Disclaimer: I own nothing. Absolutely nothing. I'm typing this at a
public terminal wearing only a paper bag as pants. It's not even my paper
bag. I lease it by the month.
Chapter 6
Bladed Friendship
Anthony woke up and fell into his new daily routine for Spira. He woke up, bathed, got dressed, ate breakfast, and played Blitzball with Wakka. He was getting better at the water sport, and looked forward to it more than anything else in Spira.
He walked out of his diminutive hut and saw Yuna walking by. He smiled and waved a small wave. She didn't notice him, her head forward and up, deep in thought. She was still a bit confused over the "Incident", as it was being called. He gave an inner smirk.
"YUNA!"
"Oh? Hi Anthony. I'm sorry, I was--"
"Distracted. I figured. Yuna, I know you're confused about this. Everyone is, especially me," Anthony said. "Just relax for a bit, and then when you're feeling better, try to take this on."
"Anthony, it's not that, its--"
"Yuna, after taking Final Exams for a good six years of my life, I know stress. You need to rest, have fun, just do something."
"I really need to do some thinking. Thank you though."
Anthony gave a fake but convincing glare. "You will rest.or I'll have Lulu zap you, and force you to." The look on his face told Yuna he would probably follow through with his promise.
"You would not." Yuna said though her voice wavered a bit.
Anthony had a smirk that was more suited to an old gangster movie than to a man trying to convince a friend to have fun. "You'd think that. wouldn't you?" he said in a low voice that almost seemed menacing.
"Anthony? You're acting odd. Are you all right?"
'I always get through depression through false cheer and sarcasm' Anthony thought. He had been feeling the familiar feelings of depression for awhile now, ever since his dream. He felt inadequate. His friends and family were probably killing themselves with worry, and he was hanging out with new friends on an island that made Hawaii look like a polluted ghetto. He couldn't help it; there was nothing else he could do. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. It didn't mean he had to like it. But Yuna and the others were depressed enough. No reason to bring them down any deeper, was there?
"I'm fine. C'mon. Lets do something fun." Anthony said.
"I really think I should just stay and--"
Anthony took this opportunity to place his hand over her mouth.
"It's not nice to lie. Just relax. Please. I really do not want to get Lulu involved. Something tells me it would involve yelling, slapping, and a lot of lightning."
Anthony removed his hand smiled and looked at her with questioning eyes. Yuna smiled the small, warm smile that had warmed many a heart on her pilgrimage. Anthony waved her to the path out of the village with his left arm. "C'mon."
"Anthony, what's that?" Yuna asked pointing at his extended arm.
Anthony simply smiled and started to walk away. That was the third time she'd asked him about his new bracer. The others had asked as well, but, as with Yuna, he'd simply smiled and walked away. It wasn't like he could just tell them, nor could he tell them that Tidus had been coming to his dreams nightly, training him to be a guardian. He would teach him the basics of fighting, and some Spiran culture to prepare him for. for something. Whenever Anthony asked Tidus why there was a need, he changed the subject.
'Sounds familiar' Anthony thought.
"Hey!" a high pitched voice shouted behind Anthony and Yuna. They both turned to see Rikku and Lulu walking towards them, Rikku her normal excited self, and Lulu wearing her usual smirk.
Anthony turned on his heel and walked towards them. His grin grew a bit wider. He stopped about a foot away from them.
"Rikku! Hi! Anthony said with a smirk. "Lulu, we were just talking about you".
"Really now? Just what were you talking about?" Lulu asked suspiciously.
Anthony's smile faded a bit. "Nothing specifically. So, what brings you here?"
"Nothing, just wanted to know where you were going," Rikku responded with an arched eyebrow.
"Um...Anthony didn't say where he was going to go, and he just talked me into coming with him. Anthony, where were you going to go?"
"Uh.um.gimme a sec.." He said with a joking grin, even though he honestly had forgotten where he had been going.
"HEY!" a shout came from the path. Wakka was running towards them.
"Oh, yeah. I was gonna practice blitzing with Wakka," Anthony said in a humorous tone to attempt to run with his 'joke'.
"Hey! Can we come?" Rikku said bouncing on her heels with excitement.
"You blitz?" Anthony asked, a bit shocked, but he wasn't sure why.
"Of course! I train with the Psyches."
"The who now?" Anthony asked with his head tilted.
"The Al Bhed team, the Psyches. I help them train back at Home."
"Ah. Sure, why not? I'm getting tired of just practicing with Wakka. He's so damn slow." Anthony said, and he shoved Wakka with his shoulder. Wakka returned the favor, and then some, nearly knocking Anthony into Rikku.
"What was that? You want a piece?" Anthony said laughing. In return Wakka gave him a look that would have suggested his idea of a good time would be to tear Anthony's face off. Anthony would be scared if the look hadn't shared his face with a large toothy grin.
"Um, boys? We kinda want to blitz, not drag bodies back to the temple for Yunie and the nuns to heal you." Rikku said bouncing merrily on her heels.
"Fine. I'll let him off," Anthony said, "with a warning."
Wakka opened his mouth to say something, but Yuna cut him off. "Great. Let's go."
"Ya, lets get going then. C'mon brudda, or you afraid 'a losin'?" Wakka challenged.
"You don't give up do you?" Anthony said, standing straight up, hand massaging his temples. Then he suddenly broke into a sprint towards the lake. "Well neither do I!" the dark haired man shouted over his shoulder.
"HEY!!! I'll catch you, ya?" Wakka shouted, following Anthony at a similar pace.
Lulu gave an exasperated sigh. "They're like children. You better follow them, or one of them will challenge the other to a death match to go two out of three"
Rikku laughed, and Yuna smiled lightly. They both followed them at a slightly slower speed, while Lulu simply walked, struggling to suppress a smile.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Somewhere hidden in the Besaid ruins, it waited.
It simply waited, crouched in the shadows. It did not take its eyes off the path.
It did not think. Its mind was not complex enough for what is considered conscious thought, but urges, senses, and instinct. All were present, and all were working like a computer. Any thing moved, made a sound, or simply existed, it was aware, and either disregarded it or stored it away until it was useful.
There! A sound. Two. Humans, slightly larger than average, male. The being's senses all focused on them. It received countless bits of data on them. From what they had for dinner, and everything they hade done for the last 6 hours. It could tell how large they were just by the sound of their heartbeats.
Then, new sensations. Two more, Female, smaller than the others, and one of them... One had the scent.
The thing did not know what the scent was, but it knew that it was there. It knew the scent since. it could not begin to figure out how it had come to know the scent or even comprehend what the importance of the scent was. All it knew was that it had to find the one with the scent.
And kill it.
Not yet. Its instincts warned it. The time was not right. It had friends near by. It was energetic, its adrenaline pumping. It would be too dangerous now. Later. It would get it later.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Anthony and Wakka arrived within seconds of each other at the lake. Both were somewhat out of breath, and both were arguing over who had won. Rikku and Yuna were only a few moments behind them and both just laughed at the two.
"Where's Lu?" Wakka asked, slightly tilting his head to the side.
"She'll be here. She can't run, so just wait," Yuna replied, still smiling.
A few moments later, she emerged at the front of the path. Wakka walked out to meet her, saying, "There ya are. I was getting worried. Like maybe a fiend nabbed ya or somethin',"
Lulu looked like she was about to say something, but the look in her husbands eyes silenced her. The married couple held each others arms and just smiled at each other.
Anthony looked at them with an arched eyebrow.
"Are they always like this?" Anthony asked Yuna.
Yuna gave a small laugh, "No, sometimes they're really bad."
"I figured as much," Anthony said, reaching down for the Blitzball Wakka had brought. He picked it up, stretched back, and threw it straight at Wakka's head. It hit, knocking him sideways, the ball flying up and coming back down on his head, and finally resting near his foot.
Wakka stood up, picking up the Blitzball from the ground. "HEY! What gives?"
"You two are married. Stop being so damn loving. You should be arguing and at each others throats by now. And besides, we came here to blitz. Let's go already." Anthony said.
"Fine, ya impatient son of a shoo--"
"Wakka, just go. It's ok." Lulu said calmingly.
"Fine. But you ain't getting off that easy, ya?" he said, pointing at the smaller man as he said the last part.
"Great, peachy-keen, whatever, just GO!" Anthony said, aggravated.
Wakka smiled, and then broke into a run, straight towards the shorter man. Anthony braced for a tackle, a punch, anything, but Wakka simply ran past him. He dove into the water, a perfect swan dive.
Rikku, not wanting to be left out, followed with an elaborate and delicate spinning dive, slipping into the water, barely leaving a ripple.
