From Lulu's Diary
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War. Horrible war. Thousands of lives lost; thousands more marked for death in the coming months, years, and decades? Oh how solemn this Calm is after such a beautiful start...Yunalesca was right...Humanity could never achieve the perfection Yevon had planned for us. Sin is apart of humanity as much as carnal desire. It's simply a matter of control...
And yet, I sit here writing this, a wide and gaudy smile across my face because my goofball for a husband won't leave me alone! If he's not trying to bump my arm or tickle under it, he's gently massaging my neck or kneading into my scalp. Yet, he's the most wonderful distraction I could've ever asked for. He's not only distracting me from this entry, he's helping me (as well as the rest of the village) cope with the war. As a matter of fact, I've been so giddy lately, I scarcely remember there -is- a war going on.
That, however, is a blessing and not a curse. I've seen some of those soldiers and I've seen Weston, Gatta, and Ughol. They've...got this horrid look in their eyes. I've had a hard time explaining it to Wakka...Anyway, it's more or less an absent glare. The battles they've endured seem to have sucked the life right from their eyes. Honestly, I was scared. Not for myself...but for them. They are doing something Yuna, Wakka, Kimahri, Auron, Tidus, or I could never truthfully do. They are fighting a war that wasn't caused by a malevolent being. The war they are fighting is a war between man and power. Childish, yes...but strangely as devastating as Sin had ever been, if not more so.
Grr...I get serious for a moment and Wakka starts attacking the back of my neck with kisses. Typical...but don't mistake this for complaining. I'm not complaining in the least little bit.
What's funny is that after Chappu was gone...I thought lovers' little idiosyncrasies were annoying and I'd never want that kind of childish physical contact ever again. And yet, here I am, playfully returning (as best I can in this sitting/writing position) Wakka's attention with a want I could scarcely imagine myself having a year ago. And despite my better judgment (which isn't like me in the least) I'm happy.
And, through the egging on by my lummox of a husband, I've decided to help teach some of the village children magic. No, not the black arts, but the healing spells. He claims it will come in handy if any of the children get hurt playing. I personally think he's trying to get me to learn my way around children. What's ironic is the fact that I've always mothered someone; Wakka at first, and then, quite apparently, Yuna.
Yuna... Sometimes I chuckle when I think of how much she must hate my coddling her. But it comes natural. After Chappu passed, she was all I had to turn my attention too. I grew cold to the outside world and focused my energy on Yuna. And now...I'm married, with a husband dropping hints at wanting a child. Yuna's a woman. She was a woman nearly three years ago...if not ages ago, when she chose to become a summoner, knowing full well what the consequences were.
What's really begun to fringe on my own happiness is the look in Yuna's eyes every time they meet my own. Despite her smiles, I know what she's going through, for I have been there too. But I also know that there is no substitute for her suitor from Zanarkand.
And now, as Wakka kneads along my shoulders, trying to pry me away from this entry, I still cannot hope for Tidus' return because it would just be...too miraculous to be real. It's been nearly three years since his disappearance and no trace has come of him since. How can I hope if there's nothing to build a hope from?
Wakka's whispering into my ear, but he's said something I didn't expect. He's telling me "Hope doesn't need a starting point. Just believe in what you truly want and it'll happen. I'm with you now, right?" Sometimes...no, all the time (especially lately), he's right...and maybe I should heed his words. It's not set into stone that Tidus' return is impossible...
If I found my happiness, Yuna will too. I'll end this entry with a wish: here's hoping -all- Spirans find their happiness soon. Oh, and, -please- ...bring Tidus back...I'm not one to beg, so you better listen, whoever's in charge up there.
Now, I've got a husband to...-attend-...to. G'day.
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Chapter 15: The Return
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I stood, eyes watering as my cheeks burned and quivered in pain. My legs and back were soaked with blood, and I knew the dockworker staring me in the face could see -and- smell it. He was saying something, but I couldn't quite make it out. Apparently, losing blood affects more than just your center of balance.
Finally, my ears popped as the airship lowered its altitude, and I could hear his question.
"You ok?"
"Y...yeah."
"You don't look ok."
"I'm...fine."
"You a member of the Youth Alliance?"
"The what?"
"Apparently not..."
I blinked, hoping that my confusion didn't just blow my cover. But, the overweight man probably cared less about who I was than why I was here. Besides, I was the one with the gun.
"Where ya from?"
"Zan...Besaid." I growled at my slip up. Even after the defeat of Sin, I still considered myself a citizen of Zanarkand.
"So you'll be going home today, eh? One question though."
I eyed him, knowing that my face was obviously contorted in a mixture of anger and pain. A bead of sweat from my forehead fell into my eye and I blinked away the sting as I kept my glare on him. "Yeah?"
"You're the first Yevonite to say he's from Besaid outwardly."
"What's the problem with Besaid?"
"You sure you're ok? You're aware of the war, right? Or you just toting that gun around for fun?"
"Yeah, I know about the damn war," I snapped, my anger beginning to take my calm attitude away. I never did like people asking me too many questions.
"Just sayin', jeez. It's just that Yuna's little army is holed up in Besaid, and I think you'd be dead the moment you stepped off of the airship. How're ya gonna guard my cargo?"
"I'll stick my head out and yell to them to keep their hands off of it. Maybe flash the gun around a bit. Scare 'em."
"Not too smart, are ya kid?"
I sighed, my eyes shutting in both anger and weakness. "I don't fucking care."
"Watch that mouth, soldier. This ain't the barracks."
"Whatever."
"We'll be there in a few. Keep in mind the time difference. It's probably a sunny afternoon in Besaid."
"Yeah," I said, trying to keep my heart rate down. The cuts and gashes on my back and shoulder were blinding my judgment with pain, and my adrenaline was through the roof, trying to numb -and- anger me all at once.
I kept my obviously cold glare on the man, eyes squinting due to the low visibility in the hold. Why I kept a close watch on him, I could only guess, but I thought to myself that it was probably either my heightened state of awareness or my urge to ram the butt of this machina into the man's mouth.
My head was dizzy and my body was weak, and being stuck in a hot cargo bay with an overweight asshole was not helping my mindset much. I looked out of porthole, watching as the small island that was Besaid came into the far distance. I closed my eyes, feeling that I had around an hour left before consciousness fluttered away like a bird just released from its cage.
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Wakka yawned and popped his neck, his thick vertebrae popping audibly. He slowly slid his arm out from under Lulu's shoulder and eased out of bed. With a grunt, he pulled on his underwear and a pair of khaki colored shorts. He leaned back, letting his spine pop a bit before leaning forward, knees popping in place as they bent. A sigh escaped his throat and he turned towards the bed. Lulu's pale figure was tightly snuggled into the thin sheet. Her jet-black hair was half-covering the pillow, a few locks sliding down the side of her neck as she tilted her head.
Seeing her lying there with a peaceful countenance was something Wakka assured himself he'd never tire of. With the ring on his finger, he had made a vow, and he would keep that vow. As he stood, watching her sleep, fists clenched, he promised that he'd never leave her. Chappu's death had left an unbearable scar on Lulu's heart and Wakka wasn't going to take any chances. He loved Lulu truly, and for that, he'd never let anything cause her harm, be it war, famine, or the end of the world. Wakka was hers, totally. With a warm smile, he bent forward and ran a fingertip over her bare shoulder before tilting his head downward, planting a soft kiss to her forehead.
"I love you," he whispered and softly padded out of the hut.
He whistled as he walked, his orange-red hair bouncing in synch with his stride. It was disheveled and down. The locks were constantly getting into his eyes as he walked, but that didn't matter. Wakka was truly happy, and simply just brushed the locks out of his face when they decided to bounce that way. He saw a somewhat flustered Weston coming from the forest path.
Wakka waved and laughed, jogging towards him. "Hey there. Long time no see, ya?" "Hey. How's Lulu?"
"Oh, she's great. How 'bout ya?"
Weston smirked, coming to a stop, and shrugged. "Bored."
"Where'd you and Gatta go?"
"If Gatta were here, he'd tell me not to tell you, but I'm feeling a little rebellious right now. We went to 'Home'."
"Oooh. How's Rikku? Still hyper?"
"Yeah. And angry."
"How so?"
"Well, we had a little run in with an invading Yevonite force. But we stopped them. That...cannon Rikku has is awesome."
Wakka laughed. "Yah, that light-powered machina. Her brother actually tried to kill me and the rest of the gang with that thing. Now it's bein' used to kill some Yevonites. Ironic, ya?"
"Yeah. The Al Bhed have decided to help the Crusaders. Supplies start arriving tomorrow. Now we just have to plan for..."
"Ya? For what?"
"Nothing."
Wakka frowned, crossing his arms.
Weston shrugged. "Don't worry about it."
"You're talkin' bout Luca, aren't ya?"
Weston blinked. "Eh...yeah."
"Yuna told me and Lu about not too long ago," Wakka said with a nod.
"We need to somehow form a plan by gathering intelligence."
"That like gatherin' a whole buncha people together?"
"Eh...no. It's reconnaissance."
"Re...what?"
"Someone, or a team, goes in behind the enemy's back and gather information that would help the Crusaders invade and take back the city."
"Oh, ya."
Weston decided not to continue, seeing the lummox scratching along the back of his neck. Obviously, military strategy wasn't Wakka's forte.
Wakka and Weston stood in a measured silence for a while until Wakka noticed an airship closing in on the docks, finger rising to point towards the ship. "That'll be the tapestry dealer's ship. Besaid is famous for that stuff."
Weston turned and looked up towards the ship. "Where's it coming from?"
"We export to Luca...used to export to Bevelle. Looks like the trader isn't lettin' Nyka stop his business. Oh well. The more Gil the better, ya?"
"Yeah. You have something to do with that?"
"Nah. But I know the guy. Wanna come with me to the docks?"
"Sure. I've got nothing better to do at the moment."
Wakka laughed and started jogging towards the docks, Weston following close behind.
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As the ship's descent became more rapid, I could feel the effects of gravity and the pain on my brain start to gel. My eyelids felt extremely heavy and the gun was starting to shake as my muscles continued to weaken, my upper arms slowly turning to jelly. The ship was shaking tremendously, but thanks to my blurred vision, it was magnified ten times or more. I bent forward, trying to keep my aching (and hungry) stomach from regurgitating what bile was in it, and remotely heard the dockworker tell me they were landing. My voice was too weak for him to hear my witty reply.
The ship thudded as it stopped and I could faintly hear the doors to the cargo bay open. I squinted my eyes, trying to focus them, but everything just looked like dark or light blobs. Through the opening, I could see two silhouettes that were about the same in size. I hunched forward, not really aware of my posture, and walked as best I could towards the opened doorway. I made it halfway there before something clicked and off went the lights.
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Wakka and Weston blinked at the collapsed figure. Wakka hadn't gotten a good profile due to the dimly lit cargo bay. Weston, on the other hand, had quickly recognized the figure and ran forward, both confused and curious.
Weston knelt by the figure, leaving Wakka watching on in the doorway.
"Who is that?" asked Wakka.
