For you I'd wait 'til kingdom come,

until my day, my day is done.

And say you'll come and set me free,

just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.

Coldplay - 'Til Kingdom Come

Chapter 4

Conversations

As soon as the Celsius landed, Rikku ran straight into the village, hoping to get the first look at Vidina before anyone else could do so. Datto ran up to Yuna just as the rest of the Gullwings got off the Celsius.

"Yuna!" He said excitedly. "You've gotta see Wakka's kid! He already looks like a mini version of Wakka, ya?"

Yuna could feel her nerves tingle at the thought of seeing this baby and celebrating his new life. It was so fantastic to be back home! Her homesickness had hit her harder than she had thought. When everyone saw her run after Datto into the village, Shinra stood next to Paine with wires and electronic nubs in both hands.

"Heheheh," he giggled mischievously, running off behind Yuna.

"What's gotten into them?" Paine asked as she looked over at Buddy, who looked even more clueless.

"Who knows," he shrugged, rubbing his stomach uncomfortably. "Let's go, I'm starving."

As Yuna followed behind Datto and entered one of the huts, she saw the entire Besaid Aurochs blitzball team surrounding the baby and his mother. Lulu beamed in excitement when she caught sight of Yuna just as Wakka approached out of thin air.

"Yuna! You made it!" Wakka said in all his heartiness. "It's time Vidina met someone very special to us, ya?" He smiled and beckoned for her to sit by Lulu. Keepa and Jassu quickly moved out of the way to let her in. Yuna beamed when she finally caught sight of little Vidina, who smiled and waved his tiny hands in response.

"Oh, he's so beautiful, Lulu," Yuna said, smitten by the life that was being cradled in her former guardian's arms.

"Would you like to hold him?" Lulu asked. Yuna couldn't refuse and before she knew it, she was holding the newborn in her arms.

As she took in all of his beauty, she couldn't believe it. He was so small, so precious and somehow, he was larger than life. Her heart skipped a beat when he beamed at her and raised his little hand to feel out the contours of her face. He seemed to make the rest of the world disappear around her as they looked at each other. And for a split second, Yuna was mesmerized by the thought of motherhood. The thought of bringing another life into the world and caring for it with all her love. Every negative thought she had harbored within the past two years had disappeared within these past 15 seconds as she starred into the baby's glittering eyes.

After a few minutes of cooing and giggling with Vidina, Yuna gently handed him back to Lulu. The blitzball team had began to clear out, leaving the former summoner and guardian to themselves.

"How's the sphere hunting coming along?" Lulu asked as soon as the last blitzball player exited the hut.

"It's been great," Yuna said. "Everyday is an adventure and I'm really enjoying it." She looked at Lulu as the mage rocked back and forth on her heels, cradling Vidina to sleep.

"But something doesn't seem right," Lulu said as she smiled at her baby.

Yuna had always known how well Lulu perceived things, especially when it came to her. When Tidus came into the picture she was the first to notice their connection. It was always Lulu who she felt safe with; she was one of the few people who understood how deeply Yuna felt for Tidus, even though she said nothing of it.

"I didn't become a sphere hunter just to have a good time," Yuna said on impulse. Lulu raised her head and looked at her former summoner now. "Traveling with friends has been amazing but I actually started this journey because-"

"You wanted to find him," interrupted Lulu.

"Yeah," Yuna said quietly, her gaze now lingering on the ground before her.

When she really thought about it, this search was getting hopeless now that she knew who Shuyin was. He wasn't Tidus. In a sense, she almost felt embarrassed for having gone through all this just to look for him. What if he never really existed? That was a thought she refused to accept. But whenever she thought of her visions and dreams of Lenne and Shuyin, something inside her changed. This search wasn't without purpose; there was something out there. Whether it was the one she loved or a simple revelation, she was motivated enough to search for it.

She was momentarily distracted when she saw Lulu glide across the room and over to the crib as she placed little Vidina to sleep. She then made her way over to the couch and sat down beside Yuna.

"Yuna, what is it?" Lulu asked, concern adorning her elegant face. The sphere hunter smiled at her former guardian rather uneasily.

