WEEEE!!! i LOVE this chappie! its a long one, but its worth every page! I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!!! ITS SOOOOO COOL!!!! all your mind boggling questions are answered and Tidus brings a new question to the table. read to find out more. PLEASE REVIEW!!! ~~~sa~~~
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Ch.13 Best Birthday Ever!
Yuna sighed heavily, scanning the lifeless plains below her with a hopeless air. This had been going on for hours and they had found nothing. After she, Tidus, Rikku, and Gippal had gotten back onto the airship the previous night, they had set up a watch on the plains. Her watch just happened to be the dawn shift and she was exhuasted. But, she had been inspired when they had found out that Paine had gone missing, too. The others had all had their own reactions, but Yunie was the only one to devote the whole night to looking for her. She had a bad feeling that Paine was alone and cold out there. In pain, possibly; physical or mental. Paine had always been one to keep her tragedies to herself and Yuna felt that this was one of those instances. She had seemed a little too adamant about not going to look for Gankee and Auron the day before. Yuna sensed hurt in her deep red eyes before she had slammed the door on them.
Rubbing her strained eyes, she leaned away from the screen usually used by Rikku to look for things below them. She was so tired her eyes drooped under the weight of oncoming sleep sneaking into her. Brother and Buddy were both asleep in the cabin as were all the others so was all alone on the bridge. Standing up in a sudden urge to make noise, Yuna cleared her throat loudly. Switching over to Songstress, she felt the music sweep through her, overcoming her exhaustion with an overwhelming need to sing. Immediately, she belted out the first line of 1,000 Words confidently. She heard something different about her voice, though. She didn't felt the deep, soulful melody that Lenne had always lent her when she sang. Stopping for a moment, Yuna placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes, feeling for any hint of Lenne within her at all. After Lenne and Shuyin had escaped to the Farplane together after the defeat of Vegnagun, Yuna had never even thought of becoming a Songstress. Sighing sadly, she changed back to Gunner and walked to the elevator.
No use singing if her voice was weak and warby with lack of sleep. She had to go wake Gippal up, anyway, it was his turn to watch. The sun was peeking up around the thick snow clouds that inhabited Macalania's skies the most part of the year. Yawning, Yuna directed the lift to the cabin. She leaned against the railing and closed her eyes, humming a tune lazily. When the lift stopped she heard Tidus' voice speaking above the others' drone in the cabin. "We have to do something for her, you guys! Its her birthday!" Yuna opened her eyes and stopped humming. It WAS her birthday! Whoa! She had totally forgotten her own birthday in her need to find her missing friends and to save the world again. She had had no clue. She was turning 20. Rikku's tired voice chimed in with Tidus' ever-perky one. "Yeah! We should throw Yunie a surprise party! Weee!" Yuna smiled, picturing what Rikku would be doing right about then. Most likely dancing around and clapping. Gippal's chuckle proved her theory right. "She really does deserve something like that, but do you think we have time? With finding Paine, Auron, and Gankee," he spat the name venomously, "on top of saving the world again, we hardly have time to breath."
There was a pause. Yuna kinda sorta felt bad for listening to their plans for her party, but she didn't feel like being all alone in the cabin either. Suddenly, the slightly pissed voice of Brother broke the thoughtful silence that had descended. "WOULD YOU BE QUIET? I HAVE TO HAVE MY BEAUTY SLEEP!" He yelled in Al Bhed. Rikku squealed back in the same language. "Shut up, loser! We have to plan this before Yunie comes to get Gippal!" Yuna figured that was her cue. Pushing away from the railing and striding confidently towards the door, she yawned and stretched as she entered. "Good morning, everyone. Gippal, its your turn." She almost laughed at their shocked expressions, but didn't move until Gippal nodded and moved past her hurriedly. "Good luck!" She called after him, sort of sarcastically. Tidus signalled Rikku to be quiet and hugged Yuna tightly. "You should get some sleep." He purred in her ear. She snuggled against his warmth and nodded. Rikku chuckled and skipped around them to head off to the bridge. Yuna kissed Tidus quickly before slinking up the stairs and into bed.
Tidus waited until he heard her quiet snores before he turned and hurried from the cabin. He had to figure out a way to surprise the heck out of her before anything else happened. 'Maybe, we could all pretend like we forgot her birthday and then, somehow, throw a party for her at the end of the day.' He thought as he stood on the elevator. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, desperate for good ideas. Paine was the plotter on the airship. He could just...Wait, she wasn't on the ship anymore. Darn it! Tidus punched the railing angrily. He missed Paine suddenly with her crude comments and harsh sarcasm. She always made him laugh, even when she was making fun of him. Smiling a little, Tidus stepped off the lift with the thought to help Gippal watch for any movement at all. He spotted Gippal at his own desk while Rikku was at hers. Techno music was pumping through the speakers and both Al Bhed were bouncing with the beat. Tidus leapt over the railing and whooped loudly. He loved techno music. Gippal looked over his shoulder with a laugh. "Yeah, you go boy!" Rikku cried from her seat near the front of the ship.
Tidus spun around and did a little dance before back flipping over to Buddy's seat. "Can I use this to scan the ground, you guys?" He asked, staring at the complicated screen slightly bewilderedly. Gippal was there in a second, typing around Tidus until the Viewfinder program popped up. "There ya go! Have fun!" The tall Al Bhed said before shimmying back to his console. Tidus stared at the blank tundra below them with an equally lifeless look on his face. How the hell was he supposed to see anything out there? Nothing moved at all. Not even fiends, and that was odd. He thought of their encounter with that massive mutant fiend in the caves at Gagazet. He could've sworn he had seen Seymour when the pyreflies cleared, but Yuna wouldn't comment. Tidus hoped to all that was scared she wasn't trying to pull another "I'm strong enough to handle this on my own" again. He knew where that had gotten her two years ago. Married. Shuddering, he turned his focus back to scanning the ground for movement.
Suddenly, he spotted something that look red on the ground. Yelping, he jumped up. "Stop the ship! I saw something!" Rikku leapt into Brother's pilot seat and brought the airship down slowly. Gippal hurried over to Tidus' screen and froze the frame on the reddish smear on the ground. Right away, Tidus had thought it was Auron, but now it looked like blood. Rikku squealed happily. "I actually landed it! Whoo hoo!" Both blonde guys looked over at her exasperatedly. "You mean, you didn't actually know how to land it?" Tidus asked, a nervous squeak in his voice. Gippal shook his head when the perky girl nodded. Sighing, Tidus stood up. "Let's check it out." He cried, pumped his arm in his usual manner. Rikku skipped towards the lift, singing something about getting Yunie. Both guys traded looks and ran to beat Rikku to the elevator. "No no no! We're going without Yuna. She needs to sleep." Tidus chided his shorter friend. Gippal nodded, smirking at his girlfriend's pouty response as he directed the lift to the engine room.
