Part II

Chapter 19

'Where... Am I?'

He woke up and opened his eyes slowly due to the intense luminosity of the place he was (wherever that was). Getting up, he stretched his arms and looked around; looked like some sort of a room. The single window was opened, hence the luminosity; there was a couch and a small table. He gave some steps towards the window, but then noticed another person. A man, lying (sleeping?) on the same bed as he was; he looked familiar, but he was too dizzy to think clearly.

'Wait... What?!'

He felt like he had been punched in the stomach as he realized everything around him. The room, the man, the light, himself standing there. Was he really there? 'Did it work?' It must have worked! Unless he wouldn't be there, right? He looked at his hands, and then to his arms. They were solid, complete. Then he made sure that all of his body was there. And it was; he wasn't fading. He was really there.

He sited on the bed again and looked to the man. It was Ject, his old man there. He couldn't believe in his eyes.

- I'm back! - he shouted, has he got up in a jump of pure happiness and adrenaline. He walked to the window and watched the world outside. It was a city, a big city. From there he could see people on the streets, walking and running, busy with their own lives, among them some priests. The buildings were all tall and most of them were white or bright colored. He remembered seeing some place similar to that 'Now, where was it?...'

- Bevelle again.

He was so concentrated on his thoughts that the sudden voice behind him almost made him jump with fright. He turned back to see that his old man had waken and was now standing. 'Bevelle! That's it!' He remembered: when trying to stop that marriage, it was in Bevelle; he didn't see a lot of the city back then, but enough to identify those white yevonite buildings.

- Eh, calm down, I didn't mean to scare you.

- Ject?

- Hmm. - he nodded - Son?

He nodded back. They had some moments of silence, both looking to the ground, none of them knowing what to say.

- I can't believe we're back. - finally Ject broke the awkward silence.

- Neither do I... But... We are. - He raised his head. - Now you believe! This way back... It worked!

- I guess I really did. I'm... impressed. - He raised his head to his son, but then he just looked back down to his hands - I don't know what to say… or think.

- Yeah, I...

They were both extremely confused. It felt like just moments ago they were in that strange sort of place, and now, there they were. Spira! Walking, talking, breathing. Alive; and the most important: real. They tried to think about what to do next, but it was impossible; the possibilities were just too many. Tidus walked to the window and looked to the city again.

- Bevelle... - something didn't make sense - Why are there so many priests?

- Well, Bevelle is the capital of... - Ject started, but Tidus interrupted him.

- Yeah, yeah. the capital of Yevon and religion and that stuff... but, I mean, there is no Sin anymore…. Right?

- Good point... - Ject was also too immerged in his own thoughts to think about that right now.

'Why are here so many priests? How much time had passed since?...'

Another punch in the stomach. How much time had he spent on that place? He began to panic when he realized the impact that time had on... everything. How had Spira changed while he was gone, how had the people changed? The people... 'Damn!...' Memories of the pilgrimage assaulted him: the Al-Bhed boat, Besaid, the Blitzball tournament, the Calm Lands... and his companions during all those moments, Wakka, Rikku, Yuna... 'Yuna!' Where was she? Was she alright? 'Does she still?...' Memories of his last moments with them, in the ship's deck, what she said back there... The sound of her voice, marked, painted permanently on his memories... Were those words still valid now?

- Hey, ahm... are you alright, boy? - Ject asked, waking up Tidus form his thoughts - You got all pale suddenly.

- Yeah, I.. ahm... - he sited on the bed - How much time did we spent there?

- I don't know... I haven't thought about it. - now Ject was the one looking through the window - Hhmm... If there are still priests, I suppose that we haven't missed a lot.

- I hope you're right... - Tidus said in an almost inaudible murmur. He sited on the bed, trying to decide what to do next. His first impulse was to run to Besaid, to try to find Yuna. 'Does she still lives there?' But he was as scared as excited to meet Yuna; how would be her reaction to him? To his presence in Spira (considering that he should be dead...)? And again, her last words to him echoed in his head. He gave a loud frustrated sigh and laid on the bed.

- Shouldn't you be jumpin' around in happiness, boy? - Ject turned his back to the window and looked to Tidus, confused.

- Yeah, but... - Tidus sited down on the border of the bed, with his elbows resting on his knees and his eyes on his hands - this is all too weird. I mean, I'm happy I'm here, but now I feel kinda lost...

They heard the door opening and turned around to see who it was. They saw a tall man, slightly pale with black hair and a scar on his right eye entering in the room.

- So, you're awake already. - the man greeted, with a mocking smile on his face. - Had a good sleep?

- Who are you? - Tidus asked, half scared and getting up.

- Hey, no need to be offensive, calm down, newbies. - the man laughed - Name's Marckus. Nice to meet you. - he took a small bow - One of you should be... Tidus, right? And the other of you should be Ject.

