Chapter 3: My Mission
I tried not to think about the aftermath of the Luca tournament or about Maester Seymour or Sir Auron or any of that. I just went Home and waited. Mostly, I stayed out of my Father's way. He still hadn't cooled down since his last talk with the Maester. It was only going to get worse.
I heard Father in his office throwing things and screaming loud, angry phrases in Al Bhed. "The two-faced son of a Hyperbello!" he yelled. "That's the last time I do ANYTHING for that Guado!"
Of course, I didn't know exactly why Father was angry, but he had to be mad at the Maester. And I couldn't really understand why. They acted so friendly at the tournament, and it's certainly not everyday that a Yevon priest even talks to us. Maester Seymour seemed so congenial. How could he upset Father so?
I never felt like I got the straight story, but I heard some details from word of mouth. It had to do with the deal that Father made with the Maester. He agreed to send some Al Bhed with very destructive machina to Mushroom Rock. They would work with the Crusaders, who would capture Sinspawn to lure Sin to the precipice, where they would use the machina to kill Sin. Most of the men who volunteered to go were very anti-Yevon. The only condition that Father made to this agreement was that while it was taking place, the Crusaders would make sure that no one will be allowed to pass on the road on Mushroom Rock. Apparently, his reasoning was that this way the summoners can't make it to the temple of Yevon in Djose, and thus their pilgrimages would come to a standstill. Maester Seymour seemed to agree to these conditions. Yet, on the day of the operation, Maester Seymour ordered that Lady Yuna and her guardians would pass. He even took them up to the command center, where they assisted in the battle! Father must have suspected that the Maester did that particularly to spite him, deliberately putting Yuna in harm's way.
The operation turned out to be a spectacular failure. Sin did appear, and he disintegrated nearly everyone involved. Most of the Al Bhed and the Crusaders perished. Somehow, though, Maesters Seymour and Kinoc, Lady Yuna, and all of her guardians survived. Some say they survived because they were the only ones faithful to Yevon. I seriously doubted that.
The strangest rumor I heard, however, concerned Tidus. Brother told me about it after he heard from an Al Bhed who survived the operation. "Your friend is entirely ehcyha! He is vuum!"
"Take that back! He's not insane! He's not a fool! He can't be blamed for the aftereffects of Sin's toxin!"
"Well, explain this. After Sin had attacked and had left great number of people dead or dying on beach, that vuum not only stared gaping at Sin, he yelled at Sin and swam after it!"
"What? Why would he do that?"
"Because he's eteud! He doesn't realize that Sin is dangerous! When is he going to get that through his tiny brain, that black circle?"
"He's not an idiot, and he doesn't have a tiny brain!"
"That might be what you think, Sister, but you can never deny that he's black circle!"
That talk just made me so mad, but it did make me think of that first time I met Tidus. I thought about how he stood and stared at Sin. If what Brother was saying is true, Tidus actually tried to speak to Sin. Some Al Bhed think that Sin is not what we think it is. They say it's not in Yevon's forgiving nature to send such a pestilence upon us for mistakes our ancestors have made a thousand years ago. A few of them even claim that Sin is a misunderstood creature that does not wish to destroy. I'm not really sure I agree with all these teachings, but they have made me wonder if Sin has feelings or intelligence. It made me wonder what Sin really is.
"Rikku," a voice said as I was pondering all this in my room. I looked up and saw my friend Keyakku. "Your father wants to see you for a minute."
"Alright. Thanks, Keyakku." I went down to Father's office. He was sitting down at his desk. He looked tired and sad, but at least he had calmed down. "You wanted to see me, Father?"
"Yes, tayn. Sit down, please." I sat in front of him. "There's something I need to tell you about Lady Yuna."
"Yes?"
Father sighed heavily. "She's the daughter of High Summoner Braska."
"So . . . she's . . ."
"That's right. She's your cousin."
We never talk about our relationship to Braska, even though he's known all throughout Spira. He married my father's sister, but even as Brother and I were children, Father forbade us to call him uncle. I only remembered seeing Braska once, and I didn't remember his wife or his daughter.
"Did you tell Brother?"
"No, I probably should have mentioned."
"Probably? Do you know he has a crush on her?" I instantly put my hands over my lips. I told Brother I wouldn't say that!
Father only sighed again and shook his head. "I probably should have expected that. At any rate, now you understand why I've been so upset about her welfare. I think you're too young to remember when her father was on the same pilgrimage."
