Leap in the Dark
By kimetara
2nd In-game POV
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X belongs to Squaresoft, which as you can all see is not my name.
I ride quietly on the machina behind Sir Auron as we follow the tracks Tidus and Rikku left. I wanted to ride with Tidus, or with Rikku, to apologize for Wakka's behavior, but they had ridden together before I'd gotten a chance.
At least Tidus would be sure to make Rikku feel welcome. They have been growing quite close lately; I just hope that no hard feeling towards Wakka would grow between them. I sigh, closing my eyes. Wakka always did have to be so stubborn.
Well, no use wasting an opportunity. I've noticed that ever since the Thunder Plains, Sir Auron's been observing me often. And I am sitting right behind him, holding lightly onto his waist. Perhaps I should explain. Since there were only three of the snow machinas, and Kimahri had taken one, we were forced to pair up. As I mentioned before, Tidus and Rikku rode together, which left Sir Auron and I.
"Do you consider me capable of understanding yet?"
"Not yet."
I leave it be, feeling like a small child asking to open an early birthday present and being constantly told to wait. Or maybe...I'm not quite sure myself, whether I want to know. No matter the reason, it's almost certainly not pleasant.
"Does he know the way?" Sir Auron asks suddenly. I pause, considering his question.
"You mean Wakka? He's been to Bevelle."
Sir Auron only nods and continues driving.
"What do you think of Rikku?" I ask, more for the sake of breaking the awkward silence than out of curiosity.
"Why?"
I shrug. "Just curious."
I can feel his skepticality. "Do you believe I can't be merely curious?" I inquire.
"No. But I believe you'll use the information you gain by being curious."
"Hmm. I can't deny that." My tone is lighter, slightly teasing. "Still, it would only be for my personal comfort to know your opinion on the girl."
"She's Rikku."
I raise an eyebrow, even though I know he can't see me. "My, descriptive, aren't you?"
"If necessary."
I sigh and shake my head. Why did I even bother?
"What do you think of her?" he asks back a few minutes later.
"Rikku?" I consider. "She's...fun to be with. A good person. And after listening to her and Wakka, I'm beginning to think that maybe the Al Bhed ideals...aren't so bad." I'm saying too much. Something about this man makes it easy for me to pour out my thoughts. I will have to be careful.
"I see."
"Did I disappoint?"
"No. What made you think that?"
I watch the snow fly by on the sidelines. "You were very noncommittal, that's all."
He seems to be surprised by my comment, and muses over it for a short while. "That's...just how I am."
"I understand." Suddenly, the ridiculousness of the conversation struck me, and I couldn't help a small laugh.
"What is it?"
"We should make a sphere of us talking to each other. This sounds terribly awkward," I smile, my voice warmer than usual.
He allows a small chuckle. "I suppose it does."
"I don't believe either of us are what would be considered as talkers. Perhaps in the future we could...practice?" I can feel him hesitating, so I add quickly, "A better communication between guardians would certainly aid the pilgrimage." If there is anything that would get Sir Auron to agree, it would be the pilgrimage. At times, it seems he cares more for the pilgrimage than Yuna herself.
He still hesitates, but nods slowly. The Macalania Temple is up ahead, and there's no more time for talk, so we dismount and enter.
~~~~~
So, here we are. Beneath the lake, after killing Maester Seymour. This is an unexpected turn of events.
I'm slightly surprised at myself, at how calm I am. Perhaps it is because of the soothing Hymn of the Fayth. Or perhaps because I have suffered from worse emotional harm. Already, I have begun to rationalize the circumstances. We killed a maester, and would undoubtedly be hunted down as traitors of Yevon. Yevon guards the temples, and not having access to temples means not having access to Aeons, which are needed for the pilgrimage. There are two choices then – face punishment, or end the pilgrimage. Perhaps not even two choices; they may not allow Yuna to continue, although it's very rare to hear of a summoner being held back.
Well, there's nothing to do but wait. Sir Auron and I stand silently, watching for Tidus' recovery. Rikku and Kimahri are watching Yuna. Wakka...needs some time to himself.
