Chapter 9: Shadow Seeking
With knowledge of the shadows escaping along with Darnell's target Jose due to the fayth, the gullwings decided it was time to seek out the shadows since they just escaped from their sealed prison.
"Now that these so called shadows are out, how do we reduce the numbers of every shadow we defeat in combat?" Yuna wondered opening the conservation to the others.
"I'm guessing when one is defeated." Darnell theorized sounding unsure of the theory he made, he appeared to have something else on his mind but only Yuna and Rikku notice this.
'Something's wrong with him, but what? I want to know.' Rikku thought to herself.
"But how many are there?" Rikku asked.
"Probably hundreds." Paine theorized in her regular tone but with a hint of worry.
"Thousands maybe." Tidus also throws in, the thought of thousands of shadows free to roam Spira didn't sound like a good invitation to anyone aboard at the moment.
"Maybe, but I'm not letting Spira be destroyed by shadows." Paine says in a aggressive manner.
"That's right." Darnell agreed with Paine, sometimes even he wondered how Paine and him became friends.
Suddenly the alarm starts ringing like crazy, "Is it a sphere?" Darnell asked since he can't tell the difference between a sphere alarm and a shadow alarm yet, at times he felt like as if he didn't belong here.
'Other than Jose being here, I guess I don't have much purpose here.' Darnell thought to himself disappointed feeling down and conflicted internally.
"No, it's a urgent call from Rin at the Thunder Plains and looks like we'll be heading there first." Buddy informs as Brother flies the ship towards the thunder plains.
Before the gullwings get there, Yuna goes and taps Darnell on the shoulder snapping him out of his thoughts and motions him outside the bridge to talk to him hoping to clear some things from his head as the two walk away. Rikku sees this and starts to feel jealousy towards this but she couldn't understand where the feeling was coming from as she stayed behind.
Once outside at the bridge Yuna looked at Darnell and he appeared to be stoic and calm as he can be but inside he felt as if someone knocked him off his center.
"Darnell, what's on your mind?" Yuna asked in a nice but yet worried tone, she could see the conflicted look in his eyes and this worried her so she thought something nice could ease him a bit.
"A lot." He answered, it seemed to her that Darnell was having a inner conflict with himself and upon Yuna seeing this she wanted to know but decides to go at it piece by piece.
"Like what? Care to talk about it?"
Darnell nodded. "It goes back."
"What does?" Now he had Yuna's full attention upon hearing this, Darnell found himself looking at her as he tried not to make eye contact.
"To me and Jose, We were childhood friends. We did a lot together." Now this Yuna couldn't believe what she was hearing but wanted to hear more. "Continue on."
"We were always challenging one another at times, when we were young men we decided to join being warriors for the company. Jose instantly became a high rank while I worked from behind his rank but we always made missions most of the time but as time progressed I met Luke who worked with Jose and I liked him right away resulting in me getting in more missions and ranking up as well, and that's where trouble started to brew."
"What kind of trouble?" Yuna asked him now starting to see where he was coming from, his story in her eyes was one of trials and triumph. Now she was going to hear what else happened.
"One mission we had to see what was going on to an power plant, knowing we have never been to this place before the three of us along with some infantrymen. Being toured around by a young woman she was very knowledgeable of the plant itself as we looked around finding some weird things, monsters in liquids I would never forget it." Darnell shuddered at the thought as Yuna listened, she felt her insides were somehow were starting to feel put back in place but were rearranged but she knew she had to hang on in order to listen to the story, she took a breath as Darnell continued.
"The next day after the tour me and Luke found out that Jose had locked himself into some room reading something extensively, he wouldn't even let us see him or help for that matter. While he was doing that Luke decided to teach me about sword fighting even though he knew I preferred range but he said it was vital to know, towards the end of the week we decided to check back at the cabins to find out that he left, knowing something was wrong we ran to the plant where it smelled like there was a fire recently there but it was gone. While Luke went on ahead to confront Jose I saw the tour girl down on the ground, I ran to her and I remembered who she was in an instant." Darnell stopped to catch in a good breath, Yuna looked and visualized what happened in the order she was told and she couldn't believe the burden Darnell was carrying, she wanted to hear more as she looked at him "Darnell...Who was she?" she asked now she felt off-center like he was earlier.
"The girl was my friend, Maria. She was just knocked out when I went to her, she thanked me for saving her. Once I saved her I hear the door open only to see Luke wounded falling down the stairs hard, he told me to defeat him which at the time seemed hard to do so I promised them both I will taking in Luke's sword and seeing him looking at something in a tube. I took and struck him as he fell on the ground wounded but that was a ruse, we fought and easily overpowered me and struck me in the chest. I reached in deep and removed his sword and threw him into the wall and down the plant it seemed like he was defeated as I came back to them and fell next to Luke smiling at her and telling Maria thank you before I passed out."
