When we got to the Djose shore, we saw that nothing from Operation Mi'ihen was cleaned up. It was still a mess, even after a month had passed. We picked our way through discarded machina and bodies, spotting Billy's body still propped up against the rocks where we left him. Drew spotted him and asked what happened to him.
"He got too close to the edge and fell. Rose told him to stay close but he didn't listen. So he died because he didn't listen." Ben answered. Drew nodded and said that is what he gets. Spencer and Marrissa looked pale at the sight of all the bodies laying on the shore.
"Crusaders and the Al Bhed tried to defeat Sin with machina together and failed. This is what Sin does. Sin destroys. We are working to stop Sin from any more destruction." I told Drew, Marrissa, and Spencer. Drew moved closer to me and commented that Sin wouldn't get near me until I was ready. Ben, Marrissa, and Spencer then swore the same thing. I sighed and started moving.
Once on the Djose Highroad, I looked behind me to see everyone following. We followed the road, fighting fiends along the way. Crusaders that never figured out what to do next sat along the road. They were good to hand Gil to, and spreading the news to sing with the Airship. The Gil made them willing to listen to our request.
As we approached the crossroad, we saw a chest. Yuna walked over to it and tried to open it. When it didn't open, I pulled out the Celestial Mirror. It sprang open, and when no one moved to pull out the item, I did. Inside was a sword. The sword blade was red, while the hilt was silver with what looked like a ruby set below the grip.
Spencer looked at me questioningly. I didn't know, but that meant that another person was waiting for us...to join us. We had to find them, of that there was no doubt. So the next stop was Djose Temple.
Djose Temple was still filled with Crusaders, and I knew it would take months for them to heal well enough to travel. A young priest came out to greet us. There was a young lady that just arrived two days after we had left the first time and was learning to protect herself here. I asked to see her, and I got the okay. As soon as I saw the flaming red hair dropped down to her waist, I knew. She was from our world too. And the only one I knew with that colored hair was Sunny. I called out her name, and her head whipped around as fast as she could.
She stopped what she was doing and dashed over to me, wrapping me into a big hug. After telling me I looked good, she asked me what I was doing here. I answered that I was a summoner, and her eyes widened.
"By the way...what is that sword on your back?" She asked, looking drawn to it. I pulled it off of my back and held it out to her. She looked like she was going to rip it from my hands but gently grabbed it by the hilt. Sunny turned around and walked away from us, then gave the sword a couple of swings. It just looked right for her.
Her eyes never left the sword as she asked if it was hers. So I asked her, did she feel drawn to it? When she answered yes, I told her it was hers. Oh did her eyes light up. That is when Yuna spoke up.
"Does she come from your world as well? And if so, will she be your guardian?" She asked. I didn't know, and I told her that. Sunny listened to all of this and didn't say a word. At least right away. After all of the talking was done, Tidus looked to Sunny.
"Would you want to become a guardian? You would be able to see the world." He told her. She looked at her feet and muttered something. Ben, who was next to her, must have caught what she had said. He turned to her and said that if she wanted to protect me, then she needed to become a guardian.
"I will become a guardian then," Sunny stated proudly looking to me. I nodded and grabbed her hands. She pulled me into a bear hug, then quickly pulled away to drop into a deep curtsy. I rolled my eyes and told her to get up. Just then, the airship showed up.
The Crusaders and Priests both fell to their knees. Which surprised the whole group. Ben got over himself pretty quickly and started snickering. Once we had calmed the Priests who were hysterical, I turned to the head priest. He silenced me with a wave of his hand, and with the other hand pulled out something I never thought we would find in a temple. A crest with the symbol for air. I pocked the crest and turned to Sunny.
After half dragging her up, we finally had a full party. Or so I thought. It didn't take long for someone I never thought would catch up, to do so. Andrew caught up with us at the Moonflow.
"I thought that I would never catch up. I am sorry can I join you guys again?" He asked guilt shone in his eyes. Ben and Drew both drew their weapons while moving closer to me. My best guess was that he saw things the hard way, and thought being around me would be the easiest choice. Which was always his way. I said that he had to prove himself until then he would always stay a sword-length away from my guardians and myself. He agreed eagerly. We would see if he stays.
Guadosalam loomed ahead and with it a warm welcome. It seemed that most of the Guado had disowned Seymour once news of his crimes had been revealed, and those that chose to follow him had been disowned as well. Tromell, the Guado's new leader, came out to meet us.
