Disclaimer: Still not mine

I've gotten people complaining about sudden slash. I did mention slash was possible and the story info is now marked with the threesome as the pairing. Will not go beyond kissing though, nothing graphic.

I got Yojimbo! Not that he's very useful, took all my Gil but got him for 190060. Gone back to the islands to capture the fiends and got on the ferry, it lets you have a go at the Jecht shot. But it's impossible, they flash up too fast and it can take several times pressing the three buttons together to register, especially when hitting up and right at the same time. Very frustrating, every time I almost get it, I get caught out on the upper right. My controller is new so that can't be the issue.

Chapter 9

They emerged from the tunned and stared out at the barren plain as thunder crashed, lightning striking a nearby tower.

"Oh, no…We're here," Rikku cowered as lightning flashed again.

"How are we supposed to cross that?" Tidus gulped, give him an ocean or river ay day, this was suicide!

"See the lightning rod towers?" Lulu pointed at the nearest one. "The lightning is drawn to them…hopefully."

"We head north, not too near and not too far from the towers, ya?" Wakka grinned at Tidus who nodded.

"Meaning we should avoid wide, open areas," Lulu stared out at the plain, she had travelled this before but if anything the storms seemed worse now than in her memory, that wasn't possible, was it?

Rikku crouched low, cowering. "I think I forgot something in Guadosalam."

"Nice knowing you," Auron stated coolly and she straightened up.

"Okay, okay! I'll go!" she grabbed onto Harry's arm and he winced at the strength of her grip.

"Are you scared of the lightning?" Harry asked as they moved for the first tower, wincing every time her grip tightened as lightning flashed.

"Mm-hm. When I was little, a fiend attacked me while I was swimming at the beach. My brother tried to beat it back with a spell. (Squeaks at another thunderclap) But he missed and hit me instead! It was a Thunder spell — 'Bzzzzzzt!'"

"Ouch!" Tidus winced in sympathy as they reached the tower without anyone getting hit, thankfully.

"I've been scared of lightning ever since," she admitted.

"But it can be effective. Magic is effective against marine fiends," Harry pointed out gently.

"My brother said that, too."

"You should learn some spells, too," Lulu offered, having overheard. She did feel sorry for what the girl had experience, but she would never make it if she didn't confront her fear.

"Aaaaah! "

"Hmm… Maybe later," Lulu moved off.

Harry pried Rikku's hand off his arm and moved to face her. "Would you like me to cast a spell on you to help?"

"Can you?"

"Yes, it's a variation of the NulShock spell except it can withstand multiple hits."

"Yes please!"

"Alright," he quickly cast it on her and then to be safe he cast it on Yuna and Tidus as well, the others had already started for the next tower. "Ready?"

Tidus grinned and held his hand out to Yuna who took it. "Go!" He took off running, Yuna laughing as he pulled her along. Harry followed, Rikku holding tight to his hand as they ran through the storm.

Auron turned to see the four younger ones running through the storm. A lightning bolt nearly hit Yuna only to reflect off an invisible shield, a Nul spell? That would only block one hit though, meaning she was no exposed and yet she seemed completely unworried.

"Who built these towers anyway?" Tidus asked as they paused to catch their breath.

"They used to say, "Plains of lightning, plains of thunder, those who cross are torn asunder." It was almost impossible to cross the plains alive. Bilghen, an Al Bhed appeared built the towers that served as lightning rods across the plains, allowing relatively safe passage across the plains. He was building a tower when he was struck and killed by lightning," Harry answered. It had been during the war and he had been hired by Bevelle to create the safe path so that they could cross to get to Zanarkand more easily. And it hadn't been natural lightning that had hit him but a spell, Yu had sent a team to stop him. They had been too late, but they had stopped him from completing the task as six more towers were to have been built.

Auron glanced at Harry, he knew things about history no one else seemed to know. He did not think he was unsent but how did he know?

They were half way to the Al Bhed inn when they came across another traveller sheltering beneath a tower.

"Shelinda!" Tidus greeted and she smiled.

"Ah, good day!" She bowed to them. "Is it true? I heard that Maester Seymour and Lady Yuna are to be wed! It's such great news! I have to tell everyone!" she was smiling happily, excited by the news and Yuna looked away, not wanting to spoil her joy.

"Where'd you hear that?" Harry asked, no one outside of their party and Seymour knew so how had word spread so quickly? Was Seymour trying to back Yuna into a corner and make her say yes? It seemed like it.

