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Chapter 4 : History Long Past
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Slowly, the world came into focus.
Yuna rubbed her eyes as they readjusted to the bright lights of a large room aboard what appeared to be an Al Bhed ship. She sat in a room with a heavy steel door at the opposite end. And the window behind her was covered in a fine mesh that was interwoven into the glass itself, hard to break even with spells. She felt dizzy, like someone had clubbed her over her head with a blunt object. That, or someone wanted to use her head as a Blitzball with Wakka shooting repeatedly.
Sighing to herself, Yuna got up and brushed her long dress off. Walking across the room, she peered out the bars and called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Suddenly, a face popped up from behind the small window of bars. "Hi!"
Yuna gasped, and stumbled backwards in shock. The door opened and a pretty young Al Bhed girl stood behind it, a tray of warm food in her hands. "Sorry about all this, but it's needed."
She gave the food to Yuna who looked at her curiously. "You.... are Rikku, are you not?"
The girl smiled broadly. "Yeah! I'm glad you remember, Yuna."
"So your brother was the one who took me here. But why?" said Yuna.
"It's a long story," said Rikku as she sat down, closing the door behind her. "Promise not to get mad?"
Yuna nodded while taking a bite out of the fruit pie that lay on the tray.
Rikku sighed. "We're abducting Summoners, because we want to find a way to keep them from sacrificing themselves when battling Sin. My dad, Cid, came up with the idea to abduct as many Summoners as possible to prevent them from going to Zanarkand and throwing away their lives."
"But the Final Summoning is the only way to defeat Sin," said Yuna. "The only way."
"But there MUST be another way!" Rikku exclaimed. "You don't understand. It's hard to see summoners try and try again, only to see them die at the end of their journey! I don't want you to die!"
"I'm sorry. Can you bring me back? I am sure everyone is worried about me." said Yuna.
Rikku paused in thought. She then nodded. "I'll take you back after you regain your equilibrium. That stuff we used to knock you out is kinda potent and leaves you dizzy for a little while."
Yuna smiled. "Thank you."
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"Yeah, I saw her. She was being carried over an Al Bhed's shoulder towards Dock Four. Kinda strange, but I didn't take any notice of it."
"Thanks man." Leaving Biggs to his guard duty, Zell jogged down to the front desk of the Blitzball Reception and said to the others, "Yuna is most likely at Dock Four. The Al Bhed took her."
"But why?" said Irvine. He folded his arms. "There doesn't seem to be a reason for it."
"They could force Wakka to throw the game," said Lulu. "We should hurry."
Kimahri grunted and his grip on the lance tightened.
Picking up their pace, they rushed towards the dock. No sooner that they had rounded the corner, that a trio of squat mechanical robots leapt out at them. Zell sidestepped one with a yelp as it smashed into Irvine, sending him stumbling back. "What the hell?" Zell exclaimed.
"Ancient Machina, salvaged by the Al Bhed," Lulu calmly explained. She sent a bolt of lightning down at one, causing it to explode violently into bits. "They are vulnerable to thunder spells."
One exploded with the thunderous impact of Zell's fist, while another's functions died with the loud rapport of Irvine's gun. "Or just shoot or punch it," Zell remarked, tightening his gloves. Lulu gave him a glare.
Rushing down the walkway, Kimahri spun around another which slashed at him with a mechanical arm. His lance thrust into the joints that held it together, and wrenched a gaping hole in it. Lulu fired off another thunder spell into the gaping hole, which blasted it into smithereens. Zell looked at Lulu who looked slightly worn out. "You're using your internal mana," he warned as he kicked one while grasping its outstretched arm. The arm ripped off and the machine twitched and deactivated. "The more you use it, the more tired you become. Try drawing some magic from them."
"But they are not living beings," said Lulu, firing another Thunder spell with a gesture of her left hand.
Irvine shook his head while calmly blasting the head off another squat machine. "Doesn't matter. A lot of machines carry various versions of para- magic, especially thunder spells of the common variety. Go ahead."
Lulu looked penisive about drawing in the middle of battle. Kimahri grunted, and Lanceted the machines. Their internal energy depleted, they collapsed into useless hunks of metal. Smoothly sidestepping another of the endless machines as they rushed down the walkway, Lulu focused on the nearest one. the Jade balls screamed out from it and she felt new power flow through her body. She then snapped out as green magic flared around her. "Thunder!"
A similar bolt lanced down from the heavens and struck the nearby machine. Instead of feeling the drain from her internal mana, Lulu mentally noted a tally knock down one point from her internal stock. Constantly drawing from the various machines, they finally reached Dock Four where an Al Bhed ship sat.
With Kimahri in the lead, they climbed the ramp to the dock. No sooner than they had boarded, then a huge machine rose from the deck below. It was big, with two mechanical arms on either side, and a spinning pair of gears on the top. It rumbled menacingly as it barred the way between them and the door. Zell groaned. "Aw man. This is not helping."
The sides opened up, and a flurry of Blitzballs flew out at them. It would have been laughable, save for the fact that the velocity of the balls made dents in the deck and the side of the dock.
Zell tightened his gloves, grinned wolfishly and crowed, "Lets get it on!"
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"Boy, they sure are late." said Selphie. She sat in the stands, saving seats for her friends who had promised to return shortly. Sighing, she settled down to watch the game.
"Pleasant day." Selphie jumped. She had been so into the game, the Beasts versus the Fangs, that she had not noticed the man who sat down beside her. He was an odd one, dressed in a dark red robe that had a gold trimmed shoulder guard, woven directly into the robe itself. He wore black with a skintight shirt that had gold trim on it, revealing strong sculped muscles. His left arm was thrust through the front of his robe, and it dangled there. She had a suspicion that it could be useless but that thought was quickly dispelled as it twitched and she caught a glimpse of his heavily muscled left arm under the robe.
At his side he carried a long blade. It was like a katana, only much bigger in size and weight. On his belt, he carried a clay jug of what she supposed was wine of some sort. He sported black hair in a sprayed slicked back look, sunglasses and a scar that went from his forehead, over his eye and down to his jawline on his right eye.
"Um... yes it is." The man was strong. She could feel it, and he carried quite the amount of untrained para-magic within that frame.
"I hope I am not interrupting you. I am Auron." said the man.
"Selphie." Selphie said.
"Ah. So you are the girl who accompanied Summoner Yuna from Besaid." Sizing her up with a critical look, Auron smiled, but ever so briefly. It reminded her of Squall in a sence. "You have a strong spirit, and a powerful heart."
Selphie didn't know how to take that compliment, so she just smiled and said, "Thank you." Turning her attention to the game, she remarked, "Who do you think will win the Tournament?"
"The Aurochs." Auron's tone held no contradiction. It was like a solid statement. "The Aurochs will win."
"I want them to win too," Selphie said. "It's so sad, not winning their matches for the last ten years."
"They have a strong team. And Tidus is with them." Auron considered the match as the Ronsos scored another goal with a powerful kick.
Selphie turned to Auron, surprised. "How do you know about Tidus?"
"I raised him," was the simple answer.
Before Selphie could comment on that, the horn rang, and both teams swam out for the next teams to play. The Announcers said that the Aurochs and the Psyches were playing next.
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"We ready?" Wakka crowed to the Besaid Aurochs.
"Cap't!" The Aurochs chanted.
"All right, lets get out there and show them who's boss!" Wakka shouted, tromping out of the locker room, Tidus and the other Aurochs behind him.
As Wakka prepared to enter the sphere pool, Tidus stopped him. "Wakka, relax man. You're so tense." He then grinned easily. "Just let it all out. Everyone. One big sigh. It'll help."
The Aurochs all let out a tremendous sigh. Then, Jassu, the blonde haired and dark skinned player grinned. "That was relaxing. Okay! Lets win out there!"
The sphere pool door opened up and they walked through the door and into the pool. There, hanging before them was the glowing sphere pool. Wakka took a breath, and leapt headfirst into the pool. Tidus dived into the pool, closely followed by slender Jassu, paunchy Keepa, red haired Batto and dark haired, dark skinned and tatooed Letty.
Swimming out to meet their opponents, the Psyches were made up of slender Al Bhed, a mix of female and male players. From what Tidus figured, they were definately fast with excellent passing and catching skills. Arranging the team, Tidus took Left Forward while Wakka settled down at Middle Forward, and Batto at Right Forward. Jassu settled down on the glyph platform at Left Defence, while Letty settled down at Right Defence. Keepa settled comfortably, swimming at the goal.
Wakka gave Tidus a smile as the horn was blown, and the Blitzball was shot off with the crowd roaring "Blitzoff!"
Wakka claimed the ball and the game was on.
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Irvine aimed and fired. But to his surprise, his bullet only made a sizable dent in the Oblitzerators armor. "Well, that's not good," he remarked, dodging a hail of blitzballs.
Kimahri rushed in, driving his spear into the center of the Oblitzerators innards, twisting. But with an electrical discharge, Kimahri flew back and rolled to Lulu's feet, smoking. He grunted and stumbled to his feet.
Zell cast a cure spell towards Kimahri who grunted in thanks. Flashing a grin, Zell rushed in and punched the Oblitzerator hard enough to make it knock backwards a bit. The machine suddenly zapped Zell with an attack, sending him flying backwards. Zell rolled to his feet, singed but otherwise unharmed. "Wow, that packs a punch."
Lulu seemed to be concentrating as light swirled around her. Zell and Irvine recognized it as a limit break of some sorts. Raising her arm, lightning crackled around it. "Thunder Fury!" Lulu shouted, sending down a hail of ten lightning bolts down at the machine. It seemed to groan under the stress of the blasts as it wobbled dangerously. But regaining its footing, the Oblitzerator fired off a volley of blitzballs at Lulu.
Lulu was knocked backwards off her feet, almost sliding off the edge of the platform if Irvine had not caught her in time. Helping the pale lady to her feet, Irvine grinned and fired off a few rounds, making sizable dents into the Oblitzerators armor. He then scowled angrily. "This is getting us nowhere."
Another volley nearly knocked Zell off the edge of the platform. Grabbing the nearby crane to slow his flight, he yanked himself onto the crane's operator seat and winced as his shoulder protested the quick action. "Definately not getting us anywhere.
Another round of thunder spells scarred the Oblitzerators' armor as Kimahri went to town on the armor, creating huge rents in the armor. He grunted and slammed his weapon deep into the firing mechanism of the Blitzballs. The mechanism jammed and whined in protest as Irvine aimed carefully and shot several bullets into the mechanism. It ruptured with a thundering crash and Blitzballs went flying everywhere. Several struck Zell from his perch and he fell off the crane and into the water with a yelp. There was a splash, and moments later, a shout came up from the waters surface. "I'm okay! Water broke my fall!"
Irvine shook his head as he loaded his weapon with Armor Piercing ammo. He only had so much left, and could use it sparringly. Taking aim, he shot a hole right through the generators on the top of the machine, ripping a sizable hunk out of the twin turbines. The machine sputtered as the teeth failed to catch and continue generating energy.
The machine sputtered and crackled with energy. Kimahri charged at the machine, and shoved his lance into the open hole. He twisted it around as the machine groaned and strained from the destruction of its insides. With a final shove, Kimahri drove his lance deep into the Oblitzerators soft working innards, ruining them.
The Oblitzerator groaned, sank to one knee and then with a creak of metal on metal, crashed to the ground.
Lulu wiped her forehead as Irvine walked over and pulled Zell up from the edge of the craft. Zell had been able to clamber back up to the top. Kimahri shook his head. "Lets go," Lulu said, striding past the hulk of a machine.
