Chapter Seven: Trouble at the Tournament

Wakka lay on the bench of the Auroch locker room, grunting in pain. "Sure you're all right, Cap'n?" Datto asked tentatively.

"The next game starts in a few minutes," another team member added. "You sure you okay?"

"We're playing the Goers, too..." moaned the goalkeeper, rubbing his large belly nervously.

Wakka gritted his teeth against the pain. He didn't think he had broken anything, just bruised his ribs badly. The Aurochs were losing hope like a bucket with holes loses water. They could not do that. Panting with the effort, he grabbed a spare blitzball and tried to sit up, but he fell back, the ball rolling from his grip. The door opened and Tidus stopped the ball with his foot. He picked it up and tossed it to Datto. "Miss me?" he grinned.

"Lady Yuna!" Datto cried as Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri entered. "Are you okay?"

Yuna bit her lip. "All this because of me... I'm sorry."

Wakka grimaced and struggled up to his elbows. Typical Yuna. "How can you let some Al Bhed kidnap you?" he said weakly.

But Tidus glanced over at Yuna and said softly, "Hey, let it go, all right?"

Wakka lay down once more, breathing deep, the pain almost too much to bear. "Don't go near Al Bhed anymore, ya? They're trouble."

Yuna and Kimahri left, closing the door behind them. After gathering his strength once more, Wakka pushed himself to a sitting position, and found that his voice was stronger. "The game starts soon. No time for warm-ups. Ready?"

"Lemme at 'em," Tidus replied.

"All right!" Wakka pushed himself to his feet, wincing slightly and clutching his ribs, but he found that he could stand without support. "I got something to tell you, boys," he said to his team. "After this game, I'm retiring. I promised myself this would be my last tournament. Win or lose, I'm quitting blitzball. But since we're here, we might as well win, ya?"

"Yeah!" the team cried in unison. Tidus nodded in approval.

"A-Am I on the bench?" Datto asked tentatively.

Wakka grinned. "I'm warming the bench. He's taking my place." He laid his hands on Tidus' shoulders proudly. "All right, boys, let's win this one! Let's make the Goers goners!"

"Let's blitz!" Tidus cried, and led the team out into the hall to prepare their re-entry into the stadium.

"Victory!" the team shouted, happy with their new motto.

"For Cap'n Wakka!" Datto added fiercely.

Wakka suddenly realized that Lulu had not gone with Yuna and Kimahri. She had waited patiently until now, but since they were alone, she approached him. Wakka groaned inwardly. A lecture was coming; he could hear it even now. How it was his fault that Yuna had been captured, how he should have kept her from running off all over town.

But she kept her eyes cast down, and her voice was more uncomfortable than he had ever heard it before. "I saw you floating there, on the sphere."

Wakka tried to grin. "Hey, you weren't supposed to see that, ya?" he said, wincing at both the pain in his ribs and his terrible attempt at a joke.

Lulu turned her eyes up to him, gentle yet piercing, and for once carrying no complaint. "You gave it your all, didn't you?" she murmured. Suddenly, horribly, Wakka felt his world begin to slip away. He tried to fight it, to keep it back, to focus on her words and keep a firm grip on reality, but it was one of the many battles he kept losing. As darkness enclosed about him, he thought he heard Lulu whisper, "I like you this way." He fell forwards, and the last thing he felt before he fainted again was her arms closing about him.

The spectators hurried back into their seats as Bobba's voice filled the stadium. "This is it, folks! In just a few minutes, the championship game! But who could have imagined a championship game between these two teams? Our legendary Luca Goers going against the horrendously ill-fated Besaid Aurochs!"

"This looks like history in the making, Bobba," his companion agreed, a grin evident in his voice.

"They're already going at it, folks! The Goers are taunting the Aurochs!"

The teams broke apart and swam to their starting positions. The ball was launched, and the game began in full swing. If Tidus had not been in water, he would have been sweating with the effort. He kept on telling himself it was because he wasn't used to the team, but in the back of his mind, he knew that he wasn't playing to the best of his ability at all. His mind was so occupied by strange new things to think about since he had come to Spira, and swimming about in a sphere pool again brought back old memories. He could still see Jecht's face clearly to this day, taunting him nearly to madness about his inadequate skill in blitzball. I'm not that bad, old man, Tidus snarled in his mind. At least I'm better than the Aurochs. It seemed disloyal to think of the Aurochs as such a dismal team, but it was true. Yet, by their hard work, they managed to keep the Goers from scoring in the first half. True, they hadn't scored either, but it was something.

"And it's half-time!"

