Chapter 9 – Bonecrave

Ninth stop: Macalania Woods

- "Tell us what you know about this guy", Lucil firmly asked O'aka, as she planted her katana on the ground and sat next to it.

Now, it wasn't just O'aka's problem anymore. They needed to know what they were going to be battling against. The team sat in circle, deep inside Macalania's woods. Just to be sure no one would spy or attack them, Yuna had secured the area with deep, heavy protective spells. They were safe for now.

- "I… I'm not sure." The merchant started. "I only talked to one of the guys working for him. But I had heard rumors about him… He wasn't that scary when I decided to collaborate with him. I thought he was just a "simple" mafia guy… But now… Now people are saying he plans to take Spira over. "

Rikku gasped, suddenly putting two and two together. She brought her hands to her face, slowly freaking out.

- "Poopies! Don't tell me I just threatened Bonecrave yesterday?!"

O'aka hesitated, and finally nodded, looking down. She hit her forehead with the palm of her hand. What an idiot! As time passed, though, she thought more about it, and remembered who she was, and who she was with. She was 1/7 of the reason why Sin was forever gone. Oh well, she accepted it. They would take him down either way. Gippal looked at her, amusingly following the versatility of emotions displayed on her face, one after the other. She had gone from worry, to sorrow, to anger, to reflection to finally reach acceptance. The five stages in under one minute, that had to be a record.

- "Erm, sorry guys, who's that exactly?" Tidus wondered, lost. He was used to having to ask the questions around here.

- "Bonecrave. People are just starting to really talk about him as a serious threat. He is a kind of mafia leader, but he didn't seem that dangerous. Elma has reported him messing with our missions a few times now. We were handling it, but a while ago he suddenly revealed he was way more powerful than we had thought up until then. And then he disappeared from sight. I was hoping to investigate on him as we journeyed together." Nooj admitted. "I should have known it was him when you refused to tell us who he was."

- "How comes you've heard of him, Rikku?" Yuna asked, keeping her calm and composure.

- "I've travelled a lot lately, and I heard stories… God I hope they're not true."

- "What stories?" Gippal asked, curious. He was still playing with the handle of his sword. It seemed to distract and calm him.

Rikku scratched her head, trying to remember what she had heard. But it wasn't hard really. It was the kind of ghost stories that would stay with you. The kind you would remember when you went to sleep at night, alone in the dark.

- "That he feeds on people's thoughts and souls, that's how he gets stronger. Supposedly he can read people's mind… And obviously, he must be an unsent."

- "Then it's my job to send him!" Yuna said as she grasped her staff stronger. She had had that same fire burning in her eyes when she had vowed to destroy Sin.

Tidus sighed, but he agreed. If some crazy man was threatening to disturb Spira's calm and positive Spiral, then it was their jobs to stop him and protect this world… Again.

- "Easy tiger, we don't even know where to find this guy. Rikku, any ideas on that?" Gippal asked.

- "Hmm… I'm not sure. Obviously, he must have one of those cliché creepy lairs deep in a cave or something…"

- "I think Elma mentioned she had heard of some alarming noises coming from the Cave of the Stolen Fayth. Maybe we should go there first", Lucil offered.

- "That's a good idea," Nooj agreed. "For now, I don't think we can do much. We simply don't know enough. Lucil and I will try to contact Elma, see if we can find out anything else. O'aka, you're coming with us. In the meantime, stay within the area. We'll come back soon."

- "Don't worry Nooji! We still have our watches!" Rikku said, gesturing him the silver bracelet around her wrist.

Nooj looked at her strangely, and walked away with Lucil and O'aka without saying another word.

- "What? Is it because I said "Nooji"? …I know… I regretted it as soon as it was out of my mouth…"

It had reminded them of how a certain crazy blond used to nickname Nooj. It was not a pleasant memory. Yuna, Gippal and Tidus laughed. They needed something to get their minds off all that heavy talk.

- "Any of you got his swimsuit?" Tidus asked, bringing his forearm up, fist clenched.

- "The water is colder than I remembered." Yuna commented as she flew pass Tidus, lazily swimming on her back.

- "That's because I was there to warm you up!" He said playfully.

