Disclaimer: Nope, Final Fantasy X belongs to Squaresoft. *sobs* However,
original characters (my summoner and her party) belong to me.
This is my first FFX fanfic and reviews are greatly appreciated. I've always thought that Auron was a closet romantic (especially when he was younger), but to reveal it would take so much away from his bad ass demeanor.
I'm *SO* sorry about the long time between updates. Illness, finals, and the holidays happened and... you know. So hopefully this update will be enough to satisfy you all.
Also, this story will roughly follow the game up until Bevelle, but I won't be writing out each and every scene. The story will contain spoilers, so if you've beaten the game and/or don't care to be surprised, please read on.
Read and enjoy!
"Kiss From a Rose" Part Five
Copyright 2003 by Amie Martin
highlander_bellflower@hotmail.com
*****************************
~Tidus--Bevelle~
When my friends and fellow guardians finally told me what happened when a summoner defeated Sin, I didn't believe them. I didn't *want* to believe them. I didn't want to accept the fact that it had been Yuna's decision to become a summoner, that she had chosen her own fate. I didn't want to see her journey end this way, not when I kept telling her all the great things we could do afterwards...
No, I could not--would not--let Yuna die to defeat Sin. I gave my word to her uncle Cid that I would find another way, and I promised myself the same thing. She meant too much for me to let her go without a fight.
My feelings for Yuna went deeper than I initially realized, than I had ever thought possible. At first she was just another pretty girl, and pretty girls were a dime a dozen back in Zanarkand. But traveling with her, seeing the pain and sorrow she hid so well, coming to know just how determined she was to defeat Sin despite what it would cost her... It was then that I realized that Yuna was more than a pretty face. Beauty on the outside was easy to find, but beauty on the inside as well was something truly rare.
I had to tell Yuna how I felt, because all we had was here and now. The knowledge that time was running out on us was killing me, slowly eroding my heart and mind away into nothingness. Everyone else--Wakka, Rikku, Kimahri, Auron, hell, even Lulu, in her own way--wanted to find Yuna because they were her guardians and she was their summoner. I wanted to find her so I could hold her in my arms and never let her go.
We stood on the outer deck of the airship, Yuna's six guardians, watching the city of Bevelle quickly approaching us. Behind us, a thick trail of smoke hid what was left of Evrae, the guardian of Bevelle, marking our trail. The airship had sustained heavy damage in the battle, and the deck started to list as a result. I held my position, knowing in my heart that it would take a lot more than this to keep me from getting to Yuna.
"This baby's not gonna hold together for much longer!" Cid's voice shouted from the airship's intercom. It was amusing how he still managed to be gruff while clearly worried. "I don't know how much closer I'll be able to get you!"
"Don't worry about it!" Rikku called back, off to my left. "Just get us as close as you can!"
My eyes narrowed as I watched the center of Bevelle fill our view. A large number of people had gathered in the square, underneath white banners and decorated with--flowers, maybe? I thought I saw Grand Maester Mika standing at what seemed to be some sort of altar. Two processions led to the altar, one from each side. Warrior monks were escorting a figure in white from one side, and a robed figure with large, blue, spiked hair from the other. Wedding bells rang overhead...
Suddenly the realization hit me: Bevelle was celebrating a wedding, and Seymour wasn't dead, which left his bride to be...
"What the hell?" I blurted in spite of myself. "Yuna's marrying Seymour?!" My mind was racing; she'd never agree to something like that, not after what happened in Macalania. We *killed* Seymour--how was he still alive?
Wakka took a step back in shock. "But Maester Seymour is dead, ya?"
Lulu shook her head. "Look for yourself, Wakka. The wedding bells prove it-- that really is Yuna down there."
"But Yunie wouldn't *really* marry Seymour, would she?" Rikku asked, fear creeping into her voice and swirling green eyes.
To my surprise, it was Kimahri who answered. "Yuna want to make wrongs right. Marry Seymour, send Seymour."
"That sounds like something Yuna would do," Auron commented, glancing over at the wedding below us. "Sin may have brought her to Bevelle, or she might have been captured, or she might be here by choice. We simply don't know."
"But we're all Yuna's guardians, right? And that means we'll stand by her no matter what, right?" I pumped my fist in the air for emphasis, my heart pounding in my ears. I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I knew I would do whatever it took to get Yuna back.
"Yeah!" Rikku cheered. "We can't let Yunie marry the bad guy, can we?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Wakka sputtered, "But he's a Maester, ya? We can't just interrupt a Maester's wedding."
