Return of Light
Chappu crept alongside the building, keeping to the shadows and watching the lighted areas with a hawk's eye. One hand came up to his shoulder, touching the hilt of the Spirit Keeper as it to reassure himself that it was in fact there.
Somewhere, maybe southeast to his current position—but up above—Zeoron was skulking along, at the ready should he require assistance. Chappu could feel her purple eyes on his back and it was slowly starting to freak him out. Tidus was someplace dressed in a dark cloak and holding Caladbolg in one hand, posing as a Shadowfiend leaning ever-so-casually against a building in a single beam of light though his cerulean blue eyes shone with coolness and skill Chappu hoped he could one day accomplish.
Rikku, too, was above him, but opposite Zeoron. She was holding the Godhand steadily in her right hand. She clutched a flash bomb in her left, intending to blind whoever or whatever realized their plan and attempted to kill Tidus.
The outskirts of Luca were a dangerous place to be; even more so now, what with Shadowfiends popping up left and right. Wakka and Lulu were slowly edging along a deserted alleyway, sneaking along with Yuna and making it safely as they could to the Mi'ihen Highroad.
"Careful, Yuna," Lulu whispered, glancing around as she, Yuna, and Wakka eased their way up the stairs.
Wakka gripped Yuna's elbow and held on, his eyes, too roaming around the vicinity checking for safety. They couldn't risk losing anyone, not now—and, hopefully, not ever. Wakka and Lulu's eyes met in a simple look, long enough for Wakka to flash her a supportive smile and he reached out, squeezing her arm gently.
"Hold!" he hissed as they reached the top of the first set of stairs. He dashed ahead to secure the area, World Champion at the ready to fly should an attack come. He nodded to himself and held up a hand, motioning for them to follow.
"Come on," Lulu murmured, taking Yuna's arm and easily starting forward, crimson eyes bright in the darkness surrounding them.
A yell rang out somewhere behind them, followed by the sound of a loud roar and a crash. Something clanged, like the sound of a sword hitting metal—or worse, sword hitting upon sword.
"Oh, Light! Tidus!" Yuna breathed, a hand flying to her throat.
"Lu, take Yuna! Get to the top!" Wakka shouted, racing past.
"Wakka, wait—"
The point Lulu had been intending to make was halted by a loud scream of "FLARE!" followed closely by a bright flash—Rikku's Al Bhed flash bomb. They heard Chappu's battle cry and the sound of the Spirit Keeper making contact with something they didn't know.
"Right, then. Come on!" Wakka said, spinning and pushing the two women ahead of him up the stairs as they struggled to look back and try to catch a glimpse of the heated battle raging behind them.
"Wakka! Please! I have to see!" Yuna pleaded, slapping his hand away and moving to turn only to be stopped again and shoved forward.
"Move!" Wakka snapped, sounding very unlike his normally laid-back self. "I swore to protect you, now damn it, get your ass moving!"
Yuna let out a helpless cry but did as Wakka commanded, though she still glanced back over her shoulder several times, trying to catch a glimpse of someone—anything.
They huddled around the statue of a High Summoner and waited, Yuna and Lulu clutching each other's hands while Wakka paced back and forth, every now and then looking down the road to try and see if they were coming.
Wakka sighed. "Damn it!" He kicked the ground.
"Wakka, is the ground beating you up again?" a cheerful, but tired, Tidus said, grinning, his arms slung around Rikku and Chappu's shoulders to support him.
"Tidus!" Yuna cried, rushing toward him. She hugged and he stood on his own, leaning against her.
"Do you think you can make it, man? Rin's is still a ways off," Wakka said, looking skeptically at Tidus, who laughed and shook his head.
"I dunno, Wakka. I took a beating and am tired as hell," Tidus said as Chappu retook his position to help Tidus stay upright. Yuna hugged him from the other side, helping Chappu to support her husband's weight.
"Zeo and I will go on ahead and come back with some chocobos. That'll make it easier. Sit tight. We'll be back in a little while," Rikku piped up, nodding to Zeoron and the two shot off into the night, quickly vanishing in the darkness.
"Come on, Tidus. Let's sit you down right," Chappu and Yuna laid Tidus back against the foot of the statue, "here."