"Yeah, we need to plan her party anyway." The lanky Al Bhed said in his native language before messing up Rikku's hair affectionately. Rikku pouted and fixed her hair silently. Tidus thought worriedly about the red smear they were going to investigate. He knew fiends didn't leave blood behind when they died, so it couldn't just be a fiend. It could be a human though and the only humans he knew of that were up in the wilds were Auron, Gankee, and Paine. Gippal seemed to share the worried sentiment because he grabbed Rikku around the waist and carried her to the door leading outside. She giggled and squirmed, but didn't really fight it. Tidus smiled and followed, happy that he had had something to do with their happiness currently. He, Yuna, and Paine; it was Paine's idea. Frowning suddenly, he got a bad feeling that that bloody smear was Paine out there. Pushing past the flirty couple, he hurried to the edge of the smear.
He knelt next to it and examined it closely. Gippal and Rikku joined him, sobered by his serious expression. "It looks like something fell here, judging by the, uh, splatter marks." Gippal said shakily, indicating the splattery nature of the outside edge of the smear. Rikku whimpered and hid her eyes behind Gippal's shoulder. She seemed to be thinking the same thing Tidus was. "These look like finger prints." Tidus muttered, pointing to two identical finger wipes on either side of the oddly human shaped blood mark. It looked old, at least a day old. Rikku made a gagging noise and hurried away from the carnage. She stood still a few feet away, gasping in deep breaths. Tidus stood, a deathly serious look on his face. Gippal followed suit, wringing his gloved hands in an attempt to banish the fear creeping up through him. "If this is just the blood, where's the body it belongs to?" Tidus asked, his eyes scanning the area around them. Gippal nodded, doing the same with his uncovered eye. He silently wished he could've taken the eyepatch off to look and he was about to when Rikku yelped.
Both guys ran to her side to see she was pointing at the ground and hopping a little. "Look! Look! LOOK! A footprint!" She cried, shoving some of the snow away from the print with her booted foot. Tidus thanked the wind for being calm that day because he had a feeling if it had been blowing the snow around, Rikku wouldn't have seen the print. Gippal crouched and studied it. "Its not a human print. It looks like a Ronso footprint." Rikku clapped, pointing to another print and another leading off in the distance. Gippal smacked Tidus' arm before taking off in the direction of the prints, following the already running Rikku. Tidus looked around suspiciously before running after his two Al Bhed companions. They seemed to think the prints lead them to Paine or whatever had taken Paine. Tidus was wondering why they thought it was Paine and how the blood-print had seemed to indicate a long fall. Shaking his head, he called out to the others. "Hey! Wait up!"
Yuna woke up just as the airship landed, jolting her out of bed. That was NOT Brother landing the ship; he made nice, soft landings. Glancing to her right and left, her theory was proved because both Buddy and Brother were still sound asleep. Luckily, she was a light sleeper. Hurrying down the stairs she ran to the elevator only to wait there until her friends got off in the engine room. She leapt onto it and punched the button to the bridge, hoping to catch at least one of her blonde companions before they left. Yuna ran into the bridge, calling out to all of them. They were already gone, but the image of the red smear was on all the screens. Gasping and covering her mouth with her hands. "Blood..." She breathed, staring at the image with a horrified look on her face. She didn't know what to think; it could be anyone's blood. All of her friends were currently missing. Filled with a sudden panic, she whirled and ran to elevator, hurriedly jabbing the button to the engine room.
She ran out into the cold morning of Macalania to spot the blood smear already deserted by her friends. Their footprints were fresh in the newly fallen snow, leading away. her eyes filled with tears of worry and fear, she jammed shaking fingers into her mouth, taking a deep breath. She let out a loud whistle that echoed over the cold breeze and reached her ears again, bouncing off the cliffs surrounding the airship. Yuna felt the hot tears pour down her cheeks and she bit her lip against sobbing out loud. She closed her eyes, picturing all kinds of horrible deaths of each person in turn, Tidus' being last and most horrible. Suddenly, another whistle rang out through the wind. It had sounded from the direction that the footprints disappeared in. Smiling and wiping her tears away, she took off running until she spotted Tidus standing there, fingers still in his mouth and ready to whistle. She threw her arms around him, savoring the feel of his body against hers. She had been so scared that he had gone away again.
"We didn't want to wake you." He seemed to answer her thoughts. Yuna looked up, eyes glistening still. She smirked. 'Well, whoever landed the airship did a fine job of waking me up." Tidus chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Next time, leave a note or something, kay? I thought that...well, I thought bad things and I ever wanna be scared like that again." Tidus nodded and picked her up in his arms. She laughed as he took off running to catch up with the others. "What's the rush anyway? Find something in the blood?" Yuna asked over the whoosh of the air around them. Tidus' face fell from happily in love to seriously serious. He nodded. "We found footprints, Ronso-like ones, leading away from the blood. For some reason, we all think that blood was Paine's." Yuna bit her lip again. "Why?" She breathed. Tidus answered and set her down so they could run faster. "Instinct." Yuna nodded, clasped his hand, and they both took off, following the twin prints left by Rikku and Gippal.
Paine and Gankee were still asleep in each other's arms when Auron found them near the hot springs. Apparently, that hadn't made it back to the cave last night and decided to sleep by the springs. Auron didn't seem at all surprised that his son and this girl were sleeping together, in the innocent sense of the phrase. He smiled almost proudly and leaned against the wall, waiting for them to wake up on their own. He waited there until Paine lazily sat up and stretched, shrugging Gankee's arm off her shoulders. She looked totally healed and healthy, quite the change from the bandaged and beaten girl she had been the day before. The red garbed grown-up spotted a pile of bloody bandages near the closest spring and guessed his son had also gone swimming with that girl. He also supposed that the water bubbling up from the ground had some kind of healing cabilities judging by how much better Paine looked.
Before standing, she gently pushed some stray hair out of Gankee's face. A content smile slowly spread on Gankee's face before he rolled over and went back to dreaming. Paine stood and stretched again. She turned and spotted Auron standing just outside the swirling steam billowing from the springs. Deciding it was better to act calm and cool than freak out about being stalked by some creepy dead guy, Paine crossed her arms and addressed Auron slyly. "Good morning, Auron." That was all she could manage without her voice cracking from the nervousness. Auron had a piercing stare, even if only one of his eyes worked. It was sorta like Gippal, only not nice and carefree. Auron nodded in reply before pushing away from the wall and striding towards the black garbed girl. Paine silently wished she could disappear because the weird feeling he could read her mind kept penetrating her calm facade. "You look a lot better, Paine. Does the spring water have healing properties?" She nodded, her limp hair flopping in her face. She glared at the stray strands and wished for some gel. Auron chuckled as if he had read her mind.
