Battles we've Fought
Chapter 11
A fan fiction by DeGonGin
The group walked slowly and cautiously through the newly floored tunnel. Tidus and Wakka took the point as the women formed the vanguard. Auron and Kimahri walked behind. Not a soul in the large party was calm, only the air that held their breaths in soft white clouds before their faces. Tidus moved closer to his beloved Summoner. He took a second to wrap a strong, tanned arm around her. Yuna leaned into his lithe frame and sighed. At the rear, a single brown eye watched the couple stoically.
"Kimahri trying to understand." Stated the blue furred Ronso warrior.
"Speak like you have a sense of grammar, please." Auron's strained voice rumbled from behind his defensive collar. "I don't need to deal with your pigeon conversation style."
Kimahri's ears snapped up to attention. "That came out of the freezing hells, my friend."
Auron's stride continued unabated as he turned to look at the leonine face over his blue sunglasses. "I apologize, Kimahri, this will be the most difficult part of the journey." He motioned to the cave before them. "I know what lies ahead."
Kimahri's yellow eyes scanned the growing blue glow ahead. "Zanarkand." His whispered word formed as mist at the end of his short muzzle. The warrior turned his gaze to the man beside him. "Can you tell me what to expect? Anything I need to keep Yuna safe?"
"No, what we face now is the past. My past with Braska as well as the entire past of this sad, grief stricken world." Auron's massive frame shuddered strongly, the tip of his large katana tracing a circle in the chill air. "Zanarkand remembers." His free hand, normally dangling loosely within the folds of his red kimono briefly clenched into a fist. "The last city remembers all that the Church would have us forget, what we would forget if we could. It is the unresting calm of memories best left undisturbed." The warrior-monk's voice faded to a shadow of itself as the man tried to silence his own words. "It is a rotting corpse, too stubborn to let the world go free. It is the truest form of hypocrisy, and home to my sorrow."
Kimahri was concerned. He looked closely at what showed for his companion's face. The Glasses had slipped down Auron's nose, revealing the single remaining brown eye. Whatever the former monk was watching it was not the path they all walked on, his gaze swept to the past and focused on something painful. "I don't know what you see, my friend. But you should focus on the here and now. You are on Yuna's quest, not the fathers." He extended his claw tipped paw to lightly rest on the red coated back of his traveling companion. Tension had turned the flesh to stone, and grief threatened to cast down the stone into dust. "What happened to you and your first party, it is important."
"But..." Auron's voice was filled with a deep resolve.
"Now is Yuna and Tidus' time. You are doing what you have been sent to do, yes? You are taking them to the end, to the Final Summoning. Let the past sit here and brood, you must be strong."
Auron took a deep breath, pulling in all the calm and peace of the chill mountain. Like an addict, he held the breath in his lungs for a pregnant moment. He allowed the Ronso to guide with his massive paw and closed his eye. In his minds eye he placed all the pain, grief, darkness in his Unsent soul on the fountain of air that wanted to burst from his body. The Exhalation was strong and drawn out. To the rest of the party it sounded as if he was performing a ritual of focusing on breath. To the Warrior, it sounded like the gasp of a drowning man.
"Better?" growled the Ronso.
"It will do." came the once again stoic calm voice of the Legendary Guardian.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT DIS?" Wakka shouted from the front of the large party. "What the heck made this, ya? What is it?"
"It looks like a giant Fayth." Lulu stated with a slight waver of awe.
They had exited the cave and walked into a sight rarely seen. A large glacial lake glowed with the liquid of dreams and memories. Bright blue and green pyreflies drifted about the water lighting the stone cliffs that ringed it. A single opening from the cave traced a trail along the right side of the water. Standing guard over the footpath were the fossilized remains of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. They stood, crouched, bowed and lifted their hands in frozen supplication to the sky above. In the center of the lake rose a column of blues, greens, whites, and yellows. It was a tornado of emotions made into light and it ran upwards to be lost in the grey clouded sky above. The group moved with reverence and awe along the trail, only Auron seemed unaffected by the sights and soft sounds surrounding them.