"The Goers are playing great, Bobba. Really great!" Jimma exclaimed happily.

Tidus made a face as he pulled himself from the water.

Back inside the locker room, Wakka had recovered and Lulu was gone. He was as cheerful as ever, even though they hadn't scored yet. "Better than last time! Zone defense, boys! Stop those Goers!"

"Cap'n!" They all chorused.

"What about me?" Tidus wanted to know.

"Get the ball and just shoot like crazy!"

Tidus laughed and gave him a thumbs-up.

Within minutes, they were back in the sphere pool again. The team followed Wakka's advice, but fifteen minutes soon passed and the scores were the same. Tidus decided it was time for some drastic action. He hastily motioned to Datto, who had the ball. Datto passed it to him, and when it was just within reach, Tidus hit it towards the nearest Goer. He noted with pleasure that it was the sneering captain. No one had expected Tidus to hit the ball at an enemy player, and the ball collided with great force against the Goer captain's chest. Tidus was there in an instant, kicking it with all his might to the next player. That player got a full blast of it in his stomach, causing him to roll over backwards in the water. Tidus hit it to the next player, and the next, and the next, till all the defending players were reeling backwards, clutching where the ball had hit them.

The ball had been gaining speed all this time, and when Tidus kicked it towards the Goer goal, it had reached the velocity of a speeding bullet. The goalie held out a hand to catch the ball, which smacked hard into his palm. The goalie recoiled, his smarting hand bright red, but he had succeeded in defending his goal. Before Tidus could feel disappointed, Datto appeared above the goal to meet the ball. With one well-aimed punch, the blitzball banged into the net of the goal, right behind the goalie, who still cradled his hand against his chest. Tidus felt a swoop of excitement as he heard the garbled cheers coming from outside the sphere pool. They had scored!

"Amazing!" Jimma practically screamed as the ball was set back into its position in the middle of the sphere pool, ready for the blitz-off. "I don't believe it! The Aurochs are ahead, 1-0! Who would have expected this unexpected turnaround!" He paused, listening, then informed the listeners, "Everyone seems to be calling for Wakka, folks!"

Tidus halted, his heart sinking as he heard the unanimous cry of "Wakka, Wakka!" He signalled to his teammates, then flipped over and swam for the exit. He told Wakka what was happening in a toneless voice, and saw him off. As Wakka left, he shook himself. Okay, so I feel a little left out. So what? This is Wakka's show, after all. They really don't need me, anyway. Look at what they did to the Psyches! I wasn't even the one who scored that goal.

He walked over to the nearest sphere and watched. The announcer didn't seem to be able to grasp what was happening until Wakka appeared in the sphere. "The substitute captain of the Aurochs has called a time-out! He may be injured. Well folks, I... Ah! It's Wakka! He's back on the field and ready to go! The Aurochs seem glad to have him back!"

True enough, each one clapped him jovially on the back before resuming their positions. Tidus watched silently as play resumed. He felt strangely deflated, like a balloon without any air. An image rose unbidden in his mind, an image of Jecht guffawing raucously. You call that a victory? he seemed to say. You're nothin' compared to me, kid. Nothin'! I'm the best!

Tidus gritted his teeth angrily and furiously concentrated on the match. The seconds were ticking away fast as the Goers shot one final time. Keepa, the Aurochs' round goalie, lunged desperately to catch it, but the ball slipped between his fingers. The timer signalling the end of the match rang just as the ball hit against the net. A stunned silence fell over the entire stadium as the ball was returned to the center of the sphere. The match had gone into overtime.

Wakka looked nervous as he faced the Goer captain, and Tidus found himself holding his breath anxiously. The ball shot upwards, and Wakka managed to wrestle it from the Goer captain's grasp. The enemy teammates reached out to stop him, but he was already past them. He was nearly there...crossing the half-way marker between the center of the sphere and the enemy goal...only a few feet away. He coiled back his arm to shoot a goal...the Goers rushed towards him, but they couldn't reach him in time...he was going to make it...

Wakka stretched back his arm as far back as it would go, but right before he began to shoot, a spasm of pain crossed his face. Bubbles rose from his lips as he dropped the ball and clutched his bruised ribs. And then the Goers were upon him, one pushing him roughly aside while another grabbed the ball and passed it to his teammate. The Goers passed the blitzball almost effortlessly from one teammate to another, until the captain caught it and made a clear shot into the Aurochs' goal. Keepa, whose round face was as white as a sheet, leapt wildly to intercept the ball, only to have it sail right between his outstretched arms. For a moment, everything in the stadium seemed frozen. Then a wild, earsplitting cheer rose from the spectators, so loud that the commentators could barely make themselves heard.

