AN: I do apologise for such a looooooong time since my last update xD the phrase 'it never rains but it pours' is so very true…..
Anyways, please read and enjoy and drop me a review to let me know what you think ;)
Discord
They stood side-by-side, watching the sun dip towards the horizon in a brilliant glow of red and gold; Bayla bursting with curiosity and impatience, Tidus steeling himself for the conversation ahead of them.
"So," he said eventually, folding his arms and watching the progress of a seagull far out to sea as it wheeled through the darkening sky. "Your mother tells me you asked about my home town."
"Mmm," Bayla sat down on the sand, and after a moment Tidus followed her lead.
"Before I answer that question, can I ask why you want to know?"
"Is it really that big a deal that you have to treat it like some big secret?" Bayla shot back.
Tidus shrugged. "Yes. Tell me,"
"Well…something Yas said, and then we went to look you up in the census records, and it just said you were born in the East side of Zanarkand. There wasn't much else."
"Well, it's kinda true…" he admitted, wondering how best to go about this.
"What do you mean, kinda true?" Bayla demanded. "Why couldn't mom tell me? Why all the secrecy?"
"I was born in Zanarkand, in a quarter known as A-East."
"What, there?" Bayla nodded at the ruins, looming in the distance to their left. "Dad, no one goes into those ruins unless they want to become fiend chow. How could you possibly have been born there?"
Tidus gave her a long searching look before he went on. "That's not my Zanarkand."
"Your…what?"
He gave her a tired, sad smile before he looked into the water. "I guess it'll make a bit more sense if I tell the story from the beginning. You know the Machina War?"
"Yeah, Bevelle and Zanarkand were fighting each other for obscure reasons." Bayla said sardonically – she had always been scathing about that part of Spira's history.
"Yeah. Anyone who was still alive either fled and joined the nomad tribes in the east, or they made a final stand. The summoners and the remaining population joined forces to preserve their home, and they created a kind of fayth – that's what Fayth Scar on Gagazet is, or was I should say. The fayth went into a sort of trance and dreamed about what once was, and they summoned another Zanarkand to sustain their memories." He looked up again, and saw Bayla's open-mouthed expression.
"Wait," she closed her eyes and shook her head, as though to clear her mind. "Let me get this straight. A bunch of people became a fayth, whose summoning was of a dead machina city, that isn't that one," she pointed at the ruins in the west. "And you say you're from Zanarkand but not that one. So…are you implying that you're…?" her eyes widened as she tried to grasp the logic.
Tidus gave her a grave look. "Yes. I came from the Dream Zanarkand."
Bayla looked like a stunned chocobo in the hover lights. "But…how…?"
"It's a very, very long story. Do you want to hear it?"
"I want to understand," she said weakly. "That's just…almost too weird, even for you, but…why'd you make something like that up? It's so weird it almost has to be true…"
Tidus took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes. Since there was a Dream Zanarkand, no one was left to protect what was left of the real Zanarkand. Before Bevelle got there, Sin had been created. The leader of Zanarkand used the summoning of Fayth Scar to gather a kind of shield around himself – and in the process he made Sin. Because of the way Bevelle had fought with Machina weapons, he went after everything that used machines with ill intent. You already know how the Final Summoning works; the person taken to be the aeon became the next Sin. One of the incarnations of Sin went to the Dream the Fayth had summoned, and brought a man from there in the hopes of breaking the cycle of death in Spira." He looked up to make sure Bayla was still listening – she was hanging on his every word.
"Who was it?"
"Your grandfather, Jechet. My old man… Sin brought him to Spira, where he met your grandfather Braska. They went on to defeat that Sin, but not long after he became Sin himself. Then he came back to the Dream Zanarkand to bring me to Spira."
Bayla looked like she wasn't sure if she should believe him, but she didn't contradict or stop him, so he continued.
"After another run in with Sin, I ended up in Besaid, where I met your mother… So that's where I came from,"
He gave Bayla enough time to digest this information. Eventually, her curiosity outweighed her shock, and she said, "So…when mom performed the Sending for all the aeons and Sin…?"
Tidus sighed heavily. It still hurt to think about it, even now – though he was pleased that she had made the connection so quickly. His daughter was one bright cookie.
"I was dead against what she was planning, once I found out what happened at the end of the pilgrimage. When we found out how to obtain the Final Aeon, she turned her back on Yevon's teachings completely. After that, we had to find another way to defeat Sin. And when we did, I found out that once the aeons and the fayth were gone, I would be too." He smiled bitterly. "All that whining about how I wouldn't let her die, and I went in her stead. I'm such a hypocrite."
"But…" Bayla said quietly. "If you disappeared at the beginning of the calm, how could you get married? How come I'm here?"
Tidus chuckled. "You've got a good mind for this sort of thing." He smiled at her fondly. "Thank God you've got your mother's brains. Anyway, so I faded away, leaving a peaceful world behind that your mom had wanted to live in. Then two years later Spira was in mortal peril, again. There was a guy who lived in Zanarkand," he nodded towards the ruins. "The real Zanarkand, during the Machina War. He and his girlfriend got killed when he tried to steal the biggest, baddest machina weapon of them all."
"Vegnagun?" she whispered, remembering all the Gullwing stories Rikku told with relish.
"Exactly. Somehow a sphere of the guy ended up on Gagazet where Kimahri found it. He looked a lot like me, so when your mother found out she went looking for me."
"But…where were you?"
"The Farplane." It was probably best at this point to be brutally honest and straightforward. The very fact she hadn't questioned his sanity at this point was a good sign. "She ended up there a few times in the process. I couldn't do much, really… But in the end they stopped Vegnagun, reunited the two lost lovers, and it was set up to be one big happy ending. Then, the fayth of the Bevelle aeon, Bahamut, came to me and said, 'Someone expressed and interest in seeing you again. Do you share that interest?'"
"What?" Bayla snorted with laughter. "Really? They said that?"
"Yup," Tidus grinned at her, sharing her mirth. "Gotta love the spiritual bodies, they always know how to phrase things in a creepy way."
"It's not that creepy, dad."
"Meh," he shrugged. "So then, I said yes of course. And the next thing I know, I'm submerged underwater with no idea where I am-"
"Wait, underwater?" Bayla raised an eyebrow.
Tidus shrugged. "Apparently spiritual bodies have a sense of humour."
"A warped sense of humour." Bayla snorted.
"Yeah," he laughed. "So…there you have it," he looked her intensely in the eyes. "Believe me?"
Bayla took a while to respond, but when she did, it was in slow and even tones. "It's really hard to believe, but at the same time, I can't think why you would make it up. Who else knows?"
"Wakka, Lu, Kimahri, Rikku…Gippal and Baralai know bits of it, Nooj never asked, though I bet he knows something of it. Let's see…Leblanc doesn't like me, so she never bothered to find out."
"How come you never told us?" Bayla asked, trying and failing not to look reproachful.
