This infinite, ever-damned waiting. Contrary to the tales that would be told later, the group lingered beneath the ice for three days. It was not because they did not want to come out. It was miserably cold beneath the ice. The dampness of the air was giving everyone the sniffles.
It was simply that they could find no way out.
Lake Macalania had been fed from one of the many great oceans in Spira. Back in the old days, the warm sea water flowed in, and there had been a great deal of "hot spring" business in Macalania. But during one of Sin's attacks, the topography of the Macalania area had changed, and then entire area stayed perpetually frozen. The lake iced over and stayed that way. No one ever noticed the water draining beneath the ice. No one ever cared to crack the ice, to see if the lake level had stayed the same.
Until Yuna and her guardians had fallen through.
They'd been okay, those three days. They had enough dried rations in their packs to last for several weeks each. The water all around them was fresh water, since Spira's great seas were not salt water. The greatest danger to the group was exposure, and even that had been taken care of.
There were ruins of a machina city beneath the ice. That first night, the group had slept around a roaring Fira spell. The second night, they all retreated into the largest ruin they could find. The water had frozen into ice here, which eventually melted with the heat of a fire, and evaporated thereafter. The interior of the ruin stayed toasty warm, and that was where Lulu was sequestered.
Despite Wakka's best efforts that night, Lulu took a chill, which swiftly developed into a fever. The others had no fear of contamination; Yuna opened up Lulu's bandage, and saw that her wound was beginning to fester. This was the cause of her fever.
"I have killed the infection, with a Cura spell. But she needs rest, and she needs warmth." Yuna said to Auron, some time later.
"Then warmth she shall have."
Auron had nodded. He went to stand guard, at the entrance to the ruin. Wakka sat near Lulu, in case she should want anything. All the others gathered together at the opposite side of the ruin, so that there was silence where Wakka and Lulu lay.
Wakka passed the time in undoing Lulu's long braids, and brushing out the hair, and rebraiding it for her. He knew that it was silly, what he did.
But he also knew that although Yuna had said she would be fine, Wakka was still scared for Lulu's life. He could do nothing else to help her. It calmed him to take care of her in some small way. No matter if his large fingers were clumsy with her delicate tresses sometimes. No matter if what he was doing seemed "girly." She knew it would make her feel good to wake up with groomed hair. He loved her. So he did it for her.
At the entrance to the ruin, Auron sat on his perch, hands leaning on the pommel of his sword. He sat, scanning the darkness at the outer reaches of the cavern.
Earlier in the day, he and Kimahri, and Tidus had scouted around. They knew every mottle and bulge in the rock walls like they knew their own hometowns. There was no exit. They only hope they could see was a cavern two-hundred feet up a sheer rock face. Tomorrow, Auron planned on taking Kimahri with him, and trying to find some way to perhaps anchor a rope to that cavern's wall.
Although Wakka would have been an obvious choice. His range of throwing was incredible. Surely, they could take one of Kimahri's grappling hooks and simply toss the damned thing up, right?
Auron turned his head, so that he could watch Wakka from the corner of his eye.
He watched jealously as Wakka undid one of Lulu's thick braids, and began to comb out the black hair. Lulu slept deeply with her head resting in Wakka's lap. She did not seem to notice the tugging at her scalp. Or if she did, it made her fever-dreams sweeter.
The thing was, that Auron was loathe to ask for Wakka's help. Before he'd always found the way that Wakka took care of Lulu touching. Now he hated it. He disliked Wakka because Wakka put his hands all over the woman that Auron coveted. And he disliked Wakka because Lulu seemed to, in a way, return that affection.
Auron's teeth gritted, and he tried to look away, though he did not turn his head so that he could not see.
'I should be ministering to Lulu's needs right now. Not him.' Auron snarled inwardly.
What a funny thing. He would have been content to sit and merely guard Lulu, had Wakka not been touching her.
'The oaf's not smart enough for her. He needs a mother, not her.' Auron thought, as he watched Wakka bumble a braid, and then start all over again.
Not that Auron could braid any better.
Sullen, Auron turned away, so that he could not watch, and stared off into the darkness.
He sat in silence. And just when it seemed he could have some peace of mind, he heard footsteps coming at him.
"Hey, Old Guy!"
Auron's teeth clenched. He had the strongest urge to swing his sword, and decapitate Tidus.
'Why, oh, why did your son have to be such a wanker, Jecht?' He wondered to himself. 'Must have come from the mother's side of the family...'
"What?" Auron asked Tidus, tone clearly weary.
"How're we going to get out of here?"