Tidus slowly let out his breath as the commentators gabbled on and on about what an amazing turn of events they were experiencing, how no one could have imagined that the ill-fated Aurochs would make such a comeback, even though they hadn't won the championship. The Aurochs had won a match and tied another. According to Jimma and Bobba, it had been ten years since the championship game had gone into overtime.

All of this meant very little to Tidus. He had seen victories aplenty in Zanarkand, and he knew what it felt like to strut home well past midnight with a glowing contentment deep in his stomach, to know that he had helped bring that victory. What mattered to Tidus was that Wakka had nearly won. He would have, too, had his wound not prevented him from making that goal. Tidus hoped his friend was all right, and entered the sphere pool to check on Wakka just as both teams left. He swam over to the injured blitzer, who floated lazily in the water, one arm still clamped tightly to his chest. He wearily gave Tidus a thumbs-up and smiled. For better or for worse, it was finally over.

Screams filtered down to them through the water, but these were not screams of delight. Tidus motioned to Wakka, and they set out for the exit as quick as possible. What's going on? Tidus wondered frantically. They raced for the stairs that led up to the seats, trailing two long streams of puddles and dreading what they might find.

Yuna, Lulu, and Kimahri stood waiting, Yuna with her staff and Kimahri with his spear, ready for battle. "What's happening?" Lulu wondered aloud. Tidus looked about and gasped. Dozens of fiends were attacking the fleeing spectators. He half expected to see Sin looming over them, but was glad to see he was wrong.

Tidus turned his head to the right and felt as though his jaw had dropped completely out of his head. Several feet away stood a tremendously familiar form. Tidus had totally forgotten about Auron being seen in all the excitement of Yuna's capture and the second blitzball game, but now he suddenly remembered.

The crowd rushed past Auron, fleeing from the fiends, but he remained stock still, his great broadsword resting on his shoulder. A large, armored, lizard-like fiend stepped out in front of him, growling menacingly. But Auron merely threw the cloak off his left side, revealing the thick black armor he wore underneath, and gripped the hilt of his huge sword with both hands. No sound escaping his lips, he brought the blade crashing down on the fiend, and it was dead before it hit the ground. Auron rested his sword point against the ground, barely out of breath.

Tidus and the others rushed up to him, gaping with wide open mouths. "Auron?" Tidus exclaimed.

"Sir Auron?" Wakka asked disbelievingly at the same time.

Tidus turned to him in numb surprise. "You know him?"

"Yes," Lulu whispered faintly. "The best guardian there ever was."

"My father's guardian," Yuna murmured, her eyes popping out of her head.

Kimahri betrayed none of his feelings, but nodded slightly towards the red-cloaked warrior, as though saluting a role model.

Tidus stepped closer to the man and squinted at his face. He still wore his red cloak, belted tightly to his torso, and he still kept his left arm close by his side. His eyebrows knitted together only slightly as he watched what was going on around the blitz stadium. The same scar, the same face. It was the same Auron. However, other fiends were closing in, and there was no time for idle talk.

A bird fiend swooped down straight at Wakka, but Wakka was prepared. He quickly dispatched it with a strong toss of a spare blitzball. Where did he keep those things? A blue dog-like creature bounded in Tidus' direction, but met his blade head-on, and his head exploded in a burst of the multi-colored wisps. Another heavily armored lizard fiend bounded forward, but Auron planted his feet firmly on the ground and swung his mighty blade at the vulnerable underside. The fiend fell to the ground with a crash and a groan. Auron swivelled around and caught another fiend in mid-leap, whipping off its head easily. More and more fiends continued to pour forth, and Tidus began to grow irritated. "Hey, gimme a break!"

"Look!" someone cried, pointing up to the box where Mika and a few of his priests had watched the match. Seymour stepped calmly to the edge, and summoned an aeon. A chain appeared out of nowhere, pulling the aeon up from under the ground. She was a vaguely humanoid aeon, with a chain shackling her arms to her chest. As she was pulled up from the ground, she screamed and writhed in pain, but the chains held her at bay. She easily killed all the fiends in the stadium with bursts of magical energy that she shot from one eye. When she had finished, blood trickled silently from that eye, she panted heavily, and Seymour sent her back to where she came from with a wave of his hand.

In a secluded section of the harbor, blocked from sight by tall stacks of crates, Tidus confronted Auron. He jumped towards the man, grabbing the front of his shirt. "Hey, you! Don't just stand there! All of this is your fault! Gettin' swallowed by Sin! Ending up here in Spira! Not bein' able to go back to Zanarkand, everything, everything! I'm tellin' you, it's all your fault!" At last he was able to vent his rage and frustration.

