6. REST

The pain was unbearable. Such a close proximity to Sin, as well as his attack on us as a collective, had weakened me considerably and left me sitting on a small rock, arms around my stomach, trying with all my strength to refrain from moaning.

A few feet away Yuna stood admidst a group of injured soldiers, calling down Yevon's blessing on each. As she would finish speaking a white light would seem to cascade over them and they stood somewhat straighter with seemingly more strength. But this resulted, unfortunately, in the weakening of her own body and as she blessed the final soldier to come to her, her feet gave out and she sunk into a sitting position on the ground, Tidus at her side with concern etched on his features.

She gently eased him away and rose to her feet, walking in my direction. I sat up, wincing as a fresh stab of pain shot up my spine, and looked to her expectantly.

Instead of speaking, she lifted her hands and performed her prayer, then rested her palms against my temple. They were cool to the touch, refreshing.

"Praise be to Yevon, please bless this man, a humble servant of your teachings," she murmured and the white light from before slid over my vision like a silk drape over my form. The pain was eased considerably- there were some wounds that would never heal -and I found it far easier to hold myself aloft. I felt so physically healthy I could not comment on her ill thought out blessing, but there would be time for that, and much more, later.

"Better?"

I nodded to her, keeping my head down for a fraction of a moment as a sign of respect. She was a skilled Summoner and healer, almost as much as her father.

"Everyone that I can heal myself has been healed," she told me, smiling as best she could. "We must obtain the Fayth of D'jose before we can continue to the Moonflow."

"Moonflow?" I said questioningly. "But that's a round-about way to reach Macalania temple. Why not just take the road down to the bridge and enter straight to it?"

"The Maester Seymour invited us to dine with him at his home in Guadosalam. I accepted his offer as a show of respect."

Tidus stiffened at the mention of the Guado, as did I, but judging from the look in Seymour's eyes as he had spoken to Yuna ealier that day, the boy and I were nervous for very different reasons.

"If that is what you wish," I answered formally, absently. Already I was wondering how to keep the Maester from mentioning to them my situation.

Yuna seemed not to notice my lack of interest and instead waved to the rest of our group further down the road. They joined us and I rose to me feet to begin the last leg of the walk before D'jose and the inn that lay there.


The Fayth of D'jose was obtained with no trouble- I wondered wryly what figure lay set in the floor of the temple and whether we'd met in Zanarkand -and we rested the night. Throughout most of it I could hear Lulu in the next room over sobbing quietly and was sympathetic; she had managed to keep a straight face for quite some time that day and it had obviously helped Yuna keep her strength up.

I stepped outside early in the morning to give myself some air, wearing only my pants and tunic. My sword, boots and overcoat I left sitting on the bed in my room.

As an afterthought, I had also brought my clay bottle and sat leaned against the temple sipping from it. Much had happened that day to merit it.

I was joined after some time by another figure- Luzzu, I realised, seeing his shock of red hair and the torn but obviously Besaidian clothing he wore. I offered my alcohol to him and he accepted it without hesitation. There was no mirth or calm on his face. He seemed haunted.

"Where is your companion?" I asked him gently as I could manage, already knowing the answer.

"Torn in half," he replied, staring out over the temple courtyard. "Sent to the Farplane with his body rotting on that beach. Thank Yevon that Yuna was here or we may have had to..." He took a drink once more, handed me the bottle, and stared empty at the wall behind me. "Well, anyway."

"She'll end it." I pressed the stopper back into my drink and set it on the ground. I had utmost respect for the man, especially following such an attack. He had done well and, despite his friend's death, knew it. For it to amount to nothing was the worst blow of all.

Face collapsing, Luzzu pressed a palm to his eyes, his shoulders shaking in silence. He slammed a fist against the side of the inn and sank down to a sitting position, his tears slowly growing less and less until he let his hand drop and sighed.

"We believed so much that it would work," he murmured, his voice strained with grief. "And Gatta, I told him to wait. Told him he would be of more use at the base camp."

