**Gomen that this is late! I had a huuuge field trip this past Friday, which really set me back (I was all sleepy afterwards). For more info, I'll update the blog soon...ish. ^_~;; So! Enjoy the chapter, and...um...sorry about the meeting places being the same. You'll see. It just kind of...happened. GOMEN! Also, if you like (or don't like, but have CONSTRUCTIVE criticism), please either review or AIM me. I love getting both--it always makes me want to write more. ^_^ So, read and enjoy! Ja!**
Mariana had just finished bathing that morning when she heard Genki call from the other room. She quickly got dressed and peeked out of the bathroom.
"What is it, love?"
Genki was packing their things in bags on the bed, but Genki himself was halfway under the bed, his rear sticking out on the very edge. Mariana giggled as Genki let out another muffled yell. She could barely make it out as, "I'm stuck!" She trotted over to the bed and grabbed Genki's legs and pulled. It took three good tugs before the couple went flying and hit the wall with a loud crash. He had landed on Mariana's lap, and Mariana laughed again. She hadn't felt this happy since...since before...
Genki stood up quickly and held out a hand for Mariana to take. They were both standing when Mariana asked, "Love, why were you under the bed in the first place?"
Genki turned red. "I couldn't find the other shirt I had. I figured maybe it had gotten under the bed. It was, but...it was a bit too far under."
"Leave it, Genki, we can buy another one." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and went back to clean up the bathroom. "On the way out of Bevelle there are plenty of shops willing to cater to summoner's and their guardians." She grinned and added, in an undertone, "Or their husbands."
There was a knock at the door, which Genki got to first. Opening the door, he saw the priest that had married them the night before. Unfortunately, Genki could not remember his name. So, he did the Yevon bow and asked, "What brings you here, priest?"
"There's another lady summoner here, and I thought you and...you and Lady Mariana would like to meet them." The priest looked back into the room, his eyes searching for the summoner. "Is she..."
Mariana ran out of the bathroom in a hustle. The color had drained from her face, and her eyes looked cold. Genki turned and shivered at the sight of her. She had...something had changed her again.
"Another lady summoner?" Mariana asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
The priest nodded, confused. "Yes. Lady Arashi and her guardians, Niet and Yueh, just arrived this morning," he explained.
Mariana nodded firmly. Grabbing Genki's hand, she strode out the door past the priest. Her hand was as cold as ice.
So they've come... Her high heels clicked against the marble floors, echoing off the walls. I may have changed--I may have a husband now, but my past remains the same. Genki stumbled, his bare feet freezing against the stone. My ambition, my need to...to see Sin and...
So you came, girl. Which one are you, I wonder? Summoner... She growled under her breath. Or guardian?
*-*-*-*-*
Yueh let out a low whistle as she viewed her surroundings. Maybe it was because Tidus and the rest had been outlaws at that point, or maybe because she hadn't watched that part of the game that well, but this Bevelle looked even more splendid than its in-game counterpart. The hallways stretched high above her head, and the floors were a cool gray marble. It looked like a Roman temple or hall straight out of mythology.
Katy was hiding behind the tallest person (namely Arashi), nervously glancing around with her magic-changed eyes. Yueh had done a small, simple spell that, although it would continue to very slowly sap away her MP, would hide the green spirals on the Al Bhed's eyes for the time being. Katy didn't seem convinced, however, that it would work, and now jumped at the sight of any Yevon priest.
They must have done something to her family...
Niet was seated on one of the plush couches that lined the halls, her head leaning back to gaze at the ceiling. She let out an awed, "Wow," before asking, "When do we eat?"
Yueh nearly fell over. "We just got here!"
Niet gave her a sheepish look. "But...I'm hungry." She patted her stomach for emphasis.
Yueh rolled her eyes. "Really, Niet, you're a bottomless pit!"
The girl grinned. "You say that as if it's a bad thing." Yueh simply shook her head and chuckled. "Besides, I bet the food here is just as delicious as the roof is high."
"I doubt it," Arashi said, finally turning from inspecting a painting of the late Lord Braska. Katy followed her like a shadow. Arashi began to pace. "Most of the people who cook here are probably servants. Of course, they'll probably get extra pay or something if they cook extra well for us." Yueh thought she was going to continue, but one of the younger priests had come forward, beckoning them to follow him.
"My Lady Arashi, and guardians," he added as an afterthought, "A feast has been prepared for you. If you will come along with me, I can get you seated and prepared."
Arashi nodded and followed the now retreating priest. Katy fell in step behind her, and Niet finally removed herself from the comfortable couch to follow the others.
Yueh stayed behind for a moment, and looked at the paintings surrounding her in the hallway. The faces seemed to convey some sort of feeling that couldn't be described in words, but was the exact same one Yueh felt right now.
Like something's about to go wrong, or something's...something's just not right.
"Are you coming, Yueh? Niet might eat all of your helping if you don't hurry!" Arashi shouted from up ahead.
"More for me!" Niet yelled happily. With that, Yueh dashed forward.
Whatever those paintings were trying to tell her...it would have to wait. She fell in next to Niet, who was skipping quite merrily down the hall.
"You frighten me more everyday, Niet," Yueh said. Niet simply giggled, continuing her hopping down the way. At that moment, Yueh heard a clicking sound coming closer from the front side of their line. She peered around Arashi, but instead bumped into her. Luckily, Arashi's footing was secure this time, and neither girl fell over.