- Are you the guy who brought us back?... - Ject asked, also a little scared with the man.

- Yes, I am. Do I get a reward for that? - he joke, but neither Tidus nor Ject reacted. - Not even a friendly hug? Bah...

Then two other people entered in the room: a brown haired man and an aggressive looking woman.

- Already awake, uh? - the woman said as she looked at the two newcomers.

- Awake and breathing, yep. - Marckus answered. - Guys, these are Josh and Celia, Josh, Celia, those are Tidus and Ject. Don't ask me which one is who because I haven't found that yet.

A moment of silence followed. Tidus and Ject were trying to understand what was happening, and Josh and Celia were inspecting them.

- So... ahm... I'm Ject. - he decided to start - who are they? - He asked Marckus, pointing to Josh and Celia with his head.

- They're our compatriots! - Marckus joked.

- Uh? - Tidus was getting more confused as every second passed.

- What he means in that we're like you guys. - the man named Josh talked as he walked closer to Tidus and Ject - People from Zanarkand who ended up in Spira.

Tidus sited on the bed again.

- You mean... the 'living Zanarkand'? Not the ruins?

- Yes, the city that never sleeps! - Marckus said with enthusiasm, but then sited heavily on the couch - The city that was never real at all!

- But how?... - he looked up to the people in front of him. They were from Zanarkand? His Zanarkand? How was that possible?

- What if we start from the beginning? - Marckus talked.

- Great idea. - Ject grunted, getting annoyed with Marckus arrogant attitude, as he leaned his back on the wall that had the window and crossed him arms on his chest.

Celia sited on the other end of the couch and Josh sited on the ground, both waiting to hear the story of Dream Zanarkand and the Fayth all over again.

- Let's start with the basics. - Marckus started - As you may know, the Zanarkand we know isn't the ruined city that rests here in Spira. Actually, our Zanarkand never existed at all.

- Now, the history lesson... - Celia said, impatiently.

- Yes, the history lesson - Marckus looked to Celia with a mocking smile - Maybe our friend here wants to explain it to our newbies? So she doesn't get too bored?...

- I pass... - Celia answered and closed her eyes.

- So, where was I? - Marckus continued - Yeah, right, Dream Zanarkand. About a thousand years ago there was this huge war between Bevelle and Zanarkand...

- The Machina war... - Tidus said.

- Yes. I guess you've heard of it before here in Spira right? - Marckus asked; both Tidus and Ject nodded. - So, during this was, Zanarkand was destroyed and by the same time, Sin appears for the first time. People think that Sin is a punishment for the war, for the misuse of machinas or whatever... But the truth is that Sin was the last attempt of Zanarkand to survive... The leader of Zanarkand gathered the few survivors of the city to summon the most powerful aeon ever, so that that aeon could protect Zanarkand.

- They summoned Sin. The people of the real Zanarkand become Fayth, and Yevon summoned Sin... - Tidus talked - Yeah, we know that part of the story.

- What?... - Marckus looked surprised, or even shocked. Josh and Celia showed similar reactions - How do you know that?

- The Fayth told us. - Ject informed - We know all that. Yevon summoning Sin, Sin destroying Bevelle and Zanarkand, then Yevon summons the city... Yeah, we have already had some 'history lessons' before.

- I must admit, I'm surprised. - Marckus changed his position and was now with his elbows on his knees and his head resting on his hands. He was staring at the two newcomers, curious. - Why did the Fayth told you that?

- Because they wanted us to know the truth, I guess. - Ject answered.

- Why wouldn't they tell us? - Tidus asked.

- Hmm... - Marckus was thinking.

- They never told us. - Josh talked. - Only Marckus... and now you.

- What more do you know? - Celia asked.

- We know that our Zanarkand wasn't real, and we weren't real either. Also, the only way to really defeat Sin was to end the dreaming of the Fayth. - Tidus talked.

- And the whole Sin thing... like, the fact that he reborns because he takes over the final Aeon, and all that stuff... - Ject added.

Marckus woke up from his thoughts.

- Looks like you know a lot. Really a lot. But why would the Fayth want you to know the truth?...

- So we could kill Sin! - Tidus said, enthusiastically. Marckus, Josh and Celia looked at him, incredulous.

- Yeah, right. - Marckus laughed - Now, seriously, why did they told you all that?

- What's the problem with killing Sin? - Ject asked, confused.

- None that I know about. But I never thought that the Fayth would do that... - Marckus said.

- Well, why not? - Tidus asked, almost rhetorically - It worked.

Now everyone in the room (except for Ject) was staring at Tidus.

- What? Did I say something?... - he was confused with all the sudden stares and incredulous looks he was receiving.

- You're saying you defeated Sin? - Celia asked, with a bit of sarcasm on her voice.

