I really enjoyed this chapter! Can you tell by the length? (blushes) I think having my head electicuted by that trichologist woman did me some good. I even understood the latin in my exam yesterday! That's just heavy!
BW: Heavy? You've been watching Back to the Future haven't you!
FB: Well yeah but it is totally my relaxation method! I can't revise every second of the study leave, you'd have like an overdose and you'd forget stuff! Believe me I've done that before!
BW: And I thought you were gonna put these on hiatus!
FB: This also relaxes me I've discovered. I'm so weird I know but I think I have one of those brains that is completely annoyed when I'm not doing something preoductive! LIKE KICKING ASS ON FF8!
BW: What about number X! I thought you were trying to beat that...worm thing...
FB: (on sugar high) DIE WORM SCUM! (bazookas entire worm population)
BW: And in later news discover how all worm species have suddenly disappeared off of the face of the Earth...
FB : (to readers) I know what you're thinking, you're thinking she's never gonna finish the game well- (deflates) You're probably right...
Disclaimer: I do not own the FFX or anything else FF related but if Squaresoft gets distracted by a shiny object I may have a shot...(shifty eyes)
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As Good As Ruins
Numb.
I could feel the water gently weaving in and out beneath me but I couldn't feel my legs, my arms, nothing.
I had never been this cold before.
Beside me, I could hear Tidus shivering. I turned in the water to face him, eyes fixed on his shock white face and the pile of rubble he was slumped against.
"S-so c-cold." he stuttered incoherently. His voice sounded cracked and distant. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Tidus's wound now tinged blue, the blood had stopped flowing.
I'm guessing the cold had slowed his heart beat which in turn had slowed the speed of his blood flow. That's why he seemed fairly okay, he hadn't fainted from blood loss or anything like that.
But I'm not a doctor.
He winced slightly and heaved himself up from the stones he was slumped against. He was still shivering as he trudged the water towards me. Without a word, he held out his hand.
My eyes were locked on Tidus's arm, my hand flinched to meet his. The muscles in my arm strained to feel something as I lifted it upwards, my mind struggling to comprehend how to grasp Tidus's hand. My sense were dulled.
Tidus's hand closed over mine a long time before I figured out what I was doing. He hauled me out of the water and I ended up draped over his shoulders, almost completely immobile.
"Y-you're n-not going to believe this but that big h-heavy j-jacket you had? Th-that would come in m-mighty handy about n-now." Tidus said jokily. His breath rolled away in the minus temperatures. He was trying to lighten the mood but was failing miserably.
"I'm s-sorry about th-this." I whispered. He was the one that was hurt. The cold could have frozen his blood, his could be twice as painful. I was just- I felt like a burden.
"Cut that out!" Tidus snapped lifting me up the shattered staircase. Being close to Tidus gave me a little warmth, after a while my feet started working under their own power again. By the time Tidus had kicked in the marble to the coliseum I was more or less walking by myself again.
The coliseum…
It must have been beautiful in it's day, decorated with artistic scenes from historic events of the past and filled with flamboyant colour and flare. The remnants of the furniture pieces around the outside the room suggested that it was an important place where extravagant people made life altering decisions. Obviously the waters had risen since that time and a small leak made a waterfall in the corner of the room.
"It's kinda big!" Tidus stated, gawping around the room in awe.
"Understatement!" I scoffed peering up into the shadows of the fourth floor.
It was a little warmer in here but both of us were still shaking. If only I could remember where the stuff to make the fire was!
"Hey what's the matter? You look like someone that's just sat on a pin or something." Tidus put his hand on my shoulder and gently guided me round towards him.
"I think we can make a fire here." I said thoughtfully. "But we need some flint, grass and wood."
Tidus's eyes scanned the room for a minute before locking onto a collection of wood debris at the foot of the waterfall.
"Gotcha!" he said triumphantly.
"The flint and the grass are in separate rooms…one to the left of the wood and one with a stair case at the back of the hall…"
My eyes met Tidus's for a brief moment. I knew what he was thinking, those same suspicions about me flickered in his face.