"It is a great Fayth. And someone is using it to summon something." Yuna stated with a voice deepening with emotion.
"But what could you possibly summon with this much power?" Rikku touched the frozen face of a woman as she walked along the trail. She was disturbed by the near ecstatic expression that laid petrified under her hand. "And more importantly would be the answer to the question 'Why?'."
Lulu looked up with a mote of respect in her crimson gaze. "That is true. What, why, and who as well."
"What ever the reasons, this is the most beautiful and creepy thing I have ever seen since I fell out of the sky." Tidus stated as he looked around.
Kimahri left the side of the warrior-monk to stand closer to Yuna as she gazed thoughtfully into the waters of the lake. Tidus, having contributed all he could to the conversation moved to stand next to the cliff face. He gazed up at the wall of frozen humanity that stretched for hundreds of feet vertically. As the rest of the party broke up and scattered along the long curve of trail, he moved closer. The small form of a child had captured his attention. It was a young boy, arms clutching a woman about the waist. Tiny hands so delicately carved you could see them holding onto her with no intent to ever let go. The youth's eyes stared back at Tidus, face holding the expression of wary expectation tinged with fear. The blitzballer could not believe the detail in the carving, it would be a master carver that made this. Not thinking on what he was doing, he removed the leather glove that covered his right hand. With an entranced expression on his face he reverently brushed his fingertips over the stone cold cheek of the boy. A burst of bright colors and heat exploded upon his face, and Tidus fell to the ground, unmoving and unnaturally still.
"TIDUS!" Yuna screamed as the youthful blonde fell boneless to the earth. "Lulu! Wakka! Kimahri!" She rattled off the names of the others in a panicked shudder. "Sir Auron, help him!" She rushed to Tidus' side, shaking his shoulders. "He's so cold!"
"Move aside, Yuna. Let us help." Lulu swiftly moved into her pockets and pulled out a pharmacopeia of healing droughts and remedies. Auron walked slowly forward, surprise and concern rolling off his form. With a delicate touch he reached out with his bare hand and pulled Yuna up and away from Tidus. She swiftly turned in his grip and like a striking adder slapped his face with her open hand. His glasses landed at their feet, both of them frozen in shared confusion and pain.
"Why didn't you warn us?" Yuna hissed at the Legendary Guardian. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"I didn't ... couldn't have known." His voice was whispered in complete shock. "This did not happen ..." he looked around, like a man wakening from a horrid nightmare. He swallowed and calmed himself, setting his great sword point first in the ground at his feet. With his other hand free he rubbed his face and stared down at the woman in white before him. "This never happened to us when I first walked this path. This was silent, dark. There was nothing glowing, no power here." his voice was steady and strong again, the role of elder slipping back on his armored shoulders. "I can't tell you what to do, nor can I help you. I'm sorry."
"Oh, Sir Auron." Yuna lost the last shreds of control over her fear. "Is he gone?" She reached under his arms and held him, embracing him in her fear.
"My lady summoner..." Auron found his words failing him. He looked past her at the group surrounding Tidus. Kimahri was looking back, yellow eyes filled with concern. A slight shake of his head was signal enough.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Tidus woke to the feel of his cheek resting against cold metal. Slowly he opened his eyes and gasped. Jerking up, he rose and stared around him. He was on his Father's house boat. Zanarkand, his Zanarkand around him, water flowing in arching cascades that marked the horizon. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was a dream, all a very bad, never ever going to raid dad's liquor cabinet again dream. He stood the rest of the way up and brushed himself off, he was still in his blizers uniform he noticed. With a shrug he looked around, it was dark, late at night. In the distance, across the large harbor he could see the lights of Zanarkand. Nothing seemed to be happening; no-one seemed to be around. He moved slowly along the long familiar deck hand resting lightly on the railing.
"About time you got here."
Tidus swung around to look at the source of the childlike voice. "You."
"Yes. I have a message for you."
