Chapter 6: Boat Ride to Destruction
The next day, Charlie emerged from the Crusader's Lodge and Wakka and Lulu approached her. The big man had something wrapped in an old cloth in his hands, and he handed it to the still-drowsy girl, and then said, "Hey, Sleepyhead! I got something I want to give you."
Confused, she took the package and carefully opened it. The cloth gone, Charlene found herself holding what had to be the coolest sword she had ever seen. It was fully as long as her red sword, but it felt lighter in weight. The blade was made of sparkling blue crystal with a barb near the end that made it reminiscent of a harpoon's head, and a long red tassel hung off the end of the handle. "Oh wow! Thank you, Wakka!" she exclaimed, peering down at the tiny runes inscribed on one side of the blade. "Brotherhood…is that its name?"
Wakka nodded and said, "Use it well."
"I will."
"That's the sword you gave Chappu," Lulu said flatly.
"Yeah, well he never used it," he replied, not looking at the mage. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he finally asked. "Where's Yuna?"
"Aren't we all taking the same boat?" When the two guardians nodded, Charlie said, "Well, why are we waiting here?"
"Yuna came to this village ten years ago, when the last Calm started," Wakka told her.
"That's not an answer!" she thought, but said, "Huh?"
The blitzer either ignored her, or simply did not hear her, and he continued to speak. "Since then, she's been like a little sister to Lulu and me, but she had the talent and became an apprentice. Now today she leaves as a summoner."
"This is our journey," Lulu said, "We should leave together."
As if summoned by that statement, Yuna emerged from the temple, dragging a heavy suitcase behind her. Lulu shook her head and said, "You really don't need all that luggage."
"They're not really my things," the summoner replied. "They're gifts for the temples we're to visit."
"This isn't a vacation, Yuna," Wakka chided.
"I guess…I guess you're right," she sighed, leaving her luggage behind as she approached the group.
Satisfied that everyone was present, the blitzer grinned and said, "Okay! Off we go!"
The quartet left the village and began their trek down to the beach. Before long, the resident fiends made their presence known and Charlie had the opportunity to try out her new weapon. Mostly, the fiends consisted of groups of raggedy looking wolves, big blue and yellow birds, and blobs of what looked like blue jelly. They weren't much of a threat, but the battles proved to be very educational. After an elemental explanation from Lulu, Charlene was just starting to relax, when yet another monster decided that the group would make a good meal. "What in the name of clown shoes is that ugly thing?" she asked, staring up at the new creature.
It was roughly the size of a school bus, with a tan body, magenta wings, beady eyes, and numerous razor-sharp teeth in its gaping beak. "A Garuda? But those things don't live this far south!" Lulu exclaimed as she cast a Blizzard spell at its head.
"Maybe a storm blew it down here, ya?" Wakka suggested.
"Maybe we should discuss it after we kill it!" Charlie snapped after a blast from its wings knocked her backwards.
Suddenly, Yuna stepped forward, and without a word, she summoned Valefor into battle. The bird aeon dropped from the sky, and immediately tore into the attacking Garuda's throat with her long talons, while the fiend retaliated by trying to tear her wings off with its teeth. As the two birds continued to fight, blood fell from the sky in a crimson rain, but it seemed like there was no end to the battle in sight. Finally, Valefor backed away from the Garuda, and before it could give chase, she fired a burst of energy into the ground below, catching the beast in the accompanying explosion and killing it. As the now-dead bird disintegrated into a cloud of the strange lights, Yuna sent her aeon away, and Charlie asked, "What are those little lights the monsters keep turning into?"
"They're pyreflies," Lulu bluntly replied.
"Oh."
The journey continued without further attacks, but then the group stopped at the cliff overlooking the village and Yuna stared down at it with an obscure kind of sadness in her eyes. "Take your time," Lulu said when she noticed the young summoner's expression.
"I thought we were leaving?" Charlie said, confused at the sudden stop.
"We're gonna wait," Wakka told her.
"All right."