She let out a small laugh, smiling at the memory. This is where they had shared their very first kiss. And their second… And … Let's just say they had made the most out of this stolen moment, just the two of them.

Rikku and Gippal had declined the invitation, saying they'd rather take a nap, given that they had been up all night. Yuna felt like they should be training for what was to come, but she had decided, much to Tidus' amazement, to allow herself to let loose first. They had all day to train and to think this through. And it wasn't the first threat they stopped from destroying Spira. Compared to Sin and even to Vegnagun, this guy was nothing. It was going to be a piece of cake for them.

- "It's so weird. I never thought we would be back here, almost three years later. Or at least that I…"

Tidus surprised her, splashing around. He interrupted her gloomy thoughts and dragged her in his arms, carrying her like a floating princess. He kissed her forehead, gently turning and turning again on the clear surface of the lake.

Its atmosphere was so different from how it was during the nighttime, but it was equally beautiful. Even without the blue veil of the night, the cerulean and sapphire colors of the place still prevailed.

A shower of lights was pouring down around them, singing over and over again this delicate note, like hundreds of crystals breaking, that echoed around the area. The particles were coming from the way up, dismissed by the waters and carried out by the wind. The Sun's rays seemed to make the little silver pieces shine even brighter. It was a cloudless blue sky, contrasting with the dark, powerful one they were still walking under a few hours ago. Everything seemed tranquil and out of time here.

Big broad trees surrounded them, their braided silver-brown trunks descending into the profoundness of the lake, their feet taking roots at its very base. A few turquoise crystals seemed to have bloomed here and there, some coming out of the water, some shining far below.

Yuna stretched, eyes closed. She felt so comfortable in his arms. He looked at her, moved by how relaxed she was. They went on like this for a long time, when he suddenly threw her away from him, deep into the lake.

- "Heeeey!" She protested, her head gracefully coming out of the clear water. "What'd you do that for?"

- "No reason." He said with his broadest grin and disappeared in the depths of the lake as he smoothly dove.

- "You get back here right now!" She said in a laugh, diving right after him.

Yuna could stay underwater for 2 minutes and 41 seconds. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Enough to kick Tidus' ass.

- "Hello Elma, how are things back at camp?"

- "Things are great! Everything's under control."

Nooj and Lucil were studying Elma's face on the little watch Gippal had fashioned for them. She was standing on Nooj's office, inside of the big hut. It had only been a few days since they had parted, and yet it felt like much longer. Nooj suddenly realized he missed his Youth League partners, as he liked to call them. It was his home.

- "Say, we wanted to ask you something," Lucil went on. "What do you know about a man that calls himself Bonecrave?"

Elma fell silent for a minute. She hadn't heard that name in a while and had hoped he was finally gone.

- "Why do you ask?" She replied carefully.

- "He may be after us. Or us after him. The situation is a bit unclear so far."

Elma tried not to panic, but her concern for her friend showed on her face.

- "I-I don't know much, really. It mainly what I've heard about him. So to distinguish the fake from the truth is hard…"

- "What do you know?" Nooj asked again, a tad more firmly, though not unkindly.

- "He has been forming an army and growing stronger for quite some time now. A witch around the Calm Lands told me he may have started appearing right after Sin was destroyed. I don't know how she would know, really, so don't believe everything I'm telling you but…"

- "What else did she tell you?" Nooj insisted, wanting to know everything he could about this guy.

- "She said something strange about him not being "just one person", whatever that means. That woman didn't seem very together, if you ask me. I wouldn't worry too much about what she said."

- "Thank you, Elma," Nooj nodded. "Anything else?"

- "Hmm… Not that I can recall right now. I will think some more about it and contact you if anything important comes back to me, is that alright?"

- "Perfect! Thank you, Elma." Lucil replied, smiling warmly at her friend and second.

- "And, you guys be careful, ok?"

- "We will!" Nooj promised before ending the call.

They turned to O'aka, who had been listening to the entire conversation. He seemed more and more worried.

- "Did anything of what she said reminded you of something?" Lucil asked.