Anthony gave a snarling grin. He then turned to Yuna, offering silently with his hands that she go first. She simply smiled and shook her head a bit. He shrugged, then dove, doing one flip, a spin, and then with a bit of effort, managed a second flip before he entered the water.
Yuna looked a bit uneasy. It was obvious she wanted to join in on the fun, but part of her knew better than to do what she wanted to do.
Lulu caught her eye, smiled, and said, "Go ahead. Show them."
Yuna smiled, then, with a short run, she leaped over the edge. She twisted, spinning, flipping in a complicated routine that no one could hope to even remember, much less replicate. Then.
"She's too shallow, she's gonna hurt herself!" Anthony said, worry for his friend obvious in his voice. "Hey, you gonna help her?" Anthony near- shouted, his head bobbing next to Rikku's and Wakka's.
"She'll be fine, ya? Just watch," Wakka said, much too calm for Anthony to be comfortable with.
Yuna completed the maneuver, and rolled forward on the surface of the water. She flipped up, and stood on her toes, in front of the bobbing heads. She bowed her head, and then smiled at them.
Anthony stared, and then turned to the others, mouth slightly agape. "Is that cheating?"
Rikku smiled and shook her head slightly "Nope."
"Then she wins." Anthony said, pointing at the summoner.
Then, his other hand, reached out of the water and grabbed her foot, and pulled a shocked Yuna into the water, her head level with his and the others' bobbing heads. He then grinned and swam away as fast as he could. Yuna gave a look of mock anger, Wakka laughed, and Rikku began to chase Anthony.
Above, on the ledge Lulu smiled, watching them. She muttered, "They're all acting like children."
~Ten minuets and one mild smacking around later~
The Blitzball game was under way. They had decided that the teams were going to be Yuna and Wakka against Anthony and Rikku. Wakka and Yuna were up three points, but Anthony and Rikku were wearing them down. Granted, it was a very slow wearing down, but it was something.
Anthony was out front with Rikku playing defense/goal tender, Yuna and Wakka were charging, leaving no one at the goal, but keeping both players very busy. One of the reasons that Anthony and Rikku were working harder than their counter parts was Anthony's reluctance to tackle Yuna. He didn't think she was weak, he wasn't afraid she would get hurt or anything that chauvinistic, but when ever he got close enough to tackle her, a flash of a manga usually involving a man with glasses tripping, or being pushed into a girl with long blond hair, his hands ending up in the wrong place and being launched into the upper atmosphere (A.N. A Love Hina reference for you who have not read the manga or seen the anime [which you should]) came to mind, and he would slow down, and simply block, not tackle. This got Rikku mad at Anthony, and their team started to fall behind. Anthony finally decided he would simply tackle Wakka, and leave Yuna for Rikku, which worked out better, but not perfectly. Yuna was much better than Anthony would have thought, and she scored quite a few goals.
Eventually Yuna and Wakka won, which left Anthony to be mocked mercilessly by Wakka and for Rikku to yell at him for not doing his job. Yuna and Lulu sat on the ledge, watching and laughing.
They walked back to the village as the sun began to dip a bit beneath the hills. The mood was cheerful. Everyone was talking and laughing. Anthony had begun to wander out to the front of the group. He spun on his heel and began walking backwards, grinning. It was a good feeling. He then spun back around and did something he had been doing since he was six years old.
He whistled.
He didn't really think about it, he just whistled the first song that came in his head. The song didn't even sound right for what was going on, it was a slower, calming tune, but he didn't care. He placed his hands behind his head, and leaned back a bit. He turned his head slightly to the side, only to see his friends behind him, stopped in the middle of the path.
"What?" he asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna was laughing, chatting having fun. It was the first time she had had fun in awhile. 'Three months, two weeks, five days', she thought. That one thought could have ruined it, could have pushed her deeper into her depression, if it had the chance. Right as she thought that, she heard something.
At first she thought it was a bird, singing nearby. But it couldn't be a bird. It was too, accurate, deliberate to be a bird. She looked ahead and saw Anthony leaning back, lips pursed and curled in a smile at the edges.
It took her a second to realize everything. First, that she recognized the sound, it was a whistle. It was different from the one she had learned from Tidus, but it was the same thing. The odd sound of air rushing out from between a person's lips was unmistakable.
That statement also brought the second observation. Tidus was the one who taught her how to whistle, and she was the only one he had taught, and she had never taught anyone. When this hit her, she stopped fast in the middle of the path.
Anthony turned back at her, then he went wide eyed.
"What?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The creature crouched lower. It had one chance; it would be too late soon. It waited for an opening.
It was on edge. The creature did not know fear, did not know love, did not know happiness, did not know sadness. But it new impatience. Whatever evolutionary track it had come down had somehow trained it for impatience. It was on edge, rocking back and forth on its heels. It needed to kill it. It needed to kill her. Its impatience flooded it with all kinds of hormones, increasing its energy and senses.
Then it noticed something. His target was distracted, stunned, taken aback. This was an opening. This was its chance. It was the only chance it would get.
Its hand gripped the blade tighter with the excitement before it pounced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It struck too quickly for anyone too comprehend.
It was a hideous creature. Some weird combination of coyote and man. Its coloration was odd, tan and purple in stripes and blotches. It walked upright and had hands, but other than that it was dog-like It had a long snout and tail, large pointed ears, it wore no clothes. And it had a blade. A blade that was about the length of a sword, but did not appear to be purely metal. It almost seemed like someone had grown it, and odd mix of almost flesh-like wood or similar substance, and odd metal bits poking from within it.
It lunged at Yuna, taking her down to the ground and off to the side of the path. She was too taken aback to respond to such an attack.
Wakka, however, wasn't. Out of reflex, he kicked his Blitzball straight at the creature, taking it in the head. It was knocked off balance temporarily. That was all Yuna needed. She twisted, and rolled out from underneath the creature. She rolled off the path, into the brush.
The creature looked at its assailant. It rushed at Wakka, blade out. It hit a wall of ice. Lulu stood there, one arm outstretched. It turned at her, and she did not have time to cast a spell.
Anthony was frozen until he saw it rush at Lulu, who was positioned directly between him and the.whatever it was. He suddenly moved right next to her, and threw a punch at the creature. It never connected. He was thrown off balance by Lulu, sliding back to a more defensive position, and he was tangled in the creature's legs. It stumbled, stepping into the area between where his ankles had landed, and Anthony took the opportunity and scissored his legs, tripping it. He then scrambled to his feet.
Wakka, who had taken the opportunity to retrieve his Blitzball, shouted "HEY!! Get Lu outta here!!"
Anthony nodded in agreement, his running kicking sand into their attacker's eyes, distracting it for a bit. He reached Lulu and said, "C'mon, you heard him. Let's get the hell outta here."
"No."
"What the hell do you mean 'no'? C'mon, Wakka said to get you out of here, and I'm gonna do it."
"I can help and I will." She said stubbornly.
Anthony gave her a hard stare, usually one he reserved for people he really hated, and even then, only when he was in a bad mood. He thought for an instant, and tried to reason with her, while grabbing her wrist to try to pull her along. He regretted it, as shocks began to run up his arm, but he held on. "If we don't go, Wakka will be distracted. He'll be too busy worrying about you and your kid if we stay, and then he'll end up dead. No one wants that, right?"
"But, he'll, they'll." she stammered, almost uncharacteristically worried.
"We'll get Kimahri, he'll help. Now LET'S GO!!!" he shouted, dragging her as much as his now-numb arm would allow. She stopped the shocks, and looked resigned, but he felt her still resisting a bit as he began to run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wakka visibly calmed when Anthony and Lulu left. He then snapped his head toward his enemy, and dropped into a stance that he had used for years. 'Low, weight on the back foot, Blitzball under the right arm, left foot forward, left hand out. And now,' he thought, 'I can fight'.
He stared at his target, still getting up from Anthony's brief assault. In his head, things started to work. Wakka, for all the insults to his intelligence his friends and his wife made, was a bit of a genius when it came to geometry and angles. It was a useful skill, as he could predict where and how his Blitzball would hit a target, and then come back to him. His grin widened, and he wound back, bringing the Blitzball into his hand, and released threw it with as much strength as he could manage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony and Lulu arrived at the village, Anthony gasping for breath. He had come in an all-out sprint, and was gasping. He saw Kimahri and waved him over. He was still bent over, trying to breathe properly.