Tidus sighed again. "It's a lot to take in, especially when you're young, and it's very hard to keep such a fantastic story to yourself. Quite apart from the fact that we didn't want other people who don't understand the situation knowing, it wouldn't be fair to you and the twins. Think about it; if you went and told your friends at school they'd've laughed at you and said you were lying. It was difficult enough, trying to bring up kids who'd always be in your shadow while they grew up. We didn't want to make it any harder for you. So your mother and I decided that if you got curious one day, or started asking pointed questions, we'd tell you. A couple of years ago I asked her to direct you kids to me if you asked." He gave her a sheepish smile. "I guess, since I'm the one who made this mess, I should be the one to tell you."
"You didn't make a mess." Bayla pulled a face. "It's not like you asked for it to happen,"
Tidus chuckled and looked up to see the sun half submerged in the sea. "No, I didn't. I guess that was always the problem."
"What problem?"
"Well…I lost my father when I was seven. I hated him then,"
"Yeah, I heard bout that from Wakka-" Bayla began, but slapped a hand over her mouth in horror, giving him a guilty look.
Tidus burst out laughing. "Heh, he would say that! Anyway, it was hard for me trying to live up to his name, when my mother idolised him and he kept trying to bully me into blitzball. After he left, my mother just – gave up, really. After that, all I had was Auron. And your mother was the same; your Al Bhed grandmother was killed by Sin, and then her father went off on pilgrimage. She was cared for by the Bevelle monks until she moved to Besaid, where Lu and Wakka looked after her. Still, even as a Summoner she had a big name to live up to. When we found mom was pregnant with you, we promised each other you'd have the childhood we never had – with the both of us in your lives, and we'd never let you think you had to follow in our footsteps. You could work on a trash site for the rest of your lives and we wouldn't be disappointed. And no," he added sternly as she opened her mouth to speak, "that is not an invitation."
Bayla smiled sweetly at him. "I wasn't thinking about landfill sites, daddy. Were you?"
"Very funny," he ruffled her hair playfully before leaning back against a rock behind him. After a moment Bayla curled up against his side, like she used to when she was younger. "We are proud of you though – all three of you."
"Good." Bayla quivered with suppressed laughter. "I doubt you'd want any more kids after us!"
Tidus pretended to cringe from the thought. "Oh fayth, no! No really," he added once they'd both stopped laughing. "Three's a magic number. I already got way more than I ever thought I would, it'd be selfish to ask for more."
There was a long, comfortable pause until Bayla spoke up again.
"Daddy?"
They both at up and looked at each other contentedly.
"Thanks."
He grinned at her. "You're welcome."
"I guess El was right every time she said you were weird." Bayla teased.
"I am proud of my origins." He sniffed, trying not to laugh again. "It's part of your heritage too, young lady."
Bayla's expression went blank for a moment, before she blurted out, "What, I'm a dream too?"
Tidus had thought long and hard on that subject, from the moment Yuna had told him she was expecting their first child. If he was remaining in Spira because of the Fayth on the Farplane, what did it mean for any offspring he had? As the years had worn on, and the kids had grown up, he guessed it had very little bearing on them at all.
"I don't know," he told her truthfully. "But the last eighteen years have shown not that much. You're just as real as anyone else. I guess I am too."
Bayla kneaded her forehead. "This is all hurting my brain…"
"More food!" Tidus stood up, dragging her with him. "Let's go, before all the good stuff's gone."
They made it back to the feast in companionable silence, but Bayla stopped him just before they entered the fray.
"Are my lips supposed to be sealed on this?" she asked him.
Tidus laughed again. "If you like. If you want to spill the beans to your brother and sister for me I won't stop you."
Bayla glowered at him. "Like I'd do that," she snapped, stalking off into the crowd.
Tidus chuckled to himself, watching her until she had disappeared in the throng of festivalgoers. "Not now I pointed it out to you." he said to himself before going to find his wife.
XOXOX
"Fayth it was amazing!" Deka squealed, holding Lulu's hands and bouncing on the spot, grinning from ear to ear. "I swam with a baby whale!"
"You mean a whale calf," Zuo corrected her.
"It was amazing!" her brother couldn't dampen her spirits.
Lulu smiled and listened to their stories about the festival of the whales, while Tidus told Wakka all about the data logging they had done. Yuna went about making tea and setting out some cold meats and cheeses with a large loaf of bread as Tidus started unpacking.
"So, whale song, eh?" Wakka clapped him on the back. "What's it like?"
"Weird, in a good way," he laughed.
"It is!" Deka bounced straight into their conversation, eyes shining. "It's like they're trying to talk to us, but we don't speak the same language! El says that with the recordings we took Shrina's research into animal linguistics will progress super fast!"
While she babbled away to the adults Yuna sent Zuo to get some more bread from the bakers. He liked going by himself because it made him feel slightly more grown up, and he was also getting tired of his sister whittering away about the whale calf that had swum with her. After nearly twenty minutes of Zuo's absence, Yuna was beginning to worry but just as Tidus set out to find him, their son came running back; out of breath and with the bread she had asked for.
"What happened to you?" Tidus asked in surprise.
Zuo took a moment to recover before he put the loaf on the breadboard and said, "The priests are all acting funny. Dan and I went to go check it out but they chased us away from the temple. A nun said there's something funny going on inside, but they won't tell her what."
Yuna looked from Wakka, to Lulu, to her husband – all of whom were frowning. Tidus beckoned to Wakka and stuck his hand out firmly when Zuo made to follow him.
"Not today, bud."
"I never get to go with you," Zuo sulked, stalking over to the sofa and sitting down heavily.
"One day, when you're older, I'll take you into a fiend den and we can fight to your heart's content. But for now, you stay here." Tidus said firmly.
Both he and Wakka left, leaving Yuna and Lulu in charge. To keep the twins occupied, Yuna asked them to help get lunch ready while she put the rest of their travelling things away. It wasn't too long until the men came back; Wakka looked perplexed, but Tidus looked deeply worried about something.
"What is it?" Zuo sprang to attention by his father's side,
Tidus shook his head, like he couldn't quite believe it himself, but Wakka spoke up. "Nearly all the birds on the island have flocked to the temple gardens. They're just sat there, singin'. I don't think it's anythin' to worry about, ya? But, it is kinda weird though." He looked to Tidus for his opinion.
"I don't know," but his expression betrayed his brooding.
"Can we go see then?" Zuo demanded.
"No," Tidus said sharply.
"You're no fun," Zuo said accusingly before he turned his back and walked away to his room.
Deka sidled over to Tidus side and tugged on his sleeve. "Is something wrong?" she asked in a small voice.
Tidus sighed, and pulled her into a hug. "I don't think so. Just…promise me you won't go looking for an answer, okay? Just until we figure out what's going on?"
"Okay," Deka agreed readily. "I'll keep Zuo away from the temple too,"
He chuckled, ruffling her hair. "That's my girl."
XOXOX
"Well?" Vidina boomed, grabbing Bayla in a bear hug the moment she walked into Gippal's study. "How was it!"