- "I'm not sure… Maybe more the location. I think he probably is down at the Calm Lands. You know, in the Cave of the Stolen Fayth, like you said. "

- "That's awfully close to Clasko." Lucil thought at loud, worried about her friend.

Nooj had been silent this whole time, thinking about what to do next. It wasn't that clearly stated, but he could feel that everybody on the team waited for his decision. He knew what do to.

- "Let's go meet the others."

It was settled. They would go meet Baralai in Bevelle. And then they would continue the road towards the Calm Lands—a strange name for a place that always seemed to host such dark secrets—and find this Bonecrave. Nooj had already contacted him, letting him briefly know of the situation. He was away on duty, but he would be back to welcome them on the morning.

- "So, what do we do now?" Rikku asked, lazily playing with her hair.

- "For now, we wait. It's no use going to Bevelle, Baralai isn't there yet. And, thanks to Yuna's spells, we are safe here."

Rikku thought it was great news—she hadn't been able to sleep, and she didn't feel awake enough to talk about a plan to destroy yet another psychopath threatening the well-being of Spira. Plus, she loved the atmosphere here in Macalania's woods.

Yuna, Tidus, Rikku and Gippal decided to go train. They wanted to practice their senses, outside of their sight, to be able to detect the enemy better. They would go in turns: Rikku, Tidus and Gippal would hide their eyes—Rikku moved her blue handband downer, and Gippal hid his second eye with his with a piece of clothing, same as Tidus—and Yuna would randomly cast object around them, which they had to detect and destroy. It seemed easy enough in theory, but it was not.

The background noise in itself was enough to throw them off balance. Had that been an object just then, or just the mere wind? Rikku's head turned from side to side, wishing she could see through her handband. She would just randomly throw her arms up and to her sides, so much so Tidus and Gippal had to move away from her, fearing for their lives. When she moved the handband away from her eyes, she found the pair of them staring, a wary look on their eyes. She smiled apologetically, and they went on with the training. Man, she hoped she would never turn blind. Both for her sake and everybody else's.

Tidus was doing a far better job with the little game. Yuna thought he was cheating at first, which they almost argued about—how could she think he was a cheater? There was no use of winning if it didn't come from his efforts—but quickly let it go. As soon as Yuna threw an object his way, he could sense the vibration of the air and, probably partly thanks to his great blitzball player reflexes, he would smash the thing down with his fist. Yuna admitted it was a bit of a turn on, seeing him this good. Although she would never tell him—how embarrassing.

But the best out of the three was probably Gippal. Partly blind already, any object that would come, near or far, around his right side would be instantly destroyed into tiny pieces scattered on the ground. He missed a few on his left one, but overall, he was very good, and ready to find and put where it could do no harm whatever shadow who'd come his way.

Then came Yuna's turn, along with Rikku, who wanted to go again and practice. Tidus and Gippal gathered some pine cone and branches for around them.

It came as no surprise that Yuna would be great at this. Her summoner's skills meant she could perceive, way above average, any disturbance, however minuscule it might be, in the air, water, or ground. She could feel the pyreflies before anyone else would, and interact with them, so detecting pine cones or branches flying her way was a piece of cake. And to top it all off, she would move any object coming her way with her usual grace and calmness. Her movements reminded Tidus of the Sending she had done in Killika. Gippal gave him a nudge then, mockingly telling him to stop drooling on his girlfriend. He hated happy couples.

Rikku was slowly getting better. She had managed to calm down a bit—thanks to Yunie's advice—and had stopped doing so many unnecessary movements. Instead, she would breathe in, and try to focus before moving. After a few try out, she had become quite good. Her biggest strength was her speed. So, as soon as she'd began focusing it in the right places, she realized she was a natural too. After all, she had actually succeeded in detecting the shadow the day before, and this without any training beforehand.

After a few hours of training, they finally took a break. The four of them were hanging out near the lake, their feet by the water.

- "I'm exhausted," Rikku let out, letting gravity reclaim its pull on her body, now completely lying on the ground.

- "Same here," Tidus admitted, letting his head rest on Yuna's shoulder. She dropped hers on his and slowly nodded, silently agreeing.

- "I'm not!" Gippal said a bit too strongly, almost making them jump. "I could have done this all day!"

