Chapter 10 - The Ancient City/How Could You
The airship Milevan's men used were definitely faster than the one Cid had, but the wait was still too long for Tidus. He walked up and down in the corridor behind the cockpit with his hands behind his back.

"Damn it!" he punched the wall.

"What's wrong?" Felix asked, entering from the back of the sleek airship.

"How could this have happened?" he shook his head, "I just get back, and then Yuna is taken from me. Aagh, I'll make that Milevan pay."

"Don't get overconfident, Milevan's stronger than he lets on."

"How would you know?" Tidus replied sarcastically, "You just stood there and let him take Yuna without doing anything about it. Who are you anyway?"

"Hah," Felix laughed, "Yuna asked me the same thing before we reached the dome."

"Then why don't you tell them?" Lulu's voice echoed off the wall.

"Tell us what?" Tidus asked.

"It's nothing," Felix shook his head, glaring at Lulu.

He walked past her into the back of the ship. Tidus and Lulu exchanged glances before she followed him. He was walking quicker than her, heading up onto the observation deck of the ship. The clouds were rushing by at a tremendous speed, though they were not going quite as fast as the ship that Cid had unearthed.

"What the hell is your problem?" Lulu asked.

"Just go away," Felix waved his arm at her, "It's clear now you only wanted to get the truth from me."

"Is this what this is about!" Lulu screamed. "Yevon, I'm so mad I could summon all the forces of nature and turn you into a pile of ashes before you could blink!"

"Then why don't you do it?" Felix glared at her, "Come on, kill me now!"

"You're delusional," Lulu snapped, "What's wrong with you?"

"Forget it," Felix turned away from her, leaning on the railing.

"Tell me!" Lulu grabbed his arm, "Why are so angry?"

Felix looked at her, caught by surprise with Lulu's aggressiveness. He looked down at her hand gripping his arm then back to her face. He stared into her eyes for a moment, searching for something to say.

"Do you what it's like to be the son of a summoner like Braska?" he asked.

"I know how Yuna felt," Lulu replied.

"But I'm not like Yuna," Felix shook his head, mumbling under his breath, "I didn't have the talent. I couldn't become a summoner like my father."

"So that's what this is all about," Lulu leaned on the rail, looking at him hanging his head, "You weren't good enough?"

"That's right," Felix nodded, "My father was disgraced. Not only did he break the teachings, but he had a son who wasn't a summoner. I failed him, I was a vyemina."

"Don't say that," Lulu tried to comfort him. A vyemina was an Al Bhed term for 'failure', a title given to people in Yevon who failed in their duty to the teachings. Such was the case for Crusaders who fled from battle against Sin, or Summoners who quit their pilgrimage, or guardians who failed to protect their summoner. To that end, Lulu had often called herself a vyemina privately, not for failing to protect her summoner, but for betraying Chappu, "I haven't heard that word in a long time."

"Yuna was everything to the people in Bevelle," Felix continued, "They talked about her constantly when she was born. They said things like 'the daughter of the summoner Braska, she could be the one to defeat Sin after her father' or 'Finally, the summoner produces a worthy child'."

"Felix, I'm sorry," Lulu put her arm around his back.

"I hated it, every day of my life," Felix clenched his hands in a fist, pounding his right hand on the rail, "So one day, I left Bevelle."

"Did Yuna know?"

"Yuna didn't know I existed. She was cared for by the church while I lived at an Al Bhed shop with some friends of my mother's."

"Hey!" Tidus called from the doorway, "We're over the moonflow, are you two coming?"

"We'll be right there," Lulu called back. Tidus nodded before leaving the room. She waited until he was gone before turning back to Felix, "I doubt Braska hated you for not being a summoner. He probably loved you as much as he did Yuna. Now let's go rescuer her."

"I don't know if I can," Felix turned and started walking towards the exit, "Milevan's awfully strong."

"Look," Lulu grabbed his arm again, spinning him to face her, "Yuna needs us and you're not going if you can't handle it. Don't lose it now, Felix."

