Walking through the Old Chaos Shrine, he spots something that shouldn't be there. "Cloud! Squall! There's someone over here!" Tidus yells. "They're locked in some kind of crystal!" Tidus knocks on the crystal encasing a person. The walls quiver, revealing that there's a liquid inside.
There's a heavy hand on his shoulder. "You might wanna step back..." Cloud tells him. Looking at the prison in front of him, he says, "Judging from the thickness of the crystal, it's gonna take a pretty good hit to break it open. Luckily, I'm strong..." Grabbing the Buster Sword from his back, Cloud spreads his feet apart and swings hard, blunt side first. The crystal shatters and the liquid pours out, carrying the person inside out with it.
Cloud gives Tidus a small smile. "Having a big sword doesn't hurt, either," he comments with a shrug. Turning toward the person, he gasps and rushes to check on them. It's a woman, with black hair in a long ponytail and a tight white shirt. "Tifa!" Cloud exclaims. "Tifa! Wake up! Tifa!" Squall walks over to them, carrying a man wearing a purple suit of armor. He lays him on the ground, then reaches behind him and tosses a spear to the ground beside the man.
"I found him over there." Squall says, pointing to another crystal prison. "Even if he was awake, he wouldn't have been able to escape...he was hanging from his spear, which was stabbed into the ground."
"Guys! We found people!" Bartz yells, running toward them. Terra follows behind, using her magic to carry three more unconscious bodies. Firion walks slowly, carrying a woman with pink hair. "Oh, looks like you guys did, too. Who are these guys?" Bartz looks at the six people they found, feeling a vague sense of familiarity.
Firion, closing his eyes and bowing his head, responds, "They're our friends." Opening his eyes, he looks down at the woman in his arms. "Lightning..."
Tidus looks for the first time at the people they found, and cries out when he sees a familiar face. "Yuna!" He runs over to where Terra set her down, hoping she's okay.
Terra sits down on the ground, tired from using her magic for so long. Someone sits down beside her, and she turns to Cloud's concerned face looking at her. "Hey, you alright?" She nods, not wanting to worry him. Cloud doesn't buy it. "It's okay if you're not. There's time for you to rest, so rest a while. There's nothing serious going on right now...and if something does happen, I'll make sure you don't get hurt." His eyes stare softly into hers, sincere concern giving her hope and reassurance.
Embarrassed, Terra blushes and turns away. "Alright, I'll rest for a little while. Thanks, Cloud." She finds a corner and slumps against the wall, more tired than she thought.
Squall walks over to Firion and asks, "Our friends? So far, we've recognized four of them...are we sure the other two are really friends of ours?"
"Four? Do you recognize one of them?" Getting only silence as an answer, Firion continues. "Anyway, yes. They used to be our teammates...although I'm not too sure about Kain. He attacked us before the end of the last cycle. But they died...so how can they still be here?" He looks down at Lightning, who's starting to stir. Smiling, he moves a strand of hair out of her face.
Her eyes flutter open, and grow wide as she recognizes Firion. She grabs him in a tight hug, nearly causing him to fall over. "I thought I was dead, that I would never see you again..." she says, starting to sob. Firion just holds her, surprised by her sudden display of emotions. Lightning looks up at him, tears coating her cheeks. "Firion, you have no idea how afraid I was, being locked inside a crystal full of liquid and unable to breathe...I'm so glad you saved me! I've missed you so much!" She hugs him tightly, then passes out again.
Laying her down next to Terra, Firion tells everyone, "So they were awake when this happened to them, meaning that they could've seen who did it. I need to question Kain when he wakes up, but I need to rest first...wake me up in an hour." He stumbles over to the wall beside the stone throne and is asleep before he hits the floor.
"He needs a lot more than an hour," Cloud says, shaking his head. He turns to Tidus and Bartz. "Firion's been fighting and scouting for nearly three days without any rest...so no sparring, no jokes, no games. Just let him sleep. Understand?" They both nod, and he stands up. "Good. I'm gonna try to find the others. Squall's in charge." Resting the Buster Sword on his shoulder, Cloud walks off towards the woods surrounding the Shrine. With luck, he'd find Onion Knight and Zidane close by. Cecil went off to scout the rest of the woods while the others made camp in the Shrine.
The last thing we need, Cloud thinks gloomily, is more people unconscious...because I can't defend them all.
