(I don't own FFX or these characters and stuff. Yeah. Moving on.)
Hello, everyone. It's been a while - months, in fact. My only excuse is the one I'm giving on my profile - that I've been working on original pieces, real life has kicked into high gear, and I've lost interest in most fanfiction.
Fortunately, this piece has proved the exception to that rule. It struck me one day that I really wanted to write a Tidus/Yuna, since they were the first pairing I gave more than two shits about (in my young, wild days before FFX-2 I wrote more than one piece devoted to resurrecting him so he could get back with her. You will never see any of these). But I don't do straight fluff, so here's a tale exploring just how deep Tidus's devotion goes - and how anyone who tries to come between him and his wife is going to regret it. Thanks to my lovely beta VulcanElf for making it fit for public consumption, as well as giving it its title. Now, then...
Plausible Deniability
Midnight on Besaid. The moonless night cloaked the island in inky darkness. Nothing stirred save for the occasional small animal darting from bush to bush, too afraid to sleep.
The small wall around the village, having no gate of any kind, was no obstacle. The villagers had no watch system, no sentinels peering into the night. So it was that the three men arrived at the home of High Summoner Yuna completely undetected.
The first and last memory Tidus had of the attack was the sound of something heavy landing in the bed between him and Yuna. Even as he opened his eyes to look, it exploded in a wave of light and sound, hurling him out of the bed. He slammed into the far wall of the bedroom, his head rebounding from the wood, before falling back to the floor, unconscious.
When he came to a few minutes later, Yuna was gone. All that was left were the remains of an Al Bhed concussion bomb in the bed.
Less than a day later, Tidus was in Bevelle, listening to Praetor Baralai of the People's Republic read a ransom demand to the Republic Council. They were in the council chamber, a large domed room whose sole distinguishing feature was the round, stone table at which the ten Council members sat. Five of them were here – Baralai, Nooj, Narva, Illyra, and Cid, though Gippal was with him as well.
For his part, Tidus had gotten a ride on the Celsius, but the Gullwings were not considered privileged personnel – not even Rikku – so they waited outside. The only reason he was here was because he was Yuna's husband, and he was sure Narva and Illyra resented his presence anyway.
So Tidus stood against the back wall of the room, arms crossed, for once in his life saying nothing.
"We are the Kilikan Liberation Front," Baralai read to the gathered members of the Council. "It is our belief that the union of New Yevon and the Youth League in the wake of the Vegnagun Incident has compromised the fundamental principles of Kilikan life and ideology. We are a proud, independent people, tenets incompatible with the Republic ideal of 'unification.'
"We demand in exchange for the safe return of High Summoner Yuna the following: total independence from the People's Republic, guaranteed immunity from military action or economic sanction in response to this independence, and recognition as a sovereign nation-state. If you comply, make the announcement in Bevelle by noon tomorrow; we will know if our demands have been met. If you refuse, it will be difficult to guarantee High Summoner Yuna's safe return.
"Signed, the Kilikan Liberation Front." Baralai laid the paper out on the table. "There you have it, gentlemen and lady. They've made their move."
Nooj spoke up from across the table. "We can't allow them to get away with this, Baralai. Yuna's done more for this world than anyone else in history. She deserves more than to die for some petty political struggle."
"Well-spoken, Deathseeker," Councilman Narva spoke up, his tone only slightly sardonic. Narva was a former Priest of Yevon, elected to the Council because of his parliamentary and political savvy. He was naturally conservative and a strong believer in the greater good. "But you must realize these requests are impossible to grant. If we had to start paying tariffs on Kilikan goods, the economy would slump considerably – they're our largest exporter of fruits and fish. What's more, the island completely controls access to Besaid by boat – unless you want to go five days out of your way. Not all of us have airships," he added, looking pointedly at Tidus. "And we'd be putting Luca in striking distance of a potentially hostile power. We'd effectively be ceding two islands and a city to them."
"So what're we debating for then?" Gippal asked. "We go in. And we go in hard."
"Agreed," Cid spoke up. He'd flown straight to Bevelle from Bikanel once he'd heard the news, occupying the council seat he normally delegated to Gippal, who now stood behind him. "You want this Republic to last, you let these bastards know you don't take this kind of disrespect. Make 'em regret ever messing with you or my niece."
Illyra Guado spoke up, her voice soft. "Out of the question. So far this Republic has resolved its troubles through diplomacy, not violence. Are we to compromise this for the sake of one individual, however important a symbol she may be?"
"You bet your spiky head we do," Cid barked. "What good is it being a peace-loving nation if we aren't willing to enforce that peace?"
"If we cannot stay true to our principles, we are nothing but hypocrites and unfit to rule," Illyra insisted.