When they approached the door to the inside of the ship, it hissed open, revealing a girl standing beside Yuna who looked fairly healthy. The girl was dressed in Al Bhed tan, deep red and greens, but her features were recognisable, outside of the skintight watersuit she used to wear.
"It's you! The girl from the ship we came in on!" Zell exclaimed in surprise.
The girl nodded. "Yeah. I'm Rikku."
"You know this girl?" Lulu asked curiously. Irvine had the same look on his face and Kimahri was attending to Yuna who looked a bit flustered by being taken care of the hulk of a Ronso.
"Yeah, she was the girl who fished me and Tidus out of the ocean," Zell said. "Wierd, huh?"
Lulu turned to Rikku. "So why exactly did you kidnap Yuna? Are you trying to make the Aurochs forfeit the game?"
Rikku waved her hands frantically as she shook her head. "No no no, nothing like that!" she said. "It's... kinda hard to explain really."
"Hey, someone should get a message to Wakka, tell him Yuna is safe and sound," Irvine said, leaning against the crane.
Lulu nodded, conjoured up a ball of light and tossed it into the air. After that, she turned to Rikku. "Turn this ship around. We need to get back."
"Lulu," Yuna said, speaking for the first time. "Please, don't be too hard on Rikku." A pause. "She is my cousin."
There were rapid blinking from Zell and Irvine but Lulu and Kimahri didn't seem surprised, other than a slight narrowing of Lulu's red eyes. "Are you sure?"
Yuna nodded. "Yes. My uncle, Cid, is at the helm of the ship. He is turning it around back to Luca as we speak. And Lulu... I wish for Rikku to become my guardian."
Lulu palmed her forehead in a very Squall-like manner. "Are you certian, Yuna? They did kidnap you."
"Yeah but, it was for a good reason!" said Rikku in a forceful manner. "We want to stop the cycle of death!"
Irvine looked over his shoulder. The boat had come into docking position at the harbor and was easing in at dock four once more. "We should discuss this with everyone else. The Game is about to end."
"The game!" Yuna gasped. As soon as the ship docked, she rushed down the stairs to the nearest Sphere. Sure enough, the game had ended and the announcers were making the final comments on the Psyches vs the Aurochs.
"Well Bobba, it looks like Wakka pulled a new trick out of his hat today as the Aurochs actually make it past the first round. Looks like history in the making as they advance to the finals against the Luca Goers."
"Aw, our team lost!" Rikku said, dejected. "Aw well, there's always the Blitz Season."
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"Hey, you sure you're okay?" asked Tidus as Wakka collapsed on the bench.
"Yeah," said Wakka, his chest heaving as he let out groans of pain. "need to rest up. No worries, I won't be ditching the last game of the Tournament. Win or lose, I'm going out with a bang."
Tidus smirked. "We're going to win. And speaking of winning, we have a half an hour before gametime. Time to show you a little move my dad once showed me."
Wakka looked at Tidus blankly before the blonde SeeD Cadet hauled him to his feet. Tidus shouldered Wakka as he turned to the rest of the team. "Anyone can come along. The new move is a doozy."
"What kind of move is it?" Datto asked curiously. He had regained some of his color from eating the poisonous fruit and was helped up by Jassu.
Tidus smirked, despite the lousy memories he had of his father, Jecht. "It's got a dumb name. The Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark Three."
The assembled Aurochs blinked curiously. "Kinda long name, ain't it?" said Letty.
"It's a dumb name," Tidus said dismissively. "My dad gave it the name. The Announcers cut it down to the Jecht Shot."
Following Tidus out of the room, down the hallway and up the stairs into the main center of the hub between the five docks and the reception, the group found themselves in the reception area. Tidus carried a Blitzball in one hand, Wakka shouldered over his other. The Aurochs sat down next to the Reception as people watched on.
Walking out into the middle of the reception area, Tidus located a large pillar that stood facing a large outside section without the high roof. Tidus set down the ball and turned around to the Aurochs who had been joined by Zell, Irvine, Kimahri, Lulu, Yuna and the girl from the Al Bhed Ship who was now wearing a tan and green outfit with long decorative strands on her shoulders. Selphie watched from the top of the Reception. There was also a substancial group of people watching Tidus expectantly, and even some of the other teams had arrived to see the new move. Briefly, Tidus wondered if he should have demonstrated the move in the Practice Pool, but then again, he had been a showoff since he was little.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tidus crowed, getting their attention. "May I present to you, a wonder of a Blitzball move from Zanarkand! A move that hasn't been seen in over ten years! I present to you, the Jecht Shot!"
Tidus turned, put one foot on the ball and kicked it out. It slammed against the pillar which he punched it hard when it rebounded towards him. It hit the pillar, spun briefly in place as it shot upwards. Tidus leapt a good fifteen feet in the air, spinning around like a vertical top as one foot came up, and slammed against the ball.
The Blitzball zoomed out into the open air, nearly hitting a reporter, a fountain and in the distance at the Sphere Theatre, the sound of breaking glass and a very loud "OW!" could be heard.
Landing gracefully, Tidus bowed as many of the watchers applauded, thinking it was an act for the local Blitz attendees. Tidus noticed, with some satisfaction, that the Luca Goers in the crowd looked green with either envy, jealosy, or fear.
Sauntering up to Wakka, Wakka grinned widely. "Man, that was some shot. How'd you do that?"
"Practice," said Tidus. "My old man told me that I could never do that shot. Imagine his surprise if I told him today that I could do the shot blindfolded."
"Who was your father, Tidus?" asked Yuna.
Tidus' expression turned sour. "Jecht," he said in a tone of voice that made it sound like he wasn't happy to talk about him. "He died, ten years ago. Off the coast of Zanarkand."
"Jecht? A man named Jecht, was High Summoner Braska's father." Lulu folded her arms. "Could it be possible that the Jecht you know and the Sir Jecht is the same person?"
Tidus shrugged helplessly. "I don't really know. I thought he died ten years ago."
Selphie leapt off the top of the Registration Booth and landed with a soft thump, startling anyone who was not used to her antics. "Well, it could be one freaky coincidence," she reasoned.
Botta shrugged as he then checked the timepiece above the Registration booth. "We should get back to the locker room, prepare for the last game."
"Right," said Wakka, getting up under his own power. "Lets do this."
"We'll be waiting for you upstairs in the stands," said Lulu as she turned and walked away with Yuna and Rikku. Selphie, Irvine and Zell followed quickly after.
"Final match of the tournament. Lets do this!" Keepa said as the Aurochs headed back downstairs.
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"Hey! Auron! Hey..." Selphie trailed off as she reached the fairly empty stands where the crimson clad man previously sat, watching the game with her. "Where'd he go?"
"Auron?" Yuna asked. "You know Auron?"
Selphie looked at Yuna and said, "Tall guy, scar, big sword, dressed in red?"
Zell almost fell over in shock. "THAT IDIOT?! What's HE doing here?"
Lulu and Yuna looked at Zell like he had grown a second head and declared himself Sin. "Treat him with a little more respect, Zell," Lulu said coldly.
"Kinda hard to respect someone when they grab you by the shirt and let you get sucked into Sin," Zell grumbled, flopping down on the hard bench ungainly.
Irvine shrugged as he sat down. Rikku sat down next to him and said, "Hey, why don't you take off your jacket? It's gotta be hot, right?"
Irvine thought of the commotion that would happen by just removing his jacket. "Um, no."
Rikku pouted. "Aw c'mon, don't be such a fraidy cat!" She began to wrestle with Irvine's coatsleeve. "It's so hot and you must be sweating!"
Irvine was sweating all right, considering the heat of the day. Lulu sighed and turned her attention to the sphere. Yuna giggled, but otherwise did not help the gunman. Zell had a smirk plastered over his face as he leaned back on the stands. Kimahri just grunted, folding his arms. It didn't look it, but it was hot for Kimahri as well. But he had learned to deal with it, considering he lived ten years in sunny, tropical Besaid.
Rikku had managed to remove Irvine's sleeve when a few bullets fell out of his coat with a loud tinkling sound. Intregued, Rikku stopped her fussing over Irvine's state of dress and picked up the bullets. "Wow," she said, eyeing them in the sunlight. "These are really high yield explosives."
"They're not explosives, they're bullets," Irvine grumbled, making a grab for them. Rikku darted out of the way as she admired the craftsmanship.
"Really? Bullets that we have are hard iron balls." Rikku nibbled at her lower lip in thought. "Do you think I could borrow a couple and try and duplicate them?"
"Hell no!" Irvine exclaimed, wrestling the bullets away from Rikku. "These are hard to make! They're Armor Piercing Bullets, top of the line and very powerful!"
"Correction; you bought them at Esthars new store," Zell said with a snort of a laugh. Selphie giggled as Irvine scowled.
"Whatever. I'm sure there's no shops for AP Bullets now," said Irvine sourly. "I doubt Cloud's shop would be around. It was in Esthar and by now, that city must be gone."
"Cloud's shop?" Lulu asked. "A store of machina weaponry?"
"Kind of an all around shop," Selphie said. She then turned her attention to the sphere pool. "Looks like the game is about to start."
As usual, the pair of announcers for the Blitz tournament were favoring the lineup for the Luca Goers while continually pointing out the twenty-three years of loosing continually. Yuna wrung her hands together as Rikku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They have a good chance of winning, right?"
"Wakka and the Aurochs are a strong team," said Lulu, shaking her head. "But they've suffered so many losses, it can become demoralizing."
Zell leaned forward and interlaced his fingers in thought. "I think they have a chance. I don't know much about Blitzball, but they do seem to work as a team. If they keep pressing on, they have a good chance of winning."
As they watched, the two teams swam out to meet each other. Meeting at the center, Bickson offered a handshake which Wakka reached out to grasp. Suddenly, Bickson changed his handshake to his infamous handshake punch. Wakka shook his fist at Bickson as the red haired man slapped his backside and smirked. With a very reluctant look on the Aurochs side, the teams seperated and settled down in their positions. The horn was sounded, and the roar of Bobba the announcer was heard.
"And there goes the ball! Wakka claims the ball and he's off! Stopped by Graav, ooh, he's going to feel that in the morning! And the ball is claimed by Graav! Bickson! Doram! Raudy, OW! And he gets it with a nasty tackle by Botta of the Aurochs! Botta passes it to Tidus who, oh my Yevon is that a Sphere Shot? He shoots! He scores! And the Aurochs score first!"
Wakka slapped Tidus on the back as he grinned at him. Suddenly, he was struck from behind with a foot. Wakka went reeling as Bickson sniggered silently. Tidus lunged at him but was restrained by his teammates. Selphie leapt from her seat and screamed, "Foul! Foul!"
"Foul! And Bickson displays his usual roudyness with a cheap shot to the backside!" Bobba announced. "I'm surprised that the Ref didn't call that one!"
"Yes, Bobba, that was a cheap shot. And the Referee is setting up the ball for the Blitzoff."
The horn sounded once again and the minutes began to tick off. "And it's Wakka, Tidus, setting up for a Sphere Shot! Oh geez! That kid's going to feel that in the morning! Abus takes the ball, breaks through Jassu and Botta! He shoots, and yes! Keepa misses it and it's a Goal! That brings the score to 1-1!"
"This looks like anyones game," Irvine said.
"This is so damn cool!" Zell enthused.
Rikku nodded. "I play, but not as good as they do."
"Come on, Wakka, Tidus," Yuna said, her fingernails digging crecents into her palm from the pressure. "You can do it."