"Fayth! You wouldn't believe the half of it!" she squealed, before launching into a full account of the whale's passage and showing them some of the copied recordings El had given to her before she went to Kilika for a short study on lobsters.
Gippal was sifting through some paper work, but he kept half an ear open to listen to the kids while they talked. Rosie and Tarak sat listening in awe, while Kai and Vidina supplied the questions. Naturally, Bayla was telling the story – and interestingly enough Dustin was perched on the edge of Rikku's desk with a note pad and pen in hand, doodling as he watched and listened to Bayla.
"Sounds like Shinra will be pleased." Gippal said eventually when a lull in the conversation surfaced. "Why don't you kids celebrate with a well earned dip in the pool and leave me in peace, yeah?"
"Pool's no fun with the blitz team hogging it for practise." Rosie sniffed.
"Actually, I should probably go find Shulay," Bayla said guiltily. "She wanted to hear about the whales, too…"
"Get going then. And Vid, shouldn't you be somewhere right about now?"
Vidina gave Gippal a blank look before slapping himself on the forehead. "Ah! Crap,"
"Shit, I was meant to go with you!" Tarak leapt to his feet and hobbled with his bandaged ankle to the door, following on Vidina's heels.
Rosie rolled her eyes and marched smartly from the room, while Bayla and Dustin followed at a more sedate pace with Kai bringing up the rear, giggling.
"What happened to your wrist?" Bayla asked in amazement when the long sleeve hiding Dustin's bandage rode up his arm as he pushed the door open.
"Huh? Oh, that…" Dustin's voice faded into the distance as they walked down the hall. "I-err, tripped trying to punch Tarak…"
"…What?" came the flat response as Kai burst out laughing.
Gippal closed the door behind them, and went back to his work, but was disturbed not five minutes later when Cid came into the room without knocking.
"What can I do for you?" he smiled sweetly at his father in law, feeling his annoyance grow.
"A few reports I'd like you to look into." And with that Cid dumped a thick wedge of paper on top of Gippal's current work.
"On what?" he asked, trying to stop gritting his teeth.
"Apparently the fiend situation in the Djose area's getting worse. And the Zandal Shaman up at the Remiem Temple have had some problems too, only it's the plant life getting to them."
"What?" Gippal demanded, diving into the stack of papers to find more information. "Plants? Seriously?"
"Yup." Cid started clearing off Rikku's desk in search of something; Gippal didn't tell him to stop, since he knew Rikku would do his work for him and kill Cid later. "Seems like there's something funny going on in the temples at the moment. We called Yuna a while back to check if she'd made it back home okay, and apparently the birds on Besaid have all gone crazy."
"You don't say," Gippal murmured, swiftly reading down a letter from Nooj in Guadosalm stating that the fiends on the Moon Flow and the Thunder Plains were acting up as well. "Do they have any idea what's going on?"
"Well, it's not just the temples, that's for sure." Cid said, now checking the drawers. "Cause there is no temple after Djose until you reach Bevelle."
"There's still Macalania," Whatever's left of the place…
"Nope, doesn't count anymore. Where the hell does Rikku keep her ledger?"
Right on cue, Rikku walked into the room, humming merrily to herself until she saw the state of her desk.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" she shrieked at him, brandishing the ledger he had been destroying her filing system to find.
XOXOX
"It's nice to drop by like this, dear." Dona said, pouring Elodie some tea.
"I just wish I didn't have to run off again in such a hurry." She sighed, blowing on the drink before taking a sip. It was horribly sweet – rooibose with way too much vanilla. In truth, El had only bumped into Barthello at the fish market, and came back to his house out of politeness.
"Sounds hectic, being a researcher." Dona mused, looking out the window at the port below.
"But worth it. I spent a year in this jungle on some as yet unnamed island looking at these ruins. And I just got back from Garret, you probably heard all about the whales – everyone in the docks was talking about it when I got here,"
"Fascinating," Dona said without much enthusiasm.
Elodie nodded but didn't pass comment. She had never really liked Dona much, and El's back had been put up once Dona had started ripping it out of Yuna for being Braska's daughter and having the nerve to become a summoner as well. Still, she knew Dona wasn't a bad person as such, just…not the sort of person she would chose to be friends with. Or sit and drink tea with, given the option. Or associate with at all if it was down to her.
"So, have you heard about the woods?" Dona asked suddenly.
"Huh?"
"The woods up by the temples." She said slowly as though El were mentally deficient. "The monkey's are all acting strangely."
"Are they now?" Elodie frowned, remembering the brief conversation with Tidus recently, and the last message she got from Gippal the previous night. "That's interesting."
"Nothing to do with lobsters though, are they?" Dona gave her a twisted smile that may have meant to be playfully teasing, but which just annoyed Elodie.
"I might go look into that later, once I've done the survey in the cove."
"Well, I shan't keep you long." Dona stifled a yawn. "I haven't been sleeping well recently. I might have a nap before I go into town," admittedly, she did look a little worse for wear, and there were dark rings under her eyes.
They exchanged pleasantries for a while longer before El excused herself from Dona's company and hurried down to the docks. There, she did the quick head count of fishermen who caught lobsters – whether by design or accident – and tallied them up in her sheet of paper. With her job done, she went up to the gates that led into the woods, nodding at the guard on duty who looked out of his mind with boredom. And just as Dona had said, the monkeys were acting up.
Squatter monkeys were docile creatures that nested near the ground and hardly ever caused a disturbance. Today, they were scampering about the undergrowth, not so much chattering as screaming over the usual hum of insects in the mid afternoon heat.
Elodie took a few quick notes, filmed a few specimens and attempted to pick one up before she made her way to the temple, giving them up as a lost cause when one bit her hard in the juncture between forefinger and thumb. The priests were just as baffled as she was, and could offer no explanation; the monkeys that had made the climb up to the temple were in an even greater frenzy, with no readily apparent or adequate reason.
"It's like the old days," said the oldest priest sadly, looking out at the distant sea from their vantage point. "The animals always worked up a fury before Sin attacked.
A little boy wearing the oversized robes of an older student baulked. "It's not come back has it?"
El put an arm around the boy's shoulders, crouching down so they were at the same level. "I promise you, it can't come back. Maybe the mokey's just had too much sugar for breakfast," she added with a wink, making him giggle.
"Or jumping beans," said a middle-aged man bearing the crest of the Crusaders, giving a particular individual who was performing back flips a raised eyebrow.
Elodie also raised an eyebrow, and said to the crowd at large that had gathered to watch the acrobatic monkey, "You think you've seen it all as a guardian, and then a monkey decides now's a good time to try out for the cheerleading squad. Go figure."
The children broke down with laughter, and the older priests who remembered the time of the Summoners dissolved with mirth as well.
XOXOX
Weeks slipped past, and it was becoming apparent very quickly that something was wrong in the world.