"What--" Yueh looked over Arashi's shoulder and didn't have to finish her question.
Standing, pale and angry looking as ever, was Mariana, and a young man, who Yueh guessed was Genki. Mariana was breathing quite heavily, perhaps from the run, or maybe, Yueh wondered, was it from anger? The jewel in Mariana's collarbone was glowing a bright green, giving her face an even gaunter look to it.
"Lady Mariana! I thought you would meet us in the dining hall," the young priest said, his head tilted slightly to the left. He pointed. "It's just down the way, if you want to join us--"
Yueh stepped next to Arashi as Mariana waved her arm to cut the man off. The priest silenced himself and jumped back a bit, as if her outstretched arm had actually hit him right across the face.
"Leave us," she commanded.
"I don't think--" Arashi began.
"Leave," Mariana said finally, giving an icy stare to Arashi. Arashi didn't react other than to stay quiet, Yueh noted. The priest nodded, gave a quick bow, and hurried off towards the dining hall once more. "And make sure no one interrupts us here," Mariana added to his retreating form. He nodded as he went into the distance.
Mariana turned her head to the group of four girls that now stood in front of her. "Now, we have not been properly introduced..." She gave a cold smile. "Who is who?" There was a moment of silence. "Come on, now, speak up!"
"I think you know who we are, you psycho," Yueh said. Mariana laughed shortly.
"Oh, but dear Paula, you seemed to have changed your names since then, now haven't you?" She gave them all a look over before her eyes turned as cold as the rest of her. "Now...tell me."
"I'm Arashi, this is Niet, and Paula is Yueh," Arashi said calmly. "And the girl behind me is Katy."
Mariana looked upon the last girl with a bit of disgust in her voice. "You would bring an Al Bhed into Bevelle?" Katy let out a small gasp and shrank behind Arashi. "How sacrilegious, dear...Arashi, was it?"
Yueh saw Arashi grit her teeth this time. "Yes. You would do well to not put down the Al Bhed, Mariana. They are trying to accomplish the same goal everyone else is, just in a different manner."
"They are truly the ones who brought Sin upon us, you do know that?" Mariana asked. No one answered, but this time, an impatient Yueh spoke up.
"Geez, didn't you even play the game? The only one responsible for Sin--"
"You would do best to hush, girl!" Mariana shouted. Yueh blinked and took a step back. "For you, until now, Sin was only a dream, a character in a child's game. For me...for me, it was, and always has been a reality." Some color returned to her face in that moment, but only for a second. "You think you can stop Sin like they did in that foolish game. That's only a wish, a dream, a hope. Don't you think others have tried to defeat Sin in less than usual ways? And what happened to them? Every time? They died!" she screamed. Katy cried out and jumped back behind all three girls.
This wasn't helpful, as Yueh could only watch as Mariana now turned her attention to the poor Al Bhed. "You, you half breed, are just as bad as every Al Bhed to grace this planet. You brought Sin here and do no good to destroy it."
"She didn't bring it here!" Yueh yelled out. A hush fell over the group as Yueh clenched her fists and closed her eyes. "She didn't, none of them did...I did."
Mariana smiled, her canines gleaming, "Oh, I know you did, girl, I know you did. And I thank you for it. I would have done it had I not lost...not lost that stone..." Mariana's anger faltered for a moment before returning in full force. "And I will take care of it for you!"
"None of that," Arashi began, "is true."
Mariana took another look at Arashi and let out a short laugh. "How would you know? You've never lived in terror of Sin, or even been to Spira except for in that child's toy! How would you know what they've tried or haven't?"
"That is none of your business," Arashi said, clutching her belt. "Our business does not differ that much from yours, so you should let us try our way, and you can try yours, Mariana."
"Your business--your--business!" Mariana turned her back to the four girls and Genki, who had stood for the last few minutes bewildered by his summoner's side. He stepped away from Mariana, but she grabbed his arm tightly. She turned, bringing Genki to her other side. Her eyes were wild, dark, and the jewel in her collar bone somehow glowed brighter.
"It was never your business!" she screamed out. Her voice was scratchy to the point of sounding almost demonic. All four girls stepped back, and Genki looked bewildered at Mariana.
"Ma--Mariana--"
"It was never your business to begin with! And I think you should stay out of it!" Mariana began to float above them all, releasing her grip on Genki's arm. He fell to the floor with a gasp for breath.
Don't tell me...please don't tell me that this part is going to be the same as the game, Yueh pleaded in her mind. Please, don't make us...
Fate had a different idea. Mariana's eyes began to glow like her jewel, and in the next second, all four girls dodged and rolled out of the way of a shockwave of wind and thunder. Katy smacked her head into a wall, which made her stumble around slightly when she got up. Arashi ended up hitting a couch, Niet, a plant, and Yueh also hit the wall--but not with her head.
The four stood up against the gale winds. Yueh's long bangs whipped behind her as she watched Mariana float ever higher and higher. Finally, Mariana was only feet from the tall ceiling, and shooting small lighting bolts from fingertip to fingertip.
The four girls formed a line, with Katy and Niet on the outside, and Yueh and Arashi in the middle. Yueh and Arashi looked at each other for a moment.
"Let's hope she isn't as hard as Seymour to fight," Arashi said quietly.
Yueh swallowed hard and stared up at Mariana, then back to Genki, who was cowering in a corner, wondering what had happened to his wife.
Let's hope that we don't get in huge trouble for this, either...