"Blitzoff! And it's Wakka, to Letty, to Botta, to Jassu, to Tidus, to Wakka, looks like keepaway! Wakka heading for the goal, punches through Doram and Balgerda, oooh, that was some nasty Nap Tackle from Balgerda! I'm amazed Wakka is still awake! And Wakka shoots a Wither Shot! It goes, and whoa! Raudy buckles under the hit! I think he's been withered folks! And Letty Volley Shots the free rebound, and it goes in! Goal! 2-1 Aurochs!"
A loud horn sounded once again as the cheering intencified. "And that was the Halftime Horn! Amazing, Jimma, the Aurochs are playing like a well oiled machine today!"
"Yes indeed, Bobba. They seem to have found a wellspring of strength and power today to get this one goal lead on the Goers. A five minute break for halftime as the players regroup in the locker rooms to prepare for the second half."
"I should go see if Wakka is all right," Yuna said, moving to get up.
Kimahri placed a hand on her shoulder, and shook his head. "Wakka strong. Be fine."
Yuna smiled as she sat back down. Zell leaned in to Selphie and asked, "I thought he didn't talk from what Wakka said."
"He did a while ago," Selphie replied. "Back in Kilika. He doesn't speak often though."
Lulu shook her head as the teams swam out to the center for the second half of the game. "Hush. The second half is about to start again."
"Blitzoff!" Crowed the stadium patrons as Graav claimed the ball. He swam out towards the goal as Wakka made a motion towards Graav. Graav found himself besieged by three players as he broke through one, but a tremendous kick from Letty wrested the ball from him. Letty powered his throw into a Nap Pass and hurled it towards Jassu who had swam across the mid-field line. Jassu caught the ball and was immediately stopped by Doram who wrestled with him. Jassu flipped over her, spinning around in a winding throw to Botta.
"And it looks like the Aurochs are on defence!" crowed Bobba. "Strange that their defenders are out in the middle of the field!"
Jassu's throw to Botta proved well timed as Botta incapacitated Balgerda with a Nap Tackle that sent the woman into a light snooze. He caught the ball as he immediately powered it into a Venom Pass 2 and hurled it to Tidus. Tidus caught it, made two motions and the whole team charged for the goal.
"And what's this? Looks like the Aurochs are mounting an all out assult on the goal! With thirty seconds left on the clock! Tidus, pass to Wakka! Wakka stopped by Bickson and Graav. Wakka shoots! Rebounds off Bickson! Smacks it again! Rebounds off Graav! The ball goes up and there goes Tidus after it! Tidus, spinning around! He shoots! He SCORES! And the Aurochs in an amazing play, wins the Crystal Cup in a 3-1 Finale over the Goers!"
"Amazing Bobba! To think that a team that had lost for twenty-three years came back and kicked the Goers out of the tournament, winning the cup in the same motion!"
The Auroch fan stands, including the Guardians and Yuna especially, were cheering themselves hoarse. "We won! We won! Oh Lulu we won!" Yuna screamed happily, jumping up and down in joy.
Lulu was laughing loudly, displaying her emotions for everyone to see. "Oh Wakka," she said, wiping a tear of joy from her eyes.
Kimahri smiled, bearing teeth in the Ronso way as Selphie joined the small festival with Rikku and Yuna. Irvine and Zell shouted and whistled.
"We have to congratulate Wakka!" Yuna said, laughing as she ran for the stairs. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Yuna turned and gasped as a fiends suddenly flooded into the stadium. Even the sphere pool was without fiends as the Goers fled. Wakka claimed the Blitzball floating in the sphere pool and crushed a Sahagin's skull with a mighty throw. Another one was sliced open by Tidus Longsword.
More and more fiends began to pour into the stadium. Kimahri came to the rescue of a girl with long pink gloves and short brown hair as he ripped apart a Vouivre with a mighty slice of his Halberd, the fire breathing monster vanishing into pyreflies. Zell kicked another fiend, a Mi'hen Fang, into the air kicked it twice in the air and kicked the Fang into the wall. It yelped and died, exploding into pyreflies.
Irvine's rifle spoke twice as he blasted the head off of a Garuda. The giant bird crashed into the side of the stadium, vanishing into pyreflies. "SeeD!" He shouted, feeling nostalgic.
Yuna casted a healing spell on a injured guard who had been knocked down and bitten by several fangs. Rikku had pulled out a wicked claw weapon from her back pocket and savagely ripped them apart. Lulu drew and casted several varieties of Fire magic at the various fiends.
"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Zell groused as he snapped a Mi'hen Fang over his knee, breaking it's spine. He glowed with red energy as he rushed into the pack, shouting various technique names before glowing a brilliant red light as he shouted, "Meteor Barret!" He literally drove through the body of a giant Garuda, emerging from the other side. The Garuda vanished into pyreflies.
"Limit Break Time!" Selphie crowed. She flared with light and pointed at a huge group of fiends. "The End!"
What happened next would have Wakka swearing he was halucinating when he and Tidus arrived to the fight, dripping wet from their time in the sphere pool. A huge group of fiends just laid down in a patch of flowers that suddenly appeared and they vanished painlessly, as if they were Sent. Wakka shook his head, muttered, "I must be seeing things," and went to work demolishing airborn fiends with precise throws of his Blitzball.
Tidus waded into the fray, slashing and hacking. He was knocked back by a large Vouivre who then inhaled and breathed fire on him. Tidus threw up his arms to shield his face as flames engulphed him.
"Tidus!" Yuna shouted, pausing to dodge and club a Mi'hen Fang over the head rather ineffectively. It was quickly dispatched of by a blast of magic from Lulu.
From the flames, Tidus suddenly leapt out, a bit singed but rather fine as he glowed in mid air, flipping around. The blade of his longsword cleaved the Vouvire in two as the halves vanished. "Oh yeah!" Tidus shouted, grinning like a maniac.
"They're endless!" Irvine shouted, shooting two airborne fiends out of the air. "How are we supposed to stop them?"
"I can think of one way!" Zell shouted. "Yuna, summon something!"
Yuna nodded as she got some space. Kimahri moved to protect her, as with Lulu. A glyph formed around her as Valefor soared into view from the heavens. It began clawing the Garudas that flew around the stadium.
"It's go time!" Selphie shouted. She called forth a Guardian Force from her mind and it responded. Zell did the same, as with Irvine.
Light spun around the trio as their best GF's came quickly. The pair of Brothers appeared before Irvine. Zell's Quetzacotl appeared in the skies above, and a whistle in the distance was heard as a pair of train track guards appeared.
"Everyone out of the way!" Zell roared as Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri herded the people out of the way.
Quetzacotl's beak flashed with electrical power as it slammed into the fiends. Many died in the initial attack as a huge dome of raw electricity electrocuted several others in the immediate area.
Brothers, Minotaur and Sacred, herded their opponents into a contained area as Sacred hauled a huge piece of false earth from the ground, and threw the ground fiends into the air. A quick game of Rock, Paper, Sissors wound up with Sacred being tossed into the air. A resounding crash was heard as the piece of earth exploded into fragments, taking the fiends with them.
The train track guards then lowered as a whistle was heard. Fiends trapped within the firey tracks were either squished or slammed into the air where they immediately exploded into pyreflies as Doomtrain ran them over and quickly vanished as with Brothers and Quetzacotl.
The Guardian Forces, along with Valefor had signifigantly decreased the population of fiends in the area. Tidus and Kimahri, the ones with the bladed weapons, went to town on most of the land based fiends while Zell took on the speedy Mi'hen Fangs. Selphie drew and casted Protect and Haste repeatedly, making the already speedy team of Guardians and SeeD's even faster. Together, they defeated many fiends, but soon, they began to tire.
Wakka's muscles burned from the fighting and the Blitzball Tournament. He threw his Blitzball at the closest enemy, but was dismayed to see it crush the skull of the Garuda. The fiend bared it's sharp beak and with a screech, flew at him. Wakka braced himself and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact. But without warning, the head of the Garuda fell off. Wakka opened his eyes and gasped at the holder of the blade that had saved him. "Sir Auron!"
"Sir Auron!" Yuna exclaimed.
"Hey, where did you get to?" Selphie exclaimed hotly.
"Never mind that," Auron said, rounding on another Vouvire, slicing it in half. His sharp Katana cut through many fiends like they were butter.
"Man, he's good," Wakka said in awe.
"It's nothing special," Tidus said, letting himself rest from the fight as Auron carved up more fiends. Silently though, he was impressed at the way Auron handled himself. It reminded him a lot of his old man, though how much it pained him to think of Jecht.
Zell slumped to his knees as he breathed heavily. "Man, is that all of them?"
"I think so," Lulu said as Auron ripped one last Garuda apart. "Thank you for your help."
"Aw shucks, ma'am," Irvine drawled, despite his tiredness. "Wern't nothing."
Auron finished off the last Garuda and walked back. He looked at the exhausted group and raised his good eyebrow. "Tired already?" he quipped, his voice low and even.
"Very funny, Auron," Tidus grumbled.
At that moment, Maester Mika walked out onto the Balcony. He looked down and called out, "Summoner Yuna. Has the situation been handled?"
"Maester Mika!" Yuna made the sign of prayer to the aged man. "Yes, it has."
"Praise be to Yevon," Mika said with a smile.
Without warning, a Garuda rose up from behind the sphere pool, hidden from the fighters. It screeched and headed for the Maester. Tidus broke into action as he charged for the Maester. Running up the stairs, he leapt, and tackled the elderly Maester as the Garuda nearly took out his head. The Garuda rounded, and Tidus brought up his sword to try and defeat it.
And in an instant, the Garuda had exploded into pyreflies. Tidus lowered his arm as a man stood over him.
The man held out his hand and helped him and Maester Mika to their feet. Tidus looked at the man and said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," replied the man. The man then turned to Maester Mika and asked, "Maester Mika, are you all right?"
"Thanks to this heroic young man," Mika said, nodding. "Thank you."
The man smiled, turned, and was in an instant, glomped by three estatic SeeDs with a cry of "Squall!"
===================
"AURON! YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!" shouted Tidus as he got into the man's face. "What the hell did you do, bringing us here?"
"Calm down," Auron replied. "All will be explained."
"Damn well better be," grumbled Tidus, backing off. "So, talk."
"You must have felt it. When you came in contact with Sin. A familiar presence, one that you cannot forget." A look came over Tidus' face as he thought it over. "Sin, is Jecht."
"My old man?" said Tidus, aghast. "The thing SeeD has been fighting since who knows when is my old man? That can't be right! It can't!"
"I am sorry," said Auron.
Tidus punched the nearest column. "So then what? How will I tell mom that my old man is, well, Sin? She'd die of the shock! You know how fragile she is already!"
"We will find a way." Auron then turned around to where Selphie, Irvine and Zell were clustered around Squall. Tidus looked over and folded his arms.
"So who is that guy? A friend of yours?" asked Tidus.
"Squall," Auron replied. "He was Lord Braska's Guardian, as I was."
Finishing up their discussion, Squall lead the SeeDs over towards Tidus and Auron. Squall, Tidus noted, had long brown hair, and a wicked looking scar crossing his forehead. He was dressed for travelling in jeans, crossed belts, a plain white shirt and a blue jacket. Around his neck was worn a necklace with a roaring lion head on it, mixed with a cross. "Auron," said Squall. "Are we ready to go?"
"Yes." Auron turned to Tidus. "I am going to offer my services as a Guardian to Yuna. Are you coming along?"