"Yes, but you told me about it many times, and about his guardians when they came here to Home and Sir Auron–"
"Yes. I prefer not to rehash that memory now. I feel as though I failed Yuna then. I condemned her to live a life as an orphan. I'm not going to do it again! I am going to save her from a pointless death!"
"Of course! We have to!"
"And I'm putting her life in your hands."
"My hands? Father, do you know what you're asking?"
"Yes, Rikku. You're unlike many Al Bhed. You have a genuine concern for those in danger, whatever race they are. I think you can use that concern convince her to stop."
"But how? What should I do?" It was funny. Even though I always wanted this responsibility, now that I had it I didn't know what to do.
"I've already sent some of my most trustworthy men to gather every summoner who is on a pilgrimage and bring them back to the Summoner's Sanctum. You can wait in the Moonflow in underwater machina for Yuna and her guardians to cross in the Shoopuf on their way to Macalania Temple. I will pair you with your brother's friend, Buddy, to help you take her. You may have to deal with her guardians, and that will probably be difficult. According to our scouts, she has five guardians, which nearly everyone believes is an outlandish number for a pilgrimage. They have different strengths. One is a black mage. One is a Ronso. Then there's Sir Auron, Wakka, and your friend. I'll let you take the scouting reports. Study them to learn the guardians' weaknesses, but don't concern yourself so much with beating them. Just get them weak enough so that you can take Yuna and run. All I need for you to do is to keep her safe and bring her back here."
"I'll do my best, Father."
"That's not good enough. You have to promise me."
"I will keep Yuna safe. E bnuseca." (I promise.)
"'Kuut kenm.'" (Good girl.)
--
So, this is where my adventure officially began. A powerful underwater machina was already prepared, designed to take on all the guardians. Buddy and I got to our spot, and we waited. Finally, the Shoopuf crossed, and I could see through our periscope Wakka's brilliant red hair and Auron's red cloak. So, it had to be them. I told Buddy to get Yuna while I created a distraction. I set off a low level explosion, just enough to make some noise and scare the Shoopuf. Then I set up all systems to full power. Right when Buddy brought the summoner on board, I came up to her and gave her a hug. "Yunie, you're safe!" I didn't understand why I messed up her name. I thought in the moment that I was just in a hurry, and in my stress it came out wrong. I pulled back and finally got a good look at her. Brother was right about her eyes. In fact, she had the most awesome eyes I had ever seen! One was green, and the other was blue. How did she get eyes like that? Too bad they didn't spiral. He dress was very pretty as well, and her face looked very kind, even though she was terrified.
"W-w-what's going on?" she asked in a meek voice. "Who are you?"
"I am Rikku, the daughter of Cid. I'm your cousin, Yunie! I came all the way from the Al Bhed Home to find you, to make sure you are safe. Don't worry. You don't have to go to Zanarkand."
"But–"
Suddenly, an alarm started beeping. "Her guardians are coming!" Buddy called.
"All of them?"
"Just two. Pathetic, isn't it? We're not even getting a full-team battle!"
We didn't have time to complain. "Come on." I put Yuna in a glass dome, which had maximum protection. "This will all be over in just a minute."
"Rikku, I appreciate your intentions, but–"
"Sorry, Yunie, I can't talk now. You'll thank me later." I sealed the dome then went back to the control room. On the screen, I saw my two attackers—Wakka and Tidus. Great. They must have come because they have been trained to maneuver so well under the water. Well, I knew it would come to this sooner or later. I took the controls. "Sorry about this, guys." But Tidus cast Haste on himself and Wakka, and they both attacked me over and over. I raised the machina to more shallow depths and prepared for my greatest attack. Just my luck, right at that time, both of them got their Overdrives. Tidus circled around the contraption and hit repeatedly. Wakka spun his Blitzball on his finger, and it sparkled with lightning magic. No, not lightning! I hate lightning! He kicked it will all of his might.
Alarms blared. The machina shook violently. "She can't take much more of this!" Buddy yelled. "She's gonna blow!"
"Quick, get Yunie!"
"Yunie?"
"The Summoner!" I ran up to the glass sphere, but we were too late. The guardians were already swimming off with her. I was too stunned to move. Buddy was probably a lot smarter than I was and got to an escape pod, but as for me—
KABOOM!
