"Come on!" Yuna grabbed Tidus's hand and dragged him behind her as she desperately tried to keep her eyes on Maechen. She managed to follow the man to an apartment much like Tidus's, and stood behind him as he unlocked the door.

He gestured inside. "After you, milady," he said humbly.

She and Tidus stepped into the apartment and she barely suppressed a gasp. The living room was one giant library. Thick, wine-red carpet covered the floor, in place of the shiny wood in the other. Dark wooden bookshelves covered the walls, and the only open space was a chair that sat in one corner, next to a table where a stack of books rested. Books were everywhere, stacked on the chairs and little amount of countertop in the small kitchen, piled on top of and packed into the shelves, in towers knee-high all over the floor. A slender path was cut through the sea of books into the hallway, but other than that none of the rich carpeting could be seen. "Excuse the mess, but I need more space to put my books in. Until then, you'll just have to navigate your way around them, I'm afraid," Maechen said, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

Yuna shook her head. "It's okay." Silently, she was in awe of all the books contained in such a small apartment. She'd always had a soft spot for books, and to see so many in one place nearly bowled her over. Maechen led the way through the books to the small wooden table in the kitchen.

They all sat down and Maechen looked directly at Yuna. "Now. I suppose you'd like an explanation," he said. She nodded wordlessly. He sighed and closed his eyes. "I should start in the beginning, I expect. Yes, that would be easiest." As Yuna leaned in a little, and even Tidus watched the man with interest, Maechen began his tale.

"I was born in the Zanarkand of Lenne and Shuyin; your world, Lady Yuna," Yuna nodded once. Tidus just retained a confused look. "And I have lived there for a thousand years. You see, in your world, your Spira, I am an unsent, Lady Yuna." Yuna's eyebrows shot up and Maechen smiled. "I expected such a reaction. But you must understand: I knew that your young friend here was not what he seemed the first time I spoke to him, a few months ago. You were on your pilgrimage, I believe. I knew he was from…an otherworld, you could say. So I made it my purpose to speak to the fayth. I knew they had something to do with it all; I could feel their presence every time I spoke with him. It took me many a long, tiring month, and several boring discussions with boring Yevon priests," Yuna chuckled a little. The boring part, at least, was true, "but eventually I was allowed into the Chamber of the Fayth. For the first time in my long, long life, I saw the famous Chamber. I was amazed. Then a child–no, a being is more the term–appeared, and for a moment he just watched me.

Then the being began to speak. 'You are here about our dreams,' he said.

I did not understand. 'Your dreams?' I pressed.

'Yes. The young man you met, the one whom you question: he is our dream,' he said.

I was confused, so I pressed for more answers. 'How is he here?' I asked.

'His father brought him here,' the being said.

'Could you take me to his world?' I asked. I was very curious about this young man's 'dream world', and I wished very much to explore it.

'No. It was destroyed,' the being informed me, quite bluntly. I was very disappointed, you understand, and my disappointment must have somehow affected the being.

'I can take you to another world, however. A inter-mixing of our world and yours,' he offered. I instantly accepted. Anything to see this place! He told me to go to the Chamber of the Fayth in Besaid after Sin was defeated, and he would take me there. So after I saw your triumphant defeat of our deadliest enemy–and, might I say, Lady Yuna, it was quite spectacular!–, I walked into the Chamber while the priests were occupied with their celebrating. The being met me, and he sent me here. I have been here for almost two years now, and I've yet to figure out what the fayth are thinking. They seem to have somehow combined their memories of the past with their own dreams to create a world like none seen before." By the end of his tale, Maechen's eyes were aglow with fascination.

Yuna knew he was truly amazed by what the fayth had done, and his wonder pleased him greatly. Then she frowned. "But, Maechen, I only defeated Sin a short while ago–not five minutes before I came here two days ago," she said.

Maechen stared at her. "Really? Time must move differently here." Again his eyes shone, and Yuna could almost see the wheels in his mind turning at warp speed.

"Anybody care to explain what's going on here?" Tidus exploded.

Yuna stared at him in surprise for a moment, then nodded. "See, I'm from Spira–his world. So are Lenne and Shuyin. But you, you're…uh…well…" She glanced at Maechen, silently begging for assistance.

"You are a dream of the fayth," he said simply.

–Couldya be a bit more blunt, dude?–the voice in Yuna's mind snapped.

Tidus's eyes widened and he stared at the scholar. "But I…I…" he stammered.

Yuna smiled at him and reached for his hand. "Remember how you told me about the dreams you've been having since I got here?" she asked gently. Tidus gulped and nodded. "Those are real. You're not meant to marry Eidoriana. It's you and I that are destined to be together, not you and Eidoriana. I've been wanting to tell you ever since I got here."

Tidus stared at her, and for a moment she was afraid he would hate her for it. Then he grinned. "I knew there was something about you! I do love you, I remember now!" he cried, leaping to his feet.

She, too, stood, smiling. "I love you, too!" she said, her eyes filling with tears. She flung herself into his waiting arms and buried her head against his chest. His warm, strong arms held her close, and she smiled. Suddenly, she heard the door bang open and she spun, startled.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Eidoriana shrieked. Yuna opened her mouth to tell the girl off, but Tidus beat her to it.

"Did you follow me? You're so insecure you had to follow me?" he snapped.

His fiancé crossed her arms over her skinny chest and glared. "Yeah. I followed you. I don't trust her, and right now I don't trust you very much either!" she exclaimed shrilly.

"Good. You know what? I don't care if you trust me. I don't even really give a damn if you like me or not. You're an immature, selfish, spoiled, annoying brat, and I can't believe I wasted five weeks of my life with you," he said firmly, his arm around Yuna's shoulders.

Yuna resisted the strong urge to stick her tongue out. She contented herself with a smirk, snuggling closer to Tidus as if to prove, once and for all, that he was hers, and that was simply the end of that.

Eidoriana just sort of gaped for a minute, becoming steadily redder in the face. "How…dare…you," she growled finally, breathing hard through her nose and clenching her hands into fists.

"Well, it went sort of like this: I saved the world, I'm entitled to the guy. Obviously you don't watch enough television." Yuna couldn't help but sneak in one good insult.

Before any of them could move, Eidoriana's hand flashed for her belt. A heartbeat later a dagger was flying through the air, aimed directly at Yuna. All she could do was watch as the glittering blade buried itself to the hilt in her chest. Dark, warm blood began spilling from the wound that didn't hurt, and she grabbed for Tidus's hand to keep her standing. She barely heard his shouts, barely felt his arm under her shoulders to keep her from falling.

"Don't worry. Believe," she whispered, as darkness began encroaching on her vision. Slowly, the fuzzy black took over, and the last thing she saw was Tidus staring into her face, crystal tears falling from eyes like sunlit oceans.