The Ace and The Lion Chapter 8: Moving On
I thought that since I left you guys with such a horribly long wait I'd do a double post here to make up for it sorta.
DISCLAIMER: All names and characters associated with Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VIII are property of Squaresoft.
"Tidus? Are you ok?" Rikku asked. Tidus rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "Yeah, my head feels kinda funny though." He replied. She gave him a quick hug. "At least we're alright." She said. He nodded, and just then their friends walked in. "It's good to see you two." Quistis said. Zell nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we thought you guys were goners when Yu--" Irvine slapped his hand over Zell's mouth and the others silently glared at him. "When you, uh, got hit by that spell Sudit threw at you." He lied. The others breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to kick Zell. Tidus nodded, not noticing the tension. "Well, I think we're all good here, so let's go back out!" He called out. Squall shook his head. "You need rest still. Leave it for today. We don't even know where he is at the moment, so it won't do you any good to get excited." He explained. Tidus lowered his hands disappointed. "Oh....ok then. Well, I'm gettin some sleep then." He walked off towards his room, with Rikku following behind. When they closed the door behind them, they could hear Zell screaming as everyone kicked him in the shin, quite hard.
***
When Tidus got to his room, he climbed into his bed. He reached out to put his sword beside the nightstand and noticed something strange. There were two guns laying on the nightstand. He picked up the guns and looked at them, trying to think of where he had seen them before. "I know I've seen these somewhere.....musta been a magazine or something." He said with a shrug as he put them back down. Rikku then walked into the room, seeming to walk sluggishly. She climbed into his bed and snuggled close to him. "I don't feel too good." She said. "It seems as if something's missing...." She trailed off. Tidus shrugged. "It's probably from that spell or whatever we got hit with, it'll probably wear off." She smiled and put her arm around him. "You're probably right. Let's get some sleeping done!" She exclaimed. Tidus cringed, and then laughed a little. "Uh....not like that." He said slowly. She giggled lightly and closed her eyes.
***
"I can't believe we just made them forget about her like that....someone they've spent so much time with!" Rinoa exclaimed as she paced back and forth in her and Squall's room. Squall sighed. "I know what you mean, but right now we have to worry about Sudit, maybe we can tell them later what happened, once this is all over with. Yuna ended up being a friend for all of us, and I hate to do it too, but we gotta consider what we're up against." He said. She frowned and sighed in frustration, knowing that he was right. "I know....but I don't have to like it." She said firmly. Squall smiled grimly. "I don't think anyone does....especially Zell." He added. Rinoa smiled slighlty, recalling the big bruise he got from everyone kicking him. "I hope we can go home soon." She said as she sat on the bed beside him. He nodded. "I know what you mean, I miss Balamb. Although I guess I could've used a vacation." He said optimistically. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You call this a vacation? I think when we get back we go for a real vacation, not this vacation in hell." She said harshly. Squall left it at that, knowing that she was angry. "Let's get some sleep, we got a big day tomorrow." He said as he slid under the covers. She looked at him for a second. "We're gonna start looking for Sudit again, right?" She asked. Squall nodded, and looked her seriously. "Yeah, but we also gotta tell Lulu and Wakka about what happened." He said grimly.
***
"WHAT?" Wakka yelled loudly. "That can't be true! It just can't be!" He pleaded with Squall. Squall shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Wakka, but it is. Sudit did it to her." He explained sadly. Lulu sat on their couch, not speaking at all. She had a pained look on her face, although she was trying her best not to let it out. "Wakka, we're going with them now." She said finally. Wakka looked at her in surprise. "I know this is bad Lu, but I mean...." She quickly stood up and looked at him with a fiery glare. "I said we're going and that's final. I want to see that Sudit pays for this." She said as her eyes seemed to glow a darker red wth anger. Wakka quickly shut his mouth and agreed. Tears formed in his eyes, but he didn't start crying. "Alright, we'll go." He said. Squall nodded. "Ok, but I have to ask you guys not to mention any of this around Tidus or Rikku, because we've altered their minds so that they don't know what happened so that they don't go insane and become useless." He explained. This got another angry look out of Lulu, but Squall just shrugged. "I know, it's not good, but I can't help it right now, the whole world could be in danger if we don't stop him soon, and we need them to be in the best condition possible. I promise I'll try to get their memory back once it's all over." He said quickly. Lulu quickly stormed out of the house, carrying the baby in her arms, with Wakk trailing behind. Squall sighed and drooped his shoulders, and Rinoa patted him on the shoulder, comforting him. "They'll undertand, just give them time." She said. "This is big news for them." She consoled. He grunted. "Not just for them."