"The Kohlso may be able to help you with your hair. They aren't as primitive as they seem." Paine smirked, beginning to warm up to this guy. "Thanks for the tip. What are you doing up and about so early?" Auron shrugged with one shoulder, motioning to his sleeping child. "Just looking for the two elusive children that seem to like playing Hide-And-Go-Seek with us adults." Paine snorted laughingly. "Yeah, I kind of left the cave last night and Gankee came after me. He was worried I'd get killed..." She trailed off, unable to share with Auron the fact that she had actually wanted to die. Those fiends seemed like the best way out of her seemingly lonely life. But, she wasn't alone, not anymore. Paine glanced at Gankee and smiled, a weird fuzzy warmth spreading through her. Auron nodded, as if he understood totally. Gankee stirred as if he knew they were about to talk about him. He sat up and yawned loudly, scratching his head sleepily. He stood up and turned around preparing to shuffle back to the cave alone. His sleepy eyes widened when he spotted both Paine and Auron standing there.
He blushed when he looked at Paine, as if something in his head was a little more dirty than he had hoped. Then he looked at his father and smiled shyly. "Hey, dad! What's up?" Auron smirked, preparing to tease his son mercilessly about his "adventures" with Paine when suddenly a loud cry echoed from the main cavern. It sounded as if something was wrong. All three humans locked eyes before running down the passageway back into their private cave. Maea burst in just as they did; she looked panicky and scared. Auron rushed to her, gently taking her arm. "What is it, Maea? What's happening?" He asked, a genteless to his usually gruff voice. Gankee hurried over, too, nodding a hesitant Paine over as well. Maea shook her head, tears in her eyes. "Humans! Unknown humans are within the confines of the outer caves. They're invading!" Paine felt a weird sensation of knowing, as if she knew who it was that sneaking down into the caverns. Gankee's eyes narrowed, he seemed pissed that more humans would be infiltrating. Before anyone could say anything else, Lorelei burst into the cave, an outraged expression on her face.
She plowed Paine down onto the ground, snarling in her face. Paine didn't budge under the considerable weight and force of the older Kohlso. Gankee gave a cry and moved as if to pull the Elder off of her, but two sturdy Kohlso warriors popped out of nowhere and held him back. Another Kohlso restrained Auron while Maea sobbed into her hands. She had been trying to warn them to run when Auron had asked her what was wrong. Lorelei growled in the Kohlso tongue, apparently expecting Paine to know the language. Paine's fear dissolved suddenly when she noticed the pain in the Elder's eyes. This old Kohlso didn't know what to do in this situation but blame the humans who had led the others there. She closed her blood red eyes as if accepting the crushing weight of the Kohlso as punishment. Gankee struggled against the Kohlso that held him back. Maea sobbed loudly and Auron eyed his katana in the corner.
Lorelei barked something at Maea, who hurried over and began translating what the Elder was saying to Al Bhed. 'She says its all your fault that the humans are invading. She says she will use you as hostages to get the other humans to leave. Then she wants you all to leave and never come back. Ever." The blonde woman choked the last word out and glanced at her lover and son longingly. Paine shook her head, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "I don't know where you got that notion, Elder, but had no idea that the humans would track me here. I hadn't wanted anyone to follow me at all. I wanted to die. That was my purpose for coming here. But, your hunter saved me and then Gankee and Auron healed my wounds. I just want you to know we don't the humans coming in at all. If we did, we didn't have them some in here. I don't even know where we are." Her strong voice was drowned out by the sound of hurried footsteps. A young Kohlso ran in and whispered something to Elder. Her blue eyes widened and she got off of Paine slowly. "He said the humans are led by the High Summoner, messenger of Yevon." She growled the last word like a curse. 'Yuna...' Paine thought happily.
Paine stood up and brushed her shorts off, a little smile on her face. She looked at Gankee and Auron confidently. "Well, Elder, I just hope you know that this 'High Summoner' doesn't believe in Yevon, who was fake and she isn't even a summoner anymore. She's a Gullwing." Lorelei studied Paine's open face with her piercing eyes before turning to her warriors. They immediately dropped their holds on Gankee and Auron. She gruffly addressed Maea in her language before leaving with the other Kohlsos. Gankee rushed over to Paine and hugged her tightly. Not expecting a hug, Paine sucked in her breath sharply, but smiled and hugged him back. "You were great! So calm and collected! I would've buckled and started crying." Paine chuckled at his effusive praise. Auron tapped Gankee on the shoulder and he released her. "Your mother said we have to follow the Elder to meet Yuna and whoever's with her." With a smirk and a chuckle the guardian turned and hurried out of the cave.
Paine grabbed her sword from its position next to where Auron's katana used to be and turned to see Gankee pulling his hair back. She grinned at him, feeling that warmth spread through her again. Gankee caught her starring and winked. She laughed and walked over to grab his hand. He wove his fingers through hers and they walked out to meet Yuna and the others.
Yuna, Tidus, Rikku, and Gippal were surrounding by about twenty snarling white Ronsos with blue eyes and mean spears. Tidus reached for his sword, but Yuna stopped his hand. She shook her head, silently watching the group of warriors. Rikku, who was a little fed up with this whole thing already, huffed and crossed her arms. Gippal slid a comforting arm around her waist and hushed her before she could shout anything. "They aren't going to attack." Yuna whispered to Tidus who still looked ready for a fight. He nodded, knowing better than to second guess any woman. They waited in silence until they heard rushed footsteps approaching. The circle of white Ronsos parted and an elderly looking female hobbled towards them. Following her were two tall white beasts that hid whoever else was with them. Yuna guessed that the elderly female was the Elder and bowed to her when the white furred creature stopped walking.
"Elder, we mean you and your clan no harm. We only wish to find our companions who have been missing for some time. We followed some footprints to these caves. We're very sorry if we have infringed any laws of the land." Yuna looked the Elder straight in the eyes the whole time she spoke, her diplomatic voice strong and clear. The Elder seemed to understand her and for that, Yuna was VERY glad. She spoke gruffly to the humans before her, introducing herself and the white Ronso around them. "I am Lorelei, Elder of the Kohlso clan. We are distant cousins of your Ronso clan. We accept your apology and will grant your request." Yuna blinked. 'Request? What request?' Tidus placed a hand on her shoulder as if to steady her for whatever the Kohlso had in store. Lorelei turned and the other Kohlso with her moved aside. Auron, an Al Bhed woman, Paine, and Gankee stood waiting behind them. Rikku squealed and ran to meet Paine, Yuna close behind. YRP shared a massive group hug in which Rikku started crying and the other two laughed.
Auron smiled when Tidus walked over and patted his arm happily. He seemed too happy for words; Auron understood. Gippal walked towards the YRP group and met Gankee standing there. He glared at the black haired halfing bitterly, thinking that he was watching Rikku. Gankee smiled and pointed to Paine, then to himself. "Don't worry, Gippal. I'm not after your girl. I have my own." Gippal gaped, but said nothing. The hug-fest broke up and introductions were made between the Gullwings and Maea. Rikku was estacic that Gankee had found his parents and everyone wanted to hear about Auron being his father. They decided to stay the night with the Kohlso since they were already there and they had so much to talk about. They were all sitting in the Human Cave as the Kohlso called it, talking about Auron and Maea's relationship and Gankee's brother. Maea had been paying very close attention to Gippal throughout the conversation and she suddenly screamed and pointed to him. "You look just like Gankee!" She cried in Al Bhed, her eyes wide. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Gippal.