When Darnell was finished, Yuna felt nothing but emotions flowing through her, grief, sadness, anger, happiness and relief were in her as if her adrenaline was pumping all this out. She can only look at Darnell knowing the trials that he endured and understanding why he seemed distant and off-center, now she sees him as a strong young man who had to overcome the odds in order to save himself and his home before they met.
"Darnell, do you know about why he changed?" She mustered to say as if the words were stuck in her throat possibly realizing how much of a threat Jose is.
"I have some theories, either he snapped, went insane or some power took him over." Darnell theorized looking at her, now he felt a bit more secure and no longer waving inside feeling better.
"He said 'the powers of Ruin', maybe that's what changed him." Yuna said, Darnell looked at her with realization on his face. "It's obvious now." He said "The powers of Ruin changed him?" "We'll end that." He said now smiling for the first time in front of Yuna.
"Hey Darnell, one more question."
"Fire away."
"Do you like Rikku?"
"I do, but why?" he answered confused.
"Just wondering." she looked at him to see if he was hiding anything from her, unknowingly to her he was but he kept his composure as she finished studying him.
"Okay we made land in the thunder plains, start investigating!" Buddy notifies as the ship landed.
"Looks like our chat is over." Darnell said, Yuna only nods in agreement as they walk back to see everyone was waiting for them.
"Yeah, I'll be around if you need to talk." Yuna says as she walked to the group as they go down to see what's happening.
At the Thunder Plains...
The gullwings walk as their destination was the hotel that Rin owned as they continued hoping not to run into anything while they were here.
"So Darnell, what you and Yuna talked about?" Rikku asked him, he smiled a little knowing someone would ask since no one talked during the walk as the tension disappeared.
"Nothing." Darnell lied as they continued walking to the hotel, Rikku wasn't fooled.
"Nice try liar, so what was it about?" Rikku pointed this out, Tidus notices this and defends him.
"Rikku, he's telling the truth. Leave him be." Tidus says setting Rikku's curiosity down a notch, Rikku looked at Darnell as she couldn't shake that something was indeed different about him 'I wonder why Darnell seems so different now, one moment he looked conflicted and off-center and the next he's fine as if that didn't happen. He's a strong kid but I need to know what they talked about! Ugh, this is so frustrating!' Rikku thought trying to stay strong for the group and for herself as the jealousy feeling reared in Rikku's mind.
As the gullwings appear to the hotel they notice that the sign is off it's hinges, the door also and when they checked inside it wasn't better as the shelves were on the floor as it appeared to be a battle here. To everyone's horror Rin was found on the floor.
"Rin!" Yuna said in fear of what happened to one of her fellow Al Bhed's as she checked him only to find that he's shaken up and bruised but fine, Yuna gives him potion to which he looked normal when he finished with it. "Now what happened here?"
"It's horrible Lady Yuna, there's some mysterious figures that has appeared here." Rin explains as he shows the damage that was caused in the room as he stood up, it looked like it would take a while for everything to be put back where they used to be.
"The shadows." Rikku says realizing they have already been here.
"Along with a man with black hair was here, sword in hand. Not only that, the whole disturbance was a lot stronger here." Rin points out.
"Great, he was already here." Darnell said in a low voice keeping his rage in check though it wasn't easy, everyone looked at him as he was in mission mode which he was. If any of them said something out of line it looked like he would punch whoever said it.
"Meaning, the shadows were once sealed here." Yuna realized.
"So the biggest hit was here." Paine says realizing that the hardest impact was here.
"Ok, thanks for the info." Yuna says as they checked their equipment and looked outside while Rin stayed inside where it was safe.
"So, what's the plan?" Darnell asked.
"I thought you had a plan." Rikku says as she shoots him a confused look.
"Me too, aren't you a action person first then you think later?" Tidus asked him eying him a bit.
"I'm a little of both." he explained but that depended on the situation with him "But shouldn't the shadows be expecting us to hit them first?"
"Maybe, you have the sense to think things through." Paine comments at Darnell, he wondered if he even had the sense but it was better than being rash.
"I think we should hit them first." Tidus decided as the group checked the north section of the thunder plains, but as they do a shadow came out of nowhere as it appeared from thin air..
"A shadow!" Tidus exclaimed, the shadow appeared to be a female with some strange white energy around her and appears ready for a fight obviously in a fight stance.
"If it wants a fight, we'll give it one!" Rikku declared as everyone got their weapons ready to fight the shadow.
The shadow first strikes Darnell sending him back a bit, he counterattacks with using a fire spell doing little to the shadow. "I wonder if we're fighting a mage." Noting that his fire spell obviously didn't phase the shadow.
