In the morning, they left the Al Bhed shop and continued their journey. As they walked past the frozen lake, they noticed small yet perceptible cracks in the ice where it was beginning to thaw. Previously, the presence of the Fayth of Shiva had prevented the lake from losing its thick layer of ice, but she was gone, and warmer weather was beginning to cause it to gradually melt.
Macalania Temple was a short distance from their location, but they would bypass it and head for Bevelle. Tidus had some bad memories from the icy temple. They had first fought Seymour there, and it had led them to being branded heretics of Yevon. The blonde guardian was glad they didn't need to go there. He wondered how they would be greeted once they arrived at Bevelle, the largest city on Spira, if at all. They had gone from traitors of the religion after conflicts with the Maesters to heroes after defeating Sin permanently. However, the general public was fickle, and he felt they were all likely forgotten except for Yuna.
The trio walked along the path that Tidus had taken on the machina vehicle with Lulu. It was there that she truly began to believe that he did come from a world without Sin, like he said. She realized that he was actually from a different Zanarkand that their own.
"Zanarkand isn't too far now. At our current pace, we should actually get there the day before the wedding," Gatta commented.
"Good. The sooner we get there, the better," the former Abes star said.
"Things shouldn't be very difficult now that we got away from the Guado."
"All that's left to worry about is finding Dalan," Tidus stated.
"…Yeah, but I doubt we'll run into him or anyone else from the Ronau Group before Zanarkand unless they strike at Bevelle, but that's unlikely. Too much security there," the Crusader said.
"That reminds me…When we spoke to Cid, he said he'd never heard of the Ronau Group before. Why is that?" he inquired curiously.
"…They're a hard group to track. Only people like the Crusaders or the Maesters know much about them. They try to keep things like this out of the public eye," Gatta explained.
"That's what a secretive group like them would want! Why are you guys doing that?!"
"People are still worried about another serious threat like Sin. It's best to let them think that this is simply a chain of unrelated events. Their fears need to be alleviated," the Crusader replied.
"But that's not right! You're lying to them!" the guardian exclaimed in an outrage.
"No offense, but you just don't understand how things work in Spira, Sir Tidus. The citizens are fragile. Any serious threat to their safety can cause an enormous uproar," he said.
"So what if the truth gets out and they find out you've been lying to them? That'd be even worse."
"That won't happen. It's a well-kept secret, and no one would dare leak it out," Gatta assured confidently.
Tidus sped up his walking pace in frustration and moved ahead of them. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Then a thought entered his mind. He stopped and ran his hands through his blonde hair. Then he spun around to face his companions. "Does Adonijah know?"
"Most likely."
"What about Yuna?"
"Probably not. We don't disclose to those not involved and those who don't need to know," the Crusader replied.
"He's hiding that from her," he muttered to himself with a sigh. Then he turned back around and began to walk again.
Barthello listened silently to their arguing, preferring not to speak out. There was definite dissention between Tidus and Gatta with their differing points of view. The muscular guardian knew there was nothing he could do to help them. His conversational skills were weak. He was more of a fighter than anything else; protecting his friends was what he did best.
"Look, let's just forget about this for now," Gatta suggested. "We're getting nowhere, and we don't have the time."
"I guess you're right," Tidus agreed and then they were quiet.
Shortly afterwards, they approached Macalania Temple, and the snow surrounding it was beginning to melt. The top of the structure connected to a ceiling of ice, and the icicles that were hanging down dripping slightly. A drop of water splashed on Barthello's head, but he ignored it. They walked around the perimeter of the place of worship until they reached a frozen path that led out of Macalania.
They were unaware that it was slick, and once Tidus placed his foot upon the trail, he immediately slipped and landed roughly on his back. He began sliding down the ice, unable to stop himself. "Whoa!!!!" He attempted to steer himself along the curved road with his feet. It managed to keep him on the track, although it wasn't extremely effective.
Gatta and Barthello briefly exchanged glances. "I guess we have no choice but to go after him," the dark-skinned Crusader resolved.
The thin soldier hesitantly stepped onto the slide and raced after his comrade. Then the bulky guardian fearlessly followed after them. They also used their feet to turn along the path to avoid a dangerous drop off of the edge. Tidus was trying to stand up and break into a sprint unsuccessfully. He couldn't obtain enough balance to remain upright.
It was a long trip, but the trio eventually reached the end of the narrow iced trail and came to a halt on the snow, which was thawing out into merely slush. They were drenched by the melting ice and were panting heavily, exasperated by the fearful descent.
"Never…wanna do that…again," Tidus uttered, gasping for breath.