***
"Father! Come quickly! I think I've found Sudit!" Brother exclaimed in Al Bhed. "Just a sec kiddo!" Cid yelled back as he grabbed for the intercom microphone. "Listen up all of you, I need you all in the bridge right now, it's really important!" He called out. He ran over to Brother's seat and watched outiside. Although he couldn't see anything, he could hear the beeping of the scanner they had set up to find him. "He's heading towards the Calm Lands, I wonder what he's doing there?" He asked. They all came rushing through the door, with Zell and Irvine tripping over each other. "Get off me you stupid horny cowboy!" Zell called out from underneat Irvine. "Oh, quit your whining ya hotdog shoving queer." He shot back. "Will you two just get up and shut up already!" Quistis shouted at them. They both pouted and got up quickly. "Yes, ma'am." Tidus and Rikku came in last, both seeming to be half asleep. "What's going on pops?" Rikku called out. Cid looked at the two of them together, half-smiling, even though he knew their relationship was at the cost of Yuna's life. "We've tracked down Sudit, and he's headin for the Calm Lands. We dunno why though." He explained. Tidus walked to the front of the group. "Who cares why! Let's just go get him!" He exclaimed. Cid sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's not that simple kid, we wanna try to surprise him a little, get the advantage, ya know?" He tried to explain. Tidus seemed to have no concept of surprise attacking. He shrugged and pretended that he understood. "What I've proposed is that we get some Chocobos set up for us right at the entrance of the Calm Lands and we land the ship in a secluded spot and then take the Chocobos to close by, surround him, and get him." He explained. Everyone nodded except Squall. "How're we supposed to get those Chocobos set up?" He asked. Cid smiled and walked over to him and poked him in the chest with his finger. "YOU will be parachuting from here to the ground, since you have the best eye for scouting, to make sure he's not around so we can land. If it's clear, take this mirror I'm gonna give ya and use it to reflect sunlight so we can see ya." He said as he passed the mirror to Squall. He looked at everyone else with an overwhelming look. He sighed and grabbed a parachute. "Alright, I guess I'm ready to go." He said as he checked to make sure the Lionheart was secured to his back firmly and wouldn't interfere with his parachute. Squall ran to the other side of the ship where the cargo bay was. Cid turned on the view screen of the back and turned on the intercom. "Ready Squall?" He asked. Squall gave a thumbs up for the camera and jumped out. Everyone ran over to the deck to see where he landed. Squall touched down shortly after and ran towards the Chocobo lady. As he ran towards her, they could see something moving quickly towards the bridge to Gagazet.
***
Sudit ran quickly over the bridge, realizing that something wasn't right. He knew that someone was following him somewhere, and he had to hurry. He hurried over the bridge and headed for the Cavern of Stolen Fayth, hoping that the Yojimbo fayth was still there. As he searched the cave, he stumbled across the stolen fayth and grinned evilly. He knew that all of the fayths had ended up being stored here, but decided that he would only need one. He raised his arms towards the fayth and started drawing the energy from it....
***
Squall retrieved the chocobos and signalled with the mirror. The ship quickly made it's way towards the ground, and landed shortly after. The heroes all boarded a Chocobo and started planning. "Cid says he saw him heading towards Gagazet, so we should go check out that way." Quistis said. "What about the Cavern of Stolen Fayth?" Wakka asked. Tidus shook his head. "He has no reason to go in there, we should go to Gagazet. We had better hurry in case Kimahri is in danger." He added. They all nodded agreement and headed towards the mountains.