He blushed and glared at the woman, wishing he could make her explode with his mind. "I do not! I look nothing like that insufferable half-breed!" Rikku was looking from Gankee to Gippal and her eyes widened. "Omigod! You DO!" Yuna nodded, a little offended by that half-breed comment. Tidus looked thoughtfully at Gippal's eye patch. "Hmm..."He murmured, formulating a plan. Paine, who was sitting in between Yuna and Gankee, looked over at Auron, who was studying Gippal with a new fasicination. Paine had never asked before, but she was beginning to suspect that there was nothing wrong with Gippal's covered eye. Maybe he was hiding an amber eye under there. She nudged Gankee who was staring at Gippal across the fire pit oddly. "I say we grab his eye patch and see what he's hiding." She whispered, her lips dangerously close to his ear. He shrugged, lost in thought. Sighing, Paine caught Tidus' eyes and they both stood up. Everyone was too busy discussing the similiarities between Gankee and Gippal to notice the two slip away.
"So, what's the plan, Tidus?" Paine whispered, her hair newly geled into its usual style. Tidus looked thoughtful and then smirked. "About what? Yuna's party or Gippal's eye patch?" Paine chuckled. "Both!" The two gave each other five before sneaking off to the main fire pit to convince the cook there to bake a cake for them. They got three or four Kohlso to understand that it was Yuna's birthday and soon they had a cake, candles, and a beautiful blue and silver kimono for Yuna. Tidus was bubbling with joy when he gave the final instructions to the Kohlso cook. Paine was stashing the gift just outside the cave the others were in when he jogged back. "All set?" She whispered. He grinned, nodded, and pumped his fist in the air. "Ready to roll!" Paine rubbed her hands together and nodded. "Now to get Gippal to take that eye patch off..." Tidus muttered. Paine motioned a pincer attack with her hands and Tidus nodded. They slipped back into the cave where everyone had moved onto the topic of Gankee and Paine's relationship.
He was blushing and kept looking around for an escape. Paine slunk over to him, kissed him passionately, winked at a whooping Rikku, and hurried around to the other side of Gippal. Tidus grabbed the tall blonde by the shoulders while Paine pulled the eyepatch off. Everyone leaned in, gasped, and then chaos ensued. Maea burst into tears and ran to hug Gippal while Auron smiled happily. He seemed a little overwhelmed and sat totally still. Tidus and Paine shared another high-five while Yuna and Rikku clapped. Gankee stood up and walked over to Gippal. The crimson faced, disoriented blonde stood up and looked his brother in the identically mismatched eyes. "Brother." Gankee whispered hugging him tightly. Gippal choked a little and then he smiled. He had finally found the family that he thought had deserted him. Now he knew why he had to be left with a strict Al Bhed family on Bikanel. His mother was being looked for by Yevon; he knew the feeling. Tightly hugging his brother, Gippal looked up to see his father stand and walk over. The twins turned to their father and Auron cleared his throat.
"I just want to say how happy I am to have my whole family back together. I never thought I'd get the chance to see my sons together ever. After I died, I vowed to protect Tidus and Yuna, not even my sons. Now, I have the chance to protect you, too. My sons, Gankee and Kuron." Gippal smiled and formed his real name on his lips happily. "Kuron. Rikku!" He rushed over to the teary-eyed Rikku. "I'm Kuron! My real name is Kuron!" He seemed so happy he was about to burst. Rikku squealed and kissed him deeply. Tidus laughed and clapped while Yuna slipped her arms around his waist happily. He wrapped his arm around her, smile painted on his tan face. Gankee hugged his mom, his dad, and then Paine tightly. She kissed him gently, happiness beaming out through a rare toothy smile. Gankee grinned and kissed her again, much more roughly. Auron took Maea's hand and the two adults smiled at all the happy teen couples.
When everyone gathered back around the fire to talk about a whole new set of amazing revelations, Tidus cleared his throat and whistled loudly. Yuna looked at him oddly, as if to say "Yeah, ok, I'm right here!". He grinned and winked and Paine who smiled, too. The Kohlso cook walked in carrying a huge, sloppy cake and a grin. Three roughly hewn candles sat on the cake, glowing happily. Rikku clapped and started the "Happy Birthday" song. The others all joined in and the Kohlso set the cake down in front of a grinning Yuna. She thanked the Kohlso who left quickly and came back in with the parcel. He handed it to Tidus who handed him his Jecht-symbol necklace as payment. Yuna saw this exchange and her eyes filled with tears. He loved that necklace! Rikku poked her and urged her to blow out the candles. "Come on, Yunie! Make a wish and blow 'em out!" Yuna nodded and closed her eyes. She wished that she and her friends could stay happy like this forever. Peace on Spira forever and all that. She opened her eyes and blew out the huge candles. Everyone clapped and hugged her, except Auron who seemed a little oddly withdrawn.
Tidus cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "Before we eat the first Kohlso cake ever, I have an announcement to make." He stood up and pulled Yuna up, too. She looked at him curiously and then at the packet he was holding. He grinned nervously and cleared his throat again. Even Paine looked a little lost and she was co-plotter with him. Tidus looked Yuna in the eyes and knew he was doing the right thing. "Yuna, I love you more than anything in the whole world. You're everything to me and I want you to have this." He handed her the package and she slowly unwrapped it, a slight smile on her lips. She shook the garment out and it shimmered like freshly fallen snow under starlight. Maea gasped, then she smiled widely. "That is the Kohlso ceremonial wedding dress, Yuna." Tidus blushed and nodded, looking at his feet. Rikku could hardly contain herself and Paine was grinning. Yuna stroked the gorgeous fabric and slowly looked up at Tidus. He smiled; were those tears in his eyes.
Her own eyes overflowed with tears and she nodded, answering the unspoken question in Tidus' amazing eyes. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" She cried, throwing her arms around him, still holding the wedding dress. He kissed her happily and everyone clapped. Rikku started skipping around them, chanting about Yunie getting married. Paine wove her fingers through Gankee's and leaned her head against his shoulder. Gippal, well, Kuron had to grab Rikku by the waist and tickle her to make her stop skipping around the happy couple. Yuna pulled back from her intense kiss with Tidus and breathlessly asked him, "When?" He kissed her forehead excitedly. "Whenever you want." She was about to answer 'NOW!" but stopped herself. An odd seriousness fell over her face. "After we save Spira one more time. Then we can have a proper wedding." Rikku clapped and jumped up, hugging both love-birds at once. And so, all in all, frostbite and hypothermia aside, Yuna had the best birthday ever.
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AN: SO SO SO??? WHADDYA THINK??? i loved writing this one because i got to reveal Gippal's secret, reunite all of Auron's family, AND make Tidus pop the question! who knows what i'll do next. you'll just have to review to find out! ~~~sa~~~
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Ch.13 Best Birthday Ever!