"There are a lot of things... that I've discovered recently," Yuna said. "It's changed my mind about everything." She could see Lulu's thoughtful expression from the corner of her eye and the mage took a moment to think before she responded.

"I don't mean to promote an idea of false hope," Lulu began, "but if the fayth still exist, he might still be alive. Have you ever thought about that?" She peered into Yuna's eyes, her gaze relentless but loving. "Keep to your search," she concluded. "You never know what you might find. There is always hope, no matter how grim the situation might be."

"Yeah, I understand," Yuna said coolly. Her attention was suddenly diverted when she heard someone call her from outside. She exchanged glaces with Lulu as they shrugged cluelessly.

"Yuna? YUNA!"

The familiar voice was coming from Brother. Yuna ran outside but found no one in the village. She heard Brother call her name again and followed in the direction of his voice. The Gullwings were gathered near the save sphere just outside the entry gates to the village. Something was wrong.

"Yuna! Come quick!" Brother shouted. When she came close enough, Buddy pulled her into what looked like a huddle.

"What's the matter?" Yuna asked nervously.

"Vegnagun is nowhere to be found," Paine said grimly.

"What do you mean?" She asked, now horrified.

"Remember how we snuck into the depths of Bevelle? We noticed that Vegnagun was missing, but we thought that someone moved it to another location," Rikku said informatively.

"But Shinra and I just checked out a load of data we received when he managed to compile information regarding what happened 1,000 years ago between Shuyin and Lenne, thanks to Maechen," Buddy said.

"We realized that it didn't make sense for Vegnagun to move from one place to another. Where else could it move? It's massive. Bevelle's underground was the deepest known location any machina of that multitude could be housed in," Shinra concluded.

"No..." Yuna said quietly. She took a minute to think of all the possible things that might happen because of this.

Would Spira be under attack again? Was this a universal threat after just two years of peace? It couldn't be. She knew of the tragedy that occurred between Shuyin and Lenne but she had no idea that his resentment would trail on a thousand years later. It was insane and it seemed illogical but if it were true, it would be a real problem. There was, however, one solution that came to mind. She realized that Lenne never had the chance to truly tell Shuyin how she felt. Almost every time Yuna put on the songstress dressphere, some part of Lenne appeared in her. If she could just let Shuyin know how much Lenne loved him, there would be a response.

"I need to talk to Shuyin," Yuna said after a moment later. Everyone looked at her as if she were Vegnagun itself.

"Are you crazy? You want to get yourself killed?" Asked Brother, horrified at the thought.

"No, no, no! You guys don't get it," Rikku interrupted. "Yunie's got a point. Remember the songstress dressphere? Lenne's emotions and thoughts are still contained in it. If Yunie put on that dressphere and came face-to-face with Vegnagun, it would have to stop. Isn't Shuyin the only one that can control it?"

"Yeah, but that's still risky," Paine said. "Although Lenne is the reason why he's doing all this. Yuna was right: it was too late before she could tell him how she really felt. If she could face him, it might change everything."

The words of Rikku and Paine made sense and everyone heard it. But they also knew that there needed to be another plan - a main plan, using the talking as back up in case something went wrong. They broke out of the huddle and sighed. This was going to take some serious thinking and there was no time to waste.

"We should get going," Buddy said a minute later. "We plan our moves before doing anything else. Yuna, you should let Wakka and Lulu know."

Yuna nodded in agreement and ran back into the village to give her sudden farewell.

Yuna couldn't fall asleep that night as she tossed and turned restlessly. She managed to lie still a few minutes later as she starred into the dark sky through the airship's glass ceiling. And then she started thinking.

It was only a few weeks ago when I saw that Kilika sphere. I couldn't take it. I ran out of the bridge and everyone saw how emotionally unprepared I was. I couldn't believe Shuyin was you and I was right. But now this? I have to worry about the world once more? Would there ever be time to focus on what I wanted? I've already gotten myself involved, but still.