***
They eventually passed the bridges, and didn't notice when a black figure followed them shortly behind. As they reached the road to Gagazet, the figure struck out, cutting off a Chocobo's leg, causing Squall to tumble to the ground. "Who's there?" He called out. The figure struck out again, but got blocked by Squall, who was defending on instinct. The others came around the corner and noticed that Squall was fighting with thin air it seemed. Just as they pulled up, Sudit appeared. "Well, if it isn't the 'heroes' as everyone's calling you." Sudit said sarcastically. Tidus pulled out the Caladbolg and looked at him. "I got a score to settle with you!" He yelled as he pointed the sword at him. Sudit looked at him in shock. "What's this? You're still alive? Yuna couldn't get the job done, could she?" He said as he shook his head. Tidus shook his head. "You're wrong, Yuna died a long time ago trying to save this land and bring peace to it, and I'm gonna make sure that it stays that way." He said defiantley. Sudit stood and laughed so hard he clutched his sides, causing the others to grow cautious of him even more. "You are quite a fool, what have these people been giving you for drugs? They all know that's not what happened." He mocked. Squall decided that this could be disastrous judging by the confused look and Rikku and Tidus' faces.
***
Squall decided that he needed some kind of distraction. He swung at Sudit to force him to back away, and he did just that. "My, how eager we all are to die it seems. I'll take you first then, if you so wish." He said simply. "I'll demonstrate some of my new powers, thanks to the aeon Yojimbo." He said as he waved his arms and caused everyone to freeze in place except for Squall and Tidus. "Now you can watch them die!" He yelled in glee as the others tried to squirm free of the spell. He pulled out a double sword and attacked Tidus and Squall, who both dodged the attacks and came back with their own. He blocked the attacks and knocked them away, forcing Squall and Tidus to both roll away. They battled on and on, until finally Sudit swung his sword at Squall, and got it stuck in the ground. Tidus then swung and knocked the other sword out of his hand, leaving him with nothing. They both grinned, sure that victory was at hand. Sudit looked shocked. "Well, I guess this is the end then, so you might as well finish me off." He said as he stood, waiting for the blow. He knelt down on the ground and waited for Squall to come over to him. Squall raised the sword above his head and brought it down on Sudit's....but it went right through. Squall looked at Sudit in shock as he reached over and tripped Squall, who hit his head on a rock and got knocked unconscious.
***
Sudit stood up laughing and started hovering in the air. "What will you do now? With Yojimbo's energy fused with my own, how will you stop me?" He sneered at Tidus, who showed a little fear now. Sudit motioned with his arm and one sword flew back to him. "Care to try again, Tidus?" He mocked. Tidus nodded. "You damn rights I will. I'll find a way!" He called out as he charged at Sudit, who easily blocked the attack. Tidus and Sudit battled on, with nobody really gaining the upper hand. Tidus finally decided that it was now or never, and pulled off his Blitz Ace. He charged at Sudit, and slashed him a couple times, leaving him stunned and cut up a little. He planted his sword in the ground, ran over and grabbed Wakka's ball and then leaped off the sword. He threw it up as he jumped, and executed a perfect Sphere Shot, hitting Sudit right in the forehead. Sudit screamed and went flying across the other side, landing a little ways away. He sat up slowly, dazed and bleeding. "You....actually hurt me....but how?" He asked aloud. Tidus smirked at him. "We're the same, Sudit, every time you get stronger, so do I. It took me awhile to figure out, but it's true." He said. Just as Sudit got up the spell cancelled and everyone was unfrozen. Sudit looked at him, breathing hard. "I will destroy you, you bastard. You will die by my hand!" He threatened as he flew away.
Author's Note: There you have it, another chapter, and hopefully something to keep you all entertained for awhile.
