First off, I'd like to apologize to everyone for not updating for awhile. However, you know how that old equation goes… School + Homework (equals) No Free Time. Anyways, as much as I'd love to be writing, I've just been slammed by schoolwork and haven't done much fic-wise. But I know I'm just making excuses, so, enough about that.

Yes Baralai is going to show up in this chappie, and I apologize in advance if his character might seem a tad (or really in later chapters) OOC, but I need to make it that way for the plot so…sorry again. In addition, for those who didn't read the summary, this is not a Yunalai fic. It might seem that way, but I don't support the pairing (and I apologize to those reading this who do).

Also, I would like to thank Sirea the Beautiful Disaster and KateF their immensely helpful reviews. Thank you!

(Takes deep breath) Well, I guess that's about it for now, I'm sorry for ranting so long…enjoy everyone!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything remotely connected to FFX or X-2 (except my Zanarkand Abes necklace…my precious…) However, I do enjoy using the characters for my own personal enjoyment, so please don't sue!

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Chapter 2- Back to Besaid

Tidus had no clue exactly when he was slain, but he finally knew he had when his mind began to return. Bathed in a white light, he peered at his own hands. Relieved to no longer have flippers, his stomach sank when he realized that in a matter of moments he would simply return to Spira again as a fiend. Cursing Seymour, he scowled and waited for his return to the tainted Farplane.

However, instead of returning, eight figures appeared before him. Tidus instantly recognized the figure in the center as the Fayth child Bahamut, so he naturally assumed the others were the Fayths of the other seven Aeons.

"Are you sure this is the one Bahamut? He sure doesn't look like the one who shall save our Farplane."

"He may not be our first choice, but he's all we have now. Don't forget, my brothers, he aided High Summoner Yuna in her quest to exterminate Sin forever. We should not judge him so harshly." Bahamut then turned to Tidus. "As we speak Seymour is still in control of the Farplane—and has been for the past year."

"Whoa! Wait a moment here!" Tidus interjected, confused. "I was a fiend for an entire year?" The Fayths solemnly looked at each other and nodded.

"You could not keep track of time due to your fiendish form. But that is not our dilemma here. Seymour has requested that we send him back to Spira with full consciousness—like we had planned for you. However, we all know that would spell nothing but disaster, but the spirits cannot take this much longer. Many more deceased citizens of Spira have been brought here in the last year, and we cannot allow them to continue suffering. It is our duty as Fayths to keep the spirits of the Farplane safe and to let them rest." Bahamut sighed.

"So as you can see, we are put in quite a bind here. What's worse is that the citizens of Spira have no clue this is going on, so they cannot stop the influx of new spirits to the Farplane. Even if they did, the Unsents would simply wander Spira as fiends anyway, so we cannot even fix that." The Fayth paused to rest. "But, this is where you come in Tidus. At this moment, we have gathered all of our strength together in order to bring you back to Spira—as a human. We need to warn anyone and everyone in Spira of this threat. If worse comes to worse, we may have to revive Seymour in order to rid him of the Farplane. If that does indeed happen, Spira and her people are going to need all the help they can get in order to stop him. Please Tidus…we beg you to help us save Spira!" Tidus knelt down to the child's height and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I promise you Bahamut; we'll fight against Seymour and defeat him. …But what happens then? Won't he just come back to the Farplane then?"

"Don't worry, we Fayth have the power to destroy a spirit's pyreflies and force them to leave for good. However, we do not use it unless absolutely necessary. Even to Seymour, it was our duty to give him a chance to rest. But now that we see that that will never happen, we know what we must do now. However, against his powerful "negative energy" pyreflies, even our powers are not strong enough to overcome them. Once they are gone, we can get rid of Seymour for good."