Tidus scuffed the floor with one sneaker. "All right, I'm coming."
=================
Yuna herself was surprised when Auron came strolling up with Tidus. No less surprised when Auron and Tidus, plus the four SeeDs offered their services as Guardians. Inwardly, she had been pleasantly surprised that so many people were willing to come along with her. "Thank you. Thank you all." Yuna said, bowing to everyone.
"Man," said Wakka. "There's so many Guardians now."
"You'd rather we leave?" Auron asked, and Wakka shook his head wildly.
"It is getting late," said Lulu. "We should get some rest for the night."
"No kidding." Wakka grinned, despite his tiredness. "This thing is getting heavy."
=================
"Hey, sleepyhead!" Wakka called from the table. Tidus had walked in, looking rather rumpled from a long sleep. Already, three tables had been pushed together to accomodate the large group of people.
The SeeD's were sitting together, with the exception of Selphie, Yuna and Rikku. The three girls had formed a strong bond, as attested to Lulu who was up all night, listening to the girls chatter, laughing and trading tips on things. The Black Mage, similarly, looked a bit less rested as she had dark bags under her eyes. Tidus suspected she would need some more sleep before heading out.
Kimahri was silent, but ate a simple meal of fish, rice and various other foods. Wakka seemed energetic, a huge happy grin pasted on his face. Of course, it could be attested to the huge Crystal Cup that sat on the top of the middle table, presented to everyone who walked by. The Aurochs sat with them as well, and Datto looked much better from his brush with the Demba Fruit. Auron was quiet of course, as in his wont, and he ate silently, absorbing the conversations around him.
Zell and Irvine were coaxing stories out of an unusually chattery Squall. From what Zell told him the night before, getting Squall to speak was like trying to pull teeth from a Malboro. Squall also looked different from the descriptions Irvine provided. His hair was longer, and he wore a simple shirt with a jean jacket. He also looked at least ten years older. His most powerful Gunblade, Lion Heart, hung at his side in a sheath. He still wore the Lion Heart chain around his neck, and it flashed in the light.
Sitting down next to Wakka, he grabbed a plate and piled it high with various food. Digging in rapidly, Tidus quickly choked and downed a glass of water. "You okay man?" asked Wakka. "You look like you haven't eaten in days."
"I'm fine," said Tidus, coughing. "I'm just really hungry. Feels like a thousand years since I ate."
A slight chuckle emerged from Auron as Tidus shot him a glare. Auron stabbed a sausage with his fork and smirked before sawing off the end of it. "Slow down," Auron said. "Your mother would have a coniption if you ate so quickly."
"Mom's not here, is she?" Tidus replied, a wise-ass smirk on his face.
Auron merely chuckled as he returned to his own breakfast.
From across the table, Lulu stifled a huge yawn as she rubbed at her eyes tiredly. Wakka leaned over, concerned. "Lu, did you get any sleep last night?"
"No," Lulu replied, a bit irritated. "I was kept up all night."
Yuna went red. "I'm sorry Lulu." Rikku and Selphie giggled.
Lulu shook her head as she stood up. "I will go get another hours sleep before the journey today."
"Where are we headed?" Selphie asked curiously.
"To Djose Temple, past Mi'hen Highroad and Mushroom Highroad," Rikku answered. "Right?"
"Yes," Yuna said. "The next stop is the Temple of Djose where I will pray to the Fayth there."
"So now what?" Irvine asked. "Do we travel together?"
"It's the best idea," said Squall. "Considering we have all offered our services as Guardians."
"All right then," said Yuna, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "We'll give Lulu a couple of hours of sleep and then we'll head out. Let us all meet at the entrance to the Mi'hen Highroad in two hours."
The large group broke into smaller groups. Yuna, Rikku and Selphie, already inseperable, went off together with Kimahri trailing behind. Tidus, Wakka, Zell and Irvine went off while Squall remained at the table, eating quietly. Wakka turned to the Aurochs before leaving and said, "We'll see you guys at the locker room. Have something to discuss, ya?"
"Capt'n!" the Aurochs chorused.
=================
"Oooh, this is cool, Yunie!" Rikku exclaimed, holding up a pair of shorts and a tight decorative top that had a hood at the back of it and the decorative blitzball symbol on the front. The shorts had a long flowing blue and white half skirt on the left that seemed to appear like water. A brown belt and armbands and black knee length boots completed the outfit.
Yuna flushed very red. "Isn't that a bit short?"
Rikku shrugged as she put the outfit aside. "But it would look so good on you!"
Selphie laughed as Yuna shook her head. "I don't think I would have the nerve to wear something like that right now."
"Aw c'mon Yunie. We could wear it just once, save it for special occasions, right?" Rikku pouted. "I'll wear one if you do."
Yuna sighed. She couldn't say no to her perky younger cousin. "All right."
Selphie then yanked an outfit from the rack as she held it up. "Hey Rikku, check this one out!"
Rikku looked the outfit over. It was a yellow bikini swimsuit with a pair of tight brown shorts, held up by a belt that had two pouches on it. Along with the outfit came a long red-orange scarf and two long arm-length gloves that were full of bows with a matching deep blue headband. Matching blue and white boots finished off the look. Rikku squealed. "Wow, that would look so good on me!" Taking the outfit from Selphie, she held it up to the light. "I like it. I'm going to go change!"
Rikku ran off into the changing room as Yuna sighed. Selphie giggled as she handed Yuna her own outfit. The Summoner went off to change with a rather reluctant air.
Selphie sat down next to Kimahri who wore a strange expression of amusement. "What do you think, Kimahri? Anything I should get?"
There was a long pause as Kimahri said, "Selphie, should wear that." He pointed to a manequin as Selphie looked over.
It was a dress somewhat in the style of her own yellow one, but with yellow denim gloves, a functional short scarf and a decorative brown belt with pouches. Selphie tapped her lip in thought. "Looks really good. You have a great fashion sence, Kimahri!" Selphie got up and got the outfit from the woman at the counter. She then went to change as well.
Kimahri sighed quietly to himself. It wasn't easy, guarding Yuna. Especially when she had two hyperactive Guardians with her. He briefly wondered how Lulu slept at all last night. He could hear the laughter and squeals from the girls room, and he was three doors down with Squall and Auron, who despite quiet protests, snored.
When the girls re-emerged from their changing rooms, Kimahri had to raise an eyebrow at the outfits. But then resumed his normal stotic expression. There was some worry on his part when Rikku convinced the girls to wear their outfits at least to the next stop. Lulu would be amused, Kimahri was certian of that. Wakka would have a conniption. Tidus and Auron, he did not know too well, but there was something trustworthy about the pair of them. The SeeDs, they would handle the change well.
Kimahri could only wince as he gave up some of his Gil for the outfits. He had been eyeing a shiny new Halberd. His own was getting dull from the constant use. But he hid his emotions quite well as the girls paid for their outfits. Kimahri could only hope that someone else decided to lend the money so he could pick up that Halberd for himself.
After giving the girls Spheres to contain their old clothing in, the group headed out. It had been almost two hours and someone had to go wake up Lulu.
===================
"All right team!" said Wakka as the Aurochs piled into the locker room. "Winning the Tournament is the best thing that could have happened to us. I'm proud of you boys. But, it's time for me to retire."
"You've been saying this for weeks now, Capt'n Wakka," said Datto who was his second in command. "Without you, we'll be a man short."
Wakka nodded. "I know boys, but we can find someone to play."
"What about Tidus?" asked Letty. "He's a really good shooter."
"It'll be hard, but it could be a good distraction when we need a pick me up," said Wakka. "You up for it?"
"Lemme at em!" said Tidus with a grin.
Wakka nodded, grinning. "All right. But just as a precaution, in case Tidus can't make it to the game, we should hire another forward."
"Irvine and I could go out scouting for someone," said Zell. "There's gotta be a lot of Blitzers in the area. What are we looking for?"
The Aurochs muttered and shrugged to themselves as Botta said, "We don't really like Al Bhed that much, so lets try to keep it to people who aren't Al Bhed."
"Right. No Al Bhed." said Tidus, making a mental note on that. "Okay then, lets get going. We have an hour and a half to find a forward."
After an hour, Zell, Tidus and Irvine rejoined each other in the front of the Reception stands. "Find anyone?" asked Zell.
"I scouted a couple of people," said Tidus. "Wedge, one of the guards, and Zev Ronso."
"Found one down near the bridge," Irvine said, jerking a thumb at the bridge behind them. "A reporter named Shaami. She's had some experience before."
"I only found a couple of people, but one of them was an Al Bhed." Zell scratched his head. "I dunno what the big deal about Al Bhed is with those teams. I guess it's a race difference or something. The Al Bhed guy is named Nedus and he's a good forward with excellent shooting ability. The other is one of the guards up there, Biggs. He's a good forward as well."
"We should get them together and try them out in the practice pool," said Tidus. "Lets tell Wakka about them."
As it turned out, Wakka was pleasantly surprised at the variety of people they had found. He wasn't too pleased with the Al Bhed guy, but he could shoot. In the end, they picked up Shaami for their main forward and Nedus as their all around backup, as the Guardians were due to head out to Djose within a half hour.
Heading back to the town square, Wakka's jaw dropped as he saw the girls new outfits. "Wha? What in the world are you wearing?!"
"Aw lighten up, it's just clothes," said Tidus, though he was openly gaping at Yuna. Zell smirked and Irvine wished he had a camera.
Yuna blushed prettily as Auron and Squall arrived along with Lulu who looked much more refreshed from her power nap. Auron turned to Kimahri and said, "You look broke."
Kimahri grunted. "Yuna, Rikku and Selphie drain Kimahri wallet. No money for Halberd. Halberd dull, less pointy."
"I have some gil on me," said Zell. He yanked out his wallet and withdrew some of the bills. Kimahri took them, looked them over and nodded. Walking over to the nearest vendor, he purchased a wicked looking Halberd and sold his old one. The Halberd seemed to gleam a dark ebony color as Kimahri returned with a lot of change.
"Kimahri thank Zell." said the Ronso. "Here is change."
"Aw, that wasn't much. Keep the change." said Zell. Kimahri pocketed the bills.
"I'm surprised currency hasn't changed in a few thousand years," said Selphie.
"That's one of things that has remained consistant over the centuries," Auron said, shouldering his own blade. "Come. We should get going."
As the Guardians headed for the stairs, Tidus hung back with Yuna. "You look good," he said.
Yuna flushed. "Um, thank you."
"Hey, do you know how to whistle?" asked Tidus.
"Whistle?"
Tidus put his fingers to his mouth and blew a shrill note. Yuna blinked. "It's not that hard," Tidus said as they accended the stairs. "Just put your fingers in the mouth like this, and blow."
Yuna copied his motions and blew. A sort of warbling sound was heard as Yuna giggled.
Tidus smiled, pleased at her first try. "Just whistle, and I'll come running."
"Ah. Thank you, Tidus." said Yuna. She ran up the stairs as Tidus sighed.
Wakka dropped back and said, "She's cute, ya?"
"Totally," Tidus said with a grin.
"Don't get any funny ideas ya?" Wakka warned in a big brother sort of way.
"Heh. Who knows." Tidus got a faraway look on his face. "Though... maybe I'll bring her to Zanarkand. If I can find my way home, we'll go visit."
"You sure you're not affected by Sin's toxin?" Wakka asked.
Tidus laughed, patted Wakka on the back and charged up the stairs to where everyone waited. "All right! Time to go to the Temple of Djose!"