"Thanks, guys," Tidus murmured jadedly, stifling a yawn as Yuna began checking him over for injuries, muttering to herself and prodding at different places on his body as she healed him. Chappu could make out words such as "idiot" and "damn male egos" as she went about her task.
Now was obviously not the best time to tell her that Tidus voluntarily had charged the thing head-on.
Silence reigned, save the sounds of the clearing of throats and, soon, Tidus's echoing snores as he fell into sleep's embrace. Yuna lay her head on his chest, smiling.
Nearly two hours later, Zeoron and Rikku returned, each sitting on the back of a large golden chirping chocobo and leading two more. Tidus woke up as they halted.
"Too you guys long enough."
"Well, it's a long walk to Rin's!" Rikku retorted after a yawn. Wakka boosted Lulu one of the other chocobos and climbed on behind her, leaving Chappu to help Yuna and Tidus onto the other. Zeoron jumped down and Chappu mounted, extending a hand down to pull her up behind him.
Chappu gather the reins in his hand and nodded to the others. "Let's go."
* * *
"I really wish we didn't have to pass through here," Yuna half-whispered, grasping Tidus's hand. He squeezed it, giving her a reassuring smile.
"That was years ago, Yuna. It wasn't our fault," he soothed.
"Operation Mi'ihen should never have happened. So many people lost their lives… Luzzu, for one. That was horrible! And Sin…" Yuna trailed off, shaking her head. "It was one of the worst days of my pilgrimage."
"Don't look back on the worst parts of the past, Yuna. Look at what your pilgrimage resulted in. The defeat of Sin once and for all. Tida." Lulu winced when "Tida" left her mouth but she went on walking, not daring to look back at her summoner.
"Come on, Yuna; we're almost to Djose. After that, we—we cross the Moon—the Moonflow and get to Guadosalam," Tidus said, struggling to get past the Moonflow. He shook his head. He couldn't think back to the city underneath the Moonflow. Tida had died there.
They walked on quietly, taking on the fiends that attacked them—Chappu and Zeoron scouted ahead, asking people journeying along the road if they'd seen anything, leaving Lulu, Wakka, Rikku and Tidus to defend Yuna while she healed them.
—
Djose Temple stood towering above them, bolts of lightning flashing around its exterior. Zeoron watched in awe, staring while Chappu shook his head as he studied her, rolling his eyes as she giggled in amusement.
"It's incredible!" she gasped as lightning streaked around the temple walls.
"Yeah, Zeo, but we're not here to gawk. Come on; we've got work to do," Chappu said, grabbing her wrist and dragging her to the shop, Zeoron sputtering out protests.
Tidus sighed. "Well, let's go," he said, taking Yuna's arm and leading the way into Djose Temple. Wakka and Lulu followed after while Rikku hesitated, staring warily at the lightning before she darted inside, letting out a relieved breath.
Yuna chatted with the priest for a minute before she guided them into the Cloister, Tidus and Rikku masterfully solving them, and then disappeared into the Chamber of the Fayth, waving to her companions as the door lowered itself into place.
The color-tinted glass dome shone with brilliance as Yuna went to her knees before it, clasping her hands and shutting her eyes. What a simple routine, she thought wryly. Everything's done the same way.
"Nice to see you, too, Lady Yuna."
Yuna's eyes snapped open and she stared at the fayth, her jaw dropping open as her eyes reflected the disbelief she felt. "How did you…?"
The fayth smiled. "A gift. I see you have been working hard on your pilgrimage, eliminating what Shadowfiends you find along the way. Good, good."
"Well, it hardly seems right to just pass through leaving evil you know there," Yuna said, shrugging as she stood to her feet, dusting off her dress.
"True. I'll give you my aeon. Use Ixion well, Lady Yuna, if you please. Only should you need me, call me. Don't abuse your power. On to Zanarkand. Go in the Light, Lady Yuna," the fayth said, getting straight to the point.
Yuna raised one eyebrow, but bowed. "Thank you," she said, exiting.
The fayth watched her go. "She sure has grown up since she was last here. Back then it was easy, people coming to you to pray for a way to beat Sin. Now it's a hell of a lot more complicated. Damn Shadow."
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