Disclaimer: I don't own FFX
Woot, 39 Favorites and 47 Follows. Its getting there. Got quite a bit reviews, yaa! Enough talk on to the story!
They all met with Auron and Rikku outside the dome.
"Thanks for waiting! I'll go give my answer to Maester Seymour," said Yuna. Suddenly, the Guado near the area gasped. They looked back at the Farplane to see a robed Guado elder trying to come out. He looked like a spirit that was trying to escape. Shouts of Lord Jyscal could be heard from all the Guado. Everyone was panicking for a bit when Auron took command.
"He does not belong here. Yuna, send him."
Yuna nodded and climbed up the stairs again. Everyone was watching her that they failed to notice Auron started to twitch and collapsed in pain. Yuna hesitated for a bit, but Lulu told her to send him immediately. Following her order, she sent him away, but not before a sphere dropped. Yuna quickly took it and discreetly hid it from everyone. After she sent him, everyone quickly hurried out of the Farplane.
"Wha…what was that just now? That really Lord Jyscal?" asked Wakka in disbelief.
Max and Tidus decided since this was out of their area to just remain silent. Yuna commented about how it was impossible to not send him when he died, and Lulu replied with a theory that left chills. Auron summarized it as that Jyscal's death was not as peaceful as everyone though. They quickly arrived at Seymour's mansion, where Yuna entered in. Max wanted to have someone go in with her at least, preferably Tidus, but Yuna insisted it was all right.
As she entered, Auron quickly shouted out, "Yuna! Jyscal is the Guado's problem, not yours." She paused for a second before entering the mansion. It seemed like that advice was ignored.
They waited for a bit and talked. Lulu and Max were arguing about marriage while Tidus and Rikku decided to talk about what Yuna would do. They finished their conversations, and Tidus decided to explore the village a bit more. Max went to see O'aka to purchase some more items. While Tidus was walking, he encountered Shelinda.
"My… Was the lady summoner not with you?" asked Shelinda.
"No. She's at Seymour's place," replied Tidus.
"That's 'Maester Seymour.' Or 'Lord Seymour.'" Shelinda lectured. Tidus sighed. He really didn't like Seymour and didn't want to call him by those titles, but he supposed he had to follow the culture.
"Oh! Maester Seymour left Guadosalam a short while ago," recalled Shelinda. "I believe he went to the temple in Macalania. Maester Seymour is also the high priest of that temple."
"Whoa, I gotta tell the others!" shouted Tidus, thanking Shelinda before running off back to the mansion. They quickly entered and found Yuna looking at the portrait of Jyscal and left Guadosalam.
Right as the left the village, Rikku was cowering in front of them. "Oh, no…We're here." Lightning flashed before their eyes and Rikku yelped, curling up into a ball. Paine scoffed at Rikku's cowardice.
"How are we supposed to cross that?" asked Tidus.
"See the lightning rod towers? The lightning is drawn to them…hopefully," replied Lulu.
"Hopefully? You mean it's not fully operational?" said Max.
"We head north, not too near and not too far from the towers, ya?" said Wakka, ignoring Max for the moment. Rikku was finally getting out her ball when another crack of lightning came. "I think I forgot something in Guadosalam!" she yelped.
"Nice knowing you," Auron said heartlessly.
"See you later," Paine added as she walked forward.
"Okay, okay! I'll go!" Rikku grumbled.
They traveled forward, trying to stay near the towers. Once in a while, lightning would strike near them, but amazingly, they were all diverted to somewhere else. What the party didn't know was that Max had an item out hidden in his hand. He knew how lightning worked and had built a laser pointer. He made the areas he pointed a localized spot full of electrons, making the lightning strike that spot. They met up with Shelinda, who was already congratulating Yuna on a happy marriage. Feeling sore, Tidus denied such a thing while asking who was spreading the rumor. When Max heard it was the Guado, he scoffed. As soon as she left, Max commented, "Typical. Spread rumors before it's even true to force Yuna into it."
"How?" asked Wakka. Paine, Rikku, and Lulu also seem interested at this.
