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"How could this have happened? It's all my fault!" Tidus cried. He said down on a nearby box and put his head in his hands.
"No, it's mine. I was the one that told her to sleep all alone," Lulu said.
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is! We just have to find her!" Rikku said.
"I can't believe this is happening.." Wakka mumbled.
"If we want to have any hope in saving her, we'll have to find that missing page," Lulu said.
"How about that box he's sitting on?" Rikku suggested. Tidus stopped moping long enough to open the box beneath him and pull out it's contents.
"Whoa... what is this stuff?" There were several pages, all written in Yuna's tidy handwriting. He read from one aloud.
I heard a song today, reminded me of us.
I'm so tired of being here
suppressed by all of my childish fears
and if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
because your presence still lingers here
and it won't leave me alone
these wounds won't seem to heal
this pain is just too real
there's just too much that time cannot erase
when you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
and I've held your hand through all of these years
but you still have all of me
you used to captivate me
by your resonating light
but now I'm bound by the life you left behind
your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams
your voice it chased away all the sanity in me
these wounds won't seem to heal
this pain is just too real
there's just too much that time cannot erase
when you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
when you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
and I've held your hand through all of these years
but you still have all of me
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
and though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
"Here's another one."
o fortuna
Velut luna
Turn around and smell what you don't see
Close your eyes ... it is so clear
Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen
On both ways you can get in
Don't think twice before you listen to your heart
Follow the trace for a new start
What you need and everything you'll feel
Is just a question of the deal
In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove
The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love
o fortuna
Velut luna
The path of excess leads to
The tower of wisdom
The path of excess leads to
The tower of wisdom
Try to think about it ...
That's the chance to live your life and discover
What it is, what's the gravity of love
o fortuna
Velut luna
Look around just people, can you hear their voice
Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice
But if you're in the eye of storm
Just think of the lonely dove
The experience of survival is the key
To the gravity of love.
o fortuna
Velut luna
"There's a bunch of poems here too. Here's one:"
I look at the ocean and think of you,
of all the ways you changed my life.
All the things I always accepted,
you showed me they didn't have to be.
I was to die, one way or another,
whether it be along the way or at the end.
But you saved me, you saved Spira,
but I wonder if it was worth it.
Your life for mine,
you died, while I breathe on.
Was it worth it?
I never really got to tell you how I felt,
how much you meant to me.
Only one night I got to hold and kiss you,
but I want more, to do so oh so much more.
But you're gone, and even though Sin is gone,
and Spira is free forever, I wonder
Was it worth it?
He tried not to smile or blush at the slight sexual innuendo. "She really... missed me, didn't she?" Tidus said. Lulu just nodded. "We have to find her!" he declared, pumping his fist into the air.
"Is there anything else in the box?" Wakka asked.
He dug down into the bottom. "Nothing..."
"Hey, let me see that," Rikku said. Tidus handed it over, wondering what she could possibly want with it. "Umm... Yeah, here it is!"
"But there was nothing else in there," he objected. She set the box on the floor and demonstrated the hidden compartment in the bottom. "How did you know that was there?" he asked, completely amazed.
"All girls hide stuff like that," she said, not thinking anything of it.
"She hides things from her best friends and guardians? Wakka asked, disappointed. Rikku just shrugged.
"Girls weird," Kimahri said.
Lulu took the page from Rikku. Continuing from what she remembered of the first page, she read, "They will go after the person the spell was cast on if 'it's a powerful black magic spell that only extremely strong creatures could survive. Contrarily, if it's a spell that takes more power from the spell caster, then it will go after them instead. These fiends can sense great uses of power all over Spira from their dank caves, and emerge to capture the entity and drain it.' It has some more, mostly what we already know. It can make itself slightly out of phase of this dimension, so physical attacks don't affect it. It reflects magical attacks, like we saw. Also has an affinity for the dark."
"Drain it...?" Rikku asked, voicing all their thoughts for them. The page's words sent a chill through them all. What would happen to Yuna if they couldn't find her in time?
"Where could she be?" Wakka wondered, feeling even more desperate than when they had first discovered her disappearance.
"It says they live in a dank cave. Probably dark," Lulu said.
"The Sunken Cave outside the Calm Lands?" Tidus suggested.
"With all those pyreflies it sure isn't very dark," Rikku commented.
"Omega Ruins," Lulu stated, as if it was the undeniable truth.
"Is that your humble opinion?" Wakka asked.
"It's the only place that fits. And strong fiends do like it there," she said, ignoring his obvious sarcasm.
"Let's go!" Tidus exclaimed and ran for the door.
Kimahri slammed the door shut with one hand. "Fiend strong. We fight, we die," he said.
"You don't have to say it like that," Rikku complained. "You shouldn't be such a pessimist."