To Dustin, life had taken such a turn for the better that he almost didn't care – but with his new found and strong friendship in Bayla, he found that he did care quite a bit. When the adults were around she, Vidina and Tarak would start squabbling and baiting each other, but the moment Gippal or Rikku left them, they lapsed into heated discussions or brooding silence, never getting any further with their musings due to a lack of solid evidence. The best they got were the rumours running around the mill, mostly from the canteen when they couldn't be bothered to cook for themselves.
One day when Bayla was given a rare reprieve with her mentor having to go help with a dig team going to the Zanarkand Ruins, Dustin made room for her at the table he had taken over in the second art room, and they sat together working in companionable silence. It was the by far the nicest room they had at their disposal; the great bay windows let in dramatic quantities of sunlight during the day, shaded by the one tree that grew on the base so that you wouldn't be blinded.
Dustin was mixing paints for a large clay pot he had made, with a similar design to the plaque Bayla had brought back for him from the whale festival in mind. Bayla herself was hunched over an easel with a box of charcoal sticks, completely oblivious to everything around her. It was a quiet, reciprocal presence; Dustin kept Bayla supplied with a never-ending source of inspiration (they often swapped art tips and desired plans for Tarak's destruction) and in turn she kept him sane by offering undemanding human contact. Today was just another wonderful chance to be calm and comfortable with their shared passion for the arts.
Sadly, Tarak kicked the door in rather than knock like a normal person, with a scowl on his face.
"Yikes!" Bayla fell off her stool, nearly ruining her sketch. "What the hell, Tarak?"
"You're not supposed to be in here," Dustin snapped angrily, his wrist smarting.
"Wait till you hear this," Tarak said grimly, slamming something onto a free table for them to look at.
When they crowded around the desk to look, it was three sheets of paper – three separate letters from and to very different people.
"Look at this," Tarak showed them the one on the top.
Bayla took it, smudging the corners with charcoal as she did so. "Father, I regret to inform you that the plan did not go as we had hoped. Our quarry eluded us until such a time as they were surrounded by heavy protection… Tarak, mind explaining-?"
"Read on!" he insisted.
Pulling a face, she did as she was asked. "I still believe the one you seek is not the one we should be after. I firmly believe the next generation is…'prepare…'? No… Preferable. Yes, Preferable to the cause. May I suggest that we then make all haste to the sun to acquire them."
"What else?" Dustin asked eagerly, wanting to hear more.
"Nothing. It's not even signed. And I barely understand his handwriting," Bayla frowned at the offending paper.
"And look at these," Tarak showed them the other two. They turned out to be a letter and a report; the first was from a senior member of the New Yevon Council to Nooj about the Stroma reinforcements for the fiend problems, and the second was an official request to Lady Yuna from the Epoch Division inviting her to some party they were holding for some obscure reason the sender did not quite convey in their words. "What do you think?" he asked them.
"Err," Dustin scratched his head. "Well…"
"I think you should piss off and let us work. You have any idea how little I get to do in these lessons because I'm running around after that old bat working myself to the bone in a completely different language?" she shoved the papers back into his hands.
"No! Didn't you read the report?"
"Yeah, so the Stroma have men to spare now. Big whoop."
"No," Tarak said slowly, as though he were talking to a toddler. "These are proper warriors, not just the usual tribal rangers who keep the paths for the nomads safe. And look, the one about your mom going to this dinner thing with the Epoch Division?"
"What about it? School's already started now; she can't go cause she's teaching again. Anyway, why'd she wanna go? The invitation doesn't include my dad, and she'd never go on 'official business' without him."
"But its states that there's gonna be representatives from the Al Bhed, New Yevon, The Youth League, and the Stroma."
"So?" Bayla snapped impatiently.
"So," Tarak snapped back. "Vidina and I found these on my dad's desk with a bunch of other stuff. We've done a little digging ourselves, and the representatives they claim are gonna be present don't exist."
"What?" Bayla and Dustin said together.
"It's true! Bertrand à Cyril's been dead for years – killed with the Crusader's in Operation Mi'ihen. Yudolfus Guado of Bevelle doesn't appear on any records held by New Yevon or the temples. Sophie à Stroma – that's not a Stroma use name, is it? She's not on the records either. And I know all the Al Bhed that work for my grandfather, and Yigbar isn't one of them. He's a fish merchant in Luca, and he's a Hypello."
"So…" Bayla looked troubled again, and Dustin cursed his cousin inwardly for making her worried again. "Why did those letters end up here instead of where they're addressed? Bikanel's a long way to get mislaid from Besaid."
"Cause someone intercepted them, and dad's running the investigation. Something's going on," Tarak lowered his voice, and they had to lean in to hear him. "Listen, Vidina and I have been thinking…once we get the Kelvin running, we can do our own investigations. Vid needs to start going to and from places with his own work, and I need to practise my captain skills. We can do that and dig for more information while we're at it. What d'ya say? Want in?" he grinned, but Bayla surprised both of them by shaking her head.
"No way."
"Huh? But-!"
"Shut up and listen!" she growled. "This is my mom they were after, apparently under false pretences. Deka contacted me last week, and apparently the wildlife around Besaid and Kilika are going berserk. If this has something to do with the rest of the stuff that's screwing Spira up, I want nothing to do with it."
Tarak looked stunned, and then heart broken. Dustin was amazed; he had figured she was the sort of person who would jump on the chance for an adventure like this – she talked about all the stories of sphere hunts and fiend battles her parents had told her and Vidina.
"How come?" Dustin asked her while Tarak struggled to pull together a more compelling argument.
"Because my little sister's worried. My parent's are acting weird about it, and then Tarak brings me this? Nothing scares my dad. And he's worried about something now, just as all these things start kicking off. It's bad enough that he was worried about letting me go so far from home for a stupid art class – if he knew I was running around Spira on an airship with you," she rounded on Tarak angrily. "He might just die of anxiety! No way, I'm not doing that to him."
Tarak spent a few more minutes trying to persuade her to change her mind, and when he failed he turned to Dustin, who gave him a raised eyebrow until he left in disgust, muttering darkly to himself.
Bayla sat back down on her stool with a scowl and glowered at her canvas broodingly.
"Don't think I've ever seen Tarak get told like that," Dustin said out loud.
She snorted derisively. "He didn't get told."
"You shut up him though. That's pretty amazing in itself," he chanced a smile at her, and she grinned back.
"Yeah. Maybe next time I should cram a rag in his mouth,"
They laughed at the idea, and went back to work in comfortable silence. It wasn't until much, much later that they broached the subject again – when they were convened in their dorm building with Vidina who had had to listen to Tarak's whining all afternoon.
"What'd you do to him, eh? Anyone'd think you'd bitch slapped him."
"My dad would flip if I was swanning off around Spira with Tarak in charge!" she argued back, prodding the spaghetti in the pot on the stove. "Dusty, am I doing this right?" she added nervously.
"Just let it boil a bit more." He said patiently, surreptitiously adding more oil while Bayla turned her back.