"I'm sorry, Lulu, but being around Yuna, then seeing how happy she was with her lover," he turned his head away, "But then that monster took her!"

"Use that anger," Lulu kissed him wrapping her arms around him, "Use it to defeat him."

"You know," he whispered, holding his arms around her back, "If we make it out of here, I promise to tell Yuna the truth. The truth about everything."

"It's a deal."

They followed Tidus towards the exit hatch where the others waiting.

"Everyone ready?" Wakka asked, his blitzball under his arm.

Kimarhi stood ready, his massive Ronso hands holding his spear in a ready position. Tidus drew his sword and slashed it through the air.

"Let's kick some butt!" he fist pumped.

"We must hurry," Felix drew his sleek sword and stepped out into the afternoon air.

* * *

It was almost amazing, the technology that the Al Bhed possessed, if not for the fact it was being used for evil. Yuna's uncle was a good a righteous man, so it was odd how he could have a son who was so evil. Yuna watched Milevan sitting in the pilot's chair for the Al Bhed's underwater machina. The machina was diving through the waves, cutting the water apart as it dove deep into the depths of the moonflow river.

Of course, they were all so naive, the lost city was the ruins under the moonflow. Yuna wanted to laugh, thinking of how Wakka had pointed the ruins out when they were on the pilgrimage.

The machina vessel landed on what was probably a courtyard or garden before Yuna was forcefully restrained by a pair of Al Bhed as they struggled to cover her head with some type of device.

"Don't fight them, summoner," Milevan hissed, sliding the same type of device over his own head, "We need you alive for at least a little longer."

Yuna stopped fighting, seeing the futility in the situation. The device, a large glass bubble contraption was slid over her head and a series of tubes were connected to the back of the bubble. Suddenly, Yuna felt wet on her bottom and legs. Looking down, she could see the ship flooding with water.

"Don't panic, summoner," Milevan pushed the front panel of the vessel open allowing more water to come in, "The device you're wearing will allow you to keep breathing."

Completely submerged, Yuna was still able to breathe in the device. She thought maybe she could make a run for it, but the surface was covered with Al Bhed soldiers; she wouldn't have a chance. She resigned herself to wherever the Al Bhed holding her arms were going and floated under the water with them as they headed for a large destroyed archway into the largest of the destroyed buildings.

The ancient city sat against the riverbed, a silent milestone of an age long passed, as Milevan produced a machina explosive device. He attached it to the rubble covering the archway and detonated it. There was a large explosion and hundreds of bubbles rushed towards the surface. Milevan motioned back to the two guards and they drug Yuna through the archway.

Above her, Yuna noticed light; as did Milevan. They swam upwards and emerged in a chamber with oxygen in it. Yuna was drug out of the pool and her equipment pulled from her forcefully while Milevan removed his.

"Cdyo rana," Milevan ordered, grabbing Yuna. He produced a long dagger and placed it at her heart, "Come with me if you want to live. Try to escape, and you will soon join your family in the Farplane."

Yuna nodded slightly, her heart still praying for Tidus to come and save her. The chambers were all, surprisingly, filled with air. Milevan led the way as if he knew everything about the city. His cold hands clamped tightly on Yuna's forearm as he stopped in front of a large door.

"Inside," Milevan pointed to the door, "Is the lost fayth, the fayth created by the people of this city to defeat Sin for good. However, Sin attacked the city and destroyed everything, sinking it to the depths of this river. The fayth was lost," he rubbed his hand on the door, "Until now."

Latching his hand against the side of the large door, he plugged his fingers into the grooves carved along the side. Unlike the other temples, the large door leading into the cavern rolled to the side rather than raising up over their heads. Milevan smiled evilly as the door came to a rest, revealing the fayth a short distance inside. Yuna knew it was active, the pyreflies dancing amongst the cobwebs and paintings on the walls.

"Come on," Milevan grabbed Yuna's wrist, "The hour is at hand."