"Excuse me?" Narva asked, taking the remark personally even though Illyra hadn't even been looking at him.
"Order," Baralai said warningly, cutting off the squabble before it could begin. "We will resolve this issue in an orderly fashion, Councilmen. Now, before we continue, is there anything you would like to add, Tidus?"
All eyes turned to him.
"If you're not going to decide right now to send in people to get Yuna back, I'm leaving," Tidus said. "I came to see if you were going to help, but I'm not going to wait while you argue. I'm going to rescue her."
"You can't possibly be serious," Illyra said, rising from her seat.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Tidus asked her, his expression completely flat. "She's my wife. I love her more than anything."
"You would risk the delicate state of peace we've created?" the Guado demanded.
Tidus gave her a hard stare. "I did it before. Excuse me." He left the room, closing the doors behind him.
"He'll do it, too," Cid said. "Kid's not the brightest, but this is the coldest I've ever seen him. You just watch."
"I insist you at least try to talk some sense into him!" Illyra said to Baralai.
Baralai shrugged. "Councilwoman, there's nothing any of us can do. That man isn't a member of the People's Republic military, so we can't compel him with an order. We don't yet have established citizenship, so we can't threaten to revoke it. Besides, even if we did have any hold on him, he wouldn't care. You saw his eyes."
Illyra, flabbergasted, looked at Nooj, who gave her a small shake of his head. Gippal repeated the gesture. She turned to Narva, suddenly her only potential ally at the table.
The former priest gave her a thin smile. "The Praetor makes some good points, Illyra. He's not a member of the People's Republic military. He's not really associated with us in any way – neither is High Summoner Yuna, for that matter, but we're still obligated to try to help. If the rebels raise a hue and cry about his attack, we can truthfully deny any involvement with his actions. If he succeeds, the crisis is resolved. If he fails and they kill High Summoner Yuna, it will be his fault, not ours. If he fails and High Summoner Yuna survives, we will be no worse off."
"As much as I hate to agree with Councilman Narva, I do," Nooj said. "This is the best way to handle the situation – by not handling it."
Illyra threw up her hands. "This is not the way we should act!"
"You'll find that the reality of politics means that you have to dirty your hands sometimes," Narva told her. "Or, at least, get someone else's dirty so yours can stay clean."
"He'll be fine," Cid said, his tone brooking no argument. "After all – he's my nephew."
When her captors finally removed the hood from over her face, Yuna recognized the interior of the Kilika Temple. They were in the antechamber of the Fayth, the door to the Chamber itself sealed up with stone so nobody would have access to the Farplane portal within.
Her hands were bound securely behind her back with rope and her legs were bound together at her knees and ankles. Still, her captors had deposited her in a sitting position, her legs curled beneath her to preserve her modesty in her nightgown. All things considered, it could have been worse.
Two large, burly men were working at the door to the Chamber of the Fayth, battering at the bricks with large hammers. They were making steady progress; Yuna estimated they would be through the wall within a matter of hours.
The man who had removed the hood stood in front of her, obviously waiting for her to speak. He was also well-muscled, but his musculature was compact rather than bulky, the physique of a fighter instead of a laborer. His features were rugged, with a large, flat nose and broad lips. His eyes, which were dark brown, gleamed in the light. His hair, cut close to his scalp, was the same color as his eyes. He wore an old warrior monk uniform – greenish-brown tunic, brown pants, armored shoulder pads, wrist-guards and greaves, and a sturdy breastplate. The difference from the normal uniform that Yuna immediately noticed was the large, red sign of Kilika painted on the breastplate, an abstract symbol with sweeping lines and deliberate asymmetry.
When Yuna merely met his gaze, impassive, the man spoke. "High Summoner Yuna. Let me apologize for the situation."
"If you're sincere about that, you can untie me and escort me back to Besaid," Yuna said. "Otherwise, I'm not interested in hearing any apologies."
"Let me also say," he continued, not seeming to take note of what she'd said, "that your stay with us will not be very long. I can assure you of that. Until such time as we no longer require your presence, however, I will have to insist that you remain here."
Yuna refrained from scowling. With her hands and feet bound, she couldn't perform the somatic components of even her simplest spells. Unless she could get out of her bonds, there was little she could do to contradict this man.
"If you will excuse me," he said, giving her a brief bow before heading for the exit.
"Answer me one question," Yuna called to him. He stopped, turned to face her. "What have you done with my husband?"
"Sir Tidus?" he asked. "We had no interest in him. Just you, milady. You are the one with value as a hostage."
Yuna laughed.
Her captor frowned. "You find this amusing?"
"You should have taken him too," Yuna said. "Now he's going to come and get me, and you're going to regret making him angry."
The man chuckled. "Milady, though he was one of your guardians, I don't think we have much to fear from one blitzball player."