"I think we've moved beyond interrupting, Wakka," Lulu said dryly. "The fact of the matter is that Yuna needs us, and as her guardians, we'll be by her side."
"All right, let's go!" Grabbing my longsword confidently, I shouted to Cid, "Any chance you can land this thing? We've got a wedding to crash!"
It was a moment before Cid answered, and the intercom system was full of static when he finally spoke. "The engine's shot, kid," he shouted, his voice coming through in random bursts. "If we land, we'll never be able to get out of here."
I couldn't leave what remained of the Al Bhed society in the hands of Bevelle's warrior monks, who would kill the so-called heathens on sight. "Don't worry about it," I called to him. "We'll find another way. Rikku, got any ideas?"
The girl looked back and forth for a few moments, the two braids in her hair moving with the breeze. "Hey, Dad," Rikku pondered, "you don't suppose we could... slide down the landing gear, could we?"
"Landing gear?" Wakka still looked confused; the color in his face still hadn't returned. "I don't get it."
"The first part of the landing gear is these two long cables that latch onto the ground." Rikku gestured expressively with her hands, her excitement almost pouring off of her in waves. "Normally they would pull the airship to the ground so we could land. But if we don't pull the airship, we could just slide down the chords and bam! We go straight to Yunie!"
"And straight into battle." Auron readjusted his katana's position on his shoulder. "Unless anyone else has a better plan, I say we do it."
"That settles it, then. Cid!" I shouted back to him. "Let's go save Yuna!"
There was a lot groan from the airship, followed by a hissing noise as two silver cables shot out from beneath the deck we stood on. I watched in twisted awe as the ends of the cables dug into the ground, scattering the people.
"I can't keep this here for long," Cid warned, his voice sounding strained over the intercom. "Kid... be careful, and good luck."
"Thanks." I threw my shoulders back in a last ditch effort to appear confident. "All right, let's go!" With a flying leap, my feet met the right cable, and down I went.
The first sensation I was aware of was the sense that I was flying. The wind flowed through every strand of my hair, and I couldn't stop the grim from engulfing my entire face. Had the circumstances been different, I would have really enjoyed myself.
Then I became aware of the sparks flying in all directions from the soles of my shoes, and then I noticed the balls of fire aimed directly towards us. The Bevelle sentries had noticed our not-so-subtle entrance, and apparently they weren't too happy with those not on the guest list. Beneath me, the cable started to wobble and shake, moving dangerously close to its counterpart and I was forced to somersault from one cable to another to keep from falling to my death on Bevelle's stone walkways. I could think of many other places I'd rather die than in the heart of Yevon during a Maester's wedding.
I heard more than saw the cable breaking, Bevelle's onslaught finally paying off. The loud popping sound pushed both fear and adrenaline through my veins, and I leapt the last ten feet to the ground, knowing that the cable could no longer hold me. From the thuds that echoed behind me, five in all, I knew the others had landed safely. Whether or not we were safe, however, remained to be determined, and I had to force my head up to look.
All I saw were warrior monks. Lots and lots of warrior monks.
And all of them carried weapons.
The odds just kept getting better and better...
Rising to my feet, I grasped my sword with both hands and shouted behind me, "Is everyone okay?"
"I think we'll manage," Lulu answered dryly, her belts chiming softly as she stood.
"Good, because we've got one hell of a fight ahead of us!"
Suppressing a grimace, I rushed forward to greet our first wave of warrior monks, Auron and Rikku on either side of me. Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri brought up the rear; the last thing we needed was to be completely surrounded. As if the monks themselves weren't bad enough, soon strange machines joined them, making the battles twice as hard.
Each one of us fought to the best of our ability, secretly afraid of what failure might mean. Rikku used frag grenades to destroy the larger machines, while Auron's katana rendered the strongest monks useless. At my back, I could hear Kimahri's and Wakka's battle cries as well as Lulu's sarcastic remarks as she cast her spells. Still, try as we might, for every monk we killed and machine we destroyed, two more quickly filled the gap. It was a never-ending battle, but I couldn't give up, not when Yuna depended on us.
In between waves of battles, something strange caught my eye. The next walkway over, monks were fighting, but I couldn't see why. One monk fired a ball of flame, only to be neutralized by a strong blizzard spell. Someone with the ability of black magic was fighting to the altar, but who?
Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of the fighter, a woman certainly older than myself, but not like the old lady who despised me in Besaid, keeping me away from Yuna. She wore a black coat, unfurled behind her in the wind, the blue dress beneath it simple yet elegant. Her dark hair was swept up into a high ponytail and danced around her face and back. She reminded me of an older version of Lulu; the same deadly grace seemed to radiate from her. A black moogle sat in her arms, solemnly watching his master at work.
