Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.
Ch.10 Sightseeing
"Man, this stinks!" Rikku complained, sticking her lower lip out and pouting. "Maybe, but what can we do about it? We haven't received any other readings for more spheres," Paine said. Rikku said nothing to that, although I knew it was because Rikku knew she was right. We were in the living quarters of the Celsius and sitting around, while Barkeep worked behind the bar. True to Paine's word, we haven't received any more readings for spheres since we had gotten back from Zanarkand, and it we were all starting to get a little impatient. I handed a wad of gil to Barkeep and he poured me a ginger ale, which I sipped from. "Well, if we can't find any spheres for the time being, why not just use take a tour around Spira? There might be people that need help," Yuna suggested.
"You mean, look around and possibly help someone?" I asked, to which she nodded. Rikku thought about that. "Well… Okay! Let's do some sightseeing! Paine?" she said. The silver-haired girl shrugged. "I don't see why not," she replied. "Okay, let's see where we can go," Yuna said, jumping down from her seat. I downed the rest of my ginger ale and handed the glass back to Barkeep, meeting up with the others. We took the elevator back to the bridge and looked at the map of Spira. Eventually we decided on Luca, and flew there.
In retrospect, after the whole incident with Leblanc stealing Yuna's Garment Grid, we should have known our appearance would have drawn attention. But we didn't think about that, and waltzed right into the main square. Instantly a small group of people surrounded us, and more were appearing. "Lady Yuna, your concert was incredible!" a man said. A little girl said "Can I have your autograph?" Rikku took it all in stride, saying "Single file, no pushing! The Gullwings, at your service!" A couple people even approached me, saying "Dame Sofia, would you be willing sign this?" I smiled. "Dame" was the female equivalent of "sir", and it made me smile that these people treated me like I was still Yuna's guardian. Then again, I would always be looking out for her.
"Well, I guess so," I said, taking a pen and signing people on the arm. I could see Rikku grinning while Paine simply watched with her arms crossed. "Your appearance at the concert was a surprise. But we loved it anyway!" one of the fans said at me. I said nothing and kept signing. Seeing their happiness I couldn't bring myself to tell them that the Yuna that had performed was an imposter. "Can you do a spherechange for us?" a young boy asked. I nodded and changed from my Dark Knight garb to Gunner, prompting a series of "oohs" and "aahs". The whole mess actually started with Leblanc stealing Yuna's Garment Grid. Believe it or not, fighting them and taking it back had been the easy part.
After Leblanc had committed her little act of thievery we chased her all the way to Luca. When we arrived though, that was when we learned about the concert. "Hear that? Lady Yuna in concert!" one citizen said. "All right! Think there are any tickets left?" another asked. They both ran off, and with them gone Rikku, Paine and I emerged from behind a stack of crates. "Looks like the imposter's become pretty popular," Rikku commented. "I doubt anyone would believe ours is the real Yuna," Paine said. "Agreed. Not dresses like that," I said. "I didn't ask to wear this. Whew. It's hot…" Yuna said. We turned and looked at her, seeing her moogle costume. "But we agreed that if you went in our cover would be blown before we could sneak in, remember? You have to stay here and in this costume," I said.
Yuna knew I was right, and so she huffed and crossed her arms. "Shall we finish this before Yuna passes out?" Paine suggested. Rikku nodded. "We'll be back in two shakes, so be a good moogle, you hear?" she said. Yuna nodded and all three of us ran off, leaving her to sit there and wait. She sat down on the ground and waited… and waited… and waited. Her mask almost fell off, and she pushed it back on. "Oh, hurry up," she muttered. Just as soon as she said that she heard a voice call "You, get over here!" "Huh?" Yuna said, looking up. The owner of the voice was a balloon vendor, who was looking right at her. Slowly Yuna approached, and he said "You're here to promote the concert, right?" "Me? No, there must be some mistake," Yuna said.
But the vendor hadn't listened and handed her a set of ten balloons. "Thanks! All you gotta do I give these out to ten different people. Okay, and don't screw up," he said, before walking off. Yuna stood there and stared. Did she do it because she couldn't turn him down, or because the conversation was over before she had the chance? Either way, Yuna decided to do the job and walked up to a pair of people nearing the café, handing them out. "Get them while they're hot! Come see the concert, okay?" she said. Taking the balloons, the two men said "Well, if you say so." "Hey, can I have one?" a young boy asked. "Yeah, me too!" a girl added. "Sure, here you go! And don't forget to cheer; the concerts about to start!" Yuna said, handing them each one and the kid's mother.
She handed the last five out to various people, and not long after she received a transmission. "Y, R, P, S, in position. It's showtime, girls," Rikku said. "It's starting," Yuna said to herself. She began to head for the arena, and saw live videos of the fake Yuna on screens throughout the city. "Does she look hat much like me?" she wondered. She was about to enter the arena when a guard stopped her, saying "Hold it! The concert's sold out. You can't go in." "I can't?" Yuna asked. "Definitely not. Go on, get out of here," he said. Just then a second guard appeared, calling "Hey! We've got some gatecrashers!" "What? I'll bet it's those sphere hunters!" the first one said. They both ripped off their uniforms and revealed themselves to be goons of the Leblanc Syndicate. "Let's move!" the first goon said.