Yuna sighed heavily, scanning the lifeless plains below her with a hopeless air. This had been going on for hours and they had found nothing. After she, Tidus, Rikku, and Gippal had gotten back onto the airship the previous night, they had set up a watch on the plains. Her watch just happened to be the dawn shift and she was exhuasted. But, she had been inspired when they had found out that Paine had gone missing, too. The others had all had their own reactions, but Yunie was the only one to devote the whole night to looking for her. She had a bad feeling that Paine was alone and cold out there. In pain, possibly; physical or mental. Paine had always been one to keep her tragedies to herself and Yuna felt that this was one of those instances. She had seemed a little too adamant about not going to look for Gankee and Auron the day before. Yuna sensed hurt in her deep red eyes before she had slammed the door on them.
Rubbing her strained eyes, she leaned away from the screen usually used by Rikku to look for things below them. She was so tired her eyes drooped under the weight of oncoming sleep sneaking into her. Brother and Buddy were both asleep in the cabin as were all the others so was all alone on the bridge. Standing up in a sudden urge to make noise, Yuna cleared her throat loudly. Switching over to Songstress, she felt the music sweep through her, overcoming her exhaustion with an overwhelming need to sing. Immediately, she belted out the first line of 1,000 Words confidently. She heard something different about her voice, though. She didn't felt the deep, soulful melody that Lenne had always lent her when she sang. Stopping for a moment, Yuna placed a hand on her chest and closed her eyes, feeling for any hint of Lenne within her at all. After Lenne and Shuyin had escaped to the Farplane together after the defeat of Vegnagun, Yuna had never even thought of becoming a Songstress. Sighing sadly, she changed back to Gunner and walked to the elevator.
No use singing if her voice was weak and warby with lack of sleep. She had to go wake Gippal up, anyway, it was his turn to watch. The sun was peeking up around the thick snow clouds that inhabited Macalania's skies the most part of the year. Yawning, Yuna directed the lift to the cabin. She leaned against the railing and closed her eyes, humming a tune lazily. When the lift stopped she heard Tidus' voice speaking above the others' drone in the cabin. "We have to do something for her, you guys! Its her birthday!" Yuna opened her eyes and stopped humming. It WAS her birthday! Whoa! She had totally forgotten her own birthday in her need to find her missing friends and to save the world again. She had had no clue. She was turning 20. Rikku's tired voice chimed in with Tidus' ever-perky one. "Yeah! We should throw Yunie a surprise party! Weee!" Yuna smiled, picturing what Rikku would be doing right about then. Most likely dancing around and clapping. Gippal's chuckle proved her theory right. "She really does deserve something like that, but do you think we have time? With finding Paine, Auron, and Gankee," he spat the name venomously, "on top of saving the world again, we hardly have time to breath."
There was a pause. Yuna kinda sorta felt bad for listening to their plans for her party, but she didn't feel like being all alone in the cabin either. Suddenly, the slightly pissed voice of Brother broke the thoughtful silence that had descended. "WOULD YOU BE QUIET? I HAVE TO HAVE MY BEAUTY SLEEP!" He yelled in Al Bhed. Rikku squealed back in the same language. "Shut up, loser! We have to plan this before Yunie comes to get Gippal!" Yuna figured that was her cue. Pushing away from the railing and striding confidently towards the door, she yawned and stretched as she entered. "Good morning, everyone. Gippal, its your turn." She almost laughed at their shocked expressions, but didn't move until Gippal nodded and moved past her hurriedly. "Good luck!" She called after him, sort of sarcastically. Tidus signalled Rikku to be quiet and hugged Yuna tightly. "You should get some sleep." He purred in her ear. She snuggled against his warmth and nodded. Rikku chuckled and skipped around them to head off to the bridge. Yuna kissed Tidus quickly before slinking up the stairs and into bed.
Tidus waited until he heard her quiet snores before he turned and hurried from the cabin. He had to figure out a way to surprise the heck out of her before anything else happened. 'Maybe, we could all pretend like we forgot her birthday and then, somehow, throw a party for her at the end of the day.' He thought as he stood on the elevator. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, desperate for good ideas. Paine was the plotter on the airship. He could just...Wait, she wasn't on the ship anymore. Darn it! Tidus punched the railing angrily. He missed Paine suddenly with her crude comments and harsh sarcasm. She always made him laugh, even when she was making fun of him. Smiling a little, Tidus stepped off the lift with the thought to help Gippal watch for any movement at all. He spotted Gippal at his own desk while Rikku was at hers. Techno music was pumping through the speakers and both Al Bhed were bouncing with the beat. Tidus leapt over the railing and whooped loudly. He loved techno music. Gippal looked over his shoulder with a laugh. "Yeah, you go boy!" Rikku cried from her seat near the front of the ship.
Tidus spun around and did a little dance before back flipping over to Buddy's seat. "Can I use this to scan the ground, you guys?" He asked, staring at the complicated screen slightly bewilderedly. Gippal was there in a second, typing around Tidus until the Viewfinder program popped up. "There ya go! Have fun!" The tall Al Bhed said before shimmying back to his console. Tidus stared at the blank tundra below them with an equally lifeless look on his face. How the hell was he supposed to see anything out there? Nothing moved at all. Not even fiends, and that was odd. He thought of their encounter with that massive mutant fiend in the caves at Gagazet. He could've sworn he had seen Seymour when the pyreflies cleared, but Yuna wouldn't comment. Tidus hoped to all that was scared she wasn't trying to pull another "I'm strong enough to handle this on my own" again. He knew where that had gotten her two years ago. Married. Shuddering, he turned his focus back to scanning the ground for movement.
Suddenly, he spotted something that look red on the ground. Yelping, he jumped up. "Stop the ship! I saw something!" Rikku leapt into Brother's pilot seat and brought the airship down slowly. Gippal hurried over to Tidus' screen and froze the frame on the reddish smear on the ground. Right away, Tidus had thought it was Auron, but now it looked like blood. Rikku squealed happily. "I actually landed it! Whoo hoo!" Both blonde guys looked over at her exasperatedly. "You mean, you didn't actually know how to land it?" Tidus asked, a nervous squeak in his voice. Gippal shook his head when the perky girl nodded. Sighing, Tidus stood up. "Let's check it out." He cried, pumped his arm in his usual manner. Rikku skipped towards the lift, singing something about getting Yunie. Both guys traded looks and ran to beat Rikku to the elevator. "No no no! We're going without Yuna. She needs to sleep." Tidus chided his shorter friend. Gippal nodded, smirking at his girlfriend's pouty response as he directed the lift to the engine room.
