Battles we've Fought
By DeGonGin
Chapter 11
Mocking Laughter filled the chill air, Seymour was amused. With a crooked eyebrow he motioned to Kumahri. "Allow me the courtesy of speaking with the last of the Ronso", a smile ghosted his lips as he spoke. "They were a very brave people." He through his right arm up, "Tossing themselves into my path. One," he switched arms in a grand sweeping gesture, "after another." The half-guado brought his left arm down into a gesture of victory. "They all died very well."
"NO!" Kimarhi shouted in his gravely voice.
"Oh yes, Ronso, all have passed by my power." The smile blossomed into its poisoned fullness.
"Enough," Stated Yuna as she began motioning, her eyes intent on the blue haired fiend before her.
"A Sending?" he casually asked. "Why not join me and save Spira from it's Pain?" Seymour motioned to the cliff behind him. "I intend to take Sin for myself. To become Sin. With that power I shall rip.no heal.Spira's pain and make this world whole under my rule." He raised his arms until they formed the horizontal bars of a cross as a large mechanical roaring was heard beneath him, his shape a silhouette from a bright aura growing behind him. "You could use me, be the instrument of my reign, Yuna. You would be first among summoners as your namesake was before you!"
"NEVER!" Yuna cried out as Tidus moved to protect her from the monster before her. The two males played out a short game of domination, silent glares fencing between two sets of blue eyes. Seymour floated up and over the edge of the cliff, joining with a large chariot made of maddened technology.
As he bonded with the mortibody, forming a partnership with the Flux systems, he gave a last parting shot. "Stop me, Son of Jecht, and you doom yourself to destroy the one thing in the world that is as real as you. You would kill your father."
Tidus grimaced; the verbal shot buried deep in his heart. With a yell torn from the bottom of his very soul, the blitzer drew out his sword, Avenger. "ENOUGH! I WILL take you down!"
The others of the party watched as Yuna, Tidus and Kimarhi took the front ranks. With the summoning of a ready and fully charged Valfor the battle was joined.
Snow dusted over the bloody battleground as Tidus sank to his knee. He was exhausted and bruised; a grimace of painful satisfaction crossed his face as he watched the last of the glowing pyreflies scream into nothing. With a motion designed to remove the dirt of combat from his clothing he stood. He looked over the party, Auron and Lulu were down with exhaustion and Yuna was helping them. Wakka tended to Rikku, the little thief having been bashed quite well by the morphed Seymour. Tidus shook his loose blonde hair out and moved to help everyone up.
"We should find some shelter for a while." Mumbled the Warrior-monk as he stood to look at Tidus. "It's going to be a long walk still to the other side of this mountain, and then down again to Zanarkand."
"Ok. What ever you say, old man." The star of the Zanarkand Abes flashed his trademark grin and ran ahead to scout the path.
Snow gave way to the cold stony interior of the mountain. Darkness lit by globs of bioluminescent fungi still held the chill of the mountain. Tidus watched with a touch of distracted wonder as the colors of the glowing plants turned his breath into shimmer before him. Behind the youth walked the rest of the party, the travels up and now through the grand mountain of Spira marked their pace and skin. Even the perky Al-Bhed had grown dark rings of fatigue around her green spiraled eyes. The only one seemingly not affected was Lulu; she ALWAYS looked pale and gaunt. Yuna leaned against the blur fur of her Ronso guardian; his arm showed no stress or strain as he practically carried his charge by his side. Yellow eyes that showed a deep love and intelligence glanced at her and then sought out a familiar red kimono clad figure. Soft mist flowed from around his face, obscuring the sunken and scruffy cheeks, Auron's brown eye scanned before them constantly and diligently.
"HEY! I found some sunken tunnels over here!" Tidus called out. "Get over here Rikku and Wakka! We can deal with this, like, with no problems!"
"It seems we must trust you who are strong in the water." Observed the ex- monk. "We will look for another way around this maze while you take this more direct route."