Auron turned to look at Tidus as if to say, 'Were you born a pain in the ass, or did you just grow up that way?'
"If you wish to escape.." Auron stated, teeth grinding, in measured tones. "Why not help us think of a way to get out of here?"
"Well, I can't think of anything." Tidus whined. "I want to help!"
Auron had a mental picture of Kimahri tying a rope around Tidus, and then tossing him up the rock face to the cavern.
"I'm sure a way will present itself." Auron looked away from him, hand going to his sake jug.
"Whatever..." Tidus looked at his shoes, and splashed in the water a bit.
He slogged off, as Auron tipped back the jug, and gulped sake.
Truly...would it be so bad if Tidus dissapeared? He wondered.
Yes, it would. Jecht had insisted that Auron bring Tidus here to kill him. No one else could do it.
Auron drank.
The faintest murmuring sound came to Auron after a while. His head was pleasently buzzed from the sake. He hefted the jug, and found, to his dissapointment, that it was nearly empty.
Auron crossed his arms, and looked back into the ruins. He searched for the source of the murmuring sound.
Rikku and Yuna were sound asleep. Tidus lay propped against the wall of the ruin, staring off into space. Kimahri sat not too far away, inscrutable, guarding, watching, just as Auron was doing.
With an inward groan, Auron's head turned to look at Wakka and Lulu.
And he almost started when he saw Lulu's eyes open.
Her face was ever so pale. It was so much whiter than it had ever been, and the sight of it make Auron anxious. But her eyes were not glazed. They looked clear, and somewhat alert.
Auron sat up straighter.
Lulu lay, staring at the ceiling of the ruin. Wakka was reading to her from one of her spellbooks. His voice was low, and soft. As he read to her, Lulu's hands lay clasped on her chest. Auron saw her fingers move from time to time, as if she were drawing a diagram in the air. Perhaps, practicing the motions for the proper salute to the spell.
'She doesn't ask for me. She doesn't turn to me to take care of her. She turns to Wakka.' Auron thought to himself. Sourly, he turned his head away again, so that he could not watch.
Of course, he was a fool. He shouldn't have left her with Wakka. He should have stayed with her all along. Then her head would have been resting in HIS lap as she slept. He would have been reading to her.
'I am a fool.' He thought again. 'A complete and utter fool.'
Once more, he tipped back the jug, and forced his mind from his troubles.
The fever left Lulu, as quickly as it had fallen on her. By the morning of the third day, she was up and moving around, albeit, resting quite often. It had taken the strength out of her, but Wakka had read from her spellbooks to her while she lay ill, and in that time, she had learned to emulate Yuna's Cura spell.
That day, Auron grudgingly came to Wakka, and asked his help in trying to reach the cavern up the rock face. His only consolation in asking Wakka, was that he would be away from Lulu. Wakka agreed. He was worried that Lulu would catch cold again, and this time, she would be so ill that she could not recover. Wakka trekked out to the rock face with Kimahri and Auron, and the three prepared for their attempt at escape.
Back at the ruin, Yuna sat checking Lulu over. Rikku and Tidus were exploring. As per usual, they were much like blisters; they didn't show up until the work was done.
Omni-present under the lake, was the Hymn of the Fayth. Receding, and becoming softer, or rising up in volume, the Hymn of the Fayth played constantly. But it did not grate on the nerves as any other song would, after being played for three solid days straight. The notes were soft and haunting enough to fade into the background after a while. It was as much a part of the ambience as was the fog from the cold, and the pale light from the sun shining through the ice.
But EVERYONE noticed when the Hymn stopped. Everyone noticed the sudden silence. Where Auron, Wakka, and Kimahri worked, trying to scale the wall of rock, they paused, and looked up in alarm. Rikku and Tidus came skidding around the edge of the ruin, eyes wide. Yuna stood suddenly, gasping in fright, staff in hand.
Lulu raised herself up, swaying, braids clinking togeter gently from the beads in her hair.
"What's wrong!" Tidus demanded. "Why'd the Hymn stop?"
"Sin..." Yuna breathed.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake. The violence of the quake pitched everyone to their knees. A loud rumbling noise began, and got only louder.
One of the lake walls began to crumble; Seawater rushed in. People screamed as the currents slammed them against the ruins, and swept them around.
And where the seawater had broken through the rock wall, Sin jutted his ugly head into the hollow beneath the ice.
"The toxin!" Lulu screamed. "Look out!"
She did not know that anyone heard her. She did not know that anyone else was alive.
There was blackness, as everything was sucked into Sin.