* * *
"We're under attack!" an Al Bhed guard screamed as a pile of their equipment burst into flames. He spun around to try and shoot the attacking Ronso, but the mighty beast lunged high into the air, landing behind the Al Bhed and ramming his spear through his back.

Another Al Bhed readied his weapon, aiming at the back of the raging Ronso creature when he heard a sharp whipping sound followed by a whip latching itself to his weapon. There was a sudden pull of force followed by the weapon being snatched from his hands. It fell in the hands of Felix who promptly brought the weapon up and fired two shots into both the Al Bhed's knees. He screamed, crumpling to the ground in shock. Felix then drew his sword and stood over the man.

"Think you're tough now?" he hissed before slamming the blade of the sword through the back of the wounded man's neck, severing his spinal cord.

"Felix!" Lulu shouted, "What are you doing?"

"This is my revenge, Lu," Felix withdrew the blade, "They will pay for what they've done."

"This isn't human!" she shouted, loathing at the sight of the bleeding corpse.

"You don't seem opposed to Kimarhi killing them," Felix sheathed the blade. Around them, the other guardians were quickly mopping up the Al Bhed. They had hit them quickly, with Rikku and Kimarhi launching a quick attack followed by the rest of the group attacking from opposite sides, pinning the Al Bhed between them. The guards never stood a chance, they were dead before they could fire a shot.

"This is butchery!" Lulu yelled at him, "Have you lost your mind?"

"Hey enough fighting!" Tidus interjected, "We can't find Yuna?"

"He probably to her to the city," Rikku announced, pointing to the river, "One of the underwater vessels is missing."

"What?" Wakka asked.

"See," Rikku pointed at the large machina ship resting on the water, "There were two and one's missing."

"Then we're going!" Tidus hopped onto the ship and pulled the hatch off, "We have to save Yuna!"

"There's not enough room for us all," Rikku replied, "There's room for one, maybe two in that thing."

"Felix, why don't you go?" Wakka offered, "You've fought Milevan before."

"I can't," Felix lowered his head, "He has beaten me in battle. I cannot face him again."

"What!" Tidus shouted, "You're just gonna sit up here like some kind of coward?"

He pounded his fist against the ship before pulling the hatch over his head. It started moving into the river as Rikku ran a few steps into the water after him.

"Wait! Don't go alone!" she shouted.

"Let him go," Kimarhi called after her, "He save Yuna, Kimarhi sure."

"Your overconfidence is amazing," Felix almost laughed to himself.

"What's that supposed to mean, eh?" Wakka grabbed Felix's shirt, throwing him to the ground, "You saying Yuna's doomed?"

"Tidus is an irrational person," Felix climbed back to his feet, "Milevan will kill him."

"You got a lot of nerve, ya," Wakka shook his fist at him, "For someone who chickened out of battle!"

"Wakka, that's enough!" Lulu shouted.

"No!" Wakka continued, "I'm sorry, Lu, but I've wanted to say this since we left Kilika. You ain't some tough guy know it all, bud! You think just because you have these fancy weapons that we should follow you? Well I say no way! You don't give a damn about Yuna, I know it, ya. You..."

His sentence was cutoff by Felix's fist impacting his cheek. Wakka tumbled to the ground and quickly gathered himself. When he stood up, Felix was walking away, his cloak swaying in the breeze.

"Are you done acting like a fool?" Lulu glared at him, "You're such an idiot."

* * *

He forced her inside and to her knees at the base of the fayth stone. The large circular stone was like so many she had seen in her life. Nearly ten feet in diameter, an etching of the fayth's manifestation was carved in the top. This fayth, which would be an Aeon, was large, the carving depicting it towering over a city. It had massive arms, larger than the back and carried two large objects on each of its shoulders. The head of the Aeon was helmeted, hiding its eyes from sight.

"Now," Milevan slipped his knife under Yuna's throat, "Call the fayth, pray for a way to defeat Sin and have it grant its powers."

Yuna looked at him, the resentment in her eyes piercing the evil in his.

"Do it!" Milevan edged the knife against her skin some more.