Finally finished with whatever she was doing, Yuna turned and approached them. "Are you ready?" the blitzer asked.
Nodding, the summoner walked away, quickly followed by Lulu. "Did I miss something?" Charlie asked, turning back to Wakka.
"It's an ancient custom," he replied, "People leaving the island pray here for a safe trip. Chappu didn't pray that day…said he'd miss his boat."
Not personally given to praying, she just watched as her friend finished his little ritual before the statue. Finally, he got to his feet and said, "Well, that should do it."
Their prayers finished, the four of them continued their trip to the beach, Charlie trailing behind, lost in thought. "This is supposed to just be a game, isn't it? Not anymore, I suppose. I still get hungry and thirsty, and I know I can get hurt, so I guess I'd better treat this like real life. Hell, I'm not even sure I CAN go home, so this might be my permanent reality."
Suddenly, a terrible roar snapped the brooding girl out of her reverie, and she looked up just in time to see the wild blue beast-man drop out of the ruins overhead and land on all fours, separating her from the others! "Nice kitty…good kitty…DON'T EAT ME, KITTY!" screamed her mind as she slowly drew the Brotherhood.
The beast-man's snarling intensified as his golden eyes locked with Charlie's blue ones, and his claws dug great furrows into the earth as he clenched his hands (paws?) into fists. After smashing them into the earth with another vicious growl, he stood up, roared again, and then drew a ten-foot spear seemingly from nowhere and attacked her. "Oh damn!" she shrieked, just barely evading an attack that would have squashed her like a fly, had it connected.
Charlene struck at her assailant with her new sword, but he easily avoided her slash and dealt her a blow that bowled her over. Then the leonine creature took to the air in a mighty leap, and came down like the end of the world as he attempted to turn her into a human shish kebab. Luck was with her, however, because she managed to roll out of the way just in time, and then get to her feet and aim a two-handed slash at his head. He easily blocked it with his spear, however, and knocked her to the ground once again. She tried to get up, but found herself facing the business end of his spear as he towered over her, tufted tail swishing back and forth.
"That's enough!" Wakka called, and strangely enough, the beast-man withdrew his weapon and strode off without a word.
Charlie got to her feet and dusted herself off with shaking hands. "Who…what the hell was that?"
"Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe," Lulu explained. "He's learned the fiends' way of fighting."
"Well, why did he attack me, for god's sake?"
"He's another of Yuna's guardians," Wakka added.
"What the hell does that have to do with him attacking me?" she wanted to scream, but then Yuna giggled, "Sometimes we don't understand him, either. Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway, but he's protected me since I was a child!"
Seeing the affirmative nods of the other two guardians, the irate teen bit down her retort, and instead, asked, "He isn't going to do that all the time, is he?"
The summoner smiled and shook her head, and they finished their walk to the beach in silence. Once there, Charlene noticed that nearly the entire village came out to wish Yuna well, and they all stood on the pier with sad looks on their faces. The party worked their way through the glum throng, boarded the ship, and slowly departed. As they did so, several well-wishers burst into tears, and Yuna made prayer gestures at them. "Goodbye," she whispered softly as she made one last bow.
…
Sometime later, after the S.S. Liki made its way into the open waters between Besaid Island and their next destination, Charlie found Wakka and Lulu watching a small crowd that had gathered around Yuna. "Come to think of it, I haven't told you where we're going!" the blitzer said when he finally noticed her.
Since that happened to be what she wanted to ask him, the girl just kept her mouth shut and let him speak. "First to Kilika Island, then we change boats and head to Luca," he told her. "'Fore that, though, Yuna's gotta pray at the temple, and I'll be guarding. We'll be praying for the Aurochs' victory, so you come along, too, ya?"
The black mage, silent up until now, let out a disgusted sigh. "Great plan."
"Hey, it is a great plan!" he replied, shooting Charlie a meaningful look.
She had no trouble interpreting that look, and deciding that she wasn't getting involved in any impending arguments, she said, "Hey, don't look at me!"