"We cannot say when the time to fight him will come, but it will come. Just send him back to us and we'll take care of the rest." Tidus rose and met the eyes of all eight Fayths. I swear to all of you I won't let you down. Have at least a little faith in me, okay?" Bahamut nodded his hooded head and returned to the line of the other Fayths. The others Fayths simply said nothing as they spread their arms wide and began to sing the Hymn of the Fayth in their eerily beautiful voices. As soon as the first note was sung, Tidus lost consciousness.

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"Alright boys, huddle up! We got a tournament to win this year, and I know we're never gonna win if we keep playing the way we are now! So get to it boys—practice until you faint if you gotta!" Wakka, captain of the Besaid Aurochs called to his teammates. He reached into a fishing net and passed out blitzballs to each of the team members.

Wakka himself grabbed a ball and began to drill with his goalie, Keepa. Keepa himself was a good blitzer, and was able to block most of Wakka's shots—except one.

"Oops, sorry Wakka. Lemme go get that." Wakka held his arm out to stop the blitz player, staring out at the sea.

"No, I will. …Hey, do you see that thing floatin' there in the water?" Keepa raised a hand to his forehead and squinted to see better.

"Well I guess so. It's kinda hard to see though, isn't it?" Wakka kicked off his sandals and dove into the beach water.

"I'm gonna go check it out. Tell the boys I'll be back in a moment."

"H-Hey! Watch it captain! It might be a fiend!" Wakka treaded water for a second to reply,

"You doubtin' my fighting skills? I helped defeat Sin three years ago ya know." Keepa simply laughed.

"And you've been using it as an excuse ever since. Just be careful, ya?" Wakka plowed through the water, swimming rapidly though it with his strong arms and legs. It wasn't until the object came into view that Wakka realized what—or who it was. Shocked and surprised, Wakka almost swallowed a gallon of water by gasping. Hoisting the unconscious Tidus onto his back, Wakka swam back to the shore and cancelled the rest of practice.

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Tidus shifted uncomfortably, rolling over to his side and moaning. He heard voices around him, unable to identify them. Somehow they seemed familiar…

"Lu! Lu! He's gettin' up!" Tidus groaned again and gradually opened an eye. Both eyes snapped open when he saw the figures of Lulu and Wakka hovering over him.

"…Wakka? Lulu?" he asked uncertainly, not sure whether this was real or some sort of odd dream.

"You up brudda? You sure gave us a scare floatin in the ocean like that…" Lulu frowned and looked down at the purple carpet beneath her.

"It just so hard to believe…that you're back. You just popped up out of nowhere, didn't you?" She shook her head gently, her beaded hair clicking lightly, "It's just like that day three years ago, isn't it? Its funny how history seems to repeat itself." Tidus moved into a sitting position and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Guess I did. Sorry if I startled you…but I'm back now so everything's okay again right?" Wakka grinned and trapped Tidus into his traditional headlock.

"Well everything's gonna be alright for the Aurochs now that you're back! With you back now, we'll be sure to take Cup home!" Tidus smiled, relived that nothing had changed since the last time he had been to Spira. He playfully pushed Wakka off him and asked,

"Speaking of coming back…where's Yuna? Heh…I guess I owe her an explanation…don't I?" Lulu and Wakka exchanged uneasy glances.

"Sorry brudda. When you promised to come back a year ago, and you didn't…it shook her up pretty badly. But you're welcome to come see her—she's helping us watch Vidina today." Tidus' raised an eyebrow.

"Vidina? Who's Vidina?"

"You'll see." Lulu replied in an amused tone, striding out of the tent. Wakka slapped him on the back and motioned for Tidus to follow.

As Tidus followed Lulu and Wakka up the stairs to the temple, Tidus found his heart thumping wildly in his chest. How would Yuna react to his return? Would she be upset that he never returned a year before or would she just be so elated she would be willing to forgive him? Despite having no control over the matter, guilt racked though every part of Tidus for not being able to be there for Yuna, especially when she needed him most. Lulu pushed open the large stone doors and traveled into the poorly lit grand room and cautiously followed Lulu and Wakka into one of the tiny rooms toward the back.