Chapter 4 : History Long Past
================
Slowly, the world came into focus.
Yuna rubbed her eyes as they readjusted to the bright lights of a large room aboard what appeared to be an Al Bhed ship. She sat in a room with a heavy steel door at the opposite end. And the window behind her was covered in a fine mesh that was interwoven into the glass itself, hard to break even with spells. She felt dizzy, like someone had clubbed her over her head with a blunt object. That, or someone wanted to use her head as a Blitzball with Wakka shooting repeatedly.
Sighing to herself, Yuna got up and brushed her long dress off. Walking across the room, she peered out the bars and called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Suddenly, a face popped up from behind the small window of bars. "Hi!"
Yuna gasped, and stumbled backwards in shock. The door opened and a pretty young Al Bhed girl stood behind it, a tray of warm food in her hands. "Sorry about all this, but it's needed."
She gave the food to Yuna who looked at her curiously. "You.... are Rikku, are you not?"
The girl smiled broadly. "Yeah! I'm glad you remember, Yuna."
"So your brother was the one who took me here. But why?" said Yuna.
"It's a long story," said Rikku as she sat down, closing the door behind her. "Promise not to get mad?"
Yuna nodded while taking a bite out of the fruit pie that lay on the tray.
Rikku sighed. "We're abducting Summoners, because we want to find a way to keep them from sacrificing themselves when battling Sin. My dad, Cid, came up with the idea to abduct as many Summoners as possible to prevent them from going to Zanarkand and throwing away their lives."
"But the Final Summoning is the only way to defeat Sin," said Yuna. "The only way."
"But there MUST be another way!" Rikku exclaimed. "You don't understand. It's hard to see summoners try and try again, only to see them die at the end of their journey! I don't want you to die!"
"I'm sorry. Can you bring me back? I am sure everyone is worried about me." said Yuna.
Rikku paused in thought. She then nodded. "I'll take you back after you regain your equilibrium. That stuff we used to knock you out is kinda potent and leaves you dizzy for a little while."
Yuna smiled. "Thank you."
================
"Yeah, I saw her. She was being carried over an Al Bhed's shoulder towards Dock Four. Kinda strange, but I didn't take any notice of it."
"Thanks man." Leaving Biggs to his guard duty, Zell jogged down to the front desk of the Blitzball Reception and said to the others, "Yuna is most likely at Dock Four. The Al Bhed took her."
"But why?" said Irvine. He folded his arms. "There doesn't seem to be a reason for it."
"They could force Wakka to throw the game," said Lulu. "We should hurry."
Kimahri grunted and his grip on the lance tightened.
Picking up their pace, they rushed towards the dock. No sooner that they had rounded the corner, that a trio of squat mechanical robots leapt out at them. Zell sidestepped one with a yelp as it smashed into Irvine, sending him stumbling back. "What the hell?" Zell exclaimed.
"Ancient Machina, salvaged by the Al Bhed," Lulu calmly explained. She sent a bolt of lightning down at one, causing it to explode violently into bits. "They are vulnerable to thunder spells."
One exploded with the thunderous impact of Zell's fist, while another's functions died with the loud rapport of Irvine's gun. "Or just shoot or punch it," Zell remarked, tightening his gloves. Lulu gave him a glare.
Rushing down the walkway, Kimahri spun around another which slashed at him with a mechanical arm. His lance thrust into the joints that held it together, and wrenched a gaping hole in it. Lulu fired off another thunder spell into the gaping hole, which blasted it into smithereens. Zell looked at Lulu who looked slightly worn out. "You're using your internal mana," he warned as he kicked one while grasping its outstretched arm. The arm ripped off and the machine twitched and deactivated. "The more you use it, the more tired you become. Try drawing some magic from them."
"But they are not living beings," said Lulu, firing another Thunder spell with a gesture of her left hand.
Irvine shook his head while calmly blasting the head off another squat machine. "Doesn't matter. A lot of machines carry various versions of para- magic, especially thunder spells of the common variety. Go ahead."
Lulu looked penisive about drawing in the middle of battle. Kimahri grunted, and Lanceted the machines. Their internal energy depleted, they collapsed into useless hunks of metal. Smoothly sidestepping another of the endless machines as they rushed down the walkway, Lulu focused on the nearest one. the Jade balls screamed out from it and she felt new power flow through her body. She then snapped out as green magic flared around her. "Thunder!"
A similar bolt lanced down from the heavens and struck the nearby machine. Instead of feeling the drain from her internal mana, Lulu mentally noted a tally knock down one point from her internal stock. Constantly drawing from the various machines, they finally reached Dock Four where an Al Bhed ship sat.
With Kimahri in the lead, they climbed the ramp to the dock. No sooner than they had boarded, then a huge machine rose from the deck below. It was big, with two mechanical arms on either side, and a spinning pair of gears on the top. It rumbled menacingly as it barred the way between them and the door. Zell groaned. "Aw man. This is not helping."
The sides opened up, and a flurry of Blitzballs flew out at them. It would have been laughable, save for the fact that the velocity of the balls made dents in the deck and the side of the dock.
Zell tightened his gloves, grinned wolfishly and crowed, "Lets get it on!"
================
"Boy, they sure are late." said Selphie. She sat in the stands, saving seats for her friends who had promised to return shortly. Sighing, she settled down to watch the game.
"Pleasant day." Selphie jumped. She had been so into the game, the Beasts versus the Fangs, that she had not noticed the man who sat down beside her. He was an odd one, dressed in a dark red robe that had a gold trimmed shoulder guard, woven directly into the robe itself. He wore black with a skintight shirt that had gold trim on it, revealing strong sculped muscles. His left arm was thrust through the front of his robe, and it dangled there. She had a suspicion that it could be useless but that thought was quickly dispelled as it twitched and she caught a glimpse of his heavily muscled left arm under the robe.
At his side he carried a long blade. It was like a katana, only much bigger in size and weight. On his belt, he carried a clay jug of what she supposed was wine of some sort. He sported black hair in a sprayed slicked back look, sunglasses and a scar that went from his forehead, over his eye and down to his jawline on his right eye.
"Um... yes it is." The man was strong. She could feel it, and he carried quite the amount of untrained para-magic within that frame.
"I hope I am not interrupting you. I am Auron." said the man.
"Selphie." Selphie said.
"Ah. So you are the girl who accompanied Summoner Yuna from Besaid." Sizing her up with a critical look, Auron smiled, but ever so briefly. It reminded her of Squall in a sence. "You have a strong spirit, and a powerful heart."
Selphie didn't know how to take that compliment, so she just smiled and said, "Thank you." Turning her attention to the game, she remarked, "Who do you think will win the Tournament?"
"The Aurochs." Auron's tone held no contradiction. It was like a solid statement. "The Aurochs will win."
"I want them to win too," Selphie said. "It's so sad, not winning their matches for the last ten years."
"They have a strong team. And Tidus is with them." Auron considered the match as the Ronsos scored another goal with a powerful kick.
Selphie turned to Auron, surprised. "How do you know about Tidus?"
"I raised him," was the simple answer.
Before Selphie could comment on that, the horn rang, and both teams swam out for the next teams to play. The Announcers said that the Aurochs and the Psyches were playing next.
================
"We ready?" Wakka crowed to the Besaid Aurochs.
"Cap't!" The Aurochs chanted.
"All right, lets get out there and show them who's boss!" Wakka shouted, tromping out of the locker room, Tidus and the other Aurochs behind him.
As Wakka prepared to enter the sphere pool, Tidus stopped him. "Wakka, relax man. You're so tense." He then grinned easily. "Just let it all out. Everyone. One big sigh. It'll help."
The Aurochs all let out a tremendous sigh. Then, Jassu, the blonde haired and dark skinned player grinned. "That was relaxing. Okay! Lets win out there!"
The sphere pool door opened up and they walked through the door and into the pool. There, hanging before them was the glowing sphere pool. Wakka took a breath, and leapt headfirst into the pool. Tidus dived into the pool, closely followed by slender Jassu, paunchy Keepa, red haired Batto and dark haired, dark skinned and tatooed Letty.
Swimming out to meet their opponents, the Psyches were made up of slender Al Bhed, a mix of female and male players. From what Tidus figured, they were definately fast with excellent passing and catching skills. Arranging the team, Tidus took Left Forward while Wakka settled down at Middle Forward, and Batto at Right Forward. Jassu settled down on the glyph platform at Left Defence, while Letty settled down at Right Defence. Keepa settled comfortably, swimming at the goal.
Wakka gave Tidus a smile as the horn was blown, and the Blitzball was shot off with the crowd roaring "Blitzoff!"
Wakka claimed the ball and the game was on.
=================
Irvine aimed and fired. But to his surprise, his bullet only made a sizable dent in the Oblitzerators armor. "Well, that's not good," he remarked, dodging a hail of blitzballs.
Kimahri rushed in, driving his spear into the center of the Oblitzerators innards, twisting. But with an electrical discharge, Kimahri flew back and rolled to Lulu's feet, smoking. He grunted and stumbled to his feet.
Zell cast a cure spell towards Kimahri who grunted in thanks. Flashing a grin, Zell rushed in and punched the Oblitzerator hard enough to make it knock backwards a bit. The machine suddenly zapped Zell with an attack, sending him flying backwards. Zell rolled to his feet, singed but otherwise unharmed. "Wow, that packs a punch."
Lulu seemed to be concentrating as light swirled around her. Zell and Irvine recognized it as a limit break of some sorts. Raising her arm, lightning crackled around it. "Thunder Fury!" Lulu shouted, sending down a hail of ten lightning bolts down at the machine. It seemed to groan under the stress of the blasts as it wobbled dangerously. But regaining its footing, the Oblitzerator fired off a volley of blitzballs at Lulu.
Lulu was knocked backwards off her feet, almost sliding off the edge of the platform if Irvine had not caught her in time. Helping the pale lady to her feet, Irvine grinned and fired off a few rounds, making sizable dents into the Oblitzerators armor. He then scowled angrily. "This is getting us nowhere."
Another volley nearly knocked Zell off the edge of the platform. Grabbing the nearby crane to slow his flight, he yanked himself onto the crane's operator seat and winced as his shoulder protested the quick action. "Definately not getting us anywhere.
Another round of thunder spells scarred the Oblitzerators' armor as Kimahri went to town on the armor, creating huge rents in the armor. He grunted and slammed his weapon deep into the firing mechanism of the Blitzballs. The mechanism jammed and whined in protest as Irvine aimed carefully and shot several bullets into the mechanism. It ruptured with a thundering crash and Blitzballs went flying everywhere. Several struck Zell from his perch and he fell off the crane and into the water with a yelp. There was a splash, and moments later, a shout came up from the waters surface. "I'm okay! Water broke my fall!"
Irvine shook his head as he loaded his weapon with Armor Piercing ammo. He only had so much left, and could use it sparringly. Taking aim, he shot a hole right through the generators on the top of the machine, ripping a sizable hunk out of the twin turbines. The machine sputtered as the teeth failed to catch and continue generating energy.
The machine sputtered and crackled with energy. Kimahri charged at the machine, and shoved his lance into the open hole. He twisted it around as the machine groaned and strained from the destruction of its insides. With a final shove, Kimahri drove his lance deep into the Oblitzerators soft working innards, ruining them.
The Oblitzerator groaned, sank to one knee and then with a creak of metal on metal, crashed to the ground.
Lulu wiped her forehead as Irvine walked over and pulled Zell up from the edge of the craft. Zell had been able to clamber back up to the top. Kimahri shook his head. "Lets go," Lulu said, striding past the hulk of a machine.