"He was ready to let the world be destroyed so I could live," Yuna said. "He came back from the dead to be with me. You think he'll let you stand in his way?"
Yuna could tell her captor wasn't convinced. He merely gave her a small smile and another bow before leaving. With a sigh, Yuna tried to find a more comfortable position on the stone floor. She wasn't sure how long she would have to wait for his arrival.
She was sure, however, that it was only a matter of time.
"You sure you want to go in like this?" Rikku asked him. "I mean, I could come with."
Tidus stood on the deck of the Celsius, staring at the rapidly-approaching shape of Kilika Island. Rikku stood just behind him. "It's fine, Rikku," he said, smiling at her over his shoulder. "After all, if something happened to you, Yuna'd never forgive me."
"But that goes both ways!" she insisted.
"I'll be fine. I need you here in case we need to make a quick getaway." Tidus tapped the CommSphere Shinra had given him. It dangled from his belt next to the Caladbolg. "Just don't forget to pick up, huh?"
Rikku shook her head. "Buddy and Brother can pilot the ship. Let us come with you. I care about Yuna too!"
She watched Tidus's shoulders slump. The blitzer gave a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Okay, look. Here's really why I don't want you to come. If something happens to me – well, I need you to be okay so you can tell Yuna I loved her, all right? More than anything." Tidus turned to face her. "Can you do that for me, Rikku?"
The young Al Bhed girl crossed her arms as though ready to argue the point, but then she bowed her head. "All right. It's a promise."
"Thanks." Tidus turned back toward Kilika. "You're a good friend, Rikku."
He waited a few moments more. Then he jumped off the ship.
Tidus kept his eyes on the ocean, falling with his limbs splayed out to reduce his speed. The Celsius hadn't been very far up, but he could still botch this if he didn't pay attention. At the last possible second, he threw his arms forward, brought his legs together, and lowered his head in preparation for a dive.
He hit the surface of the ocean like a bullet, scything cleanly through the water. His entry was flawless, the momentum of his fall bleeding off gradually instead of in one instant as he slammed into the surface. A quick estimate put him at a little over a mile away from the island, so he started swimming.
It didn't take him long to get to Kilika. The sun was on its way down as he hauled himself out of the water onto one of Kilika's many docks with one hand, drawing his sword with the other. The Caladbolg gleamed, water fleeing from it as though frightened of the blue-and-gold blade.
The only noise was the shrieking of the gulls and the roar of the surf. There was no sound of activity from the town. Tidus found it eerie – even the first time he'd been here in the wake of Sin's attack, there had been life and bustle in the town as people began repairing the damage. Now that the streets were broad, the houses grand, and the town prosperous, the only people in sight were men armed with swords patrolling the streets. They all wore secondhand armor that looked like it had been scavenged from the warrior monks' armory up at the Temple.
Moving carefully, Tidus slunk along the dock, keeping low and taking cover behind piles of boxes or buildings whenever he could. He was sure he could take anyone in this Kilika Liberation Front; the important thing was not getting mobbed. The ideal course of action was to sneak past them, get to wherever they were holding Yuna, and get her out.
Of course, he had no idea where they might be keeping her. He'd need to talk to at least one of them.
Most of the houses in Kilika were on an upper level of catwalks above the main streets. The houses themselves were suspended above the water on large, circular platforms supported by numerous struts that went all the way down to the ocean floor. Tidus waited until he was sure there were no rebels nearby, then dove back into the water. He swam over to one of the struts supporting a particularly large house. He shimmied up it, then leaped off, catching hold of the edge of the platform just as he began to fall. With a grunt, he pulled himself up, rolling into the shadow of the house as he heard footsteps.
A single rebel was approaching, having come from the house a platform over. On a hunch, Tidus peered into the nearest window. Inside the house were four people – a mother, father, and their two daughters, from the look of it, all of them frightened. So the population was being kept inside their homes by the Front.
Tidus waited, listening to the sound of the rebel's footsteps. He stopped in front of the house, knocking on the door twice. Tidus watched the father get up to answer the door.
As the father moved toward the door, Tidus gave the lower-level streets a quick sweep to ensure nobody would see him. He darted around the side of the house. When the father opened the door, Tidus tackled the rebel, throwing him inside. He slammed the rebel's head against the floor, hard enough to stun but not enough to knock him unconscious. "Close the door!" he hissed. The father, recognizing one of the saviors of Spira, immediately complied.
Tidus flipped the rebel over onto his back, removing his sword. He handed it to the father. "Here. Keep it, you might need it later."
It took only a minute for the rebel to recover. When he realized the position he was in, Tidus shook his head, leveling the Caladbolg at the rebel. "Don't even think about it. You scream and it's game over, got it? I need you tell me where your bosses have Yuna."