Lulu, too, noticed the woman's presence. Leaning over the edge of the walkway, Lulu shouted, "Aunt Kat! Aunt Kat, is that you?"
The woman's head snapped up. "Lulu!" she called back, her voice darker than I had imagined. "Lulu, are you all right? What's going on here?"
"It's a long story--" Lulu went to say more, but Auron's hand on her arm stopped her.
"We don't have time for this..." Auron's voice trailed off as his eyes drifted to the woman's face. For what seemed to be the longest time, the two just stared at each other, as if the rest of the world ceased to exist. His one good eye widened behind his sunglasses, and I made a mental note to ask him about it later. "Katralina?" he asked, his voice filled with awe. "Katra, is it really you?"
"Freeze, you traitorous scum!"
In the span of a few minutes, maybe less, we had become surrounded by warrior monks, all with their weapons trained on us. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Lulu's aunt Katralina was taken by force, three monks holding her and dragging her towards the altar. I refused to lower my sword; I hadn't been defeated yet.
From the group of monks, Maester Kinoc stepped forward, head of the Crusaders and another passive supporter of Operation Mi'ihen. My blood started to boil, and my grip tightened on my sword.
"What an unexpected surprise, traitors here in Bevelle," Kinoc mused as he circled the group. "Plus, the addition of the former summoner Katralina is interesting to say the least. I didn't know you still talked to her, Auron."
"Leave her out of this," Auron growled protectively, making me wonder how the two knew each other. Auron wasn't protective over just anyone.
"Her actions today have made her as much of a traitor as you are." Turning to the guards, Kinoc commanded, "Take their weapons. Maester Seymour wants them alive... for now."
Angrily, the monk closest to me ripped my sword from my grasp. Rikku cried out as they took her claw, and I could only imagine her pain. With much poking and prodding, we were taken to the very center of Bevelle, where we had prime seats for Yuna and Seymour's wedding.
I had to admit, Yuna was absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. The white was the perfect compliment to darken her hair, the boots and gloves seemed so perfect, and the dress hugged the curves of her body. I felt a pang of jealousy, wishing I was the one who stood beside her, instead of that... that... that *cretin* Seymour...
"Dearly beloved," Mika began, "We are gathered here today..."
Yuna shook her head, fear filling her beautiful blue and green eyes. She couldn't do it--she didn't love Seymour!
Then, I noticed her true reason: Yuna gripped her summoner's staff tightly, as if preparing for battle. My eyes widened, and my heart leapt into my throat with hope. In one action, Yuna could end it all, and we could all get out of here.
Seymour simply smiled. "A play at marriage, merely for a chance to send me?" he asked, amused. "Lady Yuna, I thought I knew you better than that. You see, if you send me, then your friends will be killed."
The monk behind me aimed his weapon at the back of my head, and I tried my hardest to remain calm. I had to stay confident for Yuna's sake; if she saw us slip, then she would fall as well.
Her grip on the staff loosened, and the staff clattered to the ground, falling down the stairs to rest at our feet. "Yuna!" I cried, but the feel of the nozzle of a weapon in my hair silenced me, and to my horror the wedding continued on.
Through my anger and rage, I watched as Yuna was forced through her wedding vows, grimacing more and more with every word she said. There were tears in the corners of her beautiful eyes, one blue and one green. All I wanted was to hold, to take her away from all of this, to tell her how I felt...
And then came the kiss.
That horrible, disgusting kiss...
I couldn't look at them; my stomach turned, and I found myself staring at Yuna's hands, clenched into graceful fists of frustration. Beside me, I heard Rikku give a little cry of protest, followed a few seconds later by Wakka's own gasp of defeat.
"What chance do you think we have of getting out of her?" Wakka whispered, just low enough so only us guardians could hear him.
"It's Yuna's decision now," Lulu's aunt Katralina murmured from where she was held between Auron and Wakka. "If she can give us an opening, we'll take it."
As their lips parted, Seymour turned away from Yuna and gestured toward us with a simple flip of his hand. "Kill them," he said nonchalantly, as if ordering the murder of seven people was an everyday occurrence.
My body reacted instantly to his words, straining against the warrior monks who held us in place. My eyes met Yuna's, and I saw fear and grim determination written there. She wouldn't let Seymour go through with it, not if she could find a way to stop him. I had to trust her with my life, otherwise I was as good as dead--literally.