"I...uhh...the statue?"
Wakka blinked. "Wha? What are ya talkin' 'bout?"
Weston flipped the figure over and nodded. "Wakka, get over here. We've got to get this guy some attention, fast."
Wakka nodded and did as he was told.
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Gatta growled, fist hitting the thick wooden table in the center of the room. "Lady Yuna, I'm not going to sit by and let that idiot rule Luca like it's always been his. We have to free it."
"Without proper planning, there will be unnecessary death, and I would hope you wouldn't want that on your conscience."
Gatta sighed, leaning back further into his chair. "We could take the city back with the Al Bhed technology."
"But you have to train the men how to use and maintain this weaponry, right?"
Gatta blinked, stumbling over his words. "I...well...yeah."
"And that takes time, does it not?"
"A few weeks at least..." Gatta admitted, angry with himself for forgetting that stipulation. In all truth, he'd been so giddy over the alliance with the Al Bhed, he'd totally disregarded the fact that his troops would need extensive training with the machina.
"Then see that it's done. We can assume that-"
"Ughol's dead and a massacre has occurred. I know."
"But we shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. You never know what someone's capable of. You learned that three years ago."
"Yes, m'lady."
Yuna sighed, cradling her head in a palm, eyes trailing off to some fond memory. "The defeat of Sin was our greatest achievement as a people, and all we're left to do is quarrel and fight over land and deities."
Gatta only nodded, and broke Yuna's concentration with his next question. "I know we can't go in prepared, but how can we actually...invade, even if we're superior in firepower?"
Yuna blinked and leaned forward, eyes fixed to the table. "That, Gatta, is simple. We gather as much information as we can."
"And how, Lady Yuna, do we go about that?"
"Any of your troops looking for a new career in Luca?"
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Weston sighed, a wicker chair creaking from his weight as he shifted slightly. Wakka was pacing back and forth in front of him, sandals kicking up little dust clouds from the path in front of the hut. Weston's eyes trained on the little clouds, as if mesmerized by their odd way of just disappearing. He smirked; wishing a few figureheads in Bevelle would do the same. Wakka stopped and turned towards Weston, raising a brow.
"Whatcha smilin' bout, bud?"
Weston shrugged, bringing his left shin up to rest on his right knee, arms crossing as he regarded the sun-lit figure in front of him. "Eh, nothing." Weston paused for a moment and then jerked his head backwards, towards the hut. "So, is that him?"
"Ya, very much so. Shoulda' seen the look on Lu's face," Wakka remarked, a small smile crossing his features. After a small silence, Wakka's countenance changed back to the thoughtful, somber look it had had on the cargo ship. "But how?"
"We'll have to ask him when he wakes up."
"-If- he wakes up, bud," Wakka corrected.
Weston laughed, left foot hitting the ground as he leaned forward in the chair, hands coming to grip his right-angled knees. "I don't think he's dead."
Wakka smirked. "Ya, he wasn't alive to begin with, those three years ago."
Weston looked blankly at the tall Wakka and shrugged. "Hell if I know. I wasn't around back then. I was in Columbia having a good ol' time."
"Whatever ya say, bud." Wakka half-laughed and continued with his pacing. Weston leaned back into the chair, resuming his lounged posture, right leg bouncing a bit. After a few moments, he began to pop every appendage available. Once through with popping his neck, he asked, head still tilted, "How long does it take for a healing spell to -work-."
"Minutes, hours, days. Depends on the person, ya? All I know is me an' Lu have to break the news to Yuna, and I dun know how I'm going to go about doing that."
"You don't act too surprised about it yourself, Wakka. What makes it different with her?"
"She's da one that loved him. I think she's gonna be a bit more excited about it than any of us. To you, a statue's come to life. To me an' Lu, we're getting a buddy back. To Yuna...well, to her, she's getting her life back."
"I suppose that'd make a difference."
Wakka hmmed and knelt, bringing himself eye-level with Weston. "I mean, haven't you ever been in love?"
"No."
"Well, you have any family, friends where you come from?"
"No," Weston repeated, voice cracking a bit at the mention of the word 'family.'
Wakka sighed and stood, shrugging as if he'd tried is best. "Then I guess you can't understand, eh? How it feels to get a loved one back?"
"Guess not. I mean, my parents never seemed to just come back to life three years after they were -brutally- murdered. So you're right, I can't understand."
Wakka held his hands up in defeat, a hurt look on his face. "Sorry for treading on that, brudda."
Weston waved a hand and leaned further back into the chair, head turning to look off into the ocean, a soft breeze quickly drying the welled moisture in the corner of his eyes. "Don't worry about it."
A tense silence came between the two as they waited for word from Lulu, who was inside the hut attending to the new arrival.
For her, it was as if she'd seen a ghost, her already abnormally pale features turning even more so, looking like a ghost herself. Concentrating on the task at hand was hard when before her lay the newfound key to Yuna's heart. But still, doubt entered her mind. He -was- clad in a Yevonite uniform, completely naked under it with tremendous abrasions across his upper left arm, shoulder, and between his shoulder blades.
Lulu had first cleaned his body of the clotted blood, chanting as she wiped away with her moist cloth, hoping to seal the wounds with her spells before they became infected. An infected wound was like kryptonite to both spells and potions, only the purest of white-magic spells able to break -that- barrier. And Lulu had no plan of letting Yuna see him in this condition.
And, Lulu thought as she concentrated her energies on the wounds, there's no telling what's in that mind of his. Three years is quite a while to be away from the world. She had no idea how, when, or where he reappeared, but here he was, flesh and blood, as real as herself. All that was left was to concentrate, and pray. Lulu wasn't coming out until he was both conscious and healed.
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Gatta emerged from the temple, eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. He grunted and coughed upon stepping onto the main path of Besaid Village. The breeze from the ocean was wreaking havoc on both his nasal cavity and his eyes.
Growling, he lifted a finger to his right eye and wiped from sand globules from the corner, a well-known annoyance of inhabiting an island. With eyes still watering -and a hand now shielding them- he started to walk towards the Crusader's lodge, knowing he had some reports to start and recruiting papers to review. He had left his desk a disheveled mess when traveling to Home, and he was most assured by the long line feeding into the lodge that the mess had only grown in his absence. But, something made him turn towards Wakka and Lulu's hut. What it was, he didn't know, but Gatta was a man that trusted his instinct.
What he saw shouldn't have piqued his interest, but it did. Wakka was pacing idly back and forth as Weston stared off into the distance, a thoughtful but blank look on his face. Gatta tilted his head and started towards the two men, knowing that something wasn't quite right.
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"Hey there, Gatta. How're ya?"
"I'm fine Wakka. Something going on here?" As Gatta asked this, he looked towards Weston for an explanation.
Weston instantly felt Gatta's stare and turned his head towards him, answering with, "Digging up the past."
Gatta's brow raised and he looked to Wakka for further explanation. Wakka returned the gesture with a shrug, obviously not knowing what to say. Instead, he excused himself and walked into the hut. Weston laughed dryly and patted the wicker chair next to his own.
"Have a seat."
Gatta nodded. "Don't mind if I do. Now, what's going on, damnit."
Weston laughed, shaking his head as he leaned even further back into the chair, some of the crosshatched straw cracking under his weight. He raised a hand and pointed towards the statue in the middle of the village. "See that?"
"Sir Tidus, yeah. So what?"
"'Sir Tidus' has come back from the dead, it seems."
Gatta blinked a few times, whilst Weston smirked, crossing his legs as he waited for the news to register.
Finally Gatta murmured, "R...really?"
"Yup. He's in there right now getting treated for a hell of a wound. Unconscious too, probably from blood loss."
"Where...when...how?"
Weston laughed. "I've no clue. All I know is he fainted on the newly arrived cargo ship, which claims to hail from Luca. Didn't know Nyka was letting traders get out of port."
"He's not."
"So what we have on our hands is a renegade trader and a 'back from the dead' historical figure. Sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?"
"I'd say so," Gatta agreed.
"I'm trying to connect the facts. He appears on a Lucan trader's ship dressed in a Yevonite uniform, bleeding like a leaky faucet, unconscious, without any form of identification, only possession on him a..." Weston paused to pull a small, glowing blue stone from his fatigue's hip pocket. "...glowing blue stone. Yup, I think 'Sir Tidus' has a bit of explaining to do...when he's better of course."
Gatta laughed. "You're reading too far into it, Weston. Jeez. Calm down."
Weston smirked and dug further into his pocket, pulling out one of the Al Bhed's magnetic bullets. "Forgot I had this." He held it up and studied it a bit, Gatta leaning over to take a gander at it as well.
Eyes still locked to the unique ammunition, Weston said in an almost whisper, "Amazing what one bullet can do, isn't it?"
Gatta seemed to be thinking along the same lines and answered, his thoughts becoming a stream of soft-spoken words. "Yeah, it is. With one of those things, you not only ruin the victims-" Weston cocked an eye at Gatta's use of the word 'victim' "-life, but the lives of his loved ones as well as his friends. That in turn creates a morale problem among -those- men, which in turn creates a slow moving rift that eventually swallows every man whole."
Weston continued for Gatta, as if the two men were sharing the same brain. "Soldiers that never even knew him saying 'You remember so-and-so? He was a great soldier. One shot and he was dropped. S'a damned shame.'"
Gatta nodded, adding, "And despite their willingness to go on, despite the heartless persona they have to take, even despite the situation they are in, they can't help but let a single man's death affect them in some way."
And Weston finished, "Even if its just a simple wish: 'I hope I don't turn out like so-and-so, I hope that one bullet doesn't find me next.'"
The two sat in silence, Weston rolling the bullet between his fingers, eyes glued to it as if he was studying a flower or butterfly. This continued on for some time, the two soldiers mesmerized by their shared thoughts, caught in a moment of synchronization that would better suit a battlefield than the main path of an island village. The hut's cloth door covering flew open and Wakka's head stuck out, the sound of it all causing both soldiers to jump, Weston flinging the bullet into the woods nearby.
Wakka blinked at the two men's reaction, then said, "We need help, get in here."
Gatta and Weston nodded, their heartbeats slowly returning to normal as the walked single-file into the hut.
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I knew it all had to be a dream. If it was even that...how could a dream -dream-? The darkness was once again around me, and all I could do was try to flail my arms and legs about, trying to find an escape. I didn't want to go back to that hell. But, it was upon me again, and anger took hold of me as I tried to thrash about, my mouth wide open as I silently screamed and growled. My mind ignored the fact that my arms felt as if they were coming into contact something, and I continued the thrash around. After a few moments, a warm feeling engulfed me, and I calmed. And then, my eyes opened, vision slowly clearing as I coughed a couple of times.
"Good mornin', bud." A very familiar accented voice said, the 'bud' echoing through my head as I tried to bend my upper body. A hand came to my chest and eased me back down. My eyes locked to the small, pale hand and followed its connecting arm up to a face that, despite its paleness, warmed me.
Lulu smiled at me, and softly asked, "How are you feeling?"
