Chapter Five: Transference
Arianna was sleeping peacefully in the water, Rikku snoring on the rock where they'd left her. Tidus couldn't resist walking up to her and shouting, "BOO!" in her ear. She woke up with a shout and threw out her arms, smacking Tidus square on the forehead. Arianna woke up to see her younger brother clutching his head and she laughed.
Yuna did, too. "You got what you deserved," she scolded. He rolled his eyes and she took his hand, trying to ignore that fact that his fingers were slowly becoming less solid and more ghost-like and transparent. Darkstar waltzed up to Arianna and stood defiantly in front of her. She leaned down and blew a bit of lightning at him. He screeched and ran back to Yuna's arms, his tail bushing out like a toilet brush. She soothed him and stroked his fur, trying to calm him down. Arianna laughed a little and smoke curled out of her nostrils.
Wakka laid her body down on the grass and she laid her head and neck out in front of it. Lulu gave her the potion and she drank it, making a face as the white liquid went down. Yuna said the spell over the body and suddenly Dragon Arianna went limp just as the body on the ground stirred.
Her eyes flew open and she scrambled to her feet. She grinned at everyone. "Damn, do I feel good!" she shouted to the sky, throwing out her arms and twirling around under the warm sun. The dragon opened its eyes at the shout and lifted its immense body to tower above the friends. "Shall we run for our lives?" Arianna asked Tidus.
"Oh, yes, let's," he replied, and everyone took off, running inside the gates of Bevelle. The dragon roared at them from the shore but didn't make its way up on land.
When they finally stopped outside a bakery, everyone was panting and laughing.
"You shoulda seen the look on your face!" Arianna pointed at her brother and giggled while still trying to catch her breath. He just rolled his eyes and rested his hands on his knees. By the time they'd all caught their wind again, Arianna was already inside the bakery, eyeing a sandwich that someone was eating. She dug in the pockets of her khaki shorts and came up with nothing. "Tidus, loan me some cash. I'm starving," she demanded.
"What do you say?" he teased, drawing a handful of gil out of his pocket.
"Give it to me now," she ordered, balling her hand into a fist menacingly.
"That works." He handed her the money.
Wakka laughed and slapped Tidus on the shoulder. "They always know how to get their way, ya?" Wakka boomed. Tidus just grinned and rolled his eyes. Arianna bought a thick sandwich and bit into it happily. She wandered outside, sandwich in hand, to sit at a table and watch the people walk by. The others followed her, after Yuna bought a tuna fish sandwich for Darkstar. They sat and ate while Arianna marvelled at the outfits and stores of the town.
"I haven't actually had time to just be a tourist since I got here. I didn't realize this place was so fascinating!" she exclaimed, grinning and taking another bite of her sandwich. Darkstar just looked around calmly, as if her excitement was, frankly, boring. Yuna sat and observed the two newest members of their party thoughtfully, not quite sure what to make of either of them. –And I thought that after I defeated Sin, things would get actually calm down,–she thought dryly.
Tidus caught her gaze and put his arm around her shoulders.
"I like your sister," she told him.
He grinned. "She's…interesting, I'll give her that." He looked at the older girl fondly. Yuna pulled her feet out of her boots and curled her legs up under her, snuggling down into Tidus's arms. For the first time, she began to think hard about their problem. It was like a complicated tangle of darkness inside her that she'd managed to cover up for a bit, but now she knew she had to try to straighten it out. –We need someone who can do a mind wipe, whatever that is. And we need them to do it fast, before Tidus disappears. But where are we going to find a mage or a wizard or something powerful enough to do that?–she wondered. Her gaze drifted over to Arianna, who was still pointing to things and people and asking Wakka, Lulu, and Rikku what they were. An idea began to form in her head. –Isn't it odd that just as we come up against this problem, this girl pops up out of nowhere? I can't believe it would take her an entire year to find me, especially since just about everyone else seems to be able to. I wonder if she was sent here for a reason? I don't usually believe in fate and that sort of thing, but still…I know there's more to Tidus than he tells me. Is there more to her story, too?–
She was snapped out of her thoughts when Rikku poked her shoulder. "C'mon, Yunie. The guys are heading for a blitzball game and we're going shopping!" she said excitedly.