When they approached the door to the inside of the ship, it hissed open, revealing a girl standing beside Yuna who looked fairly healthy. The girl was dressed in Al Bhed tan, deep red and greens, but her features were recognisable, outside of the skintight watersuit she used to wear.
"It's you! The girl from the ship we came in on!" Zell exclaimed in surprise.
The girl nodded. "Yeah. I'm Rikku."
"You know this girl?" Lulu asked curiously. Irvine had the same look on his face and Kimahri was attending to Yuna who looked a bit flustered by being taken care of the hulk of a Ronso.
"Yeah, she was the girl who fished me and Tidus out of the ocean," Zell said. "Wierd, huh?"
Lulu turned to Rikku. "So why exactly did you kidnap Yuna? Are you trying to make the Aurochs forfeit the game?"
Rikku waved her hands frantically as she shook her head. "No no no, nothing like that!" she said. "It's... kinda hard to explain really."
"Hey, someone should get a message to Wakka, tell him Yuna is safe and sound," Irvine said, leaning against the crane.
Lulu nodded, conjoured up a ball of light and tossed it into the air. After that, she turned to Rikku. "Turn this ship around. We need to get back."
"Lulu," Yuna said, speaking for the first time. "Please, don't be too hard on Rikku." A pause. "She is my cousin."
There were rapid blinking from Zell and Irvine but Lulu and Kimahri didn't seem surprised, other than a slight narrowing of Lulu's red eyes. "Are you sure?"
Yuna nodded. "Yes. My uncle, Cid, is at the helm of the ship. He is turning it around back to Luca as we speak. And Lulu... I wish for Rikku to become my guardian."
Lulu palmed her forehead in a very Squall-like manner. "Are you certian, Yuna? They did kidnap you."
"Yeah but, it was for a good reason!" said Rikku in a forceful manner. "We want to stop the cycle of death!"
Irvine looked over his shoulder. The boat had come into docking position at the harbor and was easing in at dock four once more. "We should discuss this with everyone else. The Game is about to end."
"The game!" Yuna gasped. As soon as the ship docked, she rushed down the stairs to the nearest Sphere. Sure enough, the game had ended and the announcers were making the final comments on the Psyches vs the Aurochs.
"Well Bobba, it looks like Wakka pulled a new trick out of his hat today as the Aurochs actually make it past the first round. Looks like history in the making as they advance to the finals against the Luca Goers."
"Aw, our team lost!" Rikku said, dejected. "Aw well, there's always the Blitz Season."
=================
"Hey, you sure you're okay?" asked Tidus as Wakka collapsed on the bench.
"Yeah," said Wakka, his chest heaving as he let out groans of pain. "need to rest up. No worries, I won't be ditching the last game of the Tournament. Win or lose, I'm going out with a bang."
Tidus smirked. "We're going to win. And speaking of winning, we have a half an hour before gametime. Time to show you a little move my dad once showed me."
Wakka looked at Tidus blankly before the blonde SeeD Cadet hauled him to his feet. Tidus shouldered Wakka as he turned to the rest of the team. "Anyone can come along. The new move is a doozy."
"What kind of move is it?" Datto asked curiously. He had regained some of his color from eating the poisonous fruit and was helped up by Jassu.
Tidus smirked, despite the lousy memories he had of his father, Jecht. "It's got a dumb name. The Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark Three."
The assembled Aurochs blinked curiously. "Kinda long name, ain't it?" said Letty.
"It's a dumb name," Tidus said dismissively. "My dad gave it the name. The Announcers cut it down to the Jecht Shot."
Following Tidus out of the room, down the hallway and up the stairs into the main center of the hub between the five docks and the reception, the group found themselves in the reception area. Tidus carried a Blitzball in one hand, Wakka shouldered over his other. The Aurochs sat down next to the Reception as people watched on.
Walking out into the middle of the reception area, Tidus located a large pillar that stood facing a large outside section without the high roof. Tidus set down the ball and turned around to the Aurochs who had been joined by Zell, Irvine, Kimahri, Lulu, Yuna and the girl from the Al Bhed Ship who was now wearing a tan and green outfit with long decorative strands on her shoulders. Selphie watched from the top of the Reception. There was also a substancial group of people watching Tidus expectantly, and even some of the other teams had arrived to see the new move. Briefly, Tidus wondered if he should have demonstrated the move in the Practice Pool, but then again, he had been a showoff since he was little.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Tidus crowed, getting their attention. "May I present to you, a wonder of a Blitzball move from Zanarkand! A move that hasn't been seen in over ten years! I present to you, the Jecht Shot!"
Tidus turned, put one foot on the ball and kicked it out. It slammed against the pillar which he punched it hard when it rebounded towards him. It hit the pillar, spun briefly in place as it shot upwards. Tidus leapt a good fifteen feet in the air, spinning around like a vertical top as one foot came up, and slammed against the ball.
The Blitzball zoomed out into the open air, nearly hitting a reporter, a fountain and in the distance at the Sphere Theatre, the sound of breaking glass and a very loud "OW!" could be heard.
Landing gracefully, Tidus bowed as many of the watchers applauded, thinking it was an act for the local Blitz attendees. Tidus noticed, with some satisfaction, that the Luca Goers in the crowd looked green with either envy, jealosy, or fear.
Sauntering up to Wakka, Wakka grinned widely. "Man, that was some shot. How'd you do that?"
"Practice," said Tidus. "My old man told me that I could never do that shot. Imagine his surprise if I told him today that I could do the shot blindfolded."
"Who was your father, Tidus?" asked Yuna.
Tidus' expression turned sour. "Jecht," he said in a tone of voice that made it sound like he wasn't happy to talk about him. "He died, ten years ago. Off the coast of Zanarkand."
"Jecht? A man named Jecht, was High Summoner Braska's father." Lulu folded her arms. "Could it be possible that the Jecht you know and the Sir Jecht is the same person?"
Tidus shrugged helplessly. "I don't really know. I thought he died ten years ago."
Selphie leapt off the top of the Registration Booth and landed with a soft thump, startling anyone who was not used to her antics. "Well, it could be one freaky coincidence," she reasoned.
Botta shrugged as he then checked the timepiece above the Registration booth. "We should get back to the locker room, prepare for the last game."
"Right," said Wakka, getting up under his own power. "Lets do this."
"We'll be waiting for you upstairs in the stands," said Lulu as she turned and walked away with Yuna and Rikku. Selphie, Irvine and Zell followed quickly after.
"Final match of the tournament. Lets do this!" Keepa said as the Aurochs headed back downstairs.
=================
"Hey! Auron! Hey..." Selphie trailed off as she reached the fairly empty stands where the crimson clad man previously sat, watching the game with her. "Where'd he go?"
"Auron?" Yuna asked. "You know Auron?"
Selphie looked at Yuna and said, "Tall guy, scar, big sword, dressed in red?"
Zell almost fell over in shock. "THAT IDIOT?! What's HE doing here?"
Lulu and Yuna looked at Zell like he had grown a second head and declared himself Sin. "Treat him with a little more respect, Zell," Lulu said coldly.
"Kinda hard to respect someone when they grab you by the shirt and let you get sucked into Sin," Zell grumbled, flopping down on the hard bench ungainly.
Irvine shrugged as he sat down. Rikku sat down next to him and said, "Hey, why don't you take off your jacket? It's gotta be hot, right?"
Irvine thought of the commotion that would happen by just removing his jacket. "Um, no."
Rikku pouted. "Aw c'mon, don't be such a fraidy cat!" She began to wrestle with Irvine's coatsleeve. "It's so hot and you must be sweating!"
Irvine was sweating all right, considering the heat of the day. Lulu sighed and turned her attention to the sphere. Yuna giggled, but otherwise did not help the gunman. Zell had a smirk plastered over his face as he leaned back on the stands. Kimahri just grunted, folding his arms. It didn't look it, but it was hot for Kimahri as well. But he had learned to deal with it, considering he lived ten years in sunny, tropical Besaid.
Rikku had managed to remove Irvine's sleeve when a few bullets fell out of his coat with a loud tinkling sound. Intregued, Rikku stopped her fussing over Irvine's state of dress and picked up the bullets. "Wow," she said, eyeing them in the sunlight. "These are really high yield explosives."
"They're not explosives, they're bullets," Irvine grumbled, making a grab for them. Rikku darted out of the way as she admired the craftsmanship.
"Really? Bullets that we have are hard iron balls." Rikku nibbled at her lower lip in thought. "Do you think I could borrow a couple and try and duplicate them?"
"Hell no!" Irvine exclaimed, wrestling the bullets away from Rikku. "These are hard to make! They're Armor Piercing Bullets, top of the line and very powerful!"
"Correction; you bought them at Esthars new store," Zell said with a snort of a laugh. Selphie giggled as Irvine scowled.
"Whatever. I'm sure there's no shops for AP Bullets now," said Irvine sourly. "I doubt Cloud's shop would be around. It was in Esthar and by now, that city must be gone."
"Cloud's shop?" Lulu asked. "A store of machina weaponry?"
"Kind of an all around shop," Selphie said. She then turned her attention to the sphere pool. "Looks like the game is about to start."
As usual, the pair of announcers for the Blitz tournament were favoring the lineup for the Luca Goers while continually pointing out the twenty-three years of loosing continually. Yuna wrung her hands together as Rikku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "They have a good chance of winning, right?"
"Wakka and the Aurochs are a strong team," said Lulu, shaking her head. "But they've suffered so many losses, it can become demoralizing."
Zell leaned forward and interlaced his fingers in thought. "I think they have a chance. I don't know much about Blitzball, but they do seem to work as a team. If they keep pressing on, they have a good chance of winning."
As they watched, the two teams swam out to meet each other. Meeting at the center, Bickson offered a handshake which Wakka reached out to grasp. Suddenly, Bickson changed his handshake to his infamous handshake punch. Wakka shook his fist at Bickson as the red haired man slapped his backside and smirked. With a very reluctant look on the Aurochs side, the teams seperated and settled down in their positions. The horn was sounded, and the roar of Bobba the announcer was heard.
"And there goes the ball! Wakka claims the ball and he's off! Stopped by Graav, ooh, he's going to feel that in the morning! And the ball is claimed by Graav! Bickson! Doram! Raudy, OW! And he gets it with a nasty tackle by Botta of the Aurochs! Botta passes it to Tidus who, oh my Yevon is that a Sphere Shot? He shoots! He scores! And the Aurochs score first!"
Wakka slapped Tidus on the back as he grinned at him. Suddenly, he was struck from behind with a foot. Wakka went reeling as Bickson sniggered silently. Tidus lunged at him but was restrained by his teammates. Selphie leapt from her seat and screamed, "Foul! Foul!"
"Foul! And Bickson displays his usual roudyness with a cheap shot to the backside!" Bobba announced. "I'm surprised that the Ref didn't call that one!"
"Yes, Bobba, that was a cheap shot. And the Referee is setting up the ball for the Blitzoff."
The horn sounded once again and the minutes began to tick off. "And it's Wakka, Tidus, setting up for a Sphere Shot! Oh geez! That kid's going to feel that in the morning! Abus takes the ball, breaks through Jassu and Botta! He shoots, and yes! Keepa misses it and it's a Goal! That brings the score to 1-1!"
"This looks like anyones game," Irvine said.
"This is so damn cool!" Zell enthused.
Rikku nodded. "I play, but not as good as they do."
"Come on, Wakka, Tidus," Yuna said, her fingernails digging crecents into her palm from the pressure. "You can do it."