But Auron's partially-mangled mouth curled into a smile, and he chuckled, then laughed outright. Tidus immediately let go of Auron's shirt. He suddenly realized that he had never heard Auron laugh before. What kind of man never laughed? Auron was simply too devoted to his task, never lightening up, hardly even letting loose a real smile.

"Who are you, anyway?" he demanded when Auron was finished laughing, but the man didn't answer. "You knew my old man, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

Well, at least we're getting somewhere. "And you also knew Yuna's father?"

"That's correct."

"Hey, man, there's no way. That's impossible."

"Nothing impossible about it." He paused, then turned to face Tidus straight on. "Jecht, Braska, and I...together we defeated Sin ten years ago. Then I went to Zanarkand, where I watched over you. So that one day I could bring you to Spira."

Tidus turned away from him. He couldn't stand the man's one-eyed stare. "Why did it have to be me?"

"Jecht asked me to."

Tidus turned back abruptly; he had wanted to ask Auron this for a long time. He had to find out. Surely Auron would know. "Is he alive?"

"It depends on what you mean by 'alive'." Auron turned away again. "He is...no longer human. But...I heard him...from within the shell. Surely you heard his voice as well? When you came into contact with Sin?"

Tidus suddenly remembered something he had forgotten in the worry of finding himself in Spira. He had heard Jecht, in his dream when Sin had sucked him in. He only realized now that it was Jecht who had spoken. He had ached for someone to ease his loneliness; in his dream he would have happily welcomed Jecht. And Jecht had complied. Does that mean...? "It can't be," he whispered, all his insides going cold.

"It is. Sin is Jecht."

"No!" Tidus found himself shouting. "That's ridiculous! No way! I don't believe you!" He turned away yet again, even as Auron turned back to him.

"But it is the truth. Come with me."

"If I say no?" he answered contemptuously.

"Every story must have an ending."

"I don't care about your stories!"

"I see. Sorry you feel that way." Auron paused. "Fine, then. Come or don't come; it's your decision." He took a step away, preparing to leave.

Tidus let out a roar of rage and lunged at Auron, who stopped in his tracks. "What am I supposed to say? You claim it's my decision. But I don't have a choice, do I? You're the only one who can tell me what's going on, anyways! I have to go with you, I have to!" He turned away once more and leaned his head against the wall of crates.

"Irritating, I know. Or are you afraid?"

At his words, Tidus felt a shiver run through him, and he began to cry silent tears. He felt Auron come up behind him and place a comforting hand on his shoulder. His shoulders began to shake, his tears began to flow faster, and he was unable to stop them.

"It's all right."

A while later, when Tidus had calmed down and wiped his face on his sleeve, he straightened up and asked, "Auron, will I ever go home? Back to Zanarkand?"

"That's up to Jecht." Auron walked a few paces away. "I'm going to offer my services to Yuna. Come." This time, he really did leave, and Tidus followed, though at a somewhat slower pace.

In the town square, Wakka made his final farewell to his beloved team. They protested, saying he should rest and heal his hurts, but he dispelled all these suggestions with a firm shake of his head. "Yuna needs me with her now. I can't be lying around in some bed!"

The entire team seemed to wilt. "Yeah, but..."

"Come on, look sharp!" Wakka barked, fighting to keep his resolve. "The blitz season just started. There are more tournaments to come...and now we've discovered we can do our best and still win. Don't make those faces, ya?" He sighed, then handed a blitzball to Datto. "You're the captain now, Datto. Lead 'em well, brudda." He turned away, then hesitated. "Well, see you, boys! My best memories are with you. Be good."

"Cap'n," they all chorused forlornly.

"I can't hear you!"

"Cap'n!" they all shouted after him, putting as much gusto and energy into their cry as they could.

Smiling, Wakka hurried up the steps that led out of Luca, to where Yuna, Kimahri, and Lulu were waiting for him on the large first landing. "Are you sure?" Yuna asked softly when he walked up.

"I never liked long goodbyes anyway. Sorry for making you wait, Yuna. I had some promises to keep, ya? From now on, I'm your full-time guardian."

Yuna beamed. "Then welcome back, Sir Wakka! Good to have you with us."

"Hey, it's good to be back, ya?" Wakka said with a smile, ruffling Yuna's hair fondly. Then he turned to Lulu. "So, any news on what happened?"

"Not really." Lulu shook her head. "We don't know where the fiends came from. Maester Mika is safe, thanks to Maester Seymour, but that's about it. They just appeared out of nowhere."