Lulu spoke to Kimahri when she saw Anthony could not. "Yuna's in trouble." She said. And that's all Kimahri needed. He ran a short distance, grabbed his spear from where it rested on a hut, and ran off into the jungle, hopping up onto a hill and running through the ruins.
"Go.get...someone...to help.when they get back." Anthony said, straightening up, but still gasping.
"I'll get the nuns at the temple to get ready. If only the crusaders weren't in Kilika for that damn meeting.
"You. You go help Yuna and Wakka and Rikku and Kimahri. If I can't, you will." Lulu said adamantly.
Anthony opened his mouth to protest, but her look told him not to. Besides, he DID want to help, but he had no way to. The fiend was armed, and he wasn't.
But he could be. Something clicked in his head. He said, "Gimme a sec." and he ran towards the temple.
When he arrived there, he went straight to Tidus' memorial. He slowed to a walk inside as he stood in front of it. The Brotherhood. He didn't know why, but he felt an odd feeling when he was near it. A connection to it. He stared and spoke to the blade, "Wakka told me not to touch you, but I think he'll make an exception." He grabbed the hilt, its end adorned with strips of cloth.
Then something he didn't expect to happen. In fact the last thing he expected to happen- even less than a herd of elephants materializing in front of him and stomping his head- happened.
The sword, its water-like blade, began to boil. The bubbles in the blade began to move quickly, and the blade seemed to melt. The odd guard that rested on the opposite side of the blade slid down into a cross hilt position, and the water the sword had shed ran up Anthony's arm, and to his bracer. It rested there, and formed a bubble around his whole forearm. He turned to look at the sword in his other hand, and saw it had stopped changing. It was a new sword. It had shrunk almost a foot and had gotten much thinner. The blades, for it had spread from a single blade into a double bladed weapon, ran parallel to each other, until about four inches below the tip, where one curved to the point, and another extended from the point and out about six inches before returning back to the blade, creating a spike or barb about two inches wide where it met the sword. The hilt remained almost unchanged, except for the guard resting in its new position. It was miraculous, it was insane.
It was cool.
Anthony felt a weight on his other arm and looked at it. The water was gone, leaving the bracer changed, though not as much as the sword. The wings of the bird that was placed on it had risen off the bracer, making a U shaped guard that spread out to both sides and ran until about the place where his fingers met his palm. The front of the bracer extended into a triangle shaped knuckle guard that ended right at his middle knuckle. It was firmly fixed to the bracer, so even if he twisted his wrist around it remained in place. He was amazed, and for several seconds simply stared at both of his newly acquired tools.
Then he remembered why he was here in the first place. He stood straight up, and thought 'Now that I've got them, might as well use them'. He ran out side the memorial and was about to rush up to the place of the battle, when he realized something. He had no training with a sword. Tidus had never taught him about it, and unless you counted smacking his brother with a stick, he had never been trained anywhere else. The blade, though new and seemingly made for him, was little more than a big pointy club in his hands.
He needed some advantage. Anything. His eyes moved towards the path. He saw where Kimahri had entered the forest to join them. An idea hit him. The ruins stretched from here to the point where they were attacked and even further. If he snuck along the ruins and tried to surprise it, or distract it, he or one of the others could kill it. It was as good a plan as any, and much better than running into a fight and getting carved up in two seconds. He ran to the edge of the forest, silently praying that his friends were alright.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna was exhausted. The fiend- she was sure it was a fiend, it was too similar to the local fiends for it not to be one itself- was tireless. She had found a hardwood stick while she was in the brush that served as a staff for the time being. Wakka, Rikku, and she had been fighting it in a relentless manner. It would attack Rikku, who could only dodge, and do little to retaliate, and either Yuna or Wakka would distract it. It would then rush after that person, and the remaining people would draw him away again, and then it repeated. Kimahri joined in, giving a reprieve. He fought on pure rage, holding it at bay while Yuna helped heal the rest of the fighters. But rage is very draining. Kimahri could not fight for long.
The fiend, blocking an overhead strike, kicked out at the Ronso. He was caught in the gut, knocking him off balance for a second. That second was all it needed. The fiend slashed at his left side. Kimahri grunted, and fell.
Yuna screamed as her friend was kicked roughly by the fiend. She ran in front of him, staff raised to defend him. As the fiend approached her, Wakka tried to defend the both of them, but was knocked aside with a blow to back. He tried and tried, but he couldn't find the strength to stand again. He could not move.
Yuna looked at him and gasped. A huge slash was straight across his back. Part of his spine had been severed. She could fix that with magic, but he would not last long without help.
"Rikku! Help Wakka! Hurry!" Yuna yelled out. Her grip tightened on her makeshift staff. The fiend was still coming.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fiend approached slowly. The one with the scent stuck out with its staff. The fiend blocked it with the flat of its blade, and then knocked it out of her hands. It kicked out with a leg, knocking her over the large blue one. It raised its blade in anticipation of a strike.
Then its sensitive ears heard something. Above it. The snap of loose fabric moving quickly through the air. It looked up to see something it did not anticipate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony had found his way through the jungle. He had been as quiet as he possibly could, and he was fairly good at that. He had arrived at the same area, as far as he could tell, as the creature had come from. He looked through the underbrush, trying to find his friends. He almost swore out loud. Wakka looked injured, badly. Rikku was by him, defending him and trying to help him at the same time. Kimahri was on the ground, again, injured. And Yuna was behind him, the creature approaching her.
Anthony herd Tidus' words ring in his ear 'PROTECT her. With every fiber of your being. Don't let her even get a scratch.' Anthony climbed onto a thick branch from a large, bent tree. He crawled as quickly as he could without making any sound. He waited until he was positioned above the creature, and leaped from the tree, down towards the creature, his newfound blade, held dagger-like, and pointed downwards. As he moved, he heard his over shirt, which he wore even in the Besaidian heat, snap in the wind, and the odd-beings head raise up.
'Shit,' he thought. He decided he couldn't change it, and thrust the sword down further beneath him.
To his dismay, the fiend rolled to the side, his blade only clipping its right hip. The Brotherhood dug deep into the soil. The being immediately came out of its tuck, raising its blade for a strike. Anthony, in a kneeling position to absorb the shock of his fall, switched his grip and rolled onto his back, striking in an overhead block. The blades struck with a force, and Anthony had to grab the top part of his blade. He cringed slightly as its honed edge cut into his hand. The fiend jumped backwards, bringing its blade into a fighting stance. Anthony brought his left arm up, his right hand tucked slightly back, and lowered into what seemed like a fighting stance.
Internally, he was swearing at himself for wasting his element of surprise. That had been his only advantage. All he could do now was pray.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna looked at him. Out of seemingly nowhere, Anthony had appeared and begun a fight with the fiend. He was armed with a bright blue blade, she thought it seemed familiar, but she could not get a good look at it, as he was swinging it around wildly. He was obviously untrained and the fiend took advantage of this. While Anthony managed to avoid hits to anything vital, the fiend's blade dove in and out, cutting his sides, his legs and his arms.
Anthony's eyes met hers, and a sense of urgency washed over her. He gave a quick motion to Wakka and Kimahri with his eyes before a strike from the fiend cut his left shoulder. Then she realized what he was doing. 'He's buying us time.' She looked down at here injured Ronso friend and tried to find his wound. She had to act quickly. Anthony could not hold out forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony had one thought on his mind.
'Shit.'
He was locked in battle with a creature that did not seem possible by any law of nature, Yuna was stuck healing and had no time to explain anything about this to him, Wakka was injured, Rikku was helping him, and Kimahri seemed out for the count.
'Shit'
He blocked a low strike towards his gut, but the fiend quickly moved the blade around to cut at his head. His left hand shot up out of reflex, and he took the strike to his bracer. The fiend seemed undaunted by this, and it backed up and dropped into a stance.
"Shit," he muttered. He knew he couldn't hold out long, but then again, he might get lucky.
His thoughts, now spreading beyond single words, organized them selves into categories. Best case: the thing-that-I-don't-know-the-name-for dies and everybody turns out ok. Worst case: I die, then everyone else dies, and the thing rampages into the village. And the case that seemed most likely: I die, but either I take it down with me, or I tire it out and that gives Wakka or Kimahri time to recover enough to finish it off. A grim smile crossed his face. 'I'm dead. But so are you. Say good night, Gracie.'
He brought the sword into a low position, and lunged out, trying to make it move to its injured side. It simply jumped over his strike, but Anthony noticed it wince as its leg came down. He had to remember that.