I opened my mouth and heard a few garbled sounds. I tried clearing my throat, but there was nothing to clear; my throat and mouth were completely dry. I coughed a few more times and tried to convey my want for water by tapping my tongue against my lips. This only caused Lulu to bend over, trying to hear me as if I was saying something outside of her range of hearing. I growled in my head and tried to lift my arm, but found it nearly impossible. Only a finger twitched. I closed my eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"I think he wants water," a foreign voice said, my mind not recognizing it at all. I opened my eyes and looked in the voice's direction. The voice itself was rough, but soft and soothing at the same time. It was certainly a man's voice, the beginning of the sentence gruff, as if coming off of a sandy creek bed and the end of the sentence cool, smooth, and easily flowing, like the water in a stream. The visage that seemed to belong to the face didn't quite match what I had expected. Standing behind what I could then see was Gatta was a wide-shouldered and muscular man that, had he not had such thick, dark brown stubble, could've passed for a teenager. His shirt was a muted forest green, his pants an odd mixture of green, brown, and black. The man's thick arms were crossed, his back leaning against a metal stove. His green eyes were locked to my own, and after that eye contact, I could tell right away that this was -not- a Spira native.
A hand forcibly turned my head and a pitcher's edge came between my lips, cool fresh water filling my mouth. I bent forward a bit and swallowed, enjoying the refreshing moisture sliding down my throat and soothing my angry stomach. I kept drinking, feeling some vitality returning to me.
Before I knew it, I had emptied the pitcher of its contents, and Lulu asked in a soothing whisper, "Would you like more?"
I nodded, not sure of my voice quite yet. After clearing my throat a few times, I looked about my surroundings and discovered this to be Wakka's hut, my thoughts wandering back to my first day in Besaid, where Wakka fed me and allowed me to take a nap in his bed. I noticed Wakka standing near the doorway, and I realized he was about the same size as the stranger near the stove, and he was even in the same position: arms crossed and back leaning against the northern face of the hut.
Wakka seemed more worried than shocked, which surprised me to some extent, until I figured out that he was probably worried about having to tell Yuna. And then, I remembered what was really on my mind.
Cautiously, I spread my lips and spoke in measured tones, still not sure how I'd sound. "Where's Yuna?"
Either the words didn't come out, or everyone was too weary and/or shocked to reply. I sat up slowly, my back wounds sore, but seemingly closed. My eyes wandered to each of them and back again, until Lulu, whose face was contorted in a half-smile, half-grimace, finally said, "In the temple."
I started to swing my legs towards the side of the bed, and Lulu even put a hand out to stop me, but I wasn't going to be stopped, or so I thought. The stranger, whose speed was phenomenal, quickly -and easily, despite my regained strength- grabbed my legs and swung them back to their original spot, his green eyes staring into my own. I got his message.
Lulu said, her voice level rising a bit, "Don't. You've still got an hour of recovery to go before you can see her. Besides, we still have to break the news to her."
I nodded solemnly and watched as the stranger returned to his spot, my curiosity clouding my goal. "You're not from Spira, are you?"
The large man smirked and turned to the others, then back to me. "He catches on fast. Is it -that- obvious?"
With a nod, I replied, "Outcasts can always spot another of their kind."
He laughed, nodding. "You're right, I'm not from here. Charles Weston. You can call me Weston."
"I'm Tidus."
"I know," he replied. "I'm well aware of your story. Wakka brags."
Wakka nodded with a laugh. "Ya, I do."
I asked, "How did you get here?"
"I'll explain my theories later. But arriving here wasn't a fun trip, that's for sure." Weston replied.
Wakka nodded, offering to explain for Weston with his own experience. "He just fell from the sky one day. Me an' Lu were on the beach," and Wakka then looked to Lulu as if affirming his story, "and then, boom, guy falls out of the sky, ya? Pulls a machina on us and says he'll kill us, then collapses cuz of a wound from the fall. As for what's new? There's a whole lot more to tell, but I'm not too versed in the particulars. I think Gatta could explain better."
I looked to Gatta, who stepped forward, his voice shaky as he started speaking. "A...a lot of things have happened while you were gone."
"It's been three years, what more could I expect," I said.
He nodded and continued. "-Nearly- three years. And one of the major things is..."
"The war," I finished for him.
"You know about it?" Gatta asked, looking shocked.
"I was in Luca for a little bit...I even fought some of those white robed guys. Yevonites, right?"
"Yeah," Gatta replied
I watched as Wakka whispered something to Lulu, and Lulu then excused herself and Wakka, saying that they were both going to tell Yuna. I nodded and Gatta continued as the two walked out of the hut.
"After the defeat of Sin, the Yevon as a national religion crumbled. But, some people didn't want to believe that, and small factions started springing up all over the place. However, they were most prominent in Bevelle. Soon enough, Bevelle's 'New Yevon' faction gained power and a ruling council was formed. The people of Bevelle chose the head of said Council in a form of election. He was only known as Maester Nyka, and no one truly knew where he came from. Eventually, he fully had the people's trust, and merged the Bevelle council with Yuna's own advising council, thus dissolving Yuna's power in Bevelle."
I couldn't help but just nod. This was quite a bit to take in.
Gatta continued. "Two men dressed like Crusaders tried to murder Yuna at this year's Blitzball tournament, and that really got the ball rolling. The Crusaders were -the- premier military force in Spira, but then, they were disbanded in Luca and Bevelle through an action voted on by the New Yevon council. After that, Nyka started to build a military force of his own for, what we thought at the time, Bevelle's protection."
Weston cut in. "And then the bastard decided to send troops in to Kilika, after what was left of the Crusaders moved to Besaid to 'side' with Yuna. It wasn't a coincidence. The troops opened fired on innocent women and children. Thus began the first battle of the War, and we kicked their ass."
Gatta cleared his throat. "However, the New Yevon army was using Machina while the Crusaders stuck to their swords out of..."
"Tradition," Weston chimed in. "But fortunately, after helping the Al Bhed to take care of a pest problem, we have some advanced weaponry at our disposal."
I looked to Gatta, who nodded in confirmation. "That's right. Of course, all of this comes at high cost. Peace would be the better option."
"But Nyka isn't going for that, is he?" I asked.
Weston nodded. "Right. His latest move was taking over Luca in the dead of the night and cutting off the trade routes."
"So the trade ship I came on was illegally running its route?"
Weston hmmed. "-If- that's what he came here to do..."
Gatta looked to Weston. "You think there's something else to it?"
"Maybe," Weston said with a shrug. "But, you said I read too far into stuff, so I'll just let it go."
Gatta shrugged. "Your theory may have -some- fact in it, but I still think this guy's just greedy."
Weston nodded and turned back to me. "Where'd you get those wounds?"
"I fought them."
"With what, you're bare hands?"
"No...a sword..."
"And how did you get the sword?"
"I don't know. I just...had it."
Gatta raised a brow. "Had it...how, when?"
"When I...woke up near Luca."
Weston stepped forward. "So you just...to put it bluntly...appeared?"
"Pretty much."
"And where were you all this time?" Weston asked.
I shuddered out of reflex, turning my head away from them, saying through clenched teeth, "I don't know."
They seemed to get the message and Gatta cleared his throat. "We'll leave you to rest now. It's great having you back."
I nodded and watched them leave before laying back down, letting my head sink into the pillow. My thoughts went back and forth from all that I've missed and how I'd meet -her-. I closed my eyes and wished I could skip all the formalities and healing and jump into her arms. But then again, who said she even -wanted- me in her arms...
--------------------
Weston's eyes squinted in the sunlight, eyelashes keeping the dusty wind from irritating them. His arms were crossed in their usual fashion as he made his way towards the temple, Gatta trudging along his side.
"Do you think we should go in there? I mean, we weren't invited," said Gatta, stopping and turning towards Weston.
Weston stopped as well and pivoted on a heel, face turning to Gatta. "I don't think you need an invitation to go to the temple."
"Put we're going to eavesdrop, right?"
"What? No. Wakka said he knows that trader, right?"
"Err...yeah, I think so."
"I need to ask him something about that trader..."
"Cooking up something?" Gatta said with a grin.
"You could say that."
"Well, you gonna tell me? Or should I start an investigation?"
Weston laughed. "I'll tell you in the temple. Let's go."
Gatta nodded and followed Weston into the temple. Upon entering the stone lobby that housed the summoner statues, West nodded to an empty stone step where a choir had sung only three years before. Now, the temple was devoid of anything connected to Yevon, except the statues, saved by Yuna herself.
Weston and Gatta sat and looked ahead.
"So, Weston, what's this plan of yours?"
"Infiltration."
"Going behind enemy lines."
"Yeah. I mean, we have men out there, cut off from support. Plus, we have to figure out -some- way of taking Luca back. And if we know what they have, we can formulate a plan a bit easier than going in blind."
"I understand. Yuna has the same idea."
"She does?" Weston turned his head, quizzical look on his face.
Gatta nodded. "Exact same idea. Except, she didn't draw it out as much."
"I wouldn't expect her to." Weston said, letting his gaze wander around.
"So, should we begin training a man? Or men...whatever it takes."
Weston shook his head, leaning forward with a sigh. "No, Gatta. I'll take care of it. Sitting around and waiting bores me."
"So you'll do it?"
"I need a vacation anyway."
Gatta smirked, "A vacation from safety?"
Weston shrugged and was about to speak before the door to Yuna's room opened slowly, and in what looked like a funeral procession, Lulu, Yuna, and Wakka solemnly walked out, single file. Weston turned to Gatta, mouthing, "Who died?"
Gatta scowled and rolled his eyes, nodding to Wakka.
Weston jumped from the step and grabbed Wakka's shoulder, taking the large man by surprise. "I need to talk to you for a moment, Wakka."
Wakka looked to Lulu and Yuna, who had stopped. After a moment, Lulu nodded and continued walking; placing a hand on Yuna's back to edge her forward. Wakka watched the two women leave the temple and then turned his attention to Weston.
"Ya?"
"You know that trader guy, right?"
"Eh, not really. Just done business with him."
"Could you get me a ride on his ship?"
"I dun think so, bud."
Weston sighed. "Could you at least tell me when he usually leaves?"
Wakka shrugged. "He'll probably leave tonight...around midnight, I think. Definitely later in the evening cuz of the time diff. If he's in trouble, he'll wanna sneak in, ya?" Then, with a hurried look on his face, Wakka asked "Ya done with me?"
Weston nodded and looked to Gatta, Wakka walking in the direction the girls had left. "Know anything about being a Lucan?"
Gatta shrugged. "All I could do is wish you good luck. And I would, if I liked you."
Weston punched Gatta's arm and mocked a growl, laughing afterwards. "Bastard."
--------------------
I growled and rolled around in the bed, my energy level rising as I tried to sleep. The draw back to healing magic was that it made the healed individual a veritable ball of energy, and sleep was impossible. My body may have felt like a million Gil, but my mind knew that'd wear off in a few hours and the soreness would set in.