Tidus stirs, then runs off to find Yuna. Sir Auron and I exchange glances before departing from our posts. We both know this will not be easy.
"Yuna!"
We all rush to where Tidus' voice came from, now that Yuna is awake.
She explains her reasoning for marrying the late Maester Seymour, and I must admit, I'm not shocked. I suspected something of the sort.
"Enough. Dwelling in the past is futile." Sir Auron's voice cuts harshly into Yuna's apology.
"Hey! You don't have to say it like that!" Rikku protests. I silently agree, but wish she hadn't spoken out.
"You want to waste time listening to her regrets?" he demands. Inwardly, I wince. His words are true, yet...even I would not speak so coldly.
Rikku turns to Yuna. "You don't have to say it like that..."
"Our immediate concern is Yuna's pilgrimage. Are you willing to go on?" he asks Yuna.
"Yes," she nods slightly as emphasis, then pauses. "But then, do you think Yevon will allow it?"
Sir Auron turns away. "The fayth are the ones that give power to the summoners. Not the temples or the teachings. If the temples try to stop us," he clenches a fist, "then we will defy Yevon if we must."
"Sir Auron?!" I gasp, hearing similar exclamations from Tidus and Rikku.
Wakka shakes his head and argues. He is such a devout follower, although I do agree with him. "But still, we have transgressed and must face our punishment," I affirm.
Yuna makes the decision to go to Bevelle and explain what happened to Maester Mika, which is accepted, even by Sir Auron. Fairly soon, the conversation takes a light-hearted turn – impossible to avoid with Tidus and Rikku. They're quite comforting, in their own way. I almost let a laugh escape as Rikku talks of Sir Auron running off.
"Man... How can you all act like nothing's wrong? Must got nerves of steel or something," Wakka complains.
"You're too edgy. Listen to the hymn and calm down," I chide gently. I know going against Yevon is hitting Wakka much harder than it's hitting me. When Chappu died, I turned to him, Yuna, and Kimahri. He turned to Yevon. I to friends, and he to faith. One would think the opposite, wouldn't they?
Tidus and Sir Auron talk quietly to each other, while Rikku seems to be arguing with Kimahri, and Yuna laughing softly watching them. Wakka and I simply listen.
Abruptly, a strange sense of dread fills all of us.
"The singing stopped," I announce quietly. Something must have disturbed the fayth...
Suddenly, the ground shakes, and I nearly fall.
"There's something here!" Wakka yells.
"The ground!" Sir Auron drops on one knee and pushes some of the debris on the floor away, revealing a floor of thick ice. Beneath it...
"Sin!?" Yuna gasps.
Sin opens his mouth, or what could be considered a mouth. "The toxin! Watch out!" I cry. Yuna! Where's Yuna?
White fills my vision, then black.
"Ugh..." I awaken to the feeling of being prodded gently. Slowly, I open my eyes to little green fuzz, and push myself up. My Cactuar Scope gazes up at me, as if checking that I'm okay, and then hops obligingly into my arms.
"Where are we?" I ask aloud, looking around. "Yuna...? Where's Yuna?" Talking to a doll may be strange, but they can be quite intelligent. The Cactuar Scope shakes its head. I sigh. I've lost her...I can't believe...
My doll is wiggling in my arms impatiently. I can see it, at least, finds the desert welcoming.
"No," I tell it, "we're supposed to stay in one place if we get separated."
It stops wiggling sulkily. I relax my hold automatically, and suddenly, it jumps from my arms and starts running across the sand. Ten feet away, it stops, turns around, and waits for me.
"Why, you willful little thing!" I place my hand on my hip. "Come back here!" It shakes its head. After five minutes, I sigh again and trek along towards it, and it scoots away. "Alright, we'll go look for the others," I call out. My doll stops then and lets me catch up to it, and I scoop it up in my arms.
Defeated in judgment by a doll. I shake my head, what was I coming to? Well, at least the dolls have a tendency to be right.
Now to find Yuna. I have to find Yuna. A guardian is nothing without her summoner, and I won't fail again! But all I can see is sand, and more sand, and what looks like bits of machina. I struggle along through the dunes, eventually getting the hang of walking without sinking. At least the sun doesn't bother me – living in Besaid and using fire magic have made me almost invulnerable to heat. Or to any sort of weather, for that matter. Where is Yuna?