"Easy. Seymour's a Maester. They spread the word that Yuna accepted before she even has the chance to say it forces Yuna to succumb to the pressure. Even if she doesn't, the role of the antagonist can be easily portrayed as her for not holding onto a promise or making a false one. Since Seymour's such a 'great' guy, they'll think he was the victim even though he was the one who sprung the proposal without having an answer." said Max. Everyone looked a bit worry about this.
"Relax. If Yuna defeats Sin, this'll blow over in no time," said Max. The others didn't seem to be calmed down by this, which confused Tidus and Max.
'What are we missing?' the native Zanarkand people thought.
They traveled further up the road closing in on an inn when lightning struck one of the towers again.
"Whoa-ho-ho! That was a close one!" laughed Wakka.
"Stop kidding around," ordered Lulu.
"Yes ma'am…" said Wakka, looking like a kicked puppy.
Rikku then started to laugh creepily, causing everyone to turn around to look at her in concern. She didn't stop laughing. Suddenly, lightning struck again, and Rikku dropped down to the floor in fright. Everyone was still confused when she skittered right into Max's leg and grabbed hold of it like a predator pouncing on its prey. "I wanna go home! I hate lightning! I hate thunder! Let's go rest over there! Please?" Rikku whined. Max shook his head. 'And she wants to learn more about machina. Half the machines run on a form of electricity.'
"This storm never stops. Better to cross quickly," said Auron.
"I know, but…Just for a little while?" she whined. When they reached the inn, instead of stopping, everyone continued forward except for Rikku, Tidus, and Max. Rikku kept complaining and whining even more as they were walking away. Tidus could see lip twitches that threatened to become smiles on everybody's faces as they continued to ignore Rikku. Finally, they decided that her whining was worse than the storm and went inside the inn.
As soon as they entered the inn, Yuna automatically requested a room for herself and went in. This was quite out of character for Yuna to do so, so everyone was a bit worried. Max decided to try to help Rikku get over her phobia first.
"Are you that scared of lightning?" Max asked. Rikku nodded, "Mm-hm. When I was little, a fiend attacked me while I was swimming at the beach. My brother tried to beat it back with a spell," she squeaked when another thunderclap game, "But he missed and hit me instead! It was a Thunder spell. I've been scared of lightning ever since."
Max winced. That was definitely one way to gain a phobia. He'd have to reveal one of his secrets to find a way to have her overcome it, but decided it was worth it. Tidus already revealed to Yuna about their Zanarkand a bit already, so it couldn't hurt to let Rikku know, too.
The door opened, and Rin entered through the door. "Nice to see you again. Welcome to the Rin Travel Agency." He noticed Rikku in the crowd and was about to say something when he saw Rikku waving her hands, telling him to be silent. Complying, he turned over to Max and Tidus.
"How goes your study of our language?" asked Rin. Tidus shrugged as he only skimmed through the book a bit.
"Hud pyt," said Max, "Cdemm ma-may- dangit. Still learning"
"Quite impressive, still,"said Rin, his eyebrows raised. He looked around his shop before noticing Auron.
"Would that be Sir Auron, by any chance?" he asked. They nodded. Rin decided to go talk to Auron for a bit. Before leaving, he mentioned that all the Guado was still spreading the rumors of marriage. Feeling a bit tired, Max and Tidus decided to retire to their room for a bit. While they walked down the hall, they suddenly heard a man's voice through a door. They would have ignored it except that it was Yuna's room, and there wasn't suppose to be anyone else in it. Tidus quickly pushed the door open, fearing the worst. He stumbled into the room, seeing nobody but Yuna and.. a figure of Jyscal on a memory sphere? Yuna quickly closed it, but not before Max had flicked a tiny item onto the sphere. Yuna didn't notice it.
"Yes?" she asked.
Tidus stuttered, not knowing what to say. "I…well… It's nothing, really. I…I just, uh… I'm sorry… I shouldn't have come in." He turned around before remembering the Guado on the sphere, "H-Hey! Wasn't that Jyscal Guado guy?" "Oh!" Yuna blushed and nodded. "Ah… The sphere is his will… It says, 'Take care of my son.'"
"His son. Seymour?" asked Max. Yuna nodded.