"It's probably nothin', ya?" Vidina said bracingly, grating some goats' cheese. "Tarak just wants a little adventure in his life, and he thinks now's the right time."
"What about Uncle Wakka? Or your mom? Lu'll kill you if she finds out you're doing something stupid and most probably dangerous. Hell, she'll probably kill me too if my mom doesn't get hold of me first."
"Well, maybe there's a good explanation for those letters, ya? Maybe the fiends are just a little out of hand now, and they'll calm down again in a few months time. Doesn't the world go through stages like that when things change before going back to normal? El always said so, and she's been studyin' that stuff for years now."
"Yes," Bayla said vehemently, stabbing the spaghetti with a serving spoon. "Sage words from the woman who went bobbing for snapping turtles for a bet while sober."
"What?" Dustin snorted. He was starting to think this infamous Zandal woman Bayla and Vidina held in such high respect had been even worse than the lot of them put together when she had been their age.
"You don't want to know," Bayla grimaced at him. Then, to Vidina she said, "But that's beside the point. My answer is no. I am staying here in this base where Shulay can see me and where my parent's know I'm alright."
"Gees, you never used to care." Vidina sniffed. "You were the one who wanted to run off and spread your wings and do your own thing. You really gonna be daddy's little girl and stay put now?"
Bayla held the steaming spoon up from the pot like a weapon and pointed it at his throat, hissing, "I will use this."
Dustin was beginning to feel that he shouldn't put anything past this girl. Apparently, Vidina already knew this, because he didn't push her any more. The food was finished, and they ate in silence before Vidina left to help Tarak with his airship. Dustin and Bayla ended up in her room playing their guitars and sketching from some photos they had been given by the instructor earlier that day. Then Bayla pulled out a think folder of papers and started writing in the Zandal script with a ballpoint pen, cursing quietly about the required writing materials.
"What are you writing about?" Dustin asked before he could stop himself.
"A rare herb that grows on the highest peaks of Gagazet, and blooms only once every ten years. It has the properties of healing and poisoning, depending on which part of the plant you stew for so many hours, and depending on the concentration at which you add it to normal tea it can do a number of things to the human body that I really don't give a shit about." She glowered at the paper before her. "I liked the leeches, they were more fun."
"Eww."
"But it's true! Hey, listen to this," she extracted another piece of paper and read from it, translating as she went. It was about Kilika leeches, and Dustin had to admit, they did sound a lot more interesting and fun to work with, what with the added task of catching the damn things in the first place when with a plant you just cut the stem and were down with it.
"You enjoying it, though? Studying herb lore, I mean." Dustin asked.
"Yeah, it's really interesting, but it's really hard as well. I have little time to do my art," she gestured at the stack of large sheets she had been putting all her work onto, neatly folded on top of the desk where they were slowly gathering dust. "It's worth while, but I wish I had some more free time on my hands."
"Mmm," Dustin agreed. "I'd like to see more of you in the art room. I- I mean," he hastily tried to recover as she gave him a raised eyebrow. "It'd – you know, just nice to see you more often, not with your nose stuck in a book on plants!" he gulped, dreading the impact his words would have.
Again, she surprised him when she said, "Are you kidding me? Vidina and Tarak think it's the best thing ever! They rarely see me, and when they do most of the time I have my nose buried in a book. They absolutely love it!" Then she gave him a sly smile and went on, "Though you might want to think about your choice of words, because most people would have taken that the wrong way."
Dustin laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry, about that…"
"Meh," she shrugged. "No big deal. Anyway, wanna hear about the killer mantis of Remiem?"
"The…what?"
Bayla lifted a photo from her pile of notes and showed him a large, bulky looking praying mantis. "The Killer Mantis of Remiem! It's a joke between my dad and El – apparently, Aunt Rikku nearly fell over the side of the temple walls because one of these bad boys jumped onto her face. They're harmless really; no venom or poisons or anything. They're actually kinda boring, but the back story to them that Shulay told me is hilarious!"
"I think I've seen one of those," Dustin shuffled over for a closer look, something stirring in his memory. "Yeah, my mom showed me one once. I remember I wanted to keep it as a pet, but she wouldn't let me."
"Let me guess, something like 'he needs to be with his own kind'?" Bayla asked.
"Yeah." Dustin laughed, remembering how heart broken he had felt at the time – the sheer injustice of being denied a pet insect. "And it wasn't a he. She was gonna be Pik, and she was gonna be my sidekick when I went on my grand adventure to discover the lost location of the original Al Bhed civilisation." It wasn't until he'd finished speaking that he realised he'd just told Bayla something he'd never told anyone outside his blood family – and that he had just spoken freely about his late family without the trail of thought leading back to dark and dangerous reflection.
She snorted with laughter. "Wow, really? You were gonna call her Bug? And gees, I didn't know you had such an ambitious dream! And I thought visiting each temple to make a summoner's scrapbook was the height of ambition."
Dustin was still reeling from the shock of having told her such a personal secret, but she chatted on regardless for which he was grateful.
"Pent's bad enough – unimaginative and dull. But Pik? Were you even trying?"
"No, not really." He admitted, putting the photograph down. Eventually finding his voice again, he asked, "So…you want to make a temple scrapbook?"
"Yeah," she smiled sheepishly. She had been trying to be a bit more open about her parents recently, and it still felt a bit weird to think the woman Dustin had scoffed at on the sphere was Bayla's mother. "I kinda want to see the places my mom's been to, you know. I've been in Kilika, seen Djose from the outside…never been in the Bevelle temple, and I doubt I'll get to Remiem or see the Baaj Ruins. And no way am I going into the Zanarkand Ruins. That place is a death trap,"
They talked on a bit more about stories they had heard of travellers visiting the temples – both before and after the calm. They were interrupted when the lights flickered and died, and then suddenly someone from downstairs screamed loudly.
Dustin was on his feet in an instant, and he heard Bayla fall over in the darkness as she tried to do the same, cursing loudly. "What happened?" she muttered, crawling in the direction of the desk.
"Dunno," he fumbled his way to the door and fell into the corridor. He yelled in Al Bhed, "What happened?" to no one in particular, and someone called back saying it was an electromagnetic storm.
"Again?" Bayla groaned, striking a match and lighting a candle.
"Apparently," Dustin sighed, using the light to open the blinds over the balcony door. Outside was near pitch black, with a hint of purple to it that was accentuated by the sudden fork of lighting that rent the sky in two.
Bayla jumped, nearly dropping the candle, and swore again. "I hate these storms! If there's lightning there's got to be thunder too! It's just not natural,"
They gave up on work, since there was too little light to work by. Bayla lit another candle and gave it to Dustin so he could find his way back to his room. They said good night and went their separate ways; lying in bed for hours after, both pondering what the other had said that evening until the small hours of the morning.