Any thoughts that followed were instantly erased from his mind as the fiend struck with a horizontal strike with enough force behind it that was obviously trying to end the battle right now. He tried to block it, but was sent flying off to the side with the force. He felt something in his left shoulder pop, and he cried out in pain. He tried to raise himself up, but his arm wouldn't work. He could see why. His left arm had been broken, the cut that the creature had made running deep into his shoulder. He managed to get up anyway, only to see his assailant rushing at him, blade out, trying to stab him through. He brought his sword up to meet it, blocking the strike almost entirely.
Almost entirely. The force of the blow knocked his sword backwards, and he could do nothing to hold it steady. His arm flew behind him at an incredible speed, and he would have died, should have died, but the force that forced his arm back pushed him back as well. This is what saved him, for the attacking creature had stopped and extended its arm, but when Anthony flew back, it had to overextend, taking more force out of its already weakened blow. As it was now, the blade still cut into the man's chest, slicing him along his sternum. Anthony winced.
He stumbled backwards, when the fiend, somehow managing to recover quickly from the attack, kicked him along his wounded chest. He lost his balance and fell down. The creature stood over him. Anthony looked at the creature hovering over him, its blade held ready. Anthony gripped his blade tighter with his working hand. He kicked out at the creature's right leg, distracting it, and its blade fell above him, out of its reach. He stabbed his blade up at the fiend's neck. Anthony almost dropped the blade when the being slipped its head to the side deftly, and ignored the small cut he had made along its neck.
Anthony felt his heart sink in his chest and his guts turn cold. He was done for. Yuna was busy, and unarmed, she would be next. Then Rikku, and then Wakka and Kimahri. He stared at the bright blue sky for what seemed like the last time. A glint caught his eye. The barb on his blade. He hadn't even brought it down from his strike. Not that it mattered.
Then, in the half second it took for the fiend to reach over him to retrieve its sword, Anthony thought of something. He twisted his wrist so the barb was behind the creature neck, and brought it down with strength he didn't know he had left. The being cried out in pain and released its sword. Anthony reached his arm out and to the side, and then pulled again, the honed edge cutting through its spine. The creature fell limp over him, and its body fell towards him. Anthony braced for it to fall on top of him, but it never did, its body burst into pyreflies, and they swarmed for a second, before spreading out into the air.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna looked over from her healing. Kimahri was in almost fighting condition, but was still unconscious. She looked over to see how Anthony was handling the fiend, when she saw a pyrefly. She looked around, only to see Anthony on his back. His shoulders slumped with relief. He dug his new sword into the ground and used it to stand. He walked over slowly, tired. For a minuet, as he walked over, he looked very different. He wasn't the sarcastic fun person Yuna normally saw. He seemed a lot older than normal, and depressed, the blade dragging slightly on the ground.
"Is he ok?" Anthony asked, his voice deeper than normal. His eyes were down, not meeting her gaze.
"He should be fine," Yuna replied in what she hoped was a calming manner.
"And Wakka?"
Yuna looked over to where the large man was laying down. Rikku had used a potion on his spinal injury, and that looked as though it had healed properly, even if the flesh would need a little more to heal it.
"He'll be ok, but we should get him back to the village. He needs some more healing, but not much."
Anthony took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, a small smile coming to his lips. He visibly calmed and cheered up.
Yuna smiled a bit too, when she saw the nuns coming over with a stretcher for Wakka. She even heard a bird song. That reminded her of something.
"Anthony?"
"Yeah?' Anthony replied, a bit shocked.
"Where'd you learn how to whistle like that? It was, different."
"Oh, like that? I dunno. I just did. A lot of people can do it back home." Anthony stated.
"It sounded like a song." Yuna said.
"It was. I just do that. I can whistle songs from memory."
"What song was it?"
Anthony had to think about it for a minuet. He had forgotten in the excitement caused by a few small notes.
"The City of Angels." Anthony said, a little surprised by his own answer.
"Angels?"
"A sort of holy being, a messenger of our God. They are higher and much more, perfect. They are, well, the perfect beings, and they help humans in many ways."
So, the song was about your God?" Yuna tried to understand.
"No. The city I'm from, Los Angeles, translates to City of Angels. It's a song about my home." And that brought Anthony to terms about his true feelings. He liked that song, but it wasn't his favorite. It didn't spring to his mind when he thought of music, he was just homesick. He missed the city. He really wanted to go back.
"How does the song go?" Yuna asked, snapping Anthony out of his deep thoughts.
He took a deep breath and started to sing in a deep voice. It was the only way he could manage some of the notes. And he was pleased to say, his singing voice wasn't that bad. Better than most of his friends at least. "Sometimes I feel
Like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of Angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I drive on her streets
'Cause she's my companion
I walk through her hills
'Cause she knows who I am
She sees my good detail
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
It's hard to believe
That there's nobody out there
It's hard to believe
That I'm all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way Under the bridge downtown
Is were I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away"
Yuna stared at him until he finished. "It sounds sad."
"Yeah, I guess it is. Then again, Los Angeles isn't the happiest city on Earth. It's a bit.unforgiving." Anthony responded with a shrug.
"Why do you live there?" Yuna asked, and almost instantly regretted it. She thought she was sounding annoying with her questions.
On the contrary, Anthony liked talking about home. It was.refreshing. "I was born there, raised there, and I went to school there. It just, always seemed like home to me. Even when I went to a new place in the city, it felt. right, like home."
Yuna smiled at that. She felt that way about Besaid. Even though she wasn't born there, she might as well have been. She always felt at home on the small island.
She saw that Anthony's smile was somehow turning depressed. She saw he was homesick, and she tried to change the subject.
"Anthony, where'd you get that sword?"
He laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Oh really?"
"Really,"
"Try me,"
"Fine," he said, slinging his broken arm in his over shirt, and putting his sword over his shoulder. Yuna thought he looked a bit like Auron had. And as they walked back to the village, he told her. He told her everything. He told her about Tidus, the dreams, the sword, the bracer, all of it.
When they finally arrived at the village- Anthony walked slow because, even though he wouldn't admit it, he was exhausted- Yuna was a bit overwhelmed. Through it all, she managed to organize one thing.
When Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, and Kimahri came towards her, she told them that one thing.
"We're going to Bevelle."
A.N. Well, this took a hell of a lot longer than I expected. What, about, 10 months? Jesus, am I lazy. I did the first 3 pages right after chapter 5, got lazy, and then stopped for a long time. Then I did up to 5 or so in August after I got back from a vacation, and then 13 pages in about the last 2 months. That was mainly because I found out I can get credit for an assignment if I turn this into my English teacher. Nothing like grades to fire up creativity is there. Well, I hope I haven't lost my readers, (all eight of you), and I hope you will not expect a chapter this long in a month. Maybe two or three months. But they'll be long! I don't like short chapters all that much.
Ahh, answering reviewer questions. I missed this.
Evil Neko: Umm.yeah, about the posting fast thing.no. Sorry, but no. I can't post that fast. I have bursts of creativity dotted with boredom. So maybe in a bit. Thanks for the DOE role, and thanks a lot for beta-ing!
Ichigo-nuclear (formerly Ish-bob): Answer; I'd make a corner. (You probably don't even remember the question).
Rock-star-vt: Thank you for the praise, and I commend you on actually finishing a fic. And then doing a new one. You're the messiah and I'm the anti-Christ of posting speed.
Solecito: Well, I knew I was going to hell along time ago, so, this is no surprise. And Auron is a supporting character. If he even shows up for the next 4 chapters I'll be surprised, so ha. And the removal of Chronicles of Insanity is a day that will live in infamy. Or you could just repost it under a different name.
Carbuncle: STALKER!!! Shway (inside joke).
Split Infinitive (formerly Moo): Thanks! And your work continues to be an inspiration to me. Keep posting!
Sanguine Guardian: Well, thank you. I think I constantly improve the more criticism I get. So criticize! And I as an actual person talk to myself that much. It's less talking to himself, and more internal monologue. Or maybe I'm just nuts, who can tell?
No One: Though you didn't actually review, I have to say thanks. For like the 70th time. You beta, support, and all around save me when it comes to this fic. And I hope college goes well.
AND FINALLY!!!
Qui-ti: Thank you for your tireless support and constant reminders that, this may shock you, I have a fic that needs to be done. Your cameo is more of a permanent character too. I need more characters, and you fit the bill. Hope your dad is better, and I hope you cleaned your room. Even if it's just a tiny bit. Thanks again.
Well, I guess that's it. Time to work on the next installment. It'll be faster this time, I guarantee it. Thought faster is a very relative term.
I've decided to retire "Trashalanach" It's too hard to spell. I might add another word in its place, but then again, I might not. All good things must come to an end. Even the ones that don't make any sense.