With a huff, I slowly sat up in bed, half-expecting Lulu to jump out from behind something and push me back down. She never came and, after testing my legs' mobility by way of flexing my toes and shins, I swung my lower half towards the edge of the bed. My knees bent and I felt my shins collide softly with the side of the bed, which was a much-appreciated change from my legs' former position. Cautiously, I let my body weight rest in my right foot, and I felt my foot sink slightly into the cloth floor. Quickly, I set my left foot down onto the cloth, distributing my weight evenly, keeping my balance.
I walked a few steps forward, only having to re-establish my balance once. A paced for a few moments, enjoying the movement since my body had grown stiff after its short yet grueling time in bed. "Finally," I said aloud, stretching, "I feel like myself..."
"Well that's wonderful to hear!"
I turned my head and saw Lulu stepping through the entryway, an uncanny (well, uncanny to -me-) smile spreading across her face. With the turn of my heel, I faced her, arms crossing as a smirk appeared on my lips. Lulu had changed, that was certain. Her wardrobe was more fitting a woman her age, and her face just radiated this nurturing glow that one couldn't help but link to maternal instincts. My smirk widened and I nodded my head to her. "My, my. Ms. Sunshine, right here in -this- hut."
Her cheeks flashed red and I laughed out of surprise rather than humor. The cold, bitter woman I had left had somehow transformed into a warm maternal figure. But then again, as Gatta had told me, a lot of things have happened these past three years.
She smiled warmly, the blush still in full bloom on her cheeks, and said, "That's Mrs. Wakka to you, young man."
I blinked for a moment, the statement catching me off guard. On the quest, I had been pushing her to open up to Wakka, and now they were married? Yes, quite a bit has changed. While my thoughts started to wander towards what kind of changes Yuna had been through, I reflexively wrapped my arms around Lulu's neck. Her arms wrapped around my middle and I mumbled a "Congratulations!" into her shoulder before the embrace ended.
Still, her blush lingered as I asked, "When did this happen?"
"Not too long ago, actually," she answered with a smile.
I smiled and nodded. "Took you guys long enough, sheesh."
She laughed and playfully poked my chest, to which I stuck my tongue out. Her laughs increased as she tapped my chin. "Same Tidus, just with the stubble to go with adulthood."
Without even thinking about it, I felt under my chin and, surprisingly, I did have a bit of stubble. The old man had never showed me how to shave...and Wakka never shaves...
She smiled and said, as if reading my mind, "I'm sure -some-one in the village will show you how to get rid of that. Hey, that reminds me, Weston shaves -every- day. How about you ask him?"
"Eh...I'll think about it. Am I out of quarantine yet?"
She put her finger to her mouth and seemed to think about this for a moment before curtly turning around and heading out the door, turning her head at the last moment. "Nope."
I huffed and stuck my tongue out, huffing and turning my back to the door, staring at the bed as if it was a mortal enemy. "I want rest, and I want it now," I told it, and then burst out in laughter.
The door cloth rustled and I didn't bother turning. "Change your mind about my quarantine, Lulu?"
Alas, no answer came, and I slowly turned, heart beating faster as I readied myself for anything. But what I saw made my heart completely stop.
Standing, rather timidly I might add, was -her-. Her beautiful and expressive eyes immediately locked to mine, and I saw the same emotion in them as I felt.
She was torn, not moving an inch, for in her mind, she was probably trying to decipher if I was real or just the dream I had been before. I inched forward and could see the tears welling up into her eyes. It pained me to see her cry, even if they were tears of joy. My arms spread outward like wings as I grew ever closer to her, and she seemed to back away for a moment, not sure yet if I was truly there. She was trembling head to toe until I finally enveloped her in my arms, my forehead and nose pressing to her own. Her gaze never left my own and as the notion that I was real and holding her in my arms, those tears released, and she relented her three years of anguish on my one shoulder.
When her sobs subsided, and she had grown comfortable with the idea that I was indeed back and certainly alive, her moist, emotion-filled eyes turned back to my own. Just as I began to loose myself in those mismatched pearls, my mind snatched me back to my sole mission's objective.
My eyes still traversing her own, I brought a finger upwards and traced its tip along her moist cheek. Then, I brought the moist fingertip to my fingers and lightly kissed it, saying in a low whisper, "I love you, too."
And I meant every little letter, for she had been the single saving factor throughout my personal hell. No anger, no hate, no melancholy could dethrone her as the ruler of my heart, and I lightly pressed my lips to her own, letting her feel exactly what I was thinking.
She tilted her head with an agreeable mmmph, elevating the kiss' force ten fold, her soft hand coming to the back of my neck, pulling me even tighter into our embrace. My eyes closed and as we stood there, our lips making up for lost time, the image of her standing in the doorway came back to me. She had not changed, physically, in the least bit, save for the shorter hair, which I certainly wasn't complaining about. She'd grown maybe and inch taller, and I noticed her features were a bit fuller, a side effect of shifting into adulthood, I supposed.
Her other arm slowly wrapped around my waist as our kisses trailed off, her body language telling me she was about to speak. I eased my grip on her and smiled as she nuzzled into my shoulder, murmuring softly, "I had...had begun to believe...that you...weren't..."
"I'll always come back to you...always." And I -knew- that I would always come back to her. Secretly, I wondered just what -did- bring me back to life. -Some-thing had to be the cause, but in all honesty, with Yuna in my arms, I could've cared less about it at that moment. I ran a hand through her hair, kissing into her scalp as she nuzzled into my chest.
"I whistled, every day," she managed before a few more sobs got caught into her throat.
A warm smile crept across my face, my hand slowly stroking the back of her head, softly whispering. "I know you did, and I felt every whistle."
"Were you in...pain...while you were gone?"
This was the question I had hoped not to be asked from the moment I arrived on the island. Of course I had been in pain. And I didn't want to lie to the woman I loved...but I honestly didn't want her to be worried the moment we were back together. So, as any gentleman would do, I fibbed. I sighed, putting my hands on her shoulders, and kissed the bridge of her nose. "You were the only thing on my mind and in my heart. I felt nothing but my love for you..."
She smiled and looked up, lightly kissing my chin. "I love you..."
I nuzzled my cheek into her hair and tightened the embrace. "I love you too..."
"There's so much I want to ask you," she said softly.
I nodded. "And I've got things to ask you, but one that can't wait." For a few moments, I was able to hold the pause out, watching her face light up anxiously. The strain on my lips was too much and I finally grinned.
With a laugh, she put a fingertip to my nose and held it there. "You had me going there for a moment, mister."
I laughed, kissing her palm. "But I really -do- have a question!"
With a mock-impatient huff, she sneered, not able to suppress all of her smile. "And what is it?"
Once again, I paused, contorting my face in odd angles to feign a moment of 'choosing words'.
"Well," she said, the tone of her voice growing -slightly- impatient.
I decided that she'd had enough -as if I had truthfully had that decision to make, in the first place- and asked, with a sly smile, "Does Lulu know you're here?"
She nodded timidly.
With a smile, I trailed a line of kisses along her jaw line, my arms pulling her closer into the embrace. "Well, let's get out of here. Wouldn't want to overstay my welcome with you before Lulu can 'hand you off' to me, so to speak. I've been picking up very...motherly vibes from her since I've come back."
She laughed, shrugging. "Ever since she married Wakka, those maternal instincts of hers have crept on the entire village...while..."
I raised a brow. "While...?"
Her face sank for a short moment to convey her annoyance, "While tightening on me. She's...always doting on me."
"She -loves- you. Let her have her fun," I said with a laugh.
Her eyes locked to mine and conveyed a message that both excited and frightened me. While it wasn't exactly a lustful look, it was still very suggestive, and I began to notice that Yuna -had- changed. But the change was certainly not on the outside.
With a sly grin of her own, she nudged my shoulder with her own and planted a light kiss to the nape of my neck, which did exactly what it had done in my dreams. A wave of warmth spread through my body and my arms were littered with gooseflesh. My ears turned a shade of red as they heated and my body was coming alive with sensation. This wasn't Yuna, the shy summoner from three years ago. In my arms was Yuna, the woman, who had come to terms with what she wanted and how to go about getting exactly that. There was no doubt in my mind that she had dreamt of this day from the moment I leapt into the clouds. Of course, I wasn't complaining one solitary bit, but Lulu would certainly beat me to a pulp if I even -looked- at Yuna in any sexual light. Her next few words snapped my brain back to reality.
She said in a soft, husky voice, "But what if her 'fun' gets in the way of any 'fun' we may be having?"
The sexual undertone in her sentence (not to mention her stressing of the word 'fun') brought the awkward feeling back to me. While I loved Yuna like nothing else, was I supposed to feel this aroused by her sultry innuendo?
My eyes darted to my own body, which had grown slightly taller, the muscles in my arms and legs much firmer than they had been before. Oddly, though, my mind didn't feel a day older. And I supposed that was the cause of my awkward and confused feelings: an adult body conflicting with a teenage mind. Due to this, I didn't know how to respond. My mind was torn between responding to the obvious temptation, or politely -and underhandedly- changing the subject. I decided on the latter for both of our sakes. Hell hath no fury like a Lulu scorned.
I nodded and softly kissed the tip of her nose. "That may be the case, -now- love, but I think I can persuade her to loosen up in time. Now let's go ease her worries. There's no telling -what- she's thinking after hearing us giggle like no one's business. How about a walk along the beach tonight?"
"It's a date," Yuna smiled and said with a nod. Extended my hand and she gave a giddy laugh, taking it into her own. We walked out of the hut together, our hands, and hearts, intertwined.
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A/N: Well, it's been nearly a month since 15A went up, and I imagine some of you wondered when 15B would make it up. I hate to say this, but I'm starting to write more and more within one chapter, and I'm actually getting it beta-ed by the wonderfully magnificent, talented, beautiful, and super duper snuggly Shad, who's not only inspired this chapter, but -me-. Much love and kudos and thanks go out to her.
This chapter wouldn't be what it was without her. For example, the whole Yunis snippet was rushed and totally OOC at first. After she brought my attention to this, I deleted most of it and rewrote it from the ashes of the original; the rewrite (and published) snippet conveying the scene, in my author's opinion, -ten to ten thousand- times better than what it would've been had I not had her support. Again, -much- love to you, Shad. *tosses her some chocolate truffles*
This chapter is relatively boring, when looking at it after reading, say, the Battle of Kilika, but this is my longest chapter yet (8100 words, not including the A/N), and it's got little to no violence in it! This is a personal accomplishment because I can see myself maturing as a writer. But, hey, Yunis galore at the end, eh? Expect much more of that in the future, plus a few other surprises in the next few chapters. With this new inspiration, and newfound love of detail, expect the next few battle scenes to be long, detailed (which means a possible R rating...NOOO ;.;), and very character centric. No large scale stuff, but the battle from a few character's point of view. I've seen too many authors write a war scene from "God's" perspective rather than the men actually participating. Anyway, I'll leave it at that.
Again, thanks to Shad, rock-star, Artemis, Jave, and anyone else who has reviewed or continues to review. I appreciate it muchly and AtS wouldn't be what it is without you guys ^^ Onto Chapter 16! ~No One
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War. Horrible war. Thousands of lives lost; thousands more marked for death in the coming months, years, and decades? Oh how solemn this Calm is after such a beautiful start...Yunalesca was right...Humanity could never achieve the perfection Yevon had planned for us. Sin is apart of humanity as much as carnal desire. It's simply a matter of control...
