Lulu came out of the hut. She wasn’t crying, but her face was streaked and she wiped her eyes. "I don’t believe it," she stammered.
"Who is that?" Paine asked.
"I can’t believe it," Yuna muttered in bewilderment as the stranger approached.
"Yunie, mind telling us who that is?" Paine asked.
Yuna didn’t seem to notice Rikku or Paine’s questions. "He was dead, though…"
"Yuna, do you mind telling us who this person is?" Paine asked.
Lulu gasped.
"At least tell us this is a private staring party!" Rikku yelled.
"…Can’t be..." Yuna said.
"Look, tell us who the hell that is, before I—" Paine started, but was nearly knock over by Lulu as she ran over to the stranger.
"Chappu!" Lulu yelled, and hugged him.
"Never expected that to happen," Rikku said, as Lulu kissed Chappu again and again.
"Well, that answers that," Paine said.
"I though he’d be taller," Rikku commented.
"Lulu," Chappu said. "Why were you crying?"
"I had a baby…" she started, putting her face in his shoulder. No doubt she was crying again.
Chappu stroked her hair.
"It… there was a spider under a leaf… neither of us was fast enough."
"Neither of who?" he asked.
"Wakka and I were watching the baby," she said.
She never said it was his brother’s baby. He never asked. Somehow, leaving that alone disturbed the young women more than his return for the course of several minutes.
"Chappu," Lulu said, bringing everyone back to the more recent or situations. "Why are you here?"
"That’s complicated," he answered.
"It always is when someone comes back from the dead for so long," Paine answered.
"I don’t have all the answers, but…"
"But…?" Pane asked.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"I moved here while you were dead."
"Me too!" chirped Rikku.
He looked at Yuna with the same confused expression on his face.
"I’m Yuna, remember?" she said.
"Yuna… when I saw you last you were this tall," he said, gesturing with his hand. "You wouldn’t wear stuff like that at all. Mostly because it wouldn’t fit. Doesn’t look like it does now, ya?"
Rikku giggled and Paine smiled.
"Where did you come from?" Lulu asked hugging him from behind as he petted Yuna’s hair.
"The farplane," he said. Paine was about to tell him that was obvious when he continued. "In Guadosalam. You know, the one where you can go and talk to dead relatives if you’re nice to the Guado, ya? That place. I only heard about it before, but that’s where."
"How?" Rikku asked.
"Dunno. The whole city was all creepy. It was the middle of the night and people were watching me like I’d bite ‘em. Weird Guado. They had guards posted at the entrance to the city. They let me out with no problem but didn’t wanna talk or let me in at all. Heh. Not that I wanted to go back, ya?"
No one said anything, unable to understand any part of the story.
Lulu took this opportunity to silently return to the hut with her dying child.
"How long ago was it?" Chappu asked solemnly once Lulu was inside.
"It was this morning," Yuna said.
"Ah. Where’s my brother?"
"He’s in another village," Yuna said, seeing the worry on Chappu’s face. Sometimes Sin didn’t merely kill you.
"I don’t like the sound of this," Rikku said. "I mean, I’m glad you’re back now, Mr. Chappu, but this seems like a disaster waiting to happen."
"If it hasn’t already," Paine said.
"We should wait," Yuna said. "At least until Wakka returns, if not after the funeral."
"Yuna, you might want to remove Lulu from the hut for a while," Paine said, not looking at Yuna.
"Why?"
"That child has been suffering for a while. There’s no cure for Besaid Fang Spiders. We should give the child something more peaceful."
"Paine, what are you suggesting?"
"I’m suggesting we don’t leave it in agony until it can’t take it anymore. Do you have any idea what that venom does to your insides? While you’re still alive?"
"You said it was bitten this morning," Chappu said.
"It was," Yuna said.
"It should have died two hours afterwards. How is it still alive?"
"I don’t know, none of my spells worked on him."
"What the heck’s going on then?" Rikku asked.
"Something’s wrong with the farplane," Paine said. "From his story I’d say the Guado won’t make it easy for us to get inside the city."
"Who says we’re goin?" Yuna asked.
"Aren’t there other people in charge of the Guado acting like babies?" Rikku asked.
"So far—" Yuna started, when someone screaming came running up to her.
"Yuna! Yuna! There you are!"
"What is it?" she asked the villager, who was out of breath.
"We wanted to know where you were. That you’re safe. We killed it." He had to stop and pant for breath or pass out.
"Killed what?" Paine asked.
"Sinspawn. Freaked the heck outta us, ya? Just came outta nowhere. Wanted to know you guys were okay. You been a summoner and stuff."
"I’m fine."
"Who’s he?" the villager asked, pointing at Chappu.
"Well, tell you later," Rikku said. "Trust me, you’re not in the right mind or body to hear it."
"Weird thing. It was just like outta this crazy dream I had last night. I mean, crazy that sinspawn’d show up when there’s no sin, ya? Then it actually does! This island is crazy. I gotta take a vacation inland."
"Yunie?" Rikku asked.
"We wait for Wakka. And then we get Kimahri. Then we go to Guadosalam. With or without Lulu."