"Do you have enough potions and elixirs?" asked Lulu. "Take some extra just in case, I can't be around to cast my one and only white spell on you!"
"Is that concern?" Gibed Tidus, "I thought you didn't like dealing with anyone, Heh?"
"Let's just say I don't want to loose anymore than I already have." The black arts mistress responded. "Now take this stuff and get wet." She allowed a small grin to crack her porcelain features. Lulu tossed a rather large rucksack that landed in Tidus' outstretched arms with a clink.
"Ok, we're off. Good luck." Tidus flashed a victory sign and a smile.
"WAIT!" Yuna shouted. She ran up to Tidus and planted a kiss on his suntanned cheek. "For luck." She murmured into his ear. His strong arms found themselves wrapped around her frail white form and he inhaled her scent.
"Stay safe, Yuna." He whispered. "I'll be back to protect you."
It was only by the strength of his will that Tidus let her go. It was by the power of his love that he turned his back on his lovely Summoner and dived like a kingfisher into the flooded and sunken tunnel behind them.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Kimarhi know it's this way." The Ronso sniffed the two passages. "Kimarhi smell fresh air."
"Lead on." Stated a tired Auron. He watched as the Ronso warrior-mage took point and moved into the rightward leading tunnel. They had been moving through the belly of the mountain for what seemed like days. Ever edging closer to the end of his second Pilgrimage. His nearly constant companions had been silent since he had lost himself to his memories near the memorial on the side of Mount Gigazet. It was not a pleasant feeling of loneliness. As he listened for fiends, ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters that had gathered in the shelter of these dark caves, Auron counted the steps to Zanarkand.
"Soon, Braska." He whispered to himself. "I sure hope you have things well in hand over there." He hefted his sword and moved it to a slightly less soar spot on his shoulder. Being on guard for the majority of this expedition in the tunnels, he had kept the great blade poised and ready. "Now we make it to Zanarkand. You told me through Jecht that Tidus and Yuna was the key to this. But how? And more importantly." He sighed and rubbed his temples with his free hand. "why?"
"He's doing it again." Yuna stated to her nearby companion.
"I know. It's very strange, but he still seems alert and ready to defend us." Lulu shook out her long dreadlocks and fiddled with her Mog. "As long as he stays that way I'm all for letting the man have is privacy."
"I so wonder what he has gone through in the last ten years." Yuna shook her head. "It's said he is the only Guardian to ever survive his Summoner's Final Calling."
"Yeah, But don't you wonder why he survived?"
"No. Sir Auron is beyond that type of suspicion. He has been here since Luka and has been very helpful. Why do you question him?"
Lulu looked at her young Summoner with a smile that was as patient as it was caring. "Because you don't." She petted down a few stray locks of hair from Yuna's bi-colored eyes. "And you trust so completely. That is you most powerful weapon that and your obvious feelings for Tidus. But that is also your greatest weakness. You haven't been hurt enough to stop and realize that Sir Auron has his own agenda. He holds no loyalty to the Church or ruling bodies of Spira. In fact, his outlook has been one of almost outright subversion." She hugged Yuna and then pushed against her back to get the white dressed girl to move again. "Remember, not everything is as it seems. Remember your lesson with Maester Seymour."
"I will." Yuna nodded, idly spinning her magical rod like a baton.
The red robed former warrior monk grinned behind his gray leather collar. "Good girl." He breathed staring at Lulu. He turned his attention back to the Ronso at the point.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"FISH! FISH! FISH! FISH! I HATE FISH!"
"Well maybe if you tried actually HITTING them instead of trying to steal from them, you wouldn't need to be revived." Tidus placed his arms akimbo on his hips. "Again."
"Would you to nock it off, yah?" Wakka was nearly as red as Auron's kimono in the face. "If I gotta listen to the two of you whine anymore, I'm gonna hit you both in the back of the head with my spikiest ball!" He pulled out a round object made of spikes and leather. "See, I got it ready, yah?"
