When Tidus, Gatta, and Barthello woke up in the morning, they immediately set out on their journey. As they exited the Macalania Woods, they came to the vast expanse of barren, flat fields known as the Calm Lands. The only visibly inhabited area was the Al Bhed trading post in the center of the grassland.
"We should stop at that shop to grab some supplies," Gatta suggested. "I've heard Mount Gagazet is a long and arduous trip."
"Good idea," Tidus agreed.
The trio headed down the incline until they reached the base of the valley. They moved from the featureless southern portion of the Calm Lands toward the central area. They passed by three tall jagged rocks that protruded from the ground where Yuna had confronted Belgemine in a contest of Aeons during the pilgrimage.
They arrived at the Al Bhed outpost to find a group of them conversing at the entrance. They each wore the customary goggles, with sleeveless black shirts, puffy red pants that were knee-length, and black boots. They all had jet-black hair as well. They didn't even seem to notice the three as they passed by. Tidus glanced at them with a puzzled expression momentarily, but shook it off. They continued on and purchased some goods from an Al Bhed clerk. As they began to leave, the Zanarkand native turned around to look at the group once more, but they had disappeared from sight.
(Where'd they go?) Tidus shrugged and they moved to the east, toward the icy summit of Gagazet.
They crossed the plains until they reached the path that led to the Monster Arena. Tidus and Gatta walked past the entrance and then they heard a shout emanating from Barthello. They quickly spun around to see two of the black-haired Al Bheds swinging their swords at the muscular guardian.
"I knew there was something strange about them!" the blonde guardian exclaimed.
Tidus drew the Brotherhood and Gatta pulled out his broadsword. They rushed to their friend's aid and began dueling with their assailants. The former Abes star grunted as he sliced at one. He desperately raised his sword in defense as he was caught by surprise. The forceful strike knocked him off balance, causing him to trip and fall to the ground. Then Tidus shoved his sword through his stomach, but his victim didn't utter a sound. He simply faded away into a multitude of pyreflies.
Gatta swiped at his foe's chest, but he was blocked. The silent assassin aimed for the Crusader's head, but he ducked and slashed at his ankles. His opponent leaped over it, but was shocked when enormous hands grabbed him by the shoulders. He was slammed against the rock wall, and then the Crusader stabbed him in the stomach while his bulky comrade held him still. Like his partner, he quietly exploded into a colorful array of pyreflies.
"Why did they attack us?" Tidus wondered.
"There's no doubt that they were from the Ronau Group. They're probably trying to keep anyone from reaching Zanarkand," Gatta remarked. "There were more of them. Keep your guard up."
They moved on, exiting the Calm Lands through the northeast canyon. They came to the bridge that crossed the gorge. In the valley below was the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth, where they had acquired the Aeon Yojimbo for an outrageous sum of money. They walked across the overpass, unaware that two more assassins were tucked away under the planks, waiting to ambush them.
As soon as they felt the vibrations caused by their footsteps, they swung from the railing and landed on the walkway behind their targets without a sound. They cautiously withdrew poisonous darts from their pockets to avoid being detected prematurely. Then they sent them flying toward the trio. Barthello, who had learned to sense even the faintest disturbances as part of his training as a guardian, heard them whizzing through the air.
"Get down!" he shouted, almost tackling them to force them down to the floor of the bridge.
They raised their heads to watch the darts pass overhead and imbed themselves into the rock wall, chipping small pebbles off of it. They speedily returned to their feet and faced their enemies. The two Ronau operatives briefly exchanged glances, and then one of them leaped high into the air and landed on the other side of the three. Tidus spun around to confront the man obstructing their path to Mount Gagazet, while Gatta and Barthello kept their gazes fixed on the other.
The assassins pulled out two daggers, and then each tossed one at the trio in between them. The guardians and the Crusader dropped again without hesitation as the weapons soared over harmlessly, almost clashing together as they passed the other. The two operatives stood still fearlessly as the sharp knives came toward their foreheads. Then they shot their hands up with blinding speed, and snatched the daggers by the handle with the tip of it inches away from their faces.
As their foes were rising up again, the Ronau members silently dashed toward them. One swiped at Barthello's head, but he ducked to avoid it. As if he had been expecting the reaction, he stabbed at the muscular guardian with the other knife. He was unable to dodge the second strike, and it was successfully planted into his right shoulder. Even the normally quiet man couldn't help yelling out in pain as blood began pouring freely from the fresh wound.
