Hi! After a long break from writing, I have returned to my PC and (thanks to some VERY nice comments, reviews and emails) have decided to continue with this story! So lets see... where did I leave off...

Auron had just finished explaining to us all what happened when that mysterious voice said "I think that perhaps I should explain some things to you…". Now we go back to the end of chapter 3; Where Auron has just returned yet again, much to the shock of Wakka! I apologise for the lack of action in these chapters, I'm trying to give a solid basis for my storyline! Hehe :o)

So, thank you to all who've stuck with this story so far, and to everyone who has reviewed so far... I hope you enjoy chapter 5!

Disclaimer: All things FFX & FFX-2 are owned by Hironobu Sakaguchi, Yoshinori Kitase & Square-Enix


5. A Lonely Ghost's Return

Hmm... I've explained all that happened with the Fayth, so lets return to where we were. Wakka had almost collapsed from the shock. There I was, standing right in front of him, clear as day. After the day they just had, perhaps I should have chosen my timing a little more carefully. But the truth was, they knew this was possible. Whether they had allowed the thought to cross their minds or not, there was always the possibility of me returning as an unsent… although I certainly wouldn't have done so by choice.

You see, shortly after collapsing in the company of the Fayth, I had awoken deep within the Besaid Temple. In fact, I believe that I may have been underground, although I'm not entirely sure how that could have been. Nevertheless, I ventured aboveground… simply choosing one of the six paths before me, and climbing northward as quickly as I could. Imagine my shock to eventually find myself within a Chamber of the Fayth! I soon found myself within the Besaid Temple, to which I was quite relieved. My instincts had evidently lead me down the right path, after all… it seems I could have ended up in any of the six temples. After having been welcomed by many a confused face within the Temple grounds, I quickly made my way to Wakka's hut. Much had occurred that needed to be discussed.

(- - Flashback - -)

"I'm sorry Lu'…" Wakka spoke aloud to himself, knowing she couldn't hear him. He sat back down on his bad, and proceeded bury his head in between his knees again.

"Hmm… just a thought, but… maybe I could get my glasses back?" I had entered the hut shortly after Lulu was out of sight. Maybe it was better to be cautious for now.

Wakka looked up again, both his eyes and mouth wide open in pure shock and amazement.

"Wha…? LUUUUUUU!" Wakka shouted out in pure confusion, jumping up from his bed in fright. I could tell I needed to calm him down, and soon.

"Wakka, calm yourself down. Don't tell me you didn't even considered the possibility of this happening? This isn't the first time I have 'cheated' death, you know that well." I tried to speak in a slow, soft voice… in order to instil a calming influence on Wakka's mind.

"… I, s'pose... you're right ya… but you had no right sneaking up on me like d'at! After da' day we've had…" Wakka sat back down, slowing the pace of his speech, "We thought you were gone for good this time, ya?"

"Hmm… I apologise for the lack of concern, to be honest I don't even know how long I've been gone. It seemed pretty instantaneous." To be truthful, although it had felt as if I merely closed my eyes and then opened them again, it was very possible that I had been gone for days, maybe even weeks… I didn't even have an inkling.

"We… we found you this morning in your hut. Well, Yuna found you… oh man Auron, if you could only see the pain she was in, man! How could you do that to her again? So soon after he…" Wakka stopped suddenly, as though he were about to say something he would soon regret. Obviously this did no more than intrigue me. Who was this 'he', and what had he done to Yuna?

"…'He'? So soon after who… and what did he do to Yuna?" I didn't mean to intrude into anyone's business where I wasn't welcome, but this seemed important, and Wakka was starting to show signs of guilt.

"…I'm sorry man, but… we, we all decided not to tell you… till the time was right, ya? We didn't want to tell you anyt'ing, till we knew you were, for real… ya?" Wakka's eyes were full of regret; I could tell this was hard for him, for some reason.

"There is no need to apologise, I can understand fully why you kept it from me, but please… tell me what happened! It may be integral to the reason I've been brought here!" I pleaded with him, I could see he wanted to tell me, but there was still a small amount of uneasiness held within his facial expressions.

"… Oh man. It's, well…" Wakka took a deep breath. "He came back, Auron. After Yuna beat Vegnagun two years ago, he came back. Yuna was so happy; they were both, so happy. But… he vanished, about a year ago. We don't know what happened to him, but after a couple months… and no sign, we kinda assumed that… you know, he literally… vanished, again, ya?"

I couldn't believe my ears. I hadn't seen him for so long, even on the Farplane. In fact, after he vanished four years ago… he met us, but since then… nothing. It was as though he never existed, he just vanished form the Farplane, never to be seen again. It had worried us very much, but we had all hoped that perhaps they had found a way of giving him back to Yuna. To be truthful, we couldn't really do anything else but hope.

People like to believe that you can see things from the Farplane, but you can't. In fact, the only time I had seen Yuna since I was sent was actually within the Farplane when she beat Vegnagun two years ago. I had hoped so much that Tidus had been taken back to Spira, but when I arrived here… not more than two weeks ago, there was no sign of him. I certainly was not going to inform them that he wasn't in the Farplane though… I thought it would be far too much for Yuna to bare. To hear that he had been brought back to Spira… well it was excellent news. But that he had 'vanished' again a year ago, this was confusing. He certainly didn't return to the Farplane, so where did he go?

"… I see. So he is no longer in this world." I lifted my right hand up to my chin, and considered the situation within my mind. "You are sure?" I tried to keep my composure. Although I was truly overjoyed, I didn't wish to give away my phlegmatic disposition.