"He's right. Our normal tactics are no good, we'll have to think of another way," Lulu said.
"But we don't have time to think. Yunie could die!"
"Lulu, you said it can control whether it is immune to physical attacks or not? Maybe by default it isn't, and it just shifts when it gets attacked?" Tidus asked.
"Maybe... why?"
"If we could sneak up on it, take it by surprise, maybe we could hurt it!"
"That'd just be one hit. I think it's going to take a little more than that to kill it, ya?" Wakka said.
"We don't need to kill it, just distract it long enough to rescue Yuna. We can kill it later," Tidus said.
"We'll be no use to her dead, and it isn't just going to go running. We need some sort of defense," Lulu said.
"Why don't you look through the spell book on the way there? Maybe you can find something small that can put a dent in it," Tidus suggested.
"Isn't that what got us in trouble in the first place?" Wakka groaned.
"We don't have much of a choice, really. We can't just leave her there," Lulu said.
"Yeah, she's right. Now let's go!" Rikku said and bolted out the door before anybody could stop her with Tidus on his heels. The rest knew there was no point in debating further and followed them.
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Rikku shuddered. "This place is dark and dank, all right!"
"Gives you the creeps, ya?" Wakka agreed.
"Afraid?" Lulu teased.
"Of course not. I was just comforting Rikku," he explained in a hurry.
"I'm sure you were," Lulu said.
"Let's just rescue Yuna and get out of here," Tidus said.
"But where is she?" Rikku wondered aloud. Nobody had the answer, so they just walked, hoping for some sort of clue. Lulu was flipping through the old spell book, but time had faded its text and yellowed the pages, and with the dim light, she had a hard time discerning anything at all.
Rikku stopped walking and looked up. Wakka had to take hold of Lulu's shoulder to keep her from walking off. "Hmm," Rikku said. "That's not a real wall."
"Huh?" Tidus asked. "Where?" She pointed at the rocky wall above the entrance to a long hallway.
"What gives you that idea?" Lulu asked, finally looking up from the book at following Rikku's gaze. "Looks real to me." She Rikku picked up a nearby rock and threw it, and it went right through the "wall."
"Whoa!" Tidus said.
"How'd you know that?" Lulu asked.
She just shrugged. "We found a machina that did something similar awhile back."
"How do we get up there, though? It's pretty high, eh?" Wakka wondered.
"Kimahri lift," Kimahri offered.
"Yeah! That sounds like a great idea!" Rikku said.
Kimahri lifted up Lulu first, and while he had her on his shoulders Tidus accidentally (or maybe not-so-accidentally) peeked up her skirt. Rikku elbowed him in the chest.
"Hey!" Tidus complained.
"We're supposed to be saving your girlfriend remember?" Rikku teased.
"I wasn't doing anything." Tidus assured her. Rikku gave him a disbelieving look. "I wasn't!"
Lulu pulled herself up. "Me next, me next!" Rikku cried. Kimahri lifted her slight frame with ease. "Eek! Don't drop me! Ah!"
"I don't think Kimahri would do that, Rikku," Tidus said and laughed in spite of the situation.
"It isn't funny!" she yelled at him while clutching onto Kimahri.
"Rikku... hold... too tight... Kimahri... can't breathe..." Kimahri said. Somehow he managed to get her up, then lifted Tidus and Wakka. He tried to jump up himself but couldn't make it.
"We can't leave you behind!" Rikku said to him.
"Yuna need rescuing. Go!" Kimahri instructed.
"But the fiends! They're so powerful!" Rikku insisted. Kimahri simply stood there, facing away, ignoring her completely. "No use in arguing with a Ronso, I guess," she muttered.
"Everyone, stay quiet. We don't want them to hear us coming," Lulu whispered. Tidus nodded in obedience and Rikku made a zipping gesture over her mouth. The tunnel they were in was dark, even compared to the rest of Omega Ruins. It was also cramped, so they had to line up, with a solitaire person in front. Wakka took the role, after several protests from Lulu and Tidus. With nothing but the occasional torch on the wall lighting their way, they pressed forward. Suddenly Wakka stopped, causing everybody behind him to nearly trip.
"What is it?" Lulu asked.
"It's one of those fiends!" he replied in whisper. "Look like it's sleeping or something. You said we could sneak up on it, right?"
"Yes, but--" Lulu started, but never got the chance to finish, as Wakka was already throwing his blitzball at it. "It'd be better if we snuck around it," she muttered. The fiend cried in pain and turned to face them.
"What'd you say, Lu?" Wakka asked.
Before Lulu got the chance to reply, Rikku said, "She said you shouldn't have woken it up!"
"Heh, heh. Whoops," Wakka said.
