A note from the Hime no Argh herself–


More thanks for the feedback this story is getting. Ah, I don't have much to talk about today, really. The next few chapters will be coming out fairly quickly, so stay tuned. Enjoy, and try not to get too impatient with me. ^^;; You'll know what I mean in a few chapter's time.


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Chapter 14

A New Plan


Having no idea where Cid could be in the gigantic Home, Yuna stopped an Al Bhed in the halls and attempted to convey what she was looking for. After a lot of repetitions of Cid's name and a few clever hand gestures, the Al Bhed seemed to understand, and beckoned her back where she had come from, down to the lower levels where the large hangars were located.


Sure enough, her Al Bhed escort soon led Yuna to the enormous hangar which was the airship's home for the time being. Cid and Brother, seated on two crates in the shade of the great ship, appeared to be debating something.


"Ouina cyoehk ed fuhd pa vuqat vun yd maycd y suhdr?" Cid demanded, glancing up as Yuna approached. "Hey there, Yuna," he greeted her less than enthusiastically. "I suppose you've heard the bad news?"


"About the airship?" Yuna said uncertainly.


"Yeah," Cid growled. "This one here's tellin' me it's not gonna be fixed fer at least a month." He jerked his thumb irritably at Brother.


"E dumt oui fa cruimt ryja tuha y drunuikr ehcbaldeuh yvdan Sin," Brother said sharply. He nodded to Yuna. "Rammu, Yuna."


"Hello," Yuna said with a smile, then looked at Cid again. "I already heard from Rikku, and I decided we'd better just search without it. I'm afraid I can't wait that long."


"I understand," Cid said gently. "Sorry you had to come all the way out here fer nothin'. Can I do anything else for ya?"


Yuna hesitated. "Well–"


"What am I thinkin', course I can!" Cid interjected. "I'll give ya a land-rovin' vehicle. Not as fast as the airship, but not as slow as walkin'."


"Thank you," Yuna said gratefully.


"Hm..." Cid looked at her for a moment, stroking his chin. "You say that priest told you that Tidus kid was somewhere around Macalania?"


"That's what he said."


"A little too close to Bevelle for my likin'," Cid growled. "Are you sure this priest can be trusted?"


"I'm not," Yuna said glumly. "It's our only lead, though."


"Hm..." Abruptly Cid turned to Brother. "Ouina kuehk fedr dras."


Brother's eyes widened slightly. "F-fro?"


"Fa yna hud maddehk drnaa myteac nih ynuiht eh Bevelle danneduno ymuha," Cid barked. He glanced at Yuna again. "I've just told Brother he's to accompany you three. It's not safe fer a bunch of girls to be wanderin' around alone."


"That's really not necessary–" Yuna began.


"It is if I say it is," Cid interrupted with a scowl. "Any more arguments outta you two? Famm?" he barked at Brother.


Yuna and Brother shook their heads.


"Good. Now scoot, I wanna inspect the airship on my own for a while."


Brother rolled his eyes toward the high ceiling and sighed. "Madc ku," he said to Yuna.


As Yuna had nowhere else to be, she followed Brother for a while through Home's twisting halls. "I'm sorry Cid's making you come," she said, a bit uncertainly. "I guess you probably would rather stay here."


He gave her a sidelong look. "E tuhd ihtancdyht oui," he said quietly.


"Oh–" said Yuna, frustrated. "I wish we spoke to the same language. Oh, wait!" She brightened. "I know the word for sorry! It's cunno, isn't it? Cunno," she added with a small bow.


For a moment Brother simply stared at her, and Yuna was shocked at the unmistakable sadness in his eyes. "Tuhd ybumukewa," he said at last, then turned and walked away, shoulders hunched.


"Oh, dear," Yuna said softly, watching him go.


She wandered around aimlessly on her own for a while until she met Rikku coming up the stairs from the bath, clean as a whistle, dressed in her usual clothes. A towel lay about her shoulders to catch the moisture from her still-dripping hair.


"Rikku!" Yuna said breathlessly, not wasting any time. "What does cunno mean?"


Rikku blinked at her. "It means 'sorry.'"


Yuna sighed. "That's what I thought." Rikku gave her an odd stare. "Oh–I said that to Brother," Yuna explained. "He looked really depressed. I thought I must have said the wrong thing, but–"


"Did he say anything back?" Rikku asked, frowning.


"Yes, he said 'tuhd ybumu...um...ybumukewa.' I think," Yuna added uncertainly.


Rikku blinked again. "But–that just means 'don't apologize.' What were you apologizing for, anyway?"


"Cid's making him come with us back to the mainland," Yuna explained. "He says it's not safe for three women to be wandering around alone near Bevelle. Brother seemed upset about it."


Rikku sighed. "Oh, Yunie."


"What?" Yuna demanded. "Are you getting something that I'm not?"


Rikku looked at her for a moment, then shook her head. "Look, Yunie, don't worry about it, okay? Brother's just weird."


"But–"


"I'm telling you, forget about it," Rikku interrupted. "It's nothing you should have to worry about. If he weren't so–" She made a frustrated noise, then shook her head. "Never mind. You have other things to think about."


"But–"


"Let's go find Lulu and Wakka," Rikku said loudly. "We all need to know what the plan is, right?"


"Fine," Yuna said, a bit miffed. "I'll just stop asking questions altogether, then."


"That could work," Rikku said brightly, but it was a somewhat strained silence in which the two set off to track down Lulu and Wakka.

* * *


Along with Lulu and Wakka, they found a secluded table in the mess hall where they could sit and talk. Yuna explained the plan in as little words as possible, and when she was done Wakka leaned back in his chair, looking peeved.