"We never got to thank you for exposing Seymour's betrayal to us. If there is anything we can do, please let us know. And take this, as a token of our gratitude." He gestured to the Guado behind him, who was holding a great spear. "It is a weapon that has been passed down from Guado leader to Guado leader...at least until Lord Jescal was murdered. Now as the new leader, I choose to give it to you."
Andrew's eyes never left the spear. I nodded to Tromell, and he handed the spear to Andrew. As he held the spear, he muttered something. Yurushi. Was that the name of the spear? If it was, it meant "forgive". Just like Sunny's meant "flameheart".
Yuna looked at me and asked if that meant that Andrew was supposed to be with us. I replied with a shrug. Time would tell...if he was trustworthy. We were offered rooms and food, and I could tell that Yuna wanted to stay for a night. So we did.
The next day as we prepared to leave, Tromell stopped us to tell us that Bevelle was in turmoil and that maybe we should avoid it on our way. Since I was hoping to avoid it, I nodded. But I would soon realize that fate had another thing in mind.
The Thunder Plains were the same as always, except there were more fiends. We found the glowing stones pretty easily, and soon we were being led to the broken tower that held Kimarhi's Spirit Lance. Kimarhi stepped forward when I motioned him to. The chest holding his lance appeared, and the Celestial Mirror opened it. Once open, Kimarhi reached in and grabbed it.
We got to the Travel Agency, and Lulu started dodging the lightning bolts that were hitting near the building. As she dodged, chests started being pulled outside the door. I had Andrew open them as soon as they were pulled out until a chest with that wouldn't open was dragged out. Andrew asked if he could use the Celestial Mirror.
"Hold it above the chest, and let the light hit the lock," I told him handing the Mirror over. Andrew held the Mirror over his head, aiming the light towards the chest. It popped open and revealed the Venus Sigil. I pocketed it in the pocket for sigils and told Lulu she could stop.
Lulu walked over to us, out of breath. Meanwhile, I grabbed the Celestial Mirror from Andrew. Lulu asked if we got what we needed and I told her that as far as the lightning bolts, yes. I didn't know if we would find anything else in the Thunder Plains, so we had to keep an eye out. But before we continued, I told them, we were going to rest at the Agency.
We all took the offer of a night's rest for a cheaper price. And since there were barely any travellers, we could almost all have our own rooms. Drew and Andrew demanded to stay by my side, Ben had his room. While Marrissa and Spencer took a room. I ended up with Andrew on my right and Drew on my left. I soon gave them the bed and curled up on my bedroll that had been set on the floor.
I woke up to Drew and Andrew yelling. I got up and grabbed them both by the ear and hissed at them to break it up. They shut up quickly, and I let go. I started crawling back to my bedroll, but before I could make it arms grabbed me and picked me up. Princess style I was carried to the bed where I was tucked in and told to sleep well.
When I woke up again, Drew was talking to someone at the door while Andrew sat up against the bed. His spear in his hands as if to protect me from anything or everything. I sat up and told Drew to let them into the room. It was Yuna of course. She was wondering something she told me.
"Why did you want to rest here? We could have kept going." She mused. That when I told both boys to leave us for a few minutes. Andrew protested, but Drew looked at him and said that they would be just outside the door.
"Yuna. The reason we needed to stay here was a simple two reasons. One, Lulu is a magic user which is very useful here so having her tired is a bad idea. Two, those two boys needed to work it out between themselves. If we hadn't let them do that, we would have never gotten close to Yu Yevon. So I had a couple of good reasons to stop here." I explained quietly. She nodded and moved to exit the room. I stopped her and told her to wait for me.
As we exited the room and headed down the hallway, Drew and Andrew fell into step behind me. Ben, Marrissa, and Spencer were with Yuna's guardians in the entrance room waiting for us. I moved toward the door, and Yuna was right behind me. Everyone looked ready for the next challenge, and so it was time to go.
We headed north and soon came across a tower with an unopened chest underneath it. Wondering what we forgot, Ben jogged over to it and tried to open it. When it wouldn't budge, he waved me over. I calmly walked over and saw the crest mark on the lock. Taking out the Mirror, I held it up to shine on the lock. When it opened, inside was a crest, decorated with a fire sign.
After finding the Crest, we finished collecting the fiends we needed from the Thunder Plains. Next to revisit the woods of Macalania.