"I'll check out the room on the left then." his eyes never moved from my face, hell the guy wouldn't even blink. As soon as his back was turned I let out a pressured sigh and headed to the room at the back.
The old doors practically fell away under my fingers and I stepped into the dimly lit corridor. I felt it immediately, something had happened here. The walls were etched in the stains of the story. Emotions. Why did I suddenly feel homesick?
No, focus, get the grass!
Normally I would have stopped, taken a look at some of the carvings, marvelled at the amount of work someone would have to put in. In this case, I ran straight past without a second glance in any direction. I wanted to get out and as soon as possible.
The grass I was after was in an old vase in a window frame at a halfway point in the staircase. The plant was old and crumbling, starved of water. Perfect for a fire.
"Hey Alex! I found the flint!"
"Really?" I launched at the window to see Tidus standing by the wood debris waving heartily.
"Grass's here!" I shouted down. "I'll be back down in a minute and we can get this fire going!"
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I glared at Tidus's wound, having a staring contest with it as we sat huddled up to the fire. As Tidus had started to warm up properly it had started bleeding again and I was starting to worry.
"What's the matter?" Tidus asked, catching the look on my face.
No use sugar coating it.
"Your wound…can we patch it up or something?"
"Nah, it's just a flesh wound, I'll be alright!" Tidus assured me as the stream of blood running down his arm dripped onto the floor. I gave him my best sarcastic look, the one usually saved for Kane and said:
"Yeah, and my name's Elvis Presley!"
"Who?" asked Tidus looking at me as though I was some sort of deranged fool, which I was.
"Nevermind." I snapped, shaking my head.
Searching around for a piece of cloth to use as a make-shift bandage drew a blank. I could feel the look of dread distorting my face as I looked down at my jumper.
"You know, you really don't have t-" Tidus started, watching my pull off my jumper and struggle to rip on of the sleeves off.
If and when I get back home I may have to congratulate whoever made our school uniform, it's incredibly durable. However hard I tugged at the tight-knit fibres, they wouldn't tear.
I growled at my jumper, it was being difficult.
Infuriatingly, Tidus started laughing in the background, throwing his head back so the laughter rang out on the empty coliseum.
"Well if you're so cool, why don't you come and do it!" I hissed.
"No problem." Tidus scoffed gripping the sleeve as I moved out the way. I half expected him to struggle like I had but a few moments of intense strain and the sleeve was torn straight from the jumper.
The chill in the air of the hall made me scoop up my jumper and shove it back over my head. My light blue blouse sleeve stuck out of the ripped jumper.
"Oh, this is attractive." I said in a sardonic tone.
Tidus smiled again and started to awkwardly tie the sleeve around his arm. I knew my thick jumper material wasn't ideal for a bandage but it was better than nothing. At least it would staunch the flow of blood. Tidus's hands worked clumsily, wrapping my sleeve around his arm until I came and tightened it for him.
"So…where do you come from again?" Tidus asked as I sat back down in front of the fire.
I could feel the familiar pressure of panic rise in my chest. I really didn't think it was a good idea to tell him where I came from in this particular situation but what was I supposed to say?
"Um…" Good way to start. "I come from a place…um…quite far away from Zanarkand…" As an afterthought. "I came for the Blitz ball tournament!"
That was totally believable, Tidus first found me just outside the stadium and I woke up in the train station so I could stick to that story for the most part because it wasn't far from the truth.
"Bet you're sorry you came this time." Tidus muttered. "Your family must be worried sick about you."
"Hey yeah!" I said suddenly thinking. "My mum's probably tearing her hair out about now and Kane's probably already taken out a missing person's file at the police station."
"Kane?" Tidus asked curiously.
"Oh, my brother. We get on pretty well for brother and sister but sometimes his ego needs a good deflating…I wonder how he's doing now…"
The lump settled in my throat and refused to go away. The emotion, the sadness just kept swelling inside me until my eyes started blurring with tears. My voice shook as I said the last bit.
"I never thought I'd miss him quite this much…"
If it had been me listening to someone say something emotional like that and bawling their eyes out like some pathetic fool I wouldn't've known what to say. But Tidus…Tidus knew exactly what to say.
