Those Who Come Closer

Chapter 2

There was a grand party in Besaid that night. All celebrated the return of Tidus; the happiness that brought added onto the already bursting ecstasy of Sin's demise. The 'group' sat on the shore near a campfire, all exchanging tales of the past week, which was surprisingly eventful.

Tidus, sitting next to Yuna, looked around at his teammates and smiled, "How long has it been, anyway?"

Lulu replied, "It's been one week today."

He thought his eyes popped out of his head, "That's it? It felt much longer than that…"

Rikku, with a mouthful of berries, said in a muffle, "Wot happened to you anyway?"

He leaned his head back, "It's a long story…"

"Well, dis is a campfire ain't it? Tell the story then, ya?" Wakka said, ready to listen intently.

"Well…" He began, closing his eyes to remember…

~;.-.;~

After I jumped from the airship, I joined up with Auron, Braska, and my old man. It was almost happy, I stood there…felt like a family almost. But then I noticed something was wrong. My body stopped fading… and I fell through the sky.

I didn't know where I was when I woke up. It was dark…completely dark. It was like a black void of… of nothing…

"Hey."

It was then… I saw a Fayth again. It was so strange… he did the prayer movement…

"Thank you, for letting us rest… but even though the dreaming has stopped… you remain."

I was just as confused as he sounded so I said nothing and just listened.

"You killed Sin, destroyed Yu Yevon… ended Spira's circle of suffering… perhaps you weren't just a dream. You were the dream to end all dreaming…"

It was then that an image of another Fayth showed. The same Fayth that gave us the Ifrit aeon. He repeated words he had spoken to us before…

"Sin swam in the sea near Zanarkand. Perhaps the waking dream eased its suffering. Your father touched Sin and became real that night, foundering in the seas of Spira. How sad now, that he is caught in the tragic spiral. He is Sin. He is lost."

Then…the Fayth disappeared, leaving only the other Fayth. He looked me in the eye…

"Your father became real because he touched Sin. Although he was created a dream, he entered our world, and had such a great impact…he was no longer just a dream. He became Sin."

Another image of the same Fayth appeared before me…

And he repeated the same words he spoke before…

"We've been dreaming so long... we're tired. Would you and your father... Would you let us rest? Both you and your father have been touched by Sin. Sin, the one around whom all Spira--the spiral--revolves."

That image faded again… it was slowly making sense.

"You and your father were both tainted by Sin, and therefore became more than just dreams…but while your father became Sin, you were the one to lead the destruction of Sin."

One last image showed, of Shiva's Fayth…

And she spoke, repeating her words too, to help me to understand.

"Even we were once human. That is why we must dream. Let us summon a sea in a new dream world. A new sea for you to swim."

She, too, faded then…I pieced everything together…

When Sin attacked my Zanarkand, I was taken with him, to Spira. And being in contact with Sin made me reality…

So while the other dreams went to a new dream world…

I remained in Spira…

…the Fayth boy disappeared and suddenly it was so cold… I curled into a ball to keep warm…and fell asleep. I didn't wake up for days, it seemed… till one day…today…

I woke up…and that was about it.

~;.-.;~

"And now I'm sittin here with the group again…" Tidus smiled and looked up at the sky.

"And Sin is gone now, forever…" Rikku said, a grin on her face.

"Everyone's moving on, building new homes… new lives." Lulu sighed. "It's so much easier now knowing that Sin won't come by unexpected and destroy it all again."

"Much easier, ya? People can live in peace now. And no one follows Yevon no more, the temples are closed for good." Wakka smirked, "No more priests, monks, or maesters… and Bevelle's been opened up again."

"So, basically… the world is at peace forever, and everyone's happy?" Tidus laughed, "And all it took was saving the world. Wonder if it'll last?"

"Let's hope so. If Sin ever returned…" Yuna shook her head, "It couldn't. Yu Yevon has been destroyed, so now the world is ours again…and we're going to do our best to keep it safe and ensure that Sin should never return." She looked into the campfire solemnly, "Now is the time to relax."

Tidus yawned, "Speaking of relaxing, I'm getting tired. Anyone else ready to head back?"

One by one, each member of the group nodded and slowly stood. Lulu took a moment to cast Watera on the fire, sending a billow of smoke into the air. Tidus stood and held a hand down to Yuna, helping her up.

"You seemed quiet tonight." He looked down at her. "Are you alright?"

"Hm. I'm fine, I guess I'm just overwhelmed. I've missed you so much, and…" She sighed and hugged him, "I was afraid."

He hugged her back, "It's fine now. I'm here and I swear I'm staying this time."

Yuna nodded and pulled away, smiling, "Let's go back to the village and get some rest."

He gave a nod and they headed back to the village with the others.