Slowly, Yuna backed away from the wedding altar where Seymour and Mika stood. Both of the Maesters had their eyes fixed upon our impromptu execution and hardly noticed her departure. Bumping Rikku's arm with my elbow, I gestured my head in Yuna's direction, as if to tell the young Al Bhed to pay close attention to her cousin's movements. Rikku nodded once in acknowledgement, and her eyes never left Yuna's face.
"Any last words before we kill you, traitors?" Kinoc asked, a smug look on his face as he moved to stand in front of us.
"Nothing I'd care to waste on the likes of you," Katralina spat, almost sneering, like she was determined to be defiant to the last.
Kinoc smiled. "You know it's nothing personal, really--I'm just following the rules."
Katralina smiled back, and it was one of the most dark, almost demonic expressions I had ever seen. If I were Kinoc, I would have turn and run from her. "Now is not the time to pretend like we're friends, Kinoc," she said, her voice deadly serious. "If you're going to kill us, be done with it already. I'm sure you have *other* pursuits that require your attention."
"Fine. Have it your way." Turning to his warrior monks, Kinoc ordered, "Fire on my mark. One..."
I could feel the muzzle of the weapon pushing away strands of hair on the back of my head...
"Two..."
The weapon made a sickening click...
"STOP!"
Yuna's scream penetrated the dead silence Kinoc's countdown had created. She stood a few steps away from the edge of the platform, the city of Bevelle below. Everyone in attendance turned to look at her, Maesters and monks included. The weapon fell away from my head, and I breathed a small, secret sigh of relief.
"Stop this," Yuna repeated, calmly and confidently. "Kill them... and I'll jump." She took a step backward, as if to make good on her threat.
"That is insane, Yuna." Seymour walked towards her, holding a hand out to her, but she took another step back, defying his efforts. "If you jump, you will die. It won't solve anything."
"It will keep you from having a bride," Yuna answered, without fear, without intimidation, "and you'll no longer have a summoner to bring you to Zanarkand."
Fear pulsed through my veins, even more than when I had faced the prospect of my own death a few minutes before. I could not--would not--let Yuna sacrifice herself so the rest of us could live. There had to be another way...
Looking up, Yuna's eyes met mine, and she smiled. "Believe," she said, her words bypassing Seymour's presence between us, as if her words were meant for me and only me. "Don't worry, I can fly." With that, Yuna gracefully stepped from the edge, leaving only scattered feathers from her wedding dress.
Fighting the urge to scream, I pushed my way past the surprised warrior monks to the edge of the bridge. I watched in horrified amazement as Yuna fell, her arms slowly opening wider and wider. There was no way she would be able to survive the landing...
Suddenly a pink and purple circle of symbols radiated from her body, and I realized exactly what was going on. Yuna was a summoner; when all else failed, she could always call on her aeons. Sure enough, Valefor swooped down from the sky and sailed beneath her, catching her in a bed of wings.
A sparkling explosion of black magic went off behind me, and I heard Lulu cry, "Aunt Kat, are you crazy? Aunt Kat?" I turned to see Katralina in a heap on the ground, having disabled her captors as well as herself in a single hit.
Rikku pulled something out of the pouch at her hip and shouted, "Hang on, guys!" With one more explosion, the area surrounding us began to fill with a thick heavy smoke.
"What was that?" Wakka asked, sounding a bit confused. For a devoted Yevonite, the past few days had been particularly rough on him, with killing Maester Seymour, being branding a traitor, then stopping his wedding and almost being executed.
"An Al Bhed smoke bomb!" Rikku was too busy making sure her claw was properly in place to look up. "Come one, we've got to go get Yunie!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Auron gently lifted Katralina into his arms, cradling her close to his chest. There was a tenderness to him that I hadn't seen in the ten years I'd known him; I'd never imagined Auron to have a softer side. Retrieving my sword, I tried not to look at Auron as I pondered aloud, "Yeah, but the question is, where did Yuna go?"
"Yuna go to one place," Kimahri said, hoisting up his lance.
"The temple," Lulu finished.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" I glanced from guardian to guardian, hoping for some sort of response. When none came, I shrugged and cried, "Come on, Yuna's waiting for us!"
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A/N: I realized some of the dialogue is a little skewed; it's been a while since I played through the wedding scene, so I only had the cut scenes to rely on. Let me know what you guys think!
And, some review responses:
cool-kitsune: My story is one of your favorites? I'm touched, more than you'd ever believe. I'm glad you like it so much!
The Pezman: Hey, I was a lonely 16-year-old too, back in the day. And forgive the typos, please.
Dib Magician and Dreamwriter of Hope: Thanks for reviewing more than once, I really appreciate it.