"Blitzoff! And it's Wakka, to Letty, to Botta, to Jassu, to Tidus, to Wakka, looks like keepaway! Wakka heading for the goal, punches through Doram and Balgerda, oooh, that was some nasty Nap Tackle from Balgerda! I'm amazed Wakka is still awake! And Wakka shoots a Wither Shot! It goes, and whoa! Raudy buckles under the hit! I think he's been withered folks! And Letty Volley Shots the free rebound, and it goes in! Goal! 2-1 Aurochs!"
A loud horn sounded once again as the cheering intencified. "And that was the Halftime Horn! Amazing, Jimma, the Aurochs are playing like a well oiled machine today!"
"Yes indeed, Bobba. They seem to have found a wellspring of strength and power today to get this one goal lead on the Goers. A five minute break for halftime as the players regroup in the locker rooms to prepare for the second half."
"I should go see if Wakka is all right," Yuna said, moving to get up.
Kimahri placed a hand on her shoulder, and shook his head. "Wakka strong. Be fine."
Yuna smiled as she sat back down. Zell leaned in to Selphie and asked, "I thought he didn't talk from what Wakka said."
"He did a while ago," Selphie replied. "Back in Kilika. He doesn't speak often though."
Lulu shook her head as the teams swam out to the center for the second half of the game. "Hush. The second half is about to start again."
"Blitzoff!" Crowed the stadium patrons as Graav claimed the ball. He swam out towards the goal as Wakka made a motion towards Graav. Graav found himself besieged by three players as he broke through one, but a tremendous kick from Letty wrested the ball from him. Letty powered his throw into a Nap Pass and hurled it towards Jassu who had swam across the mid-field line. Jassu caught the ball and was immediately stopped by Doram who wrestled with him. Jassu flipped over her, spinning around in a winding throw to Botta.
"And it looks like the Aurochs are on defence!" crowed Bobba. "Strange that their defenders are out in the middle of the field!"
Jassu's throw to Botta proved well timed as Botta incapacitated Balgerda with a Nap Tackle that sent the woman into a light snooze. He caught the ball as he immediately powered it into a Venom Pass 2 and hurled it to Tidus. Tidus caught it, made two motions and the whole team charged for the goal.
"And what's this? Looks like the Aurochs are mounting an all out assult on the goal! With thirty seconds left on the clock! Tidus, pass to Wakka! Wakka stopped by Bickson and Graav. Wakka shoots! Rebounds off Bickson! Smacks it again! Rebounds off Graav! The ball goes up and there goes Tidus after it! Tidus, spinning around! He shoots! He SCORES! And the Aurochs in an amazing play, wins the Crystal Cup in a 3-1 Finale over the Goers!"
"Amazing Bobba! To think that a team that had lost for twenty-three years came back and kicked the Goers out of the tournament, winning the cup in the same motion!"
The Auroch fan stands, including the Guardians and Yuna especially, were cheering themselves hoarse. "We won! We won! Oh Lulu we won!" Yuna screamed happily, jumping up and down in joy.
Lulu was laughing loudly, displaying her emotions for everyone to see. "Oh Wakka," she said, wiping a tear of joy from her eyes.
Kimahri smiled, bearing teeth in the Ronso way as Selphie joined the small festival with Rikku and Yuna. Irvine and Zell shouted and whistled.
"We have to congratulate Wakka!" Yuna said, laughing as she ran for the stairs. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air. Yuna turned and gasped as a fiends suddenly flooded into the stadium. Even the sphere pool was without fiends as the Goers fled. Wakka claimed the Blitzball floating in the sphere pool and crushed a Sahagin's skull with a mighty throw. Another one was sliced open by Tidus Longsword.
More and more fiends began to pour into the stadium. Kimahri came to the rescue of a girl with long pink gloves and short brown hair as he ripped apart a Vouivre with a mighty slice of his Halberd, the fire breathing monster vanishing into pyreflies. Zell kicked another fiend, a Mi'hen Fang, into the air kicked it twice in the air and kicked the Fang into the wall. It yelped and died, exploding into pyreflies.
Irvine's rifle spoke twice as he blasted the head off of a Garuda. The giant bird crashed into the side of the stadium, vanishing into pyreflies. "SeeD!" He shouted, feeling nostalgic.
Yuna casted a healing spell on a injured guard who had been knocked down and bitten by several fangs. Rikku had pulled out a wicked claw weapon from her back pocket and savagely ripped them apart. Lulu drew and casted several varieties of Fire magic at the various fiends.
"This isn't getting us anywhere!" Zell groused as he snapped a Mi'hen Fang over his knee, breaking it's spine. He glowed with red energy as he rushed into the pack, shouting various technique names before glowing a brilliant red light as he shouted, "Meteor Barret!" He literally drove through the body of a giant Garuda, emerging from the other side. The Garuda vanished into pyreflies.
"Limit Break Time!" Selphie crowed. She flared with light and pointed at a huge group of fiends. "The End!"
What happened next would have Wakka swearing he was halucinating when he and Tidus arrived to the fight, dripping wet from their time in the sphere pool. A huge group of fiends just laid down in a patch of flowers that suddenly appeared and they vanished painlessly, as if they were Sent. Wakka shook his head, muttered, "I must be seeing things," and went to work demolishing airborn fiends with precise throws of his Blitzball.
Tidus waded into the fray, slashing and hacking. He was knocked back by a large Vouivre who then inhaled and breathed fire on him. Tidus threw up his arms to shield his face as flames engulphed him.
"Tidus!" Yuna shouted, pausing to dodge and club a Mi'hen Fang over the head rather ineffectively. It was quickly dispatched of by a blast of magic from Lulu.
From the flames, Tidus suddenly leapt out, a bit singed but rather fine as he glowed in mid air, flipping around. The blade of his longsword cleaved the Vouvire in two as the halves vanished. "Oh yeah!" Tidus shouted, grinning like a maniac.
"They're endless!" Irvine shouted, shooting two airborne fiends out of the air. "How are we supposed to stop them?"
"I can think of one way!" Zell shouted. "Yuna, summon something!"
Yuna nodded as she got some space. Kimahri moved to protect her, as with Lulu. A glyph formed around her as Valefor soared into view from the heavens. It began clawing the Garudas that flew around the stadium.
"It's go time!" Selphie shouted. She called forth a Guardian Force from her mind and it responded. Zell did the same, as with Irvine.
Light spun around the trio as their best GF's came quickly. The pair of Brothers appeared before Irvine. Zell's Quetzacotl appeared in the skies above, and a whistle in the distance was heard as a pair of train track guards appeared.
"Everyone out of the way!" Zell roared as Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri herded the people out of the way.
Quetzacotl's beak flashed with electrical power as it slammed into the fiends. Many died in the initial attack as a huge dome of raw electricity electrocuted several others in the immediate area.
Brothers, Minotaur and Sacred, herded their opponents into a contained area as Sacred hauled a huge piece of false earth from the ground, and threw the ground fiends into the air. A quick game of Rock, Paper, Sissors wound up with Sacred being tossed into the air. A resounding crash was heard as the piece of earth exploded into fragments, taking the fiends with them.
The train track guards then lowered as a whistle was heard. Fiends trapped within the firey tracks were either squished or slammed into the air where they immediately exploded into pyreflies as Doomtrain ran them over and quickly vanished as with Brothers and Quetzacotl.
The Guardian Forces, along with Valefor had signifigantly decreased the population of fiends in the area. Tidus and Kimahri, the ones with the bladed weapons, went to town on most of the land based fiends while Zell took on the speedy Mi'hen Fangs. Selphie drew and casted Protect and Haste repeatedly, making the already speedy team of Guardians and SeeD's even faster. Together, they defeated many fiends, but soon, they began to tire.
Wakka's muscles burned from the fighting and the Blitzball Tournament. He threw his Blitzball at the closest enemy, but was dismayed to see it crush the skull of the Garuda. The fiend bared it's sharp beak and with a screech, flew at him. Wakka braced himself and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact. But without warning, the head of the Garuda fell off. Wakka opened his eyes and gasped at the holder of the blade that had saved him. "Sir Auron!"
"Sir Auron!" Yuna exclaimed.
"Hey, where did you get to?" Selphie exclaimed hotly.
"Never mind that," Auron said, rounding on another Vouvire, slicing it in half. His sharp Katana cut through many fiends like they were butter.
"Man, he's good," Wakka said in awe.
"It's nothing special," Tidus said, letting himself rest from the fight as Auron carved up more fiends. Silently though, he was impressed at the way Auron handled himself. It reminded him a lot of his old man, though how much it pained him to think of Jecht.
Zell slumped to his knees as he breathed heavily. "Man, is that all of them?"
"I think so," Lulu said as Auron ripped one last Garuda apart. "Thank you for your help."
"Aw shucks, ma'am," Irvine drawled, despite his tiredness. "Wern't nothing."
Auron finished off the last Garuda and walked back. He looked at the exhausted group and raised his good eyebrow. "Tired already?" he quipped, his voice low and even.
"Very funny, Auron," Tidus grumbled.
At that moment, Maester Mika walked out onto the Balcony. He looked down and called out, "Summoner Yuna. Has the situation been handled?"
"Maester Mika!" Yuna made the sign of prayer to the aged man. "Yes, it has."
"Praise be to Yevon," Mika said with a smile.
Without warning, a Garuda rose up from behind the sphere pool, hidden from the fighters. It screeched and headed for the Maester. Tidus broke into action as he charged for the Maester. Running up the stairs, he leapt, and tackled the elderly Maester as the Garuda nearly took out his head. The Garuda rounded, and Tidus brought up his sword to try and defeat it.
And in an instant, the Garuda had exploded into pyreflies. Tidus lowered his arm as a man stood over him.
The man held out his hand and helped him and Maester Mika to their feet. Tidus looked at the man and said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," replied the man. The man then turned to Maester Mika and asked, "Maester Mika, are you all right?"
"Thanks to this heroic young man," Mika said, nodding. "Thank you."
The man smiled, turned, and was in an instant, glomped by three estatic SeeDs with a cry of "Squall!"
===================
"AURON! YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!" shouted Tidus as he got into the man's face. "What the hell did you do, bringing us here?"
"Calm down," Auron replied. "All will be explained."
"Damn well better be," grumbled Tidus, backing off. "So, talk."
"You must have felt it. When you came in contact with Sin. A familiar presence, one that you cannot forget." A look came over Tidus' face as he thought it over. "Sin, is Jecht."
"My old man?" said Tidus, aghast. "The thing SeeD has been fighting since who knows when is my old man? That can't be right! It can't!"
"I am sorry," said Auron.
Tidus punched the nearest column. "So then what? How will I tell mom that my old man is, well, Sin? She'd die of the shock! You know how fragile she is already!"
"We will find a way." Auron then turned around to where Selphie, Irvine and Zell were clustered around Squall. Tidus looked over and folded his arms.
"So who is that guy? A friend of yours?" asked Tidus.
"Squall," Auron replied. "He was Lord Braska's Guardian, as I was."
Finishing up their discussion, Squall lead the SeeDs over towards Tidus and Auron. Squall, Tidus noted, had long brown hair, and a wicked looking scar crossing his forehead. He was dressed for travelling in jeans, crossed belts, a plain white shirt and a blue jacket. Around his neck was worn a necklace with a roaring lion head on it, mixed with a cross. "Auron," said Squall. "Are we ready to go?"
"Yes." Auron turned to Tidus. "I am going to offer my services as a Guardian to Yuna. Are you coming along?"