"From the Guado. They were all very excited!"

"Eh. I'm afraid you heard a little wrong. Yuna's gonna turn him down," Tidus squeezed her hand

"Oh…Really?" Shelinda frowned, had she done the wrong thing in spreading the word?

"I am sorry Shelinda, but the Guado have spoken prematurely. Maester Seymour did ask me but I have not given him my answer yet," Yuna spoke up gently, not wanting her to feel bad.

"I see… That's unfortunate. I'm sure that people will rejoice all over Spira should you say yes."

They quickly moved on and Tidus glanced at Yuna. "Why not tell her if you're saying yes or not?" he asked at the next tower, hanging back to let the others get ahead and Yuna blushed.

"I did not think it right to tell her before giving Maester Seymour my answer."

"You're not reconsidering are you?" He asked and she looked up at him.

"I…"

"Yuna…" he leant in, heart pounding in his chest, he saw her eyes widen but she didn't try to move away. Their lips touched gently, hesitantly, nothing like the kiss he'd shared with Harry but just as special as their first kiss. He pulled back and stared down at her, lifting a hand to gently brush her hair back. "Don't chose for the people, chose for you. It's your life, your story," he whispered.

Yuna stared up at Tidus, shocked. He'd kissed her…her first kiss. Growing up, training to be a Summoner, with Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri hovering…even if there had been a boy she liked there never would have been the chance. Was this love? She didn't know. Being with Tidus always cheered her up and made her feel safe…but so did Harry. And she had seen them in the woods that night, they had looked so peaceful together that she had thought maybe they were together but then Tidus wouldn't have kissed her, would he? "Tidus?"

"I care about you Yuna, a lot," he answered honestly. "Just like I care about Harry…and he cares about us."

Her eyes widened as she realised what he meant…him and Harry?

"I…"

"What's the hold up?" Wakka yelled and Tidus stepped back, taking her hand to run again, leaving her with a mess of confusion.

There was no more chance to talk as they made their way across the plains to the travel agency. She moved to the door, forcing them to follow her inside. "Do you have a room available?" she asked at the desk.

"Ah, Lady Summoner. Yes, just over that way," the woman behind the desk indicated the right corridor and Yuna smiled.

"Thank you," she quickly headed up the hall.

"Uh, Yuna?" Wakka called after her.

"It's not like her," Lulu frowned, she would give her some time and then go after her.

Tidus winced and glanced at Harry. "I…uh, think this might be my fault," he whispered, and Harry looked at him before going to the desk to get another room, taking Tidus to it for privacy.

"What happened?" he asked once they were sitting on the bed.

"I kissed her and then…told her how we both feel about her and each other."

"Ah, that explains the way she looked at me," Harry wrapped an arm around Tidus, pulling him in to rest against his side. "We'll give her time to think, sounds like it may have been a bit of a shock to her."

"Guess I did kind of just rush," Tidus admitted and Harry kissed the top of his head.

"You're teenagers, it's allowed. At least your first kiss wasn't wet."

"Wet?" Tidus glanced up at him and Harry shrugged.

"She was crying…it's complicated," he shrugged and Tidus shook his head, pretty much everything was complicated when it came to Harry, but he didn't mind.

"Could we…kiss more?" Tidus asked and Harry answered by kissing him. Kissing Harry and Yuna were definitely his new favourite things to do. They stayed in the room for a while before Harry went looking for Yuna.

Harry knocked on the door to her room and the door swung open.

Yuna looked up, startled, and quickly turned the sphere off. "Y..yes?"

"Hey, you okay?" Harry asked, moving closer and she quickly put the sphere in her small bag. "That was Lord Jyscal, wasn't it?"

"Ah… The sphere is his will… It says, 'Take care of my son.'"

Harry shook his head, "You're a lousy liar Yuna." He gently took the sphere and activated it, listening as Jyscal pleaded for someone to stop his son. "Marrying Seymour isn't the answer Yuna. Men like him will do anything for power."

"But…how do you know so much?" she asked, and Harry sighed, casting a silencing spell on the room.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked, and she nodded firmly. Harry sat on the bed and she sat beside him, waiting. So he told her what he had told Tidus back in the forest.

"Eight thousand years…" she couldn't imagine such a number! To have lived so long…to have seen and done so much…her mind boggled. This was more confusing than what Tidus had confessed. "Then…you have seen Zanarkand, the one Tidus is from?"