"What?"
"We are tired of dreaming. It is time, we have been asleep for so long. Please, finish this and let us rest."
"That's it?" Tidus grabbed his upper arms, crossing them in front of him. "Can you be more specific?"
"Tidus, man, wake up!" Wakka's image faded into existence for a short moment and faded away even faster still.
The small ghost of the boy who was the Aeon Bahamut smiled as he stood up from his crouch against the helm. He moved to stand over Tidus, his position on the main deck giving him added height over the blitzer standing on the rear deck. With his small arms he motioned to the young blitzer. "I will spell it out for you then. All you see, feel, hear, smell and touch is a dream. All those that lie in that cavern, we all made a pact to continue what was once whole. We could not let our vision of Zanarkand die as the true city had. So, we gathered together and formed what you saw below. We are the Fayth of Zanarkand and we dreamed all that you are and know." The youth looked down at the shocked Tidus. "You do realize what this means, right?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Will you give us our rest?" The ghost settled down on his haunches. "Can you go on?"
Tidus lowered his head; one hand fell to his side, the other raising to cradle his temple. He was overwhelmed. This entire journey, he and the others walked resolutely toward their summoner's death. Now, it is his death they walk toward as well. "I don't have a choice." Tidus looked up at the small boy, "I have to keep going, maybe I can still save Yuna."
"Please, please. Wake up." Yuna's form flickered into existence. The blitzer turned in time to see her disappear again.
"Thank you." The Fayth stood and waved in a gesture of farewell. "Remember: we dream for you, you must end this all."
Tidus nodded and held up a hand, "Wait, please. Let me look around a bit, OK? This was my home."
"Take a little time, Tidus. We can wait a little longer."
"Thanks." Tidus moved along the railing and headed into the cabin of the house boat. With a soft smile of remembrance he moved along the familiar yet empty place. Behind him, the youth who spoke for the dreaming of Zanarkand faded into a small cloud of glowing pyreflies.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't know what else to do. He seems to be asleep, but so deep that nothing will wake him." Lulu's voice was worried. She moved to Tidus' side and laid a gentle hand on the young man's forehead. Yuna sat nearby, resting on Kimahri. Wakka nodded to the dark magician and folded the top of the medicinal supply case over the opening. He sighed and moved to place the pack back with the supplies.
"Have you tried slapping him?" Auron moved forward from his resting place, he had arranged himself after Yuna had used him as emotional support. With a grunt he lifted his weapon to his shoulder. Yuna looked up quickly with a blush. He took that moment to press his sunglasses up on his nose, hiding the grin he could not help.
Tidus blinked, with a moan he started to sit up.
'Tidus!" Yuna shot like a rocket into the disorientated youth. With a flash of moods she flicked his chin with a stern index finger. "Don't you EVER do something like that again! I almost went insane when you fell!"
"My apologies, my Lady Summoner." Tidus spoke with a far amount of reverence for the white garbed and angry woman before him.
"What happened to you?" Auron walked forward and stared eye to eye with Tidus. He gave "the look", the one that the young man had long since understood.fess up or suffer consequences. Sir Auron could be quite inventive when it came to "consequences".
"I blacked out. I must be more tired from that exploration than I thought. Don't worry." Tidus smiled at the gathered party. "Can we continue?"
"Tell us when you feel like you gonna loose it, yah? That way we can be ready for it." Wakka walked up and helped Tidus to his feet. "Sheesh! You don't want Lulu to get upset!"
Auron watched as the party formed up around the blonde jock. He turned his gaze to the path and its exit out onto the plain where the lost city of Zanarkand lay. With a sigh and a grunt he hefted his massive sword to its perch on his shoulder and walked toward the yellow light of Zanarkand. "Soon, Jecht, Braska. Soon." He murmured to himself in a whispered tone.
A/N: Well, another chapter. One that I'm quite proud of. Thanks for the reviews.yes I'm back and in black! See you next chapter!