Tidus scuffed the floor with one sneaker. "All right, I'm coming."
=================
Yuna herself was surprised when Auron came strolling up with Tidus. No less surprised when Auron and Tidus, plus the four SeeDs offered their services as Guardians. Inwardly, she had been pleasantly surprised that so many people were willing to come along with her. "Thank you. Thank you all." Yuna said, bowing to everyone.
"Man," said Wakka. "There's so many Guardians now."
"You'd rather we leave?" Auron asked, and Wakka shook his head wildly.
"It is getting late," said Lulu. "We should get some rest for the night."
"No kidding." Wakka grinned, despite his tiredness. "This thing is getting heavy."
=================
"Hey, sleepyhead!" Wakka called from the table. Tidus had walked in, looking rather rumpled from a long sleep. Already, three tables had been pushed together to accomodate the large group of people.
The SeeD's were sitting together, with the exception of Selphie, Yuna and Rikku. The three girls had formed a strong bond, as attested to Lulu who was up all night, listening to the girls chatter, laughing and trading tips on things. The Black Mage, similarly, looked a bit less rested as she had dark bags under her eyes. Tidus suspected she would need some more sleep before heading out.
Kimahri was silent, but ate a simple meal of fish, rice and various other foods. Wakka seemed energetic, a huge happy grin pasted on his face. Of course, it could be attested to the huge Crystal Cup that sat on the top of the middle table, presented to everyone who walked by. The Aurochs sat with them as well, and Datto looked much better from his brush with the Demba Fruit. Auron was quiet of course, as in his wont, and he ate silently, absorbing the conversations around him.
Zell and Irvine were coaxing stories out of an unusually chattery Squall. From what Zell told him the night before, getting Squall to speak was like trying to pull teeth from a Malboro. Squall also looked different from the descriptions Irvine provided. His hair was longer, and he wore a simple shirt with a jean jacket. He also looked at least ten years older. His most powerful Gunblade, Lion Heart, hung at his side in a sheath. He still wore the Lion Heart chain around his neck, and it flashed in the light.
Sitting down next to Wakka, he grabbed a plate and piled it high with various food. Digging in rapidly, Tidus quickly choked and downed a glass of water. "You okay man?" asked Wakka. "You look like you haven't eaten in days."
"I'm fine," said Tidus, coughing. "I'm just really hungry. Feels like a thousand years since I ate."
A slight chuckle emerged from Auron as Tidus shot him a glare. Auron stabbed a sausage with his fork and smirked before sawing off the end of it. "Slow down," Auron said. "Your mother would have a coniption if you ate so quickly."
"Mom's not here, is she?" Tidus replied, a wise-ass smirk on his face.
Auron merely chuckled as he returned to his own breakfast.
From across the table, Lulu stifled a huge yawn as she rubbed at her eyes tiredly. Wakka leaned over, concerned. "Lu, did you get any sleep last night?"
"No," Lulu replied, a bit irritated. "I was kept up all night."
Yuna went red. "I'm sorry Lulu." Rikku and Selphie giggled.
Lulu shook her head as she stood up. "I will go get another hours sleep before the journey today."
"Where are we headed?" Selphie asked curiously.
"To Djose Temple, past Mi'hen Highroad and Mushroom Highroad," Rikku answered. "Right?"
"Yes," Yuna said. "The next stop is the Temple of Djose where I will pray to the Fayth there."
"So now what?" Irvine asked. "Do we travel together?"
"It's the best idea," said Squall. "Considering we have all offered our services as Guardians."
"All right then," said Yuna, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "We'll give Lulu a couple of hours of sleep and then we'll head out. Let us all meet at the entrance to the Mi'hen Highroad in two hours."
The large group broke into smaller groups. Yuna, Rikku and Selphie, already inseperable, went off together with Kimahri trailing behind. Tidus, Wakka, Zell and Irvine went off while Squall remained at the table, eating quietly. Wakka turned to the Aurochs before leaving and said, "We'll see you guys at the locker room. Have something to discuss, ya?"
"Capt'n!" the Aurochs chorused.
=================
"Oooh, this is cool, Yunie!" Rikku exclaimed, holding up a pair of shorts and a tight decorative top that had a hood at the back of it and the decorative blitzball symbol on the front. The shorts had a long flowing blue and white half skirt on the left that seemed to appear like water. A brown belt and armbands and black knee length boots completed the outfit.
Yuna flushed very red. "Isn't that a bit short?"
Rikku shrugged as she put the outfit aside. "But it would look so good on you!"
Selphie laughed as Yuna shook her head. "I don't think I would have the nerve to wear something like that right now."
"Aw c'mon Yunie. We could wear it just once, save it for special occasions, right?" Rikku pouted. "I'll wear one if you do."
Yuna sighed. She couldn't say no to her perky younger cousin. "All right."
Selphie then yanked an outfit from the rack as she held it up. "Hey Rikku, check this one out!"
Rikku looked the outfit over. It was a yellow bikini swimsuit with a pair of tight brown shorts, held up by a belt that had two pouches on it. Along with the outfit came a long red-orange scarf and two long arm-length gloves that were full of bows with a matching deep blue headband. Matching blue and white boots finished off the look. Rikku squealed. "Wow, that would look so good on me!" Taking the outfit from Selphie, she held it up to the light. "I like it. I'm going to go change!"
Rikku ran off into the changing room as Yuna sighed. Selphie giggled as she handed Yuna her own outfit. The Summoner went off to change with a rather reluctant air.
Selphie sat down next to Kimahri who wore a strange expression of amusement. "What do you think, Kimahri? Anything I should get?"
There was a long pause as Kimahri said, "Selphie, should wear that." He pointed to a manequin as Selphie looked over.
It was a dress somewhat in the style of her own yellow one, but with yellow denim gloves, a functional short scarf and a decorative brown belt with pouches. Selphie tapped her lip in thought. "Looks really good. You have a great fashion sence, Kimahri!" Selphie got up and got the outfit from the woman at the counter. She then went to change as well.
Kimahri sighed quietly to himself. It wasn't easy, guarding Yuna. Especially when she had two hyperactive Guardians with her. He briefly wondered how Lulu slept at all last night. He could hear the laughter and squeals from the girls room, and he was three doors down with Squall and Auron, who despite quiet protests, snored.
When the girls re-emerged from their changing rooms, Kimahri had to raise an eyebrow at the outfits. But then resumed his normal stotic expression. There was some worry on his part when Rikku convinced the girls to wear their outfits at least to the next stop. Lulu would be amused, Kimahri was certian of that. Wakka would have a conniption. Tidus and Auron, he did not know too well, but there was something trustworthy about the pair of them. The SeeDs, they would handle the change well.
Kimahri could only wince as he gave up some of his Gil for the outfits. He had been eyeing a shiny new Halberd. His own was getting dull from the constant use. But he hid his emotions quite well as the girls paid for their outfits. Kimahri could only hope that someone else decided to lend the money so he could pick up that Halberd for himself.
After giving the girls Spheres to contain their old clothing in, the group headed out. It had been almost two hours and someone had to go wake up Lulu.
===================
"All right team!" said Wakka as the Aurochs piled into the locker room. "Winning the Tournament is the best thing that could have happened to us. I'm proud of you boys. But, it's time for me to retire."
"You've been saying this for weeks now, Capt'n Wakka," said Datto who was his second in command. "Without you, we'll be a man short."
Wakka nodded. "I know boys, but we can find someone to play."
"What about Tidus?" asked Letty. "He's a really good shooter."
"It'll be hard, but it could be a good distraction when we need a pick me up," said Wakka. "You up for it?"
"Lemme at em!" said Tidus with a grin.
Wakka nodded, grinning. "All right. But just as a precaution, in case Tidus can't make it to the game, we should hire another forward."
"Irvine and I could go out scouting for someone," said Zell. "There's gotta be a lot of Blitzers in the area. What are we looking for?"
The Aurochs muttered and shrugged to themselves as Botta said, "We don't really like Al Bhed that much, so lets try to keep it to people who aren't Al Bhed."
"Right. No Al Bhed." said Tidus, making a mental note on that. "Okay then, lets get going. We have an hour and a half to find a forward."
After an hour, Zell, Tidus and Irvine rejoined each other in the front of the Reception stands. "Find anyone?" asked Zell.
"I scouted a couple of people," said Tidus. "Wedge, one of the guards, and Zev Ronso."
"Found one down near the bridge," Irvine said, jerking a thumb at the bridge behind them. "A reporter named Shaami. She's had some experience before."
"I only found a couple of people, but one of them was an Al Bhed." Zell scratched his head. "I dunno what the big deal about Al Bhed is with those teams. I guess it's a race difference or something. The Al Bhed guy is named Nedus and he's a good forward with excellent shooting ability. The other is one of the guards up there, Biggs. He's a good forward as well."
"We should get them together and try them out in the practice pool," said Tidus. "Lets tell Wakka about them."
As it turned out, Wakka was pleasantly surprised at the variety of people they had found. He wasn't too pleased with the Al Bhed guy, but he could shoot. In the end, they picked up Shaami for their main forward and Nedus as their all around backup, as the Guardians were due to head out to Djose within a half hour.
Heading back to the town square, Wakka's jaw dropped as he saw the girls new outfits. "Wha? What in the world are you wearing?!"
"Aw lighten up, it's just clothes," said Tidus, though he was openly gaping at Yuna. Zell smirked and Irvine wished he had a camera.
Yuna blushed prettily as Auron and Squall arrived along with Lulu who looked much more refreshed from her power nap. Auron turned to Kimahri and said, "You look broke."
Kimahri grunted. "Yuna, Rikku and Selphie drain Kimahri wallet. No money for Halberd. Halberd dull, less pointy."
"I have some gil on me," said Zell. He yanked out his wallet and withdrew some of the bills. Kimahri took them, looked them over and nodded. Walking over to the nearest vendor, he purchased a wicked looking Halberd and sold his old one. The Halberd seemed to gleam a dark ebony color as Kimahri returned with a lot of change.
"Kimahri thank Zell." said the Ronso. "Here is change."
"Aw, that wasn't much. Keep the change." said Zell. Kimahri pocketed the bills.
"I'm surprised currency hasn't changed in a few thousand years," said Selphie.
"That's one of things that has remained consistant over the centuries," Auron said, shouldering his own blade. "Come. We should get going."
As the Guardians headed for the stairs, Tidus hung back with Yuna. "You look good," he said.
Yuna flushed. "Um, thank you."
"Hey, do you know how to whistle?" asked Tidus.
"Whistle?"
Tidus put his fingers to his mouth and blew a shrill note. Yuna blinked. "It's not that hard," Tidus said as they accended the stairs. "Just put your fingers in the mouth like this, and blow."
Yuna copied his motions and blew. A sort of warbling sound was heard as Yuna giggled.
Tidus smiled, pleased at her first try. "Just whistle, and I'll come running."
"Ah. Thank you, Tidus." said Yuna. She ran up the stairs as Tidus sighed.
Wakka dropped back and said, "She's cute, ya?"
"Totally," Tidus said with a grin.
"Don't get any funny ideas ya?" Wakka warned in a big brother sort of way.
"Heh. Who knows." Tidus got a faraway look on his face. "Though... maybe I'll bring her to Zanarkand. If I can find my way home, we'll go visit."
"You sure you're not affected by Sin's toxin?" Wakka asked.
Tidus laughed, patted Wakka on the back and charged up the stairs to where everyone waited. "All right! Time to go to the Temple of Djose!"