"Drew! It is me. Get out here." I called as I headed toward him. He looked dead at me, then mouthed something that I didn't catch. As I got close, I reached out my hand. That is when I heard what he had been mouthing.
"Are you real this time?" He whispered. I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him. His muffled words were unable to understand, but I had a feeling I knew what he was saying.
"You are real! You are really real!" It was muffled and barely audible, but I understood that time. I pulled him close and told him that if he would follow me, I would never leave him alone again. His nod was all I needed. I whispered that we would talk later, but that until then he needed to stay quiet.
Again his nod was all that was needed. But I had to ask him formally.
"Drew. Will you become my guardian? If you say yes, all you need to do is protect me until I say so." I asked him. He looked at me and nodded, then replied. "I will follow and protect you until you no longer need me too."
Yuna looked at me questionably, but I smiled then told him that a simple yes would have been fine. He smiled and told me that if he was going to do this, he was going to do it right.
With that done, he let go of me and stood up. Andrew looked daggers at me, and Ben just laughed. I knew it was time to break up with Andrew. If he couldn't accept my best friend, then he had no reason to be my boyfriend. I looked at Andrew and said that Drew was my best friend and if he had any problems with it we should break up. He said it was fine, but I knew he didn't want to be left in the temple. Especially this one.
As we headed for the door, I noticed that Drew stayed on my heels. I knew I had to ask the question that was now burning in my head.
"How long were you there?" I asked Drew. He replied that he didn't know, but it was a while. I was suddenly glad I had found him. We soon boarded the airship and Drew looked around in wonder.
I looked at Yuna and said that I needed to talk to my guardians, and she nodded. Drew followed me without question. Ben followed after a second, but Andrew dug his feet. As soon as we got away from everyone, and Andrew had caught up, I started my speech.
"Ok. So this is what is happening. We are in the world of Final Fantasy 10. Yu Yevon is the final boss that we need to defeat, and there are a lot of bosses in between. Now we must gather the final Aeon to our side. But for that, we must do a lot of work. Are you three prepared to work hard? If so follow me." I finished.
Ben and Drew looked eager to do what needed to be done, while Andrew looked questionably at me. That is when he asked if we had to get the last Aeon. I looked hard at him.
"To end their dreaming, we must. And we can use their power." I retorted. "If you want to, you can be dropped off where ever you wish. Or I can pick somewhere."
He agreed to stay with the rest of us...reluctantly. So we had a game plan. No matter what, we would see thru this together. And with Drew's strength on my side, I knew everything was going to be okay. He had proven that he could be trusted time and time again.
Our next visit was the Calm Lands. I told Cid that that is where we needed to go. And so we went. The forgotten temple is where we were heading.
Once we got to the Calm Lands, Yuna asked me where we were going. I told her a forgotten temple and she perked right up. I led the way to the monster arena. Yuna looked confused, so I told her that there were conditions to getting into the Chamber of the Fayth for the last Aeon. When she asked what they were, I just shook my head and told her that I knew what I was doing and to just follow my lead.
She followed me to the monster arena, and I talked to the guy there.
"We have to see what we need to get to open the doors," I told her over my shoulder. After talking to the guy, I found out that I still needed 2 of every fiend from Mt. Gagazet. And all from everywhere but the Calm Lands, Mt. Gagazet, and the Cavern of the Hidden Fayth. So back to Besaid we went.
Once we got back, we got the warmest welcome we could ever have. And everyone was happy to see Yuna again. Drew looked at all the food and started drooling. Yuna noticed this and purposely gave him a bigger portion. Drew looked at me and waited to see me nod before taking the plate piled high with food. It looked like he had not eaten in days, if not weeks. So when the plate was clean, I asked him if he wanted more. He shook his head, and I nodded.
Afterwards, Lulu and Yuna returned to the temple to rest. Meanwhile, Tidus and Wakka headed back to Wakka's hut. My guardians looked at me, as wondering where we were going to sleep. So I lead them to the Crusader's hut. When we got there, I asked the crusaders if I could sleep there with my guardians. We got the okay and we all chose separate beds to sleep on. Drew waited on me to pick a bed, then chose the one next to me.
Andrew looked daggers at Drew but said nothing. I don't know when I fell asleep, but I awoke to the sunrise. I looked over to Drew and although the beds were not comfortable, he seemed to be sleeping peacefully. It was as he hadn't slept peacefully for a long time.
I sat up and looked at Ben and Andrew. Both were still sleeping. As I got up, I guess the bed I chose creaked, because Drew shot straight up and looked around. I motioned for him to be quiet and follow me.
I walked outside, and Drew was on my heels. I knew a sword would be the best weapon for him. So I handed him a sword that I had gotten from the monster arena. He looked at it like he didn't understand.
"You need a weapon if you are to help me. I thought that this would be the best type of weapon since you had swords before. Is it not to your liking?" I asked him, concerned. He shook his head and thanked me. We talked as the sun rose higher in the sky.
I didn't notice that Andrew had gotten up and was watching us. At least until he walked up beside us, and asked what we were doing. Drew jumped like he had done something wrong, but I calmly looked at him and told him that he was guarding me when they were sleeping. That pissed Andrew off, I think.