- Like, for real? - Josh added.

- Yes... - Tidus said, carefully.

There was another moment of awkward silence in the room.

- That's impossible. For that you would have to defeat Yunalesca and then Yevon himself. - Marckus finally broke the silence.

- Well, I did! - Tidus shouted - I mean, we did!

- You guys did it? How? How could two men defeat such power? - Celia asked, not believing in what Tidus was saying at all.

- I didn't make anything. - Ject said immediately.

- No... not me and him. - Tidus continued - I was a guardian of a summoner from Besaid called Yuna. It was her and the rest of the guardians who did it. We fought against Yunalesca and...

- Wait, you're saying that Lady Yuna really defeated Sin?! - Marckus couldn't believe in his hears.

- Well, yeah. You know who she is? - Ject asked.

- Everybody knows who she is. - Josh answered - She's Spira's greatest heroine!

- Well, duh. - Celia added - She defeated Sin forever, and came out of the fight alive... or at least she says so.

- We didn't believe in her... I mean, we know that the only way of defeating Sin was to beat the crap out of Yunalesca and Yevon... - Marckus talked - But we never believed that she had really done it.

- Why not? - Tidus asked, standing up.

- Because it was too much for just one summoner, you know? - Marckus said - Also, how would she know how to defeat Sin? She is just another Summoner trained by the priests to obey blindly to the teachings... and the teachings say to go to Zanarkand and summon the final Aeon. Period. I believe that being a rebel to the religion isn't thought at the temples.

- Hey, don't say that! - Tidus said, half angry - Yuna isn't any... blind Yevon follower! She's smart, intelligent, okay? She really did it!

- I guess... - Marckus said, ignoring Tidus' offensive attitude - I'm impressed, once again. Really. I think it all makes sense now...

- Yes... - Tidus said, calming down.

- Hmm... So, Seeing that you already know about the Dream/real Zanarkand thing, I think we can skip some chapters of the history lesson - Marckus said, re-starting the previous conversation - We all in this room once lived in Dream Zanarkand, we were part of that aeon-city. And, in some point of time, we all got transported to Spira when Sin attacked Dream Zanarkand.

- So, you mean that Sin attacked Zanarkand more times than the ones that brought me and Tidus to Spira?

- Yes. I believe that the first time was when I was brought to Spira... - Marckus answered - Sin attacked Dream Zanarkand for the first time 700 years ago; then was when I got to Spira. Then Sin attacked again 400 years ago, then 11 years ago... and the most recent, and last attack, was made about 1 or 2 years ago...

- The first attack brought Marckus. - Celia informed - The second brought me, the third brought Josh and you - she said, pointing to Ject - And the last one brought you back - she looked to Tidus.

- Me and Josh? - Ject inquired.

- Yeah... - Josh got up - We were on the same Blitzball team, remember?

Ject looked to Josh, inspecting him; and then he remembered why he looked familiar. He played for the Abes!

- Yeah, I remember you! - Ject said, incredulous. - I thought that I was the only survivor!

- So did I. - he said.

- Well, family reunions for later, okay? - Marckus said - I say we should leave Bevelle for now.

- Yes, we don't want any guards coming after us again... - Celia agreed, slightly amused with the thought.

- What? Guards? - Tidus asked.

- Eh... We might have some trouble with two missing priests in Bevelle... - Marckus laughed - I'll explain it once we're out of town... I wanted to explain it today, but we wasted enough time talking about Lady Yuna. Let's go now.

- Wait! About Yuna, do you know where she is? - Tidus asked - And how much time had passed since she defeated Sin?

- I have no idea about where she might be. - Marckus answered as he got ready to leave - And, it passed about 1 year and a half since Sin's death.

- Ready to leave? - Celia asked.

- Let's go! - Marckus got out of the room, followed by Josh, Celia, and finally Tidus and Ject.

End of Chapter 19

Hey, I'm back... sort of... I think I owe you (all the people who have been following this story) an explanation to the fact that I said that the new chapter wouln't take a long time, and then just post it a month (or more, I'm not sure) later. A disaster happened; my lovely PC died! RIP... So, besides thet fact that I've lost all my stuff (including a new chapter for this story (the first version of this one that you've jusst read))I have to use my old computer (a.k.a. 'the slowest computer on Earth') to write the story, but just the thought of turning that thing on sucks the patience out of me (try watching a snail's race in slow motion, that's the feeling). And more: I don't even dare trying to connect this PC to the Internet, so I have to access the Internet in a NetCafe (or WebCafe, whatever). But I did it, I wrote this chapter! And hopefully I'll borrow a PC from my father soon, so I hope that the new chapter will be up soon... but I can't promisse anything!

Anyway... Woooooot! Tidus is back!

Enjoy :)