"We don't have time for this! Let's just run," Tidus suggested.
"Sounds like an idea to me!" Rikku agreed and ran for it. The beast promptly jumped in her way and slashed at her, although she managed to evade it. "Okay, that didn't work. New plan!"
"Lulu, did you find anything in that book?" Tidus asked. She shook her head. Even though she had found some that might have worked, she wasn't powerful enough to perform them. "Then we'll have to do it a different way. You three distract it."
"What are you going to do?" Rikku asked.
"Just do it, I'll take care of the rest." he said, and slunk off into the shadows.
"He's gone crazy, ya?" Wakka said.
"What, don't think he can handle it?" Lulu said. "Or afraid you'll be outdone?"
"Hah! As if he could outdo me. I'll take down this fiend before he gets the chance!" Wakka assured her. Lulu gestured for him to do as much and they both got into a battle stance.
Rikku climbed onto a small boulder and waved her arms in the air, "Hey you, over here!"
"She's gone crazy, too," Wakka moaned. Lulu surrounded the fiend with Fire spells.
Rikku was still yelling at the fiend. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, you ugly little thing! Oh, you think you're sooo tough, do you? We could kick your butt any day, you know!"
"And your mother's, too!" Wakka chimed in without thinking. "Did I really say that?" he asked himself.
Lulu laughed at their childishness. "You can say "ass," Rikku. We're all adults here." She looked over at Wakka. "Well, almost all of us." For some reason they were all confident of their victory, in spite of their past lack of success. They always were in battles, she remembered. The fiend took a step forward and she zapped the ground in front of it with a swift swing of her arm, and it began to think twice about advancing. She smiled smugly to herself. "Easy. This fiend might be tough but it's hardly smart," she said, referring to it not realizing its ability to reflect magic.
Rikku was still going on with her ridiculing, obviously having not done it since she was 8. "I bet you can't tell a square from a circle, and... and... you smell funny!"
"Yeah, don't you ever shower?" He pinched his nose and waved his other arm in front of his face dramatically. All of the sudden he felt rather silly. Yelling lame insults about "kicking it and it's mother's butt" wasn't really going to affect it, was it? But sure enough, the fiend was staring down Rikku, like a high school bully ready to pummel a freshman.
Rikku saw it eyeing her, too. "Uh oh... help!" Rikku clambered down the rock and was picking through her items, looking for something to throw.
"Take that!" Tidus yelled from the other side of the cavern as he hit the demon repeatedly, catching it completely off guard. It wailed in pain and slashed him across the midsection. He groaned and fell to the ground.
"Rikku, a Phoenix Down!" Lulu called to her.
She pulled one out of her pocket but it slipped through her fingers and smashed into the ground. "Oh no! That was the last one!"
"The last one? We're doomed..." Wakka said. The fiend inched towards them, slowly pushing them back. Wakka bounced the ball near it but it took no notice. Lulu tried a Blizzard spell to repel it, but to no avail. They were forced to retreat until Rikku's fingertips felt the cold wall behind her. As cold as her seemingly inevitable fate. Somehow the battle had turned from a good time to a hopeless cause in the blink of an eye.
"We're cornered. What are we going to do?" she sobbed. With a wave of what appeared to be some form of an arm, the fiend cast a spell none of them recognized. A shadow darker than night fell upon the three of them, and they heard screams of people being tortured. Which ones were from the spell and which ones were their own they couldn't tell. As it dissipated, Rikku fell to her knees, barely able to endure such pain. Wakka leaned against the wall, eyes closed, struggling to stay conscious. Lulu managed to stay standing, although she was slouching a bit and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. She blinked them away and cast Thundara at the monster's feet. It ignored the spell, obviously realizing it was impervious to her magic. It hit her, but it did little more than knock her into Wakka, who caught her and didn't let her fall to the ground.
"Tidus!" a voice called from the other side of the room.
"Yuna?" Lulu said. "Run, this place isn't safe. You'll be killed!" Paying no mind to Lulu, Yuna cast Full-Life on Tidus and surveyed the room. Her eyes fell onto her friends and noticed their poor condition, so she cast Curaga onto all three.
"Hey, thanks," Tidus told her while trying to stand on his still wobbly feet.
The fiend noticed her presence and made its way to her position. Thoughts raced through Yuna's mind as the shadow approached fast. With no time to cast Reflect and use magic against it that way, she once again checked her surroundings for anything useful. She spotted a shiny area on the wall, gleaming like well-polished silver, even in the low light. *That should do,* she thought. She cast Holy towards the spot on the wall, and it bounced off and pounded the fiend with several balls of holy light. Lulu followed suit and cast Flare. The spells were enough to send the fiend off howling in pain, a sound which hurt all of their ears and chilled them down to their very soul.