"Yeah, we need to plan her party anyway." The lanky Al Bhed said in his native language before messing up Rikku's hair affectionately. Rikku pouted and fixed her hair silently. Tidus thought worriedly about the red smear they were going to investigate. He knew fiends didn't leave blood behind when they died, so it couldn't just be a fiend. It could be a human though and the only humans he knew of that were up in the wilds were Auron, Gankee, and Paine. Gippal seemed to share the worried sentiment because he grabbed Rikku around the waist and carried her to the door leading outside. She giggled and squirmed, but didn't really fight it. Tidus smiled and followed, happy that he had had something to do with their happiness currently. He, Yuna, and Paine; it was Paine's idea. Frowning suddenly, he got a bad feeling that that bloody smear was Paine out there. Pushing past the flirty couple, he hurried to the edge of the smear.
He knelt next to it and examined it closely. Gippal and Rikku joined him, sobered by his serious expression. "It looks like something fell here, judging by the, uh, splatter marks." Gippal said shakily, indicating the splattery nature of the outside edge of the smear. Rikku whimpered and hid her eyes behind Gippal's shoulder. She seemed to be thinking the same thing Tidus was. "These look like finger prints." Tidus muttered, pointing to two identical finger wipes on either side of the oddly human shaped blood mark. It looked old, at least a day old. Rikku made a gagging noise and hurried away from the carnage. She stood still a few feet away, gasping in deep breaths. Tidus stood, a deathly serious look on his face. Gippal followed suit, wringing his gloved hands in an attempt to banish the fear creeping up through him. "If this is just the blood, where's the body it belongs to?" Tidus asked, his eyes scanning the area around them. Gippal nodded, doing the same with his uncovered eye. He silently wished he could've taken the eyepatch off to look and he was about to when Rikku yelped.
Both guys ran to her side to see she was pointing at the ground and hopping a little. "Look! Look! LOOK! A footprint!" She cried, shoving some of the snow away from the print with her booted foot. Tidus thanked the wind for being calm that day because he had a feeling if it had been blowing the snow around, Rikku wouldn't have seen the print. Gippal crouched and studied it. "Its not a human print. It looks like a Ronso footprint." Rikku clapped, pointing to another print and another leading off in the distance. Gippal smacked Tidus' arm before taking off in the direction of the prints, following the already running Rikku. Tidus looked around suspiciously before running after his two Al Bhed companions. They seemed to think the prints lead them to Paine or whatever had taken Paine. Tidus was wondering why they thought it was Paine and how the blood-print had seemed to indicate a long fall. Shaking his head, he called out to the others. "Hey! Wait up!"
Yuna woke up just as the airship landed, jolting her out of bed. That was NOT Brother landing the ship; he made nice, soft landings. Glancing to her right and left, her theory was proved because both Buddy and Brother were still sound asleep. Luckily, she was a light sleeper. Hurrying down the stairs she ran to the elevator only to wait there until her friends got off in the engine room. She leapt onto it and punched the button to the bridge, hoping to catch at least one of her blonde companions before they left. Yuna ran into the bridge, calling out to all of them. They were already gone, but the image of the red smear was on all the screens. Gasping and covering her mouth with her hands. "Blood..." She breathed, staring at the image with a horrified look on her face. She didn't know what to think; it could be anyone's blood. All of her friends were currently missing. Filled with a sudden panic, she whirled and ran to elevator, hurriedly jabbing the button to the engine room.
She ran out into the cold morning of Macalania to spot the blood smear already deserted by her friends. Their footprints were fresh in the newly fallen snow, leading away. her eyes filled with tears of worry and fear, she jammed shaking fingers into her mouth, taking a deep breath. She let out a loud whistle that echoed over the cold breeze and reached her ears again, bouncing off the cliffs surrounding the airship. Yuna felt the hot tears pour down her cheeks and she bit her lip against sobbing out loud. She closed her eyes, picturing all kinds of horrible deaths of each person in turn, Tidus' being last and most horrible. Suddenly, another whistle rang out through the wind. It had sounded from the direction that the footprints disappeared in. Smiling and wiping her tears away, she took off running until she spotted Tidus standing there, fingers still in his mouth and ready to whistle. She threw her arms around him, savoring the feel of his body against hers. She had been so scared that he had gone away again.
"We didn't want to wake you." He seemed to answer her thoughts. Yuna looked up, eyes glistening still. She smirked. 'Well, whoever landed the airship did a fine job of waking me up." Tidus chuckled and kissed her forehead. "Next time, leave a note or something, kay? I thought that...well, I thought bad things and I ever wanna be scared like that again." Tidus nodded and picked her up in his arms. She laughed as he took off running to catch up with the others. "What's the rush anyway? Find something in the blood?" Yuna asked over the whoosh of the air around them. Tidus' face fell from happily in love to seriously serious. He nodded. "We found footprints, Ronso-like ones, leading away from the blood. For some reason, we all think that blood was Paine's." Yuna bit her lip again. "Why?" She breathed. Tidus answered and set her down so they could run faster. "Instinct." Yuna nodded, clasped his hand, and they both took off, following the twin prints left by Rikku and Gippal.
Paine and Gankee were still asleep in each other's arms when Auron found them near the hot springs. Apparently, that hadn't made it back to the cave last night and decided to sleep by the springs. Auron didn't seem at all surprised that his son and this girl were sleeping together, in the innocent sense of the phrase. He smiled almost proudly and leaned against the wall, waiting for them to wake up on their own. He waited there until Paine lazily sat up and stretched, shrugging Gankee's arm off her shoulders. She looked totally healed and healthy, quite the change from the bandaged and beaten girl she had been the day before. The red garbed grown-up spotted a pile of bloody bandages near the closest spring and guessed his son had also gone swimming with that girl. He also supposed that the water bubbling up from the ground had some kind of healing cabilities judging by how much better Paine looked.
Before standing, she gently pushed some stray hair out of Gankee's face. A content smile slowly spread on Gankee's face before he rolled over and went back to dreaming. Paine stood and stretched again. She turned and spotted Auron standing just outside the swirling steam billowing from the springs. Deciding it was better to act calm and cool than freak out about being stalked by some creepy dead guy, Paine crossed her arms and addressed Auron slyly. "Good morning, Auron." That was all she could manage without her voice cracking from the nervousness. Auron had a piercing stare, even if only one of his eyes worked. It was sorta like Gippal, only not nice and carefree. Auron nodded in reply before pushing away from the wall and striding towards the black garbed girl. Paine silently wished she could disappear because the weird feeling he could read her mind kept penetrating her calm facade. "You look a lot better, Paine. Does the spring water have healing properties?" She nodded, her limp hair flopping in her face. She glared at the stray strands and wished for some gel. Auron chuckled as if he had read her mind.