Tidus waved off the Captain of the Besaid Aurochs. "All right, all right. Calm down, Wakka. It's just that we're almost outta Phoenix down and miss master thief over here won't contribute to the fish bonking duties."
Wakka looked up to the low ceiling and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, closed his huge hands into fists and opened his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
The primal scream echoed along the water-drenched walkway.
"Right. Time to take a look around, right Rikku?"
"Yeah, I think I saw something shiny over there."
* * * * * * * * * * *
"We seem to have found the other side of the water. I wonder what is keeping our three guardians?" Auron motioned to the pristine lake that stood before them. The way out was a cave that had no floor.
"Kimarhi say they will be longer still, traps under dark water."
"Lets set up camp then and wait. I'm sure they will need a warm fire and some good food when they emerge from the depths." Lulu started to pull out her kettle and cookware.
"Kimarhi get us fish." The blue warrior's ears were pricked forward and he stared with the steady glare of a hunting cat at the dark shapes under the calm, still water.
"That leaves me to reconnoiter around the area and make sure we're not settling into anything's nest." Auron levered his blade to his shoulder with a grunt. He moved off along the caves wall as the Ronso warrior knifed cleanly into the water.
"What should I do?" Asked Yuna.
"Work on your Black Magic and summon us a fire." Replied the older woman as she set up a teepee of dried wood under her kettle. "Do you think the water's good?"
"Should be," Yuna motioned for her Fira spell and pointed a stream of flame into the center of the wood. "But we can boil it just to be sure."
"KIMARHI HAVE FISH!" A fleshy thud was heard from the water's edge. It was followed by the distinct sounds of a rather large horned creature being dressed and filleted by the black claws of the dripping warrior.
"Great, now shake off your pelt out there before you get back here. Yuna doesn't need to be catching anything but fiends." Lulu was rummaging in her bags for some of the dried veggies and meats the group had. "Hope everyone like fish stew."
The only reply she received was the sound of Kimarhi shaking himself and drenching the returning Auron.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"There are three holes.There are three of us. Can this be any more lame?" Asked Tidus as he treated the back of his neck with his fingernails.
"Nope, I don't think so." Rikku replied curtly.
"Then lets do this, I got the big green one, Tidus you take the middle one and Rikku, you take the tiny orange one, ya?" Wakka looked at the other two with an exacerbated expression.
"OK. Let's go." Tidus pumped his arm and dived into the water.
Above them, a hearty fish stew was boiling down in the kettle and fillets of horned shark meat sizzled wrapped in leaves under the coals. Auron was sharing his Sake with everyone, warming up their insides with the hearty rice wine until the food was ready.
Kimahri's ears turned and focused on the blank part of the bottomless cave. He set his paw on the ground and nodded. "Feel ground." He grumbled to the others.
They all moved to feel the ground, Auron going so far as to set his ear against the dusty ground. "Something is happening, I can hear a deep rumbling, like a heard of chocobo in the distance in full stampede."
Rikku swam through the little hole in the wall and heard the click of a mechanism activating. She looked up to see a panel in front of her and the two boys swing ponderously upwards, opening up an access to what looked like a lake. Above ground, that same slab of rock came to rest as the floor of the way out. Auron and Kimarhi stood at attention, weapons at the ready as Yuna prepared her black offensive spells.
"Look, Ripples in the lake!" Lulu turned to scan the water, now moving in little wavelets that disturbed the crystal nature of the under ground body of liquid. She watched with tense readiness as three forms floated up. "Tidus, Wakka and Rikku!"
"Clear!" Auron's crisp voice echoed from the entrance to the newly completed cave. He turned to see the others walking up to the fire. He grunted as a cool breeze brushed his red coat and ruffled his salt and pepper hair. He smelled the chill of death on that breeze. Yunalesca was waiting, and no one kept her waiting long.
_______________________________________________________________
A/N: Wow, it took me a whole year to get back at this. I'm so sorry. But it looks like I will be able to finally Finnish this. Thanks to all who might remember me and I hope you enjoy more to come. Degon-gin.
