~Chapter 3~
It was nighttime now, and the sea was calm. The strange looking ship that was traveling on looked like something out of a science fiction novel. Its oddly shaped hull was like a half-circle in the water, all steely gray in color. Tidus was slowly regaining consciousness, lying on his side, facing the left side of the ship. In front of him stood two of the oddly clothed people, standing with their backs to him, and holding what looked like some kind of firearm.
Tidus sat up, and as soon as he did, one of the men turned around and yelled at him in their same gibberish.
"Fung chine! Estrekadabo!" he yelled, hitting Tidus with the butt of his gun.
"Hey, that hurts!" Tidus yelled, rubbing his shoulder. The other man pumped the action on his gun and pointed it at Tidus' head. "Oh. OK."
Suddenly, a panel near the back of the ship rose up, and another man stepped out, followed by the girl who had sucker punched Tidus earlier. The two were talking to one another, until they reached Tidus, where the young man, who couldn't have been much older than Tidus anyway, took out a pair of goggles and held them in front of him. He then launched into a long pantomime of something or the other, while the girl stood behind him. When it was done, the young man looked at Tidus expectantly.
"Yeah. Whatever," Tidus said.
"Kyra hilda de toran tin do?" The young man asked. The girl behind Tidus shrugged. The young man launched into his pantomime again, but Tidus cut him off by yelling, "I don't understand!"
The hit-happy person once again tried to whack Tidus with his gun, but the girl cried, "Faid!"
The guy lowered the gun, and the girl said to Tidus, "He said you can stay if you work for us."
"Wait-you understand me?" Tidus asked. He turned and was about to say no, but he saw two riot guns pointed at him. "All right-I'll work."
The girl turned to the young man. "Wa toogla jeleal lok no forte con cuna ecsha ty laymo wetimo!" She said happily to him. He smiled. "Jore," he said, and left.
Tidus turned to the girl. "What do you need me to do?"
"We found some old ruins beneath us with a huge power source. It's not active now, but if we can manage to re-activate it, we can. Salvage the big prize!"
"Got it. So, you want me to help you, right?"
"Yes."
"Where's my sword?"
"Oh, my brother has it. Don't worry-I'll get it back for you before we go."
The girl headed off to the boy who was Tidus' age. After conversing in their strange language, he disappeared into the ship and re-emerged with the sword in hand. He handed it to Tidus, and also handed him a SCUBA tank. With some difficulty, Tidus managed to get it on, and after that, he and three of the strange people, including the girl and her brother, were standing on the edge of the deck.
"So, we just jump?" Tidus asked.
"Yep," said the girl, and she pushed him off.
SPLASH!
Tidus had gone down pretty far before he got his wits about him. Looking about, he saw the two boys hanging back, and the girl was swimming down, tugging on Tidus' sleeve. Tidus followed her, swimming deeper and deeper. Finally, an old building loomed up into their sight. The front of the building had on opened front, as if there had been no doors there at all. For some reason, Tidus thought it looked like the L-Train station, but that was impossible. This thing in front of him had to be at least 1,000 years old.
The girl led Tidus through the opened front, and pointed at a computer in the corner. Tidus almost laughed and cried out in shock when he saw it-it was an IBM computer, much like the one that ran the switchboard at the L-Train station. Tidus pushed the power switch, and, to his surprise, the thing came on. Its screen was filled with static and the mouse obviously wouldn't work, making operating the computer hard.
The girl tapped Tidus on the shoulder, and pointed at a door not too far away. Tidus nodded, and after a while, managed to get it opened from the computer.
The girl and Tidus swam through the door, finding what looked like a generator inside. They went to work, trying to activate it, when finally; a low hum told them they were done.
Swimming back out through the door, Tidus and the girl headed topside, emerging from beneath the waves. The girl's brother was waiting for them, and after the girl told him something, they had to go back down.
Under the water, behind the ruins, they saw it. It was big, and it looked like it had been there for quite some time. It had a huge wheel on the back, two fins on either side, but what it was, Tidus didn't know.
The people were climbing back onto the ship. The girl's brother and one of them were talking.
"La frudila jo airship! Cid offe ne comu kappu."
At the end of this, Tidus slumped up onto the deck. He was mentally and physically exhausted. As he leaned there, the girl suddenly appeared, carrying a tray with food. Tidus quickly disposed of this, being as hungry as he was, and soon, he found himself choking on his food.
"Hey!" the girl said in exasperation. She dropped a water bottle in his lap, which he readily took a drink from. Having filled his empty stomach, he stood up, and stretched out. He turned to face the girl.
"Hello. What is your name?"
The girl smiled a little. "Rikku," she said.
"Whoa! You do understand me!" Tidus cheered, laughing hysterically. For him, it was a relief to have someone to finally talk to.
"So, where are you from?" Rikku asked.