And yet, I sit here writing this, a wide and gaudy smile across my face because my goofball for a husband won't leave me alone! If he's not trying to bump my arm or tickle under it, he's gently massaging my neck or kneading into my scalp. Yet, he's the most wonderful distraction I could've ever asked for. He's not only distracting me from this entry, he's helping me (as well as the rest of the village) cope with the war. As a matter of fact, I've been so giddy lately, I scarcely remember there -is- a war going on.
That, however, is a blessing and not a curse. I've seen some of those soldiers and I've seen Weston, Gatta, and Ughol. They've...got this horrid look in their eyes. I've had a hard time explaining it to Wakka...Anyway, it's more or less an absent glare. The battles they've endured seem to have sucked the life right from their eyes. Honestly, I was scared. Not for myself...but for them. They are doing something Yuna, Wakka, Kimahri, Auron, Tidus, or I could never truthfully do. They are fighting a war that wasn't caused by a malevolent being. The war they are fighting is a war between man and power. Childish, yes...but strangely as devastating as Sin had ever been, if not more so.
Grr...I get serious for a moment and Wakka starts attacking the back of my neck with kisses. Typical...but don't mistake this for complaining. I'm not complaining in the least little bit.
What's funny is that after Chappu was gone...I thought lovers' little idiosyncrasies were annoying and I'd never want that kind of childish physical contact ever again. And yet, here I am, playfully returning (as best I can in this sitting/writing position) Wakka's attention with a want I could scarcely imagine myself having a year ago. And despite my better judgment (which isn't like me in the least) I'm happy.
And, through the egging on by my lummox of a husband, I've decided to help teach some of the village children magic. No, not the black arts, but the healing spells. He claims it will come in handy if any of the children get hurt playing. I personally think he's trying to get me to learn my way around children. What's ironic is the fact that I've always mothered someone; Wakka at first, and then, quite apparently, Yuna.
Yuna... Sometimes I chuckle when I think of how much she must hate my coddling her. But it comes natural. After Chappu passed, she was all I had to turn my attention too. I grew cold to the outside world and focused my energy on Yuna. And now...I'm married, with a husband dropping hints at wanting a child. Yuna's a woman. She was a woman nearly three years ago...if not ages ago, when she chose to become a summoner, knowing full well what the consequences were.
What's really begun to fringe on my own happiness is the look in Yuna's eyes every time they meet my own. Despite her smiles, I know what she's going through, for I have been there too. But I also know that there is no substitute for her suitor from Zanarkand.
And now, as Wakka kneads along my shoulders, trying to pry me away from this entry, I still cannot hope for Tidus' return because it would just be...too miraculous to be real. It's been nearly three years since his disappearance and no trace has come of him since. How can I hope if there's nothing to build a hope from?
Wakka's whispering into my ear, but he's said something I didn't expect. He's telling me "Hope doesn't need a starting point. Just believe in what you truly want and it'll happen. I'm with you now, right?" Sometimes...no, all the time (especially lately), he's right...and maybe I should heed his words. It's not set into stone that Tidus' return is impossible...
If I found my happiness, Yuna will too. I'll end this entry with a wish: here's hoping -all- Spirans find their happiness soon. Oh, and, -please- ...bring Tidus back...I'm not one to beg, so you better listen, whoever's in charge up there.
Now, I've got a husband to...-attend-...to. G'day.
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Chapter 15: The Return
--------------------
I stood, eyes watering as my cheeks burned and quivered in pain. My legs and back were soaked with blood, and I knew the dockworker staring me in the face could see -and- smell it. He was saying something, but I couldn't quite make it out. Apparently, losing blood affects more than just your center of balance.
Finally, my ears popped as the airship lowered its altitude, and I could hear his question.
"You ok?"
"Y...yeah."
"You don't look ok."
"I'm...fine."
"You a member of the Youth Alliance?"
"The what?"
"Apparently not..."
I blinked, hoping that my confusion didn't just blow my cover. But, the overweight man probably cared less about who I was than why I was here. Besides, I was the one with the gun.
"Where ya from?"
"Zan...Besaid." I growled at my slip up. Even after the defeat of Sin, I still considered myself a citizen of Zanarkand.
"So you'll be going home today, eh? One question though."
I eyed him, knowing that my face was obviously contorted in a mixture of anger and pain. A bead of sweat from my forehead fell into my eye and I blinked away the sting as I kept my glare on him. "Yeah?"
"You're the first Yevonite to say he's from Besaid outwardly."
"What's the problem with Besaid?"
"You sure you're ok? You're aware of the war, right? Or you just toting that gun around for fun?"
"Yeah, I know about the damn war," I snapped, my anger beginning to take my calm attitude away. I never did like people asking me too many questions.
"Just sayin', jeez. It's just that Yuna's little army is holed up in Besaid, and I think you'd be dead the moment you stepped off of the airship. How're ya gonna guard my cargo?"
"I'll stick my head out and yell to them to keep their hands off of it. Maybe flash the gun around a bit. Scare 'em."
"Not too smart, are ya kid?"
I sighed, my eyes shutting in both anger and weakness. "I don't fucking care."
"Watch that mouth, soldier. This ain't the barracks."
"Whatever."
"We'll be there in a few. Keep in mind the time difference. It's probably a sunny afternoon in Besaid."
"Yeah," I said, trying to keep my heart rate down. The cuts and gashes on my back and shoulder were blinding my judgment with pain, and my adrenaline was through the roof, trying to numb -and- anger me all at once.
I kept my obviously cold glare on the man, eyes squinting due to the low visibility in the hold. Why I kept a close watch on him, I could only guess, but I thought to myself that it was probably either my heightened state of awareness or my urge to ram the butt of this machina into the man's mouth.
My head was dizzy and my body was weak, and being stuck in a hot cargo bay with an overweight asshole was not helping my mindset much. I looked out of porthole, watching as the small island that was Besaid came into the far distance. I closed my eyes, feeling that I had around an hour left before consciousness fluttered away like a bird just released from its cage.
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Wakka yawned and popped his neck, his thick vertebrae popping audibly. He slowly slid his arm out from under Lulu's shoulder and eased out of bed. With a grunt, he pulled on his underwear and a pair of khaki colored shorts. He leaned back, letting his spine pop a bit before leaning forward, knees popping in place as they bent. A sigh escaped his throat and he turned towards the bed. Lulu's pale figure was tightly snuggled into the thin sheet. Her jet-black hair was half-covering the pillow, a few locks sliding down the side of her neck as she tilted her head.
Seeing her lying there with a peaceful countenance was something Wakka assured himself he'd never tire of. With the ring on his finger, he had made a vow, and he would keep that vow. As he stood, watching her sleep, fists clenched, he promised that he'd never leave her. Chappu's death had left an unbearable scar on Lulu's heart and Wakka wasn't going to take any chances. He loved Lulu truly, and for that, he'd never let anything cause her harm, be it war, famine, or the end of the world. Wakka was hers, totally. With a warm smile, he bent forward and ran a fingertip over her bare shoulder before tilting his head downward, planting a soft kiss to her forehead.
"I love you," he whispered and softly padded out of the hut.
He whistled as he walked, his orange-red hair bouncing in synch with his stride. It was disheveled and down. The locks were constantly getting into his eyes as he walked, but that didn't matter. Wakka was truly happy, and simply just brushed the locks out of his face when they decided to bounce that way. He saw a somewhat flustered Weston coming from the forest path.
Wakka waved and laughed, jogging towards him. "Hey there. Long time no see, ya?" "Hey. How's Lulu?"
"Oh, she's great. How 'bout ya?"
Weston smirked, coming to a stop, and shrugged. "Bored."
"Where'd you and Gatta go?"
"If Gatta were here, he'd tell me not to tell you, but I'm feeling a little rebellious right now. We went to 'Home'."
"Oooh. How's Rikku? Still hyper?"
"Yeah. And angry."
"How so?"
"Well, we had a little run in with an invading Yevonite force. But we stopped them. That...cannon Rikku has is awesome."
Wakka laughed. "Yah, that light-powered machina. Her brother actually tried to kill me and the rest of the gang with that thing. Now it's bein' used to kill some Yevonites. Ironic, ya?"
"Yeah. The Al Bhed have decided to help the Crusaders. Supplies start arriving tomorrow. Now we just have to plan for..."
"Ya? For what?"
"Nothing."
Wakka frowned, crossing his arms.
Weston shrugged. "Don't worry about it."
"You're talkin' bout Luca, aren't ya?"
Weston blinked. "Eh...yeah."
"Yuna told me and Lu about not too long ago," Wakka said with a nod.
"We need to somehow form a plan by gathering intelligence."
"That like gatherin' a whole buncha people together?"
"Eh...no. It's reconnaissance."
"Re...what?"
"Someone, or a team, goes in behind the enemy's back and gather information that would help the Crusaders invade and take back the city."
"Oh, ya."
Weston decided not to continue, seeing the lummox scratching along the back of his neck. Obviously, military strategy wasn't Wakka's forte.
Wakka and Weston stood in a measured silence for a while until Wakka noticed an airship closing in on the docks, finger rising to point towards the ship. "That'll be the tapestry dealer's ship. Besaid is famous for that stuff."
Weston turned and looked up towards the ship. "Where's it coming from?"
"We export to Luca...used to export to Bevelle. Looks like the trader isn't lettin' Nyka stop his business. Oh well. The more Gil the better, ya?"
"Yeah. You have something to do with that?"
"Nah. But I know the guy. Wanna come with me to the docks?"
"Sure. I've got nothing better to do at the moment."
Wakka laughed and started jogging towards the docks, Weston following close behind.
--------------------
As the ship's descent became more rapid, I could feel the effects of gravity and the pain on my brain start to gel. My eyelids felt extremely heavy and the gun was starting to shake as my muscles continued to weaken, my upper arms slowly turning to jelly. The ship was shaking tremendously, but thanks to my blurred vision, it was magnified ten times or more. I bent forward, trying to keep my aching (and hungry) stomach from regurgitating what bile was in it, and remotely heard the dockworker tell me they were landing. My voice was too weak for him to hear my witty reply.
The ship thudded as it stopped and I could faintly hear the doors to the cargo bay open. I squinted my eyes, trying to focus them, but everything just looked like dark or light blobs. Through the opening, I could see two silhouettes that were about the same in size. I hunched forward, not really aware of my posture, and walked as best I could towards the opened doorway. I made it halfway there before something clicked and off went the lights.
--------------------
Wakka and Weston blinked at the collapsed figure. Wakka hadn't gotten a good profile due to the dimly lit cargo bay. Weston, on the other hand, had quickly recognized the figure and ran forward, both confused and curious.
Weston knelt by the figure, leaving Wakka watching on in the doorway.
"Who is that?" asked Wakka.
"I...uhh...the statue?"
Wakka blinked. "Wha? What are ya talkin' 'bout?"