Megan McGory: I love you, sis. You know that. And I love the fact that you love my story. ^_^
This is my first FFX fanfic and reviews are greatly appreciated. I've always thought that Auron was a closet romantic (especially when he was younger), but to reveal it would take so much away from his bad ass demeanor.
I'm *SO* sorry about the long time between updates. Illness, finals, and the holidays happened and... you know. So hopefully this update will be enough to satisfy you all.
Also, this story will roughly follow the game up until Bevelle, but I won't be writing out each and every scene. The story will contain spoilers, so if you've beaten the game and/or don't care to be surprised, please read on.
Read and enjoy!
"Kiss From a Rose" Part Five
Copyright 2003 by Amie Martin
highlander_bellflower@hotmail.com
*****************************
~Tidus--Bevelle~
When my friends and fellow guardians finally told me what happened when a summoner defeated Sin, I didn't believe them. I didn't *want* to believe them. I didn't want to accept the fact that it had been Yuna's decision to become a summoner, that she had chosen her own fate. I didn't want to see her journey end this way, not when I kept telling her all the great things we could do afterwards...
No, I could not--would not--let Yuna die to defeat Sin. I gave my word to her uncle Cid that I would find another way, and I promised myself the same thing. She meant too much for me to let her go without a fight.
My feelings for Yuna went deeper than I initially realized, than I had ever thought possible. At first she was just another pretty girl, and pretty girls were a dime a dozen back in Zanarkand. But traveling with her, seeing the pain and sorrow she hid so well, coming to know just how determined she was to defeat Sin despite what it would cost her... It was then that I realized that Yuna was more than a pretty face. Beauty on the outside was easy to find, but beauty on the inside as well was something truly rare.
I had to tell Yuna how I felt, because all we had was here and now. The knowledge that time was running out on us was killing me, slowly eroding my heart and mind away into nothingness. Everyone else--Wakka, Rikku, Kimahri, Auron, hell, even Lulu, in her own way--wanted to find Yuna because they were her guardians and she was their summoner. I wanted to find her so I could hold her in my arms and never let her go.
We stood on the outer deck of the airship, Yuna's six guardians, watching the city of Bevelle quickly approaching us. Behind us, a thick trail of smoke hid what was left of Evrae, the guardian of Bevelle, marking our trail. The airship had sustained heavy damage in the battle, and the deck started to list as a result. I held my position, knowing in my heart that it would take a lot more than this to keep me from getting to Yuna.
"This baby's not gonna hold together for much longer!" Cid's voice shouted from the airship's intercom. It was amusing how he still managed to be gruff while clearly worried. "I don't know how much closer I'll be able to get you!"
"Don't worry about it!" Rikku called back, off to my left. "Just get us as close as you can!"
My eyes narrowed as I watched the center of Bevelle fill our view. A large number of people had gathered in the square, underneath white banners and decorated with--flowers, maybe? I thought I saw Grand Maester Mika standing at what seemed to be some sort of altar. Two processions led to the altar, one from each side. Warrior monks were escorting a figure in white from one side, and a robed figure with large, blue, spiked hair from the other. Wedding bells rang overhead...
Suddenly the realization hit me: Bevelle was celebrating a wedding, and Seymour wasn't dead, which left his bride to be...
"What the hell?" I blurted in spite of myself. "Yuna's marrying Seymour?!" My mind was racing; she'd never agree to something like that, not after what happened in Macalania. We *killed* Seymour--how was he still alive?
Wakka took a step back in shock. "But Maester Seymour is dead, ya?"
Lulu shook her head. "Look for yourself, Wakka. The wedding bells prove it-- that really is Yuna down there."
"But Yunie wouldn't *really* marry Seymour, would she?" Rikku asked, fear creeping into her voice and swirling green eyes.
To my surprise, it was Kimahri who answered. "Yuna want to make wrongs right. Marry Seymour, send Seymour."
"That sounds like something Yuna would do," Auron commented, glancing over at the wedding below us. "Sin may have brought her to Bevelle, or she might have been captured, or she might be here by choice. We simply don't know."
"But we're all Yuna's guardians, right? And that means we'll stand by her no matter what, right?" I pumped my fist in the air for emphasis, my heart pounding in my ears. I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I knew I would do whatever it took to get Yuna back.
"Yeah!" Rikku cheered. "We can't let Yunie marry the bad guy, can we?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Wakka sputtered, "But he's a Maester, ya? We can't just interrupt a Maester's wedding."
"I think we've moved beyond interrupting, Wakka," Lulu said dryly. "The fact of the matter is that Yuna needs us, and as her guardians, we'll be by her side."