"Well, I know one way to take care of him," grunted Tidus. He really did not like him, and Max couldn't fault him for it.
"I'm sorry," said Yuna before fleeing. As she ran, Max swore he could see specks of tears in her eyes. Confused, Tidus edged closer to the sphere before Wakka popped up from behind them and grabbed Tidus in a headlock. He didn't try it on Max on the basis he was afraid Max would over react and perform the Nutcracker on him.
"What do you think you two are up to?" said Wakka as he was punishing Tidus.
Tidus gagged as he struggled for breath, "Yuna…Yuna was acting funny, s-so…"
"Yeah, yeah!" interrupted Wakka, not letting Tidus finish, "She'll tell us when she's ready, so hold your chocobos till then, ya?"
"Sorry, Wakka. We thought we heard something weird and rushed in," said Max. Wakka grunted before finally letting Tidus go. They all decided to retire to their rooms for the night.
In the middle of the night
Rikku couldn't really sleep all that well. All those lightning strikes frightened her too much. She got up and left the room, hoping to find some sleeping agent to knock her asleep. She ran right into Max.
"Perfect. Just the person I wanted to see. Follow me!" said Max, dragging her out of the inn. She struggled quite violently.
"Let me go! I don't wanna be near lightning!" she cried.
"This is for your own good. Plus, if you get over it, I'll tell you how I made the baton," replied Max. Rikku stopped struggling, contemplating on this bargain. She didn't even notice she was outside until lightning struck again. Before she could curl up into a ball, Max hugged her from behind.
"What are you doing?" asked Rikku, blushing at being hugged.
"Shh. Just listen to me and watch, alright?" said Max. Rikku nodded, feeling a bit better that someone was holding her in this storm. It felt warm and comforting.
"Lightning," began Max, "It's a very destructive element, indeed. It can be used in attacks, and it hurts a lot. Prime examples could be the machina from Operation Mi'ihen, or my baton. And yet, in this destructive nature, mankind can learn from it and harness it for their own benefits. The little machina machines that was used for to delay us in Luca? It uses lightning. The machine you drove? Also uses some form of lightning. It is energy that we use to harnass, and how it can be formed. Look up into the skies, Rikku. Even with all this thunderstorm, does it not hypnotize you to see all these lightning strikes hit the tower. Focus with your eyes only. Ignore the sound of it. Cover your ears and see with your eyes only, and you may discover something you never knew."
Still afraid, Rikku reluctantly complied. She covered her ears, closed her eyes for a bit, before looking up towards the tower. When lightning struck it, she didn't feel afraid. Rather, she was amazed how lightning seemed to be drawn to the tower, how it struck the ground every now and then. Multitudes of lightning descended, and yet in its fearful nature, it was also beautiful.
"I'll give you a hint," said Max, "A lot of equipment from my Zanarkand uses lightning as electricity on almost everything. Lights, machines, even bliztball stadium. It really is a marvelous element, capable of powering so many things. Don't be afraid of it. Otherwise, you'll never be able to figure out half the ancient machina out there." He let go of Rikku, heading back into the inn. Rikku stood outside for a little before deciding to turn in. She found some earplugs and managed to sleep through the lightning strikes peacefully.
The next morning, everyone rose from bed early. Everybody except Max had expected Rikku to try to delay but were surprised when she didn't seem disturbed by the lightning strikes anymore.
"You did something, didn't you?" whispered Tidus to Max. He got a grin in return. They all left the inn and continued forward, fighting off a few fiends. They met a cactuar, though, and all scrambled to get away from the feisty little target. They had to heal from all the spines it kept shooting at them. It was at this point Yuna decided to make an announcement while they were all under a structure recovering from the cactuar attack.
"I've decided to marry," announced Yuna. Her voice certainly didn't sound happy at that.
Lulu shook her head, "I thought so."
"B-But why? Why'd you change your mind?" asked Wakka, not believing her choice.
"For Spira's future…and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do," she replied
Before Auron could say anything, a voice rang out, "Sorry, but that's complete bullshit."
Everyone turned around to see Max. His face didn't seem to carry a happy or calm visage anymore. Instead, on it was just pure fury.