"Yes, I was there, up until the last months of the war with Bevelle and then I slept until shortly before coming to Besaid." It was not his place to tell her the truth of Tidus' Zanarkand.

"Tidus…he said…that you both…"

"Care deeply for you?" he offered, and she nodded. "We do," he promised. She shifted to face him, studying him and he let her. She hesitated but then took a deep breath and leant in to press her lips to his, needing to know.

Harry let her kiss him, responding enough to let her know he was interested but he let her keep control of what happened.

She pulled back after a little bit, trying to get her thoughts together. It felt good, different to Tidus but then again he had kissed her while she had kissed Harry so maybe that was part of it. She looked up, meeting his eyes, and she knew. "I will not marry Seymour," she whispered. "You were right, I need to do what makes me happy and he would not. She glanced at the sphere. "Is there anything we can do?"

Harry shrugged. "Experience says Bevelle is corrupt and won't care unless it becomes public and there is an outcry, even then they may be able to spin events to make Seymour come out looking good."

"Oh."

"You can't fix the world Yuna. Let's focus on beating Sin without you dying first."

"You're right," she nodded. She wished now that Seymour was not at the Temple, that she could hold off on giving him her answer until after Sin was gone.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Wakka came to the door and froze, seeing Yuna leaning against Harry, her head on his shoulder as they talked softly. He had thought it was Tidus he needed to warn off, not Harry! He felt like storming in but then he got a look at Yuna's face and he couldn't do it, she looked happy, genuinely happy. He hadn't seen a look of such contentment on her face, ever. He backed away silently and went to make sure they weren't disturbed.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Tidus waited till Wakka left and then moved to the doorway, smiling when he saw them. "Room for three?" he asked nervously, and Yuna looked up, holding her hand out to him. Tidus walked over and sat beside her, taking her hand in his and she surprised him by kissing him briefly.

"Always," she told him and Tidus grinned. "I have decided not to marry Seymour," she told him, and his grin widened before he kissed her.

"Did you really want to sleep?" Harry asked and she shook her head.

"I will tell them I am ready to continue," she stood and then turned to look at them, blushing lightly. "Will you…"

Harry chuckled and then snagged Tidus' wrist, tugging him closer before kissing him.

Yuna blushed as she watched them before giggling softly. "I'll see you out there," she grabbed her bag and left the room.

"I can't believe that worked," Tidus admitted in awe.

Harry chuckled. "I'm just glad it did." He kissed Tidus again and then sobered. "She needs to know Tidus, it's your secret to tell but you can't leave her to find out the hard way if…if we fail to find a way to save you." He wanted at least a human life with them both. If only he could make another Philosopher's Stone, but the needed ingredients had been lost as the world shrank and became Spira. Could the Elixir of Life save Tidus? If it would have been able to give Riddle's spirit a new body he didn't see why it couldn't have done the same for Tidus when he already had a body that was partially real. "Come one, don't want to keep them waiting."

They left the bedroom to find everyone waiting. Harry recast the spell, over the whole party this time, and then they left.

Auron moved to walk with Harry, somehow they had become the defacto leaders of the group when it wasn't something that was for Yuna to decide. "The Guado are really trying to spread the news of the wedding as far and as quickly as possible. Rin had heard and offered congratulations."

"Seymour's trying to give her no other choice," Harry spat, angry and Auron nodded. "Great."

"Everyone…wait," Yuna called, and they paused.

"What's up?" Wakka asked.

"I have something to tell you."

"Here?" Lulu stared at her, couldn't it wait until they were away from the plains?

"We're almost out of here! Let's go!" Rikku pleaded, Harry's spell kept her safe but that didn't stop the noise being scary.

"I have to say it now!"

Auron indicated the nearby shelter of a rock ledge. "Over there." They all moved under it and Yuna took a deep breath.

"I've decided to marry."

"I thought so," Lulu shook her head as Tidus stared at her with wide, hurt eyes.

"B-But why? Why'd you change your mind?" Wakka asked in confusion, had what he'd seen not meant what he thought.

"I haven't. I will not marry Maester Seymour," she stated, confusing everyone before she smiled at Harry and Tidus, glad they had given her the courage to do what she wanted. "If I am to marry then it will be Harry and Tidus," she announced firmly.

Dead silence met her announcement, everyone shocked…well except Harry. He had guessed it was coming.

