FFX-3 Chat

Chapter 13
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   The island was still far away, and even Tidus was not sure if they could reach the coastline. Their shark had run out of strength. It was floating on its back, stomach facing the sun. Tidus and Yuna were holding a pectoral fin and were talking to each other above the monster. The pyreflies which were escaping from the corpse were skimming Tidus before being carried away by the wind.

   “The scavengers should be here soon to devour it,” Yuna presaged while chattering. “We must move away.”

   The air was sweet, but the two of them had already spent too much time in the water. They were frozen and exhausted.

   Tidus acquiesced and firmed his grip on the fin. He pulled up his knees to his chest and pressed his sole again the side of the shark.

   “Let's go.”

   After a deep breath, he pressed on his legs and let go. He jumped backwards, and then started to swim towards the island. When he turned over Yuna, he saw her talking to the cadaver of the shark. Tidus whistled and waved to the young woman so that she joined him. She nodded and said farewell to their mount. He watched her coming closer slowly, swimming the breaststroke, and then they headed towards the island.

   The water was still deep.

   He was gazing at the progression of Yuna, who was moving on her back as of now. She was keeping a regular pace: she breathed out on two phases, then at the third one she stretched her arm backwards and breathed in deeply. He hoped that she could keep up like this much longer. If he had to come to her assistance, he wanted to keep his energy until the last minute.

   “Keep going, Yuna!”

   He talked to her when she breathed in, in order to not distract her.

   “Thank you!”

   She smiled at him, lost the pace of her breathing and swallowed water.

   She started to cough and spit out the water, and Tidus stretched his hand out to her. She was more tired than he had thought.

   “Sorry, I shouldn't have disrupted you.”

   She was now standing plumb, but was struggling to keep afloat. He placed himself behind her, passed his forearm under her chin and started to swim while supporting her.

   “I'm sorry...”

   “Don't worry. It’s easier like this, right?”

   “Yes, but I'm feeling guilty.”

   “I told you not to worry, really!”

   “Do I remove this?” she suggested while showing her large dress. “I have a swimsuit under it.”

   The item of clothing, which was floating around her, hindered her movements sometimes. It was starting to get in his way too.

   “Sure.”

   “Don't watch!” she said with a singing tone.

   “All right.”

   He averted his eyes. During a few moments, he felt her wriggling under his arm.

   “Okay, I'm done!”

   When he lowered his eyes, he discovered the back of Yuna’s neck, her dress rolled into a ball on her chest and her pale legs outstretched on the water’s surface.

   They remained silent a moment. Then:

   “Those monstrous sharks,” the young woman began, “there are none around Besaid. We must have moved far away from our island.”

   “Or maybe the storm dragged them away from their territory,” Tidus objected.

   “And they would have lost their way near Besaid?”

   “Yes, I think so. I wonder if we were that far away when we sank. It was dark, and then, with the morning mist, we might have not noticed the island.”

   “Do you think it's Besaid we're seeing right now?”

   “Yes, but you know it better than me, so if you say I'm wrong, I trust you.”

   He pivoted so that Yuna could see the island.

   “The shape is familiar, but something is wrong.”

   “What?”

   “The water is very cold. It's strange.”

   “Yes, I've also noticed,” the young man conceded.

   And this detail was worrying her. On the shallows which were surrounding Besaid, the water warmed up fast. But in the present case, her feet were freezing.

   “You know...” Yuna began with a hesitant tone.

   “Yes?” Tidus encouraged her.

   “We're not getting closer to the island.”

   She was right. They had swum in a straight line towards their destination, but Tidus had the impression of following a very different way.

   I do not have a good feeling about this...

   Was the current making them drift? If the movement of the tides was added to the equation, the danger was even more apparent. He stared desperately in the direction of the island. His right arm, with which he was swimming, was shivering with fatigue.

   He felt Yuna raising the one he had passed under her chin and pulling out her head.

   “Thank you for your help, I was able to rest. You'll move easier alone, right? I'll manage.”

   She had caught her breath.

   “Okay. I'll go ahead of you?”

   “Yes. It's better this way.”