"It's about what Jyscal said on that sphere, isn't it?" said Max.
Yuna was shocked that someone had actually listened to the sphere. On another thought, maybe she should have taken it with her instead of leaving it in her room when she ran away from them that night.
Auron interrupted, "As long as she continues her pilgrimage, nothing else matters. That is a summoner's privilege. We as guardians cannot question her judgment on this."
"Forgive me if I don't feel like I'm doing my job if she's marrying a murdering psychopath then," snarled Max.
"Wait, what?" asked Paine.
"Max, No!" exclaimed Yuna. Max turned to look at her and sighed.
"Fine, nobody else knows except for you and me. But in all reality, can't you just talk to him? If you do marry him, then I'm going to be forced to intervene for your safety. Plus, will you really ignore what your 'other' self-advised? Will you ignore what your own parents did? Will you forego your own feelings just for others a measly passing of happiness for others? Marriage is something sacred among others, and to sully it with a political marriage with someone insane as Seymour spits on it." interrogated Max.
Yuna remained silent, conflicted about this. It was obvious to Max that Yuna was growing closer and closer to Tidus, and the same was for him. Max was not about to let some psychopath get in between that, even if it meant killing that person named Seymour. Screw the fact he was a maester, or the bridge between Guado and man.
Eventually, she gave an answer.
"I must speak with Maester Seymour," said Yuna.
"Anddd?" demanded Max.
"I've changed my mind. I won't consider marriage yet. But I must speak with him alone," she replied. Everyone gave a sigh of relief they all didn't know they were holding. Tidus was ecstatic in his own mind as he tried his best not to show it.
"Alright, then. Just be careful, Yuna. I'd prefer if you had at least someone with you." said Max.
"I'll go with her," said Paine, shocking everyone. Yuna tried to reply, but Paine continued.
"I need to speak with him anyways about our mission from the Den of Woes. He is a maester, still."
Everyone discussed about it and nodded. Having someone with Yuna would be best, and Paine could fill that role easily without dismissing any Guado cultures by speaking as a Yevon soldier.
"Alright, that's done. Next, we're going to Malacania Temple. Yuna can talk to Seymour there with Paine. We guardians will wait until they're done, and plan our next move. Understood?" said Auron, causing everyone to nod. They continued to walk forward, trying to get out of the plains as fast as possible.
Tidus walked next to Max, muttering thanks to him. Max merely smiled. They soon arrived at out of the plains and into Macalania Woods. Max, Tidus, and Auron were trailing behind the group, covering their backs.
"You're worried about Yuna," said Auron.
"Course I'm worried about her. What is she thinking?" asked Tidus. "If it wasn't Max, she'd be set on her path to marrying someone who Max knows is a killer. And Max won't tell us what he did!"
Max sighed, "Yuna directly forbade me from telling anyone. She agreed to have Paine accompany her at least. Plus, we won't be too far behind. I placed a tracer on her without noticing."
"The simplest answer would have been…in exchange for agreeing to marry him…she hopes to negotiate with Seymour. She wants it this way," replied Auron.
Tidus could only raise his hands to his hair and ruffled his hair hard in frustration, "Argh! I just don't get it! Doesn't she trust us?"
On the contrary… She doesn't want us caught up in whatever it is that she's planning," replied Auron.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. But that makes me worry even more. She could just tell us," said Tidus. "It's just how she is, man," said Max, "She's naive, serious to a fault, and doesn't ask for help. Something you like about her." Tidus blushed slightly at that but didn't deny it.
"Yuna's easy to read," said Auron. Both boys snorted and couldn't deny that Yuna wouldn't be able to play her way through poker night. "But hard to guard. Stand by her, always." They both nodded and raced to catch up.
They met with Lucil and Elma, who were congratulating Yuna on her betrothal, only to be shot down by the news. They were depressed but got over it as soon as Max explained how the Guado were merely spreading rumors without a single basis. It never crossed the Guado's minds that Yuna would say no. They continued forward, killing a bit more fiends until they were an unusual sight.