Immediately, Gatta slashed at the assassin's neck and decapitated his enemy. The head fell over the side of the bridge, and the body fell limply backwards, transforming into a pillar of pyreflies before it hit the ground.
The other Ronau operative stabbed at Tidus's stomach, but the former Abes star hopped back and sliced the silent opponent's left arm off at the elbow with his bright blue blade. The man disguised as an Al Bhed didn't even appear to be fazed by the severing of his limb, and continued to stab at the blond guardian with his other sharp dagger. The blitzball ace swiped it from his hand with his sword and then impaled his foe through the chest. The quiet killer exploded into pyreflies before Tidus even had the chance to withdraw the Brotherhood from the lifeless body.
Then he turned his attention to his injured comrade. Barthello tentatively pulled the knife from his shoulder and threw it over the bridge. Then he clutched the open wound as the blood continued to flow profusely.
"You okay?!" Tidus asked, concerned.
The muscular guardian shook his head negatively. He was in an extreme amount of pain. He couldn't even open his eyes, and his teeth were clenched tightly as he attempted to bear it.
"Give him an elixir!" the Zanarkand native demanded.
Gatta fumbled through the pouch that contained their supplies until he found the vial that contained the healing liquid. He opened it and poured the contents into Barthello's mouth. He swallowed it and the pain from the deep gash eventually went away, although the wound was still open. Tidus ripped the right sleeve off of his yellow shirt and wrapped it tightly around his traveling partner's shoulder. It instantly became soaked with blood as it gradually began to stifle the bleeding.
"Thank
you," Barthello uttered gratefully.
"No prob."
"Mount Gagazet is straight ahead. It's going to be rough. Are you gonna be able to go on?" Gatta inquired.
The quiet guardian nodded and began to walk toward their next destination, removing his hand from his shoulder and attempting to ignore the pain. The other two glanced at each other momentarily, shrugged, and followed him.
After a short trip, they reached the chilly base of the mountain. (The last barrier before reaching Zanarkand.) Tidus thought. He was already feeling the cold air, especially on his bare right arm. He absent-mindedly rubbed his hand over the appendage, trying to generate some friction to warm up.
There was not much snow at the bottom of Gagazet. Thin patches were spread around, with a clear path of rock leading into the depths of the crag. Tidus frowned as he remembered Seymour nearly eradicating the Ronso tribe completely here, which brought a rare display of emotion from Kimahri. He sighed loudly, causing his two companions to gaze over at him.
"Something wrong?" Gatta asked.
He began to head into the mountains, ignoring the question posed at him. "Let's go."
They moved on behind him into the icy terrain. They all felt an immediate and sharp decline in the temperature and an increase in the snow's thickness. It began to crunch as they stepped on it. The rock wall extended higher than they could see, and one look off of the edge of the cliff was enough to make Gatta leap back in fright. All he could see was darkness down below in the deep pit. As the trio continued to travel, the Crusader's hand slid along the wall to make sure he didn't stray too far from it.
As they journeyed along the curved, snowy paths, they passed numerous graves of fallen summoners and guardians who had come just short on their pilgrimage. Tidus cringed as they walked by the area where they had fought Seymour for a third time. It was one of the most grueling battles he had faced as Yuna's guardian. He had been totally exhausted after they finally defeated him.
As he was reminiscing, a small stone hit him on top of the head. "Ow! What was that?!" he exclaimed, placing his hand on the spot and rubbing it gingerly.
Then he began to get an eerie feeling as a shower of miniscule pebbles rained down on them. The trio looked up to see a humongous boulder tumbling down the side of the rock wall toward them. Their eyes widened, and they desperately dove out of the way. However, as it crashed down onto the path, it didn't roll into the dark chasm, but stopped on the thick snow. It covered almost the entire road, and Barthello had jumped the other way. He was trapped on the opposite side, effectively cut off from his fellow comrades.
Tidus started to push on the boulder, but to no avail. It wouldn't budge at all, even when Gatta joined him. "Argh! We can't get to him! What do we do? We can't just leave him here!"