I thought that since I left you guys with such a horribly long wait I'd do a double post here to make up for it sorta.
DISCLAIMER: All names and characters associated with Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy VIII are property of Squaresoft.
"Tidus? Are you ok?" Rikku asked. Tidus rubbed the back of his head and looked around. "Yeah, my head feels kinda funny though." He replied. She gave him a quick hug. "At least we're alright." She said. He nodded, and just then their friends walked in. "It's good to see you two." Quistis said. Zell nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we thought you guys were goners when Yu--" Irvine slapped his hand over Zell's mouth and the others silently glared at him. "When you, uh, got hit by that spell Sudit threw at you." He lied. The others breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to kick Zell. Tidus nodded, not noticing the tension. "Well, I think we're all good here, so let's go back out!" He called out. Squall shook his head. "You need rest still. Leave it for today. We don't even know where he is at the moment, so it won't do you any good to get excited." He explained. Tidus lowered his hands disappointed. "Oh....ok then. Well, I'm gettin some sleep then." He walked off towards his room, with Rikku following behind. When they closed the door behind them, they could hear Zell screaming as everyone kicked him in the shin, quite hard.
***
When Tidus got to his room, he climbed into his bed. He reached out to put his sword beside the nightstand and noticed something strange. There were two guns laying on the nightstand. He picked up the guns and looked at them, trying to think of where he had seen them before. "I know I've seen these somewhere.....musta been a magazine or something." He said with a shrug as he put them back down. Rikku then walked into the room, seeming to walk sluggishly. She climbed into his bed and snuggled close to him. "I don't feel too good." She said. "It seems as if something's missing...." She trailed off. Tidus shrugged. "It's probably from that spell or whatever we got hit with, it'll probably wear off." She smiled and put her arm around him. "You're probably right. Let's get some sleeping done!" She exclaimed. Tidus cringed, and then laughed a little. "Uh....not like that." He said slowly. She giggled lightly and closed her eyes.
***
"I can't believe we just made them forget about her like that....someone they've spent so much time with!" Rinoa exclaimed as she paced back and forth in her and Squall's room. Squall sighed. "I know what you mean, but right now we have to worry about Sudit, maybe we can tell them later what happened, once this is all over with. Yuna ended up being a friend for all of us, and I hate to do it too, but we gotta consider what we're up against." He said. She frowned and sighed in frustration, knowing that he was right. "I know....but I don't have to like it." She said firmly. Squall smiled grimly. "I don't think anyone does....especially Zell." He added. Rinoa smiled slighlty, recalling the big bruise he got from everyone kicking him. "I hope we can go home soon." She said as she sat on the bed beside him. He nodded. "I know what you mean, I miss Balamb. Although I guess I could've used a vacation." He said optimistically. She raised an eyebrow at him. "You call this a vacation? I think when we get back we go for a real vacation, not this vacation in hell." She said harshly. Squall left it at that, knowing that she was angry. "Let's get some sleep, we got a big day tomorrow." He said as he slid under the covers. She looked at him for a second. "We're gonna start looking for Sudit again, right?" She asked. Squall nodded, and looked her seriously. "Yeah, but we also gotta tell Lulu and Wakka about what happened." He said grimly.
***
"WHAT?" Wakka yelled loudly. "That can't be true! It just can't be!" He pleaded with Squall. Squall shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry Wakka, but it is. Sudit did it to her." He explained sadly. Lulu sat on their couch, not speaking at all. She had a pained look on her face, although she was trying her best not to let it out. "Wakka, we're going with them now." She said finally. Wakka looked at her in surprise. "I know this is bad Lu, but I mean...." She quickly stood up and looked at him with a fiery glare. "I said we're going and that's final. I want to see that Sudit pays for this." She said as her eyes seemed to glow a darker red wth anger. Wakka quickly shut his mouth and agreed. Tears formed in his eyes, but he didn't start crying. "Alright, we'll go." He said. Squall nodded. "Ok, but I have to ask you guys not to mention any of this around Tidus or Rikku, because we've altered their minds so that they don't know what happened so that they don't go insane and become useless." He explained. This got another angry look out of Lulu, but Squall just shrugged. "I know, it's not good, but I can't help it right now, the whole world could be in danger if we don't stop him soon, and we need them to be in the best condition possible. I promise I'll try to get their memory back once it's all over." He said quickly. Lulu quickly stormed out of the house, carrying the baby in her arms, with Wakk trailing behind. Squall sighed and drooped his shoulders, and Rinoa patted him on the shoulder, comforting him. "They'll undertand, just give them time." She said. "This is big news for them." She consoled. He grunted. "Not just for them."
