Yuna watched in numb horror as Tidus ran to the edge of airship and flung himself into the pastel fog below. –Well, now, that just ain't gonna fly,–a voice in her head said firmly. It was the blunt, obvious voice inside her that she usually ignored, but for once she agreed with it. Already a yawning abyss had opened in her heart, screaming and threatening to wrap her in a blanket of agony.
Suddenly, something inside her clicked. She didn't even realise what she was doing, really. One minute she was standing in front of her guardians, staring out to the clouds as sorrow began to eat at her insides, and the next her feet were moving of their own accord, carrying her half-unwilling body to the edge of the airship. She didn't even have time to scream as she jumped.
She clutched her summoner's staff to her as if it were a lifeline as she fell through the golden clouds. She heard her friends' shouts, but they died away quickly. She wasn't really listening to them, anyway. Before her eyes, her father, Auron, and Jecht materialised in the strange light. If she squinted, she could make out Tidus in front of her. As she passed Braska, he just stared at her, watching his daughter with wide eyes. Auron laughed a little, and Jecht just gaped. She smiled and closed her eyes as the darkness swallowed her.
She woke up to see feet rushing past her. After a moment of general bewilderment, she realized she was curled up on a street somewhere. She sat up, confused. The staff she still clutched in her right hand was cold and glittered dully. She scrambled to her feet and looked around. Nothing looked familiar. –Okay, the Farplane's done some serious redecorating,–she thought. She spotted a building with a glowing neon sign in front and walked over to it, out of lack of anything else to do more than anything. She stepped inside and discovered it was a tavern, packed with drinking, laughing people. She pushed through the crowd to the bar, her head already aching with the noise and stress. She scrambled onto one of the stools and sat there silently, watching the people with wide eyes and wondering what the hell she was going to do next.
"Do I know you?" a familiar voice asked.
She spun around to see Auron standing there, peering at her over his glasses. "Oh, praise Yevon!" she exclaimed. He stared at her. "You don't know who I am, do you? That's okay. But, just tell me this: where are we?" she asked him.
"Zanarkand. You do look familiar. What's your name?" He sat down next to her and ordered a drink.
"Yuna. I'm Braska's daugh–wait, did you say Zanarkand!" She stared at him, her mind frantically rejecting the information it had just received.
He let out a harsh bark of a laugh. "Braska's daughter, eh? How'd you end up here?"
She bit her lip and hesitated. He watched her over his glasses, absently folding and unfolding the corner of a napkin under his hand. Just as on the airship, when her feet had moved without conscious decision, she found herself gushing out the details of her pilgrimage, and Tidus, and the fight against Jecht, and Yu Yevon, and jumping off the airship, and everything short of her entire life story. She'd never talked so much in her life, but words just flowed out of her mouth as she talked to her former guardian. Auron just sat and nodded occasionally. He asked a few questions, but mostly just listened, a probing, understanding look on his scarred face.
When she finally stopped, feeling rather drained from so much talking, he said, "Come with me." Brusquely, he stood, throwing a few coins onto the counter. He led her out into the street and to a house. She hurried after him, clutching her summoner's staff anxiously. Now that the adrenaline rush had faded, she was beginning to wonder what exactly she'd done.
After a few minutes of wandering through crowded alleys, Auron stopped dead in front of a small house. A few steps led to a completely unremarkable door, just beginning to be dampened by the gentle rain that was starting to fall.
He turned to her, his piercing eyes staring at her through his glasses. She looked back stubbornly, ignoring the shy feeling his gaze incited. "Now, if find anyone you know here, they won't know you. At all. So be prepared. And don't tell anyone about your past," he warned.
She nodded, perplexed. Though she said nothing, silently she wondered where the sudden caution had come from. With another of those disconcerting glances at her, he opened the door and stepped inside. She followed and saw a blond boy sprawled out on the couch, deeply involved in a blitzball game displayed on a square sphere screen. It wasn't Tidus, but they had to have been related.
A girl walked in, carrying two glasses. "Oh! Hi," she said, surprised.
The boy looked up. "Hey, Auron. Who's the girl?" he asked. His voice was, perhaps, a few tones deeper than Tidus's, and there was something underneath it, something that spoke of loss and pain and a joyous finding after so much searching. It was familiar–Yuna had often found her own voice to take on the same strange feel, when she thought of her father.
"This is Yuna. I…found her," Auron said. The boy raised one eyebrow, as if he were going to make a comment, but said nothing. After a moment, he turned back to the sphere screen. Another girl stomped in the room, her green eyes blazing.
"C'mon, Eidoriana," a voice begged, and its owner walked in behind her. Yuna nearly fell over, her mind reeling with shock. There he was, just as solid and amazing as ever. She wanted to run to him and hug him and let him hold her for the rest of forever, but she held herself back, her stunned mind clinging tightly to what Auron said about people she knew not knowing who she was.
Tidus looked at her. "Who're you?" he asked.
"I'm Yuna," she told him softly. He stared at her for a moment, then turned back to the girl.
