Return of Light
"Well. Everyone ready?" Tida asked, glancing on both sides at her family and friends. She looked back ahead at the remaining ruins of the once thriving metropolis Zanarkand.
"No," Zeoron said in a small voice, clenching and unclenching her fists inside her new Fairy Talons.
Tida rolled her eyes. "Zeo, get with the program."
"Oh! Okay!"
"Tida?" Chappu held her gaze for a few moments before he smiled and held his hand out in front of them. "Lead the way."
Tida nodded. "Right. Everyone, be prepared for attacks."
"Ri—Whoa!" Zeoron was lifted clear off her feet as something large with long tentacles grabbed her from the side and dangled her some feet above the crowd of them. The fiend roared in anger at having its territory invaded by outsiders.
"Zeo!" Tida cried. "Hang on!"
"To what?!" Zeoron screamed back. She yelled again and executed a curl to avoid a swipe from another tentacle. "Someone do something NOW!" she howled.
Tida swung around to Lulu. "Hit it with Flare or something!"
Lulu nodded. "FLARE!"
The fiend roared even more in anger and did some sort of dance.
"Mama!" Tida cried. Yuna took the cue and lifted her hands.
"HOLY!" the mother and daughter duo shouted.
"Chappu, Wakka, Dad! Feel free to help!" Tida yelled back at the men. "Rikku, Copycat whatever spells Lulu decides to cast!"
"I'm on it!" Rikku said, moving over behind the Black Mage.
Zeoron screamed again.
"Hold on, Zeo!" Chappu called, making his wave around the fiend to get a good point on its back. He gave a shake of his head and exhaled. "Here goes. POWER BREAK!"
"DOUBLECAST ULTIMA!"
"COPYCAT!"
Five different attacks hit the beast at the same time. Tida darted in-between the flailing tentacles and landed a hard glowing punch at the fiend's underbelly. She spun in a kick and flipped backward several times to avoid being battered herself.
"Chappu, get Zeo out of there!" she shouted just as Wakka flung World Champion forward and sent it whizzing past her ear. She ducked just to be safe and stumbled as her father ran by, heading to defend Yuna from oncoming attacks.
Tida took a cautious step back just as Chappu leap into the air, slicing with the Shattered Heart. He landed on the ground, sheathing the Shattered Heart quickly. Chappu held out his arms and a screaming Zeoron fell into them.
"Hey, how ya doin'?" Chappu asked, grinning. He set her down on her feet and disappeared in a labyrinth of lashing tentacles.
Zeoron turned flaming purple eyes on the fiend. "You—you—you ASSHOLE!" she shrieked, stomping one foot for emphasis. "TAKE THIS!" Zeoron held her hands above her head as a midnight black sphere of light formed between her hands. "FLEETING MOMENT!"
For a moment, everything went darker than night. Then light began to shine through and everyone blinked as Tida walked around, glancing at everyone.
"All okay?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Um, question." Wakka said. He held his hands out. "What happened to the light?"
"Zeo. It should return to normal in a few minutes. Until, then… follow the light!" Tida laughed, turning and sprinting away. Chappu bolted after her, Tidus and Yuna hot on his heels. Zeoron and Rikku followed, Wakka and Lulu right behind them.
—
"How much longer?" Zeoron whined, dragging her feet and making whimpering noises as she shuffled along.
Tida rolled her eyes but didn't look back. "You tell me. You're supposed to be tracking the Shadow. Or did you kinda forget about that little detail?"
"Um… uh, yeah… Just a little farther!" Zeoron replied hastily, quickly seizing a hold of her magic and feeling out within the source for the Shadow's incriminating residue. She felt it pulsing not but a few hundred yards in front of them.
"Everyone better get ready, then." Tida said, walking on in stride. Tidus stopped a minute to stare. He knew that swagger—he himself did it.
"Oh, Light," he muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair. Yuna patted his arm. "Scary, isn't it, dear?" she asked, chuckling.
"You have no idea," Tidus told her, and they continued walking.