Yuna smiled and stood up. Wakka started to walk toward the shore and Tidus stood to follow him. Instantly fear gripped Yuna's insides and squeezed like an iron gauntlet. She clutched his hand, trying to keep him there with her.
He turned, a confused look on his face. When he saw the fear in her mismatched eyes, his expression softened and he drew her to him. "I'll be okay," he assured her softly. She nodded and bit back tears. He pulled back and smiled at her. He kissed her gently and turned to walk away into the crowd. She watched as his dark head disappeared among the people, trying desperately to control the fear that threatened to overtake her.
Rikku took her elbow and pulled her away. "C'mon, Yunie. You need a break. And he'll be fine. Wakka won't let anything happen to him," she reassured her cousin. Yuna nodded and tried to put all her worried thoughts to the back of her mind. She followed Rikku, Arianna, and Lulu into a shop next to the bakery. Arianna gasped when she saw a gown on display and ran to it, dragging Rikku with her.
They found the dress on the racks and talked over each other happily, trying to find Arianna's size and a colour that "matched her eyes". Yuna laughed a little, Darkstar in her arms. Lulu stood next to her, one eyebrow raised at the other two girls, as if to say, "What on earth are those two doing?" Yuna hugged Darkstar to her. Instead of mewing and pushing away, like most cats, he allowed himself to be cuddled, and even licked her ear comfortingly.
Lulu looked at the younger girl. "So. Tidus has a sister," she said.
Yuna nodded and sighed. "I suddenly feel like I don't know him at all. What else isn't he telling me?" she wondered aloud.
Lulu didn't answer for a moment. "Maybe after he realized he wasn't going back, he wanted to put it behind him," she offered.
Yuna nodded. "Maybe," she replied quietly.
They watched as Arianna and Rikku ran around, their arms getting more and more loaded with outfits with each trip to the dressing rooms. Finally, they came back to the other pair, grinning like children in a candy store, their arms laden with full shopping bags.
"That was fun!" Arianna exclaimed. Rikku nodded emphatically. Yuna laughed and Lulu even chuckled a little and they headed back for the shore to find the boys. Wakka and Tidus were diving around on the sand, playing an above-water game of blitzball with some of the boys from the city. The girls sat down on the sand to watch, waiting for the game to end.
When it finally did, Wakka and Tidus trotted over to where they sat, grinning fiercely.
"Did you win?" Rikku asked. Tidus nodded and sat down next to Yuna. He stretched out on the sand and close his eyes, soaking in the afternoon sun.
Arianna poked him in the ribs hard and he sat up again. "No time to be lazy, bud. We've got things to do," she informed him. She grabbed his hand and examined it. A few of his fingers were already gone, and the rest were swiftly becoming transparent. "Well, then, we'll just have to fix this, won't we?" she asked no one in particular.
"How can you-" Tidus began, but she didn't let him finish.
She turned to Darkstar. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded. He shrugged, or at least as much as a cat can. She sighed irritably and turned back to her brother. She dragged him to his feet and headed back for the gates of Bevelle. When he didn't follow her, she turned around impatiently. "Baby brother, we have work to do. There's no time for standing around," she snapped. Tidus walked after her, Yuna's hand in his. The rest followed them, as confused as they were. Arianna seemed to be the only one who knew where she was going, which was extremely odd.
Darkstar sped in front of the others to catch up to her. "Arianna! You get back here!" he shouted grumpily.
She rolled her eyes, but stopped in her tracks. He caught up with her and glared at her, his green eyes glowing. "I need your mage friend to help me. I can't do it alone," she told him. He sighed and started winding his way back to Lyra's shop. Arianna and the others followed him into the small, dark shop. The tables in front had been replaced with benches, ivy and dark blue flowers winding among the boards. Darkstar slipped in through the cat flap in the door, but the rest actually had to open the door. Lyra was sitting in an armchair, drinking something out of a mug and reading the old book from before. Her cat jumped up into a chair and curled up, closing his eyes for sleep as if everything was completely normal. Arianna stood there in front of Lyra, hands on hips.