De_gon_gin
Chapter 11
A fan fiction by DeGonGin
The group walked slowly and cautiously through the newly floored tunnel. Tidus and Wakka took the point as the women formed the vanguard. Auron and Kimahri walked behind. Not a soul in the large party was calm, only the air that held their breaths in soft white clouds before their faces. Tidus moved closer to his beloved Summoner. He took a second to wrap a strong, tanned arm around her. Yuna leaned into his lithe frame and sighed. At the rear, a single brown eye watched the couple stoically.
"Kimahri trying to understand." Stated the blue furred Ronso warrior.
"Speak like you have a sense of grammar, please." Auron's strained voice rumbled from behind his defensive collar. "I don't need to deal with your pigeon conversation style."
Kimahri's ears snapped up to attention. "That came out of the freezing hells, my friend."
Auron's stride continued unabated as he turned to look at the leonine face over his blue sunglasses. "I apologize, Kimahri, this will be the most difficult part of the journey." He motioned to the cave before them. "I know what lies ahead."
Kimahri's yellow eyes scanned the growing blue glow ahead. "Zanarkand." His whispered word formed as mist at the end of his short muzzle. The warrior turned his gaze to the man beside him. "Can you tell me what to expect? Anything I need to keep Yuna safe?"
"No, what we face now is the past. My past with Braska as well as the entire past of this sad, grief stricken world." Auron's massive frame shuddered strongly, the tip of his large katana tracing a circle in the chill air. "Zanarkand remembers." His free hand, normally dangling loosely within the folds of his red kimono briefly clenched into a fist. "The last city remembers all that the Church would have us forget, what we would forget if we could. It is the unresting calm of memories best left undisturbed." The warrior-monk's voice faded to a shadow of itself as the man tried to silence his own words. "It is a rotting corpse, too stubborn to let the world go free. It is the truest form of hypocrisy, and home to my sorrow."
Kimahri was concerned. He looked closely at what showed for his companion's face. The Glasses had slipped down Auron's nose, revealing the single remaining brown eye. Whatever the former monk was watching it was not the path they all walked on, his gaze swept to the past and focused on something painful. "I don't know what you see, my friend. But you should focus on the here and now. You are on Yuna's quest, not the fathers." He extended his claw tipped paw to lightly rest on the red coated back of his traveling companion. Tension had turned the flesh to stone, and grief threatened to cast down the stone into dust. "What happened to you and your first party, it is important."
"But..." Auron's voice was filled with a deep resolve.
"Now is Yuna and Tidus' time. You are doing what you have been sent to do, yes? You are taking them to the end, to the Final Summoning. Let the past sit here and brood, you must be strong."
Auron took a deep breath, pulling in all the calm and peace of the chill mountain. Like an addict, he held the breath in his lungs for a pregnant moment. He allowed the Ronso to guide with his massive paw and closed his eye. In his minds eye he placed all the pain, grief, darkness in his Unsent soul on the fountain of air that wanted to burst from his body. The Exhalation was strong and drawn out. To the rest of the party it sounded as if he was performing a ritual of focusing on breath. To the Warrior, it sounded like the gasp of a drowning man.
"Better?" growled the Ronso.
"It will do." came the once again stoic calm voice of the Legendary Guardian.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT DIS?" Wakka shouted from the front of the large party. "What the heck made this, ya? What is it?"
"It looks like a giant Fayth." Lulu stated with a slight waver of awe.
They had exited the cave and walked into a sight rarely seen. A large glacial lake glowed with the liquid of dreams and memories. Bright blue and green pyreflies drifted about the water lighting the stone cliffs that ringed it. A single opening from the cave traced a trail along the right side of the water. Standing guard over the footpath were the fossilized remains of hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. They stood, crouched, bowed and lifted their hands in frozen supplication to the sky above. In the center of the lake rose a column of blues, greens, whites, and yellows. It was a tornado of emotions made into light and it ran upwards to be lost in the grey clouded sky above. The group moved with reverence and awe along the trail, only Auron seemed unaffected by the sights and soft sounds surrounding them.
