Ghosts
The setting sun was perfectly framed in Bevelle temple. The building had been built like a grand coliseum, with walls of smooth white stone. It was circular in shape and open-topped, so as to let the sunset wash over its fluid architecture. A single platform stood in the center, surrounded by rows and rows of seats, most of which were occupied. Everyone's attention was focused on the young girl at the podium.
She was small compared to the crowds, but her voice carried across the temple. Everyone listened, because everyone knew and trusted her. She was their deliverer and their ray of hope, and they followed her without any idea how much she wanted to leave them behind.
But Yuna was still there, standing where she had stood for almost a year. The people loved her at the podium. She was the symbol of Spira's destiny, speaking to them all, her face painted in the last light of a dying sun. She was majestic and they loved her because of it.
Although from that distance, no one could see the tears in her eyes.
---
Tidus drew several ragged breaths before starting off again.
It was almost night in the valley, beneath a canopy of trees and cliffs. The chorus of crickets had started again, now mingling with the distant crash of waterfalls. Dew settled over lush foliage and lightning-bugs left glowing trails in the darkness. The jungle breathed life with slow and purposeful rhythm, only broken by Tidus's footsteps.
He ran faster and harder than he ever had. Or at least it felt that way, considering the screaming pain in his muscles. His skin was on fire and his chest heaved. Every hundred feet or so he had to rest, despite the merciful cool of the evening. He couldn't breath, but he couldn't stop.
Tidus slowed as he came to a bridge under one of the falls. The mist felt good. He closed his eyes and inhaled. Her face was still there, burned into his retina. It was familiar, but it wasn't Yuna. The face was a little slimmer, sharper, with narrower eyes. There was something else too.
No time.
Tidus shook his head clear as he turned back to the path. He half expected her to be gone, but looking down the dirt trail he could still see the white robe winking at him, like a dancing ghost.
---
"So we tied our faith to religion, in hopes that something larger would protect us." Yuna spoke above a thousand people of all races and backgrounds. The other Maesters were listening also, in their separate skyboxes. Her voice echoed from the walls and reverberated throughout the stands, reaching every person, while still holding its gentle tone.
"And under that religion, we managed to survive through pain and suffering for a hundred years. Spira was a spiral of death, but our beliefs never faltered." She felt one warm tear roll down her cheek and hoped no one noticed. After a year of public speeches, stage fright still gnawed away at her. All she could do was hide it, like everything else.
"We were loyal to the belief that something could save us, and we gave so much for it. But it finally ended, like a bad dream. Everything we believed was false, and, although we were free, that betrayal ripped through Spira. For the first time, people could be true to themselves, without the fear. And we realized that… it wasn't our religion that kept us alive during the time of Sin… it was our faith."
Yuna could feel the crowd's emotion. It thickened in the air, to the point where you could taste it. The mood changed like tide, growing and changing by her words. The spirit of the people raised in the temple like the sun. It lifted her up.
"And we learned that the true praise belonged to the heroes and the people. To us."
"The people of Spira will never again fall to the age of Sin, as long as… we remember our faith." Now the people did clap.
The quiet temple became an ocean of sound. Rikku stood from her box seat and cheered so hard that other people started giving her strange looks. The almost-completely-set sun glared in her eyes, so she could just make out the silhouette of Yuna and Kimahri, standing several meters behind her. Rikku had to applaud; the girl had pulled the whole thing off perfectly. Guess she really could do it without the speech, Rikku thought to herself.
As the clapping settled down, Yuna spoke again.
"Before I go, I would like to thank the Masters of Spira. We are all grateful to you for keeping Spira alive. And I would like to thank you again for keeping its dream alive. I hope…"
There was a pause.
"I hope…"
Five seconds passed like three hours.
Everybody in the audience hung on her sentence. Rikku had to do something.
Uh-oh. Not good. She thought, climbing from her seat. She scouted for the quickest path to the stage. Not the time for subtleties.
Annoyed grunts issued from watchers as the girl hopped from armrests and over the backs of seats. She vainly whispered "sorry" and "'scues me" many times as she scurried over the crowd. Guess it's up to Rikku to save the day again.
The hive-mood of the audience became noticeably uncomfortable while the Grand Maestress of Spira was at a loss for words. It was like the planet's revolution had been paused. The feeling grew for what seemed like an eternity, before a young girl climbed on the stage with her. The Ronso bodyguard moved a little closer, but wasn't panicked, although it was hard to see in the sunlight.
The stranger whispered something to Yuna, then turned to the audience.
"People of Spira!" a high energetic voice called out. "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but a situation has arose that requires the Maestress's immediate attention. We hope you have enjoyed the speech, and to finish off, we present the amazing, Kimahri!" Then the two girls disappeared from the stage, leaving behind a startled and confused Ronso.
---
Yuna stumbled out after Rikku as the girl rushed through vacant temple arches.
"Hurry up! The news crews'll be here any minute!" Rikku stopped and waited for her to catch up.
"Rikku, where are we going? What's the emergency?"
"What? Oh, yeah. It's not a real emergency; I was just saving you from a universe of humiliation. Now come on!"
"Wait!" Yuna grabbed Rikku's arm. "We just left Kimahri up there."
"Don't worry about him. He can take care of himself. Besides… are you ok?"
Yuna wiped the tears off her face and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine."
Rikku sighed. "We've got to get you out of here." They left the temple. Standing outside there was a large metallic beast.