There, sitting on a cushion in the back of the room was Yuna, cradling a small child. Tidus didn't even recognize her at first, but her green-blue eyes did not lie. To Tidus, her slightly revealing clothing was a quite a large (and, he guiltily admitted, welcome) change. Tidus stepped forward carefully while Lulu seized the child from Yuna's arms. Tidus could tell that Yuna too was questioning in her mind whether or not this was all happening. Time froze for an eternity, each one of them studying the other, barely believing that this was truly happening. However, Yuna was the first to speak.

"Is…is that you? …Tidus, is it really you?" Emotions surged though the young blitzer like a storm. He no longer wanted to speak, but to simply take Yuna into his arms and apologize over and over again for ever leaving her. However, his fantasies were cut short by an opening of the door while a young man in Yevonite robes came into the room. Yuna's ears perked up and turned her head away from the blonde blitzer.

The young man's hair stood out first to Tidus, shining silver despite clearly being at a young age. A navy headband was wrapped around his tan-skinned head. He wore a green and orange robe, with symbols of Yevon dotting it on the chest. Traces of blue and yellow could be found around the sleeves.

"Oh you're having company Yuna? Pardon me, I should have knocked." Yuna shook her head and stood to greet him.

"No Baralai, Lulu and Wakka were just coming here to pick up Vidina, that's all." The young man named Baralai quickly glanced around as his eyes landed on Tidus. Tidus' eyes involuntarily narrowed at the young man, already disliking him.

"And who might this be? You certainly don't look like you're from around here." Tidus gritted his teeth at the Yevonite's proper tone of voice.

"That's because I'm not. The name's Tidus, so make sure you don't forget it." Baralai flinched at Tidus' rough tone, but chose to ignore him.

"Pardon me Yuna, but is your cousin Rikku here yet? The meeting in Bevelle begins tomorrow and I cannot afford to be late."

"She's here, don't worry. Go finish packing—I have to say hello." Baralai nodded and strode over to Yuna, lightly pecking her on the cheek.

"Very well then, I'll meet you there soon." And without another word, Baralai gracefully left the room, his eyes settling on Tidus one more time before he was completely gone.

Tidus stared at Yuna in utter confusion. Just who was this guy—and what was his relationship to Yuna? On the bright side, he was relived to hear that Rikku was here. Thinking of the hyper Al-Bhed almost like his little sister, he knew he could count on her to straighten everything out. Tidus calmed slightly, figuring everything was just a simple mistake. Yuna, feeling uneasy under Tidus' penetrating gaze, mumbled an apology and left the room. Tidus watched her go and sighed, flopping down on a cushion.

"Well…that went well, didn't it?" Tidus ran a hand through his shaggy golden locks and rose to go follow the former summoner.

"Hey wait! Aren't you gonna say hello?" Wakka asked. Tidus cocked his head slightly.

"Say hello? To who?" Wakka turned to Lulu and lifted the small child from her arms, standing next to Tidus. His eyes danced with pride as he looked down on his son.

"He's cute, ya? Looks just like me."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on there Wakka. You have a son?"

"Sure I do. His name's Vidina. You wanna hold him?" Tidus took an anxious step back.

"Ahh…I think I'll pass. I don't exactly do kids." Wakka chuckled and held out Vidina, laughing internally watching Tidus' uneasy expression while he accepted the child.

"Wakka, I'm gonna drop him…" Wakka just chuckled again.

"No you're not—see? You're doin' just fine brudda." After growing accustomed to the small child in his arms, Tidus calmed down. He peered down at the tiny thing, with tiny fingers and tiny toes. He smiled slightly while Vidina gurgled something nonsensical, staring up at him with his small eyes.

"So Wakka…if you're the father…" Tidus curiously asked, shifting the child's weight in his arms.

"I'm the mother." Lulu shot him a cautionary glare, warning him not to say a word. "And I don't want to hear any of your comments either."

