A/N: This is my take of the sequel to the much acclaimed Final Fantasy X (sans Tidus). I've written this quite a while now (and still not finished), I've only really mustered the courage to post it now. I'm writing for my enjoyment but I do hope you guys like it. :) Now, I should shut up. Please do enjoy.
Disclaimer: Alas, I own not any of the characters nor the main arc of the story. The OCs (and discrepancies) are all mine. Heh.
Prologue
"You there!" He heard a man's voice not far in the distance.
He seemed to be ordering around his subordinates evident in the amount of authority in his voice. His bellow echoed throughout the mountain.
Where am I? Was all he could think of. His body ached all over. Not a single muscle was spared the torment and agony that was too much to disregard. He tried to open his eyes. He felt… cold.
Was he submerged in snow? He mustered all of the strength that he had at that moment and opened his eyes. Although barely. All he could make out of the image before him was a stout man now crouched, his back to him. He was even bigger than he had thought. He donned a blue armour and carried a thick and enormous shell with various imprints on his back.
Methinks this man took the meaning of torture all too literally. He thought.
"You! Yes, you!" annoyance crept into the man's voice. He flinched at the loudness… or tried to. His body was too weak to even process reflex actions.
"You go and try to go into that cave. Look for the sphere! It's round! Gets it?"
He heard hurried footsteps muffled by the snow on the ground; seemed eager to follow the man's orders as if to avoid reprimand.
"Ahhh. Let's see what we've gots in here," the man started. He was still crouching beside him—oblivious to the state of the figure that lay half-conscious on the ground blanketed by snow.
He felt thick hands examine his pockets.
What the… is… His mind, too full of processing the wounds and the cold, could not fathom what was happening.
"Hrm. No valuables te loot? This is unbelievable. No spheres either. Just when this defenceless body is staring me in the face like that. I don't even have to fights! Useless."
A moment later, he felt the hefty man's scourge the insides of his pockets. He felt around.
"Ahh. This ring should do it!" he exclaimed. His gaze distracted by another valuable lying on the ground. "Oooh, another one!" he said excitedly.
He tried to speak. As if to say that no one has the right to touch it.
No… Not… the sword.
"This is much bettah that I had thought," he exclaimed while holding the scabbard.
He proceeded to touch the hilt…
A pause.
The larger figure loitered for a second and a moment later scrambled from the ground and ran off. There was no telling what he had seen or what he felt. But he took flight all too suddenly as the rapier fell to the ground; eager to be as far away from the source of horror as possible.
With this, all of his remaining strength finally failed him and he slipped into unconsciousness.