By DeGonGin
Chapter 11
Mocking Laughter filled the chill air, Seymour was amused. With a crooked eyebrow he motioned to Kumahri. "Allow me the courtesy of speaking with the last of the Ronso", a smile ghosted his lips as he spoke. "They were a very brave people." He through his right arm up, "Tossing themselves into my path. One," he switched arms in a grand sweeping gesture, "after another." The half-guado brought his left arm down into a gesture of victory. "They all died very well."
"NO!" Kimarhi shouted in his gravely voice.
"Oh yes, Ronso, all have passed by my power." The smile blossomed into its poisoned fullness.
"Enough," Stated Yuna as she began motioning, her eyes intent on the blue haired fiend before her.
"A Sending?" he casually asked. "Why not join me and save Spira from it's Pain?" Seymour motioned to the cliff behind him. "I intend to take Sin for myself. To become Sin. With that power I shall rip.no heal.Spira's pain and make this world whole under my rule." He raised his arms until they formed the horizontal bars of a cross as a large mechanical roaring was heard beneath him, his shape a silhouette from a bright aura growing behind him. "You could use me, be the instrument of my reign, Yuna. You would be first among summoners as your namesake was before you!"
"NEVER!" Yuna cried out as Tidus moved to protect her from the monster before her. The two males played out a short game of domination, silent glares fencing between two sets of blue eyes. Seymour floated up and over the edge of the cliff, joining with a large chariot made of maddened technology.
As he bonded with the mortibody, forming a partnership with the Flux systems, he gave a last parting shot. "Stop me, Son of Jecht, and you doom yourself to destroy the one thing in the world that is as real as you. You would kill your father."
Tidus grimaced; the verbal shot buried deep in his heart. With a yell torn from the bottom of his very soul, the blitzer drew out his sword, Avenger. "ENOUGH! I WILL take you down!"
The others of the party watched as Yuna, Tidus and Kimarhi took the front ranks. With the summoning of a ready and fully charged Valfor the battle was joined.
Snow dusted over the bloody battleground as Tidus sank to his knee. He was exhausted and bruised; a grimace of painful satisfaction crossed his face as he watched the last of the glowing pyreflies scream into nothing. With a motion designed to remove the dirt of combat from his clothing he stood. He looked over the party, Auron and Lulu were down with exhaustion and Yuna was helping them. Wakka tended to Rikku, the little thief having been bashed quite well by the morphed Seymour. Tidus shook his loose blonde hair out and moved to help everyone up.
"We should find some shelter for a while." Mumbled the Warrior-monk as he stood to look at Tidus. "It's going to be a long walk still to the other side of this mountain, and then down again to Zanarkand."
"Ok. What ever you say, old man." The star of the Zanarkand Abes flashed his trademark grin and ran ahead to scout the path.
Snow gave way to the cold stony interior of the mountain. Darkness lit by globs of bioluminescent fungi still held the chill of the mountain. Tidus watched with a touch of distracted wonder as the colors of the glowing plants turned his breath into shimmer before him. Behind the youth walked the rest of the party, the travels up and now through the grand mountain of Spira marked their pace and skin. Even the perky Al-Bhed had grown dark rings of fatigue around her green spiraled eyes. The only one seemingly not affected was Lulu; she ALWAYS looked pale and gaunt. Yuna leaned against the blur fur of her Ronso guardian; his arm showed no stress or strain as he practically carried his charge by his side. Yellow eyes that showed a deep love and intelligence glanced at her and then sought out a familiar red kimono clad figure. Soft mist flowed from around his face, obscuring the sunken and scruffy cheeks, Auron's brown eye scanned before them constantly and diligently.
"HEY! I found some sunken tunnels over here!" Tidus called out. "Get over here Rikku and Wakka! We can deal with this, like, with no problems!"
"It seems we must trust you who are strong in the water." Observed the ex- monk. "We will look for another way around this maze while you take this more direct route."
"Do you have enough potions and elixirs?" asked Lulu. "Take some extra just in case, I can't be around to cast my one and only white spell on you!"