Weston flipped the figure over and nodded. "Wakka, get over here. We've got to get this guy some attention, fast."
Wakka nodded and did as he was told.
--------------------
Gatta growled, fist hitting the thick wooden table in the center of the room. "Lady Yuna, I'm not going to sit by and let that idiot rule Luca like it's always been his. We have to free it."
"Without proper planning, there will be unnecessary death, and I would hope you wouldn't want that on your conscience."
Gatta sighed, leaning back further into his chair. "We could take the city back with the Al Bhed technology."
"But you have to train the men how to use and maintain this weaponry, right?"
Gatta blinked, stumbling over his words. "I...well...yeah."
"And that takes time, does it not?"
"A few weeks at least..." Gatta admitted, angry with himself for forgetting that stipulation. In all truth, he'd been so giddy over the alliance with the Al Bhed, he'd totally disregarded the fact that his troops would need extensive training with the machina.
"Then see that it's done. We can assume that-"
"Ughol's dead and a massacre has occurred. I know."
"But we shouldn't jump to conclusions so quickly. You never know what someone's capable of. You learned that three years ago."
"Yes, m'lady."
Yuna sighed, cradling her head in a palm, eyes trailing off to some fond memory. "The defeat of Sin was our greatest achievement as a people, and all we're left to do is quarrel and fight over land and deities."
Gatta only nodded, and broke Yuna's concentration with his next question. "I know we can't go in prepared, but how can we actually...invade, even if we're superior in firepower?"
Yuna blinked and leaned forward, eyes fixed to the table. "That, Gatta, is simple. We gather as much information as we can."
"And how, Lady Yuna, do we go about that?"
"Any of your troops looking for a new career in Luca?"
--------------------
Weston sighed, a wicker chair creaking from his weight as he shifted slightly. Wakka was pacing back and forth in front of him, sandals kicking up little dust clouds from the path in front of the hut. Weston's eyes trained on the little clouds, as if mesmerized by their odd way of just disappearing. He smirked; wishing a few figureheads in Bevelle would do the same. Wakka stopped and turned towards Weston, raising a brow.
"Whatcha smilin' bout, bud?"
Weston shrugged, bringing his left shin up to rest on his right knee, arms crossing as he regarded the sun-lit figure in front of him. "Eh, nothing." Weston paused for a moment and then jerked his head backwards, towards the hut. "So, is that him?"
"Ya, very much so. Shoulda' seen the look on Lu's face," Wakka remarked, a small smile crossing his features. After a small silence, Wakka's countenance changed back to the thoughtful, somber look it had had on the cargo ship. "But how?"
"We'll have to ask him when he wakes up."
"-If- he wakes up, bud," Wakka corrected.
Weston laughed, left foot hitting the ground as he leaned forward in the chair, hands coming to grip his right-angled knees. "I don't think he's dead."
Wakka smirked. "Ya, he wasn't alive to begin with, those three years ago."
Weston looked blankly at the tall Wakka and shrugged. "Hell if I know. I wasn't around back then. I was in Columbia having a good ol' time."
"Whatever ya say, bud." Wakka half-laughed and continued with his pacing. Weston leaned back into the chair, resuming his lounged posture, right leg bouncing a bit. After a few moments, he began to pop every appendage available. Once through with popping his neck, he asked, head still tilted, "How long does it take for a healing spell to -work-."
"Minutes, hours, days. Depends on the person, ya? All I know is me an' Lu have to break the news to Yuna, and I dun know how I'm going to go about doing that."
"You don't act too surprised about it yourself, Wakka. What makes it different with her?"
"She's da one that loved him. I think she's gonna be a bit more excited about it than any of us. To you, a statue's come to life. To me an' Lu, we're getting a buddy back. To Yuna...well, to her, she's getting her life back."
"I suppose that'd make a difference."
Wakka hmmed and knelt, bringing himself eye-level with Weston. "I mean, haven't you ever been in love?"
"No."
"Well, you have any family, friends where you come from?"
"No," Weston repeated, voice cracking a bit at the mention of the word 'family.'
Wakka sighed and stood, shrugging as if he'd tried is best. "Then I guess you can't understand, eh? How it feels to get a loved one back?"
"Guess not. I mean, my parents never seemed to just come back to life three years after they were -brutally- murdered. So you're right, I can't understand."
Wakka held his hands up in defeat, a hurt look on his face. "Sorry for treading on that, brudda."
Weston waved a hand and leaned further back into the chair, head turning to look off into the ocean, a soft breeze quickly drying the welled moisture in the corner of his eyes. "Don't worry about it."
A tense silence came between the two as they waited for word from Lulu, who was inside the hut attending to the new arrival.
For her, it was as if she'd seen a ghost, her already abnormally pale features turning even more so, looking like a ghost herself. Concentrating on the task at hand was hard when before her lay the newfound key to Yuna's heart. But still, doubt entered her mind. He -was- clad in a Yevonite uniform, completely naked under it with tremendous abrasions across his upper left arm, shoulder, and between his shoulder blades.
Lulu had first cleaned his body of the clotted blood, chanting as she wiped away with her moist cloth, hoping to seal the wounds with her spells before they became infected. An infected wound was like kryptonite to both spells and potions, only the purest of white-magic spells able to break -that- barrier. And Lulu had no plan of letting Yuna see him in this condition.
And, Lulu thought as she concentrated her energies on the wounds, there's no telling what's in that mind of his. Three years is quite a while to be away from the world. She had no idea how, when, or where he reappeared, but here he was, flesh and blood, as real as herself. All that was left was to concentrate, and pray. Lulu wasn't coming out until he was both conscious and healed.
--------------------
Gatta emerged from the temple, eyes squinting in the bright sunlight. He grunted and coughed upon stepping onto the main path of Besaid Village. The breeze from the ocean was wreaking havoc on both his nasal cavity and his eyes.
Growling, he lifted a finger to his right eye and wiped from sand globules from the corner, a well-known annoyance of inhabiting an island. With eyes still watering -and a hand now shielding them- he started to walk towards the Crusader's lodge, knowing he had some reports to start and recruiting papers to review. He had left his desk a disheveled mess when traveling to Home, and he was most assured by the long line feeding into the lodge that the mess had only grown in his absence. But, something made him turn towards Wakka and Lulu's hut. What it was, he didn't know, but Gatta was a man that trusted his instinct.
What he saw shouldn't have piqued his interest, but it did. Wakka was pacing idly back and forth as Weston stared off into the distance, a thoughtful but blank look on his face. Gatta tilted his head and started towards the two men, knowing that something wasn't quite right.
--------------------
"Hey there, Gatta. How're ya?"
"I'm fine Wakka. Something going on here?" As Gatta asked this, he looked towards Weston for an explanation.
Weston instantly felt Gatta's stare and turned his head towards him, answering with, "Digging up the past."
Gatta's brow raised and he looked to Wakka for further explanation. Wakka returned the gesture with a shrug, obviously not knowing what to say. Instead, he excused himself and walked into the hut. Weston laughed dryly and patted the wicker chair next to his own.
"Have a seat."
Gatta nodded. "Don't mind if I do. Now, what's going on, damnit."
Weston laughed, shaking his head as he leaned even further back into the chair, some of the crosshatched straw cracking under his weight. He raised a hand and pointed towards the statue in the middle of the village. "See that?"
"Sir Tidus, yeah. So what?"
"'Sir Tidus' has come back from the dead, it seems."
Gatta blinked a few times, whilst Weston smirked, crossing his legs as he waited for the news to register.
Finally Gatta murmured, "R...really?"
"Yup. He's in there right now getting treated for a hell of a wound. Unconscious too, probably from blood loss."
"Where...when...how?"
Weston laughed. "I've no clue. All I know is he fainted on the newly arrived cargo ship, which claims to hail from Luca. Didn't know Nyka was letting traders get out of port."
"He's not."
"So what we have on our hands is a renegade trader and a 'back from the dead' historical figure. Sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?"
"I'd say so," Gatta agreed.
"I'm trying to connect the facts. He appears on a Lucan trader's ship dressed in a Yevonite uniform, bleeding like a leaky faucet, unconscious, without any form of identification, only possession on him a..." Weston paused to pull a small, glowing blue stone from his fatigue's hip pocket. "...glowing blue stone. Yup, I think 'Sir Tidus' has a bit of explaining to do...when he's better of course."
Gatta laughed. "You're reading too far into it, Weston. Jeez. Calm down."
Weston smirked and dug further into his pocket, pulling out one of the Al Bhed's magnetic bullets. "Forgot I had this." He held it up and studied it a bit, Gatta leaning over to take a gander at it as well.
Eyes still locked to the unique ammunition, Weston said in an almost whisper, "Amazing what one bullet can do, isn't it?"
Gatta seemed to be thinking along the same lines and answered, his thoughts becoming a stream of soft-spoken words. "Yeah, it is. With one of those things, you not only ruin the victims-" Weston cocked an eye at Gatta's use of the word 'victim' "-life, but the lives of his loved ones as well as his friends. That in turn creates a morale problem among -those- men, which in turn creates a slow moving rift that eventually swallows every man whole."
Weston continued for Gatta, as if the two men were sharing the same brain. "Soldiers that never even knew him saying 'You remember so-and-so? He was a great soldier. One shot and he was dropped. S'a damned shame.'"
Gatta nodded, adding, "And despite their willingness to go on, despite the heartless persona they have to take, even despite the situation they are in, they can't help but let a single man's death affect them in some way."
And Weston finished, "Even if its just a simple wish: 'I hope I don't turn out like so-and-so, I hope that one bullet doesn't find me next.'"
The two sat in silence, Weston rolling the bullet between his fingers, eyes glued to it as if he was studying a flower or butterfly. This continued on for some time, the two soldiers mesmerized by their shared thoughts, caught in a moment of synchronization that would better suit a battlefield than the main path of an island village. The hut's cloth door covering flew open and Wakka's head stuck out, the sound of it all causing both soldiers to jump, Weston flinging the bullet into the woods nearby.
Wakka blinked at the two men's reaction, then said, "We need help, get in here."
Gatta and Weston nodded, their heartbeats slowly returning to normal as the walked single-file into the hut.
--------------------
I knew it all had to be a dream. If it was even that...how could a dream -dream-? The darkness was once again around me, and all I could do was try to flail my arms and legs about, trying to find an escape. I didn't want to go back to that hell. But, it was upon me again, and anger took hold of me as I tried to thrash about, my mouth wide open as I silently screamed and growled. My mind ignored the fact that my arms felt as if they were coming into contact something, and I continued the thrash around. After a few moments, a warm feeling engulfed me, and I calmed. And then, my eyes opened, vision slowly clearing as I coughed a couple of times.
"Good mornin', bud." A very familiar accented voice said, the 'bud' echoing through my head as I tried to bend my upper body. A hand came to my chest and eased me back down. My eyes locked to the small, pale hand and followed its connecting arm up to a face that, despite its paleness, warmed me.
Lulu smiled at me, and softly asked, "How are you feeling?"