"The Kohlso may be able to help you with your hair. They aren't as primitive as they seem." Paine smirked, beginning to warm up to this guy. "Thanks for the tip. What are you doing up and about so early?" Auron shrugged with one shoulder, motioning to his sleeping child. "Just looking for the two elusive children that seem to like playing Hide-And-Go-Seek with us adults." Paine snorted laughingly. "Yeah, I kind of left the cave last night and Gankee came after me. He was worried I'd get killed..." She trailed off, unable to share with Auron the fact that she had actually wanted to die. Those fiends seemed like the best way out of her seemingly lonely life. But, she wasn't alone, not anymore. Paine glanced at Gankee and smiled, a weird fuzzy warmth spreading through her. Auron nodded, as if he understood totally. Gankee stirred as if he knew they were about to talk about him. He sat up and yawned loudly, scratching his head sleepily. He stood up and turned around preparing to shuffle back to the cave alone. His sleepy eyes widened when he spotted both Paine and Auron standing there.
He blushed when he looked at Paine, as if something in his head was a little more dirty than he had hoped. Then he looked at his father and smiled shyly. "Hey, dad! What's up?" Auron smirked, preparing to tease his son mercilessly about his "adventures" with Paine when suddenly a loud cry echoed from the main cavern. It sounded as if something was wrong. All three humans locked eyes before running down the passageway back into their private cave. Maea burst in just as they did; she looked panicky and scared. Auron rushed to her, gently taking her arm. "What is it, Maea? What's happening?" He asked, a genteless to his usually gruff voice. Gankee hurried over, too, nodding a hesitant Paine over as well. Maea shook her head, tears in her eyes. "Humans! Unknown humans are within the confines of the outer caves. They're invading!" Paine felt a weird sensation of knowing, as if she knew who it was that sneaking down into the caverns. Gankee's eyes narrowed, he seemed pissed that more humans would be infiltrating. Before anyone could say anything else, Lorelei burst into the cave, an outraged expression on her face.
She plowed Paine down onto the ground, snarling in her face. Paine didn't budge under the considerable weight and force of the older Kohlso. Gankee gave a cry and moved as if to pull the Elder off of her, but two sturdy Kohlso warriors popped out of nowhere and held him back. Another Kohlso restrained Auron while Maea sobbed into her hands. She had been trying to warn them to run when Auron had asked her what was wrong. Lorelei growled in the Kohlso tongue, apparently expecting Paine to know the language. Paine's fear dissolved suddenly when she noticed the pain in the Elder's eyes. This old Kohlso didn't know what to do in this situation but blame the humans who had led the others there. She closed her blood red eyes as if accepting the crushing weight of the Kohlso as punishment. Gankee struggled against the Kohlso that held him back. Maea sobbed loudly and Auron eyed his katana in the corner.
Lorelei barked something at Maea, who hurried over and began translating what the Elder was saying to Al Bhed. 'She says its all your fault that the humans are invading. She says she will use you as hostages to get the other humans to leave. Then she wants you all to leave and never come back. Ever." The blonde woman choked the last word out and glanced at her lover and son longingly. Paine shook her head, a slow smile spreading across her lips. "I don't know where you got that notion, Elder, but had no idea that the humans would track me here. I hadn't wanted anyone to follow me at all. I wanted to die. That was my purpose for coming here. But, your hunter saved me and then Gankee and Auron healed my wounds. I just want you to know we don't the humans coming in at all. If we did, we didn't have them some in here. I don't even know where we are." Her strong voice was drowned out by the sound of hurried footsteps. A young Kohlso ran in and whispered something to Elder. Her blue eyes widened and she got off of Paine slowly. "He said the humans are led by the High Summoner, messenger of Yevon." She growled the last word like a curse. 'Yuna...' Paine thought happily.
Paine stood up and brushed her shorts off, a little smile on her face. She looked at Gankee and Auron confidently. "Well, Elder, I just hope you know that this 'High Summoner' doesn't believe in Yevon, who was fake and she isn't even a summoner anymore. She's a Gullwing." Lorelei studied Paine's open face with her piercing eyes before turning to her warriors. They immediately dropped their holds on Gankee and Auron. She gruffly addressed Maea in her language before leaving with the other Kohlsos. Gankee rushed over to Paine and hugged her tightly. Not expecting a hug, Paine sucked in her breath sharply, but smiled and hugged him back. "You were great! So calm and collected! I would've buckled and started crying." Paine chuckled at his effusive praise. Auron tapped Gankee on the shoulder and he released her. "Your mother said we have to follow the Elder to meet Yuna and whoever's with her." With a smirk and a chuckle the guardian turned and hurried out of the cave.
Paine grabbed her sword from its position next to where Auron's katana used to be and turned to see Gankee pulling his hair back. She grinned at him, feeling that warmth spread through her again. Gankee caught her starring and winked. She laughed and walked over to grab his hand. He wove his fingers through hers and they walked out to meet Yuna and the others.
Yuna, Tidus, Rikku, and Gippal were surrounding by about twenty snarling white Ronsos with blue eyes and mean spears. Tidus reached for his sword, but Yuna stopped his hand. She shook her head, silently watching the group of warriors. Rikku, who was a little fed up with this whole thing already, huffed and crossed her arms. Gippal slid a comforting arm around her waist and hushed her before she could shout anything. "They aren't going to attack." Yuna whispered to Tidus who still looked ready for a fight. He nodded, knowing better than to second guess any woman. They waited in silence until they heard rushed footsteps approaching. The circle of white Ronsos parted and an elderly looking female hobbled towards them. Following her were two tall white beasts that hid whoever else was with them. Yuna guessed that the elderly female was the Elder and bowed to her when the white furred creature stopped walking.
"Elder, we mean you and your clan no harm. We only wish to find our companions who have been missing for some time. We followed some footprints to these caves. We're very sorry if we have infringed any laws of the land." Yuna looked the Elder straight in the eyes the whole time she spoke, her diplomatic voice strong and clear. The Elder seemed to understand her and for that, Yuna was VERY glad. She spoke gruffly to the humans before her, introducing herself and the white Ronso around them. "I am Lorelei, Elder of the Kohlso clan. We are distant cousins of your Ronso clan. We accept your apology and will grant your request." Yuna blinked. 'Request? What request?' Tidus placed a hand on her shoulder as if to steady her for whatever the Kohlso had in store. Lorelei turned and the other Kohlso with her moved aside. Auron, an Al Bhed woman, Paine, and Gankee stood waiting behind them. Rikku squealed and ran to meet Paine, Yuna close behind. YRP shared a massive group hug in which Rikku started crying and the other two laughed.
Auron smiled when Tidus walked over and patted his arm happily. He seemed too happy for words; Auron understood. Gippal walked towards the YRP group and met Gankee standing there. He glared at the black haired halfing bitterly, thinking that he was watching Rikku. Gankee smiled and pointed to Paine, then to himself. "Don't worry, Gippal. I'm not after your girl. I have my own." Gippal gaped, but said nothing. The hug-fest broke up and introductions were made between the Gullwings and Maea. Rikku was estacic that Gankee had found his parents and everyone wanted to hear about Auron being his father. They decided to stay the night with the Kohlso since they were already there and they had so much to talk about. They were all sitting in the Human Cave as the Kohlso called it, talking about Auron and Maea's relationship and Gankee's brother. Maea had been paying very close attention to Gippal throughout the conversation and she suddenly screamed and pointed to him. "You look just like Gankee!" She cried in Al Bhed, her eyes wide. Everyone stopped talking and looked at Gippal.