"It is a great Fayth. And someone is using it to summon something." Yuna stated with a voice deepening with emotion.
"But what could you possibly summon with this much power?" Rikku touched the frozen face of a woman as she walked along the trail. She was disturbed by the near ecstatic expression that laid petrified under her hand. "And more importantly would be the answer to the question 'Why?'."
Lulu looked up with a mote of respect in her crimson gaze. "That is true. What, why, and who as well."
"What ever the reasons, this is the most beautiful and creepy thing I have ever seen since I fell out of the sky." Tidus stated as he looked around.
Kimahri left the side of the warrior-monk to stand closer to Yuna as she gazed thoughtfully into the waters of the lake. Tidus, having contributed all he could to the conversation moved to stand next to the cliff face. He gazed up at the wall of frozen humanity that stretched for hundreds of feet vertically. As the rest of the party broke up and scattered along the long curve of trail, he moved closer. The small form of a child had captured his attention. It was a young boy, arms clutching a woman about the waist. Tiny hands so delicately carved you could see them holding onto her with no intent to ever let go. The youth's eyes stared back at Tidus, face holding the expression of wary expectation tinged with fear. The blitzballer could not believe the detail in the carving, it would be a master carver that made this. Not thinking on what he was doing, he removed the leather glove that covered his right hand. With an entranced expression on his face he reverently brushed his fingertips over the stone cold cheek of the boy. A burst of bright colors and heat exploded upon his face, and Tidus fell to the ground, unmoving and unnaturally still.
"TIDUS!" Yuna screamed as the youthful blonde fell boneless to the earth. "Lulu! Wakka! Kimahri!" She rattled off the names of the others in a panicked shudder. "Sir Auron, help him!" She rushed to Tidus' side, shaking his shoulders. "He's so cold!"
"Move aside, Yuna. Let us help." Lulu swiftly moved into her pockets and pulled out a pharmacopeia of healing droughts and remedies. Auron walked slowly forward, surprise and concern rolling off his form. With a delicate touch he reached out with his bare hand and pulled Yuna up and away from Tidus. She swiftly turned in his grip and like a striking adder slapped his face with her open hand. His glasses landed at their feet, both of them frozen in shared confusion and pain.
"Why didn't you warn us?" Yuna hissed at the Legendary Guardian. "Why didn't you stop him?"
"I didn't ... couldn't have known." His voice was whispered in complete shock. "This did not happen ..." he looked around, like a man wakening from a horrid nightmare. He swallowed and calmed himself, setting his great sword point first in the ground at his feet. With his other hand free he rubbed his face and stared down at the woman in white before him. "This never happened to us when I first walked this path. This was silent, dark. There was nothing glowing, no power here." his voice was steady and strong again, the role of elder slipping back on his armored shoulders. "I can't tell you what to do, nor can I help you. I'm sorry."
"Oh, Sir Auron." Yuna lost the last shreds of control over her fear. "Is he gone?" She reached under his arms and held him, embracing him in her fear.
"My lady summoner..." Auron found his words failing him. He looked past her at the group surrounding Tidus. Kimahri was looking back, yellow eyes filled with concern. A slight shake of his head was signal enough.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Tidus woke to the feel of his cheek resting against cold metal. Slowly he opened his eyes and gasped. Jerking up, he rose and stared around him. He was on his Father's house boat. Zanarkand, his Zanarkand around him, water flowing in arching cascades that marked the horizon. He breathed a sigh of relief, it was a dream, all a very bad, never ever going to raid dad's liquor cabinet again dream. He stood the rest of the way up and brushed himself off, he was still in his blizers uniform he noticed. With a shrug he looked around, it was dark, late at night. In the distance, across the large harbor he could see the lights of Zanarkand. Nothing seemed to be happening; no-one seemed to be around. He moved slowly along the long familiar deck hand resting lightly on the railing.
"About time you got here."
Tidus swung around to look at the source of the childlike voice. "You."