Yuna nodded slightly with a whimper. Her first thought turned to Tidus then she started to pray.

"Oh great spirit that rests within these walls," Yuna prayed in a barely audible voice, "Bring forth your courage, your wisdom, and your strength so that I, a lowly servant of Yevon, may have the strength to defeat the evil Sin that threatens to plague our land with death and destruction for all eternity. Please, lend me your strength."

The pyreflies started spinning, swirling about in the air over the stone statue embedded in the floor. Yuna rose to her feet, backing away as the awesome display began swirling about over the etching of the Aeon. The image of the fayth, the child dressed in the blue and orange cloak appeared, floating over the statue.

"You have come," the fayth spoke in a feminine voice, it was a little girl, "Please, I do not wish to be alone any longer. Whom is the summoner that shall receive this Aeon?"

"I am!" Milevan shouted, shoving Yuna out of the way, "I want the Aeon!"

"Very well," the fayth brought its finger up to where it was pointing at Milevan's chest, "The Aeon is yours."

Milevan looked at his chest for a moment, the fayth's finger unmoved. Suddenly, he burst into a panic fit, grasping his chest and collapsing to the ground.

"It's unbelievable!" Milevan screamed, "I can feel the power surging through my body! What a powerful Aeon I have!"

He fought the pain as he propped himself against the wall. Forcing his aching body to its feet, Milevan continued to laugh hysterically.

"Summoner Yuna!" Milevan charged Yuna, pressing her against the wall, "I must thank you for all you've done."

Yuna struggled against his grasp, feeling his fingers dig into her skin as he pressed her against the wall. Milevan laughed again, his eyes piercing her skin with their gaze.

"You're very beautiful for a summoner," Milevan whispered evilly, smelling her hair, "Why don't I show you my gratitude right now?"

"Don't touch her!" Tidus shouted from the chamber entrance.

"What!" Milevan spun around, releasing Yuna, who crumpled to the floor, "Oh, I see, the boy from Zanarkand. What are you doing here, boy?"

"Take your hands off her," Tidus gripped his sword in his hands, the sweat already forming on his brow.

"I see, so the boy wishes to challenge me," Milevan laughed, pulling the long blade from his sheath, "Care to see the force that banished that fool Felix's pride?"

Tidus prepared to attack, but Milevan moved first, lunging with incredible speed at Tidus, knocking him back into the outer chamber. Tidus slid across the chamber, but dodged to the right as Milevan's sword came down hard against the stone floor. Tidus parried the next attack before rolling out of the way. Milevan was incredibly fast and his fighting style had little flaw in it. Tidus tried to remember what little training Auron had tried to teach him during the pilgrimage as Milevan attack again, twirling his hideous blade over his head before bringing it down to strike several times against Tidus's blade.

"Very good," Milevan jumped back into a defensive crouch, "You're not the pushover I thought you would be. But look!"

Tidus turned to where Milevan was motioning and noticed that the chamber was sealed, the door had returned to its regular position.

"Yuna!" Tidus cried, lunging towards the door.

"Trapped I'm afraid," Milevan sheathed his sword, "And that brings you to a decision. Kill me, or save your girlfriend."

He laughed as a series of explosions ripped through the underwater dome. Tidus dropped his sword, grabbing the door and trying to push it out of the way with all his strength. He could see the water seeping into the chamber as Milevan walked towards the exit.

"Better hurry," the Al Bhed laughed, sliding his helmet over his head, "You probably only have a few minutes before the fayth fills up with water and the summoner drowns."

"Damn you!" Tidus shouted as Milevan disappeared into the water.

He pushed with all his strength, but the large stone door would not move.

"Yuna!" Tidus shouted, pushing his shoulder into the wall, trying to force it too moves.

Inside the chamber, Yuna stood in ankle deep water. There were several holes in the walls caused by the explosions and they were dumping water into the chamber at a rapid rate.

"Tidus, hurry!" Yuna yelled, banging on the door with her fists.

"I'm trying!" Tidus yelled.