Leaving the two guardians to their own devices, Charlene went to see Yuna, but the crowd effectively blocked her off. "Word is that summoner's got noble blood!" said one of the crewmembers.
"I heard she's Lord Braska's daughter!" exclaimed another.
"Ya don't say?"
"Lord Braska's…daughter?" Seeing that the crowd wasn't going to part anytime soon, and curious about Yuna's heritage, Charlie walked back to Wakka and asked, "Is Yuna's father famous or something?"
The blitzer nodded. "She's the daughter of High Summoner Braska! You saw his statue at the temple, remember?"
"Oh yeah."
"Lord Braska defeated Sin ten years ago, so now Yuna's the heir to a great legacy!"
"Gee, that must be really hard!" Wakka just gave her a look of complete confusion.
"Wakka's…a bit lacking in the imagination department," Lulu said when the blitzer's expression didn't change.
"Thanks Lulu, I'll have to remember that next time," Charlie laughed.
Just then, the crowd dispersed, and as if suddenly reminded, Wakka said, "Hey Charlie, you talk to Yuna yet? She had some questions for you."
She shook her head, but then noticed that the summoner was standing alone at the bow of the ship, so she went to join her. Yuna heard her approach, and stepped to one side to make a space for her. The two girls stood side-by-side in complete silence for a while, but finally, the young summoner decided to speak. "The wind…it's nice."
Charlie nodded in agreement, and then the two of them laughed. "You're from Zanarkand, am I right?" Yuna asked, curiosity shining in her two-colored eyes.
"Did Wakka tell you that?" The young woman made a face. "I don't think he believes me at all."
"But I believe you! I've heard in Zanarkand…there is a great stadium, all lit up even at night! Great blitzball tournaments are held there, and the stands are always full!"
"I was only in Zanarkand for a little while, but from what I saw there, the people did seem to like the game a lot…" Charlie trailed off, and then gave Yuna a look of complete surprise. "Wait…Yuna, how did you know that?"
"A man named Jecht told me. He was my father's guardian."
"This Jecht…what did he look like?"
Yuna described him to her, and she felt her eyes grow wide. "No…frigging…way!" The Jecht Yuna knew looked the same as the Jecht she saw on the billboards in Zanarkand. "Red bandana and a metal armguard…Yuna, when did you meet Jecht?" Charlie asked, trying to keep her voice level.
"Ten years and three months ago. Why?"
"When I got to Zanarkand, the people there were having a memorial tournament for a blitzball player named Jecht who disappeared ten years ago. I saw a picture of him, and he looked exactly as you described him…but how in the world did he get here?"
"You are here, are you not?" Yuna smiled.
"If he got here, and he's from Zanarkand, then maybe, if I can find Zanarkand, I can go home again?" Before Charlene could voice that theory however, the ship shook violently and tilted to one side, and she had to grab Yuna to keep her from falling overboard. "What the hell is going on?"
The ocean around them heaved violently, and as Kimahri rushed to his charge's aid, a huge, dark shape loomed up from the depths of the sea. "Sin!" shouted one of the crewmembers, as everyone else on deck went into a state of panic.
The gigantic monstrosity that was Sin swam by languidly, as the onlookers shifted from panic to sheer awe. At the same time, the crewmember that sounded the alarm rushed to one of the harpoon guns and took careful aim at the massive fin as one of his comrades took command of the other one. "What do you think you're doing?" Wakka shouted, "Stick a harpoon in him and we'll all get dragged under!"
"Sin is going for Kilika!" cried the first crewmember, his face full of anguish. "Our families are in Kilika, so we gotta distract it! Please forgive us, Lady Summoner!"
Yuna nodded gravely, and Wakka said, "Oh, boy…"
The men at the harpoon guns fired, and the projectiles sailed across the distance, piercing Sin's fin and effectively catching in its flesh. In response, several pods closely resembling the ones from Zanarkand detached themselves from their progenitor and landed on the deck, where they quickly morphed into their winged bug forms. Screeching angrily, the bugs rushed forward to attack anyone they could reach, but Charlie and the three guardians kept them at bay. Unfortunately, every time one fiend fell, another would come to take its place, thus keeping the fight at a stalemate. "They just keep coming! We have to get rid of the fin, but how?" Charlene thought, all the while trying to keep the bugs from swarming her under.