"Don't talk as if you're never gonna see him again! That's not the way things are gonna turn out!"
"How do you know?" I sniffed bitterly. Oh yes, the perfect travelling companion me.
"Well for one thing I'm not gonna let it turn out that way. True I don't know where we are at the moment but once I do know then we can find a way back to Zanarkand and you could probably find your way back from there right?"
"Um…yeah but…" I suddenly felt very guilty. My home, however far away was still in one piece. As far as Tidus knew, Zanarkand was as good as ruins. Unfortunately, Tidus seemed to be thinking the same thing. His eyes cast downwards, his hair covered his face so I couldn't see the expression lining his face.
I wanted to tell him, despite asking countless questions throughout his journey, he would be much happier on Spira in the long run, I mean it's here he meets Yuna, Wakka, Rikku. The become his family, what family was left for him in Zanarkand after his mother's death and father's disappearance? I shivered.
Sensing my slight movement, Tidus glanced up sharply, deep blue eyes widening as he noticed how low the fire had got. The faintest spark still flared up over the blackened wood.
"No! No, don't go out on me!" he launched himself at the fire and started his futile attempt at blowing life back into the flame. A few embers lit up tauntingly but died as soon as they had started to blaze. He growled in frustration and stood up.
"Hold on! I'll get more wood!"
Tidus spun round and made to sprint off into one of the side rooms but something caught his attention and made him stop dead.
"Alex, can you hear that?" his eyes flicked over the empty coliseum, it was almost as though he could sense the creatures moves before it descended on us.
I didn't have to look for it, I knew exactly where it was. My eyes shot over to second floor balcony and sure enough the huge creature was there, eyes like black holes seeming to suck you in as you looked.
It had a thin angular body and spindly legs which seemed to reach a tip like a dagger. How a creature like that could cling to the walls in the way it was doing I'm not sure, it defied all laws of science as far as I was concerned. It moved with the stealth of a panther and as it passed it's surroundings, it's skin reflected the scene like a mirror. The ultimate stealth predator.
I choked as I made to scream.
Tidus heard me choking and his head snapped back violently, eyes burning mine. But I wasn't watching him. Catching on quick, he followed my line of sight to the creature on the walls just as it finished building up enough momentum and launched straight at us. It's landing made the ground shake.
"Stay behind me." Tidus said simply.
If I had been able to fight, I might have protested but in this case I think it was better that I obeyed orders.
I cowered behind Tidus as he readied himself, drawing the red blade and widening his feet for anchorage. His eyes were transfixed on the creature, the creature's black eyes narrowed venomously.
Before either of them could make the first move, there was a tremble in the building. The ground shook, from the cileing, dust and stones skittered down to the stand-off below. A few crumpled doors deteriorated completely and the walls threatened to do the same.
"What's happe-"
The explosion that ripped through the huge double doors at the end of the door cut Tidus off mid sentence. Smoke and fire littered the area. I could feel a rush of cold wind coming in through the new hole.
They came out through the smog, the Al Bhed salvagers and the girl dressed in red, goggles covering her eyes. Rikku. She tossed a grenade up in the air and caught it, grinning cockily. Both me and Tidus blinked in unison.
When Rikku saw us and the creature before us she screamed out:
"Suja!"
Yeah, despite our current life endangering situation, I really don't know what you just said and can't even begin to guess. I'm not a fluent Al Bhed speaker, I'm not even an Al Bhed speaker!
Seeing my clueless expression, Rikku vaulted forward and shoved me sideways out of range of the creature's attacks. At the same time, the creature lunged and sliced through Rikku with a razor tipped claw. Rikku doubled up for a moment before shaking it off and standing tall.
Although I couldn't see her full face through the goggles, I could imagine her expression. Reaching into her side belt she pulled out another grenade. It looked like an ordinary hand grenade complete with pin and everything. Rikku slipped her fingers through the loop and tugged the pin until it came out. Without so much as a grunt of approval she threw the grenade.
