A/N: For those of you that have NOT heard of the Eternal Calm, it's a cutscene that connects FF-X, and FF-X2. If you haven't read the script, go read it. Because only the last three scenes are involved. I'm getting my script from FF Shrine (and I sure as hell don't own it), so if you've read something different, bear with me. The characters look like they did in the story.

Luin: (Reading over reviews) Aw, I have a warm fuzzy feeling inside.Sandstone: Lay off the hot cocoa. That's the warm fuzzy feeling.
Luin: Oh. Well…
Sandstone: (Chuckling) I'd know. I lack a soul supposedly, and the stuff does that to me. Even a zombie gets a slight fuzzyness inside, before it explodes.
Luin: (looking nervous) Uh, zombies drink this stuff? Since when? And what's with the explosions?
Sandstone: One word. Tuán.
Luin: (Looking sad for a moment) Isn't that the RP character you made who was mad, and corpses appeared whenever a certain memory was triggered… and then they exploded, covering everything nearby with blood and gore?
Sandstone: (looking remarkably amused) Murderer too, but that's beside the point. If my insane mind manages to make it work, I might make a fanfic on his story.
Luin: That'd be ORIGIONAL stories, not fanfiction.
Sandstone: Whatever.


The Eternal Calm:

Yuna was looking at the pair standing in front of her, ignoring the fact that she was standing on a ship that (years ago) would have been considered 'evil machina'. She thought to herself, 'Rikku sometimes visits us here in Besaid. She's been traveling around Spira salvaging ancient machina and teaching people how to use them. It's tiring work, but you wouldn't know it from looking at her. And Luin's been traveling with her, helping her out… and me, too, whenever he stops by. For a whole year… he stayed here, with me, rather than going with Rikku, trying to help me.' Her eyes misted slightly as she thought about that year – she had done things that no one would expect 'High Summoner Yuna' to do… and he'd been there, helping her. After that year, she'd recovered some, and he left with Rikku, though the two of them stopped by often. She knew it was selfish, how she'd kept him away from her… but she had needed help… Rikku said she understood.

'He really knows a lot, though he never talked a lot about it. It's hard to say which one of them knows more about machina.' At that thought, she patted one of her pockets, remembering the gift Luin had given her a while ago, when they'd last stopped by. She remembered teasing him about 'cheating' his way into becoming a high summoner, and he'd given it to her, shocking her into silence. Then he'd laughed it off, telling her he'd rather be known as a guardian, since he'd never summoned an Aeon in his life.
Rikku elbowed Wakka in the gut a few times, while Luin just smirked, and shook his head. Wakka, irritated, snapped, "Hey, cut it out!"
Rikku replied merrily "Love's sure got a handle on you!" Luin smiled faintly (he'd lightened up a lot), and asked, "Where's Lulu?"
Wakka smiled at Luin's tactful distraction of Rikku (she'd stopped elbowing him), and said "Back in the village. Go say hi, ya?"
Rikku said, "You betcha! And Yuna, you... seem the same as always."
Yuna smiled at Rikku, and said mildly, "Yeah, same as always."
Wakka asked, "Is Kimahri still on Mt. Gagazet?"
Luin nodded, and Rikku said "Yeah! He's been up there teaching the orphaned Ronso all kinds of stuff. He's like this big guru now. Oh, that reminds me, I got something for you." She reached into her pockets, and started to feel around. "Hmm, where is it, where is it..." She stopped after a few moments, and glanced at Luin. He shrugged, and reached into a massive pocket on the side of his pants leg. He came out with a sphere, and handed it to her. Rikku looked it over for a moment, then said "Here we go. Kimahri found it up on the mountain."
Yuna peered at it, and asked "A sphere?"
Wakka seemed interested in it. "Funny looking design, ya?"
Luin nodded, and said lightly, "You might want to watch it. I'm…" Rikku elbowed him in the stomach, and he fell silent, though he started to lightly tickle her sides, making her shy away.
&&&&&
The sphere started up, and Yuna gasped. The scenery was dark, but there was a guy who looked like Tidus, trapped in a cage, staring at the sphere-recorder, his hands resting on the cage, trying to pry it open. After a moment, he started shouting, "No, I'm not sorry! I haven't done anything wrong! I know you're listening. If she was your girl, what would you do? How can you blame me for trying to use your weapon? It was the only way I could save the summoner! What would you do if you were me? Let me out!" He curled down into a ball, and said weakly, "I want to see her..."
&&&&&
Yuna said to herself, 'It was a voice from the past. No, it was a voice that's never left me.'
Wakka said in shock, "What is this? What's he doing? I mean, is that really him? Is that... is he... what's going on?"
Luin shrugged, saying "We don't know." He turned to Yuna, and asked solemnly, "But you want to find out, don't you?" The corner of his mouth twitched, but otherwise, he seemed to be trying not to broadcast anything.

Wakka said hesitantly, "Well, yeah, but..."
Yuna cut him off, exclaiming, "Yes!"
Rikku smiled, and jumped up into the air, using Luin as a springboard. She shouted, "Let's go then!"
Yuna clasped her hands together, and asked, "Go where?"

Luin half-smiled at Rikku (who was currently singing happily to herself), and then said "Gagazet. Kimahri found the sphere, maybe he has something else by now."
Wakka cut in, saying "Woah, woah. You sure you're ready to just run off? Can't you wait until we find out a little more first?"
Rikku stopped singing, and asked (with her arms crossed, in what would be a threatening manner), "And just who's supposed to do the finding out?"
Yaibal, who had been totally ignored by the former guardians (and High Summoner), said, "Leave that to us! I'm sure Meyvn Nooj will agree to help. In fact, I volunteer to ask him myself!"