"Maester's Seymour's aeon..." Yuna murmured in awe. "It was so powerful..."

After a small pause, Wakka asked, "Do you think he'll stay? Tidus, I mean."

"Sir Auron knows him, apparently," Lulu replied. "You were right. He did meet someone he knew."

"Still, I'm gonna miss having him around," Wakka admitted. "He'll be out of place no matter where he goes, ya?"

"Do you know if he's still in town? I think I'll go see him." Yuna started to leave.

"I don't think there's any need," Lulu said, pointing into the square below them. Auron and Tidus were walking slowly towards them.

Tidus looked up to see that they were at the landing that led away from Luca. Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri were assembled before them, astonished looks on their faces. Auron glanced back at Tidus, then stepped in front of Yuna. She, Wakka, and Lulu all did the prayer gesture.

"Sir Auron," Yuna said breathlessly.

"Yuna, I wish to become your guardian," Auron said simply. "Do you accept?"

Yuna gasped.

"You serious?" Wakka gaped.

"You refuse?" Auron asked emotionlessly.

"No, no!" Yuna's cheeks were flushed. "We accept, right, everyone?"

"O-Of course!" agreed Wakka.

"But...why?" Lulu wanted to know.

"I promised Braska," Auron replied simply.

"You promised...my father?" Yuna asked, astonished.

Auron grabbed Tidus' wrist and pulled him in front. "He comes too."

Tidus felt their stares pressing down on him. "Hi...guys."

"This one I promised Jecht," Auron muttered.

"Is Sir Jecht alive?" Yuna gasped.

Tidus glanced at Auron. Would he tell? But Auron paused, and simply said, "Can't say. Haven't seen him in ten years."

"I...see..." Yuna looked dismayed.

"You'll meet, eventually," Auron said, sure of himself. Tidus felt his heart sinking between his toes. Of course Yuna would meet Jecht, if Jecht was Sin.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it," Yuna said, her statement almost asking a question.

Auron seemed irritated by all this talk of Jecht, and abruptly changed the subject. "What's our itinerary? Where are we headed?"

"Hey!" Yuna hissed at Tidus as Lulu and Wakka filled Auron in. "Come with me!"

Tidus followed her over to the railing that looked out over nearly the entire town. The landing stood higher than any of the many tall (at least for Spira) buildings. It was like looking down at a toy town, with the blitzball stadium off to one side, the docks at the far edge, and dozens of houses and cafes littered about in no particular order.

Yuna put her fingers into her mouth and blew, a shrill whistle coming from them. "Hey, you got pretty good," Tidus said. He couldn't keep the glumness from his voice, no matter how hard he tried.

"You sound sad."

"Yeah, maybe."

Yuna grinned. "Wanna scream?"

"I really don't think that's gonna help this time."

"You know," Yuna said slowly, serious once more, "it's embarrassing saying this myself, but summoners and their guardians are sort of like Spira's ray of light. A lot of people depend on us. When we fall or wish to give up, we don't want to show that. We can't show that. I learned to smile when I'm feeling sad. I know it's hard."

"Yeah...I understand, I think."

Yuna smiled. "Now, let's see what you can do!"

"Huh?"

"Go on! Smile!"

Tidus grimaced, then tried a painful fake smile. He chuckled nervously. "This is weird!"

Yuna held up a hand. "Next, try laughing out loud!"

"What?" This was more than he had bargained for.

"Come on!"

Tidus faced the railing, took a deep breath, and began laughing loud, fake, painful laughs. Even to his own ears, they sounded more like cries of pain coming from his wrenched heart. To his surprise, Yuna joined him, sounding every bit as fake as he did. With that, they looked at each other and burst into real laughs.

"Too funny!" Yuna gasped.

"It was your idea!"

Yuna found her composure sooner than he. "Thank you. I want my journey to be full of laughter."

"Okay." Tidus finally caught his breath again.

Yuna paused. "If we should get separated, just whistle. I'll come running. I promise."

Tidus felt his heart lifting, strangely enough. Perhaps it was Yuna's remedy, or maybe it was her words. They looked at each other, half in embarrassment, half in friendship. When they had first met, Tidus had felt awkward and tongue-tied around her; now they were friends. Tidus grinned. "Well, let's go." They turned back to their companions, then stopped as they saw that all the others were staring at them. "What're you looking at?" he demanded.

"Well..." Wakka said tentatively. "We were just wondering whether you were going crazy, ya?"

Yuna blushed, but Tidus grinned. "Sorry," she apologized. "All right, now we head for the Djose Temple!"