***
"Father! Come quickly! I think I've found Sudit!" Brother exclaimed in Al Bhed. "Just a sec kiddo!" Cid yelled back as he grabbed for the intercom microphone. "Listen up all of you, I need you all in the bridge right now, it's really important!" He called out. He ran over to Brother's seat and watched outiside. Although he couldn't see anything, he could hear the beeping of the scanner they had set up to find him. "He's heading towards the Calm Lands, I wonder what he's doing there?" He asked. They all came rushing through the door, with Zell and Irvine tripping over each other. "Get off me you stupid horny cowboy!" Zell called out from underneat Irvine. "Oh, quit your whining ya hotdog shoving queer." He shot back. "Will you two just get up and shut up already!" Quistis shouted at them. They both pouted and got up quickly. "Yes, ma'am." Tidus and Rikku came in last, both seeming to be half asleep. "What's going on pops?" Rikku called out. Cid looked at the two of them together, half-smiling, even though he knew their relationship was at the cost of Yuna's life. "We've tracked down Sudit, and he's headin for the Calm Lands. We dunno why though." He explained. Tidus walked to the front of the group. "Who cares why! Let's just go get him!" He exclaimed. Cid sighed and rolled his eyes. "It's not that simple kid, we wanna try to surprise him a little, get the advantage, ya know?" He tried to explain. Tidus seemed to have no concept of surprise attacking. He shrugged and pretended that he understood. "What I've proposed is that we get some Chocobos set up for us right at the entrance of the Calm Lands and we land the ship in a secluded spot and then take the Chocobos to close by, surround him, and get him." He explained. Everyone nodded except Squall. "How're we supposed to get those Chocobos set up?" He asked. Cid smiled and walked over to him and poked him in the chest with his finger. "YOU will be parachuting from here to the ground, since you have the best eye for scouting, to make sure he's not around so we can land. If it's clear, take this mirror I'm gonna give ya and use it to reflect sunlight so we can see ya." He said as he passed the mirror to Squall. He looked at everyone else with an overwhelming look. He sighed and grabbed a parachute. "Alright, I guess I'm ready to go." He said as he checked to make sure the Lionheart was secured to his back firmly and wouldn't interfere with his parachute. Squall ran to the other side of the ship where the cargo bay was. Cid turned on the view screen of the back and turned on the intercom. "Ready Squall?" He asked. Squall gave a thumbs up for the camera and jumped out. Everyone ran over to the deck to see where he landed. Squall touched down shortly after and ran towards the Chocobo lady. As he ran towards her, they could see something moving quickly towards the bridge to Gagazet.
***
Sudit ran quickly over the bridge, realizing that something wasn't right. He knew that someone was following him somewhere, and he had to hurry. He hurried over the bridge and headed for the Cavern of Stolen Fayth, hoping that the Yojimbo fayth was still there. As he searched the cave, he stumbled across the stolen fayth and grinned evilly. He knew that all of the fayths had ended up being stored here, but decided that he would only need one. He raised his arms towards the fayth and started drawing the energy from it....
***
Squall retrieved the chocobos and signalled with the mirror. The ship quickly made it's way towards the ground, and landed shortly after. The heroes all boarded a Chocobo and started planning. "Cid says he saw him heading towards Gagazet, so we should go check out that way." Quistis said. "What about the Cavern of Stolen Fayth?" Wakka asked. Tidus shook his head. "He has no reason to go in there, we should go to Gagazet. We had better hurry in case Kimahri is in danger." He added. They all nodded agreement and headed towards the mountains.