What a show-off, Rikku thought as she rolled her eyes. She looked up at him, moving her head back a bit. He was proudly standing behind her, his arms crossed on his powerful chest.

- "Anyone fancy a swim?" He said.

Before they could reply, he was already running like a mad man towards the clear water. He jumped with all his weight. As his body came in contact with the lake, it formed a powerful explosion, water bursting out of the lake and raining down on his three teammates. A few waves smashed against the shore, marks of his passing.

Seconds later, Gippal's head emerged from the lake, nose first. He threw his blond hair back, in a smooth shampoo commercial movement and beamed at them. To say they didn't look happy was an understatement.

If Gippal had to describe in the best way his friends' state, he would say they could easily be mistaken for three damped cats, their fluffy fur soaking wet and sticking to their pinkish skins, the fire of a resolved hatred shining in their eyes.

- "And now, you don't even have to actually go swimming to enjoy the properties of this great Macalania water!" He said, admiring his hand shaped like a cup, full of water. "You're welcome, you guys!"

The three damped cat looked at each other, a same idea passing through them. If that man had a death wish, fine. They were not ones to ignore such incentives.

- "Come on Yunie! Get him!" Rikku cheered for her cousin.

Yuna was moving fast, swimming across the surface of the lake. She was sprinting towards Tidus, who was getting away with a ball in hand. The fact that he was her boyfriend didn't make her any more considerate as she tackled him. She was here to win. Unfortunately, the man who had once been the start player of the Zanarkand Abes wasn't having it. He knew well how to Slip from the tackles, and he kept his ball. He swiftly moved passed her, but she kept going after him.

They were playing Bitzball: Girls against boys. It was supposedly a friendly match, but Gippal had placed a bet: the winners would get to pick from the other team's members their own personal slave for the next two days. Of course, everyone's potential choice was pretty obvious, especially after Gippal had winked pretty heavily in Rikku's direction. And Tidus wasn't going to pick Rikku, nor would Yuna choose Gippal. But in all fairness, he had preferred to give them the illusion of free choice.

O'aka was there as their arbitrator, while Lucil and Nooj were busy trying to fix some last minute Youth League crisis with Elma. It was already late afternoon, and the sun was setting around them. The orange veil casted on the surface of the lake, mixed with the sound of their laugher echoing within the area gave them a sense of joyful eternity and content.

Tidus was sprinting across the lake, towards Rikku who was protecting the goal. Tidus was going to mark over her dead body, and even then, her spirits would still be fighting to prevent him. Just as Tidus was about to jump to start his famous Jecht Shot—or rather, his late father's—Yuna tackled again and stole the ball. Gippal on her feet, she swam as fast as she could, diving to avoid both of the boys now chasing her.

- "Gooo Yunie! The second time's the charm! You can do itttt!"

She flew in direction of the goal—that consisted of a space between two trees Gippal was fiercly guarding. She was going to do it. Yes. She could do it. No way she was going to lose. Gippal was on her right side, about to tackle. She jumped out of the water and threw the ball to Rikku, now out of the goal and halfway through their improvised stadium. Tidus stayed on Yuna, while Gippal swam towards her blond teammate.

He was gaining ground, but at the very last minute, Rikku jumped as high as she could and threw a Whiter pass to Yuna. Gippal touched it, but failed to stop it, and the substance on the pass weakened him somewhat. Because of Gippal's intervention, the trajectory of the blue bliztball changed, and Tidus was suddenly in the perfect range to catch it. But Yuna nudged him and barely managed to grab it with the tip of her fingers. Without stopping to think about it—Gippal was out of the goal, it was the perfect opportunity—she threw the blue blitzball out of her hand and into the tree hole.

O'aka whistled, confirming the goal. His left arm was raised, one finger pointing towards the girls. Everyone went back to their positions. Rikku and Yuna high-fived, psyched. Gippal eyed him, suspicious. He was sure the guy was letting his girlfriend win. That was not fair. Gippal demanded that Tidus and him exchanged roles, as he thought Tidus was purposively letting Yuna win. Tidus accepted, although he pointed out that the girls had placed a goal while he hadn't been protecting it, and not because of Tidus's doing.