"All right, let's go!" Grabbing my longsword confidently, I shouted to Cid, "Any chance you can land this thing? We've got a wedding to crash!"
It was a moment before Cid answered, and the intercom system was full of static when he finally spoke. "The engine's shot, kid," he shouted, his voice coming through in random bursts. "If we land, we'll never be able to get out of here."
I couldn't leave what remained of the Al Bhed society in the hands of Bevelle's warrior monks, who would kill the so-called heathens on sight. "Don't worry about it," I called to him. "We'll find another way. Rikku, got any ideas?"
The girl looked back and forth for a few moments, the two braids in her hair moving with the breeze. "Hey, Dad," Rikku pondered, "you don't suppose we could... slide down the landing gear, could we?"
"Landing gear?" Wakka still looked confused; the color in his face still hadn't returned. "I don't get it."
"The first part of the landing gear is these two long cables that latch onto the ground." Rikku gestured expressively with her hands, her excitement almost pouring off of her in waves. "Normally they would pull the airship to the ground so we could land. But if we don't pull the airship, we could just slide down the chords and bam! We go straight to Yunie!"
"And straight into battle." Auron readjusted his katana's position on his shoulder. "Unless anyone else has a better plan, I say we do it."
"That settles it, then. Cid!" I shouted back to him. "Let's go save Yuna!"
There was a lot groan from the airship, followed by a hissing noise as two silver cables shot out from beneath the deck we stood on. I watched in twisted awe as the ends of the cables dug into the ground, scattering the people.
"I can't keep this here for long," Cid warned, his voice sounding strained over the intercom. "Kid... be careful, and good luck."
"Thanks." I threw my shoulders back in a last ditch effort to appear confident. "All right, let's go!" With a flying leap, my feet met the right cable, and down I went.
The first sensation I was aware of was the sense that I was flying. The wind flowed through every strand of my hair, and I couldn't stop the grim from engulfing my entire face. Had the circumstances been different, I would have really enjoyed myself.
Then I became aware of the sparks flying in all directions from the soles of my shoes, and then I noticed the balls of fire aimed directly towards us. The Bevelle sentries had noticed our not-so-subtle entrance, and apparently they weren't too happy with those not on the guest list. Beneath me, the cable started to wobble and shake, moving dangerously close to its counterpart and I was forced to somersault from one cable to another to keep from falling to my death on Bevelle's stone walkways. I could think of many other places I'd rather die than in the heart of Yevon during a Maester's wedding.
I heard more than saw the cable breaking, Bevelle's onslaught finally paying off. The loud popping sound pushed both fear and adrenaline through my veins, and I leapt the last ten feet to the ground, knowing that the cable could no longer hold me. From the thuds that echoed behind me, five in all, I knew the others had landed safely. Whether or not we were safe, however, remained to be determined, and I had to force my head up to look.
All I saw were warrior monks. Lots and lots of warrior monks.
And all of them carried weapons.
The odds just kept getting better and better...
Rising to my feet, I grasped my sword with both hands and shouted behind me, "Is everyone okay?"
"I think we'll manage," Lulu answered dryly, her belts chiming softly as she stood.
"Good, because we've got one hell of a fight ahead of us!"
Suppressing a grimace, I rushed forward to greet our first wave of warrior monks, Auron and Rikku on either side of me. Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri brought up the rear; the last thing we needed was to be completely surrounded. As if the monks themselves weren't bad enough, soon strange machines joined them, making the battles twice as hard.
Each one of us fought to the best of our ability, secretly afraid of what failure might mean. Rikku used frag grenades to destroy the larger machines, while Auron's katana rendered the strongest monks useless. At my back, I could hear Kimahri's and Wakka's battle cries as well as Lulu's sarcastic remarks as she cast her spells. Still, try as we might, for every monk we killed and machine we destroyed, two more quickly filled the gap. It was a never-ending battle, but I couldn't give up, not when Yuna depended on us.
In between waves of battles, something strange caught my eye. The next walkway over, monks were fighting, but I couldn't see why. One monk fired a ball of flame, only to be neutralized by a strong blizzard spell. Someone with the ability of black magic was fighting to the altar, but who?
Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of the fighter, a woman certainly older than myself, but not like the old lady who despised me in Besaid, keeping me away from Yuna. She wore a black coat, unfurled behind her in the wind, the blue dress beneath it simple yet elegant. Her dark hair was swept up into a high ponytail and danced around her face and back. She reminded me of an older version of Lulu; the same deadly grace seemed to radiate from her. A black moogle sat in her arms, solemnly watching his master at work.