Then two more of the Ronau operatives disguised as Al Bhed dropped from the skies and landed on top of the enormous rock. "I should've known it was them!" Gatta remarked angrily.
The assassins immediately set their sights on Barthello after seeing the bloodstained bandage over his shoulder. "Tidus! Gatta! Run!" he shouted.
"No way! We can't leave you behind like this!" the blitzball ace refused.
"There's nothing you can do! Go before they come for you, too!"
The two silent killers leaped off and landed in front of the muscular guardian. After much debate in his mind, Tidus reluctantly dashed in the other direction with a groan, and Gatta did the same. He never looked back to make sure he didn't have a chance to reconsider. They stopped once they reached the cavern where the clusters of Fayth had fathered to preserve Zanarkand in a dream state.
The cold beads of sweat were glistening on their foreheads, and they took a moment to wipe them off. The area looked lifeless without the constant visible activity of the Fayth, whose bodies had become encased in stone, and the giant sphere that contained the dream itself. Tidus touched the rock outline of one and recalled what had happened when he had touched it when they still existed.
Once again, he sighed. (Almost there.)
Then they continued up Mount Gagazet until they reached the caverns of darkness. Fortunately, the puzzles within were inactive, so the trip through was quick. However, at the exit, three more members of Ronau were waiting on them. They lined up side-by-side, blocking access to the outside of the cave.
"Should've known they'd be here," Gatta commented as he drew his broadsword.
Tidus silently pulled out the Brotherhood as their three foes withdrew their weapons. The one on the left had a spear, the one in the middle had a long, thin sword, and the one on the right had a nunchaku. The guardian and Crusader took the initiative and fearlessly charged at them. The taciturn swordsman slashed at them, but they hopped in different directions to dodge it. Gatta then engaged in a duel with him.
Tidus swiped at the man with the spear, but was effortlessly blocked. Then the silent assassin lunged at him, but the Zanarkand native jumped above the weapon, and fiercely stomped onto it on the way down, snapping it in half. His enemy stumbled backwards, leaving himself completely defenseless. Tidus mercilessly plunged the blade into the operative's stomach. He faded away into pyreflies, and the guardian focused on the one with the nunchaku.
Gatta aimed low at the warrior's ankles, but his long blade easily prevented the broadsword from doing any harm, and then the assassin moved the blade up and sliced at the Crusader's neck in one fluid motion. The dark-skinned man was barely able to defend it, and was knocked off balance. He stumbled backwards and landed roughly on his back. His head slammed against the rocks, and he could feel his warm blood on his hair.
Then he saw the long sword coming at him, and he rolled backwards to his feet. Then Gatta leaped forward and began attacking aggressively. Driven by a rush of adrenaline, he relentlessly slashed at his enemy, who struggled to block the string of swift moves. The strain was evident in the Ronau operative's face. Then the Crusader faked an attempt at his head, which his opponent fell for. Then he struck the vulnerable man down with one fatal blow. His body was replaced by the colorful pyreflies, which harmlessly floated away.
Tidus slashed at the last remaining object preventing him from reaching Zanarkand, who jumped aside and hit him in the jaw with his nunchaku. The powerful shot spun him around and he fell down to his hands and knees. Gatta intervened and distracted the assassin who was preparing to move in on the fallen fighter. The Crusader sliced at him, but it was defended by the quiet killer's weapon.
Then he wrapped the chain around the sword and yanked it out of his grasp. It landed with a loud clang outside of the cave. Then he kicked the dark-skinned man in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. Tidus returned to his feet and charged once again. He furiously swiped at the one garbed in Al Bhed clothing, but was also blocked by the nunchaku.
Once again, he wrapped the chain around the blade and tried to wrestle it away. However, the guardian managed to overpower him and pulled the weapon from his clutches. Then Tidus shoved his sword through his foe's stomach, and the battle was over. The pyreflies lingered as the blond youth helped Gatta to his feet.
"You hurt?"
"Nah, I'm fine," he said. "Come on! We're almost there!"
Then the Crusader rushed out of the cave and reclaimed his sword. Night had fallen and the stars were beginning to fill the sky. Tidus slowly stepped out of the boundaries of the cave and beheld his reconstructed city of Zanarkand. It was lit up magnificently, leaving him breathless.
"Zanarkand…" he whispered, and looked upon it motionlessly for a long time.