"Many passed there as well."

"At least they went in peace. At least I would not have...would not have had to listen to him scream." He pressed both thumbs to his eyes. "He did not go quickly."

"Were you there?"

"Yes."

"Then he went in peace, regardless of his injuries." How could I not know? Losing a friend to death- losing a close friend at all. Your only close friend. I turned my head from his grief before it overwhelmed me as well.

"When will Sin stop? Summoners go, we have peace, and then this happens once more. And nothing can halt the spiral of death."

I crouched down, elbows resting on my knees, and levelled my eyes with his. "Yuna will stop it. I will make sure of it. You have my word."

After a moment, he nodded, then shakily got back to his feet. "It's almost morning. I must rest before we start the burials." He outstretched a hand to me and we shook, a strangely foreign greeting amongst all these Spiran prayers. It was clear he had lost his faith in Yevon. "I'll keep you to your word, Sir Auron."

"Good."


We departed D'jose the next day once our summoner had managed to tear herself from her bed. She had a shuffling gait, a byproduct of her physical exhaustion, and I offered her my arm as we set out. She looked as if to decline, then thought better of it and took my proffered elbow to support herself. The boy hung back and walked close by her, offering simply his presence to bring her strength.

People lined the bridges, mostly wounded soldiers, each making the best effort that they could to offer Yuna the prayer of Yevon. She nodded back to each one, unable to stop and give her blessing to every injured figure. After some time she let go of my arm, her energy returning to her.

Tidus walked by my side as we made our way toward the Moonflow. The pyreflies emanating from it soared high above the treetops before us and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Where is our route heading to?" he asked me quietly.

"The Moonflow. Lady Yuna has decided we will dine with Maester Seymour tonight in Guadosalam and then continue on our way to Macalania."

He looked at me, disgusted. "Maester Seymour. What does she want with him, anyway?"

"To show respect, apparently. We do not have time to waste idly dining with the aristocracy-of-sorts of Spira, but what the Summoner desires is what we will do."

"Huh." Tidus fell quiet at my side, staring blankly for quite some time into the trees until we came upon a small group of Hypello. Tidus watched them, confused at the new race of humanoid creatures. One laughed and raised a hand to him.

"What eesh eet boy? Nevah sheen Hypello b'fore?" I suppressed a smile at their strong accents and instead pointed out, for Tidus's benefit, the large creature standing knee deep in the glimmering water of the Moonflow. True to its name it shimmered everywhere one looked, pyreflies jetting up from the surface like fairies at play. Tidus seemed stunned, paticularly, by the Shoopuf that eased it's way out of the water and let out an ear-splitting trumpet. Tidus jumped, his feet leaving the ground for a half-second, and stared wide-eyed at the large animal.

Another Hypello, this one different than the first, laughed and said, "Boy may not sheen Hypello b'fore, but boy shure not sheen Shoopuf before. Watch out, boy. Shoopuf shtep on you, not sho pleashant!" The entire group of Shoopuf handlers laughed at this and, cheeks burning, I watched as Tidus strolled off nonchalantly as he could manage toward the rest area. It certainly did not help that Yuna had joined in with the Hypello's mirth and could not restrain her giggles.

All of it brought to mind Jecht's initial reaction- drunk out of his mind and exhausted on top of it -to the Shoopufs here. He'd stumbled away in suprise, then stabbed his sword into the poor creature's leg and slit it's throat. All of it had happened so quickly, me and Braska could do nothing except stand by his side as the mother of a young, terrified, crying child berated him.

The memory brought a smile to my face and turned my eyes automatically to Tidus across the way alongside Yuna, so much like their parents. The thought of them reaching the same fate made my heart bleed.