--
I washed up on the beach on the opposite side of the Moonflow. I don't know how long I lied there. Every part of my body hurt, but what hurt most was the knowledge that I failed. I thought everybody else was probably already Home with their summoners, but I, the daughter of the Al Bhed leader with whom he entrusted the greatest job of all, will come Home empty-handed. My cousin will soon go to the Farplane, and there was nothing I could do about it.
Then, I heard footsteps. A shadow covered me. "You're . . . not dead?"
No . . . Hey, wait a minute, he's right! I'm not dead! Just with that thought, I found the strength to pull myself up. I quickly got off the uncomfortable underwater gear; I didn't need it anymore. I had some of my favorite clothes on underneath. I took off my helmet and looked at my rescuer—Tidus! Oh, so now we're even. Glad that's taken care of. I smiled. "Ah. I thought I was done for back there."
Tidus gasped. "Rikku! You're Rikku! You're OK! How've you been?"
Seriously? How does he think I've been? "Terrible." I collapsed again.
"Yeah, you don't look so good," he said looking down at me. "What happened?"
As if he didn't know? I pointed at him. "YOU beat me up, remember?"
"Huh? Oh, you mean that machina? That was you?"
"Uh-huh," I replied rubbing my head. "That really hurt you—" (What's a good, non Al-Bhed word I could use that's not too offensive? I could only think of one.) "—big meanie!"
"Wait, but you attacked us!" he replied in a confused retort.
"Nuh-uh. It's not exactly what you think." Part of me thought maybe if I told him the truth, he would understand. Maybe he would be on my side. I started to open my mouth to explain when—
"Yo!" Yuna and all her summoners came to join us. It was just like how everyone said. There was Wakka in the lead with his flaming, red hair and his ear-to-ear smile. Next to him was a woman in a black dress with black hair, red eyes, and purple lips. And there was a Ronso, standing with his arms crossed. No one told me his horn was broken. He must be really sad inside. And, then there was Auron. It was the first time I saw him up close, and he looked even bigger. I saw he had a scar on one of his eyes. Wonder how he got that? I knew he was judging me, summing me up behind those shades.
"Friend of yours?" Wakka asked. Wow, I don't think I ever heard him talk before. I loved his accent! It had a warmth and friendliness that I always pictured him having. I tried so hard to hide my fangirl-ish glee.
"Uh, you could say that," Tidus said uncomfortably.
I smiled. "Pleased to meet you! I'm Rikku!" It was a shame that was all I could manage, but at least I wasn't stuttering all over the place.
"Yuna, Lulu, I told you about her, remember? She was the one who helped me before I washed up on Besaid! She's an Al Bhe—beh . . ."
Uh oh. That stammer could only mean one thing. Someone in this group is an Al Bhed-hater. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. These guys are probably pretty staunch Yevonites after all. But who could it be? It's not Tidus, because he can't remember about the tensions between the races. And it's not Yuna, since she's related to us. Surely it can't be Wakka! He's played very comfortably with the Psychs. If he had hatred against the Al Bhed, that last game would have been so much uglier. I guessed it was possible that it was the Ronso. They're very territorial, after all, and Maester Kelk Ronso was a very conservative Yevonite. But my money was on Auron. After all Father said about him and what he had done, I would not be surprised at all that he despised the Al Bhed.
"Wow, so you, like, owe her your life?" Wakka said. "What luck meeting you here, yah? Praise be to Yevon!" He performed the ceremonial bow. I tried to suppress another fangirl giggle. I couldn't believe the athlete I admired most was blessing me. "So, uh, Rikku, you look a little beat up. You OK?" I was about to accuse him of being responsible for that too as he came closer to me, but then the woman in the black dress stopped him.
"Uh, Wakka," she said.
"Huh? What?"
Yuna came forward. "There's something we need to discuss."
"Oh, go ahead."
At this point, I felt most comfortable talking to Yuna alone since I was the only one I was certain was not an Al Bhed-hater. But she did not look like she was going to abandon the company of her guardians. So, I compromised. "Uh, girls only! Boys, please wait over there!"
"Right. Sorry, Wakka," the woman in the black dress said. Then, she and Yuna came closer to me.
"Lulu, this is my cousin," Yuna said softly. "She's Cid's daughter. She was one of the people who just, uh—"
"Oh," the lady nodded. Then she looked at me. "Why did you just do that?"
I gulped nervously. "I made a promise to my father that I'd keep her safe." Then, I went into a quick explanation of everything from my point of view. I guess the more I got into the story, the more comfortable I got because I was making all sorts of gestures and sometimes even using voices and purposefully switching to present tense to express my thoughts, you know my typical storytelling mode.