She was angry. She could hear Barkeep cleaning up downstairs. This was all wrong. The world would still be in danger even if she pulled herself out of the trouble. But she had all the information and knew what had to be done. Despite the anger, she was also grateful the threat of Vegnagun went unheard of in the ears of the public. If word were to get out, panic would spread like a massive wildfire.

Before she knew it, her eyes were closing and her body let up. She realized how exhausted she was and after fighting off the temptation, she eventually drifted into sleep...

"Why do you always keep everything to yourself like that?" Tidus asked.

She looked away, defeated.

"I don't always pour my heart and soul out to people," she said a moment later. She felt herself tingle with embarrassment as the heat worked its way up to her now blushing cheeks. It was the first time she confessed this fact to someone and she wasn't ready for it.

"You make your perfections and faults seem as if they're a crime when they're not," he said nonchalantly as he continued. "I wanna know more about you and you keep pushing this high summoner crap on me. It's almost as if you were trying to avoid the subject." He now had his arms crossed across his chest as he raised an eyebrow at her.

She could sense the hint of frustration in his voice. He had every reason to be upset because he was right. He was special to her and he changed her life. Why was she treating him this way? Before settling with that thought, however, she was kind of irritated. Why was he angry with her? Wanting to keep things to herself was her own business, wasn't it?

"Why should you have a problem with how I keep certain things to myself?" She blurted. "Why does that matter to you? Who do you think you are?" As she said the words, the emotions flew out of her. She could see his calm and almost hurtful expression turn into one of irritation.

"You think it's a privilege to keep your feelings bottled up that way?" He asked sarcastically. "I know it hurts you even though you try to deny it. You don't think I notice it every time you talk to me? I see it in your eyes, Yuna. If you kept this going, you'd explode in no time. Why won't you just open up to me?"

Her intensifying emotions suddenly cooled down when she realized his request was more of a plea than anything else. Silence surrounded them once more. She gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," she said a moment later, "I'm just not used to this." She let her hands fall to her sides as she leaned back and looked at the night sky above. All while feeling the awkward burning of his stare from behind her. After a few minutes of silence, she heard the bustling of movement and realized he had seated himself down beside her. The sun would rise in a few hours but until then, the sky was a deep violet and the stars were even brighter tonight.

He suddenly laughed. She looked at him, obviously lost in translation. He continued to laugh, almost hysterically this time. As she stared at him in disbelief, a smile spread across her face and then she was giggling. They both laughed alongside each other for no apparent reason and it felt good. The laughing simmered down after a moment and the air began to compliment the soothing silence of the long night.

"It's okay," he said a moment later. "You shouldn't have to hide what you feel, you know? Let it out! It'll make you feel a lot better. And I'm here for you and you can tell me anything you want." He smiled and entangled her hand in his.

"Thanks," she smiled.

He moved closer, wrapping his arms around her tightly, making her feel safe and warm in his embrace. She remembered the glow in his eyes when he promised to stand beside her on this journey until the end, wherever it would be. And as dawn approached, both summoner and guardian sat on the grass amidst the cliff's edge and waited aimlessly for another day.

Yuna opened her eyes only to find herself blinded by darkness. Searching hopelessly for any source of light there was, she closed her eyes again and opened them once more, this time waking herself from the dream she had only a moment ago. She was still full of thought. Dawn was approaching and she was alone in the cabin. She looked up at the sky as weary clouds began to form and then sat herself upright, trying to grasp the warmth of his touch and the softness in his voice.

She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged herself in hopes of bringing back that indescribable feeling but nothing came. She hugged herself tighter, almost hurting herself in the process but all that resulted was physical strain.

It was only a memory. A memory like everything else.

Your words were like a dream, she heard the voice sing. One thousand embraces will cradle you. They'll hold you forever.

She could feel tears stream down her face as she heard the familiar tune. And as morning crept in, Yuna lay motionless in bed as she stared into the gloomy sky and refused to let go of her memories.

Author's Note:

Aw, Yunie. I hope Tidus comes home soon. And people have to break down once in a while to get back up again and keep moving. Also, I don't think I'll go into detail with Vegnagun; I'm only forwarding to the end because I need the story to lead to other things, as you'll see in later chapters.