   She left her dress rolled into a ball and smiled at Tidus. But she was appallingly pale, and her lips had blued.

   “Let's go!”

   He turned over in the direction of the island, which had moved away again.

   “Yes, let's go!” Yuna repeated behind him.

   He assented and started again to swim, slowly.

   He was wondering if, from now on, he could see the bottom. He plunged his head into the water to check. But as far as he was regarding, he was only meeting the darkness of the depths. Exactly like the day before, when he had returned to the world. He wondered if the ocean was going to engulf him afresh.

   Was his destiny to dissolve in the darkness with his new memories of Yuna?

   No way!

   He was sinking. He swam towards the surface and got his head above water. The island seemed always far.

   “Yuna...”

   He was exhausted.

   “Say, Yuna...”

   Tidus turned over. He was alone in the middle of the water.

   “No...”

   He took a deep breath to plunge, but stopped himself and whistled quietly. His throat and his lungs were burning him. His stomach was heavy like lead.

   "Okay, let's go!"

   In order to save Spira’s population from Sin's rage, Yuna had faced death, a smile on her face. Was it the same smile she had worn while they were swimming?

   She has not changed.

   It was the same for the distance between the island and them. Tidus felt overcome by distress.

   I cannot do anything from now on...

   He stared a last time at the so desired land. He wasn’t any closer than before, but he must have been seeing it from a different angle, because in the middle of the greenery, he discovered an orange mark. It was the colour of the metallic towers with which Besaid was dotted.

   “Yuna!” he yelled.

   He gathered his last ounce of strength and plunged into darkness.

   Yuna, Yuna, Yuna...

   He was ashamed. Two years earlier, he had come into this world, blown away by Sin and pushed by Auron, because Spira demanded a metamorphosis, and he was expected to be the catalyst. Was it the case again this time?

   Spira is demanding me. No, it is Yuna who needs me. She wanted to change, but she did not manage to do it. That is why I am here.

   He had plunged quite far under the surface, but did not see her yet. He raised his head: the white dress was drifting gently on the waves. He turned round and round and scrutinized the darkness. Unlike water in Blitzball spheres, seawater was scorching his eyes.
   He was hesitating over coming to the surface. He beat his foot and felt all his muscles tensing: they were screaming their exhaustion.

   He had already experienced this sensation during a match, at Zanarkand. His body was going to freeze, he knew it.

   In the middle of the match, he had slipped before the crowd of spectators. He had been a member of the team for a few months only.

   No...

   It did not happen. Only his experiences in Spira were real. The Zanarkand he remembered was just a dream.

   His chest was in pain. Was he drowning? Was he recalling a past accident?

Impossible to say.

   Dad...

   The day he felt himself drowning for the first time, he had called for his father, who had just put him into water so that he would learn how to swim. Tidus had swallowed water a lot of times before managing to wade into Zanarkand's waters. His memories were becoming more and more muddled, but he was seeing his father again, who was swimming like a fish, grabbing hold of him and getting him out of water.

   I am in pain, Dad. Help...

   His eyes closed, Tidus was scrutinizing the darkness in order to find his father.

   He is not here any more.

   He was mindful of being in the narrow space which separated dreams from reality. If he let go, he could avoid suffering.

   I am in pain...

   His body was burning him, his legs especially. The pain was real. His knees pulled up against his chest, in foetal position, he concentrated on this sensation. He was seeing himself drifting in the darkness.

   Who is there? Who is coming closer to me?

   He recognized a familiar impression, like the one he had felt when he had arrived in Spira the first time, mixed with Sin.

   He did not know any more if his eyelids were opened or closed, but he was catching sight of a white shape.

   Yuna?

   It was really her, locked in a shadow: a black and shiny shape, different from the darkness which was engulfing everything. It had the shape of a man, five times bigger than Yuna. The giant was holding the young woman in its arms and was coming closer to Tidus.

   Who is there?

   He screwed up his eyes. He was suffering. It was the reality.

   The giant he was observing was his father. He was swimming like a fish. In his right arm, he was holding Yuna. And in his left one...

   Thank you, Dad!