"You're just a puppet of the People's Republic," the rebel hissed. "I'm not going to tell you anything."
Tidus scowled. He was no good at interrogating people. How had Auron always managed to drag the truth out of everybody?
Oh, that was it. By being really, really scary.
"I didn't ask you to tell me," Tidus said. "I need you to tell me. This isn't a request." He laid the Caladbolg flush against the rebel's throat, the weapon's razor edge breaking the skin at the lightest touch. "Got it?"
The rebel laughed, purposefully pressing his throat against the blade. "You don't have the guts."
For a long moment Tidus just stared at him. The rebel was right. He couldn't kill a man like this. "You're right. I guess I don't." He looked at the father. "Could you open the door again, mister?" The father nodded, pulling the entrance open again.
Tidus grabbed the rebel by the front of his shirt, lifted him with one hand, and hurled him out of the house. The rebel's shriek came to an abrupt halt when he landed hard on the street seven feet below.
"WHERE'S YUNA?" Tidus bellowed, rushing out of the house. He leaped down onto the street, landing square on the back of the rebel, who had begun to rise. He groaned before passing out. "ALL OF YOU, COME ON! ONE OF YOU IS GOING TO TELL ME!"
Members of the Front boiled out of the surrounding streets, two dozen men heading straight for Tidus. One of them shouted, "KILL HIM!"
They came at him from both directions, drawing their swords as they ran. Tidus kicked the unconscious rebel off the street into the water, hoping he would land on his back. It was all he could do at this point.
He waited until the nearest rebel was only a few feet away, then channeled magic energy into his legs. He leaped ten feet into the air, Caladbolg flashing. A slice of the sword through the air in front of him produced dozens of purple energy bolts which rocketed out of the sky, sinking without apparent effect into a length of the street.
A second later, the entire length went up in a spectacular explosion. Tidus had changed the Energy Rain so it exploded down toward the water rather than up, so the men on the street weren't killed. They were, however, sent flying, crashing into homes or falling into the water. Tidus landed on the north side of the street in a crouch, neatly slicing straight through the Achilles tendons of both the men next to him. They went down screaming, their weapons and cause forgotten. The last remaining rebel charged him, trying for a thrust. Tidus rolled out of the way, letting the man sink his blade into the wood of the street, then took his legs out from under him with a sweeping kick.
"WHERE'S YUNA?" Tidus screamed at him. "TELL ME!"
Seeing more than twenty of his friends taken out at once had the right effect. The blood drained from the rebel's face at the sight of Tidus leveling his sword at him. "The temple! They're in the temple!"
"Who are?" Tidus demanded.
"Nineteen more of us. Plus our leader, Orm."
"Thanks." Tidus clubbed the rebel over the head with the Caladbolg's hilt, putting him out. He dashed straight for the gate to the forest, knowing that it was all about time now. If the men in town were expected to send reports every ten minutes, or somebody with a telescope looked from the top of the temple – well, the sooner he got there, the better.
He pounded down the main path through the forest, not even pausing when a lizard fiend overestimated its chances and leaped at him. Tidus sliced it clean in half without slowing down, ducking the spray of blood.
By the time he got to the bridge across the river to the temple, he was breathing hard, but he'd made very good time. If he was lucky, they wouldn't have noticed their sudden lack of men in town.
Tidus started up the temple stairs when a pair of rifle reports rang out. He immediately fell backward into a reverse roll, then sprang back onto his feet with a shove from his back. The shots went wide, one pinging off the stairs where he'd been standing and the other landing in the dirt a few feet away. Tidus looked at the angle of the one in the dirt, scanned the forest, saw the two men hiding in the bushes.
They were in the middle of reloading. Tidus sprinted toward them, moving faster than a chocobo. The rebels had just finished reloading when he took one of them down with a flying kick to his jaw. The other took hasty aim and fired, but Tidus kept going after executing the kick, hitting the ground running. He ran several feet up a tree, transitioning into a reverse somersault. The rebel's shot buried itself in the bark of the tree. Tidus chopped the barrel of the rifle in half, then buried his elbow in the rebel's jaw. He went down hard.
Unless they were deaf, anyone farther up the stairs would have certainly heard the gunshots. Tidus took the stairs four at a time, leaping up them in great bounds. There were four more men at the entrance to the temple, all of them armed with rifles.
They fired as soon as Tidus's head appeared above the stairs. The blitzer stopped on a dime, ducking as he did. He could hear the sound of the air tearing as one of the bullets came within two inches of his head.
Then it was past, and the men were reloading, and he had perhaps five seconds to take them all out.