"Let's get out of here," Tidus said. He looked over to Yuna just in time to see her collapse.
"Yunie!" Rikku cried. Tidus picked her up off the ground and wasted no time getting back to the entrance. Wakka jumped and grabbed a torch off the wall and led the way. Rikku rushed after them and Lulu took the back, ready to fend off anything that tried to follow.
Kimahri saw them approaching, "Yuna?"
"She's here, but she's unconscious," Lulu informed him. Kimahri helped everybody down until there was only Tidus and Yuna remaining.
Tidus leaned over the edge, still holding Yuna. "Can you catch her?" Kimahri nodded in affirmation and Tidus gently dropped her into his strong arms, cringing even though he knew Kimahri wouldn't let her be hurt. He took a deep breath and jumped down, thankfully not harmed by the drop. They all hurried for the exit, eager to get back to Besaid and heal Yuna.
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Kimahri laid Yuna on the couch and Tidus rushed to her side and took her hand in his. All of this was because of him, he knew. If she had never met him she would be perfectly healthy and happy. But why was he beating himself up over this? It wasn't his fault. All he wanted -- all they both wanted -- was to be together. Why did it have to be so hard? He would kill this thing standing in their way, and everything and body else who tried.
Lulu's mind was wandering in the most unusual way... she should be focused on Yuna, she kept telling herself, but it was no use. She kept remembering how Wakka caught her in Omega Ruins, and held her to keep her from falling, even though he could barely hold himself up. It was so gentle and caring... Why couldn't she get it out of her mind? It was Wakka for crying out loud! He was pathetic and soft and immature, and... and... always whining about this or that... but those arms of his were so muscular.. Agh! Lulu shook her head to try to rid herself of such disturbing thoughts.
Whether it would have been a relief or a disappointment to Lulu, Wakka had Yuna on his mind instead. Not in a romantic way, he just couldn't stop thinking about how powerful she had become. When they had started out, she knew a couple curing spells, which she couldn't even do all that well. She was innocent, shy, unknowing of most things. The Yuna that had strode out and rescued them, who was on top of everything as if it was nothing, while they were cowering against a wall -- that was a different Yuna. Wakka was proud, yet... worried. He liked the harmless Yuna, and now she couldn't seem to handle her own strength.
Rikku fidgeted uncomfortably, it was far too silent for her tastes. When she couldn't stand it any longer, she got up and said, "I'll go get a potion. Maybe that'll wake her up." She ran off to the kitchen to find one, which was soon followed by a crash and the sound "Whoops!"
Lulu shook her head in exasperation... the way she had always shook it at Wakka in the past, she remembered. Wanting to get away from everybody before they realized what she was thinking about, she said, "I better go check on her, make sure she doesn't blow the house up or something."
Wakka just nodded his head in acknowledgment as she scampered off. Tidus cupped Yuna's cheek with his free hand. He stroked her warm and soft skin lightly with his thumb. Her breathing was returning to normal, compared to how shallow and slow it had been before, but yet he was still worried. A solitary tear slid silently down his cheek. "Please come back to me," he whispered.
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Wow, how sad. I can't believe I did that. On the up side, it sure is fun watching Lulu freak out over her crush... hehe! If you guys aren't big Wakka/Lulu fans then just say so and I'll drop it. Anyway... fanfiction.net appears to be down at the moment, so I can't look up your reviews to reply to them, and knowing me I'll forget to edit this before I upload it. Just in case I do, let me say this: Thanks to everybody who has read this, especially the reviewers. Your words are a great encouragement to me, I'm really not sure I would have made it this far without you. And a special thanks to those of you who have contacted me through email and AIM... it really means a lot to me that you would go through so much trouble! Any of you who would like to be notified by email when a new chapter is up, just email me... address is in my profile. Well, thanks for reading, hope to see you review soon!
Oh yeah, the first song is My Immortal by Evanescence and the second is Gravity of Love by Enigma. Both are great songs, listen to them if you can!
Anyway, fanfiction.net is finally back up so here are the review replies that I promised:
Sauratos: Hehe, I know she can't summon aeons, that's why she hasn't. Glad you like it!
Shadowsnake7: After reading this, did you change your mind? Lol.. I was a bit mean to her in this one... Shame on me! I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Kurai Yume: Thanks a lot!!! I will finish this story, don't worry! Maybe I'll slip in a bit (or a lot) of romance for you next chapter.;)
Ars Arcanum: Your review is thanks enough. Wow, I do feel honored.. all that trouble just for me! Have I scared you enough here as well?
Devie Saves: That's the idea! I won't give up, thanks for your support!
AnImEfReAk34: I'm... uh... glad you think so?
Sauratos: Yes master, as you wish.