***
They eventually passed the bridges, and didn't notice when a black figure followed them shortly behind. As they reached the road to Gagazet, the figure struck out, cutting off a Chocobo's leg, causing Squall to tumble to the ground. "Who's there?" He called out. The figure struck out again, but got blocked by Squall, who was defending on instinct. The others came around the corner and noticed that Squall was fighting with thin air it seemed. Just as they pulled up, Sudit appeared. "Well, if it isn't the 'heroes' as everyone's calling you." Sudit said sarcastically. Tidus pulled out the Caladbolg and looked at him. "I got a score to settle with you!" He yelled as he pointed the sword at him. Sudit looked at him in shock. "What's this? You're still alive? Yuna couldn't get the job done, could she?" He said as he shook his head. Tidus shook his head. "You're wrong, Yuna died a long time ago trying to save this land and bring peace to it, and I'm gonna make sure that it stays that way." He said defiantley. Sudit stood and laughed so hard he clutched his sides, causing the others to grow cautious of him even more. "You are quite a fool, what have these people been giving you for drugs? They all know that's not what happened." He mocked. Squall decided that this could be disastrous judging by the confused look and Rikku and Tidus' faces.
***
Squall decided that he needed some kind of distraction. He swung at Sudit to force him to back away, and he did just that. "My, how eager we all are to die it seems. I'll take you first then, if you so wish." He said simply. "I'll demonstrate some of my new powers, thanks to the aeon Yojimbo." He said as he waved his arms and caused everyone to freeze in place except for Squall and Tidus. "Now you can watch them die!" He yelled in glee as the others tried to squirm free of the spell. He pulled out a double sword and attacked Tidus and Squall, who both dodged the attacks and came back with their own. He blocked the attacks and knocked them away, forcing Squall and Tidus to both roll away. They battled on and on, until finally Sudit swung his sword at Squall, and got it stuck in the ground. Tidus then swung and knocked the other sword out of his hand, leaving him with nothing. They both grinned, sure that victory was at hand. Sudit looked shocked. "Well, I guess this is the end then, so you might as well finish me off." He said as he stood, waiting for the blow. He knelt down on the ground and waited for Squall to come over to him. Squall raised the sword above his head and brought it down on Sudit's....but it went right through. Squall looked at Sudit in shock as he reached over and tripped Squall, who hit his head on a rock and got knocked unconscious.
***
Sudit stood up laughing and started hovering in the air. "What will you do now? With Yojimbo's energy fused with my own, how will you stop me?" He sneered at Tidus, who showed a little fear now. Sudit motioned with his arm and one sword flew back to him. "Care to try again, Tidus?" He mocked. Tidus nodded. "You damn rights I will. I'll find a way!" He called out as he charged at Sudit, who easily blocked the attack. Tidus and Sudit battled on, with nobody really gaining the upper hand. Tidus finally decided that it was now or never, and pulled off his Blitz Ace. He charged at Sudit, and slashed him a couple times, leaving him stunned and cut up a little. He planted his sword in the ground, ran over and grabbed Wakka's ball and then leaped off the sword. He threw it up as he jumped, and executed a perfect Sphere Shot, hitting Sudit right in the forehead. Sudit screamed and went flying across the other side, landing a little ways away. He sat up slowly, dazed and bleeding. "You....actually hurt me....but how?" He asked aloud. Tidus smirked at him. "We're the same, Sudit, every time you get stronger, so do I. It took me awhile to figure out, but it's true." He said. Just as Sudit got up the spell cancelled and everyone was unfrozen. Sudit looked at him, breathing hard. "I will destroy you, you bastard. You will die by my hand!" He threatened as he flew away.
Author's Note: There you have it, another chapter, and hopefully something to keep you all entertained for awhile.