~Target~
Chapter 6
Bladed Friendship
Anthony woke up and fell into his new daily routine for Spira. He woke up, bathed, got dressed, ate breakfast, and played Blitzball with Wakka. He was getting better at the water sport, and looked forward to it more than anything else in Spira.
He walked out of his diminutive hut and saw Yuna walking by. He smiled and waved a small wave. She didn't notice him, her head forward and up, deep in thought. She was still a bit confused over the "Incident", as it was being called. He gave an inner smirk.
"YUNA!"
"Oh? Hi Anthony. I'm sorry, I was--"
"Distracted. I figured. Yuna, I know you're confused about this. Everyone is, especially me," Anthony said. "Just relax for a bit, and then when you're feeling better, try to take this on."
"Anthony, it's not that, its--"
"Yuna, after taking Final Exams for a good six years of my life, I know stress. You need to rest, have fun, just do something."
"I really need to do some thinking. Thank you though."
Anthony gave a fake but convincing glare. "You will rest.or I'll have Lulu zap you, and force you to." The look on his face told Yuna he would probably follow through with his promise.
"You would not." Yuna said though her voice wavered a bit.
Anthony had a smirk that was more suited to an old gangster movie than to a man trying to convince a friend to have fun. "You'd think that. wouldn't you?" he said in a low voice that almost seemed menacing.
"Anthony? You're acting odd. Are you all right?"
'I always get through depression through false cheer and sarcasm' Anthony thought. He had been feeling the familiar feelings of depression for awhile now, ever since his dream. He felt inadequate. His friends and family were probably killing themselves with worry, and he was hanging out with new friends on an island that made Hawaii look like a polluted ghetto. He couldn't help it; there was nothing else he could do. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. It didn't mean he had to like it. But Yuna and the others were depressed enough. No reason to bring them down any deeper, was there?
"I'm fine. C'mon. Lets do something fun." Anthony said.
"I really think I should just stay and--"
Anthony took this opportunity to place his hand over her mouth.
"It's not nice to lie. Just relax. Please. I really do not want to get Lulu involved. Something tells me it would involve yelling, slapping, and a lot of lightning."
Anthony removed his hand smiled and looked at her with questioning eyes. Yuna smiled the small, warm smile that had warmed many a heart on her pilgrimage. Anthony waved her to the path out of the village with his left arm. "C'mon."
"Anthony, what's that?" Yuna asked pointing at his extended arm.
Anthony simply smiled and started to walk away. That was the third time she'd asked him about his new bracer. The others had asked as well, but, as with Yuna, he'd simply smiled and walked away. It wasn't like he could just tell them, nor could he tell them that Tidus had been coming to his dreams nightly, training him to be a guardian. He would teach him the basics of fighting, and some Spiran culture to prepare him for. for something. Whenever Anthony asked Tidus why there was a need, he changed the subject.
'Sounds familiar' Anthony thought.
"Hey!" a high pitched voice shouted behind Anthony and Yuna. They both turned to see Rikku and Lulu walking towards them, Rikku her normal excited self, and Lulu wearing her usual smirk.
Anthony turned on his heel and walked towards them. His grin grew a bit wider. He stopped about a foot away from them.
"Rikku! Hi! Anthony said with a smirk. "Lulu, we were just talking about you".
"Really now? Just what were you talking about?" Lulu asked suspiciously.
Anthony's smile faded a bit. "Nothing specifically. So, what brings you here?"
"Nothing, just wanted to know where you were going," Rikku responded with an arched eyebrow.
"Um...Anthony didn't say where he was going to go, and he just talked me into coming with him. Anthony, where were you going to go?"
"Uh.um.gimme a sec.." He said with a joking grin, even though he honestly had forgotten where he had been going.
"HEY!" a shout came from the path. Wakka was running towards them.
"Oh, yeah. I was gonna practice blitzing with Wakka," Anthony said in a humorous tone to attempt to run with his 'joke'.
"Hey! Can we come?" Rikku said bouncing on her heels with excitement.
"You blitz?" Anthony asked, a bit shocked, but he wasn't sure why.
"Of course! I train with the Psyches."
"The who now?" Anthony asked with his head tilted.
"The Al Bhed team, the Psyches. I help them train back at Home."
"Ah. Sure, why not? I'm getting tired of just practicing with Wakka. He's so damn slow." Anthony said, and he shoved Wakka with his shoulder. Wakka returned the favor, and then some, nearly knocking Anthony into Rikku.
"What was that? You want a piece?" Anthony said laughing. In return Wakka gave him a look that would have suggested his idea of a good time would be to tear Anthony's face off. Anthony would be scared if the look hadn't shared his face with a large toothy grin.
"Um, boys? We kinda want to blitz, not drag bodies back to the temple for Yunie and the nuns to heal you." Rikku said bouncing merrily on her heels.
"Fine. I'll let him off," Anthony said, "with a warning."
Wakka opened his mouth to say something, but Yuna cut him off. "Great. Let's go."
"Ya, lets get going then. C'mon brudda, or you afraid 'a losin'?" Wakka challenged.
"You don't give up do you?" Anthony said, standing straight up, hand massaging his temples. Then he suddenly broke into a sprint towards the lake. "Well neither do I!" the dark haired man shouted over his shoulder.
"HEY!!! I'll catch you, ya?" Wakka shouted, following Anthony at a similar pace.
Lulu gave an exasperated sigh. "They're like children. You better follow them, or one of them will challenge the other to a death match to go two out of three"
Rikku laughed, and Yuna smiled lightly. They both followed them at a slightly slower speed, while Lulu simply walked, struggling to suppress a smile.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Somewhere hidden in the Besaid ruins, it waited.
It simply waited, crouched in the shadows. It did not take its eyes off the path.
It did not think. Its mind was not complex enough for what is considered conscious thought, but urges, senses, and instinct. All were present, and all were working like a computer. Any thing moved, made a sound, or simply existed, it was aware, and either disregarded it or stored it away until it was useful.
There! A sound. Two. Humans, slightly larger than average, male. The being's senses all focused on them. It received countless bits of data on them. From what they had for dinner, and everything they hade done for the last 6 hours. It could tell how large they were just by the sound of their heartbeats.
Then, new sensations. Two more, Female, smaller than the others, and one of them... One had the scent.
The thing did not know what the scent was, but it knew that it was there. It knew the scent since. it could not begin to figure out how it had come to know the scent or even comprehend what the importance of the scent was. All it knew was that it had to find the one with the scent.
And kill it.
Not yet. Its instincts warned it. The time was not right. It had friends near by. It was energetic, its adrenaline pumping. It would be too dangerous now. Later. It would get it later.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Anthony and Wakka arrived within seconds of each other at the lake. Both were somewhat out of breath, and both were arguing over who had won. Rikku and Yuna were only a few moments behind them and both just laughed at the two.
"Where's Lu?" Wakka asked, slightly tilting his head to the side.
"She'll be here. She can't run, so just wait," Yuna replied, still smiling.
A few moments later, she emerged at the front of the path. Wakka walked out to meet her, saying, "There ya are. I was getting worried. Like maybe a fiend nabbed ya or somethin',"
Lulu looked like she was about to say something, but the look in her husbands eyes silenced her. The married couple held each others arms and just smiled at each other.
Anthony looked at them with an arched eyebrow.
"Are they always like this?" Anthony asked Yuna.
Yuna gave a small laugh, "No, sometimes they're really bad."
"I figured as much," Anthony said, reaching down for the Blitzball Wakka had brought. He picked it up, stretched back, and threw it straight at Wakka's head. It hit, knocking him sideways, the ball flying up and coming back down on his head, and finally resting near his foot.
Wakka stood up, picking up the Blitzball from the ground. "HEY! What gives?"
"You two are married. Stop being so damn loving. You should be arguing and at each others throats by now. And besides, we came here to blitz. Let's go already." Anthony said.
"Fine, ya impatient son of a shoo--"
"Wakka, just go. It's ok." Lulu said calmingly.
"Fine. But you ain't getting off that easy, ya?" he said, pointing at the smaller man as he said the last part.
"Great, peachy-keen, whatever, just GO!" Anthony said, aggravated.
Wakka smiled, and then broke into a run, straight towards the shorter man. Anthony braced for a tackle, a punch, anything, but Wakka simply ran past him. He dove into the water, a perfect swan dive.
Rikku, not wanting to be left out, followed with an elaborate and delicate spinning dive, slipping into the water, barely leaving a ripple.