I opened my mouth and heard a few garbled sounds. I tried clearing my throat, but there was nothing to clear; my throat and mouth were completely dry. I coughed a few more times and tried to convey my want for water by tapping my tongue against my lips. This only caused Lulu to bend over, trying to hear me as if I was saying something outside of her range of hearing. I growled in my head and tried to lift my arm, but found it nearly impossible. Only a finger twitched. I closed my eyes and sighed in exasperation.
"I think he wants water," a foreign voice said, my mind not recognizing it at all. I opened my eyes and looked in the voice's direction. The voice itself was rough, but soft and soothing at the same time. It was certainly a man's voice, the beginning of the sentence gruff, as if coming off of a sandy creek bed and the end of the sentence cool, smooth, and easily flowing, like the water in a stream. The visage that seemed to belong to the face didn't quite match what I had expected. Standing behind what I could then see was Gatta was a wide-shouldered and muscular man that, had he not had such thick, dark brown stubble, could've passed for a teenager. His shirt was a muted forest green, his pants an odd mixture of green, brown, and black. The man's thick arms were crossed, his back leaning against a metal stove. His green eyes were locked to my own, and after that eye contact, I could tell right away that this was -not- a Spira native.
A hand forcibly turned my head and a pitcher's edge came between my lips, cool fresh water filling my mouth. I bent forward a bit and swallowed, enjoying the refreshing moisture sliding down my throat and soothing my angry stomach. I kept drinking, feeling some vitality returning to me.
Before I knew it, I had emptied the pitcher of its contents, and Lulu asked in a soothing whisper, "Would you like more?"
I nodded, not sure of my voice quite yet. After clearing my throat a few times, I looked about my surroundings and discovered this to be Wakka's hut, my thoughts wandering back to my first day in Besaid, where Wakka fed me and allowed me to take a nap in his bed. I noticed Wakka standing near the doorway, and I realized he was about the same size as the stranger near the stove, and he was even in the same position: arms crossed and back leaning against the northern face of the hut.
Wakka seemed more worried than shocked, which surprised me to some extent, until I figured out that he was probably worried about having to tell Yuna. And then, I remembered what was really on my mind.
Cautiously, I spread my lips and spoke in measured tones, still not sure how I'd sound. "Where's Yuna?"
Either the words didn't come out, or everyone was too weary and/or shocked to reply. I sat up slowly, my back wounds sore, but seemingly closed. My eyes wandered to each of them and back again, until Lulu, whose face was contorted in a half-smile, half-grimace, finally said, "In the temple."
I started to swing my legs towards the side of the bed, and Lulu even put a hand out to stop me, but I wasn't going to be stopped, or so I thought. The stranger, whose speed was phenomenal, quickly -and easily, despite my regained strength- grabbed my legs and swung them back to their original spot, his green eyes staring into my own. I got his message.
Lulu said, her voice level rising a bit, "Don't. You've still got an hour of recovery to go before you can see her. Besides, we still have to break the news to her."
I nodded solemnly and watched as the stranger returned to his spot, my curiosity clouding my goal. "You're not from Spira, are you?"
The large man smirked and turned to the others, then back to me. "He catches on fast. Is it -that- obvious?"
With a nod, I replied, "Outcasts can always spot another of their kind."
He laughed, nodding. "You're right, I'm not from here. Charles Weston. You can call me Weston."
"I'm Tidus."
"I know," he replied. "I'm well aware of your story. Wakka brags."
Wakka nodded with a laugh. "Ya, I do."
I asked, "How did you get here?"
"I'll explain my theories later. But arriving here wasn't a fun trip, that's for sure." Weston replied.
Wakka nodded, offering to explain for Weston with his own experience. "He just fell from the sky one day. Me an' Lu were on the beach," and Wakka then looked to Lulu as if affirming his story, "and then, boom, guy falls out of the sky, ya? Pulls a machina on us and says he'll kill us, then collapses cuz of a wound from the fall. As for what's new? There's a whole lot more to tell, but I'm not too versed in the particulars. I think Gatta could explain better."
I looked to Gatta, who stepped forward, his voice shaky as he started speaking. "A...a lot of things have happened while you were gone."
"It's been three years, what more could I expect," I said.
He nodded and continued. "-Nearly- three years. And one of the major things is..."
"The war," I finished for him.
"You know about it?" Gatta asked, looking shocked.
"I was in Luca for a little bit...I even fought some of those white robed guys. Yevonites, right?"
"Yeah," Gatta replied
I watched as Wakka whispered something to Lulu, and Lulu then excused herself and Wakka, saying that they were both going to tell Yuna. I nodded and Gatta continued as the two walked out of the hut.
"After the defeat of Sin, the Yevon as a national religion crumbled. But, some people didn't want to believe that, and small factions started springing up all over the place. However, they were most prominent in Bevelle. Soon enough, Bevelle's 'New Yevon' faction gained power and a ruling council was formed. The people of Bevelle chose the head of said Council in a form of election. He was only known as Maester Nyka, and no one truly knew where he came from. Eventually, he fully had the people's trust, and merged the Bevelle council with Yuna's own advising council, thus dissolving Yuna's power in Bevelle."
I couldn't help but just nod. This was quite a bit to take in.
Gatta continued. "Two men dressed like Crusaders tried to murder Yuna at this year's Blitzball tournament, and that really got the ball rolling. The Crusaders were -the- premier military force in Spira, but then, they were disbanded in Luca and Bevelle through an action voted on by the New Yevon council. After that, Nyka started to build a military force of his own for, what we thought at the time, Bevelle's protection."
Weston cut in. "And then the bastard decided to send troops in to Kilika, after what was left of the Crusaders moved to Besaid to 'side' with Yuna. It wasn't a coincidence. The troops opened fired on innocent women and children. Thus began the first battle of the War, and we kicked their ass."
Gatta cleared his throat. "However, the New Yevon army was using Machina while the Crusaders stuck to their swords out of..."
"Tradition," Weston chimed in. "But fortunately, after helping the Al Bhed to take care of a pest problem, we have some advanced weaponry at our disposal."
I looked to Gatta, who nodded in confirmation. "That's right. Of course, all of this comes at high cost. Peace would be the better option."
"But Nyka isn't going for that, is he?" I asked.
Weston nodded. "Right. His latest move was taking over Luca in the dead of the night and cutting off the trade routes."
"So the trade ship I came on was illegally running its route?"
Weston hmmed. "-If- that's what he came here to do..."
Gatta looked to Weston. "You think there's something else to it?"
"Maybe," Weston said with a shrug. "But, you said I read too far into stuff, so I'll just let it go."
Gatta shrugged. "Your theory may have -some- fact in it, but I still think this guy's just greedy."
Weston nodded and turned back to me. "Where'd you get those wounds?"
"I fought them."
"With what, you're bare hands?"
"No...a sword..."
"And how did you get the sword?"
"I don't know. I just...had it."
Gatta raised a brow. "Had it...how, when?"
"When I...woke up near Luca."
Weston stepped forward. "So you just...to put it bluntly...appeared?"
"Pretty much."
"And where were you all this time?" Weston asked.
I shuddered out of reflex, turning my head away from them, saying through clenched teeth, "I don't know."
They seemed to get the message and Gatta cleared his throat. "We'll leave you to rest now. It's great having you back."
I nodded and watched them leave before laying back down, letting my head sink into the pillow. My thoughts went back and forth from all that I've missed and how I'd meet -her-. I closed my eyes and wished I could skip all the formalities and healing and jump into her arms. But then again, who said she even -wanted- me in her arms...
--------------------
Weston's eyes squinted in the sunlight, eyelashes keeping the dusty wind from irritating them. His arms were crossed in their usual fashion as he made his way towards the temple, Gatta trudging along his side.
"Do you think we should go in there? I mean, we weren't invited," said Gatta, stopping and turning towards Weston.
Weston stopped as well and pivoted on a heel, face turning to Gatta. "I don't think you need an invitation to go to the temple."
"Put we're going to eavesdrop, right?"
"What? No. Wakka said he knows that trader, right?"
"Err...yeah, I think so."
"I need to ask him something about that trader..."
"Cooking up something?" Gatta said with a grin.
"You could say that."
"Well, you gonna tell me? Or should I start an investigation?"
Weston laughed. "I'll tell you in the temple. Let's go."
Gatta nodded and followed Weston into the temple. Upon entering the stone lobby that housed the summoner statues, West nodded to an empty stone step where a choir had sung only three years before. Now, the temple was devoid of anything connected to Yevon, except the statues, saved by Yuna herself.
Weston and Gatta sat and looked ahead.
"So, Weston, what's this plan of yours?"
"Infiltration."
"Going behind enemy lines."
"Yeah. I mean, we have men out there, cut off from support. Plus, we have to figure out -some- way of taking Luca back. And if we know what they have, we can formulate a plan a bit easier than going in blind."
"I understand. Yuna has the same idea."
"She does?" Weston turned his head, quizzical look on his face.
Gatta nodded. "Exact same idea. Except, she didn't draw it out as much."
"I wouldn't expect her to." Weston said, letting his gaze wander around.
"So, should we begin training a man? Or men...whatever it takes."
Weston shook his head, leaning forward with a sigh. "No, Gatta. I'll take care of it. Sitting around and waiting bores me."
"So you'll do it?"
"I need a vacation anyway."
Gatta smirked, "A vacation from safety?"
Weston shrugged and was about to speak before the door to Yuna's room opened slowly, and in what looked like a funeral procession, Lulu, Yuna, and Wakka solemnly walked out, single file. Weston turned to Gatta, mouthing, "Who died?"
Gatta scowled and rolled his eyes, nodding to Wakka.
Weston jumped from the step and grabbed Wakka's shoulder, taking the large man by surprise. "I need to talk to you for a moment, Wakka."
Wakka looked to Lulu and Yuna, who had stopped. After a moment, Lulu nodded and continued walking; placing a hand on Yuna's back to edge her forward. Wakka watched the two women leave the temple and then turned his attention to Weston.
"Ya?"
"You know that trader guy, right?"
"Eh, not really. Just done business with him."
"Could you get me a ride on his ship?"
"I dun think so, bud."
Weston sighed. "Could you at least tell me when he usually leaves?"
Wakka shrugged. "He'll probably leave tonight...around midnight, I think. Definitely later in the evening cuz of the time diff. If he's in trouble, he'll wanna sneak in, ya?" Then, with a hurried look on his face, Wakka asked "Ya done with me?"
Weston nodded and looked to Gatta, Wakka walking in the direction the girls had left. "Know anything about being a Lucan?"
Gatta shrugged. "All I could do is wish you good luck. And I would, if I liked you."
Weston punched Gatta's arm and mocked a growl, laughing afterwards. "Bastard."
--------------------
I growled and rolled around in the bed, my energy level rising as I tried to sleep. The draw back to healing magic was that it made the healed individual a veritable ball of energy, and sleep was impossible. My body may have felt like a million Gil, but my mind knew that'd wear off in a few hours and the soreness would set in.