"I didn't say anything!" Tidus shot back, shaking his head. Even though Lulu was still the same Lulu, he could definitely see some minor changes at least—her tone had become much less sarcastic and cold, and Tidus could even swear he could see some of the edge and pain gone from her crimson eyes. He had once heard that having a child changes everything, but he had never thought it to be true. However, if having a child could change someone like Lulu, Tidus knew it had to be right. Handing Vidina back to Lulu, he approached the door and waved back to Wakka and Lulu.

"I'm gonna go to the beach and see if I can catch Rikku. I'll come and meet you guys later!" Without another word, Tidus jogged out of the temple and down to the beach, hoping to find some sign of the airship. By the time he had reached the edge of the island's tiny jungle, he could see the giant hulking scarlet machina parked at the shore, barely touching the coast. As he got closer, he peered around to see if there were any signs of Yuna or Baralai. He was about to give up when something crashed into his side, clinging onto it for dear life.

"Tidus! You're back! You're back! You're back!" The blonde blitzer peered down to see Rikku peering up at him with her spiraled emerald eyes. She leapt off him and began to walk in circles around him, surveying him.

"Hmm…are you sure you're back? Are you gonna disappear again?" Rikku scratched her chin in thought. "Or maybe I'm hallucinating! That might be a possibility..."

"You're not hallucinating Rikku." Tidus groaned at the young girl's farfetched idea.

"Well I shouldn't be listening to you right? I mean, if I'm hallucinating, then my hallucination isn't going to be telling me the truth is it?" Rikku's face scrunched up in utter confusion. "But maybe I should be listening to you…maybe this is some kind of prophetic dream! Like you've come back from the dead to warn us about some sort disaster! Are we all gonna die? Huh, huh?" Tidus shook his head, amazed at how Rikku could be right and wrong at the same time.

"I don't know about that last part, I assure you I'm 100 authentic…well…I hope so at least. But I know I don't plan on leaving anytime soon." Rikku returned in front of him, facing him.

"Hmm…I still need to make sure you're not all ghosty here…" Rikku's face brightened as she stepped in front of him and slapped him upside the head. Tidus yelped and rubbed his throbbing head.

"Ow hey! What was that for?" Rikku nodded in satisfaction.

"That proves it then, you're real enough for now. C'mon, we still got a couple minutes before Yuna and Baralai show up—I'll catch ya up on everything that's been going on here. Come on!" Tidus watched as Rikku cheerily darted down the beach and boarded the airship. Tidus stared up at the remodeled beast in wonder and hesitantly followed after her. The pair made their way to the elevator and hopped off at the cabin. Tidus gazed around in awe at the large sleeping/dining area. He was even more awed at the sight of an azure hypello at the counter.

"Two lunches please Barkeep! We're starving!"

"Ahh…better make that three lunches. Three years without food can make you a little hungry." Tidus joked.

"Ish not a problem." The hypello responded, setting off to work. Rikku sighed to herself, thinking.

"Three years huh…it's been such a long time…" Tidus nodded in agreement.

"I know. What's worse is that I'm burdened with this guilt for leaving Yuna…I didn't want to leave her—you think if I had a choice, I would have? But it was her life or mine…so I chose mine." Rikku placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know, and it's not your fault. It's just that…well…" Rikku sighed glumly. "You're kind of late." Tidus stared at her questioningly, urging her to continue. "Well…ahh…I don't know if you've met the guy yet but…Baralai is kinda…well he's…"

"Spit it out Rikku! Who is Baralai?" Rikku shook her head in frustration. She inhaled deeply to calm herself and replied,

"Baralai is Yuna's fiancée." At that very second, that moment when the word "fiancée" left Rikku's mouth, Tidus' heart stopped beating. His chest clenched and his stomach rose up to his throat and lodged itself there. He no longer had an appetite.