XOXOX
Dinner was shaping up to be a quiet affair that night; the day had been a long and hectic one, and Tidus was tempted to fall asleep right where he was on the sofa, but instead he wrote out one report card after the other. Yuna was just boiling water for some rice, nothing too complicated or fancy tonight. Deka and Zuo had gone down to the beach with some friends to practise for the team, and wouldn't be back for a while yet.
So when they did pitch up not a few moments later, with the rest of their friends in tow, it came as a surprise.
"Dad!"
"Sir, we found something on the beach!"
"Let me tell him!"
"Daddy," Deka flopped onto the cushion beside him, her cheeks flushed. "We were practising for the team, and then Zuo hit his head on a chest in the sea doing a dive,"
"Hey!" Zuo snarled indignantly.
"And then we heaved it onto the beach, and it's got this weird stone tablet in it and some other stuff we're not sure what it is. We don't know what to do with it,"
Tidus looked from his daughter to the group of kids in his kitchen with surprise before flipping the report over his shoulder. "We'll be back," he told Yuna before they left, and he took care to grab an old armoured blitzball he sometimes took with him on evening walks.
The beach was calm, the sea was calm, the sky was a flawless peach fading into the far off sunset; the very picture of tranquillity but for the chirruping birds that fluttered around the clumps of trees on the cliffs, seeking food before flying back to their vigil at the Temple. The sand was churned up around the chest they had dragged onto the shore, and the rock they had used to break it open was lying to one side.
"Okay, show me what you found,"
Zuo and his friend Dan pointed at the thick stone slab, which Tidus carefully lifted up and laid out on the sand. Deka and a couple of the girls were fidgeting with the other artefacts inside, all of which were very shiny and colourful and reminded Tidus of something.
"I think that's Zandal?" said Dan uncertainly. He was a scrawny, gangly youth with dirty blonde hair and a crooked nose he had broken when he was five falling out of a tree. "It's got the sun seal in the top corner…" he added doubtfully.
Tidus frowned down at the tablet. It was Zandal, that much was true, but he barely recognised any of the words or symbols; the glyph used to denote an aeon was set next to a carving of a flower he couldn't distinguish, when an aeon was almost always sat beside the symbol for a summoner, unless it was surrounded by waves, in which case denoted Sin. The 'sun seal' Dan thought he had seen was actually a weather crest – one Tidus hadn't seen before. Each tribe had a different style of writing and a variant of glyphs, and they may have spoken different words but it was generally pretty easy to figure out and read in another dialect because the pictograms were often the same. This, however, was something completely different.
"What else is in there?" he asked, setting it aside for now.
There were two glass bottles with exquisite detail, one of which had a stopper made of metal and cork stuck in its neck. The rest were all objects that could have been anything, since they didn't look like anything Tidus had ever seen. The only thing he could identify was a necklace strung with what had the shape and appearance of pearls, but with what looked like iridescent opals. One girl was gazing at it longingly, and Tidus gently had to pluck it from her grasp.
"I think we'd better let a professional take a look at it first, don't you?"
"But it's just a necklace," she wheedled hopefully.
"Jessica, you're pretty enough already without wearing a shiny necklace to draw attention away from it. Let's get everything back in the chest and take it up to the temple, okay?" he gave the ball to one of the older kids, who strutted in the lead back to the village bursting with pride at being trusted to head the group back. A couple of the boys including Zuo helped to carry the chest, while the rest walked around them, chatting excitedly about what had just happened.
Once the chest was safely stowed with the priests in the temple, Tidus shooed the kids back home and took his own children back to theirs. Yuna listened attentively while they recounted the events, and while Zuo was busy fantasising about where the chest could have come from Deka sighed dreamily about the necklace.
"It was so pretty, mom! Like if you took pearls and opals and put them together, or something."
"That's one weird mutant crab," Tidus said offhandedly, making them both giggle.
"Or maybe," Zuo said excitedly. "The chest came from a race of giant mutant sea crabs waaay to the south, and they're sending the chest as a warning before they come and destroy our civilisation and colonise the land!"
Deka looked startled, Yuna raised an eyebrow, but Tidus just sighed.
"End of the world again? Must have missed the memo."
"But it could," Zuo insisted. "You got no proof that it couldn't."
"But it's obviously Zandal," Deka pointed out. "How would giant mutant crabs be able to speak a Zandal language?"
"Ohh, I know! The Zandal are descended from the giant mutant crabs! That's how they know to speak in their tongue,"
Yuna shook her head despairingly. "That's just ridiculous,"
"Well, it'd explain why El's such a freak of nature," Tidus said before he could stop himself. He and the kids roared with laughter while Yuna gave him an icy look.
"You are not helping the matter."
"Oh come on, it was funny!" he laughed.
Deka and Zuo were still arguing over the issue when they went to bed, and for a time were calling through the walls of their rooms until Tidus told them to pipe down. Once he was sure they were asleep he took the communicator they normally reserved for talking to Elodie with, and tried to pick up a signal to Bikanel. After fifteen minutes of failed attempts, he tried Bevelle, with a similar result. When he failed to get hold of El's personal communicator as well he gave up on the exercise and went about writing a letter to Gippal, requesting a researcher to come look at the chest and its contents.
"What are you doing?" Yuna asked, joining him at the table, dressed for bed already. "It's nearly midnight."
"I couldn't get hold of anyone on the sphere waves," he told her. "So I'm sending Gippal a letter instead. I think that chest needs to be looked at properly."
"What do you think it is?"
"Dangerous, probably. The girls were all looking at that necklace really funny. And the rest of the stuff? I don't even know what it is. Better safe than sorry, right?"
XOXOX
"What the hell are you doing here?" Tarak snapped.
Vidina looked up from the engine part he was tearing to pieces, and saw Dustin standing at the bottom of the gangplank. He looked like a man on a mission, and motioned for Tarak to come closer; Vidina followed, curious to see what was going on.
"Remember those papers you showed me and Bayla?" he said once they were in a secluded corner.
"Yeah, what about them?" Tarak demanded.
Dustin chanced a glance at the door to the hangar before he went on. "Bay and I were just passing your dad's office. We overheard him talking to Cid – apparently something washed up on the beach in Djose last week, and it's on its way to Bevelle to be examined. Something happened in Garret too, and they just got a message from Besaid saying they found some weird chest. And the sphere wave system's gone down all over Spira, not just here with the magnetic storm the other night."
Vidina looked from Dustin's concerned look to Tarak's deep frown. "What we gonna do?"
"I'll tell you what, we're gonna get this heap of junk fixed and go do our own investigating," he growled to himself.
"That's not all," Dustin said quickly. "They were talking about bringing everyone in the camp on that jungle island with the ruins back. The wildlife there went mental as well, apparently. Then when Bayla and I were going back to the art block we ran into this woman she knows who said that her mentor's not gonna be back for another month because they're all going back up to Garret for some sort of council of elders meeting."
"This woman, she got Shaman braids? Wearin' green with a massive Burgen covered in Zandal animals and a mourning braid?"
"Err, yeah I think so."
"What the hell!" How dare Elodie drop by without saying hello! Vidina was pissed off.