"I want pink!" the girl shouted, stomping her foot like a child. The first girl rolled her eyes and handed one of the glasses to the boy on the couch.
"Yuna, this is Lenne, Shuyin, Eidoriana, and…Tidus," Auron told her.
She nodded, surveying each of them with eyes that were both wondering and scared. Lenne looked a lot like Yuna herself, but her brown hair was longer, flowing almost down to her butt, and she had big, warm brown eyes, instead of Yuna's mismatched blue and green ones. Shuyin, Yuna assumed, had to be related to Tidus, because the two looked almost exactly alike. Shuyin was a bit taller, and his face was rounder, but other than that the two could have been twins. Eidoriana was short and slender, and her black hair was pinned up and dotted with several brightly-coloured barrettes.
Her sharp green eyes narrowed as she looked Yuna up and down. She put her hands on her hips. "Who're you?" she demanded rudely.
–I just told you, you idiot,–the voice in Yuna's head snapped. But out loud, she repeated politely, "I'm Yuna." Eidoriana rolled her eyes and turned back to Tidus.
"I refuse to have an entirely pink wedding!" he told her.
"I want pink, and that's final!" she exclaimed, marching off into the kitchen.
Tidus rolled his eyes and sighed. "Why? Why did I agree to marry her?" he moaned, sitting down on the couch beside his brother.
"Honestly, I don't know," Shuyin said, not taking his attention away from the T.V.
"Because you love her," Lenne said simply. "Supposedly," she added under her breath.
Yuna stood by, silent and shell-shocked. She couldn't breathe, her mind shrieking under the barrage of new, strange information. Married? Tidus was getting married? How could he be? He belonged to her. He was her amazing blitzer, her star of the Zanarakand Abes. He was everything she knew she needed–so why was he getting married to another woman?
Numb and unable to think of anything else to do, Yuna walked down the stairs and sat down on the couch next to Lenne, who seemed to be the nicest of the bunch. Lenne smiled at her. "So, where are you from?" she asked.
Yuna's mind raced. "Bevelle. But I got kicked out because…I didn't agree with them," she said, thinking fast. She vaguely remembered something about a machina war between Zanarkand and Bevelle, and if she'd been pushed back in time–which was the only explanation she could come up with–the story would fit.
Lenne nodded. "Understandable. So, do you have anywhere to stay?" Yuna shook her head. "You can stay with us then. We'll go shopping tomorrow," Lenne said firmly.
"I wanna go," Tidus said suddenly, snapping his head up from where it had been buried in his hands.
Lenne laughed. "Ai-ya! She must be bad if you're volunteering to spend all day shopping." Tidus nodded fervently.
Shuyin rolled his eyes. "Just break the engagement," he told the younger boy, tearing his eyes momentarily from the blitzball game.
"I can't. Have you seen her father? He'd kill me!" he exclaimed.
Lenne sighed and looked at Yuna. "Let's leave the boys to their complaining," she said, standing up. Yuna followed suit and stood there nervously, glancing from Tidus to Lenne and back again. Lenne smiled and took Yuna's hand. "C'mon. I'll show you where you'll sleep," she said kindly. Yuna nodded and let Lenne lead her down a hall and into a room.
"You can sleep in here with me. I've got an extra bed, and we can put your stuff in the closet," she said. Yuna nodded and sat down on the bed, her muscles tight and weary with shock and anxiety.
Lenne sat down next to her. "So, what do you think of us?" she asked lightly, her big brown eyes cheerful and sparkling.
Yuna hesitated.
"It's okay." Lenne laughed, correctly interpreting Yuna's uncomfortable silence.
"Eidoriana. She's just…" Yuna tried to find a word to describe what she felt about her boyfriend's fiancé.
Lenne nodded and sighed. "I know what you mean. Tidus fell in love with her about a month ago, and the wedding's in three days. We keep telling him he's moving too fast but he won't listen. He complains about her, but we can't tell if he's still in love and just had nothing to do but bitch or if he doesn't love her anymore and he's complaining because he's genuinely miserable," she said.
Yuna nodded. –Well, I'm pushing for not, because, uh, hello! I'm supposed to be that girl. Me! Me! Not some annoying twit!–the voice cried.
"Well, here's some pajamas, and if you need me I'll be in the kitchen," Lenne said, getting up. Yuna nodded and the older girl walked out. For a moment, all was quiet. Yuna slipped her feet out of her boots and pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging her knees tightly. She closed her eyes against the room, against the house, against everything. How she longed to be curled up in Wakka and Lulu's hut back in Besaid, next to Tidus, a warm breeze toying with her hair that bore the scents of twilight and his arm around her shoulders to keep away the chilly night…
"Mind if I come in?"
Yuna's eyes flew open. Tidus was standing in the doorway, a half-grin on his face. She smiled and nodded, stretching out her legs and sliding her feet back into her boots.
"Hi. You're Tidus, right?" she said as he shut the door behind him and leaned against it.
He nodded. "That's me. I guess you think I'm an idiot for marrying her, huh?" He let his head fall back to the door and closed his eyes, letting out a long, deep sigh.