Lulu, too, noticed the woman's presence. Leaning over the edge of the walkway, Lulu shouted, "Aunt Kat! Aunt Kat, is that you?"
The woman's head snapped up. "Lulu!" she called back, her voice darker than I had imagined. "Lulu, are you all right? What's going on here?"
"It's a long story--" Lulu went to say more, but Auron's hand on her arm stopped her.
"We don't have time for this..." Auron's voice trailed off as his eyes drifted to the woman's face. For what seemed to be the longest time, the two just stared at each other, as if the rest of the world ceased to exist. His one good eye widened behind his sunglasses, and I made a mental note to ask him about it later. "Katralina?" he asked, his voice filled with awe. "Katra, is it really you?"
"Freeze, you traitorous scum!"
In the span of a few minutes, maybe less, we had become surrounded by warrior monks, all with their weapons trained on us. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Lulu's aunt Katralina was taken by force, three monks holding her and dragging her towards the altar. I refused to lower my sword; I hadn't been defeated yet.
From the group of monks, Maester Kinoc stepped forward, head of the Crusaders and another passive supporter of Operation Mi'ihen. My blood started to boil, and my grip tightened on my sword.
"What an unexpected surprise, traitors here in Bevelle," Kinoc mused as he circled the group. "Plus, the addition of the former summoner Katralina is interesting to say the least. I didn't know you still talked to her, Auron."
"Leave her out of this," Auron growled protectively, making me wonder how the two knew each other. Auron wasn't protective over just anyone.
"Her actions today have made her as much of a traitor as you are." Turning to the guards, Kinoc commanded, "Take their weapons. Maester Seymour wants them alive... for now."
Angrily, the monk closest to me ripped my sword from my grasp. Rikku cried out as they took her claw, and I could only imagine her pain. With much poking and prodding, we were taken to the very center of Bevelle, where we had prime seats for Yuna and Seymour's wedding.
I had to admit, Yuna was absolutely stunning in her wedding dress. The white was the perfect compliment to darken her hair, the boots and gloves seemed so perfect, and the dress hugged the curves of her body. I felt a pang of jealousy, wishing I was the one who stood beside her, instead of that... that... that *cretin* Seymour...
"Dearly beloved," Mika began, "We are gathered here today..."
Yuna shook her head, fear filling her beautiful blue and green eyes. She couldn't do it--she didn't love Seymour!
Then, I noticed her true reason: Yuna gripped her summoner's staff tightly, as if preparing for battle. My eyes widened, and my heart leapt into my throat with hope. In one action, Yuna could end it all, and we could all get out of here.
Seymour simply smiled. "A play at marriage, merely for a chance to send me?" he asked, amused. "Lady Yuna, I thought I knew you better than that. You see, if you send me, then your friends will be killed."
The monk behind me aimed his weapon at the back of my head, and I tried my hardest to remain calm. I had to stay confident for Yuna's sake; if she saw us slip, then she would fall as well.
Her grip on the staff loosened, and the staff clattered to the ground, falling down the stairs to rest at our feet. "Yuna!" I cried, but the feel of the nozzle of a weapon in my hair silenced me, and to my horror the wedding continued on.
Through my anger and rage, I watched as Yuna was forced through her wedding vows, grimacing more and more with every word she said. There were tears in the corners of her beautiful eyes, one blue and one green. All I wanted was to hold, to take her away from all of this, to tell her how I felt...
And then came the kiss.
That horrible, disgusting kiss...
I couldn't look at them; my stomach turned, and I found myself staring at Yuna's hands, clenched into graceful fists of frustration. Beside me, I heard Rikku give a little cry of protest, followed a few seconds later by Wakka's own gasp of defeat.
"What chance do you think we have of getting out of her?" Wakka whispered, just low enough so only us guardians could hear him.
"It's Yuna's decision now," Lulu's aunt Katralina murmured from where she was held between Auron and Wakka. "If she can give us an opening, we'll take it."
As their lips parted, Seymour turned away from Yuna and gestured toward us with a simple flip of his hand. "Kill them," he said nonchalantly, as if ordering the murder of seven people was an everyday occurrence.
My body reacted instantly to his words, straining against the warrior monks who held us in place. My eyes met Yuna's, and I saw fear and grim determination written there. She wouldn't let Seymour go through with it, not if she could find a way to stop him. I had to trust her with my life, otherwise I was as good as dead--literally.