There was a burst of bright light, orange, red and gold, then a sound like guttural thunder low to the ground, a sensation of overwhelming heat. Then nothing.
I dreaded what I would see but I had to open my eyes to find out if they were all okay. They were closer to the explosion then I was and-
I could see the creature swaying slightly as the smog cleared and I could make out Rikku and Tidus's silhouettes, backs still facing me.
"Oh gimme a break!" A classic Tidus line. With that illuminating thought he propelled himself forward, sword spiralling the air and cut through the creature. I thought that would be enough to finish it but it snarled at Tidus and remained strong.
"E'ja ryt ahuikr uv drec!" I could almost tell what she was saying by her tone of voice. She was really angry.
She jammed her hand into her side belt and pulled out another grenade but this time, the grenade was…
I don't know how to describe it really…it was blue but…it kept changing colour, green and purple. It was like water.
There was no pin for this one, she just threw it and covered her ears. Another bright flash and a sound like nails on a chalk board. Both me and Tidus covered our ears against the horrible sound. The flash was a blinding blue, the colour of lightening and by the looks of what it had done to that creature, twice as powerful. The pyre flies scattered around the light as it faded on the air.
"Okay, what was that!" I garbled to no-one in particular.
Rikku wasn't listening. She turned back to face me, face sombre. Tidus didn't seem to notice the entirety of the situation or the exhaustion from fighting so many battles was getting to his head.
"Phew! Glad you showed up when you did! Thanks for the help."
The girl stopped her advances towards me and glared over at Tidus.
"Nacdnyeh res!"
By the way the others jumped up and grabbed Tidus's arms, I'm guessing she had ordered to take him prisoner or something similar.
"Hey! Letgo!" Tidus struggled but the Al Bhed seemed quite powerful, Tidus was going nowhere.
Rikku leaned in towards me, her face inches from my own. I could almost see her emerald eyes through the goggles.
"E'ja...hajan caah lmudrac mega ouinc pavuna, frana tu oui lusa vnus?"
"Um…" I said intelligently. I chanced an innocent smile. I already knew she spoke English but there was no way, here and now that I was going to ask her to!
"E kiacc oui naymmo tuh'd ihtancdyht."
To Tidus:
"Fryd ypuid oui?"
Tidus didn't reply. Rikku shook her head in a disappointed fashion and ambled over to him. Tidus started struggling again, sensing what was coming. For a brief minute she stood above him, looking at him, almost as if she was reluctant to cause him pain.
A swift kick in the gut had Tidus on his knees. The two Al Bhed men holding him dropped him and just sort of collapsed. His face was pale, his eyes were unfocused.
"Tidus!" I screamed hurtling forward.
I could hear one of them skulking around in the dark but I never expected him to attack me. I only saw the briefest flash of a face before a crack went off inside my skull and everything went black.
Al Bhed to English
Suja! - Move!
E'ja ryt ahuikr uv drec! - I've had enough of this!
Nacdnyeh res! - Restrain him!
E'ja...hajan caah lmudrac mega ouinc pavuna, frana tu oui lusa vnus? - I've…never seen clothes like yours before, where do you come from?
E kiacc oui naymmo tuh'd ihtancdyht. - I guess you really don't understand.
Fryd ypuid oui? - What about you?
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Okay, first of all, my apologies for the Al Bhed but I enjoyed making up sentences they could say and getting something to translate it into Al Bhed for me. I gave you the translations at the bottom of the fic so it wouldn't take to much time to find out what they are saying. I thought maybe some people might maybe prefer to know straight out then find out, it saves time. Okay enough about that.
So Alex is already missing her home? But she's only been there...um...how long has she been there? We've met the Al Bhed and the miniature dictionary at the bottom of this chapter (blushes and is sorry) and Tidus has passed out from being kicked in the gut (winces) and Alex has been knocked out. Ooh and have you noticed the story changing slightly? I have got big plans which are out side the regular game! I can't wait for you folks to get a chance to read!
(is excited)
Ooh and one last thing, my entries might be a little more spaced out due to exams but they are still coming okay, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!