Anthony gave a snarling grin. He then turned to Yuna, offering silently with his hands that she go first. She simply smiled and shook her head a bit. He shrugged, then dove, doing one flip, a spin, and then with a bit of effort, managed a second flip before he entered the water.
Yuna looked a bit uneasy. It was obvious she wanted to join in on the fun, but part of her knew better than to do what she wanted to do.
Lulu caught her eye, smiled, and said, "Go ahead. Show them."
Yuna smiled, then, with a short run, she leaped over the edge. She twisted, spinning, flipping in a complicated routine that no one could hope to even remember, much less replicate. Then.
"She's too shallow, she's gonna hurt herself!" Anthony said, worry for his friend obvious in his voice. "Hey, you gonna help her?" Anthony near- shouted, his head bobbing next to Rikku's and Wakka's.
"She'll be fine, ya? Just watch," Wakka said, much too calm for Anthony to be comfortable with.
Yuna completed the maneuver, and rolled forward on the surface of the water. She flipped up, and stood on her toes, in front of the bobbing heads. She bowed her head, and then smiled at them.
Anthony stared, and then turned to the others, mouth slightly agape. "Is that cheating?"
Rikku smiled and shook her head slightly "Nope."
"Then she wins." Anthony said, pointing at the summoner.
Then, his other hand, reached out of the water and grabbed her foot, and pulled a shocked Yuna into the water, her head level with his and the others' bobbing heads. He then grinned and swam away as fast as he could. Yuna gave a look of mock anger, Wakka laughed, and Rikku began to chase Anthony.
Above, on the ledge Lulu smiled, watching them. She muttered, "They're all acting like children."
~Ten minuets and one mild smacking around later~
The Blitzball game was under way. They had decided that the teams were going to be Yuna and Wakka against Anthony and Rikku. Wakka and Yuna were up three points, but Anthony and Rikku were wearing them down. Granted, it was a very slow wearing down, but it was something.
Anthony was out front with Rikku playing defense/goal tender, Yuna and Wakka were charging, leaving no one at the goal, but keeping both players very busy. One of the reasons that Anthony and Rikku were working harder than their counter parts was Anthony's reluctance to tackle Yuna. He didn't think she was weak, he wasn't afraid she would get hurt or anything that chauvinistic, but when ever he got close enough to tackle her, a flash of a manga usually involving a man with glasses tripping, or being pushed into a girl with long blond hair, his hands ending up in the wrong place and being launched into the upper atmosphere (A.N. A Love Hina reference for you who have not read the manga or seen the anime [which you should]) came to mind, and he would slow down, and simply block, not tackle. This got Rikku mad at Anthony, and their team started to fall behind. Anthony finally decided he would simply tackle Wakka, and leave Yuna for Rikku, which worked out better, but not perfectly. Yuna was much better than Anthony would have thought, and she scored quite a few goals.
Eventually Yuna and Wakka won, which left Anthony to be mocked mercilessly by Wakka and for Rikku to yell at him for not doing his job. Yuna and Lulu sat on the ledge, watching and laughing.
They walked back to the village as the sun began to dip a bit beneath the hills. The mood was cheerful. Everyone was talking and laughing. Anthony had begun to wander out to the front of the group. He spun on his heel and began walking backwards, grinning. It was a good feeling. He then spun back around and did something he had been doing since he was six years old.
He whistled.
He didn't really think about it, he just whistled the first song that came in his head. The song didn't even sound right for what was going on, it was a slower, calming tune, but he didn't care. He placed his hands behind his head, and leaned back a bit. He turned his head slightly to the side, only to see his friends behind him, stopped in the middle of the path.
"What?" he asked.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna was laughing, chatting having fun. It was the first time she had had fun in awhile. 'Three months, two weeks, five days', she thought. That one thought could have ruined it, could have pushed her deeper into her depression, if it had the chance. Right as she thought that, she heard something.
At first she thought it was a bird, singing nearby. But it couldn't be a bird. It was too, accurate, deliberate to be a bird. She looked ahead and saw Anthony leaning back, lips pursed and curled in a smile at the edges.
It took her a second to realize everything. First, that she recognized the sound, it was a whistle. It was different from the one she had learned from Tidus, but it was the same thing. The odd sound of air rushing out from between a person's lips was unmistakable.
That statement also brought the second observation. Tidus was the one who taught her how to whistle, and she was the only one he had taught, and she had never taught anyone. When this hit her, she stopped fast in the middle of the path.
Anthony turned back at her, then he went wide eyed.
"What?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The creature crouched lower. It had one chance; it would be too late soon. It waited for an opening.
It was on edge. The creature did not know fear, did not know love, did not know happiness, did not know sadness. But it new impatience. Whatever evolutionary track it had come down had somehow trained it for impatience. It was on edge, rocking back and forth on its heels. It needed to kill it. It needed to kill her. Its impatience flooded it with all kinds of hormones, increasing its energy and senses.
Then it noticed something. His target was distracted, stunned, taken aback. This was an opening. This was its chance. It was the only chance it would get.
Its hand gripped the blade tighter with the excitement before it pounced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It struck too quickly for anyone too comprehend.
It was a hideous creature. Some weird combination of coyote and man. Its coloration was odd, tan and purple in stripes and blotches. It walked upright and had hands, but other than that it was dog-like It had a long snout and tail, large pointed ears, it wore no clothes. And it had a blade. A blade that was about the length of a sword, but did not appear to be purely metal. It almost seemed like someone had grown it, and odd mix of almost flesh-like wood or similar substance, and odd metal bits poking from within it.
It lunged at Yuna, taking her down to the ground and off to the side of the path. She was too taken aback to respond to such an attack.
Wakka, however, wasn't. Out of reflex, he kicked his Blitzball straight at the creature, taking it in the head. It was knocked off balance temporarily. That was all Yuna needed. She twisted, and rolled out from underneath the creature. She rolled off the path, into the brush.
The creature looked at its assailant. It rushed at Wakka, blade out. It hit a wall of ice. Lulu stood there, one arm outstretched. It turned at her, and she did not have time to cast a spell.
Anthony was frozen until he saw it rush at Lulu, who was positioned directly between him and the.whatever it was. He suddenly moved right next to her, and threw a punch at the creature. It never connected. He was thrown off balance by Lulu, sliding back to a more defensive position, and he was tangled in the creature's legs. It stumbled, stepping into the area between where his ankles had landed, and Anthony took the opportunity and scissored his legs, tripping it. He then scrambled to his feet.
Wakka, who had taken the opportunity to retrieve his Blitzball, shouted "HEY!! Get Lu outta here!!"
Anthony nodded in agreement, his running kicking sand into their attacker's eyes, distracting it for a bit. He reached Lulu and said, "C'mon, you heard him. Let's get the hell outta here."
"No."
"What the hell do you mean 'no'? C'mon, Wakka said to get you out of here, and I'm gonna do it."
"I can help and I will." She said stubbornly.
Anthony gave her a hard stare, usually one he reserved for people he really hated, and even then, only when he was in a bad mood. He thought for an instant, and tried to reason with her, while grabbing her wrist to try to pull her along. He regretted it, as shocks began to run up his arm, but he held on. "If we don't go, Wakka will be distracted. He'll be too busy worrying about you and your kid if we stay, and then he'll end up dead. No one wants that, right?"
"But, he'll, they'll." she stammered, almost uncharacteristically worried.
"We'll get Kimahri, he'll help. Now LET'S GO!!!" he shouted, dragging her as much as his now-numb arm would allow. She stopped the shocks, and looked resigned, but he felt her still resisting a bit as he began to run.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wakka visibly calmed when Anthony and Lulu left. He then snapped his head toward his enemy, and dropped into a stance that he had used for years. 'Low, weight on the back foot, Blitzball under the right arm, left foot forward, left hand out. And now,' he thought, 'I can fight'.
He stared at his target, still getting up from Anthony's brief assault. In his head, things started to work. Wakka, for all the insults to his intelligence his friends and his wife made, was a bit of a genius when it came to geometry and angles. It was a useful skill, as he could predict where and how his Blitzball would hit a target, and then come back to him. His grin widened, and he wound back, bringing the Blitzball into his hand, and released threw it with as much strength as he could manage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony and Lulu arrived at the village, Anthony gasping for breath. He had come in an all-out sprint, and was gasping. He saw Kimahri and waved him over. He was still bent over, trying to breathe properly.
Lulu spoke to Kimahri when she saw Anthony could not. "Yuna's in trouble." She said. And that's all Kimahri needed. He ran a short distance, grabbed his spear from where it rested on a hut, and ran off into the jungle, hopping up onto a hill and running through the ruins.