Suddenly, an idea came to her, and she shouted, "Wakka, Lulu, let me and Kimahri handle these bastards, while you two attack the fin!"
"Are you sure you can keep those things away from us?" the mage demanded.
"If we don't break free soon, then Sin will end up dragging us under, and then it won't matter, now will it?"
Lulu nodded gravely, and then turned and cast a Thunder spell at the fin. It was probably about as painful as a mosquito bite to the great beast, but it did veer off to one side, and then the other, as Wakka followed up with a strike from his blitzball. Meanwhile, Kimahri and Charlie kept the bugs at bay, using disabling rather than killing strikes, since Sin would only send out more of the little monsters if the present ones died. Whenever one of them seemed to be running out of energy, Yuna would cast a Cure spell from her safe vantage point behind the lines, which was probably the only thing that kept them all going. Finally, the wooden planks anchoring the harpoon guns in place gave way with a resounding crack, and the weapons sailed away as Sin put on an extra burst of speed.
As a departing gesture, Sin slapped its tail near the boat, causing great waves to wash over the deck. When the raging waters finally subsided, everyone on board looked around and assessed their situation. So far, the damages to any property were minimal, and fortunately, the only injuries were bruises caused by the ship throwing her around as it pitched back and forth in the waves. Suddenly, Yuna realized that someone was missing, and she shouted, "Where's Charlie?"
Everyone looked around, and then the horrible truth dawned on them; Charlie had fallen overboard! Without turning a hair, Wakka leaped over the side of the ship, blitzball in hand.
…
When Charlie saw the wall of water coming, she barely had time to take a breath before the deluge smashed into her and dragged her over the railing. After that, everything went dark as the unconscious girl slowly drifted toward the bottom of the deep blue sea. As she sank, untransformed bugs swam by, striking her as they passed. Then, Wakka's blitzball rocketed across the distance, ricocheting off the little fiends before returning to its owner. The blitzer hurriedly swam over to his friend and checked her out. She was pretty beat up, but still alive, so he quickly used a Potion on her, and when she woke up, he pointed toward the surface, and the two of them swam upward.
Suddenly, a pair of dolphins rushed by, squeaking in alarm, as a monstrous jellyfish appeared, accompanied by even more of the bug-scales. "It just never ends, does it?" Charlie mentally growled as she dispatched one of the bugs and then swam out of the way of its boss' lashing tentacles.
Meanwhile, Wakka whacked the jellyfish from behind, and for the briefest moment, it looked like a flickering yellow light surrounded his blitzball. "Was that…lightning?" she wondered as the huge fiend bellowed in pain.
The beast whipped its tentacles back and forth, as it swam backwards like a squid, and when its two assailants gave chase, it fired off a burst of water in their direction. Then a swarm of scales followed the pulse, and Charlene and Wakka had to kill them in order to reach their main target. Finally, the two of them managed to slaughter the jellyfish, and headed for the surface as it disintegrated into a cloud of pyreflies. They managed to get back to the ship, where Charlie collapsed on the deck, panting with exhaustion. "I'm okay!" she croaked when Yuna gave her a worried look.
Suddenly, they all heard the sound of splintering wood combined with a gale-force wind and screams of terror, and looked up as Sin sucked up everything in Kilika not nailed down or already wiped out by the preceding tsunami. Finally, the unnatural wind and the screams subsided, and the great beast, its task completed, departed for the open ocean and returned to the depths. As everyone stared in silent horror at the devastation Sin had left in its wake, Yuna's face took on a look of grim determination as she said, "I will defeat Sin…I must defeat Sin."
Charlie just stared at the summoner's grave expression, and then closed her eyes against the horrors, listening to the lonely cries of the gulls and the now gentle lapping of the waves. "Oh God…all those people! How can anyone stand living like this…in constant fear all the time?"