He blushed and glared at the woman, wishing he could make her explode with his mind. "I do not! I look nothing like that insufferable half-breed!" Rikku was looking from Gankee to Gippal and her eyes widened. "Omigod! You DO!" Yuna nodded, a little offended by that half-breed comment. Tidus looked thoughtfully at Gippal's eye patch. "Hmm..."He murmured, formulating a plan. Paine, who was sitting in between Yuna and Gankee, looked over at Auron, who was studying Gippal with a new fasicination. Paine had never asked before, but she was beginning to suspect that there was nothing wrong with Gippal's covered eye. Maybe he was hiding an amber eye under there. She nudged Gankee who was staring at Gippal across the fire pit oddly. "I say we grab his eye patch and see what he's hiding." She whispered, her lips dangerously close to his ear. He shrugged, lost in thought. Sighing, Paine caught Tidus' eyes and they both stood up. Everyone was too busy discussing the similiarities between Gankee and Gippal to notice the two slip away.
"So, what's the plan, Tidus?" Paine whispered, her hair newly geled into its usual style. Tidus looked thoughtful and then smirked. "About what? Yuna's party or Gippal's eye patch?" Paine chuckled. "Both!" The two gave each other five before sneaking off to the main fire pit to convince the cook there to bake a cake for them. They got three or four Kohlso to understand that it was Yuna's birthday and soon they had a cake, candles, and a beautiful blue and silver kimono for Yuna. Tidus was bubbling with joy when he gave the final instructions to the Kohlso cook. Paine was stashing the gift just outside the cave the others were in when he jogged back. "All set?" She whispered. He grinned, nodded, and pumped his fist in the air. "Ready to roll!" Paine rubbed her hands together and nodded. "Now to get Gippal to take that eye patch off..." Tidus muttered. Paine motioned a pincer attack with her hands and Tidus nodded. They slipped back into the cave where everyone had moved onto the topic of Gankee and Paine's relationship.
He was blushing and kept looking around for an escape. Paine slunk over to him, kissed him passionately, winked at a whooping Rikku, and hurried around to the other side of Gippal. Tidus grabbed the tall blonde by the shoulders while Paine pulled the eyepatch off. Everyone leaned in, gasped, and then chaos ensued. Maea burst into tears and ran to hug Gippal while Auron smiled happily. He seemed a little overwhelmed and sat totally still. Tidus and Paine shared another high-five while Yuna and Rikku clapped. Gankee stood up and walked over to Gippal. The crimson faced, disoriented blonde stood up and looked his brother in the identically mismatched eyes. "Brother." Gankee whispered hugging him tightly. Gippal choked a little and then he smiled. He had finally found the family that he thought had deserted him. Now he knew why he had to be left with a strict Al Bhed family on Bikanel. His mother was being looked for by Yevon; he knew the feeling. Tightly hugging his brother, Gippal looked up to see his father stand and walk over. The twins turned to their father and Auron cleared his throat.
"I just want to say how happy I am to have my whole family back together. I never thought I'd get the chance to see my sons together ever. After I died, I vowed to protect Tidus and Yuna, not even my sons. Now, I have the chance to protect you, too. My sons, Gankee and Kuron." Gippal smiled and formed his real name on his lips happily. "Kuron. Rikku!" He rushed over to the teary-eyed Rikku. "I'm Kuron! My real name is Kuron!" He seemed so happy he was about to burst. Rikku squealed and kissed him deeply. Tidus laughed and clapped while Yuna slipped her arms around his waist happily. He wrapped his arm around her, smile painted on his tan face. Gankee hugged his mom, his dad, and then Paine tightly. She kissed him gently, happiness beaming out through a rare toothy smile. Gankee grinned and kissed her again, much more roughly. Auron took Maea's hand and the two adults smiled at all the happy teen couples.
When everyone gathered back around the fire to talk about a whole new set of amazing revelations, Tidus cleared his throat and whistled loudly. Yuna looked at him oddly, as if to say "Yeah, ok, I'm right here!". He grinned and winked and Paine who smiled, too. The Kohlso cook walked in carrying a huge, sloppy cake and a grin. Three roughly hewn candles sat on the cake, glowing happily. Rikku clapped and started the "Happy Birthday" song. The others all joined in and the Kohlso set the cake down in front of a grinning Yuna. She thanked the Kohlso who left quickly and came back in with the parcel. He handed it to Tidus who handed him his Jecht-symbol necklace as payment. Yuna saw this exchange and her eyes filled with tears. He loved that necklace! Rikku poked her and urged her to blow out the candles. "Come on, Yunie! Make a wish and blow 'em out!" Yuna nodded and closed her eyes. She wished that she and her friends could stay happy like this forever. Peace on Spira forever and all that. She opened her eyes and blew out the huge candles. Everyone clapped and hugged her, except Auron who seemed a little oddly withdrawn.
Tidus cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. "Before we eat the first Kohlso cake ever, I have an announcement to make." He stood up and pulled Yuna up, too. She looked at him curiously and then at the packet he was holding. He grinned nervously and cleared his throat again. Even Paine looked a little lost and she was co-plotter with him. Tidus looked Yuna in the eyes and knew he was doing the right thing. "Yuna, I love you more than anything in the whole world. You're everything to me and I want you to have this." He handed her the package and she slowly unwrapped it, a slight smile on her lips. She shook the garment out and it shimmered like freshly fallen snow under starlight. Maea gasped, then she smiled widely. "That is the Kohlso ceremonial wedding dress, Yuna." Tidus blushed and nodded, looking at his feet. Rikku could hardly contain herself and Paine was grinning. Yuna stroked the gorgeous fabric and slowly looked up at Tidus. He smiled; were those tears in his eyes.
Her own eyes overflowed with tears and she nodded, answering the unspoken question in Tidus' amazing eyes. "Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes!" She cried, throwing her arms around him, still holding the wedding dress. He kissed her happily and everyone clapped. Rikku started skipping around them, chanting about Yunie getting married. Paine wove her fingers through Gankee's and leaned her head against his shoulder. Gippal, well, Kuron had to grab Rikku by the waist and tickle her to make her stop skipping around the happy couple. Yuna pulled back from her intense kiss with Tidus and breathlessly asked him, "When?" He kissed her forehead excitedly. "Whenever you want." She was about to answer 'NOW!" but stopped herself. An odd seriousness fell over her face. "After we save Spira one more time. Then we can have a proper wedding." Rikku clapped and jumped up, hugging both love-birds at once. And so, all in all, frostbite and hypothermia aside, Yuna had the best birthday ever.
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AN: SO SO SO??? WHADDYA THINK??? i loved writing this one because i got to reveal Gippal's secret, reunite all of Auron's family, AND make Tidus pop the question! who knows what i'll do next. you'll just have to review to find out! ~~~sa~~~