9. The White Knight's Complications
The Al Bhed machina weapon was fighting to overcome Sin's raw power, but it was an uphill battle. It was painfully obvious, from where Yuna was standing.
For the moment at least, the weapon diverted Sin's wrath, buying the Crusaders on the beach some time, buying Yuna and her guardians some time. There had to be something that they could do to avert this imminent tragedy.
The young Summoner glanced around, looking desperately to her guardians for inspiration.
That was when she saw Buffy, standing completely still, her eyes tightly closed. There was a look of concentration on her face. She was whispering something to herself, over and over.
"Please help me, Xander." It was like a mantra, a prayer, repeated over and over and over.
And suddenly Yuna felt it.
Power unlike anything Spira had witnessed in a little over a decade filled the air, charged it. This was the power of a true aeon, one born of a meaningful bond and an unbreakable will.
Yuna gasped, shocked. She had known that Buffy had come into contact with one of the fayth, that the fayth had agreed to be Buffy's aeon. She had known that Buffy had the potential to become a Summoner. She still felt shocked.
Buffy stood motionless in the centre of a magic circle, an unknown symbol glowing with the brilliant white light of a thousand suns. That light was made all the more brilliant by the pitch black clouds that suddenly blanketed the sky.
"What's this?" Maester Seymour asked, sounding equally shocked.
The symbol on the ground shattered into a thousand and one pieces, each of the pieces shooting up, piercing the veil of darkness that had fallen over the sky. Rays of brilliant light lanced down.
"She's summoning!" Wakka gasped.
A brilliant aeon tore through the black clouds, dispelling the darkness covering the land, galloping towards them. The aeon landed with a thunderous explosion, sending up a huge dust cloud.
Now that Yuna could see the aeon, she could tell that it wasn't any of the aeons that the Temples guarded.
The aeon stood nearly three times Buffy's height. He seemed to glow with an unearthly light. The aeon had the torso of a human, though he had four white feathered wings protruding from his back. He was partially armoured in gleaming silver armour, and he was armed with a long silver sword, protected by a huge silver shield. The aeon's lower half was that of a great white stallion, two more great white wings beating lazily to keep the aeon aloft.
Buffy opened her eyes, and Yuna could see a fierce resolve burning in those green depths. She pointed towards Sin, and said something, but Yuna couldn't make her words out.
The aeon nodded, and turned. He reared up on his hind legs, and took off into the sky, galloping out over the melee far below, where the Crusaders were fighting with the smaller Sinspawn.
Sin was almost finished building its attack. The White Knight wound up with his sword, just as Sin fired his attack. He smashed the radiant silver blade into the energy wave heading towards the coast.
The energy wave slowed, then stopped, then turned on Sin, with the aeon galloping forward right behind it.
With a roar of outrage, Sin took the full force of its own attack. Then the aeon struck at Sin with his radiant sword.
Everyone gasped, even Yuna, as Sin's entire arm came free of its body, and burst into a cloud of pyreflies. That any one aeon could do that to Sin in one blow was completely unthinkable!
Wounded, Sin gathered its remaining strength. Then, it turned, sinking deep beneath the waves, in a hasty retreat.
Buffy's aeon did not pursue it, but returned to her side. This time Yuna did hear Buffy's words. "Thank you…"
The aeon disappeared in a swarm of pyreflies. Buffy managed to remain standing, but only for a moment, before the fatigue of summoning her aeon set in, and she collapsed to the ground. Yuna rushed towards her.
Almost as background noise, the Crusaders made quick work of the Sinspawn, their confidence buoyed by Buffy's aeon. All of them let out a victorious roar.
Consciousness returned slowly. Buffy had never exerted herself this much; she felt completely drained still, though her enhanced healing would help her recover quickly enough.
The young woman was aware that she wasn't alone, that there were other people in wherever this was.
"With an aeon like that, she could defeat Sin, ya?" That was Wakka. It had to be; nobody else she knew had that accent.
"Then why didn't she?" That was Tidus. She could hear his enthusiasm, misplaced though it was. "Why didn't she beat Sin?"