A few hours passed before the Hypellos called for boarding and we each made our way on to our Shoopuf's back. I seated myself in a place where I had a view of our entire surroundings and then relaxed as we set off into the calm river water, our animal's lumbering footsteps a comfort to me. I had always been somewhat fearful of riding the Shoopufs, simply because in deeper water they relied on their considerable strength to keep themselves and their cargo afloat. Such a large animal did not seem capable of such stamina.

For some time I listened to my companions and their idle conversation, paying more attention to the water flowing gently a few feet below and the comfort the sound brought me. The caress of the pyreflies eased the pain in my body, made me feel a hint of rest if only for a moment.

I heard it then- a quiet noise, and the animal snorting gently and shifting. Something had changed.

My eyes shot open as a figure crawled on to the Shoopuf's rump and wrapped it's arms around Yuna, face obscured by the breathing mask and goggles they wore. An Al Bhed. I rose to my feet and retrieved my sword in the same moment the man laughed, pulled Yuna back and fell into the water in a diver pose. He would make it through the depths fast.

"Yuna!" both Wakka and Tidus shouted simultaneously. Without a second thought the boy leaped over the railing and dove in after them, Wakka joining him a moment later. I thought better of joining them, knowing that I would move slower than them at my age and also that my body may not fully be able to tear itself away from the comfort of the pyreflies. I instead leaned over the side and watched as they disappear into the blackness, into the ruins of a city lost.

Lulu and I sat across from each other for minutes on end, our eyes meeting, and I knew both of us shared the same thoughts. The same hope that each one of them would come out of this alive. Both men, due to their Blitzball backgrounds, had the ability to hold their breath for considerable amounts of time; Yuna was not so fortunate. The seconds ticked by like hearbeats growing dimmer and dimmer.

Suddenly we heard the tell-tale sign of broken water and leaned over the railing once more. Tidus held Yuna against his body in the crook of his elbow- she had fallen unconcious, most likely due to lack of oxygen -and both he and Wakka fought to lift her on to the Shoopuf's back. Once up, they laid her on the floor and Wakka set to clearing her lungs of water the only way he'd been trained how- he pressed on her chest with hands clasped, then breathed into her mouth. I was not used to such an archaic method, having been around healers any time I was in battle, and watched in relief as her eyes flew open and she coughed away the water she had swallowed. I let out a breath I had not noticed I was holding.

"What happened?" Lulu inquired, kneeling to cradle Yuna against herself like a loving mother.

"Al Bhed," Wakka spat, catchiing his breath and wiping the water from his face. "They tried to make off with her in one of their machina but we destroyed it and fished her out."

"What do Al Bhed want with Yuna?" Kimahri mused alou and my thoughts were brought to her mother Ikkei, but I unable to think of any explanation as to why her own kind would kidnap and try to drown her. No one thought any further on it, clearly glad that their Summoner was safe, and we sat back- albeit more tense and ready for attack than before -for the remainder of the ride.

After a hour or two more our mount reached the opposite shore of the long stretch of water and the Hypello on the bank immediately set to work suspending us a dismount platform and feeding and watering the tired animal. I set to foot to ground thankfully, for once happy to be on my own two feet. The others seemed not as jubilant, clearly already tired after stressing about Yuna's safety.

Tidus wandered off down the road- scouting, he told us, though I suspected he simply needed the time alone -and we each sat at the rest area for some minutes to gather provisions for the next stretch of journey. It was just past mid-day and the walk to Guadosalam would have us arriving near evening when the sun was lower on the horizon. It would be dangerous to be around fiends in the darkness and we needed to reach our destination before it came to that. I paid to have a blacksmith sharpen the edge of my blade and then called for each of us to follow Tidus's path. The boy had not returned yet and I grew worried in the wake of the Al Bhed's assault.

Before long we came upon him and the group continued forward. I myself hung back, content to see that he was safe, already mentally planning our route and the schedule we would follow to ensure that we stayed on time and on track.

And then I saw her and froze.


No, Auron, you have to tell us what you saw! Bad Auron. Perhaps we'll find out next time. Hmmm.

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