"Is that concern?" Gibed Tidus, "I thought you didn't like dealing with anyone, Heh?"
"Let's just say I don't want to loose anymore than I already have." The black arts mistress responded. "Now take this stuff and get wet." She allowed a small grin to crack her porcelain features. Lulu tossed a rather large rucksack that landed in Tidus' outstretched arms with a clink.
"Ok, we're off. Good luck." Tidus flashed a victory sign and a smile.
"WAIT!" Yuna shouted. She ran up to Tidus and planted a kiss on his suntanned cheek. "For luck." She murmured into his ear. His strong arms found themselves wrapped around her frail white form and he inhaled her scent.
"Stay safe, Yuna." He whispered. "I'll be back to protect you."
It was only by the strength of his will that Tidus let her go. It was by the power of his love that he turned his back on his lovely Summoner and dived like a kingfisher into the flooded and sunken tunnel behind them.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Kimarhi know it's this way." The Ronso sniffed the two passages. "Kimarhi smell fresh air."
"Lead on." Stated a tired Auron. He watched as the Ronso warrior-mage took point and moved into the rightward leading tunnel. They had been moving through the belly of the mountain for what seemed like days. Ever edging closer to the end of his second Pilgrimage. His nearly constant companions had been silent since he had lost himself to his memories near the memorial on the side of Mount Gigazet. It was not a pleasant feeling of loneliness. As he listened for fiends, ghosts, ghouls, and other monsters that had gathered in the shelter of these dark caves, Auron counted the steps to Zanarkand.
"Soon, Braska." He whispered to himself. "I sure hope you have things well in hand over there." He hefted his sword and moved it to a slightly less soar spot on his shoulder. Being on guard for the majority of this expedition in the tunnels, he had kept the great blade poised and ready. "Now we make it to Zanarkand. You told me through Jecht that Tidus and Yuna was the key to this. But how? And more importantly." He sighed and rubbed his temples with his free hand. "why?"
"He's doing it again." Yuna stated to her nearby companion.
"I know. It's very strange, but he still seems alert and ready to defend us." Lulu shook out her long dreadlocks and fiddled with her Mog. "As long as he stays that way I'm all for letting the man have is privacy."
"I so wonder what he has gone through in the last ten years." Yuna shook her head. "It's said he is the only Guardian to ever survive his Summoner's Final Calling."
"Yeah, But don't you wonder why he survived?"
"No. Sir Auron is beyond that type of suspicion. He has been here since Luka and has been very helpful. Why do you question him?"
Lulu looked at her young Summoner with a smile that was as patient as it was caring. "Because you don't." She petted down a few stray locks of hair from Yuna's bi-colored eyes. "And you trust so completely. That is you most powerful weapon that and your obvious feelings for Tidus. But that is also your greatest weakness. You haven't been hurt enough to stop and realize that Sir Auron has his own agenda. He holds no loyalty to the Church or ruling bodies of Spira. In fact, his outlook has been one of almost outright subversion." She hugged Yuna and then pushed against her back to get the white dressed girl to move again. "Remember, not everything is as it seems. Remember your lesson with Maester Seymour."
"I will." Yuna nodded, idly spinning her magical rod like a baton.
The red robed former warrior monk grinned behind his gray leather collar. "Good girl." He breathed staring at Lulu. He turned his attention back to the Ronso at the point.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"FISH! FISH! FISH! FISH! I HATE FISH!"
"Well maybe if you tried actually HITTING them instead of trying to steal from them, you wouldn't need to be revived." Tidus placed his arms akimbo on his hips. "Again."
"Would you to nock it off, yah?" Wakka was nearly as red as Auron's kimono in the face. "If I gotta listen to the two of you whine anymore, I'm gonna hit you both in the back of the head with my spikiest ball!" He pulled out a round object made of spikes and leather. "See, I got it ready, yah?"