Buffy felt a soft hand brush across her forehead with a damp cloth. "Buffy didn't have the stamina to maintain the summoning," Yuna said. Buffy could practically hear the sympathetic smile in her words. So, feeling this drained was part of summoning.
"That's not it," Buffy said, at length. She didn't open her eyes, but she was aware that all attention was now on her. "Xander did what I asked him to do: he saved those Crusaders, drove Sin away."
"Well, you wounded it bad, ya? Why not finish the job?" Wakka asked.
"Because I didn't want to deal with the consequences," Buffy responded quietly. The aeon that defeated Sin would become Sin, Buffy remembered. She couldn't let that happen to Xander. She'd find another way to defeat the monster.
The young woman opened her eyes, glancing around at her surroundings. Someone had moved her after she passed out. They were inside one of the Crusaders' tents. She was lying in a bed. Her equipment was neatly placed nearby.
Yuna was sitting on the edge of the bed, a damp cloth in her hands. Tidus and Wakka were standing at the edge of the light. Buffy sat up, pulled the covers aside, and pushed herself to her feet.
Yuna gave her a concerned look. "Should you really be on your feet?" Yuna questioned.
"I'm fine," Buffy dismissed with a shrug. "I heal fast."
"How can you be so selfish?" Tidus asked, and Buffy thought she could detect a note of anger in his voice. He gave her a look, which mirrored his tone of voice.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Buffy said coldly. Obviously, Tidus didn't know about what Sin was, about what happened to the soul of the aeon that defeated it. There was a price for the power to defeat Sin; it wasn't something she was willing to pay. There had to be another way.
"Tidus, please…" Yuna started.
"No, Yuna!" Tidus said angrily. "She could have ended it all! She could've defeated Sin! She didn't."
"You know what?" Buffy responded angrily. "I don't want to become another one of Yevon's sacrifices, so yeah, I pulled my punches. I'll find another way, a better way." She pulled her jacket on, and wrapped the sword belt around her waist.
"It's our decision," Yuna said quietly. Tidus and Buffy both looked to her, their imminent fight forgotten. Yuna gave Tidus and Wakka an apologetic smile. "Could we have a moment alone?"
Wakka nodded, and pulled Tidus from the tent. "Summoner stuff, ya?" He said cheerfully. Buffy thought she could hear a note of discomfort in his voice.
"It's our decision," Yuna repeated firmly. There was no arguing with the look on her face or the tone of her voice. Her strangely coloured eyes burned with resolve. "As Summoners, we choose to give up our lives to protect Spira. Why can't you understand that?"
"Because it's wrong," Buffy responded frustrated. "You shouldn't have to throw away your life! It's not fair."
"It may not be fair, but it is all the hope we have," Yuna said angrily. "If you cannot accept that, then… then, perhaps you should not have agreed to be my guardian."
Buffy stopped, stunned, stung by the Summoner's angry words. And before she knew it, her frustration got the better of her. "You know what?" Buffy asked angrily. "Fine! I don't want to be your stupid guardian anymore anyway!"
Yuna opened her mouth to say something, clearly shocked, but Buffy didn't let her speak. "I don't need you or your stupid Summoner's Arts. I'll find my own way!"
With that, the young woman turned, and stalked from the tent, leaving Yuna alone. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness. The sun had long since set on the Crusaders' encampment – a city of tents with fires for warmth and light sporadically interspersed in the darkness – painting it in shades of deep blue and grey.
"Buffy, wait!" Yuna exclaimed, coming out of the tent. She tried to restrain her former guardian with a gentle hand on her arm, but Buffy wasn't in the mood to listen.
"No, Yuna," Buffy said, pulling her arm free. "There's no going back; we said what we said. I don't want to help you keep this lie alive."
Yuna remained silent. For the longest moment, she just watched her friend, as she vanished into the darkness once more. She wasn't going to come back, the young Summoner realised. Not this time.
Buffy was right about one thing: there was no going back. Yuna wondered if she would ever see Buffy again.