Auron glanced form Yuna to Tidus and then Harry. He had not seen that coming. He had thought Yuna and Tidus and had grieved for how that would end, though he had hoped they would be reunited in the Farplane. Now, they would leave Harry behind to grieve for them. "Very well." What else could he saw? "Shall we continue?"

Yuna nodded, taking Harry and Tidus' hands before heading off. It was a relief when they finally left the Thunder Plains and entered the Macalania Woods. It was nice and peaceful, especially after the never-ending Thunder and as night fell they made camp. Yuna put her bedroll between Harry and Tidus and no one commented.

The next morning they continued through the woods, enjoying the peace that was only broken by a handful of fiends until a familiar man came running towards them.

"Hey! You, have you seen Dona?" Barthello called once he recognised them and was close enough.

"Dona? Can't say I have," Tidus answered him.

"What's up?" Wakka asked in concern, how could a Guardian not know where their Summoner was?

"We got separated on the way here. Damn it all! I've got to find her!"

"Calm down," Harry stated firmly, hitting him with a calming charm.

"But, if anything happens to her…"

"Running around in a panic is not going to help. Right now, you have to keep cool, and search," Auron stepped forward.

"But–"

"Guard your emotions, then guard your summoner."

"You're right," he slumped slightly in defeat.

"Do you want help looking?" Harry offered gently, sensing the poor man's distress. They could spare some time to search the woods with him.

"No, I've taken up enough of your time. Thank you, Sir Auron, Guardian." He bowed to Harry and Auron and then took off again. Rikku took a step forward, after him, but then stopped.

"What's up?" Wakka glanced at her and she shrugged.

"Oh, I just wanted to wish him luck," she sent a thoughtful look after Barthello.

As they moved on Harry shifted to walk beside her. "You think your people have taken her?" he asked softly, and she started but then nodded. "I've been meaning to ask," he pulled out one of his guns and ejected the magazine. "Ever seen one of these before?"

Rikku took it and turned it around in her hands, getting a feel for it. "It's very light."

"It's empty. I can conjure them, but they don't work as well as the handmade ones, but they can't be found these days, for obvious reasons."

"Maybe…we've collected a lot of machina over the last thousand years. You can use that?"

"Yeah, I like guns, handy for any fiends swords can't reach," he shrugged and holstered it.

"What about the teachings?"

"Why should I obey the teachings of a dead man?" Harry asked and then moved up, leaving her to think about what he'd said at the end. Rikku would be the easiest to get thinking since most Al Bhed didn't really follow Yevon.

They eventually stopped when Auron did, the man looking around. "Wait. It is here…somewhere."

"What's here?" Tidus asked.

"Something you should see," Auron told him.

"But, Sir Auron…" Yuna trailed off and the gruff man nodded to her.

"It won't take long." He suddenly turned and hacked through fallen tree debris to reveal a watery glade.

"This place… It's just water, isn't it?" Tidus asked and Harry moved to the water, running his fingers through it.

"This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people's memories," he answered, knowing the feel of that kind of magic. He leapt back as a giant blob rose from the water.

"What's that?" Wakka demanded, readying his ball.

"Fiends are also attracted to these places," Auron answered as they prepared to fight. It was more of annoyance than a threat with three people of varying ability when it came to healing. Its ability to adapt to elemental spells was what made the fight last a while as they had to watch carefully to see which it was weak too at any moment but finally they beat it, revealing a sphere in the water.

"Whoa, this is old! Don't know if you can play it back," Wakka pointed out as he looked it over.

Auron looked at Tidus. "Jecht left it here ten years ago. Play it back."

Wakka handed it over and Tidus hesitated before activating it, watching his Father with Auron and Braska on their Pilgrimage. He wasn't sure what to think of his Old Man's last words. Harry gently clasped Tidus' shoulder before ushering the others away, sensing he needed a moment alone but Auron hung back.

"Jecht loved you."

"Oh, come on, please!" Tidus shook his head, his Old Man barely tolerated him, always berating him and putting him down.

"He just didn't know how to express it, he said."

"Enough about my old man, okay?" Tidus snapped.

"I just thought you should know," Auron had never been good at this bit, even when Tidus was younger he'd never known how to tell the boy his Father had loved him.

"Okay," he looked away and Auron left him alone. "Thanks," he whispered before closing his eyes. Why did it hurt? Wasn't like either of them was a real person. If the dream ended none of this would matter, right?

TBC…