Where Dreams End...
10. Lost Ones
Buffy found herself wandering along a pleasantly green landscape with Rikku; Brother and his group had long since split off to continue their mission. She could see a wall of trees rise up in the distance. Sheer cliffs rose up on both sides of her, leaving her potentially boxed in, should she be ambushed.
That was probably why the Al Bhed chose that place to set up their ambush. From what she understood, the Al Bhed were kidnapping Summoners, preventing them from completing their pilgrimages.
A part of her agreed with that plan, but deep down she knew that she couldn't force people to agree with her.
"So, how come don't you want to be a Summoner?" Rikku asked.
The Al Bhed girl had long since abandoned her strange wet-suit. Underneath it, the girl looked about fifteen years old. She had blonde hair, which she wore up in a messy ponytail, and strange green eyes that seemed to spiral in. The girl was dressed in an orange top and green shorts that were almost indecent.
"They're wasting their lives fighting something that's always going to come back!" Buffy said, frustrated. She fixed Rikku with a look. "You know what Sin is?"
"Well, Yevon says…" Rikku started.
"Yevon's a bunch of liars," Buffy said, scowling. What she wouldn't give to take her frustration out on some unlucky fiend or Sinspawn right now… "Sin isn't the problem."
"Huh?" Rikku asked.
"Okay, how did he put it?" Buffy muttered to herself. Why couldn't Xander pop in an explain this? Then again, Buffy wondered if Rikku could even see Xander. "There's this guy inside Sin, called Yu Yevon. Sin's like his armour."
"Yu Yevon?" Rikku asked, confused.
"Yeah," said Buffy. "My friend Xander told me about him. Every time a Summoner uses the Final Aeon to kill Sin, Yu Yevon merges with that aeon and starts all over again. So…"
"So, no matter how many times the Summoners defeat it, Sin will keep coming back!" Rikku gasped, a look of understanding on her young face.
"They're like the only ones who can't beat Sin for good. As long as there are aeons, there'll be Sin," Buffy said nodding. "I'm gunning for Yu Yevon. If I kill him, then, then…"
"Then Sin will disappear for good!" Rikku said. She was excited now.
"The only problem is getting close enough," Buffy muttered. "I mean, I'd have to go through Sin to get to Yu Yevon, so that idea's pretty much a bust."
Rikku's shoulders slumped, the wind removed from her sails. "Oh man. For a minute there, you really had me going. There's gotta be a way."
"There is. I… just haven't found it yet," Buffy said, trying to sound more confident than she actually felt. "That's why I need to find my friends. I'm hoping once I find Willow's fayth, I can get some straight answers."
"Wait a minute," Rikku said, stopping. Buffy stopped, turning to look at the young Al Bhed. "You're looking for a fayth?"
"A hidden fayth," Buffy said, nodding. "Like my friend Xander."
"Are you sure you don't want to be a Summoner?" Rikku asked suspiciously.
"Positive," Buffy said, giving Rikku an even look. "I want to be with my friends. I just gotta find them first."
"But, your friends are fayth?" Rikku asked. She seemed to have a hard time wrapping her mind around this concept. "That means they're like ancient, right?"
"At least a thousand years," Buffy admitted, with a shrug.
Rikku and Buffy continued on in silence…
I'm left with the same problem: where am I supposed to start looking? It's worse than a needle in a haystack. I don't even know where the haystack is.
Yuna found herself watching the sunset from the bridge leading to the impressive Djose Temple. The dying orange light painted her surroundings, casting deep shadows.
After the ambiguous ending to Operation Mi'ihen, most of the Crusaders retreated here. There was plenty of work for Yuna, tending to the injured and dying. While Buffy's aeon saved the vast majority of the operation's participants, there were still casualties; Yuna healed and comforted where she could, and sent the souls of those she couldn't.
The warrior monks and the priests were saying that the arrival of the White Knight – the strange aeon Buffy called Xander – was a sign from Yevon. It was holy intervention, to inspire the Crusaders to right their heresy by rejoining the right path.
Yuna wasn't so sure.
Many people had lived because of Buffy's actions, and for that Yuna would always respect and admire her friend; Buffy set aside her distaste for the Summoner's Arts to save hundreds, maybe even thousands, of lives.
But after that they'd fought. Buffy decided that she wasn't going to be Yuna's guardian any longer. Yuna couldn't help but feel a little sad, a little disappointed, in Buffy's decision, though she knew it was made in the heat of the moment.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Tidus asked, startling Yuna from her train of thought.