He charged up the stairs, heading for the closest rebel. Ducking under the wild swing the man tried with his rifle, Tidus cut the weapon in half, burying his foot in the man's groin at the same time. His eyes rolled up in his head as he passed out. Tidus turned, using the motion to add momentum to his swing, and let his sword fly from his hand. Caladbolg ripped through the second rebel's breastplate like the armor was made of paper.
Not pausing for an instant, Tidus leaped at the third rebel, who had finished reloading and was bringing his rifle to bear. He slapped the weapon aside, grabbed the man's left arm, and twisted it around behind his back. Then he buried his free hand in the small of the man's back, lifted him like a sack of grain, and charged at the last rebel.
The rifle sounded. Tidus gritted his teeth in anticipation of the pain, but only for an instant – he felt the man he was hefting jerk as the bullet hit him, but it didn't penetrate all the way through. A moment later, Tidus slammed into the last rebel, letting go of his human shield. Both men toppled off the edge of the temple to the forest floor more than a hundred feet below.
Panting, Tidus went over to the man he'd pierced with Caladbolg. The rebel was still alive, weakly coughing up blood as he looked with disbelief at the weapon sticking out of his chest.
"I'm sorry," Tidus said quietly. "But I can't die here. I have to get to Yuna."
The man might have tried to say something, but all he managed to produce was more blood.
Tidus pulled the Caladbolg out of his chest, then brought it down on his neck. He flinched as a spurt of blood splashed across his face, but he didn't move to wipe it away. Killing never felt right to him, and he had to remember that.
Sword in hand, he walked down the stairs to the temple entrance and opened the doors.
The last crumbling remnants of the wall went down. The Chamber of the Fayth lay open before them.
Yuna frowned. She'd been watching the men's progress for the past three hours, and they'd shown a definite single-mindedness. What was in there that they wanted?
The leader, who'd been absent for much of that time, had come back down through the Cloister to see his men break through the wall. He moved through the newly-restored opening, looked into the Farplane portal, and nodded, satisfied.
"What are you doing?" Yuna asked.
"Simple," the leader told her. "We're prepared in case the Republic doesn't meet our demands."
Yuna filed away this information about the Republic in case she might need it later, but she was still mystified. "What? How does a Farplane portal do you any good?"
"We've told the Republic we have you hostage. If they refuse our demands, we can't compromise our credibility by simply letting you go. But many of us feel that killing you is going too far."
"Many of us? Do you not share that sentiment?"
He gave her a cold look. "I believe in doing what's necessary, milady. Whatever that may be. However, many of my followers have not yet had their idealism tempered with reality. So I have assured them that we will send you through the portal instead. You've been in the Farplane before; there is a chance you will survive."
Yuna raised an eyebrow. "Your wording's strange. You've 'assured them?' Not 'you will?'"
"You're far too dangerous to be left alive, milady. We've made you our enemy, and if you're no use as a hostage, then there is no reason not to kill you. No, I'm afraid I will have to kill you and drop your body down the portal. I will not have told my men the whole truth, but sometimes that is for the best."
"What about them?" Yuna asked, indicating the two hammer-wielding rebels with a motion of her head. "Do they agree with you?"
"If they didn't, I wouldn't be telling you this in their presence," the leader said. "Now, I'll go and have some food prepared for you. We –"
He stopped as another member of the Front barreled through the doorway to the antechamber, panting. "Orm! We've got a big problem!"
"Easy, Ginno," the leader, who was evidently named Orm, told the newcomer. "What's wrong?"
"There's a guy in the Temple!" Ginno said between gasps for air. "Blonde, has a blue sword sharper than anything I've ever seen. I think it's Sir Tidus!"
"How the hell did he get past the guards in the town?" Orm demanded.
"I don't know, but they're not responding to the CommSphere there. He must have taken them all out. Our exterior guards, too. He just blew through six men in the Temple vestibule. There are four of us keeping him pinned down outside the Cloister of Trials, but we're going to run out of ammo before he runs out of patience, sir. What do you want us to do?"
Orm frowned. "What do you mean? Rush him!"
"Nobody wants to die, sir. We didn't think this would happen!" Ginno's breathing hadn't slowed down; he was in the middle of a full-blown panic attack.
"Calm down," Orm said. "That's an order. Mils, Maerde." He turned to the two hammer-wielders, who hefted their weapons, broad grins on their faces. "Go."
"If you lay down your weapons and surrender, it will go more easily for you," Yuna said. "Tidus just wants me back."
Orm ignored her. "You know what to do," he said to the hammer-wielders. "Break him."
Tidus crouched behind the stone railing of the bridge to the Cloister of Trials. The railing oscillated back and forth like a wave, so it gave him plenty of cover from the men on the other side with rifles. Unfortunately, that was all he had to work with. He couldn't get off another Energy Rain without being shot out of the sky. All his other magic made him faster or slowed down his enemies, which wouldn't do much good when his real enemies were bullets, not the men who fired them.