- "Guys, don't fight, it's just a friendly game!" Yuna said, laughing at the two men bickering.

- "We're not fighting!" Both blond male protested in one same voice.

- "Merely talking strategy and how to improves ourselves." Tidus added, his arms proudly crossing over his chest.

- "Something that you unprofessional ladies couldn't possibly understand," Gippal confirmed, nodding.

Rikku and Yuna looked at each other, sighting. Boys will be boys, they both guessed. Although they chose to let it slide. They thought the score of the game spoke plenty enough for them both.

Actually thinking they had a shot at winning, the two ladies were now fully energized. Gippal had the ball, but not for long. He was already slower because of Rikku's fierce pass when Yuna sprinted towards him and tackled him, stealing the ball. Before he could do anything about it, she was long gone, diving towards the bottom of the lake. She kept slipping through his fingers just when he was about to tackle.

She looked at her watch—the four of them had synchronized their devices as they started the game, setting a 5-minute chronometer—37 seconds left. Yuna wasn't sure how she was going to mark, so for now, she focused on losing time. And she could stay underwater for 2 minutes 44 seconds—Tidus had been truly impressed about that earlier—so Gippal couldn't possibly keep up. She took the opportunity to admire the blue crystals, abundant all around her down here. After all, they only had to prevent them from marking any points.

Gippal saw clear in her little game, and he wasn't happy about it. As Yuna was peacefully diving, admiring the crystal's lights at the bottom of the lake, he surprised her from behind and stole her the ball. Unfortunately for him, as he sprinted across the lake, trying to reach Rikku's tree, O'aka whistled, marking the half time.

- "She was wasting time just then! That's totally cheating!"

- "Actually," Tidus started, "it's kinda frowned upon, but a lot of blitzball players use that technique. It's fair game."

- "God, could you be any more whipped to your girlfriend?" Gippal sighed, although he laughed and shook his head.

During the second half of the game, Yuna and Rikku exchanged positions. Gippal tried his hardest to mark a goal, but the ladies' defense was unbreakable. Rikku briefly tried to place a goal, but Tidus was guarding those two trees with all he had, and they had already won, anyway. They mainly focused on their defense. During the last minute though, Gippal dashed on the surface of the water, the ball in hand, and made his way across the lake. Rikku tried to stop him, but he avoided all her attempts to block and tackle him. He was all fired up. If he managed to mark the goal, they would have some overtime, and then Tidus and him had a chance to win. No way he was going to be Rikku's slave—had he known them loosing was a possibility, he never would have risked it. Wasn't Tidus supposed to be very good at this game?

Gippal gave it is all. He dove, the ball still in hand and avoided any attack the ladies threw his way. 30 seconds left. He could do this! The blond stood as close to the goal as he could, Rikku right after him. She blocked him the way but as she tackled, he resisted, guarding the blue ball close to his heart. He threw it as hard as he could, and the ball flew in the air. The fate of the game rested into that last action. Everyone followed its path, each of them worried—whether it be for the goal to work out or to fail. Yuna was ready to greet it, her hands up, but the ball was flying towards her left side. Was it going to pass?

As it arrived, she jumped to stop it, but it moved even leftier, about to enter the premiscise of the goal… When she jerked her left shoulder and moved it away from the goal. The ball fell down, bouncing a few time on the surface of the water.

Tiiiiime. O'aka whistled. The boys had lost. Rikku looked at Gippal and winked, smiling broadly. Boy, was she going to enjoy the next two days

- "Nooooooooooooooo!" Gippal yelled in desperation, his head in his hands.

He always had a tendency to exaggerate, that man had.

- "Just checking, there's no way we can drop that bet, right…?"

Rikku and Yuna shared a knowing look, and shook their heads, both on the verge of laugher.

- "Rules are ruuules!" Rikku said in a sing-song voice, as she lied on her back, floating around in the water.

- "But that's not fair! Tidus doesn't even care to be Yuna's slave, he's completely whipped anyway!"

- "Heeeey!" Tidus reacted, although he didn't deny it.

- "You made your bed, big boy!"

Rikku looked at Gippal and winked while smiling broadly. Boy, was she going to enjoy the next two days.