The other replied "Yes, sir!" and they both ran off. "Oh, no!" Yuna said, and followed. It was hard to run in the moogle suit, but she managed. Along the way she managed to stop and get out of the costume, drawing her pistols. "Time to take care of business!" she said. Yuna ran much more quickly and managed to reach the goons, knocking them out with the back of her guns. She reached the three of us just as we were fighting Ormi and Logos, and opened fire. The rest was history.
"So that's what happened," I said, smiling. Yuna nodded, having just finished telling us her story. The fans had all gotten their handshakes, autographs or- in the case of a few kids- hugs. "You should have seen the place, Yunie. It was packed with people dancing!" Rikku said. "You think Leblanc was enjoying herself?" Yuna asked. "Until she got hurt," Paine replied. I laughed at that, and Rikku said "I was just about to finish them off, but then you showed up and stole all the fun." "I guess I was so glad to be out of that thing that I went a little nuts," Yuna admitted. Paine made a small smile. "That explains the dancing," she said. I chuckled, but just then we received a message from Brother. "Yuna's dancing? Where? I am there!" he said. "Listening close enough?" Rikku asked.
Brother didn't reply, but instead the Celsius appeared. Before he could jump ship again I said "She's no dancing now. We were talking about when she was." "What?! You all got my hopes up for nothing!" he yelled, upset. I sighed and rolled my eyes, while Rikku muttered "Brother?" "Yes?" he said. "Shut up," Rikku replied. Brother was silent for a moment, shocked, before going into a long string of expletives in Al Bhed. We ignored him and boarded the airship, leaving. This was our life now. The days seemed to just go by without notice, and I always stayed by Yuna's side during it. But sometimes I could see her stop, and I knew. She was listening for Tidus's whistle.
Back on the airship we tried to think of a place to go next, and eventually decided on the Mi'hen Highroad. Once the Crusaders had an operation with the same name, during which they planned to bring an end to Sin. We had been there when it happened, and watched as Sin easily brought an end to everything and decimated the Crusaders. Since the fall of Yevon the Crusaders had disbanded, but now most of them along with a good numbers of others had come together, forming a new group known as the Youth League. It opposed New Yevon and its ideals, and had chosen the Mushroom Rock Road just beyond the Mi'hen Highroad to make its base. We landed at the point between the two roads and began to look around, and that was when we saw Ormi and Logos creeping around.
"Hey!" I called. The two froze and looked, Ormi saying "Oh, it's them again!" "Indeed. Run!" Logos said, and the two of them took off in the direction of the Mushroom Rock Road. "It's our turn to do a little following," Yuna said, and we nodded. We chased after the two, but unfortunately even Ormi was faster than us, and we soon lost track of them. Luckily there was only one path to go on, and we found it guarded by Youth League members. As we approached one of them turned to us. "Good to see you again, Lady Yuna! You haven't forgotten me, have you?" "Yaibal, isn't it? You're in the Youth League," Yuna said. Yaibal smiled. "You really do remember! I'm truly honored, Lady Yuna! Since that day we first spoke, the Youth League has been conducting a sphere hunt of its own. We, the Youth League…" he began.
"Yeah? The Youth League what?" I asked. "Hmm... Clasko, take it from here," he said. From the other side of the road Clasko walked forward, sighing. "We, the Youth League, to better our understanding of Spira's past, vow to remain vigilant in our search for ruins and spheres," he said, not sound enthused at all. "Interesting. Did Leblanc's men pass through here looking for spheres as well?" Paine asked. "Yes. They said they're here to take care of our fiend problem. You see, the Youth League is in preparation for an important operation, leaving our patrols shorthanded. As a result, the road to headquarters has been overrun with fiends," Yaibal said. I thought about that, and we all quickly decided. So what if there were fiends? Logos and Ormi were up to something, and we would find out what.
Seeing our expressions, Yaibal said "Be warned: Unless you can defeat the fiends on the road, you will not be able to pass. So, are you ready to run the gauntlet?" "Sure, we're game," Yuna said. "Excellent! Expect to encounter fiends until you reach the vicinity of the lift. Fight your way through them and proceed to headquarters. That's it. Good luck! Clasko, show them the way," Yaibal said. "Of course. This way, please," Clasko said, walking ahead. "Yeah! Let's hunt some fiend!" Rikku said. I smiled at her energy, and we neared the beginning of the path. Each of us drew our weapons, and without waiting ran ahead.
Well, we now know what happened to Yuna during the events of Luca. But now can they make it through the many fiends along the Highroad? The next chapter shall tell!
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