"Where is she now?" Tarak asked. "We could get some answers, she'd tell us, I'm sure of it."
"She left. Said she had to get the next airship to Gagazet. Bayla's tutor's already there apparently,"
"Puh! Typical," Tarak snarled, pacing back and forth in the confined space. "We're adults now, and they can't do us the curtsey of treating us like we are. We have a right to know what's going on!" he shot Dustin a furtive look. "You get on with Bayla, right? You persuade her to come with us once the ship's fixed."
"I can't." Dustin said flatly. "She already told you she doesn't want in. How could I make her change her mind?"
"I dunno, flatter her! Make her see it like the adventure it really is and she'll take the bait,"
"Erm, bro?" Vidina said tentatively. "Bayla's pretty stubborn, ya? She stated why she doesn't wanna go, and considering the way things round the world are looking now, I doubt she'd change her mind. I'm guessin' she might want to go back home soon, ya? For her parents, but also for her. She's always been a homin' bird."
"But Bayla loves breaking rules," Tarak protested.
"Not when it means someone could get hurt. You shouldn't have told her about the letter to her mother, it's got her worried sick now."
They scraped for a bit longer over it, until Tarak stalked off angrily to continue his tinkering. Vidina turned to Dustin and said, "Just keep an eye on her for me, ya? I know she doesn't wanna get involved and all, but she's gonna stumble on somethin' sooner or later that drags her in. It always happens," he was about to walk away and join Tarak when Dustin spoke up.
"You think it's headed in a bad direction." It wasn't a question.
"I'm thinkin' that as long as we don't let the daydream of an adventure get in our way, we can weather it. But," he added, confessing his mounting inward fears. "I kinda get the feelin' that we're treadin' in deep water here. Just take care of Bayla for me while I'm not round, ya?"
And he left Dustin standing in the corner to go help with the airship's engine.
XOXOX
It was with grim faces that the council assembled, and Elodie felt the uncomfortable swoop in her stomach of déjà vu. It felt like the councils that had been held in Luca and the southern end of the High Road during the reign on Sin – the dire need that drove the tribe's elders and wise people together, now fuelling this current meeting.
Any happiness left over from the whale's passing was gone now, even though the whales had unexpectedly stayed within the area, swimming around the ruined city and still weaving their ethereal song.
"This reeks of bad news," Shulay murmured softly below the thrum of voices.
El nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She had only seen Bayla once – so briefly it couldn't count as a meeting at all – and she knew that a lot of research teams were being recalled to the base at the moment. The warriors sent to tackle the fiends were hard pressed, and whispers of unease were multiplying in the markets around Spira.
"What do you think, Star-Facing-North?" she asked, using Elodie's Adult Name.
"I would have liked my brother here for this council." She said through gritted teeth.
"There was no time. And he would only worry more."
"I know." she sighed heavily, wondering what she was going to say to him when she finally got round to it.
The oldest member of the Stroma – a man far older than even Maester Mika had been before he had been sent – stood up from his seat at the East end of the circle about the fire, and cleared his throat. The silence that fell was thick and immediate – all held Elder Ragon – 'Singing Eagle' – with the highest respect.
"My family," he called, a strong voice that contrasted with his frail appearance – his skin had that thin, papery quality to it, and his eyes were misting over as the years accumulated in him like dust on a shelf. "We are convened here to discuss matters as grave as the times of The Prolonged Sin." Everyone was silent. "As you can see, only some of us are present. Our oath family has not been invited,"
There was a momentary stir of conversation that was dispelled by a flick of his hand.
"They have been left for a reason. The Elder's of Garret have a secret that even I was not privy to until just recently, when the natural order of this world was tipped. There is a story told by our people – not just our Stroma, but by every Zandal clan in Spira. Our cousins are even now telling their children of this story, as I am about to tell you." he paused for breath, before continuing.
"Before The Prolonged Sin, before the temples and the faith of Yevon were erected, there were summoners. Zanarkand," he nodded towards the ruins. "Traded with our forefathers. There were aeons of a different sort, located far from here. They gave the power to the summoners. The place of these hidden fayth has fallen out of our knowing, but we know that they existed. The Fayth for the summoners of Pilgrimage were created when The Sin was, and placed across Spira. Any aeon that fought the beast became The Sin in turn. But there was one who never made that change, for the young Twisted Half Child used his mother's sacrifice for his own ends, and his life energy was not taken from him in the summoning of this aeon to create The Sin anew."
Elodie stirred, anger and satisfaction mingling in her blood as she remembered striking down Seymour Guado before Yuna sent him to the Farplane.
"This was to start the motion of the prophecy." Their Elder went on. "For The Twisted One's mother was the last Fayth to give their life that did not connect with The Sin in the usual way." Here, he looked directly at Elodie. "The purpose of this was to inform the Keepers of The Secret when the time to move was, but the event was shrouded, and the signs were not read. Now, I fear maybe now it will be too late. The story says that after the number Thirteen, the counting begins; we will have until the end of the Celebration of The Stars, next year, at which time the Dream Walker shall have access to the Forgotten Fayth. The rest of the tale has been lost to us." He looked grave and sad by this news, and many of the silently watching crowd exchanged looks ranging from surprise, to alarm and dismay.
"J-airai Anarltuh Flaygraata Say-bowna Nellk Barr Stroma." Elder Ragon said loudly, and Elodie jumped as all eyes turned to her. "Rise."
She stood slowly, stretching her cramped legs, and walked across the assembled group to stand before him. She bowed, and he kissed her once on each temple. Then he took a single flower from his pocket and deftly wove it into one of the many braids that were hanging over her shoulders. It was a tiny bloom, one that once it flowered would never wilt or close provided you cut it at the right time. They were pretty rare these days, especially in the lands north of Gagazet.
"Higher Shaman. Guardian of the High Summoner. You know more of these things than most – you have walked that Far Off Plane and come back to tell the tale alive."
"I did it with help from friends, never by myself." El said evenly, quaking under the gaze of the highest-ranking person of her tribe.
Ragon smiled. "And that which makes your character so strong is that which we need for this task. For your clan, your people, and for Spira – it is your job to find and protect the Dream Walker."
"And if I did this," she asked, feeling the tension of the congregation mount. "What would I do then?"
"Help them find the Forgotten Fayth. Unravel this story, do what you must; what little we do remember is that if they are not the one to find the Forgotten Fayth, then they of Black Hearts shall find them first, and then we shall be doomed as surely as if Yu Yevon arose once more with another Amour of Sin to purge this world of everything we worked so hard to achieve."
Elodie gulped, looking around the people gathered in the fire's circle, catching her blood sister's eye and looking away from the face her second cousin was pulling. Then she spotted Shulay, who nodded slowly and calmly – giving Elodie the strength she needed to answer.
"Yes, I will." She said firmly.
Oh sweet zombie Jesus… she thought to herself, echoing a sentiment Tidus had once expressed in the face of an obstacle.