"Well, I suppose so. I mean, after three or four months of non-stop searching, we kinda just gave up… ya? I mean, it was all too much for Yuna to go through." Wakka spoke in a despondent manner. He didn't want to make it sound like they just gave up on finding Tidus, but the truth was that they did. After months of searching, there was no sign, not even a smidgen of evidence that could lead to his whereabouts. They felt as if they had no other choice. I looked across to Wakka, and let out a small sigh.

"I must confess, after him vanishing from the Farplane, I was a little concerned. But to know that he was in fact here, that brings me much satisfaction. However, what concerns me now… when he vanished from Spira…" I shook my head, "He didn't return to the Farplane. This much I can tell you for sure." I could see the disappointment in Wakka's eyes. He was yearning for news of Tidus, whether good or bad… but I had brought him nothing. His shoulders dipped, and his head turned towards the floor.

"Oh… well, I suppose no news can't be bad news, right? Oh man, I don't think Yuna could take that kind of news right now… she's still in pieces from what happened this morning." The worry in Wakka's voice was apparent, he didn't want to give Yuna more bad news, not today.

"That is fine, I will tell her, when the time is right. I must go to her now regardless, I feel I have some explaining to do… for my part in the pain she must be feeling. Please, go inform Lulu of my return, I wish to consult with the three of you at sunset, I feel we have much to discuss. We shall meet at the camp-fire." I felt that after all the information that I had learnt, I had finally found perhaps just a spark of a reason for my being here. I needed to confer with them on the matter, I felt that it was vitally important that we do it soon.

"No problem, I'll go tell Lu' now. Yuna is in the Inn resting, I'm sure she's rested enough by now though. I'll see you at sunset." Wakka rose from his seated position and left the hut, shaking his head as he left. Evidently today had been a log day already, and much, perhaps too much had happened to affect peoples emotions.

(- - End of flashback - -)

As I walked out of Wakka's hut, and slowly wandered towards the Inn, I began to ponder some things… regarding Tidus. I couldn't help but reason that I had been brought here for a distinct purpose, but the Fayth had not told me exactly what purpose. In fact, it had seemed as though the young boy had been particularly careful in what he did tell me, as if there were certain things he wished me not to know yet… or even to work out for myself.

It did seem, all of a sudden, that part of the reason I was here involved Tidus. If he vanished from Spira, but didn't return to the Farplane, that must mean he is lost somewhere, but where? I just couldn't help thinking that I was brought back in order to help find him.

I stopped walking, and shook my head. 'There is no use speculating yet' I thought, 'but I'm sure tonight, we will unearth some more information that will need to be considered.' I assured myself.

- - - -

After having walked on a little farther, I found myself at the Inn. Composing myself, I opened the door slowly. The last thing I wanted to do was startle her, after all… I was certain that today had been very emotionally draining for her. The last thing she needed was the shock of me jumping out on her.

I approached the desk and asked if she was still there. The woman behind the desk seemed oddly familiar, however I brushed this to the side of my thoughts. She quietly lead me through to a bed where Yuna was quietly sleeping. She seemed very peaceful, as though nothing had even happened today. I looked over to the nurse, sitting beside her, and she instantly read my thoughts.

"All day she's been sleeping whilst tossing and turning, mumbling in her sleep. This is the first time today that she's been able to sleep comfortably." She whispered across the bed.

"I'll come back a little later, when she is awake. I'd better let her rest while she can." I suggested to her.

As I walked towards the door, Yuna's eyes slowly opened, and she sat up in her bed. "Auron…? Is that… is that really you?"

Her weak, tired voice stopped me in my tracks. To be honest, all of a sudden I felt uneasy being there. I was still facing the door… and for some reason my mind was screaming at me to run through it. I took a deep breath however, and reluctantly turned around to face her.

"Yuna… are you feeling better?" I was desperately thinking of things to say, to be truthful I hadn't really spent much time thinking of what to say to her.

"Auron! I knew you'd be back! I just knew it. When I found you, I think I just broke down… they told me I said some pretty weird things…" Her reply greatly surprised me. I had expected her to be in shock; not dissimilar to how Wakka reacted. She actually seemed relieved by my appearance though, and this had surprised me a great deal.

"I pleases me that you seem more yourself. There are, some things... we must discuss..." I looked over to the nurse. Her face said it all.

"I'm afraid she really does need her rest, maybe the morning would be a better time?" The nurse suggested, standing from her chair. I sensed from her that she wanted me to leave, as she seemed to be moving towards the door.

"I will return at day-break, we will talk then." I looked over to her and smiled.

"No, please Auron... I'm not tired... I'm... ready... to talk... now..." With each following word her speech became softer and slower, until eventually she closed her eyes and drifted back into a peaceful sleep.

'I suppose we should still meet tonight... even it Yuna won't be there. There is much we all need to discuss...' I thought to myself as I left the Inn.

"Good night!" The receptionist shouted from a now almost fully closed door. Looking back, as the door slowly swung shut, I could just see her eyes and a smile looking through to me. I gestured with my hand, raising it to my head... and then bringing it back down to my side.

"I certainly hope so..." I muttered under my breath.

Right, it was long over-due, but there it was! Another chapter is in production, so hopefully it'll be up within the next few days!

Sorry to keep you all waiting, I intend to dedicate time to my stories now, because seriously I really enjoy writing them! Hope you all enjoyed it, it was a little longer than the previous chapters, so I hope it didn't drag on at all :o)

Okay, thanks for reading, and please review :o)

Thanks and be back soon!