The machine was beautifully sculpted, like some kind of mythical creature from an ancient sea. It had a white, stainless body that darkened to ebony-black at the tips of its wings and along its streamlines. The front of the vehicle was curved like a beak, and at its back was a fan-shaped structure adorned with light pink numerals. Rikku walked up to it, touching a symbol on the hull that appeared to be a stenciled rose. The hull split and opened with a smooth hydraulic noise.
"What is it?" Yuna asked, although she had some idea seeing the disk at its end.
"An airship." Rikku tried to answer casually. "Pops got it for me. Pretty cool, huh?" She climbed into the front seat. "Well what are you waiting for? Get in!"
Yuna still seemed doubtful. "Where are we going?"
"How about as far away from here as possible?"
Footsteps from the temple's exit caught her attention. Some of the people had hand-held sphere recorders.
"Sounds good." She said, and climbed in behind Rikku. The mini-airship lifted off the ground and took off.
---
The world was ink when they neared the Besaid fires. Tidus could hardly see the ground in front of him, with nothing but stars and fireflies to light his way. He moved slower down the path to Besaid, partially from exhaustion and partially to avoid tripping over anything. He was going slower, but wasn't ready to stop.
He could still see her outline the blackness, like an after-image behind his eyelids. She was just a shadow against an ocean of shadows. Tidus wondered, between breaths, if she was even real.
She danced down the path into Besaid, surrounded in a halo of lighting-bugs. Tidus followed her.
A minute later he was standing at the village's entrance. It had changed while he was gone, but not a lot. There were more houses now, and the main road branched off into two new avenues. There were still bonfires in the streets, with people gathered around them. They were talking, young and old, telling stories and looking at the sky.
The air smelled from the burning wood, and there was a soft crackling from the fire. Tidus walked by a young boy with a blitzball in his arms, and followed the child's upward gaze. Above it all were the stars, shining more brilliantly then they ever had in Zanarkand.
He came to a stop, drawing a deep breath.
Out of all his memories, real or imaginary, this was his favorite. He remembered the people around the fire, how their faces flickered as they spoke to the new summoner. Wakka stood to the side, talking strategy with his team, but Tidus wasn't paying attention. He was watching the girl with the eyes as she smiled warmly. Tidus remembered her face, as she looked over at him from across the fire.
"Tidus"
His mind stumbled back to reality at the mentioning of his name.
"- Leapt, with his fellow guardians, landing on the procession steps…" It was an old man, with a bushy white beard and small round spectacles. He spoke at a nearby fire to an attentive audience. "They were surrounded by a thousand guards, all serving the evil Maester Seymour, tool of Yevon."
Tidus stepped closer, careful to stay hidden in the dark.
"The airship flew away overhead and a hive of guards rushed them, guns at the ready. But our heroes remained determined. Drawing their sacred weapons, the guardians fought through the ocean of Seymor's men."
Not exactly the smartest thing I've ever done. Tidus thought to himself, edging nearer to the firelight.
"They plowed down the multitude of opponents, who blindly threw themselves into the path under Yevon's influence. But it was only a matter of time before the group reached the altar, where Seymour held our fair lady Yuna as a hostage, to be married against her will.
The preacher neared the end of the dark ceremony as her lady's guardians neared. They were still fighting viciously, with the blood of many glistening on their weapons, but it was not enough. The preacher closed his book and the lord Seymour turned to seal the ritual with a desecrating kiss…" The man left his words hanging in the air, waiting for the imagery to sink in.
"But he was stopped by a blade pressed against his neck. Tidus stood at the top of the altar, with the tip of his sword held to Seymor's throat. He met the evil Maester's indifferent expression with a confident smile. The fighting below stopped and all looked towards the two of them.
Seymour, releasing Yuna from his grip, slowly removed his ceremonial robes, revealing his own sword, which was wickedly curved and stained black with hatred. The two studied each other a moment, poised for perhaps the final battle of good and evil…
Then Seymour lunged, brimming with hate, and their swords crashed like thunder."
Tidus's eyes burned as he stared into the fire from just outside the circle. He played out the scene in his head. It was impressive.
Don't remember it exactly like that, he thought, But I think I like this version better… He fought back a laugh, imagining Seymour trying to hold up a sword, wearing that stupid wedding hat.
"Wanna scream?"
Tidus almost jumped. He spun around, but nobody was there except the few startled kids at the fire. What was that?
"-Everybody's picking on me!"
"Wha-?" Tidus whirled to the darkness on his right.
"haha… That's not very nice!"
The voices materialized from the air around him, echoing through his head.
"Wouldn't everyone be surprised?"
"I'm so sorry,"
"Believe…"
"Stop!" Tidus turned on the shadows that stretched from the fire, covering his ears. It didn't help.
"Stay with me… until the end"
"Hey, are you okay mister?" one of the kids asked. Tidus took his hands away from his ears and straightened up. The temple stood before him, exactly how he remembered it. Two guards loitered at the entrance, and between them Tidus just make out the swaying robe as it disappeared into the temple. He didn't think, just ran.
Taking the steps three at a time, he barreled past the guards who moved to block his way. They fell back easily, and he kept moving.
"What the hell is he doin?!"
"Hey you don't wanna go in there buddy!" The guard shouted after him, but he didn't listen and they didn't follow.
Hey, I missed this post yesterday, sorry. I spent the first half of the night playing guilty gear and the second half playing catch-up -_-;
Anyway, thanks for reading, I've got 1 or 2 more chapters before I'm back where I was, so won't be updating every day at that point, maybe once or twice a week.
We'll see ^_^