They arrived at Luca some hours later. It was still bustling, perhaps now even more so. Children were running and playing, and families walked through the streets together, basking in the glorious summer sun. Vendors had set up along the streets, selling all sorts of things – food, potions, weapons and armour, trinkets – and people were gathered round them, some buying, others haggling and some merely browsing.

Yuna looked around, her eyes darting from one person to the next, just hoping that she'd catch a tiny glimpse of Tidus. He was nowhere to be seen. She reached for the potion.

"Please give me hope," she murmured as she looked into the clear turquoise liquid. She cupped it in her hands and could faintly feel warmth radiating from the glass bottle. She smiled and held the bottle more firmly, then continued down the street, stopping passers by to ask them if they'd seen a young, tanned man with shaggy blonde hair.

"Yunie!" called a voice in the distance. "Lulu! Wakka!"

It was Rikku. She was happy as ever, with not a care in the world. Yuna felt a sudden pang of guilt. She hadn't let her best friend know about the awful events that had transpired over the last month. She hadn't even given her a second thought. She suddenly felt like a terrible friend…

Yuna scanned the distance and saw Rikku ambling over towards the group. She held Mori close to her bosom in a cream coloured papoose. The little girl's arms were loose and feeling the air as if she was playing with it, and she was giggling.

"Hi everyone!" beamed Rikku. "How are things?"

Yuna felt her spirits drop even more as guilt tugged at her from within. Rikku was such a happy little thing and barely anything made her miserable, but this would break her heart. Rikku hated it when her friends were feeling sad, and Tidus was her friend too.

Yuna glanced at Lulu for a sign of how to go about this. She responded by giving Yuna a quick nod – that Rikku needed to know.

"I have to tell you something."

Yuna wrung her hands together nervously, her stomach forming a massive knot. Her eyes began to prick with tears. She began to sob.

"Yunie!" gasped Rikku, her eyes full of concern. "What is it?"

"Tidus and I… we… got separated. A couple of weeks ago he… he…"

A gentle hand squeezed her shoulder from behind.

"Yuna…" began Lulu. "It's okay. Everything will be okay. You've got Wakka and I. We will follow you to the ends of Spira if we have to."

"She's right!" chimed Wakka. "We'll never give up!"

Rikku held her baby daughter closer to her bosom, as if fearing that she would lose her.

"Yunie… I'm so sorry. What happened?" she asked. "Don't tell me here," she quickly added. "I know a quaint little café down at the waterfront. We could talk more there if you want."

"I'd like that," Yuna replied, a genuine smile tracing her lips this time.

Yuna peered at little Mori. She'd stopped playing and was beginning to doze, her eyelids starting to dip over her bright green irises. She definitely had her mother's Al-Bhed eyes. Her hair was the same colour as Rikku's too, but unlike her silky straight locks, Mori's was short and thick, bunched around her face in tight little curls. Her cheeks were chubby and rosy red. She looked beautiful.

Yuna began to lose herself as she dreamed of what her child would look like. Would it have her eyes and hair, or would it be like looking at Tidus? Would the baby actually look like either of them? Would it ever meet its father?

In the café, they were able to find a table in a secluded corner, overlooking the sea. A young waitress came over to them with a clipboard in her hands.

"Hello everyone, my name is Verlana and I will be your waitress for today. Are you ordering food or just drinks today?"

Wakka patted his stomach desperately.

"I'm starving. Shall we eat?"

"I don't mind," Yuna replied. "What about you, Lulu? Rikku?"

"I think we should eat," replied Lulu. "We haven't eaten a bite today and I'm beginning to feel drained."

"I'm quite hungry too," said Rikku. "I fed Mori and Jaggu this morning and forgot about me! Can you believe that?"

Jaggu was Rikku's partner. He too was an Al-Bhed, and worked on the docks as a builder and general maintenance man. He seemed nice, if a little on the quiet side, a trait that Yuna thought Rikku would never ever go for. But he made her happy, and that was all that mattered.

"Well, you're a scatterbrain so yeah, I can!" chortled Wakka, replying to Rikku.

Rikku laughed.

"Oh Wakka!" she giggled.

"Wakka, cut it out," snapped Lulu.

Yuna looked up at the waitress who appeared to be blushing. She was clutching her clipboard even more tightly than before.

"Could we have four menus please?" she asked.

"Sure thing. What would you like to drink?"

They ordered drinks. Moments later, Verlana reappeared with a tray of drinks in one hand and four menus in the other. Placing everything down on the table, she skipped off to wait on a couple sitting in the far corner. After they'd chosen and ordered their meals, Yuna told Rikku all about what happened that night.

"So now we're looking for him. I'm convinced he's still alive."

"Oh, Yunie…" she cried, her eyes sympathetic and warm. "You must be feeling so down."

"I am, in a way, but right now I'm full of hope and I'm going to hold on to it. Besides, I have this."

She fished the potion out of her backpack and handed it to Rikku.

"What's this?" she asked.

"It's nothing. Well, that's what we're guessing anyway. A kind lady handed it to me. She said it was a potion that gives hope to anyone who drinks it. But I don't need to. Just holding it makes me feel hopeful. We'll find him. I know we will."

"Too right!" exclaimed Rikku, fist-bumping the air. "I just wish I could come with you."

"It's okay," said Yuna. "Mori needs you."

"But I'll keep an eye out here for you. If I see him, or hear anything about where he might be, I'll let you know ASAP."

Their meals came. While Wakka wolfed his down, getting gravy all down his chin in the process, Yuna just played with hers, pushing it around the plate with her fork. She just couldn't eat. It didn't matter how hopeful she was; there was still that horrible pang of dread tugging away at her insides, and she wouldn't be able to shift it until she'd found Tidus safe and well.

"You need to eat," Lulu told her. "This is a hard journey to take, both physically and mentally. Just eat a few large mouthfuls. Please."

"I'll try," Yuna replied. "I need to think of my baby, after all."

She gulped down a few bites of food and swilled it down with a cool glass of water, then cupped her distended belly in her hands. She could feel faint movements from within; a life not yet begun. She needed to find Tidus; she needed to find him alive.