"She only wants what's best for me," Yuna said almost apologetically.
"Right," Lulu said, "what's best for you. Not what's best for all of Spira."
I sighed in frustration. Why couldn't they see my argument? Who cares if it's for all Spira? This whole pilgrimage is wrong!
"You know, Rikku, I know the best way that you can keep your promise to your father."
"What's that?"
Yuna smiled. "Lusa fedr ic!"
I smiled. "You speak Al Bhed?"
"Just a little, what I learned from my mother. But think about it. You can come with us and be one of my guardians. Then, you can protect me."
"But, but you have so many guardians already. And, well, to tell you the truth, this isn't really what I—"
"I would be so honored to have one of my kin fighting by my side, and I'm sure you'll have techniques and strategies that the others lack, like your knowledge of machina fiends." She looked at Lulu. "She'd really be an asset, wouldn't she?"
"Perhaps so," Lulu nodded. "But are you sure this is a smart idea? I mean, what about–?"
"Well, unless we draw attention to it, no one will notice."
"I'm not so sure about that."
"If anything happens . . . we'll just cross that bridge when we come to it. So, what do you say, Rikku? Femm oui lusa?" (Will you come?)
I thought about it, really hard. This isn't what I needed at all! I don't want to be blamed for sending her down to Zanarkand just because I was going on the journey with her! On the other hand, the closer I got to her, the more I could try and persuade her to end the pilgrimage. Plus, it'll give me a chance to pick up some spheres and other loot. You know, I wonder why an Al Bhed never considered this before. I could be like a spy for them! I might be able to sabotage the pilgrimage from the inside out. I finally smiled and nodded. "Oac!" (Yes.)
"Good," Yuna said.
"Thank you, Yunie, uh, I mean, Yuna."
"No, please, I like when you call me Yunie. It makes me smile." She laughed, as did Lulu a little. "Oh, but we probably must see if it's OK with Sir Auron."
Lulu nodded. "That would be a wise idea."
"Do we have to?" I said with disappointment.
"Yes," Lulu said sharply. "He will know if such an action is doomed to failure. He has that kind of wisdom."
"Uh, Yunie, don't you know what Auron did to—?"
"It doesn't matter. Yuna trusts Auron with her life. Oh, but one thing," and Lulu said in the strictest tone, "don't reveal your lineage to anyone!"
"Gotcha!" I replied with a nod. I knew what that was all about.
So, Yuna broke away from us and approached Auron. "Sir Auron," she said solemnly, "I would like Rikku to be my guardian."
I was hoping for just a yes or no response, but then he came closer to me. I knew the most distinguishing feature of an Al Bhed is the spiraling pupil, so to honor my promise to Lulu, I looked down at the ground. And I tried with all my might to hide my fear.
"Show me your face."
I was surprised at his voice, too. It was very quiet, almost a whisper, but it had power. It sounded very rough, which I expected, but it also sounded almost gentle, maybe even fatherly. "Hmm?" I asked.
"Look at me."
I knew I had to obey his command, or else. "Oh, OK." I slowly lifted my head, but I kept my eyes closed.
"Open your eyes."
Now, there was something about that tone that I didn't expect at all. It sounded a little playful, like we were playing a game of peek-a-boo. Maybe to sorta show I was playing back, I only opened one eye, and not all the way.
"As I thought."
So, he saw enough. I opened both my eyes. "No good?" That's it. I might as well pack my bags now.
But then, he looked straight at me. "Are you certain?"
I was still very creeped out by him, but for the first time, I couldn't help but like him, just a little. "A hundred percent!" I replied eagerly. "So, anyway, can I?"
"If Yuna wishes it," he conceded.
Yuna nodded. "Yes, I do."
Tidus suddenly hastily added, "Rikku's a good girl! She helped me—a bunch!" Everybody seemed to look anxiously at Wakka. I didn't understand why; he certainly wasn't calling the shots around here.
Wakka uncrossed his arms and smiled. "Well, I'm all for it! I say, 'The more, the merrier!'"
I broke into a huge smile. "Right-o! Then I'll just have to be the merriest!" I hopped around and said in the most playful manner, "Rikku, at your service!" I was still thinking in the depths of my heart, "What have I gotten myself into?" But mostly, I was just happy that I might be able to pull this mission off after all.