He'd been crouched there for three or four minutes, trying to figure out what to do, when he heard heavy footsteps heading for the bridge. Deciding to risk it, he peeked up over the lip of the railing. Two heavyset, muscular men with very large hammers had appeared on the other side of the bridge. One of them pointed a finger at the other side. "RUSH HIM! HE'S JUST ONE MAN!"
Tidus swallowed. There was no easy way out of this now.
He focused on the beating of his heart. It was already going at a steady clip, but he willed it to go faster, to make his whole body pulse with the force of the beating, unceasing and rhythmic. He clenched a fist, the final component; the Haste spell blossomed around him. His muscles tensed, his thoughts sped up. He was ready.
Tidus spun around, got one foot on the railing, and launched himself across the bridge in a single, blindingly fast motion. The rebels, who'd just begun to cross the bridge, were all pointing their rifles to the side as they began to sprint.
He caught them flat-footed, crashing into the first one hard enough to hurl him backward five feet into the wall. Caladbolg flashed twice, sending two heads flying. The last rifle-wielder managed to swing his weapon around before Tidus could get to him.
The bullet emerged from the barrel in a puff of smoke. Tidus could see the light of the torches gleaming off its surface, could watch the direction in which it spun as it traveled toward him. With incredible ease, he batted the bullet out of the air with Caladbolg, then bisected the rebel from right shoulder to left hip before planting a foot in his chest and sending him toppling off the bridge into the mists below.
He whirled around to face the hammer-wielders, then narrowly ducked a swing that would have pulverized his head. These men also knew how to cast Haste.
The other man had aimed low, at Tidus's stomach. Since he was ducking the first blow, it instead hit him in the chest, rebounding from his left side. Tidus bit back a scream as he felt ribs break. The blow sent him sprawling back across the bridge, landing heavily on his back. He leaped back to his feet, then jumped atop the railing and ran across that toward the hammer-wielders. As he expected, the first one chose to swing at his feet. He easily jumped over the strike, which left the man wide-open. Tidus thrust Caladbolg straight through his skull, the point of the weapon exploding out the other side in a spray of blood.
The other man tried for a vertical strike, bringing the hammer up in an uppercut to take Tidus in the other side. Haste still empowering him, Tidus pushed off of Caladbolg, still embedded in the first man's head. The sword twisted through brain and bone, but rather than pierce farther through, it stayed in place. It effectively pushed back against him, moving him out of the way of the swing. There were some advantages to having a legendary weapon.
Tidus landed on the bridge, brought up his foot in a lightning kick to the man's stomach. He saw it coming, but made no move to avoid it, instead bringing his hammer up in preparation for another blow.
The look of surprise on his face was pronounced as Tidus's kick knocked him clear off his feet and over the side of the bridge.
Pain stabbing through him with every breath, Tidus pulled the Caladbolg out of the first hammer-wielder's skull. He quickly probed at his chest, hissing as he did. Two broken ribs. If he took another hit there, one of them might puncture a lung. He would have to be careful.
The Cloister of Trials had already been navigated; its doorways stood open, the Chamber of the Fayth visible from where he stood. Unable to sprint, he moved forward in a half-crouch, ready to react to an ambush.
He cleared the three rooms of the Cloister of Trials without incident. When he moved to the doorway leading into the antechamber of the Fayth, he paused, listening. He couldn't hear anything from within, so he took a deep breath, then tumbled inside, careful of his injured ribs. He came up in a crouch, sword ready, in the middle of the room.
Now that he was closer, he could see that the Chamber of the Fayth had been blocked by some sort of wall, which now lay in ruins all around the entrance. He had no doubt the hammer-wielders had done that. A quick sweep of the room revealed –
"Yuna!" he cried. His wife was lying in the corner of the room to the right of the entrance, trussed with rope and gagged with a thick strip of cloth. He rushed over to her, yanked the gag out of her mouth.
Yuna spat out another wad of the same cloth. "Tidus, he's somewhere out there!" she said. "The leader's –"
Orm took two long strides into the antechamber from the previous room, then buried a fist in Tidus's left side. The blitzer screamed, falling to his knees, but he managed to hold onto Caladbolg. He lashed out with a wild backhand swing, which managed to score Orm across the chest, slicing straight through his breastplate. The rebel leader leaped back, fists clenched and in fighting position, as the lower half of his breastplate fell to the ground with a clatter.
Tidus struggled to his feet, keeping his guard up. That blow should have cut the man's heart in half, but he'd managed to dodge it. He'd cast Haste as well.
"You must be Orm," Tidus said, ignoring the horrific pain in his side. "Surrender and I won't have to kill you."
Orm snarled. "You overestimate your chances, boy!"