"What happened?" Lulu asked, coming to join Yuna.
"Buffy is… no longer my guardian," Yuna said, her voice hesitant. She felt Lulu's eyes on her, and a moment later she felt the black magician wrap a comforting arm around her shoulders. "She couldn't accept my pilgrimage."
That wasn't true. Buffy had an unspoken understanding of the Summoner's journey, and its final destination; she understood it better than any of Yuna's other guardians. There was something about Buffy – a hidden strength – that Yuna found comforting.
"I see." That was all Lulu had to say.
"Lulu… d-do you think I made a mistake?" Yuna asked.
The black magician looked at her young charge for a moment. Yuna always felt like Lulu could read her mind, when she looked at the Summoner like that, as though Yuna was an open book.
"It wasn't your decision to make," Lulu said, after a long moment. She offered Yuna a comforting smile, one of her rare facial expressions. Lulu reached up and wiped away tears Yuna didn't even know she'd shed. "Buffy couldn't accept your pilgrimage. That was her decision."
"Do you think she will be alright?" Yuna asked quietly.
"She can handle herself," the black magician said after a long moment. Yuna understood. The young girl tried so hard to hide her immense strength and speed, but it was all too evident when she fought. But there was more to life than fighting.
"That's not what I mean," Yuna said, shaking her head. "This isn't her world."
Stupid Summoner's pilgrimage, Buffy thought angrily. Stupid Yevon. Why couldn't Yuna understand? Why did things always have to be difficult?
Buffy shook her head, trying to clear some of the frustration, the anger, from her mind. It was clouding her better judgement. She'd already walked away from the only living friend she had in Spira. Where was she supposed to go now?
"I wonder what Giles would say," Buffy muttered to herself.
"He'd probably tell you that you have to hone, or something," Xander said with a shrug. Buffy jumped, surprised.
"Don't do that!" Buffy exclaimed at him. "You trying to give me a heart attack or something?"
"Sorry, Buff," Xander said, grinning like he wasn't sorry at all. Buffy shot him a look. "I haven't been around people for a while. I forget little things."
"Why are you here?" Buffy asked. "Not that I don't like the company or anything, but…"
"Well, you seemed like you could use a hand," Xander explained. "Don't know where to go, what to do next."
"I guess you've got a plan then?" Buffy asked, giving her friend a sidelong look. She continued walking, though she had no idea where she was walking to. The landscape had long since left behind the desolate features of Mushroom Rock Road; now she found herself walking through a pleasantly green countryside, like the Mi'ihen Highroad, and at the same time not.
"A suggestion," said the spirit of the fayth, giving her a smile.
"Yeah?" Buffy asked.
"You found me," Xander said. "Why not look for Willow's hidden fayth?"
"Where would I start?" Buffy wondered. She stopped, fixing the fayth walking next to her with a long questioning look. "The Temples? Maybe Will's one of them?"
Xander shook his head. "No. She's like me," Xander said.
"Great," Buffy grumbled. "I only found you because I was following Angel. How am I supposed to find her?"
"Looks like the way has just opened up." The spirit of the fayth nodded towards the road. There was a huge machine standing in her way. It was definitely an Al Bhed machina, and it didn't look like an everyday household appliance; it looked like a cannon on tank treads. "Good luck with that."
Xander faded from sight. "What? You're just going to leave me to deal with that huge thing on my own?"
"Intangible, remember?" Xander laughed, his voice little more than a whisper in her ear.
"Excuse me." The words were bright, way too cheerful and enthusiastic in Buffy's opinion. A young girl poked her head out from around the mechanical monstrosity. At least, Buffy thought the speaker was a young girl; it was difficult to tell underneath what looked very much like an orange wet-suit.
"Yeah?" Buffy asked.
"Are you a Summoner?" The girl asked. "The one that stopped Operation Mi'ihen?"
"Who the hell are you?" Buffy demanded. She was not having a good day, and this looked like just another complication she didn't need.
"Well, my name's Rikku," the girl said.
