eighteenth birthday. Auron had taken him out to dinner to celebrate, and then to the local pub for a game of pool. He was grateful to have someone around to celebrate with him, even if it was only Auron. Shuyin and Lenne would be joining him later, to celebrate not only his legal adult status, but their victory last week.
Tidus eyed the pool table before him, contemplating his next shot. He wasn't fantastic at pool, but he wasn't bad either. Tonight however, he wasn't doing so well. Perhaps that was because he was playing against Auron, who, as far as Tidus knew, was undefeated. Auron had taught him that sometimes the best offense was a good defense, meaning, that if there were no available shots, he could miss on purpose to set the balls up so that his opponent would have no shots either. He thought hard about this as he surveyed the table. After a moment, he aimed at the cue ball, hit it and it rolled into a cluster of balls at the far end of the table.
Auron, unfazed by Tidus' attempt at playing defense, lined up a clean shot into the side pocket. It went in, smooth as butter.
"When are you going to teach me to play for real, gramps?" Tidus asked.
"I've already taught you everything you need to know. It's up to you to apply that knowledge."
Tidus rolled his eyes. He glanced at the door, hoping that Lenne and Shuyin would arrive soon. He was happy for the company, since Auron could be a major drag. He knew Auron didn't mean to be that way. Auron had done his best, it was just that Auron was a man of few words, a man who'd been completely unprepared to raise an eight year old and knew even less about raising a teenager.
"I don't know anything but Blitz," he told Auron.
"Precisely," Auron said as he lined up another shot.
Shuyin arrived, without Lenne. Tidus thought he looked a little lost without her at his side.
"Happy birthday, Coz," Shuyin said and gave him a brotherly hug.
He handed Tidus an envelope, of which he promptly opened. Inside was a gift certificate for the local Blitz store, Stadium from the both of them. "Thanks man," he said gratefully. "So, where's your girl?"
"She had some temple stuff she had to do," Shuyin said, sulking.
"Bummer," Tidus said. "But hey, this'll be like, a guys night out, right?"
"I guess so," Shuyin said. He nodded a greeting to Auron, who barely acknowledged him. "Who's winning?"
Tidus glanced at the table. Auron only had one ball left on the table. "Take a guess."
"I'm going to the bar," Shuyin said. "Need anything?"
"Nah. I'm good."
Auron sunk the eight ball and looked at Tidus expectantly. "Another game?"
"No way! You've slaughtered me enough tonight," Tidus said. "You know, you could have let me win, being that it is my birthday and all."
"In your dreams," Auron said with a rare chuckle. "The day you beat me is the day you earn it."
"One of these days, I'll beat you, old man," Tidus said.
"Shut up and let me buy you a beer," Auron said as he put his pool cue in it's leather case.
Tidus went to the bar and sat on the stool between his cousin and his guardian. Auron ordered a pitcher of ale and three glasses.
Shuyin looked drained and defeated. Tidus knew it had something to do with Lenne. Lenne was Shuyin's life, and something had happened between them, that much was obvious. Tidus had a hard time believing that there was trouble in paradise. "Cheer up, coz," he said and patted Shuyin on the back. "We're celebrating, remember?"
"She always puts the temple before me," Shuyin said. "She's keeping secrets . . . lying about what's going on. I can't take it."
"Man, that sucks," Tidus said. "You don't think there's anything really bad going on, do you?"
"What, you mean like cheating?" Shuyin asked. "No, it's nothing like that. It's temple stuff and I've got a really bad feeling about all of it. Whatever's going on, it's not going to end up good. Mark my words. Something's about to go down, and she's right in the middle of it."
Auron looked at Shuyin. "She is a summoner. You knew that when you met her."
"Yeah, but, she's never kept secrets from me before," Shuyin said.
"Then you must trust her," Auron commanded. "She can not tell you everything, but she will tell you what you need to know."
"And what if she doesn't?" he asked.
"Then it is because she doesn't trust you not to overreact," Auron said. The barkeep set the pitcher on the bar along with three icy mugs. Auron poured each of them a glass.
"Enough of this," Tidus said and patted Shuyin on the back. "We're supposed to be celebrating."
Shuyin nodded. "A toast."
"To freedom," Tidus said, hefting his glass in the air.
"Amen to that," Auron agreed.
Thanks to the Celsius, Yuna and her entourage arrived at the Kilika temple less than an hour after they'd left Besaid. She was glad that they were able to use the airship for this journey, for retracing the exact steps of her pilgrimage would have required at least three months of travel on foot. With the Celsius, they would arrive in Zanarkand in about three days. Yuna was thankful for that. She didn't know if she would be able to withstand another journey on foot, not with Tidus waiting at the end of the road, or so she hoped.