'How…? How could this happen…? It's not…it's not possible!' After Tidus had not spoken for a long while, Rikku solemnly continued,

"I mean, it was only official a month or so ago…but Baralai has been around here a while. He's the Praetor of New Yevon. It's kinda like the old Yevon, but I still think they're up to no good…" Tidus wasn't even listening. The new words that Rikku spit out meant nothing to Tidus—his mind was only focusing on that one word… 'fiancée'.

"Well, you see…after Vegnagun fell, the three main groups of Spira began to hold weekly meetings in Bevelle, to better unite Spira. The Youth League, New Yevon, and the Machine Faction all took part in them. The people of Spira were finally glad to have their world restored to some order—especially after all the fighting between the three factions. After a few meetings, Baralai proposed to Yuna, saying that it could unite Spira even further, and that it would be both a celebration of their love and one that finally signified that Spira was finally back to normal. Yuna was hesitant at first, but she accepted quicker than I thought she would. Heck, I didn't even think she was going to accept!" Rikku inhaled deeply and continued,

"Anyway, about a year ago the base that the Youth League was building in Kilika was destroyed—due to a fiend attack. No one knows exactly what happened, but the base and most of Kilika was totaled. Man that village has the worst luck huh? Moving along, Nooj stopped going to the meetings to help rebuild Kilika and sent one of the Youth League captains to substitute as a representative for the Youth League organization." Rikku then shuddered, "I wouldn't go messing around with that guy if I were you…they say he's one of the toughest men you'll ever meet. Apparently he used to be a captain back when the Crusaders were still around." Rikku exhaled glumly. "So…that's about it I guess. For now at least…" Tidus managed to glance at her and mumble,

"You know none of that meant anything to me." Rikku seemed confused for a moment, but then the thought hit her.

"Right…you weren't here when all of that happened huh?" Rikku's face lit up as a thought occurred to her. She jogged up the stairs to where three beds laid neatly in a row. Rikku hurled herself under one of them and began to throw items around frantically, digging like a machina in Bikanel. She was still loudly rummaging under the middle bed before the cool voice of Baralai echoed from the elevator,

"Are you there Rikku? I would like to leave soon if possible." Rikku yelped in shock and banged her head against the bottom of the bed. Tidus grinned slightly as she yelped again in pain. However, it was soon followed by a cheer of triumph as she came out with a shining blue sphere in her hands. The elevator doors began to open as Rikku gasped in fright and pitched the sphere down to Tidus. Tidus leapt out of his seat just in time to grab it.

"Hide it quick! Everything will make sense once you watch it! Meet me back here tonight—I'll be back by then and we can discuss this further!" Tidus quickly stashed the item in his pocket just as the elevator doors cam to a full stop.

"Just thought I'd have a quick lunch before I left. Sorry about the wait, let's go now hmm?" Rikku suggested hurriedly. Baralai examined her calculatingly before replying,

"Oh very well. I'll see you in a few days love." Baralai said curtly, pecking Yuna on the lips and following Rikku out onto the elevator. Tidus tore his gaze away from the sickening display and watched Baralai leave, silently swearing at him as he went. When the iron doors shut, only Tidus and Yuna were left. Tidus could only find himself staring at her, cursing himself for losing her.

"Yuna look…"

"You know, I should be going…" she said flightily, cutting him off. She began to head towards the elevator, but Tidus quickly seized her hand to stop her. She whirled around, stunned at the sudden action.

"Listen to me! I'm never going to forgive myself if you can't find it in your heart to forgive me. I didn't leave on purpose—I didn't fail to show up a year ago on purpose. You have to understand that I had no choice in the matter! If I had any option at all, you know I would have come straight back to you, right?" Yuna looked away nervously. Tidus could tell she was in no mood to answer, so he regretfully released her hand. After taking one last long glance at him, she strode over to the elevator and disappeared from sight.

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Feel free to review if it so pleases you. However, all flames sent to me will be instantly extinguished by my buddy Shiva.

-Spiran Summoner