Barthello was running around the woods without his summoner, yelling for Donna's name. When he ran into the group he asked them if they had seen Donna. He was in a panic that he didn't even flinch when he saw Max. His state of mind was on one track only, finding Donna. He relaxed slightly when Auron advised him to calm down and backtrack to where he had last seen Donna. Auron offered to help, but Barthello nobly refused, stating he couldn't waste their time before rushing off to retrace his steps. Rikku raised her hand, as if to tell him something, but stopped. Tidus asked what she wanted to do, but she merely replied that she wanted to say good luck with a thoughtful look. They walked until Auron stopped them.
"Wait... It is here somewhere," said Auron mysteriously.
"What's here?" asked Tidus.
"Something you should see," replied Auron before he started hacking through some fallen trees, opening up a road that thy would've missed if not for Auron.
As Auron lead them through the side road, they saw a pool of water laying in front of a large tree.
"This place... It's just water, isn't it?" asked Tidus.
"This is what spheres are made of. It absorbs and preserves people's memories," said Auron. Right as he said that, a giant spherical amoeba-like creature rose from the water. "Fiends are also attracted to this place," he finished.
The fight itself was bizarre. Physically attacking it did minimal damage to it, and casting magic seemed to heal it. It was thanks to Lulu that she found out how to counter it by casting the right spells whenever it changed its form. Thanks to the journey, she was able to cast Tier 2 black spells, such as Fira. Max was still struggling with the basics, and thus so far was only just able to cast the four elements. The party mainly protected Lulu and Max until the fiend finally died. As it slowly dissolved away, a memory sphere came out of it.
Wakka picked it up to examine before declaring, "Whoa, this is old! Don't know if you can play it back."
"Jecht left it here ten years ago," Auron announced, causing them all to gasp, before telling Tidus to play it. The images were a bit fuzzy, but they could obviously see Jecht with Braska and a much younger Auron. The sphere was originally for Jecht to take back, as he said in the beginning of the sphere. Different locations could be seen on their adventures, until finally, only Jecht was on screen at the same place they were.
"Hey. If you're sitting there, watching this…it means you're stuck in Spira, like me," said Jecht. They all knew that this was a final message that he was leaving for Tidus specifically. "You might not know when you'll get back home, but you better not be crying! Although, I guess I'd understand. But you know what? There's a time when you have to stop crying and move on. You'll be fine. Remember, you're my son. And… Well, uh… Never mind. I'm no good at these things." As he approached the sphere to close it, he gave one last closing statement that rang in Tidus's heart. "Anyways… I believe in you. Be good. Goodbye."
Tidus was a bit shocked. He knew his father pretty well, and for him to do such an act really meant a lot to him.
"He sounded almost serious, but it was too late," said Tidus cooly, trying to play it off. He was still having trouble believing his old man could be so serious.
"He was serious. Jecht had already accepted his fate," replied Auron, blunt as usual.
"His fate?" asked Max, tilting his head.
Auron hesitated, glancing at everyone, before answering, "Jecht… He… He was always talking about going home, to Zanarkand. That's why he took all those pictures–to show them to you when he returned. But as he journeyed with us and came to understand Spira, and Braska's resolve… It happened gradually, but Jecht changed. He decided he would join Braska in his fight against Sin."
"So then, he gave up going home?" asked Tidus, shocked at this decision. Auron nodded. Tidus took this time to contemplate about what Jecht did and why. Seeing that he was deep in his thoughts, everyone decided to head back to the main road, leaving Tidus alone in his thoughts. Only Max and Auron stayed.
"You alright, Tidus?" asked Max, concerned. Tidus shook out of his trance and nodded. As they left, Auron stopped them for a bit.
" Jecht loved you," said Auron. Tidus was about to retort when Max stopped him with an elbow, allowing Auron to continue. "He just didn't know how to express it, he said. I just thought you should know."
Tidus nodded at that, and Auron left to catch up to the party. As he turned around the bend, Tidus whispered "Thanks." He took one last look at the place, where Jecht had given his final speech for Tidus.
As you can see, having Paine and Max in the group has impacted on some of Yuna's decision. Couldn't resist writing in the Cactaur, though. That one has given me trouble when I first played the game.