XOXOX
It wasn't for another week until someone got back to Tidus about the chest; another Zandal who he was good friends with was dispatched from Djose to take a look. She arrived at the weekend, early Saturday morning by ferry, so the kids were still asleep and couldn't stick their noses into it.
"Hey!" she called, jumping lithely from the gangplank as they came to a halt.
"Good to see you, Mina," he grinned, giving her a hug.
Mina was an inch shorter than Tidus, with wild blonde hair that reached her waist and what the Zandal termed 'Wall-Eyes'. One was a clear, ice blue while the other was additionally one-third chocolate brown. Like El, she had a more flexible Zandal wardrobe, and only the extensive tatts on her arms showed that she was an Alpha Shaman. The braids were kept to a bare minimum, mainly because her hair often ended in a ponytail or a fat plait when she was dealing with animals. True, today she had brought a dog along with her, one with an attitude that tried to bite Tidus when he went to say hello.
Instead of berating the dog for bad behaviour, Mina grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, looked deep in its eyes and growled at the back of her throat. The dog placidly slid to the ground where it stayed after she let it go.
"Sorry about that," she said, tugging at the strap of her Bergen. "It's this new fad to breed dog-wolf hybrids, and people don't know how to look after them right. I rescued this one from a puppy farm, now I've got to beat some sense into him."
True, now that he looked closer, Tidus could see the wolf in him. "What's his name?"
"Tikka. Well then!" she clapped her hands together before swinging her arms back and forth, stretching her muscles. "I didn't get much information about what's happened, care to fill me in on the way up?"
Tidus explained as they walked back to the village, Tikka having to be put back in her place several times as she chased animals and bit their legs. By the time they reached the gates, Mina was frowning.
"This month just gets worse and worse," she murmured to herself.
"What's happened? Everywhere seems to be going mad recently."
"That's a good estimation, and a fair bet." Mina nodded sadly. "Maybe Elodie hasn't said, but most blood members of each tribe with higher roles were called together by the tribe elders. Something about a prophecy made before the Machina War, that's fallen out of knowing for centuries. Each Tribe has a representative that's supposed to be looking for someone concerned with it. They all seem to have a connection to a summoner in one way or another,"
"Who's the Stroma?" Tidus asked, wondering why only a few select blood relatives had been called – usually the Zandal encompassed everyone, by blood and adoption both. In truth, he was a bit miffed he'd been left out, but he would have been unable to attend anyway since he was needed at school.
"I think its El. Well, the Stroma were known for producing good guardians, but guardian to the High Summoner? She would win hands down. Only now she's taken leave from the research programme and disappeared as far as I know. Shulay's running round like a headless chicken too – I think she mentioned she teaches your eldest daughter now, no? Well, she will probably disappear sometime soon, too. Where to exactly I haven't the faintest."
Tidus nodded, then said, "Through here," and led the way into the temple. As they stepped inside, the chattering of the birds ceased entirely.
"The birds are more…energetic than I remember," Mina said dryly.
Tidus chuckled. "It would be more worrying if it wasn't so irritating."
"Kilika's gone mad too. All the temples have – even Remiem. The Omnitara there have problems with the plants."
"I'm not sure I want to know anymore," Tidus grimaced.
Mina frowned with apology. "I hope our brave representatives find a solution soon."
Tidus showed her the chest the kids had found, and explained the story behind its discovery. Mina examined the broken lock, each of the items inside in turn, and paid close attention to the stone tablet. She took some crayon rubbings of the inscription before hand drawing it with ink on some parchment, annotating round the edges as she went. "I don't understand any of this – any symbols I do recognise are in a position that makes no sense…" she pondered on it for a while before eventually giving up and conceding that she would have to go look it up in a book somewhere. Finally, she picked out the necklace from the rest of the objects with disgust and said, "Did anyone wear this?"
"No. A few of the girls were drooling over it, but I made them put it back. No one's opened the chest since."
"Wise. How strong are your magicks?"
"Kinda still there," he admitted, smiling sheepishly. Lulu often berated him for now keeping in practise; his time magicks were rusty at best., and his healing spells had gone completely out the window.
"Here," Mina placed it on the palm of his hand, before enveloping it with both of hers. "Feel that?"
It was like feeling for a pulse on an obscure part of the body, like the leg as opposed to the wrist or neck.
"Yeah."
"There's an entity within it. It's very old, and I don't know if it's benevolent." Mina glowered at the beautiful, iridescent necklace that shimmered in the torchlight. "I may take this particular piece with me. My superiors in the order may be able to tell me more, or at least point me in vaguely the right direction."
"Take it," Tidus insisted, happy to be rid of the damn thing.
"And these," Mina nodded at the other objects, musing again. "They remind me of something…"
"I thought so too," Tidus agreed. "Couldn't think what it was…" he cast a sidelong glance at one; a circular piece wrought with thick wires that almost resembled a crown. It reminded him of a Crucifixion display he had seen at a Catholic mass when he was twelve, though no one in Spira would know what he was talking about if he said it out loud. Yuna had stared at him blankly when he tried to explain what Easter was.
"May I take the whole chest?" she added, slowly piling everything back inside. "Its obviously been in the sea a long time, it's covered in weed and – ah! A starfish! Go away mate – anyway, it was built to withstand the tides and the ocean. So, if you don't mind me taking it…?"
"No, by all means!" He would be glad just to get rid of it – one less thing to worry about would be most welcome.
"I think…" Mina took the necklace and wrapped it up securely in a large square neck scarf from inside her Bergen. "That can stay in my bag where no one can see it. And this," she hefted the stone tablet into her arms. "This'll need wrapping up. It'd be a shame to let something this beautifully carved get damaged. Plus it's probably important,"
They managed to wedge it inside her bag, bulked out with lots of old rags and tea towels. Once that was done, they left the temple, and Tidus invited Mina to stay for a while with the promise of tea. She didn't stay too long, just long enough to say hi to Yuna and the kids, and have one cup of her preferred rooibose. Since she was determined to run some more investigations and get back to him with the details as soon as possible, Mina ran to catch the next ferry for Luca, seen off by Deka and Zuo.
While the kids were down at the pier, Tidus had a moment to tell Yuna what little he had learnt. She was surprised at first to hear that Elodie hadn't told him what was going on, and then she frowned with concern when Tidus repeated what Mina had said about the council meeting she had attended with his own tribe.
"Things are starting to look bad," she said eventually after an agonisingly long and pregnant pause.
"And you're still not sleeping well," he pointed out.
"Coincidence." Yuna said swiftly, turning back to the bread she was toasting. "Think you can get hold of El soon and ask her what the Stroma had to say?"
Tidus rolled his eyes at her avoidance tactics, but passed no comment. Instead, he whiled the rest of the day away helping Deka and Zuo with their Al Bhed homework, in between writing down a letter to his adoptive sister when he had a moment, trying to ignore the birds who were still singing wildly outside by the temple.
XOXOX