My Cactuar Scope squeaks a warning, and I look up to see three machinas rise out of the dunes.
"Wonderful," I mutter, before summoning a Thundara spell. The machina falls apart, but two more are waiting. I cast another Thundara, get electrocuted, and use Thundara again, and the last two fall apart.
The minute that battle is over, a shrieking cry fills my ears, and I turn to see a humongous bird swooping towards the ground. It stops, in the air, and in the sand before it there's a light blue twinkle. The Brotherhood, Tidus!
I pick up my skirt and run towards him as he attacks the bird. The bird attacks him back, and he stumbles. A flash of red catches my eye as it joins the blue sparkle, and attacks the bird as well. Sir Auron, no doubt.
Almost there. Thundara is still racing through my body, and without hesitation I release it on the creature, which my Cactuar Scope says is called Zu. "Everyone alright?" I ask when I get there. The two nod.
Zu is beaten fairly easily between the three of us, and Tidus braces himself on his knees.
"The others?" he asks.
My heart sinks; I was hoping she had been with them. I shake my head. "Haven't found them yet. We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up."
"Wait here if you want. He's not." Tidus runs after Sir Auron, who has indeed already began walking away.
"Stubborn," I sigh. My Cactuar Scope squeaks smugly. I ignore my doll and stride as quickly as my dress will allow to catch up with the two.
We walk for about an hour, and even I am beginning to feel uncomfortable. Tidus stumbles, and I kneel down to help him up.
"Are you okay?" I inquire, a far cry from my original 'Don't slow us down'. My opinion of Tidus has risen considerably since then. "You seem a bit flushed." An understatement, I'm not sure whether it's heat or sunburn. Sir Auron stops to watch us, and I wonder how he could be so cool wearing black leather and a coat in the middle of the desert.
"I'm fine, let's just find Yuna." Tidus straightens and continues walking. I raise an eyebrow at his back, then at Sir Auron. He simply ignores me and turns back around as Tidus struggles after him. I frown and cast a small Water spell over Tidus' head, careful not to hit the blond himself.
"Whoa!" he yelps as water splashes over his body, but grins. "Thanks, Lulu."
"You're welcome." I almost laugh as I watch him shake his head like a shaggy-haired dog.
"Hurry up. This is no playtime," Sir Auron's voice cuts sharply. I nearly start, and my gaze automatically whips over to his stern form.
"We're coming, hold your horses," Tidus yells back before climbing the sand dune. I follow silently behind. Horses? What are horses?
About fifteen minutes later, we come upon a small tent, and Wakka sheltering beneath it. At least he had the sense to stay in one spot – although I see the logic in us searching, as somebody would have to be moving around to find anybody.
"Wakka! You alone?" Tidus yells. Wakka just nods distractedly.
"Mmmhmm." He takes a quick look at us. "Where's Yuna?"
I glance at Tidus, who glances back. Sir Auron says nothing.
"Dammit! First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambushed by machina!" He kicks the metal near the tent. "Great day I'm having."
I give Wakka an irritated look. I hate it when he gets like this; he can act so childish when he's upset. "If it makes you happier, the rest of us aren't doing any better."
He gives me a somewhat contrite look and mutters.
"Enough. There's no time to waste," Sir Auron orders, already set to leave.
"Right." Tidus does his trademark fist, and we continue on.
Five minutes later, "...Wakka."
"Hmm?" He looks at me.
"Don't be angry with Rikku. If you're angry with me for not telling you, fine. But she's a kind person."
"Yeah right," he says derisively. "She's Al Bhed! She uses forbidden machina, she goes against the teachings of Yevon! A traitor!"
"Are we not traitors as well?" I shake my head before he can answer. "Nevermind. For now, let's concentrate on finding Yuna."
He's silent for a few seconds. "Lu...you're not...you don't agree with her, right?"
I continue walking and don't answer.
AN: Oh wow, I actually got reviews! *shocked* Thank you very much. As for the end pairing...well, you'll see.
Reviews are very much appreciated!