Where dreams end...
3. Journey to Luca
Buffy opened her mouth in an involuntary gasp of horror. They'd made their way down the stairs and back through the jungle towards where Yuna told her they would find Kilika port town. What greeted her eyes was not the thriving little port town she had expected.
The town was in ruins. If she hadn't already been told that Sin had recently attacked, Buffy would've thought that Kilika was hit by a tornado or something, some force of nature. Still, the extent of the damage was evident, almost palpable, in the oppressively depressing mood that hung over the town.
"Oh god," Buffy muttered, shaking her head. "This is…"
"Ya," said Wakka sombrely. "Sin came. We weren't able to do a darn thing about it."
"This can't go on," Buffy whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. Yuna heard her though. She reached out and put a comforting hand on Buffy's shoulder.
"It won't," she said firmly. "I will defeat Sin."
There was such determination in Yuna's voice. Buffy couldn't help to admire her for it. Yuna was only a year older than Buffy at most, but she carried herself with such a sense of maturity and responsibility. She had chosen such a difficult path to walk, the important word being chosen.
After her experience with the Master, a cruel vampire who, until recently, ruled Sunnydale's vampire populations with an iron fist, Buffy wasn't sure she'd choose to be the Slayer. Still, even as the Slayer, she'd never faced anything with such blind destructive power on this magnitude.
As they made their way through what had once been Kilika port town, Buffy got the chance to look around, to become intimately acquainted with the details of Sin's attack. She saw children left orphaned, and parents who'd lost their children. Homes were decimated, little more than driftwood in the soft currents of the tide. It was horrible.
Yevon, she decided, was not a god she'd get along with. All this was his punishment just for vanity? She hated to think what Yevon would do to her world.
They came to the docks, to a ship moored there by thick coils of rope. The name on its hull read the S.S. Winno. It was a wooden vessel, and didn't look particularly sturdy to Buffy. It reminded her of a cross between a catamaran and one of those old wooden ships the pilgrims used to get to America, the emphasis on the catamaran.
"Off to Luca at last! The matches start soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?" Wakka suggested, before moving off towards the back of the boat.
"Matches?" Buffy asked. Oh yeah. Blitzball, whatever that was. Tidus was on Wakka's team. She'd heard them argue with a different group of players at the Temple. "Oh yeah. Blitzball."
"Come on," said Yuna, grabbing Buffy by the hand, giving her a warm smile. "I'll explain it to you."
"Later guys," Buffy called over her shoulder, as Yuna dragged Buffy off towards the front of the ship.
The two girls settled themselves down on the deck. "What will you do when we get to Luca?" Yuna asked after a little while. Buffy closed her eyes, let herself enjoy the warm sunlight for a moment.
"I don't know," said the girl, after a moment. She gave a resigned sigh. "Spira is… another world to me. I doubt I'll meet anyone I recognise. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens when we get there."
"I hope you find someone," said Yuna, smiling warmly.
"Me too," Buffy said.
"But… if you don't… you are welcome to come with us," the young Summoner said, again hesitant about the words that she chose.
Buffy nodded, giving Yuna a grateful smile. "I'd like that."
Maybe it was because I saw some of myself in her, weird as that sounds…
Maybe it was because I understood some of the pressure she was under, as
a Summoner, and I wanted the chance to help her… but… I didn't want to
disappoint Yuna.
"What are you guys talking about?" Tidus asked, walking up to where the two girls were quietly chatting. Buffy couldn't help but notice Yuna's face light up at his arrival.
"What we're gonna do when we get to Luca," Buffy answered, with a shrug.
"Gonna watch the Aurochs play?" Tidus asked.
Buffy glanced over at Yuna. She looked so flustered right then and there, at a loss for words. Yuna just nodded, giving him that smile that she seemed to reserve for him.
"We'll be there. Front row centre, and all that," said Buffy. She threw her arm around Yuna's shoulders in a show of solidarity. Yuna nodded her agreement.
Tidus' attention was now completely on Yuna, and what he said next was undoubtedly directed only at her. "If I score a goal, I'll do this." He raised his hand over his head, as though cheering excitedly. "That will mean it was for you."
"Oh!" Yuna said, trying to think of something to say.
"Great! She'll be watching for your sign, so you'd better do your best," Buffy said.
"Oh. Um. Yes," Yuna said, a little embarrassed. She obviously knew what Buffy was up to; Buffy could tell by the embarrassed look on Yuna's face.