"Can you move this thing out of my way?" Buffy wondered out loud. She gestured to the cannon-thing in her way. Fiends were fine, but she wasn't sure she could hurt something made out of metal. At least, not as easily as she could break bones.
"Are you the one?" Rikku persisted. "It's really important."
"It always is, isn't it?" Buffy groaned, looking up to a cloudless sky, as if looking for some answer in the stars. "What if I am the one that summoned at Operation Mi'ihen? You gonna try and convince me to go on a pilgrimage too?"
"You… You don't want to?" Rikku asked, sounding a little confused.
She stepped fully out from behind the cannon-machina, scrutinising Buffy more thoroughly. She was younger than Buffy, the young Slayer realised, getting a better look at her now. The body language told Buffy as much.
"What kind of Summoner are you?" Rikku asked.
"I'm not a Summoner," Buffy said, breathing a sigh of frustration and crossing her arms over her chest. "And I don't want to be."
"Really?" Rikku squeaked, sounding even more surprised.
"Summoners are just…" Buffy trailed off angrily, unable to find the words to describe her frustration. Her thoughts went back to her conversation with Yuna. She both admired Yuna for her dedication, and hated her for it. Why did things always have to be so difficult, so complicated?
"That's great!" Rikku said, her voice enthusiastic once more. "You should come with us."
"Uh, 'us?'" Buffy asked, glancing around. "There's just you…"
"Oh!" Rikku said. She turned to the cannon-machina. "Lusd uh uid."
"Huh?" Buffy wondered. That had to have been that strange Al Bhed language, because she didn't understand a word of it. The meaning became clear, when, moments later, three other people appeared from inside the machina.
"So, you were gonna ambush me, huh?" Buffy asked, beginning to understand now. The machina wasn't just for show. She felt decidedly unimpressed.
"Well… Kinda," Rikku admitted.
"Crid ib!" One of the three men said, sounding almost exasperated. Buffy wondered what he'd just said. Rikku, who understood, breathed an annoyed sigh, and turned to the speaker, a crazy-looking blond man with tattoos all over.
"Ed'c ugyo! Cra cyed cra fych'd y Summoner!" Rikku shot back, her voice conveying her irritation almost as forcefully as her body language. "Pacetac, cra caasc ugyo!"
"Um, hello? What are you two talking about?" Buffy wondered, putting a halt to what was obviously well on the way to an argument, if Rikku's tone of voice was anything to go by. "I can't speak that wacky language of yours, so if you're going to fight, can you do it in English?"
"Oh," Rikku said. "Sorry about that. Sometimes Brother can be such a pain."
"Wait… That guy's your brother? And he's called Brother?" Buffy asked. How weird was that? She shook her head. "Never mind. I'm not sure I want to know. Can either of you point me to the nearest Temple?"
"Huh?" Rikku asked. "I thought you said you weren't a Summoner. What would you want to go there for?"
"I want to go talk to a fayth. I got questions. I figure they've got answers," Buffy said, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.
"You don't want to go there," Rikku advised quickly. A little too quickly, in Buffy's honest opinion.
"Well, why not?" Buffy asked.
"Because the Maesters are probably looking for you," Rikku explained. Buffy gave her a questioning look. What could the Maesters possibly want with her? "Because nobody's ever seen an aeon like the one you summoned. They're gonna want to find out where you got it."
"That's not going to happen," Buffy said firmly. Those Maesters gave her the creeps, and she was not about to let them know where she met Xander. Even if she could remember exactly. They'd take him and lock him up in a Temple somewhere.
"So, why don't you come with us?" Rikku asked.
"Why not?" Buffy wondered out loud.
She wasn't a guardian anymore, so she didn't have to worry about sticking close to a Summoner. She had just one goal now, and that was to find Willow's fayth and, together with her friends, destroy Sin for good. Maybe these people could help.
"You know what?" Buffy asked. "I will go with you."
So, now I'm hanging out with a group of Al Bhed. They seem pretty cool, and the upside is that they're not all anti-technology. I wonder if they have television…?