He sprang forward, fists blurring with the speed of his strikes. Tidus cut at him with the Caladbolg, but he twisted out of the way even as he landed a shovel hook on Tidus's jaw and an upset punch on his stomach. The blitzer managed to twist with the attacks, but they still threw him into the wall, stunning him. Orm's leg came up in a sweeping kick that took the Caladbolg across the broad side of the blade, ripping it out of Tidus's grasp. Rebounding off the wall, the sword skittered to a halt in the middle of the floor.
Acting on instinct, Tidus brought a knee up into Orm's gut, doubling the man over and pushing him back. With his newly-bought room to maneuver, Tidus tried a spinning kick, leaping into the air.
Orm caught the kick. With a shout, he hurled Tidus across the room, sending the blitzer crashing into the opposite wall. "I was a Crusader for twenty years," he said, crossing the room toward Tidus. "I practiced my forms three hours a day for eighteen of those. You think you have a chance, you punk?" He punctuated the last word with a straight kick that would have knocked out all of Tidus's front teeth.
With no other options, Tidus went with the most expedient defense. He punched Orm in the foot, yelping as his fingers crushed against the man's armored greave. The attack sent the man staggering back, off-balance.
"Don't count me out of the game just yet," Tidus said, getting to his feet mostly through sheer will. "I helped kill Sin. I can kick or punch a little plastic ball hard enough to knock a guy out, through ten feet of water. You think I can't take you on land?"
"Not when you're extremely injured and without your weapon," Orm said, using his foot to send the Caladbolg sliding to the side of the room opposite Tidus. "That's the problem with people like you. You don't know how to fight without your weapon. I've spent my entire life fighting without them, and against people who depended on them, too. You're doomed – unless you want to surrender."
Tidus wiped a trickle of blood out from under his nose. His lip was split from Orm's strike to his jaw, but he ignored it, giving Orm a big grin. "You going to talk, or you going to show me your game?"
Orm made a terrible sound in his throat. He launched himself at Tidus in a flying kick which the blitzer barely managed to duck. Tidus landed a solid snap kick on the same spot he'd previously kneed Orm, making the rebel leader grunt, but he managed to keep his feet, letting the force of the blow send him back several paces rather than launch him through the air. He came back for more, rocking Tidus's head back with a feint to the torso followed by a flying elbow that the young man didn't see coming in time. Tidus staggered wildly, flailing to try to keep his balance as blood gushed from his nose. Orm seized his opening. He grabbed Tidus's left arm, pulling him forward into a chambered punch to his sternum with his right fist.
The blow lifted Tidus off his feet. He crashed into a large pile of bricks and debris from the destroyed wall, scattering stone everywhere. His eyes were half-lidded and his breathing erratic.
Orm strode forward, confident, which left him wide open. Tidus's eyes snapped fully open. He braced himself against the pile of bricks, swinging the entire bottom half of his body off the floor as he lashed out in an arcing kick that landed right in the same spot in Orm's midsection as his previous blows. This attack did send Orm flying. He landed hard on his back, sliding across the floor until his back hit the doorframe around the entrance to the antechamber. Inches away was the Caladbolg. Yuna had crawled over to it and was attempting to cut her bonds on its edge.
"No!" Orm bellowed. He grabbed the sword with one hand, hauling Yuna to her feet with the other. He held Caladbolg to her throat as Tidus extricated himself from the pile of rubble. "That's enough now, boy. We're going to do things my way."
Tidus coughed, them spat up some bloody phlegm. "Oh, yeah? What way's that?"
"You're going to keep your hands where I can see them," Orm said. "And you're going to walk into the Chamber of the Fayth."
"All right," Tidus said, raising his hands. He walked into the Chamber, then turned around. "Now what?"
"Now," Orm replied, "you're going to jump into that Farplane portal. Or I'll kill your wife right here, in front of your eyes."
"Tidus, don't!" Yuna said. "Don't listen to him!"
"Shut up," Orm growled, digging the Caladbolg further into her throat.
Tidus smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion. "It's okay, Yuna. I found you before, and I'll find you again. All you have to do is whistle."
"Get moving!" Orm snarled.
"Let me have a final say," Tidus insisted. "She is my wife."
Orm sneered at him, but gave a fractional nod.
Tidus locked gazes with Yuna. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner," he said. "I tried, Yuna. I tried really hard."
"I know," Yuna murmured. "It's not your fault, Tidus."
"You know I love you," he said. "More than anything."
"I do."
Tidus grinned, wiping at his eyes. "You know, I remember the first time I saw you. You walked out of the Chamber of the Fayth, your hair was a mess, you were pretty much covered in sweat… I'd never seen anyone so beautiful."
"Can we please finish this?" Orm said through gritted teeth. "You're going to make me sick."