Tida halted and glanced around. It was a large, dead clearing. No fiends were to be seen. Everything was either black or gray, including the sky. Remains of rusted and busted machina littered the ground.
"I guess… I guess this is the place?" Tida murmured, leaving her questioning deduction unanswered. Everyone began looking around at each other, unsure of what to do.
What would happen next?
Tida took a step forward just as Wakka took a step backward to turn around and watch behind them. A dark energy force field shot up in front of him, instantly cutting him off. It continued its jagged path around the clearing, blocking any and all exits from the area. They were surrounded entirely.
"What the—?" Tidus said, narrowing his eyes. His fingers tensed and he reached for Caladbolg. Something grabbed him from behind.
"Dad!"
"Ow! Whoa!" Tidus shouted as he was thrown nearly halfway across. He gave a loud "Umph!" as he landed, thankfully, on what appeared to be an old bed of some kind. Tidus sat up, staring back across at the party and rubbing his side where the fiend had grabbed him.
"You again! Light, can't you just go the Farplane and stay there? Or do you have, like, and endless supply of "Get Out of Jail Free" cards?" Tida seethed, clenching her fists tight enough so that they trembled from the strength pulsating in her arms.
"Why, Small Lady Tida, it's nice to see you, too." Seymour said, smiling maliciously as he strode further to them. He turned his cold eyes on Tidus. "And Sir Tidus. I believed I owed you that?"
"Maybe, but it's nowhere near how much I'm gonna get you," Tidus growled, pushing himself to his feet. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and spit out a crimson streak of blood, his loathing eyes never leaving Seymour.
Seymour's trademark smirk appeared on his blue-veined face as he bowed his head to Tidus before moving his gaze back to Tida, who stood fuming silently, shaking with fury as her eyes burned and danced with flames of hatred.
"When I get through with you, Seymour, there won't be enough left of you to even remember," she said in a low, threatening voice as she raised one hand to point at the Seymour while the other formed into a clenched fist she raised as she bent her elbow.
"We shall see, Small Lady Tida," Seymour said, closing his eyes briefly and tilting his head back. He opened his eyes as he began to continue speaking. "The Shadow has brought me back once more to use me as an apparatus to finish all of you off and destroy Spira. I do not intend to fail."
"Formation!" Tida snapped aloud, sending the others dashing for a position for battle. She stepped squarely, raising her chin defiantly at Seymour. "If you think I'm going to let you win, you've got another thing coming! Auron, Aeon of Light, please, come and join the fight!"
A soft flutter of light, and Auron stepped out in front of the group, Masamune held over his shoulder. He gave a half-smile and a shake of his head as he put the point of the sword in the ground. "Tida, it's a bit early to call me out for the climax of your story."
Tida grinned. "Then sit back and wait for the second act! Hit him, ladies!" she cried, spinning and pointing at Lulu and Zeoron, who were powering up.
"ULTIMA!" Lulu half-whispered in a power-filled voice.
"FLARE!" Zeoron yelled.
"Right flank, move it!" Tida called. Tidus and Wakka surged forward for attack.
Tida flipped backward. "Left flank!"
Chappu and Rikku launched themselves forward.
"Mama! Now!"
Yuna held her arms out and closed her eyes. "Anima, come to punish your son. Let this battle be over and done!"
Seymour's eyes narrowed as fiends appeared to fend off the party's onslaught of attacks. "You would dare to call my own mother against me?" he raged, fire shooting up around his being. He held his hands out to the side and tilted his head back.
"Shadow! Take your aim!"
"What?" Tida hissed, taking a step forward and taking up position. She shifted in her stance and bounced back and forth, unsure of what to do.
Tidus and Wakka backed away, confused. Rikku and Chappu moved away as well, ducking out of the line of fire. Zeoron and Lulu fell back next to Yuna, exchanging glances with everyone, all of who were puzzled.
"What the—?"
Disclaimer: All belongs to Square Enix. You people know what's mine, okay?