Slowly, Yuna backed away from the wedding altar where Seymour and Mika stood. Both of the Maesters had their eyes fixed upon our impromptu execution and hardly noticed her departure. Bumping Rikku's arm with my elbow, I gestured my head in Yuna's direction, as if to tell the young Al Bhed to pay close attention to her cousin's movements. Rikku nodded once in acknowledgement, and her eyes never left Yuna's face.
"Any last words before we kill you, traitors?" Kinoc asked, a smug look on his face as he moved to stand in front of us.
"Nothing I'd care to waste on the likes of you," Katralina spat, almost sneering, like she was determined to be defiant to the last.
Kinoc smiled. "You know it's nothing personal, really--I'm just following the rules."
Katralina smiled back, and it was one of the most dark, almost demonic expressions I had ever seen. If I were Kinoc, I would have turn and run from her. "Now is not the time to pretend like we're friends, Kinoc," she said, her voice deadly serious. "If you're going to kill us, be done with it already. I'm sure you have *other* pursuits that require your attention."
"Fine. Have it your way." Turning to his warrior monks, Kinoc ordered, "Fire on my mark. One..."
I could feel the muzzle of the weapon pushing away strands of hair on the back of my head...
"Two..."
The weapon made a sickening click...
"STOP!"
Yuna's scream penetrated the dead silence Kinoc's countdown had created. She stood a few steps away from the edge of the platform, the city of Bevelle below. Everyone in attendance turned to look at her, Maesters and monks included. The weapon fell away from my head, and I breathed a small, secret sigh of relief.
"Stop this," Yuna repeated, calmly and confidently. "Kill them... and I'll jump." She took a step backward, as if to make good on her threat.
"That is insane, Yuna." Seymour walked towards her, holding a hand out to her, but she took another step back, defying his efforts. "If you jump, you will die. It won't solve anything."
"It will keep you from having a bride," Yuna answered, without fear, without intimidation, "and you'll no longer have a summoner to bring you to Zanarkand."
Fear pulsed through my veins, even more than when I had faced the prospect of my own death a few minutes before. I could not--would not--let Yuna sacrifice herself so the rest of us could live. There had to be another way...
Looking up, Yuna's eyes met mine, and she smiled. "Believe," she said, her words bypassing Seymour's presence between us, as if her words were meant for me and only me. "Don't worry, I can fly." With that, Yuna gracefully stepped from the edge, leaving only scattered feathers from her wedding dress.
Fighting the urge to scream, I pushed my way past the surprised warrior monks to the edge of the bridge. I watched in horrified amazement as Yuna fell, her arms slowly opening wider and wider. There was no way she would be able to survive the landing...
Suddenly a pink and purple circle of symbols radiated from her body, and I realized exactly what was going on. Yuna was a summoner; when all else failed, she could always call on her aeons. Sure enough, Valefor swooped down from the sky and sailed beneath her, catching her in a bed of wings.
A sparkling explosion of black magic went off behind me, and I heard Lulu cry, "Aunt Kat, are you crazy? Aunt Kat?" I turned to see Katralina in a heap on the ground, having disabled her captors as well as herself in a single hit.
Rikku pulled something out of the pouch at her hip and shouted, "Hang on, guys!" With one more explosion, the area surrounding us began to fill with a thick heavy smoke.
"What was that?" Wakka asked, sounding a bit confused. For a devoted Yevonite, the past few days had been particularly rough on him, with killing Maester Seymour, being branding a traitor, then stopping his wedding and almost being executed.
"An Al Bhed smoke bomb!" Rikku was too busy making sure her claw was properly in place to look up. "Come one, we've got to go get Yunie!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Auron gently lifted Katralina into his arms, cradling her close to his chest. There was a tenderness to him that I hadn't seen in the ten years I'd known him; I'd never imagined Auron to have a softer side. Retrieving my sword, I tried not to look at Auron as I pondered aloud, "Yeah, but the question is, where did Yuna go?"
"Yuna go to one place," Kimahri said, hoisting up his lance.
"The temple," Lulu finished.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" I glanced from guardian to guardian, hoping for some sort of response. When none came, I shrugged and cried, "Come on, Yuna's waiting for us!"
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A/N: I realized some of the dialogue is a little skewed; it's been a while since I played through the wedding scene, so I only had the cut scenes to rely on. Let me know what you guys think!
And, some review responses:
cool-kitsune: My story is one of your favorites? I'm touched, more than you'd ever believe. I'm glad you like it so much!
The Pezman: Hey, I was a lonely 16-year-old too, back in the day. And forgive the typos, please.
Dib Magician and Dreamwriter of Hope: Thanks for reviewing more than once, I really appreciate it.
Megan McGory: I love you, sis. You know that. And I love the fact that you love my story. ^_^