"Whaddo dey mean about a bunch a'girls wanderin' around alone?" he growled. "I'm goin' too, ya?"


Yuna stifled a grin. "Maybe Cid forgot, Wakka."


"Or maybe he considers you insufficient protection," Lulu said wickedly.


"Insufficient?" Wakka demanded, outraged.


"I think Wakka's right," Rikku interjected moodily.


"Huh? You do?"


"Well, yeah." Rikku's lips pursed. "Are we or aren't we the people who defeated Sin? I think we can handle a few priests!"


"Cid and Brother did help," Yuna said fairly.


"Helped?" Rikku squawked. "They flew in the airship! Big deal! We did the dirty work!"


Wakka nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Rikku's right. We don't need any help."


"Fine," Yuna said flatly. "Why don't you go tell Cid what you've decided?"


Wakka and Rikku blanched, and Yuna smiled thinly. She knew that both of her friends were too smart to try arguing once Cid had made up his mind.


Rikku rounded on Lulu, still intent on not giving up. "What do you think?"


"Well," Lulu said slowly, "I don't think they mean it as a blow to our pride. They're simply offering their help, in which case I say we take it. You can never be protected enough when dealing with dangerous people, and there is no doubt in my mind that Bevelle's priests are dangerous. They may have supplied our only lead, but I still don't trust them."


Yuna nodded. "Lulu has the right of it. You just can't be too careful."


Wakka sighed and nodded in assent, but Rikku, for some reason, still looked peeved.

* * *


Tidus, Auron, Jecht, and Kimahri kept in a very close-knit group within Guadosalam's walls, sensing that suspicious gazes were following them everywhere they went.


"I feel like throwing a bag over your head," Auron muttered to Tidus, eyeing a Guado woman who watched them past with open distaste. "Either they recognize you or they are not fond of outsiders."


"Were they ever?" Tidus whispered back. They halted in the main hall, gathering in a corner where a pillar of rock hid them at least partially from Guadosalam's inhabitants. "Look, I don't see Yuna anywhere around here." It was impossible to hide his disappointment. "Let's just go, okay?"


"Fine by me," Jecht said edgily, but Kimahri raised his head and took a long breath.


"Yuna was here," he said slowly, sniffing the air again. He pointed up to a familiar walkway–it led to the Farplane, Tidus remembered. "There."


"Yuna went to the Farplane?" Tidus blinked. "What for?"


Kimahri only shrugged. The four of them looked at each other for a moment.


"It wouldn't hurt to take a look," Auron finally said, starting toward the walkway.


They were stopped by a guard outside the Farplane's gate. "Halt," the Guado said in a bored tone. "What business have you with the dead?"


Tidus, Jecht, and Kimahri hesitated, but Auron replied, "Our business is not with the dead, but with a living person. Did a woman named Yuna come through here, by any chance?"


The Guado blinked at them, suddenly looking interested. "Yes, yes she did."


Tidus opened his mouth, but Auron cut in, "How long ago?"


"Hm..." The Guado tapped a long finger against his chin. "Why, it was only yesterday, I think."


"Yesterday...!" Tidus turned to Auron. "Did you hear that? We missed her by a day!"


"Strange," Auron remarked.


"A day!" Tidus yelled again, then blinked at Auron. "What's strange?"


"We didn't see her," Jecht supplied bluntly. "If she was here jest yesterday, we shoulda met her on the road, right? But we didn't."


"Unless she went south," Auron mused. "But I don't see–"


"Oh, she didn't go south," the Guado interjected lazily. "She headed west in the company of a couple of Al Bhed. Bet she went to their island, to that Home place or whatever they call it."


Tidus stared at Auron, openmouthed. "Of course! Miralesca said she was with Brother, right? She was probably with Rikku too. If they went to Bikanel Island–"


"They'll probably be there right now," Auron finished. He nodded to the Guado. "Thank you for your help. We'll be on our way."


"I'm confused," Jecht complained, following Tidus, Auron, and Kimahri back down the walkway. "Where're we goin' now?"

"To Bikanel Island," Auron replied, eyeing Jecht. "Don't you remember? You took us all there when you found us in Lake Macalania." When Jecht stared at him blankly, Auron sighed and lowered his voice to a whisper. "When you were Sin."


Jecht frowned. "Desert kinda place? Lotsa machina around?"


"That's it," Tidus confirmed.


"Right, right, I remember." He laughed loudly. "Hey, I shipwrecked you guys good, huh? You–" He stopped at the looks on his companions' faces. "Well, it was funny from where I was standin'," he added defensively.


"I bet," Tidus said dryly as they left Guadosalam by the west exit. "Now can we please hurry it up already? I don't want to risk missing Yuna again."


"There's just one problem," Auron began.


"What?" Tidus demanded peevishly. "What's the problem?"


Auron raised an eyebrow at him. "Bikanel is an island."


Tidus, Jecht, and Kimahri blinked. Then Jecht voiced exactly what everyone were thinking.


"Shit."

* * *


To be continued.

* * *


Translations


Ouina cyoehk ed fuhd pa vuqat vun yd maycd y suhdr? - You're saying it won't be fixed for at least a month?

E dumt oui fa cruimt ryja tuha y drunuikr ehcbaldeuh yvdan Sin - I told you we should have done a thorough inspection after Sin

Rammu - Hello

Ouina kuehk fedr dras - You're going with them

Fro? - Why?

Fa yna hud maddehk drnaa myteac nih ynuiht eh Bevelle danneduno ymuha - We are not letting three ladies run around in Bevelle territory alone

Famm? - Well?

Madc ku - Let's go

E tuhd ihtancdyht oui - I don't understand you

Cunno - Sorry

Tuhd ybumukewa - Don't apologize