"My turn." Rikku declares as she strikes the shadow obviously the shadow didn't like that, then suddenly the shadow got into this strange position.
"What's this?" Paine wondered, suddenly the shadow shoots some of the white energy towards the group drawing them in and then a dark-purple explosion occurs doing major damage knocking everyone off their feet as the blast was over.
"Everyone okay?" Yuna asked as she got up from the blast but felt wobbly, either that blast was strong or that shadow was strong.
"Yeah, how about you Yuna?" Darnell asked around
"Ok on this end." Yuna answered while she getting up a bit slowly
"Rikku?" Yuna asked
"A-okay." Rikku says as she gets up
"What was that?" Yuna asked
"Well, I think that was ultima." Rikku says, the shadow nods at the guess that Rikku said.
"More blows like that and we'll done for." Darnell said observed feeling the power of ultima like that as Tidus uses a mega-potion to heal everyone..
"Have a plan?" Rikku asked him, she knew he had a plan now hopefully one that can end this fight.
"Spread out." was his answer "We're going to force it to watch one of us, we should be able to beat it if we attack from behind."
The Gullwings each spread out, Darnell faces the front of the shadow, Rikku is on the shadow's right side, Paine is on the left and Yuna is on the back side of the shadow.
'Now pick your poison.' Darnell thought watching everyone in a waiting stance.
The shadow decides to strike Rikku trying to knock her back a bit, then Paine strikes with magic break doing damage and lowering the magic's power.
"Hope that'll do." Paine says after attacking.
The shadow fires a energy ball at him doing some damage knocking him to the ground, but he isn't out yet by a long shot.
Yuna suddenly does Trigger Happy getting in some critical shots but doing major damage to the shadow, Rikku strikes brings the shadow down to it's knees.
"Your turn." Rikku tells him.
Darnell wasn't attacking, instead his mind appeared to be somewhere else after Rikku strikes until one word was ringing in the young man's head.
"Concentrate." the voice says.
Darnell didn't move.
"Kid, concentrate." the voice repeats, Darnell shook his head snapping himself out of it and listened to the voice and surprisingly it was Jose's voice. He raised my sword pointing to the shadow, then strike several times and then the last strike ended with a bang.
Tidus does spiral cut defeating the shadow, then the shadow disappears with a black puff of smoke.
"Where it go?" Rikku asked
"I'm guessing back to whatever the hole is." Darnell answered, still wondering why would Jose tell him to concentrate in the middle of the battle but decided to ignore it for now.
"Whew, that was rough." Tidus commented as he checked on his wounds
"I know, but at least everyone's alive and accounted for." Darnell says
"Yep, by the way Darnell, what was that new move?" Paine asked, Rikku waited in curiosity.
"I have no idea honestly, but it felt cool to do." he answered honestly.
"That's cool." Tidus says.
"But why the delay?" Rikku wondered.
"No reason." Darnell says quickly lying that catches Rikku and Yuna but not everyone else as he walked ahead.
'Something's wrong with him,when he stood there it was like he was in a trance. Then he snapped out of it and attacked the shadow, he's hiding something but what? He needs to include us in or we'll fail the mission and all will be for nothing if the shadows destroy Spira.' Yuna thought.
'That liar, there's something wrong with him but what? I can't help this feeling that I need to know from him, maybe I can get closer to him before Yuna does.' Rikku thought devising a possible plan to talk to him alone.
The group heads back to the hotel that Rin was first encountered once defeating the shadow.
"That shadow is taken care of." Yuna ensured
"Oh thank you Lady Yuna, who's this?" Rin says but his focus is directed towards Darnell as he tried to fix things back up.
"That's Darnell, he's new." Yuna answered.
"Hela du saad oui." Rin says.
"Huh?" he says with a confused look, he has no idea what Rin just said to him.
"He means nice to meet you." Rikku says translating what he said.
"Wait, you understand him?" Darnell says in confusion turning to her.
"I do, he speaks Al Bhed." Rikku explained, Darnell is even more confused than before.
"Rikku, I suggest you teach him Al Bhed first." Rin says, Rikku nods at the advice.
"Right, let's go." Yuna says as they leave towards the ship hoping to hear more about the shadows as the Thunder Plains north section appeared to be the shadow's territory.
End of chapter 9
Here's my Al Bhed list if anyone is curious. (Al Bhed on left, English right.)
Y- A
P-B
L-C
T-D
A-E
V-F
K-G
R-H
E-I
Z-J
G-K
M-L
S-M
H-N
U-O
B-P
X-Q
N-R
C-S
D-T
I-U
J-V
F-W
Q-X
O-Y
W-Z