"Ready Yunie?" Rikku asked.
"I think so," she said and got to her feet.
"Gippal, I am trusting you with my precious Yuna's life," Brother said from the pilot seat. "If something happens to her, I will do something disasteriffic to you!"
Rikku rolled her eyes. "I thought you said disasteriffic wasn't a word," she said, "And what about me? I thought I was your precious sister!"
"Oh, um. Gippal, keep an eye on Rikku, too," Brother muttered.
"Relax, bro. I'm pretty sure these two can take care of themselves," Gippal said. "Isn't that right, Firecracker?"
"You betcha," Rikku agreed. "So, let's get this show on the road!"
Yuna, who had been quiet most of the trip only nodded and followed Auron down the steps. There was so much she wanted him to explain about this, but he had remained as silent as she had since boarding the Celsius. She wanted to demand answers. She knew he would not give them until he was ready. That was Auron's way but it didn't make it any easier for her to bear. She wanted to know exactly what waited at the end of this road. She wanted to know why she needed the Aeons. She wanted to know all the answers, and he had most of them, but until he was ready to tell, she had no choice but to do what he asked and try not to get her hopes up too much.
Behind her, Gippal and Rikku giggled and poked fun at one another. A week ago, she would have enjoyed their banter, but today she just wanted them to be quiet. She climbed the steps to the temple, remembering the first time she'd climbed these steps. She'd cheated in the race to the top, leaving Wakka and Tidus to catch up. It had been such a happy time, even though she knew she was going to her death.
She'd wanted it her journey to be full of laughter, and despite everything, it really had been. It had also been a journey of firsts. It had been her first time out in the world. She'd learned to place her trust in others for the first time. And, despite herself, she'd fallen in love for the first time. She'd known how risky it was, she'd known that there was no chance of the relationship lasting, but she'd been unable to stop feeling the way she did. It had been wonderful, and scary and exciting, and for a brief time, she'd had hope that they could be together after they defeated sin. She'd believed.
In hope.
And in love.
And part of her still believed. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here, climbing these steps toward the temple to see the Fayth. She believed.
"Yuna," Auron said when they reached the top of the stairs. "Before you go inside, you must understand that this is a journey like none other."
"In what way?"
"Everything you know and love about this world will change."
Lenne watched the sphere in horror. It had arrived at the temple, just this evening, wrapped in paper with a Bevelle postmark on the label. It was short, but in no way sweet. It was a thinly veiled threat from Maester Yu Yevon himself. It gave her chills to think about what may be coming. All the years of training, her subsequent pilgrimage to receive her Aeons, all of that might soon be needed, and she was afraid. Afraid because she knew it would cause a rift between her and Shuyin.
Already, they were having problems. They'd had a fight just this evening over her going to the temple instead of the pub with Shuyin and Tidus. He'd been angry that Yunalesca had called her in when they already had plans. He didn't agree with the responsibilities the Temple was putting on her. He disliked the secrecy surrounding her job as a summoner, but he didn't understand that she wasn't allowed to disclose any information she was given in confidence by the temple.
He'd known since the beginning that being a summoner was first and foremost in her life and that sometimes, she couldn't talk about it. Now, his suspicion and distrust of the temple was growing out of control, but she wasn't sure what she could do about it. He'd practically asked her to quit!
She wondered how he would react if she were to have to go to war, without him.
"So what do you think?" Yunalesca asked.
"It's not good," Lenne said. "He's looking for a fight, and I don't think he's interested in negotiation."
Yunalesca nodded. "Lord Zaon and I will be leaving in the morning. Maester Yu may not be interested in talking this through, but I've got to try."
"Of course," Lenne said.
"I am leaving you in charge in my absence. You may have full use of my quarters while I am gone, and of course, your young man is welcome to stay too."
"M'lady?"
"Someone must be here in case of an emergency. You are the only summoner experienced enough to fill my shoes. Surely you know this," Yunalesca said.
"Yes, of course," Lenne said, knowing that Shuyin would be upset about it. "You can count on me."
"Here is my schedule," Yunalesca said, handing her a thick leather bound book. "Just a couple of classes for the apprentices, but keep in mind, you'll probably be called on for a sending or two while I'm gone."
Lenne nodded and thought about how she would break this news to Shuyin. He already knew that she would be in charge of the Temple while the elder summoners were gone, but she didn't realize that she would actually have to stay at the temple. He wouldn't be happy about this situation at all, but she knew she didn't have a choice. She would have to stay until they returned, whether she liked it or not.