"Go.get...someone...to help.when they get back." Anthony said, straightening up, but still gasping.
"I'll get the nuns at the temple to get ready. If only the crusaders weren't in Kilika for that damn meeting.
"You. You go help Yuna and Wakka and Rikku and Kimahri. If I can't, you will." Lulu said adamantly.
Anthony opened his mouth to protest, but her look told him not to. Besides, he DID want to help, but he had no way to. The fiend was armed, and he wasn't.
But he could be. Something clicked in his head. He said, "Gimme a sec." and he ran towards the temple.
When he arrived there, he went straight to Tidus' memorial. He slowed to a walk inside as he stood in front of it. The Brotherhood. He didn't know why, but he felt an odd feeling when he was near it. A connection to it. He stared and spoke to the blade, "Wakka told me not to touch you, but I think he'll make an exception." He grabbed the hilt, its end adorned with strips of cloth.
Then something he didn't expect to happen. In fact the last thing he expected to happen- even less than a herd of elephants materializing in front of him and stomping his head- happened.
The sword, its water-like blade, began to boil. The bubbles in the blade began to move quickly, and the blade seemed to melt. The odd guard that rested on the opposite side of the blade slid down into a cross hilt position, and the water the sword had shed ran up Anthony's arm, and to his bracer. It rested there, and formed a bubble around his whole forearm. He turned to look at the sword in his other hand, and saw it had stopped changing. It was a new sword. It had shrunk almost a foot and had gotten much thinner. The blades, for it had spread from a single blade into a double bladed weapon, ran parallel to each other, until about four inches below the tip, where one curved to the point, and another extended from the point and out about six inches before returning back to the blade, creating a spike or barb about two inches wide where it met the sword. The hilt remained almost unchanged, except for the guard resting in its new position. It was miraculous, it was insane.
It was cool.
Anthony felt a weight on his other arm and looked at it. The water was gone, leaving the bracer changed, though not as much as the sword. The wings of the bird that was placed on it had risen off the bracer, making a U shaped guard that spread out to both sides and ran until about the place where his fingers met his palm. The front of the bracer extended into a triangle shaped knuckle guard that ended right at his middle knuckle. It was firmly fixed to the bracer, so even if he twisted his wrist around it remained in place. He was amazed, and for several seconds simply stared at both of his newly acquired tools.
Then he remembered why he was here in the first place. He stood straight up, and thought 'Now that I've got them, might as well use them'. He ran out side the memorial and was about to rush up to the place of the battle, when he realized something. He had no training with a sword. Tidus had never taught him about it, and unless you counted smacking his brother with a stick, he had never been trained anywhere else. The blade, though new and seemingly made for him, was little more than a big pointy club in his hands.
He needed some advantage. Anything. His eyes moved towards the path. He saw where Kimahri had entered the forest to join them. An idea hit him. The ruins stretched from here to the point where they were attacked and even further. If he snuck along the ruins and tried to surprise it, or distract it, he or one of the others could kill it. It was as good a plan as any, and much better than running into a fight and getting carved up in two seconds. He ran to the edge of the forest, silently praying that his friends were alright.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna was exhausted. The fiend- she was sure it was a fiend, it was too similar to the local fiends for it not to be one itself- was tireless. She had found a hardwood stick while she was in the brush that served as a staff for the time being. Wakka, Rikku, and she had been fighting it in a relentless manner. It would attack Rikku, who could only dodge, and do little to retaliate, and either Yuna or Wakka would distract it. It would then rush after that person, and the remaining people would draw him away again, and then it repeated. Kimahri joined in, giving a reprieve. He fought on pure rage, holding it at bay while Yuna helped heal the rest of the fighters. But rage is very draining. Kimahri could not fight for long.
The fiend, blocking an overhead strike, kicked out at the Ronso. He was caught in the gut, knocking him off balance for a second. That second was all it needed. The fiend slashed at his left side. Kimahri grunted, and fell.
Yuna screamed as her friend was kicked roughly by the fiend. She ran in front of him, staff raised to defend him. As the fiend approached her, Wakka tried to defend the both of them, but was knocked aside with a blow to back. He tried and tried, but he couldn't find the strength to stand again. He could not move.
Yuna looked at him and gasped. A huge slash was straight across his back. Part of his spine had been severed. She could fix that with magic, but he would not last long without help.
"Rikku! Help Wakka! Hurry!" Yuna yelled out. Her grip tightened on her makeshift staff. The fiend was still coming.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The fiend approached slowly. The one with the scent stuck out with its staff. The fiend blocked it with the flat of its blade, and then knocked it out of her hands. It kicked out with a leg, knocking her over the large blue one. It raised its blade in anticipation of a strike.
Then its sensitive ears heard something. Above it. The snap of loose fabric moving quickly through the air. It looked up to see something it did not anticipate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony had found his way through the jungle. He had been as quiet as he possibly could, and he was fairly good at that. He had arrived at the same area, as far as he could tell, as the creature had come from. He looked through the underbrush, trying to find his friends. He almost swore out loud. Wakka looked injured, badly. Rikku was by him, defending him and trying to help him at the same time. Kimahri was on the ground, again, injured. And Yuna was behind him, the creature approaching her.
Anthony herd Tidus' words ring in his ear 'PROTECT her. With every fiber of your being. Don't let her even get a scratch.' Anthony climbed onto a thick branch from a large, bent tree. He crawled as quickly as he could without making any sound. He waited until he was positioned above the creature, and leaped from the tree, down towards the creature, his newfound blade, held dagger-like, and pointed downwards. As he moved, he heard his over shirt, which he wore even in the Besaidian heat, snap in the wind, and the odd-beings head raise up.
'Shit,' he thought. He decided he couldn't change it, and thrust the sword down further beneath him.
To his dismay, the fiend rolled to the side, his blade only clipping its right hip. The Brotherhood dug deep into the soil. The being immediately came out of its tuck, raising its blade for a strike. Anthony, in a kneeling position to absorb the shock of his fall, switched his grip and rolled onto his back, striking in an overhead block. The blades struck with a force, and Anthony had to grab the top part of his blade. He cringed slightly as its honed edge cut into his hand. The fiend jumped backwards, bringing its blade into a fighting stance. Anthony brought his left arm up, his right hand tucked slightly back, and lowered into what seemed like a fighting stance.
Internally, he was swearing at himself for wasting his element of surprise. That had been his only advantage. All he could do now was pray.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna looked at him. Out of seemingly nowhere, Anthony had appeared and begun a fight with the fiend. He was armed with a bright blue blade, she thought it seemed familiar, but she could not get a good look at it, as he was swinging it around wildly. He was obviously untrained and the fiend took advantage of this. While Anthony managed to avoid hits to anything vital, the fiend's blade dove in and out, cutting his sides, his legs and his arms.
Anthony's eyes met hers, and a sense of urgency washed over her. He gave a quick motion to Wakka and Kimahri with his eyes before a strike from the fiend cut his left shoulder. Then she realized what he was doing. 'He's buying us time.' She looked down at here injured Ronso friend and tried to find his wound. She had to act quickly. Anthony could not hold out forever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anthony had one thought on his mind.
'Shit.'
He was locked in battle with a creature that did not seem possible by any law of nature, Yuna was stuck healing and had no time to explain anything about this to him, Wakka was injured, Rikku was helping him, and Kimahri seemed out for the count.
'Shit'
He blocked a low strike towards his gut, but the fiend quickly moved the blade around to cut at his head. His left hand shot up out of reflex, and he took the strike to his bracer. The fiend seemed undaunted by this, and it backed up and dropped into a stance.
"Shit," he muttered. He knew he couldn't hold out long, but then again, he might get lucky.
His thoughts, now spreading beyond single words, organized them selves into categories. Best case: the thing-that-I-don't-know-the-name-for dies and everybody turns out ok. Worst case: I die, then everyone else dies, and the thing rampages into the village. And the case that seemed most likely: I die, but either I take it down with me, or I tire it out and that gives Wakka or Kimahri time to recover enough to finish it off. A grim smile crossed his face. 'I'm dead. But so are you. Say good night, Gracie.'
He brought the sword into a low position, and lunged out, trying to make it move to its injured side. It simply jumped over his strike, but Anthony noticed it wince as its leg came down. He had to remember that.
Any thoughts that followed were instantly erased from his mind as the fiend struck with a horizontal strike with enough force behind it that was obviously trying to end the battle right now. He tried to block it, but was sent flying off to the side with the force. He felt something in his left shoulder pop, and he cried out in pain. He tried to raise himself up, but his arm wouldn't work. He could see why. His left arm had been broken, the cut that the creature had made running deep into his shoulder. He managed to get up anyway, only to see his assailant rushing at him, blade out, trying to stab him through. He brought his sword up to meet it, blocking the strike almost entirely.
