Chapter 1
The plan was simple: infiltrate the base, retrieve the staff, and get out. Sure, beating the baddies were on their list, but it counted as a minor part of the mission. The problem was getting in the base to begin with.
Yuna took her staff where ever she went. However, some time during the night, in the woods, Al Bhed thieves (rare as they are) took it while everyone was asleep. The good news was Auron woke up just in time to get a vague glimpse of who they were. The bad news: when he tried to pursue the criminals, he ended up tripping over Wakka. Why Wakka decided to sleep in the middle of the path to begin with, he refused to say. Anyway, the next morning the group traveled to the nearest town and asked around about the offenders. Even given the hazy description, nearly every person in that town, even the children, was able to identify the culprits.
"It was those Al Bhed bandits!" A woman of four said in disgust.
"Them rotten Al Bhed thieves." An old man answered with a sickened expression.
"Those icky Al Bhed."
"The Al Bhed criminals!"
"The Al Bhed."
"Those Al Bhed."
"Them Al Bhed."
When the group met just outside of town, where Rikku was hiding for fear of prejudice, they all reluctantly shared their newfound knowledge. "Really?" Rikku asked, disappointed. Just as reluctantly, everyone, but Auron and Kimari, nodded their heads.
"Hey, don't feel down!" Tidus grinned. "I mean, this could work out, right? The authorities I ran into said that the only reason they hadn't arrested them yet was because they couldn't figure out how to get inside the base. But you could, right?"
Rikku sighed. "I guess I could try."
"All right, then—let's go!" Tidus started walking in a random direction. "Now the guy said it was this way…."
"Just one thing." Auron began. "Why did you have a run-in with authority?"
Tidus immediately frowned as he hesitated to answer. "Just ran into him."
"That lie." Kimari stated, helpfully.
Between clenched teeth and with frustration, he snapped, "No, it's not."
"Tidus, why? We're all curious." A gentle voice asked.
Tidus turned around and looked into the dual-colored eyes of Yuna. Her innocent, kind eyes were those that no one could say no to. He sighed. "I…kinda…set one of their chocobos free, all right? But it's okay, their not mad anymore."
"How's dat, man?" Wakka queried, raising an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, people around here are very serious 'bout their chocobos."
Tidus frown, again. "I may or may not have made a deal with them that may or may not be involving the Al Bhed thieves, okay?" He said quickly.
The group groaned miserably. "How long do we have?" Auron asked, unfazed.
"Three days." He squeaked.
"Plenty of time."
"Okay, well, let's just go." Rikku said weakly.
And so, with Tidus in the lead, they made their way to the Al Bhed base with a simple, three step plan in mind. Infiltrate the base, retrieve the staff, and get out.
"Author's" Note: This is my first fan fiction and I'm just getting used to it. So, if I accidentally upload this wrong, I'm sorry. Another thing: I welcome criticism. I know I have a problem with imagery and will try to work at it, but, if there's anything else, please inform me. I really need to get better at this whole "writing" thing, anyway. Last detail (for now), I'm not super "detail oriented," if you will, so as far as the predicament of continuity, just forget it. I'll just say it's an alternate universe for now. Sin exists, the guardians are somewhere in their journey, and then this happens-ish.
The next chapter may or may not come out depending on my…dependability, and, if it does, hopefully it will be considered better than this one. I really don't like writing introductions. True story.