With a huff, I slowly sat up in bed, half-expecting Lulu to jump out from behind something and push me back down. She never came and, after testing my legs' mobility by way of flexing my toes and shins, I swung my lower half towards the edge of the bed. My knees bent and I felt my shins collide softly with the side of the bed, which was a much-appreciated change from my legs' former position. Cautiously, I let my body weight rest in my right foot, and I felt my foot sink slightly into the cloth floor. Quickly, I set my left foot down onto the cloth, distributing my weight evenly, keeping my balance.
I walked a few steps forward, only having to re-establish my balance once. A paced for a few moments, enjoying the movement since my body had grown stiff after its short yet grueling time in bed. "Finally," I said aloud, stretching, "I feel like myself..."
"Well that's wonderful to hear!"
I turned my head and saw Lulu stepping through the entryway, an uncanny (well, uncanny to -me-) smile spreading across her face. With the turn of my heel, I faced her, arms crossing as a smirk appeared on my lips. Lulu had changed, that was certain. Her wardrobe was more fitting a woman her age, and her face just radiated this nurturing glow that one couldn't help but link to maternal instincts. My smirk widened and I nodded my head to her. "My, my. Ms. Sunshine, right here in -this- hut."
Her cheeks flashed red and I laughed out of surprise rather than humor. The cold, bitter woman I had left had somehow transformed into a warm maternal figure. But then again, as Gatta had told me, a lot of things have happened these past three years.
She smiled warmly, the blush still in full bloom on her cheeks, and said, "That's Mrs. Wakka to you, young man."
I blinked for a moment, the statement catching me off guard. On the quest, I had been pushing her to open up to Wakka, and now they were married? Yes, quite a bit has changed. While my thoughts started to wander towards what kind of changes Yuna had been through, I reflexively wrapped my arms around Lulu's neck. Her arms wrapped around my middle and I mumbled a "Congratulations!" into her shoulder before the embrace ended.
Still, her blush lingered as I asked, "When did this happen?"
"Not too long ago, actually," she answered with a smile.
I smiled and nodded. "Took you guys long enough, sheesh."
She laughed and playfully poked my chest, to which I stuck my tongue out. Her laughs increased as she tapped my chin. "Same Tidus, just with the stubble to go with adulthood."
Without even thinking about it, I felt under my chin and, surprisingly, I did have a bit of stubble. The old man had never showed me how to shave...and Wakka never shaves...
She smiled and said, as if reading my mind, "I'm sure -some-one in the village will show you how to get rid of that. Hey, that reminds me, Weston shaves -every- day. How about you ask him?"
"Eh...I'll think about it. Am I out of quarantine yet?"
She put her finger to her mouth and seemed to think about this for a moment before curtly turning around and heading out the door, turning her head at the last moment. "Nope."
I huffed and stuck my tongue out, huffing and turning my back to the door, staring at the bed as if it was a mortal enemy. "I want rest, and I want it now," I told it, and then burst out in laughter.
The door cloth rustled and I didn't bother turning. "Change your mind about my quarantine, Lulu?"
Alas, no answer came, and I slowly turned, heart beating faster as I readied myself for anything. But what I saw made my heart completely stop.
Standing, rather timidly I might add, was -her-. Her beautiful and expressive eyes immediately locked to mine, and I saw the same emotion in them as I felt.
She was torn, not moving an inch, for in her mind, she was probably trying to decipher if I was real or just the dream I had been before. I inched forward and could see the tears welling up into her eyes. It pained me to see her cry, even if they were tears of joy. My arms spread outward like wings as I grew ever closer to her, and she seemed to back away for a moment, not sure yet if I was truly there. She was trembling head to toe until I finally enveloped her in my arms, my forehead and nose pressing to her own. Her gaze never left my own and as the notion that I was real and holding her in my arms, those tears released, and she relented her three years of anguish on my one shoulder.
When her sobs subsided, and she had grown comfortable with the idea that I was indeed back and certainly alive, her moist, emotion-filled eyes turned back to my own. Just as I began to loose myself in those mismatched pearls, my mind snatched me back to my sole mission's objective.
My eyes still traversing her own, I brought a finger upwards and traced its tip along her moist cheek. Then, I brought the moist fingertip to my fingers and lightly kissed it, saying in a low whisper, "I love you, too."
And I meant every little letter, for she had been the single saving factor throughout my personal hell. No anger, no hate, no melancholy could dethrone her as the ruler of my heart, and I lightly pressed my lips to her own, letting her feel exactly what I was thinking.
She tilted her head with an agreeable mmmph, elevating the kiss' force ten fold, her soft hand coming to the back of my neck, pulling me even tighter into our embrace. My eyes closed and as we stood there, our lips making up for lost time, the image of her standing in the doorway came back to me. She had not changed, physically, in the least bit, save for the shorter hair, which I certainly wasn't complaining about. She'd grown maybe and inch taller, and I noticed her features were a bit fuller, a side effect of shifting into adulthood, I supposed.
Her other arm slowly wrapped around my waist as our kisses trailed off, her body language telling me she was about to speak. I eased my grip on her and smiled as she nuzzled into my shoulder, murmuring softly, "I had...had begun to believe...that you...weren't..."
"I'll always come back to you...always." And I -knew- that I would always come back to her. Secretly, I wondered just what -did- bring me back to life. -Some-thing had to be the cause, but in all honesty, with Yuna in my arms, I could've cared less about it at that moment. I ran a hand through her hair, kissing into her scalp as she nuzzled into my chest.
"I whistled, every day," she managed before a few more sobs got caught into her throat.
A warm smile crept across my face, my hand slowly stroking the back of her head, softly whispering. "I know you did, and I felt every whistle."
"Were you in...pain...while you were gone?"
This was the question I had hoped not to be asked from the moment I arrived on the island. Of course I had been in pain. And I didn't want to lie to the woman I loved...but I honestly didn't want her to be worried the moment we were back together. So, as any gentleman would do, I fibbed. I sighed, putting my hands on her shoulders, and kissed the bridge of her nose. "You were the only thing on my mind and in my heart. I felt nothing but my love for you..."
She smiled and looked up, lightly kissing my chin. "I love you..."
I nuzzled my cheek into her hair and tightened the embrace. "I love you too..."
"There's so much I want to ask you," she said softly.
I nodded. "And I've got things to ask you, but one that can't wait." For a few moments, I was able to hold the pause out, watching her face light up anxiously. The strain on my lips was too much and I finally grinned.
With a laugh, she put a fingertip to my nose and held it there. "You had me going there for a moment, mister."
I laughed, kissing her palm. "But I really -do- have a question!"
With a mock-impatient huff, she sneered, not able to suppress all of her smile. "And what is it?"
Once again, I paused, contorting my face in odd angles to feign a moment of 'choosing words'.
"Well," she said, the tone of her voice growing -slightly- impatient.
I decided that she'd had enough -as if I had truthfully had that decision to make, in the first place- and asked, with a sly smile, "Does Lulu know you're here?"
She nodded timidly.
With a smile, I trailed a line of kisses along her jaw line, my arms pulling her closer into the embrace. "Well, let's get out of here. Wouldn't want to overstay my welcome with you before Lulu can 'hand you off' to me, so to speak. I've been picking up very...motherly vibes from her since I've come back."
She laughed, shrugging. "Ever since she married Wakka, those maternal instincts of hers have crept on the entire village...while..."
I raised a brow. "While...?"
Her face sank for a short moment to convey her annoyance, "While tightening on me. She's...always doting on me."
"She -loves- you. Let her have her fun," I said with a laugh.
Her eyes locked to mine and conveyed a message that both excited and frightened me. While it wasn't exactly a lustful look, it was still very suggestive, and I began to notice that Yuna -had- changed. But the change was certainly not on the outside.
With a sly grin of her own, she nudged my shoulder with her own and planted a light kiss to the nape of my neck, which did exactly what it had done in my dreams. A wave of warmth spread through my body and my arms were littered with gooseflesh. My ears turned a shade of red as they heated and my body was coming alive with sensation. This wasn't Yuna, the shy summoner from three years ago. In my arms was Yuna, the woman, who had come to terms with what she wanted and how to go about getting exactly that. There was no doubt in my mind that she had dreamt of this day from the moment I leapt into the clouds. Of course, I wasn't complaining one solitary bit, but Lulu would certainly beat me to a pulp if I even -looked- at Yuna in any sexual light. Her next few words snapped my brain back to reality.
She said in a soft, husky voice, "But what if her 'fun' gets in the way of any 'fun' we may be having?"
The sexual undertone in her sentence (not to mention her stressing of the word 'fun') brought the awkward feeling back to me. While I loved Yuna like nothing else, was I supposed to feel this aroused by her sultry innuendo?
My eyes darted to my own body, which had grown slightly taller, the muscles in my arms and legs much firmer than they had been before. Oddly, though, my mind didn't feel a day older. And I supposed that was the cause of my awkward and confused feelings: an adult body conflicting with a teenage mind. Due to this, I didn't know how to respond. My mind was torn between responding to the obvious temptation, or politely -and underhandedly- changing the subject. I decided on the latter for both of our sakes. Hell hath no fury like a Lulu scorned.
I nodded and softly kissed the tip of her nose. "That may be the case, -now- love, but I think I can persuade her to loosen up in time. Now let's go ease her worries. There's no telling -what- she's thinking after hearing us giggle like no one's business. How about a walk along the beach tonight?"
"It's a date," Yuna smiled and said with a nod. Extended my hand and she gave a giddy laugh, taking it into her own. We walked out of the hut together, our hands, and hearts, intertwined.
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A/N: Well, it's been nearly a month since 15A went up, and I imagine some of you wondered when 15B would make it up. I hate to say this, but I'm starting to write more and more within one chapter, and I'm actually getting it beta-ed by the wonderfully magnificent, talented, beautiful, and super duper snuggly Shad, who's not only inspired this chapter, but -me-. Much love and kudos and thanks go out to her.
This chapter wouldn't be what it was without her. For example, the whole Yunis snippet was rushed and totally OOC at first. After she brought my attention to this, I deleted most of it and rewrote it from the ashes of the original; the rewrite (and published) snippet conveying the scene, in my author's opinion, -ten to ten thousand- times better than what it would've been had I not had her support. Again, -much- love to you, Shad. *tosses her some chocolate truffles*
This chapter is relatively boring, when looking at it after reading, say, the Battle of Kilika, but this is my longest chapter yet (8100 words, not including the A/N), and it's got little to no violence in it! This is a personal accomplishment because I can see myself maturing as a writer. But, hey, Yunis galore at the end, eh? Expect much more of that in the future, plus a few other surprises in the next few chapters. With this new inspiration, and newfound love of detail, expect the next few battle scenes to be long, detailed (which means a possible R rating...NOOO ;.;), and very character centric. No large scale stuff, but the battle from a few character's point of view. I've seen too many authors write a war scene from "God's" perspective rather than the men actually participating. Anyway, I'll leave it at that.
Again, thanks to Shad, rock-star, Artemis, Jave, and anyone else who has reviewed or continues to review. I appreciate it muchly and AtS wouldn't be what it is without you guys ^^ Onto Chapter 16! ~No One