Lyra sighed and put down her mug. "Is it time already?" she asked the nineteen-year-old. Arianna nodded and Lyra flipped through her book. She started saying something in a language Yuna didn't understand.
"Beith, dair, sean banríon, liath mac tíre, tine champa stoirm. Scoriosán smaointeacht, uairre fáq claoine cithfholcandán." She began saying it again, Arianna chiming in this time. They walked outside together, reading from the book. They started to hover about seven feet off the ground, looking out across the town. They said it a third time, their voices ringing clear and loud even over the chatter of the people. Yuna could see the long ribbons of golden light that branched out from the book and wound their way around the people. She watched on particular one as it went by and touched each person's temple quickly, going through each person and doubling-checking itself. Lyra said another word and the light tendrils came flowing back to the book. Suddenly, the crowd stopped dead in its tracks, as if everyone had suddenly forgotten where they were headed. Lyra and Arianna grinned at each other triumphantly and even Darkstar, who had followed them outside leisurely, looked rather satisfied. Yuna stared at them, then at the crowd. They were looking at each other, confused, and starting to chatter again.
The girls floated back down the ground and turned to the others. Lyra snapped the book shut and tucked it under her arm. "Give me about two seconds to pack and we'll head for Kilika," she told them, and she ran back inside. Darkstar stayed outside, cleaning his paw with his rough pink tongue.
Arianna rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you! Why didn't you tell me my brother is fading away!" she shouted at the cat.
He looked up at her, his round green eyes innocent. "They told me not to tell you," he replied simply.
Arianna sighed. "Jeez, louise. No one ever tells me anything," she grumbled.
Tidus was just staring at them all, open-mouthed. "Will someone tell me what's going on!" he shouted, waving his arms around in frustration.
His older sister sighed. "I'm a wizard, Tidus. I never told you because, well…you're a blabbermouth. And if I told you, then my secret would get out. And that wouldn't be good. The Powers That Be might have even taken away my powers," she explained, glancing heavenward.
He just stared at her, his blue eyes wide in shock.
"So, what did you just do?" Rikku asked.
"We just did a mind wipe. Darkstar told me telepathically about everything when we were running here, and that's why I needed Lyra to help me say the spell. I couldn't do it alone," she told the slender Al Bhed. She nodded, but Yuna could tell she didn't exactly understand.
Lyra came back out, lugging a beat-up leather messenger bag over one shoulder. "Let's go!" She grinned. Wakka and Lulu led the way back to the airship. Rikku, Arianna, and Lyra followed, Rikku pressing the other two girls about their wizardry. Yuna and Tidus lagged behind. Yuna clung to Tidus's hand, which was already becoming more solid. He smiled at her and she smiled back, feeling better than she had all day. For the first time, she felt like maybe it would be okay. They all clambered aboard the airship and settled in for the flight. Lyra was extremely interested in the workings of the giant machina, apparently surprised that something so complex and large could be run without a lick of magic.
"She really doesn't get out much, does she?" Arianna muttered under her breath to Darkstar. He shook his head and she nodded. Yuna walked up onto the deck at the top of the ship. She sat down on the warm white metal and hugged her knees to her, staring out to the horizon. The wind flew through her short, light brown hair, whipping it behind her and tangling it into knots that later would prove to be nasty to get out. She didn't particularly care, though. She heard footsteps and a moment later Tidus sat down beside her wordlessly.
They sat in silence for a moment, until Yuna asked, "You're going to be okay, right?"
He nodded. "One more tally for Ari, but…hey. I'm sticking around, and that's all I need," he said, sighing contentedly. He stretched out and folded his arms behind his head. She lay down next to him, snuggling against his warm body. He put on arm around her and she closed her eyes. –The girls are going to fix everything, and life will be perfect…–