Luin shook his head, and glared at the over-enthusiastic Youth League member, looking like his former self (when he'd initially came to Spira). "Forget what you heard. Or I call my dragons after you." He flicked a pokeball on his waist threateningly. Yibal, alarmed, backed away and stammered, "All… already forgotten, High… Sir… Icewind. Uh…" Yibal didn't know what to call him, rumors about the man were contradictory – High Summoner, fiend caller, shapeshifter, guardian.

Luin smiled coldly at him, and said, "Good. Go. Now. And remember what I said."

Yaibal froze, and then ran off at high speed. Wakka seemed surprised by the sudden change in him, but Luin suddenly reverted back to his old self, looking like he had a headache. "Sorry, but… the Youth League is a pain."
Rikku, who had ignored the change in character (He'd played Mr. Intimidating a lot to get what they needed), said "Well, look, I…" Luin interrupted, "We…" Rikku mock-scowled at him, and then corrected, "We really want Yuna to go."
Wakka took a moment to switch gears, and then said, "She can't do that."
Luin asked curiously, "Why?"
Wakka explained "Because she's booked solid for three months, ya! And everybody wants to see her."
Rikku asked seriously "Oh yeah? Well, what about what she wants?"

Luin smiled, and said "I know I'd dig through a mountain if Rikku went missing, and I got a clue like this… so why can't Yuna go?"
Wakka said hesitantly "Well, yeah, but… Okay, maybe once things calm down, y'know?"

Luin arched an eyebrow, saying, "Calm down?"
Rikku said irately "And what if they don't, Wakka? What then, huh? I don't believe it. After everything Yuna did for us! Why can't she just do what she wants to do now? Why? You know, every time I visited here, I wondered... why is it, that when everyone's out making their dreams happen and everyone's getting their chance, Yuna's dreams are on hold?"

Wakka looked over at Luin for help, but he shook his head. Wakka said slowly, "Gee, it's not like... "
Luin cut him off, saying irately, "What do you know anyway… tubby?" He crossed his arms, and scowled. Rikku said to Yuna (she'd already known what Luin would do, they'd worked this out beforehand – he'd play hostile to Wakka if needed), "Yunie?"
Yuna said "I want...", and thought desperately 'I want to journey again. But... if I leave, I'll be disappointing everyone else.' "I want..."

Suicune appeared, popping out of her pokeball (she'd taken to doing that), and gently gazed at Yuna. As if triggered by the familiar pokemon's appearance, Yuna heard Tidus's voice, saying, "I give up. So what would an adult do, then? They know they can just throw away a summoner, then they can do whatever they like. You're right. I might not even have a chance. But no way am I gonna just stand here and let Yuna go... I'm going to reach for the stars." And then Luin's voice, sounding surprisingly like Auron, "If you reach for the stars, at least you will touch the sky. If you never try, you'll never leave the ground."
Yuna finally said, "I'll go."
Wakka said in shock, "Yuna!", while Suicune smiled reassuringly at the High Summoner, before standing at the edge of the ship, looking out to the ocean.
Yuna turned to Wakka, and said slowly, "I know it's selfish… but this is my story."
Rikku smiled at Yuna, and shouted, "Right on! I knew you'd say that, so I brought something just for the occasion!" She ran into the ship's cabin.
Wakka said (sounding annoyed), "Gimme a break."
Luin shot back "Which bone do you want me to break?" He ruined the line by grinning, though.
Rikku came back out, carrying a bundle of fabrics. "First, a costume change. You need a new look!"

At Yuna's questioning look, Luin explained, "You're famous, Yuna. If you don't want everyone chasing after you, you change your look so they just think it's a lookalike."

Yuna looked him over (he'd hardly changed at all – except he wasn't wearing black anymore, he was wearing a pale blue that went with his hair and eyes), and asked, "Then why aren't you…"

Luin smirked. "I went straight to Bevelle… and got rid of that damned title. It's just guardian now, thank Mew. I hate being famous. Though people haven't seemed to get the memo…"
Wakka, who had run out of ideas, shouted, "Wait, you three! I'll go get Lu!" He ran off the ship, racing for the village.
Yuna thought to herself, 'An eternal Calm. A slightly chubby Wakka, and my 2 minutes, 41 seconds. It's not much but it's enough. Still... it's okay to want more, isn't it?' She turned to Rikku and Luin (who were standing next to each other, looking at her with similar sloppy grins), "Rikku, let's leave! Let's leave right now!"

Luin smiled, and nodded. "You heard the lady, Psy. Let's go!" The ship shook, and turned to sea, Suicune running alongside it.


Sandstone: Next chapter: Preview! And… well… I might write a chapter on Luin helping Yuna out of her funk.
Luin: You're not going to say who got what pokemon, did you?
Sandstone: Nope. Let them guess. Here's one hint, though… there's no Ninetails, or Eevees / evolutions of said Eevees involved. And you don't know, either...
Luin: (Sighing) Nope. I don't want to know. Whenever I do, you always change it. Didn't you plan on giving Rikku a Jolteon for awhile?
Sandstone: Yup. But I changed my mind.
Luin: You told me, more like.
Sandstone: Same thing.