Yuna shrugged. "If it's what you really want…"
He opened his eyes and turned those beautiful turquoise eyes on her. "That's the problem," he said softly. Instantly, all Yuna's instincts were screaming, "Get up! Go after him! Hug him, hold him, never let him go! He said it. He said he doesn't know! Go now!" But she stayed put, and smiled fixedly.
He grinned and sat down on the bed opposite her. "But you're probably not real interested in my marital issues. So, you're from Bevelle, huh?" he asked.
She nodded. This was a rare bit of truth in her story; she'd lived in Bevelle until she was seven, then she'd moved to Besaid after her father defeated Sin.
He locked his hands behind his head and leaned back. "You seem familiar. Have I seen you before?" he wondered.
She shook her head. "I don't think so," she replied.
He shrugged. "I dunno." He stared at her for a minute more.
Yuna couldn't stand it any longer. "You know, I don't think she really loves you," she blurted.
He just blinked, then sighed. "I don't even know anymore. At first, she wasn't like this. Then when I proposed, she just turned into…that," he said.
She nodded, and the voice in her mind was shouting,–Hah! See? Seeseesee? She doesn't love him! I do! I do! Why can't he see that?– After another long, silent minute, he stood up and walked to the doorway. She stood up, too, and he paused. He turned around and looked at her, his eyes darkened by a worry she'd seen only a few times in the time she'd known him. Something compelled her to walk over to him and smile. Acting on pure instinct and the wild, passionate feeling that gripped her, she kissed him gently and shut the door. Her heart pounding with love and fear, she sat on the bed and tucked her feet under her.
As was to be expected, Eidoriana burst in. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded. Yuna stared at her in mock surprise. "You just kissed my fiancée. I don't believe you!" Eidoriana shouted.
For the first time in her life, anger filled Yuna to the brim. For all of her life, she'd had an incredibly even temper. She absorbed insults and angry words like a sponge. But she'd finally had it. Tidus was hers, and she wasn't about to let some half-brained twerp take him from her. For Yevon's sakes, she'd jumped off an airship for him! A silly thing like an engagement wasn't going to keep her down. She was a High Summoner, wasn't she? She'd saved a planet. She deserved her boyfriend!
"You listen to me. I am not in the mood to explain every inch of my life to you, and I have no desire to do so. So you just back off and leave me alone. Got it?" Yuna told her in a low voice. Eidoriana gaped at her.
Then it began.
She took a deep breath and Yuna stared, wondering what in Yevon's name was coming next.
"TIDUS!" the black-haired girl screamed.
Tidus rushed in, his turquoise eyes wide with panic. "What?" he asked, staring at the two girls.
"She hit me!" Eidoriana exclaimed, pointing at Yuna. She ran to her fiancée and he wrapped her in his arms. Yuna wanted to break down and cry. Her head ached and her hands trembled terribly. She managed to keep her emotions under control, but just barely. Eidoriana smiled cruelly at her from her position against Tidus's chest. Yuna wanted nothing more than to throw that girl off a cliff and tell Tidus everything, make him love her again.
Lenne trotted in. "Everyone okay?" she asked, alarmed.
Eidoriana sniffed. "She hit me," she whimpered. Tidus stroked her hair and shushed her gently.
Lenne looked at Yuna, then at Eidoriana. "Well, you're not bleeding. You'll survive," she said briskly. Tidus led Eidoriana away and Lenne shut the door. "What happened?" she asked softly.
Yuna sniffed. "Nothing. I accidentally bumped into her, and I suppose I hurt her more than I thought," she lied quietly, staring at the deep blue carpet
Lenne snorted. "Right. Eidi's played that card with me at least twice, and I know for a fact that it takes a hell of a lot more than a bump on the arm to hurt her. What really happened?" She reached out and touched Yuna's shoulder gently, worry in her big brown eyes.
The concerned gesture undid Yuna completely, and she burst into tears. The older girl walked over and hugged her, letting Yuna cry into her shoulder. Eventually the tears stopped and Yuna sat down on the bed. "Now, you wanna tell me what's wrong?" Lenne asked gently.
Yuna bit her lip. "I-I can't tell you. I-I'm not supposed to." Yuna sniffed, clenching her hands to stop the shaking. She watched as her knuckles slowly shifted from peach, to white, and into a pale purple, not even realizing that she was still clenching her fists.
"I promise I won't tell a soul," Lenne assured her, reaching over to unclench Yuna's hands.
So Yuna told her story, about Tidus and the airship and falling and landing in Zanarkand. Lenne just sat and stared with big eyes. "So-so you're saying that when that thing–Sin–attacks, Tidus gets dumped in your world," she said. Yuna nodded. "And you fell in love with him," she said. Yuna nodded again. "So this must be really hard for you, huh? Seeing him with another girl, after all you two went through?" Lenne asked gently. Yuna nodded again and sniffed. "Well, we'll just have to get rid of her, won't we?" Lenne smiled slyly. Yuna stared at her. "Let Operation Bye-bye Eidi begin," Lenne said darkly. The two grinned, and both lay down to sleep.