"From Chicago. I play basketball there." With that statement, Tidus pretended he had the ball, and was making a jump shot, with an impressive height on the jump.
Rikku's head tilted slightly to the right. "Chicago..?"
"Chicago, Illinois. You know-the Windy City? Home of the Sears Tower?"
"Did you. Hit your head?" Rikku asked slowly.
"Well, you guys hit me."
"Oh-right. Well, what all do you remember?"
Tidus stood next to her and told her everything-about Chicago, the basketball game, about Sin, and how Auron and he had tried to escape it, and how he had ended up here. At the end, Rikku sounded quite shocked.
"You were close to Sin!" she exclaimed. Tidus looked at her.
"So?"
"Well, don't worry. They say your head gets funny when you're near Sin. Maybe this was all just a dream?" she suggested.
"This was no dream," Tidus said.
"But, Tidus. Translated into Al Bhed, Chicago means."
"What's Al Bhed?" Tidus asked.
"We are. It's our language. Translated, Chicago means."
"What? Enough with the dramatic pauses!"
"It means 'Zanarkand.'"
This obviously did not have the effect Rikku was looking for.
"What's Zanarkand?" Tidus asked.
Rikku's mouth dropped about two feet. "You don't remember Zanarkand?" she asked.
"Kind of hard to remember it when you've never heard of it, huh?"
"Listen. I think you got close to Sin, your head got fuzzy, you had a dream about this 'Chicago' place, and you're probably a Blitz player, since there's no such thing as basketball."
"What?!" Tidus yelled. Now, he was mortally offended.
"Listen! You should go to Luca. If you are a Blitzer, then I'm sure someone will recognize you."
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?" Tidus asked sarcastically.
Rikku started to pace around on the deck. She suddenly stopped and tapped Tidus on the back.
"OK! Don't worry. I'll get you to Luca. I'll talk to my brother, and he'll take us straight into the Luca Harbor. Stay here-I'll be right back."
Rikku disappeared into the ship's interior. Almost immediately after she had left, the ship shook. RUMBLE.
"What the." Tidus asked.
Suddenly, a huge spray of water appeared. The Al Bhed appeared out of the ship, and Tidus could understand quite well what they were yelling.
"SIN!!!!"
"Itaunic! Itaunic!" Rikku was screaming.
Suddenly, a huge, huge wave came raging over the ship. It caught Tidus, and swept him off of the deck, and into the swirling ocean below.
It was nighttime now, and the sea was calm. The strange looking ship that was traveling on looked like something out of a science fiction novel. Its oddly shaped hull was like a half-circle in the water, all steely gray in color. Tidus was slowly regaining consciousness, lying on his side, facing the left side of the ship. In front of him stood two of the oddly clothed people, standing with their backs to him, and holding what looked like some kind of firearm.
Tidus sat up, and as soon as he did, one of the men turned around and yelled at him in their same gibberish.
"Fung chine! Estrekadabo!" he yelled, hitting Tidus with the butt of his gun.
"Hey, that hurts!" Tidus yelled, rubbing his shoulder. The other man pumped the action on his gun and pointed it at Tidus' head. "Oh. OK."
Suddenly, a panel near the back of the ship rose up, and another man stepped out, followed by the girl who had sucker punched Tidus earlier. The two were talking to one another, until they reached Tidus, where the young man, who couldn't have been much older than Tidus anyway, took out a pair of goggles and held them in front of him. He then launched into a long pantomime of something or the other, while the girl stood behind him. When it was done, the young man looked at Tidus expectantly.
"Yeah. Whatever," Tidus said.
"Kyra hilda de toran tin do?" The young man asked. The girl behind Tidus shrugged. The young man launched into his pantomime again, but Tidus cut him off by yelling, "I don't understand!"
The hit-happy person once again tried to whack Tidus with his gun, but the girl cried, "Faid!"
The guy lowered the gun, and the girl said to Tidus, "He said you can stay if you work for us."
"Wait-you understand me?" Tidus asked. He turned and was about to say no, but he saw two riot guns pointed at him. "All right-I'll work."
The girl turned to the young man. "Wa toogla jeleal lok no forte con cuna ecsha ty laymo wetimo!" She said happily to him. He smiled. "Jore," he said, and left.
Tidus turned to the girl. "What do you need me to do?"
"We found some old ruins beneath us with a huge power source. It's not active now, but if we can manage to re-activate it, we can. Salvage the big prize!"
"Got it. So, you want me to help you, right?"
"Yes."
"Where's my sword?"
"Oh, my brother has it. Don't worry-I'll get it back for you before we go."
The girl headed off to the boy who was Tidus' age. After conversing in their strange language, he disappeared into the ship and re-emerged with the sword in hand. He handed it to Tidus, and also handed him a SCUBA tank. With some difficulty, Tidus managed to get it on, and after that, he and three of the strange people, including the girl and her brother, were standing on the edge of the deck.