"Will do," Tidus promised. He shook his head, stretched, and yawned loudly. "I better go do what Wakka said, and get some rest, if I wanna be ready for the tournament." With one last look at Yuna, Tidus turned around, and walked back towards the cabin.
"Why did you do that?" Yuna demanded, a little flustered.
Buffy shrugged. "I saw the way you looked at him. You like him." She wove her fingers together behind her head and leaned back, enjoying the warmth of the sun again. Yuna blushed furiously, obviously flustered.
"I… uh…"
"Relax, Yuna," Buffy said, shaking her head. She really couldn't understand Yuna sometimes. That enigmatic smile of hers didn't help at all, either. "I won't tell him if you don't want me to."
"Thank you," said Yuna, bowing her head in gratitude.
"So, you were going to tell me about blitz?" Buffy asked.
"I'd much rather hear about your world," Yuna said.
"It's complicated," Buffy responded, shaking her head. Yuna nodded her understanding, though she did look a little disappointed. "I'm sorry. There are just some things that are difficult to talk about. I promise I will tell you. It's just… now's not the right time."
"I understand," Yuna said, smiling that same enigmatic smile.
What was I supposed to say? Yuna had never been anything but unconditionally
kind and giving to me. And here I was, keeping secrets from her. I felt
awful…
Wakka watched the new girl, from the upper deck. Unlike Tidus, she had no connection to Sin at all. She claimed to be from an entirely different world. The multitude of her questions sure did reinforce that idea, but there was something about another world that Wakka found unbelievable.
"Stop spying," Lulu said, from where she stood beneath the main sail in the shade.
"I'm not spying," Wakka denied. "I'm just keeping an eye on Yuna."
"She certainly has grown fond of our two newcomers," Lulu observed, joining him in watching Yuna. Tidus had joined her and Buffy, and the trio were kicking around a blue and white blitzball, laughing happily.
"I don't like it," Wakka said. "What do we really know about her?"
"You saw how she acted against that Sinspawn," Lulu said in her cool tone. Wakka nodded. The newcomer's reaction had been nothing short of unbelievable, incredible. "That girl has talent."
"Yeah, but what do we really know about her?" Wakka persisted.
"What do we really know about Tidus?" Lulu countered calmly.
Wakka opened his mouth to say something, but then realised that their situations were very similar. Tidus claimed to be from Zanarkand, a city that Sin destroyed a thousand years ago. Was that story really so much more believable than Buffy claiming to be from another world entirely?
Wakka couldn't answer that question. When the chips were down, he was a simple man, with a simple way of life, and he understood the universe as it was relative to him.
"It is Yuna's decision," said Lulu.
"I still don't like it," Wakka grumbled.
"You don't have to," Lulu responded coolly. She turned away, and returned to the shade of where she had been standing only moments ago. "You should take your own advice and get some rest before we reach Luca. You want to be well rested for the tournament, don't you?"
That said, Lulu descended the steps back down to the lower deck, and then to the cabins. Wakka cast one last look at the trio. Tidus was now showing off for them, and the two girls seemed to be enjoying the show. He shook his head, and followed Lulu.
***
"And that's blitz," Tidus finished, giving the two girls a grin.
"You really hold your breath for five minutes?" Buffy asked. She shook her head. "Wow. That's a long time. Sounds difficult, don't you think so, Yuna?"
The young Summoner nodded.
"It's not that tough," said Tidus, shaking his head. The girl gave him a questioning look, wondering what he meant. "There's a trick to it you can't explain. It's not about strength."
"Well, I'm looking forward to this blitz thing in Luca," Buffy reported. "It sounds a little like water polo to me, but it's gotta be interesting, right?"
"It is!" Yuna affirmed, with an enthusiastic smile.
"The Aurochs are taking the cup this year," Tidus added, equally enthusiastically.
"Right." Buffy turned to see three men. They were dressed in purple and grey, and they looked familiar. It took Buffy a moment, but then she remembered them; this was the other team that Wakka and Tidus had argued with at the Kilika Temple.
"Ah, I remember him. Guy from Kilika," said one of the men, a dark-skinned man who looked well-built. Buffy supposed as professional athletes, they'd have to be pretty built.
"Hmm?" asked the leader, a man with flaming red hair and an arrogant expression. His name was Bickson or something. Buffy instantly disliked him.
"You know, one of the Besaid Aurochs. Said somethin' about winning the cup then too," the dark-skinned man, called Graav, reminded their leader.
"Oh, right," said Bickson. "You're that idiot."
"Don't call him that!" Yuna protested.