"Yes. I have a message for you."
"What?"
"We are tired of dreaming. It is time, we have been asleep for so long. Please, finish this and let us rest."
"That's it?" Tidus grabbed his upper arms, crossing them in front of him. "Can you be more specific?"
"Tidus, man, wake up!" Wakka's image faded into existence for a short moment and faded away even faster still.
The small ghost of the boy who was the Aeon Bahamut smiled as he stood up from his crouch against the helm. He moved to stand over Tidus, his position on the main deck giving him added height over the blitzer standing on the rear deck. With his small arms he motioned to the young blitzer. "I will spell it out for you then. All you see, feel, hear, smell and touch is a dream. All those that lie in that cavern, we all made a pact to continue what was once whole. We could not let our vision of Zanarkand die as the true city had. So, we gathered together and formed what you saw below. We are the Fayth of Zanarkand and we dreamed all that you are and know." The youth looked down at the shocked Tidus. "You do realize what this means, right?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"Will you give us our rest?" The ghost settled down on his haunches. "Can you go on?"
Tidus lowered his head; one hand fell to his side, the other raising to cradle his temple. He was overwhelmed. This entire journey, he and the others walked resolutely toward their summoner's death. Now, it is his death they walk toward as well. "I don't have a choice." Tidus looked up at the small boy, "I have to keep going, maybe I can still save Yuna."
"Please, please. Wake up." Yuna's form flickered into existence. The blitzer turned in time to see her disappear again.
"Thank you." The Fayth stood and waved in a gesture of farewell. "Remember: we dream for you, you must end this all."
Tidus nodded and held up a hand, "Wait, please. Let me look around a bit, OK? This was my home."
"Take a little time, Tidus. We can wait a little longer."
"Thanks." Tidus moved along the railing and headed into the cabin of the house boat. With a soft smile of remembrance he moved along the familiar yet empty place. Behind him, the youth who spoke for the dreaming of Zanarkand faded into a small cloud of glowing pyreflies.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"I don't know what else to do. He seems to be asleep, but so deep that nothing will wake him." Lulu's voice was worried. She moved to Tidus' side and laid a gentle hand on the young man's forehead. Yuna sat nearby, resting on Kimahri. Wakka nodded to the dark magician and folded the top of the medicinal supply case over the opening. He sighed and moved to place the pack back with the supplies.
"Have you tried slapping him?" Auron moved forward from his resting place, he had arranged himself after Yuna had used him as emotional support. With a grunt he lifted his weapon to his shoulder. Yuna looked up quickly with a blush. He took that moment to press his sunglasses up on his nose, hiding the grin he could not help.
Tidus blinked, with a moan he started to sit up.
'Tidus!" Yuna shot like a rocket into the disorientated youth. With a flash of moods she flicked his chin with a stern index finger. "Don't you EVER do something like that again! I almost went insane when you fell!"
"My apologies, my Lady Summoner." Tidus spoke with a far amount of reverence for the white garbed and angry woman before him.
"What happened to you?" Auron walked forward and stared eye to eye with Tidus. He gave "the look", the one that the young man had long since understood.fess up or suffer consequences. Sir Auron could be quite inventive when it came to "consequences".
"I blacked out. I must be more tired from that exploration than I thought. Don't worry." Tidus smiled at the gathered party. "Can we continue?"
"Tell us when you feel like you gonna loose it, yah? That way we can be ready for it." Wakka walked up and helped Tidus to his feet. "Sheesh! You don't want Lulu to get upset!"
Auron watched as the party formed up around the blonde jock. He turned his gaze to the path and its exit out onto the plain where the lost city of Zanarkand lay. With a sigh and a grunt he hefted his massive sword to its perch on his shoulder and walked toward the yellow light of Zanarkand. "Soon, Jecht, Braska. Soon." He murmured to himself in a whispered tone.
A/N: Well, another chapter. One that I'm quite proud of. Thanks for the reviews.yes I'm back and in black! See you next chapter!
De_gon_gin