"No kidding," Gatta said.
Barthello rose to his feet and wiped the slush off of his clothes. "Ready to go?" he asked.
"Just a minute," the other guardian replied. They stood up as well. "Did we lose anything?"
"No, I don't think so," the Crusader responded.
They journeyed for a lengthy period of time, but eventually reached the city of Bevelle. Towering buildings encircled them: places of business seemed to be grouped on their left, while large apartment complexes and other residential areas were primarily on their right side. Straight ahead of them was a long set of stairs, which led to the Highbridge and the temple in the center of the majestic city. None of them were impressed, however, since each had already been in Bevelle before.
They ascended the stairs calmly with only the sounds of their footsteps penetrating the silence. Many of the citizens and monks walked past them or with them without a word as well. The residents of the city were tranquil and not easily excited, especially the Yevonite monks.
(Now's my opportunity to prove that this Adonijah guy's a fraud. The machina in the temple will prove it.) Tidus thought.
"Where are we heading, Sir Tidus?" Gatta inquired curiously. "We don't need to go this way."
"To the temple to show you Adonijah isn't all he's saying he is," he replied.
"I don't know what you hope to accomplish with this."
"Yuna deserves to know the truth, and so do the people of Spira."
"We don't have time for this! We can still travel some more before nightfall. Let's keep moving!" the Crusader said.
"This won't take long…Trust me," the young guardian said before rashly sprinting ahead.
The other two dashed after him as he hurried toward Bevelle Temple. The doors were already opened, so Tidus rushed in without hesitation. However, he quickly halted when he spotted someone in front of him. He was staring around in confusion, searching desperately for something. "Where'd all the machina go?" he asked aloud. Gatta and Barthello entered the temple and stopped behind their comrade. The man turned around at the sound of their loud footsteps. "Who's there?!"
"Dalan!" Tidus exclaimed.
"We've got you now, Dalan!" Gatta said proudly. "Just give it up!"
"No chance of that!" the Ronau Group member said, reaching into his pocket.
He withdrew a small, round item and tossed it onto the floor in front of them. Before they could react, it exploded, releasing large plumes of thick, black smoke. The trio began coughing uncontrollably, choking on the smog. Hurried footsteps were heard rushing past them. The former blitzball ace felt a hand grab his shoulder momentarily and then released its grip. He began moving toward the exit, trying to get out of the smoke, and his comrades followed. They rubbed their eyes to wipe the tears from their eyes caused by the plumes.
"Where'd he go?" the Crusader asked. At the bottom of the stairs, he spotted his primary suspect. "There he is! Let's go!" He ran after Dalan in hot pursuit, leaving the others behind.
"Gatta, wait! He's going the wrong way! We don't have time! We can't catch him!" Tidus exclaimed. "Great…Now I'm starting to sound like him."
The Zanarkand native hesitantly began going after him along with Barthello. Dalan dashed through Bevelle, rudely knocking people out of the way and looking back to keep an eye on his pursuers. Gatta leaped over fallen civilians, not willing to allow anything to delay him. The two guardians were also forced to avoid helping the inhabitants in order to keep pace with their companion.
Soon they were outside of the city limits and immediately felt the decline in the temperature. They saw their breath as they ran, and then passed through it. The Ronau Group member was fast, and they were not gaining ground on him. They gave chase for a long time, eventually returning to the snowy fields of Macalania. However, it was gradually continuing to melt and the freezing substance filled their shoes.
They approached a bridge made of ice that they had traversed earlier in the day. Tidus feared that it might not be stable enough for all of them to get across since they had heard it cracking when they walked over it before. As Dalan stepped onto it, the bridge began crumbling and by the time he was on the other side, it was too ruined to attempt to cross. The suspect continued to flee while the trio was forced to come to a stop.
Gatta stomped his foot on the ground, irritated. "Almost had him! He won't get away next time though!" he vowed.
The rage had been building up inside of Tidus all day, and he finally unleashed it. "Gatta, what were you thinking?!" he yelled.
The Crusader turned around, perplexed. "What?"
"Why'd you go after him?! We spent most of the day traveling to Bevelle, and then you drag us all the way back to Macalania to chase after Dalan! We lost most of the ground we gained today because of this! By the time we get to Bevelle, it's gonna be too dark to keep going! We probably could've at least made it to the Calm Lands by tonight, but now we've gotta waste most of tomorrow to get there!"
Then, without another word, he turned around and started walking back to Bevelle. Gatta and Barthello exchanged shocked expressions, and silently followed him back to the grand city.