Almost entirely. The force of the blow knocked his sword backwards, and he could do nothing to hold it steady. His arm flew behind him at an incredible speed, and he would have died, should have died, but the force that forced his arm back pushed him back as well. This is what saved him, for the attacking creature had stopped and extended its arm, but when Anthony flew back, it had to overextend, taking more force out of its already weakened blow. As it was now, the blade still cut into the man's chest, slicing him along his sternum. Anthony winced.
He stumbled backwards, when the fiend, somehow managing to recover quickly from the attack, kicked him along his wounded chest. He lost his balance and fell down. The creature stood over him. Anthony looked at the creature hovering over him, its blade held ready. Anthony gripped his blade tighter with his working hand. He kicked out at the creature's right leg, distracting it, and its blade fell above him, out of its reach. He stabbed his blade up at the fiend's neck. Anthony almost dropped the blade when the being slipped its head to the side deftly, and ignored the small cut he had made along its neck.
Anthony felt his heart sink in his chest and his guts turn cold. He was done for. Yuna was busy, and unarmed, she would be next. Then Rikku, and then Wakka and Kimahri. He stared at the bright blue sky for what seemed like the last time. A glint caught his eye. The barb on his blade. He hadn't even brought it down from his strike. Not that it mattered.
Then, in the half second it took for the fiend to reach over him to retrieve its sword, Anthony thought of something. He twisted his wrist so the barb was behind the creature neck, and brought it down with strength he didn't know he had left. The being cried out in pain and released its sword. Anthony reached his arm out and to the side, and then pulled again, the honed edge cutting through its spine. The creature fell limp over him, and its body fell towards him. Anthony braced for it to fall on top of him, but it never did, its body burst into pyreflies, and they swarmed for a second, before spreading out into the air.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yuna looked over from her healing. Kimahri was in almost fighting condition, but was still unconscious. She looked over to see how Anthony was handling the fiend, when she saw a pyrefly. She looked around, only to see Anthony on his back. His shoulders slumped with relief. He dug his new sword into the ground and used it to stand. He walked over slowly, tired. For a minuet, as he walked over, he looked very different. He wasn't the sarcastic fun person Yuna normally saw. He seemed a lot older than normal, and depressed, the blade dragging slightly on the ground.
"Is he ok?" Anthony asked, his voice deeper than normal. His eyes were down, not meeting her gaze.
"He should be fine," Yuna replied in what she hoped was a calming manner.
"And Wakka?"
Yuna looked over to where the large man was laying down. Rikku had used a potion on his spinal injury, and that looked as though it had healed properly, even if the flesh would need a little more to heal it.
"He'll be ok, but we should get him back to the village. He needs some more healing, but not much."
Anthony took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, a small smile coming to his lips. He visibly calmed and cheered up.
Yuna smiled a bit too, when she saw the nuns coming over with a stretcher for Wakka. She even heard a bird song. That reminded her of something.
"Anthony?"
"Yeah?' Anthony replied, a bit shocked.
"Where'd you learn how to whistle like that? It was, different."
"Oh, like that? I dunno. I just did. A lot of people can do it back home." Anthony stated.
"It sounded like a song." Yuna said.
"It was. I just do that. I can whistle songs from memory."
"What song was it?"
Anthony had to think about it for a minuet. He had forgotten in the excitement caused by a few small notes.
"The City of Angels." Anthony said, a little surprised by his own answer.
"Angels?"
"A sort of holy being, a messenger of our God. They are higher and much more, perfect. They are, well, the perfect beings, and they help humans in many ways."
So, the song was about your God?" Yuna tried to understand.
"No. The city I'm from, Los Angeles, translates to City of Angels. It's a song about my home." And that brought Anthony to terms about his true feelings. He liked that song, but it wasn't his favorite. It didn't spring to his mind when he thought of music, he was just homesick. He missed the city. He really wanted to go back.
"How does the song go?" Yuna asked, snapping Anthony out of his deep thoughts.
He took a deep breath and started to sing in a deep voice. It was the only way he could manage some of the notes. And he was pleased to say, his singing voice wasn't that bad. Better than most of his friends at least. "Sometimes I feel
Like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of Angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I drive on her streets
'Cause she's my companion
I walk through her hills
'Cause she knows who I am
She sees my good detail
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
It's hard to believe
That there's nobody out there
It's hard to believe
That I'm all alone
At least I have her love
The city she loves me
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way Under the bridge downtown
Is were I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
Forgot about my love
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away"
Yuna stared at him until he finished. "It sounds sad."
"Yeah, I guess it is. Then again, Los Angeles isn't the happiest city on Earth. It's a bit.unforgiving." Anthony responded with a shrug.
"Why do you live there?" Yuna asked, and almost instantly regretted it. She thought she was sounding annoying with her questions.
On the contrary, Anthony liked talking about home. It was.refreshing. "I was born there, raised there, and I went to school there. It just, always seemed like home to me. Even when I went to a new place in the city, it felt. right, like home."
Yuna smiled at that. She felt that way about Besaid. Even though she wasn't born there, she might as well have been. She always felt at home on the small island.
She saw that Anthony's smile was somehow turning depressed. She saw he was homesick, and she tried to change the subject.
"Anthony, where'd you get that sword?"
He laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Oh really?"
"Really,"
"Try me,"
"Fine," he said, slinging his broken arm in his over shirt, and putting his sword over his shoulder. Yuna thought he looked a bit like Auron had. And as they walked back to the village, he told her. He told her everything. He told her about Tidus, the dreams, the sword, the bracer, all of it.
When they finally arrived at the village- Anthony walked slow because, even though he wouldn't admit it, he was exhausted- Yuna was a bit overwhelmed. Through it all, she managed to organize one thing.
When Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, and Kimahri came towards her, she told them that one thing.
"We're going to Bevelle."
A.N. Well, this took a hell of a lot longer than I expected. What, about, 10 months? Jesus, am I lazy. I did the first 3 pages right after chapter 5, got lazy, and then stopped for a long time. Then I did up to 5 or so in August after I got back from a vacation, and then 13 pages in about the last 2 months. That was mainly because I found out I can get credit for an assignment if I turn this into my English teacher. Nothing like grades to fire up creativity is there. Well, I hope I haven't lost my readers, (all eight of you), and I hope you will not expect a chapter this long in a month. Maybe two or three months. But they'll be long! I don't like short chapters all that much.
Ahh, answering reviewer questions. I missed this.
Evil Neko: Umm.yeah, about the posting fast thing.no. Sorry, but no. I can't post that fast. I have bursts of creativity dotted with boredom. So maybe in a bit. Thanks for the DOE role, and thanks a lot for beta-ing!
Ichigo-nuclear (formerly Ish-bob): Answer; I'd make a corner. (You probably don't even remember the question).
Rock-star-vt: Thank you for the praise, and I commend you on actually finishing a fic. And then doing a new one. You're the messiah and I'm the anti-Christ of posting speed.
Solecito: Well, I knew I was going to hell along time ago, so, this is no surprise. And Auron is a supporting character. If he even shows up for the next 4 chapters I'll be surprised, so ha. And the removal of Chronicles of Insanity is a day that will live in infamy. Or you could just repost it under a different name.
Carbuncle: STALKER!!! Shway (inside joke).
Split Infinitive (formerly Moo): Thanks! And your work continues to be an inspiration to me. Keep posting!
Sanguine Guardian: Well, thank you. I think I constantly improve the more criticism I get. So criticize! And I as an actual person talk to myself that much. It's less talking to himself, and more internal monologue. Or maybe I'm just nuts, who can tell?
No One: Though you didn't actually review, I have to say thanks. For like the 70th time. You beta, support, and all around save me when it comes to this fic. And I hope college goes well.
AND FINALLY!!!
Qui-ti: Thank you for your tireless support and constant reminders that, this may shock you, I have a fic that needs to be done. Your cameo is more of a permanent character too. I need more characters, and you fit the bill. Hope your dad is better, and I hope you cleaned your room. Even if it's just a tiny bit. Thanks again.
Well, I guess that's it. Time to work on the next installment. It'll be faster this time, I guarantee it. Thought faster is a very relative term.
I've decided to retire "Trashalanach" It's too hard to spell. I might add another word in its place, but then again, I might not. All good things must come to an end. Even the ones that don't make any sense.
~Target~