"Buffy," Yuna answered quietly.
"Oh," Tidus said. Yuna thought she could detect a note of guilt in his voice. He was so easy to read, almost like a child sometimes; that was what Yuna adored about him.
"Listen," Tidus started uncertainly. "It's partly my fault she left. I shouldn't have pushed her. I'm sorry."
He reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Yuna leaned her head towards it, enjoying the feel of his touch for a moment.
"You don't need to apologise," Yuna said, turning to offer him an understanding smile. "Buffy could not understand my pilgrimage. She had to make her own decision."
Tidus ran a hand through his hair, scratching the back of his head. He gave her a nervous grin. "I'm not sure I understand your pilgrimage either, but I'll protect you."
Yuna felt herself blushing. She bowed, partly to hid her own flustered face. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Tidus said. "It's what guardians do, right?"
Yuna smiled, and nodded.
Taking Tidus' hand, she returned her attention to the sunset, unconsciously pulling him closer to her. They stood there watching for a long moment.
"Hey!" Wakka said.
"Hi, Wakka!" Tidus said, taking a step away from Yuna and grinning nervously. The young Summoner couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"You ready to go see da fayth?" Wakka asked.
"Yes," Yuna said, nodding. With one last look at the setting sun, she turned and followed the Besaid blitzer into the Djose Temple, comfortably aware of Tidus' presence nearby.
It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting inside the Temple. As with the other two Temples they'd visited along Yuna's pilgrimage, polished bronze statues of High Summoners loomed over them, ever watchful.
"Everybody ready?" Yuna asked cheerfully.
"You bet," Wakka responded.
"As ever," Tidus chimed in, grinning at her. Yuna nodded, and turned towards the stairs leading to the Cloister of Trials. Just as she reached the stairs, another Summoner's group appeared at the top.
"I beg your pardon," said the leader. He had fair skin, red hair, worn in a topknot, and brown eyes. He was dressed in voluminous green robes, the robes of a Summoner. "But may I ask your name?"
"I am Summoner Yuna," said Yuna, bowing respectfully. "From the isle of Besaid."
"As I thought!" The other Summoner said. Yuna couldn't help but notice how calm and collected his voice sounded. "The daughter of Lord Braska. You have the look of your father."
"My father?" Yuna asked, a slight frown settling on her delicate features. "You knew him?"
"No. I have never met the man," said the other Summoner. "Ah! My apologies. I am Isaaru. I am a Summoner, like you."
"I'm Pacce," said a small boy. He had dark skin, dark hair, and warm dark eyes. Unlike Isaaru, Pacce was dressed in functional clothing – a pair of shorts, an open vest, and a pair of sandals – that allowed him to move freely. "Pleased to meet you."
"And I'm Maroda," said the Summoner's other companion. Like the small boy, he had dark skin, dark hair, and warm dark eyes. He was dressed much as Pacce was, though there was armour on him, where there was none on Pacce. This was undoubtedly the Summoner Isaaru's guardian. "I'm guarding my big brother here."
"Since I was a child, I've always looked up to Lord Braska. I wished I would someday become a High Summoner like he was," Isaaru said, a wistful look in his eyes. "You must have some of your father's talent in you! I believe you might someday defeat Sin."
"If that other Summoner doesn't beat you to it," Pacce said.
"Pacce, please," Isaaru said calmly. "I must apologise for Pacce. News of Operation Mi'ihen travels fast. Pacce is excited about this unknown Summoner."
"Unknown Summoner…?" Tidus whispered to Wakka.
"Buffy," Wakka whispered back. "I guess nobody saw who did the summoning, ya?"
"It's quite alright," Yuna said, giving the small boy a radiant smile. She wondered, for a moment, if she should tell Isaaru about Buffy, but then dismissed the idea.
"I wish I could've seen it!" Pacce continued. "The priests are saying that it was some kind of sign from Yevon!"
"The aeon was… impressive," Yuna agreed, smiling.
"Then you were present?" Maroda asked. "You weren't the one…?"
"No," Yuna said, shaking her head. "The aeon wasn't mine. A friend of mine, Buffy, summoned it."
"I see," said Isaaru.
"Isaaru!" Maroda called, over his shoulder. The guardian was already halfway to the Temple doors. Isaaru nodded his understanding and turned to Yuna.
"I beg your leave," the other Summoner said. "Good luck, to both of us!"