"But he is an idiot," the leader insisted. He wasn't winning himself any points here, as far as Buffy was concerned. "They don't got what it takes to win the cup."
"I don't know," said Buffy. "It might be a lot easier for them, if three players of whatever loser team you belong to didn't make it to the game because they had to swim the rest of the way to Luca." The young girl cracked her knuckles, as if to emphasise her point.
"Is that a threat?" Bickson asked, sounding mildly amused.
"You bet it is," Buffy said.
"Buffy…" Yuna started, but she was cut off when Bickson started talking again.
"Look everyone! It's one of the Aurochs' half-dozen fans," the leader said, laughing. He turned to Buffy, a smug smirk on his face. "Go ahead, little girl. Take your best shot."
Yuna's mouth opened and shut. Buffy looked at her for permission. Yuna only had to hear the leader of the other team laugh once again. Her eyes narrowed and she shut her mouth and nodded.
Buffy hit Bickson, hit him hard. The man went flying a good twelve feet up into the air, before crashing painfully down onto a pile of crates. Buffy wandered over to where Bickson was trying to move. "Who are you calling little?"
Then she turned around and headed back towards Tidus and Yuna. Bickson's teammates took one look at her and decided it was in their best interests not to start anything they couldn't finish.
"You really clocked him," Tidus said, surprise more than evident on his face.
"You could have really hurt him," Yuna admonished gently, though there was a slight smile on her face.
"He'll be fine," Buffy dismissed. "His ego broke the fall. Besides, he had it coming."
"What's going on?" Wakka yelled, running up to them. He was a little out of breath. "I just saw the Goers carrying one of their own down below, ya? What happened?"
"Buffy totally cleaned his clock!" Tidus exclaimed with a grin.
"Yes," Yuna said, with a slight smile.
"What did you do that for?" Wakka asked anxiously.
"I didn't hit him that hard," Buffy protested.
"He asked for it, Wakka," Tidus pointed out.
"I know the Goers are jerks," Wakka started wearily. He was trying to sound reasonable, but it was a tough job, made even tougher by the fact that the newcomer was giving him a completely innocent look, very similar to the one Yuna had managed. "But if we go around attacking every one of our opponents, we gonna get disqualified."
"He really did ask for it, Wakka," Yuna said.
"Yeah," Tidus agreed. "He said 'take your best shot.'"
Wakka blinked, not sure he'd heard that correctly. "What if the Aurochs get the blame?"
"Don't worry," Buffy said with a shrug. "I'm one of the Aurochs' 'half-dozen' fans. I'm not an Auroch, so, you know, I can't get you disqualified."
"He said we have a half-dozen fans?" Wakka asked, suddenly annoyed. "Why that arrogant… You shoulda hit 'im harder! We gonna do so much better than the Goers this year!" Wakka turned and stormed off, presumably to tell the rest of the team.
"Wow, that went better than I thought it would," said Tidus. Yuna nodded her agreement.
"No kidding," Buffy said. "I thought he was going to have a fit or something at first. It just seems to have fired him up that much more."
"Even so," said Yuna earnestly. "You really shouldn't have hit him."
"I won't do it again," Buffy promised, rolling her eyes. "Even if he
really does ask for it." Tidus laughed. Yuna tried to suppress her laughter
at that, but found herself unable to do so. The young Summoner joined Tidus
in his laughter.
I was learning. Everything in Spira was so different. And, I have
to admit, I didn't want to be alone here. I think… that's when I decided
to go with Yuna.
"There it is!" Yuna said, pulling Buffy from her thoughts and tugging on her arm almost like an impatient child. She pointed to the horizon.
As they grew closer, the city grew in size and detail. Buffy could tell that this was a city unlike any other she had ever seen, unlike anything her world had to offer. The buildings were tall, seemed to flow along organic lines, but were built using simple construction techniques and crude materials. Being a port town, Luca seemed to be based heavily around its port. What's more, there seemed to be a strange building, if it could be called that: a large sphere filling slowly with water.
"That is where the blitzball tournament will be held," Yuna explained, seeing Buffy study the sphere-pool with a confused look on her face.
"Oh," said Buffy.
Tidus jumped up, standing on the railing, hanging on to a rope for support, as the ship pulled into dock number two. A small crowd had gathered, waiting for the players to arrive. Buffy turned to the young summoner, caught her looking wistfully at Tidus' enthusiasm.
"Let's go check out the town." The young summoner nodded, and watched as Buffy walked over to the gangplank, pushing Bickson hard on her way down. The Blitzer was thrown into the water, and came up a moment later, sputtering for breath.