Tidus waved off the Captain of the Besaid Aurochs. "All right, all right. Calm down, Wakka. It's just that we're almost outta Phoenix down and miss master thief over here won't contribute to the fish bonking duties."
Wakka looked up to the low ceiling and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes, closed his huge hands into fists and opened his mouth.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
The primal scream echoed along the water-drenched walkway.
"Right. Time to take a look around, right Rikku?"
"Yeah, I think I saw something shiny over there."
* * * * * * * * * * *
"We seem to have found the other side of the water. I wonder what is keeping our three guardians?" Auron motioned to the pristine lake that stood before them. The way out was a cave that had no floor.
"Kimarhi say they will be longer still, traps under dark water."
"Lets set up camp then and wait. I'm sure they will need a warm fire and some good food when they emerge from the depths." Lulu started to pull out her kettle and cookware.
"Kimarhi get us fish." The blue warrior's ears were pricked forward and he stared with the steady glare of a hunting cat at the dark shapes under the calm, still water.
"That leaves me to reconnoiter around the area and make sure we're not settling into anything's nest." Auron levered his blade to his shoulder with a grunt. He moved off along the caves wall as the Ronso warrior knifed cleanly into the water.
"What should I do?" Asked Yuna.
"Work on your Black Magic and summon us a fire." Replied the older woman as she set up a teepee of dried wood under her kettle. "Do you think the water's good?"
"Should be," Yuna motioned for her Fira spell and pointed a stream of flame into the center of the wood. "But we can boil it just to be sure."
"KIMARHI HAVE FISH!" A fleshy thud was heard from the water's edge. It was followed by the distinct sounds of a rather large horned creature being dressed and filleted by the black claws of the dripping warrior.
"Great, now shake off your pelt out there before you get back here. Yuna doesn't need to be catching anything but fiends." Lulu was rummaging in her bags for some of the dried veggies and meats the group had. "Hope everyone like fish stew."
The only reply she received was the sound of Kimarhi shaking himself and drenching the returning Auron.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"There are three holes.There are three of us. Can this be any more lame?" Asked Tidus as he treated the back of his neck with his fingernails.
"Nope, I don't think so." Rikku replied curtly.
"Then lets do this, I got the big green one, Tidus you take the middle one and Rikku, you take the tiny orange one, ya?" Wakka looked at the other two with an exacerbated expression.
"OK. Let's go." Tidus pumped his arm and dived into the water.
Above them, a hearty fish stew was boiling down in the kettle and fillets of horned shark meat sizzled wrapped in leaves under the coals. Auron was sharing his Sake with everyone, warming up their insides with the hearty rice wine until the food was ready.
Kimahri's ears turned and focused on the blank part of the bottomless cave. He set his paw on the ground and nodded. "Feel ground." He grumbled to the others.
They all moved to feel the ground, Auron going so far as to set his ear against the dusty ground. "Something is happening, I can hear a deep rumbling, like a heard of chocobo in the distance in full stampede."
Rikku swam through the little hole in the wall and heard the click of a mechanism activating. She looked up to see a panel in front of her and the two boys swing ponderously upwards, opening up an access to what looked like a lake. Above ground, that same slab of rock came to rest as the floor of the way out. Auron and Kimarhi stood at attention, weapons at the ready as Yuna prepared her black offensive spells.
"Look, Ripples in the lake!" Lulu turned to scan the water, now moving in little wavelets that disturbed the crystal nature of the under ground body of liquid. She watched with tense readiness as three forms floated up. "Tidus, Wakka and Rikku!"
"Clear!" Auron's crisp voice echoed from the entrance to the newly completed cave. He turned to see the others walking up to the fire. He grunted as a cool breeze brushed his red coat and ruffled his salt and pepper hair. He smelled the chill of death on that breeze. Yunalesca was waiting, and no one kept her waiting long.
_______________________________________________________________
A/N: Wow, it took me a whole year to get back at this. I'm so sorry. But it looks like I will be able to finally Finnish this. Thanks to all who might remember me and I hope you enjoy more to come. Degon-gin.