"Yes," said Yuna, nodding her head in agreement. She smiled, watching them go, before turning to climb the stairs, her guardians following her up.
"Hey, you," Isaaru called out to Tidus. Yuna paused at the top of the stairs, wondering what the other Summoner would say.
"Me?" Tidus asked, pointing to himself and glancing around, in case the Summoner meant anyone else.
"You are Yuna's guardian, no?" Isaaru asked, though he already knew the answer to that question. Tidus nodded. "Maroda's heard a curious rumour. I thought you should know."
Tidus turned expectantly to the Summoner's guardian. "I heard it from those Crusaders. Seems that Summoners have been going out on pilgrimage and just… disappearing."
"It could be the fiends got them…" Isaaru said, sounding uncertain about his own theory. "But not so many so quickly."
Maroda shook his head, a concerned frown on his face. "Sorry I don't know more, but… watch your back. Ain't much future for a guardian without a Summoner, eh?"
"Well, we'd better be on our way. Please, be careful," Isaaru said. "Pacce!" Isaaru walked to the Temple doors, and the small boy joined him from where he'd been questioning a cluster of priests – no doubt about the mysterious and powerful aeon.
"Will do," Tidus promised, waving at the Summoner and his guardians. Then, he turned and climbed the steps to the entrance to the Cloister of Trials. Yuna met him at the top, with a warm smile.
"At least they're not like Dona," Tidus drawled, giving Yuna a grin. They turned and entered the Cloister of Trials…
Buffy and Rikku came to a stop on the banks of a wide river, stretched out across their path an impassable obstacle. "Great," Buffy muttered. "What are we supposed to do now?"
"This is the Moonflow," Rikku said knowingly.
"Why's it called that?" Buffy asked, giving Rikku a clueless look.
Rikku knelt down next to the river. She gestured to a cluster of beautiful floating flowers. "These're moonlilies," Rikku explained. The look on Buffy's face didn't change. The young Al Bhed chuckled. "You really are out of it."
"Hey! I'm from another world here!" Buffy protested.
"Uh-huh," Rikku said, eyeing the other girl dubiously. "People say that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls. The whole river is supposed to glow, like it's on fire!"
"Oh wow!" Buffy exclaimed, grinning as her imagination played out the scene. "That's something I wanna see!"
"Well, we're supposed to be meeting my old man on the other side," Rikku said uncertainly. She glanced over at the strange non-Summoner. "But I guess we could stick around for a while. I kinda want to see it myself."
"Great. I'm going to go stake myself out a comfortable spot," Buffy said. Rikku watched her wander off, a confused frown on her young face…
"You are distracted."
The haunting voice of Djose's fayth brought Yuna's attention back to the matter at hand. She had to concentrate, if she wanted to convince the fayth of the sincerity of her desire to defeat Sin.
It was hard work, physically taxing, especially in the heat of the Chamber of the Fayth.
"I'm sorry," Yuna said, bowing her head apologetically. "I am worried about my friend."
The fayth said nothing.
An expectant silence settled itself over the Chamber, and, while Yuna felt this sense of expectation, she didn't know exactly what was expected of her. Was she supposed to tell the fayth about Buffy and her aeon, and the rift that had opened up between the two of them, or was she supposed to continue in her efforts to attain the aeon?
After a long moment, she decided that it was best if she just told this fayth about Buffy.
"Buffy – my friend summoned an aeon," Yuna started uncertainly. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this; there were Summoners in training all over Spira, and the summoning of any one particular aeon wasn't uncommon.
"He was more powerful than anything I have ever witnessed," Yuna continued. "She could have defeated Sin… Her aeon was… righteous, radiant… a winged knight."
Yuna closed her eyes, trying to picture every detail of Buffy's unknown aeon with her mind's eye, trying to remember everything she'd experienced in those short moments of the aeon's summoning. "She called him… Xander."
"One of the Lost Ones," the fayth said.
Yuna thought she saw the faint look of recognition about the fayth's eyes, but when she looked again, it was gone. "L-Lost Ones?" She questioned, uncertainly, hesitantly. "Do you mean that his fayth is lost?"
"It was hidden a long time ago, by a man who could not die," said the fayth. "That his fayth has been discovered, and he has granted his strength to anyone, can mean only one thing: the Lost Ones have found their Saviour, their Chosen One."
"Saviour…?" Yuna mouthed.
And then she understood. Everything she had already experienced on her journey, every interaction, every feeling… it all fell into place. She knew who this Saviour was supposed to be. "Buffy!"