Tidus's gaze drifted away from Yuna, settling on something behind her. "Yeah, okay. I think we're done."
Orm realized what was going on an instant later, as Rikku shot him in the back. The bullet bounced off the back of his breastplate, but it made him stagger, removing the Caladbolg from Yuna's throat. Reacting instantly, Yuna threw herself to the left, breaking free of Orm's grip. She landed hard on her side, but was relatively unharmed.
Even as Orm whirled to confront this new attacker, Tidus gave a loud cry and lashed out in a kick – at a jagged chunk of stone.
It was much heavier than a blitzball, despite its smaller size. Tidus was sure he felt his big toe break. Still, the piece of stone shot beautifully through the air. Orm, already half-turned to get Rikku in sight, could only twist his head around at the sound of the kick.
The stone hit him in the right eye, piercing straight through it and crushing in his skull before it came to a stop. With no more than a twitch, Orm dropped the Caladbolg before falling to the ground.
Tidus immediately limped over to Yuna, slashing her bonds with quick, accurate swipes of the Caladbolg. "You okay, Yuna?" he asked, letting the last shreds of the Haste spell fall away from himself.
She responded by getting to her feet and pulling him into a tight, desperate hug. Tidus groaned at the protest from his ribs, but he dropped the Caladbolg and returned the embrace, just happy to have his wife in his arms again. Yuna pulled back just far enough to press her mouth against his in what was probably the most intense kiss she'd ever given him. He didn't even notice his split lip.
He luxuriated in that for a minute until Rikku started making gagging noises in the background. "Sorry," he said with a grin, not taking his eyes off of Yuna's. "Almost died back there."
"Thank you," Yuna said. "Sorry I wasn't much help."
Tidus shrugged. "You've done enough. Time to let somebody else do the rescuing." He turned to Rikku. "Thanks, Rikku. You saved my bacon."
"How did you know to get down here?" Yuna asked.
Rikku indicated Tidus with a wave of her hand. "Ask him. He magically showed up on the CommSphere and then started talking about how much he looooves you."
Tidus laughed, reaching down for the CommSphere at his belt. "When I sent Orm flying with that last kick, I reached down and turned it on. I knew I couldn't beat him by myself."
Yuna smiled. "Very clever, Sir Tidus."
"Lady Summoner," he said, his grin widening.
"Okay, enough of that," Rikku said. "Don't make me separate you kids."
"Yes, ma'am," Yuna laughed. She looked down at Orm. "I wish he'd listened to me," she sighed. "I told him you'd come for me, Tidus. He didn't care."
"Yeah," Tidus said. He looked at Orm's corpse, a grimace crossing his face. "I wish he'd listened too."
They left in silence.
Tidus watched with a mixture of curiosity and admiration as Yuna expertly wound the wrap about his chest, setting his ribs back in place before she healed them. Her hands moved with incredible deftness, a grace he knew he could never achieve even under the strongest Haste spell.
They were back on the Celsius, headed for Besaid. Rikku had told them to go treat Tidus's wounds while she notified Bevelle that the situation had been resolved. Now Tidus sat on Yuna's old bed on the ship while she tended to him.
"Stop fidgeting," she said. "I'm almost done."
"Sorry," Tidus said. "You know I can't sit still."
"Mm." Yuna kept applying the wrap, but she clearly had something on her mind. "Why did you come alone, Tidus? If Rikku could have been there helping you…"
Tidus coughed, wincing at the resulting stab of pain. "Well, I – in case something happened to me, I wanted her to tell you that I love you. More than anything."
Yuna just stared at him for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. "You're such an idiot sometimes, you know?"
"Yeah, I know."
She put the finishing touch on the wrap, then waved her hands in a slow, graceful arc that culminated in a sudden burst of cool bliss and a glowing white light. Tidus sighed, probing his now-healed ribs. "Phew. Much better."
"Keep the wrap on for at least a day," Yuna admonished him. "To make sure everything settles in properly."
"I know."
Yuna sat down on the bed next to him before putting an arm around his shoulders. "Tell me something, though."
"Yeah?" Tidus asked.
"What would you have done if Rikku hadn't shown up?" Yuna said. "I mean, Orm wasn't going to let you stall anymore."
"That's easy," Tidus replied, smiling. "I would have jumped in."
Yuna's eyes widened. "What? But –"
"I knew I'd hear your whistle," Tidus told her. "I wasn't afraid, because I knew we'd find each other again. That's just the way it works, Yuna." He brushed her cheek with the hand that wasn't covered in bandages from when he'd punched Orm's boot. "I knew you'd jump in after me."
Yuna kissed him again. Tidus relaxed, leaning into her body, lost in the feel of her lips and the smoothness of her skin.
All was right with the world.