"So, we just jump?" Tidus asked.
"Yep," said the girl, and she pushed him off.
SPLASH!
Tidus had gone down pretty far before he got his wits about him. Looking about, he saw the two boys hanging back, and the girl was swimming down, tugging on Tidus' sleeve. Tidus followed her, swimming deeper and deeper. Finally, an old building loomed up into their sight. The front of the building had on opened front, as if there had been no doors there at all. For some reason, Tidus thought it looked like the L-Train station, but that was impossible. This thing in front of him had to be at least 1,000 years old.
The girl led Tidus through the opened front, and pointed at a computer in the corner. Tidus almost laughed and cried out in shock when he saw it-it was an IBM computer, much like the one that ran the switchboard at the L-Train station. Tidus pushed the power switch, and, to his surprise, the thing came on. Its screen was filled with static and the mouse obviously wouldn't work, making operating the computer hard.
The girl tapped Tidus on the shoulder, and pointed at a door not too far away. Tidus nodded, and after a while, managed to get it opened from the computer.
The girl and Tidus swam through the door, finding what looked like a generator inside. They went to work, trying to activate it, when finally; a low hum told them they were done.
Swimming back out through the door, Tidus and the girl headed topside, emerging from beneath the waves. The girl's brother was waiting for them, and after the girl told him something, they had to go back down.
Under the water, behind the ruins, they saw it. It was big, and it looked like it had been there for quite some time. It had a huge wheel on the back, two fins on either side, but what it was, Tidus didn't know.
The people were climbing back onto the ship. The girl's brother and one of them were talking.
"La frudila jo airship! Cid offe ne comu kappu."
At the end of this, Tidus slumped up onto the deck. He was mentally and physically exhausted. As he leaned there, the girl suddenly appeared, carrying a tray with food. Tidus quickly disposed of this, being as hungry as he was, and soon, he found himself choking on his food.
"Hey!" the girl said in exasperation. She dropped a water bottle in his lap, which he readily took a drink from. Having filled his empty stomach, he stood up, and stretched out. He turned to face the girl.
"Hello. What is your name?"
The girl smiled a little. "Rikku," she said.
"Whoa! You do understand me!" Tidus cheered, laughing hysterically. For him, it was a relief to have someone to finally talk to.
"So, where are you from?" Rikku asked.
"From Chicago. I play basketball there." With that statement, Tidus pretended he had the ball, and was making a jump shot, with an impressive height on the jump.
Rikku's head tilted slightly to the right. "Chicago..?"
"Chicago, Illinois. You know-the Windy City? Home of the Sears Tower?"
"Did you. Hit your head?" Rikku asked slowly.
"Well, you guys hit me."
"Oh-right. Well, what all do you remember?"
Tidus stood next to her and told her everything-about Chicago, the basketball game, about Sin, and how Auron and he had tried to escape it, and how he had ended up here. At the end, Rikku sounded quite shocked.
"You were close to Sin!" she exclaimed. Tidus looked at her.
"So?"
"Well, don't worry. They say your head gets funny when you're near Sin. Maybe this was all just a dream?" she suggested.
"This was no dream," Tidus said.
"But, Tidus. Translated into Al Bhed, Chicago means."
"What's Al Bhed?" Tidus asked.
"We are. It's our language. Translated, Chicago means."
"What? Enough with the dramatic pauses!"
"It means 'Zanarkand.'"
This obviously did not have the effect Rikku was looking for.
"What's Zanarkand?" Tidus asked.
Rikku's mouth dropped about two feet. "You don't remember Zanarkand?" she asked.
"Kind of hard to remember it when you've never heard of it, huh?"
"Listen. I think you got close to Sin, your head got fuzzy, you had a dream about this 'Chicago' place, and you're probably a Blitz player, since there's no such thing as basketball."
"What?!" Tidus yelled. Now, he was mortally offended.
"Listen! You should go to Luca. If you are a Blitzer, then I'm sure someone will recognize you."
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or you?" Tidus asked sarcastically.
Rikku started to pace around on the deck. She suddenly stopped and tapped Tidus on the back.
"OK! Don't worry. I'll get you to Luca. I'll talk to my brother, and he'll take us straight into the Luca Harbor. Stay here-I'll be right back."
Rikku disappeared into the ship's interior. Almost immediately after she had left, the ship shook. RUMBLE.
"What the." Tidus asked.
Suddenly, a huge spray of water appeared. The Al Bhed appeared out of the ship, and Tidus could understand quite well what they were yelling.
"SIN!!!!"
"Itaunic! Itaunic!" Rikku was screaming.
Suddenly, a huge, huge wave came raging over the ship. It caught Tidus, and swept him off of the deck, and into the swirling ocean below.