Yuna sat cross legged on the floor in the chamber of the Fayth, wondering what she was doing here. She looked up at the Fayth that had appeared before her. She was so full of questions that she didn't quite know where to begin.
"Are you ready to receive the Aeon?" the Fayth asked.
"I'd like to ask a question first," Yuna said, "if I may."
"You wish to know where this road leads."
"Yes."
"You will know when you get there."
Yuna shook her head. "Not good enough."
"It is the only answer we can give you."
She got to her feet. "Then I won't continue."
Suddenly the room around her shifted, changed. Tiny lights began to appear, like pyreflies in the distance. The foggy outlines of a ruined city. The image moved into focus and Yuna recognized it immediately. It was the ruins of Zanarkand, just as she remembered them.
Then, they began to change. The crumbled buildings began to rebuild themselves, brick by brick, stone by stone. The broken walkways repaired themselves, and slowly lights came on in the windows, one by one until the entire city was lit up. Billboards blazed and people began to appear in clusters on the walkways, and the elevated trains began to run again. A thousand years of ruin had been erased and the Zanarkand of old appeared as if there had never been a war.
To her surprise, the billboard closest to her in the vision was a larger than life rendering of Sir Jecht. Underneath his photo were the words:
"Congratulations Abes! Third Jecht Memorial Cup Win in a Row."
The billboard changed to reveal two photographs of two nearly identical faces.
"Abes Most Valuable Player," was written beneath the first photo. "Rookie of the year," was beneath the second.
Shuyin and Tidus? Could it really be?
Amazed, Yuna sat back down. "Is this real?" she asked.
"Once upon a time," the Fayth answered. "This was Zanarkand before the Machina war, and before Sin."
"So he really did live in that time."
"Yes."
"When I knew him, was he really just a dream?"
"Yes. He dreamed along with us. He wanted Sin to go away, just like the rest of us."
"Did he love me, or was that just part of the dream."
"He loved you so much that he chose to fade away so that you could be safe in your world. He could have continued to dream if he so chose, but he knew Sin would have come back. It was a great sacrifice."
Yuna still didn't understand. How could he be at the end of the road? If he dreamed along with the Fayth, that meant that he had died a thousand years ago. She stared at the photo on the billboard and realized how much she'd missed seeing that grin during the last three years. She also realized that there was no way that he could be waiting for her in Zanarkand.
"You and Auron have promised me what I can't have," she whispered.
"You are wrong, young summoner. There is a way, but you must be willing to make a sacrifice, too. You must believe in us. Believe that we can make your dream come true."
Later that afternoon, they arrived at the Temple at Djose. All around were machina in various states of disrepair and technicians by the dozen. Inside the dome, they found Paine waiting with her arms crossed.
"It's about time," she said.
"Hi Paine," Yuna said.
"So what's the deal?"
"We're going on an adventure," Rikku said. "Yunie, you wanna tell her?"
Yuna nodded.
"Let me guess. Someone asked you to save the world, and you said yes," Paine said.
"Sort of," Yuna said. She explained what she had learned so far as quickly as she could.
"So are you on board or what?" Rikku asked when Yuna finished.
"Flying all over Spira in search of a shadow? How can I resist?"
"Yay!" Rikku cried. "The Gullwings are on the case."
"Rikku, you need medication," Paine said.
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After Djose, they headed to Macalania, which would prove to be a logistical nightmare, since the Chamber of the Fayth had collapsed into the lake some time ago. Buddy and Brother rigged up a harness that would lower Yuna into the hole, so that she would be as close as possible to the Fayth. It took longer than they'd hoped for Yuna to reach the bottom, but she managed.
"Dreams can come true," the Fayth told her. This one was a young girl with pig tails and a sweet, innocent face. "Dreams are what keep us alive. Dreams give us hope."
"I want my dream to come true."
"Very soon, Lady summoner. We have not forgotten you."
"What am I to do?"
"Spira is dying. You must prevent the damage before the damage is done."
"I don't understand," she said, for what seemed the millionth time.
"The impossible will become possible. Your dream will become real."
"How?"
"You must believe."
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Notes:
I still missed the Yunalesca/Yu Yevon connection upon replay, but that's ok. That's something I can fix in later chapters. It ties in nicely with what I've already written (but not yet posted), and only requires minimal editing. So, there. But, I still consider this a bit A/U for obvious reasons.
And, I'm basing the Auron thing on a statement he made in the game. "I lived a long time in Zanarkand." The basic premise here is that everything is connected, sometimes in more ways than one.
And to those of you who took the time to review, you are awesome! Thank you.