He braced his feet and pushed harder. He could feel it move, but the door was still too heavy. It reminded him of when they were in Bevelle and Kimarhi had helped him move the door. The door there was so much lighter than this one, seeing how he and Kimarhi had moved it fairly easily.

"It won't move!" Tidus yelled, his muscles screaming with pain.

"Tidus!" Yuna backed against the door, the water up to her thighs.

"Argh!" Tidus drove his shoulder into the door, it suddenly moving rapidly to the side. Tidus stumbled to his knees as the water and Yuna flooded out. Tidus quickly got to his feet and grabbed Yuna's wrist, "We've got to get out of here!"

* * *

"Well, we put up a good fight," Wakka tossed his blitzball down as two Al Bhed held their weapons pointed at him.

Unknown to them, Milevan had more troops stationed at the crossing station and they were able to get the drop on the guardians. Kimarhi roared, being restrained to the ground by the Al Bhed while the others were huddled together near a giant rock.

"I can't believe they go the drop on us," Lulu cursed herself for not seeing them coming. She looked up to see the magic nullifier floating above their heads and frowned at it.

"Xiead fusyh!" the Al Bhed closest to her yelled, readying his weapon.

"Lulu, don't antagonize them," Felix took her arm and pulled her a few steps away from her guard, "They won't hesitate to kill us."

"You're right about that, my dear friend," Milevan's evil voiced spoke in a laugh.

"Brother, let us go!" Rikku shouted.

"I'm sorry dear sister," Milevan shook his head, his hands behind his back, "It's pathetic, the guardians of the high summoner captured by the 'heathen' Al Bhed. And your summoner, now she rests in her watery grave below the moonflow."

"No!" Wakka shouted.

"Brother!" Rikku took off running, slamming into his chest.

"Rikku, don't!" Felix called after her.

"Brother, you promised!" Rikku cried hysterically, the tears flowing over her face as she pounded on her brother's chest, "You promised you wouldn't hurt her."

"Rikku, dear sweet Rikku," Milevan slowly wrapped his arms around her, "I'm sorry I broke my promise," he put his arms on her shoulder and held her almost lovingly, "Let me make it up to you," his voice lowered to a raspy whisper, "Po cahtehk oui du saad vydran, eh dra Vynbmyha!"

Rikku opened her mouth to reply, but a sharp twisting pain in her stomach stopped her from speaking. She tried to speak again, but her mouth was hot, coated with a thick, disgusting tasting substance.

"Brother," Rikku's eyes teared again as she choked out the words, "How could you?"

Rikku then turned away from her grinning brother to face her friends. She removed her hands from her stomach to see they were covered in her own blood.

"Rikku!" Wakka shouted, "No!"

"Rikku!" Kimarhi roared.

The young Al Bhed fought for every breath, the sharp biting pain in her stomach making it hard for her to breath. She collapsed to the ground, the blood running from her mouth soaking her blonde hair.

"Let's leave," Milevan ordered to his men, "Bevelle should be expecting us."

The Al Bhed retreated into the forest as the guardians rushed to where Rikku lay fighting to stay alive.

"Wakka," she whispered as the former Auroch cradled her, "I'm....sorry..."

"Ssh," Wakka whispered back, "Don't speak. Save your strength. Everything's gonna be okay, ya?"

Felix turned his head towards the moonflow as Tidus and Yuna crawled out of the murky depths. Yuna and his eyes met for a brief instance and she instantly understood what was going on.

"Oh my!" Yuna rushed to where Wakka was holding the dying Al Bhed.

"Yunie," Rikku forced herself to smile, "You're okay."

"Rikku, no," Yuna took her bloody hand, "No!"

"Hey," Rikku rubbed her cousin's cheek, pushing the hair out of her eyes, "We'll see each other again...I'll be...waiting..."

"No Rikku, don't say that!" Wakka hugged her as she slowly closed her eyes for the final time, "No!"

Wakka held the lifeless body against him sobbing. A river of blood and tears running along the dirt where they sat. Behind them, the sun was setting and they knew, the Eternal Calm was over.