A/N: Alright guys, I know this chapter has been a long time coming, and I know it's been two long stinking months but trust me, I've wanted to post this long ago. But to make it up to you, I made sure that this chapter was extra long in hopes to please you guys. Again, sorry, but this is y first year of college and drawing class was a pain in the ASS!

Chapter Ten: The Flying Boat

"Hey...slow down." Sitaten started to pant. They had been running at a steady pace for thirty minutes since their first break, and she was feeling incredibly drained.
"Keep up," Paine yelled over her shoulder. They were just making it through a sandy area, very near Bevelle when voices started to carry through the thin line of trees.
"Another vision?" Baralai turned to Sitaten to see if she were out of it again. Her eyes were trained on a particular spot, as she started to slow to a stop. Everyone followed suit.
"You see something?" Shuyin asked.
"I feel them close... you?"
"Yeah. They've stopped for the night. How would you ambush them?" Sitaten raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. Shuyin was actually asking her for her thoughts? Quickly recovering, she bit her lip in full concentration, feeling out the emotions feeding into her.
"Before we do anything, we need to understand the situation. Rushing ahead without thinking this through could cost us." Sitaten walked over to a stone and sat.
"First, they have an accomplished summoner and guardian with them. The first having summoned all but two Aeons: The Magus Sisters and Yojimbo. We'd better be happy about that." Secondly," Jaia counted on her fingers, "Her guardian is not as weak as we'd like to expect. Although he's an even match with our Shuyin, he'd still be a lot of trouble to handle. His lack of emotional restraint takes away from his predictability."

"In summation of our forces, we cannot allow more than three to battle- more than that would simply crowd the area. So, we have a priest with knowledge of healing spells and expertise in the staff, two Al Bheds with knowledge of machina, which won't prove to be useful in this battle, and two excellent swordsmen." She took in a deep breath, "And lastly, we have me- completely unpredictable, some knowledge of hand-to hand combat, staff work, black magic, and vague knowledge on summoning. If my memory comes back during battle, I could be an asset, unfortunately, my mind is turbulent and my empathy would fry my nerves."

"While Pain is an excellent swordsman, she would find difficulty facing Tidus. I am more experienced with fighting him." Shuyin nodded.

"Which is why you'd be the first choice to fill in for our sword." Paine averted her eyes.

"Us Al Bheds don't have much experience fighting Aeons, and our physical attacks are weak. I think we should stay out of this one." Rikku nodded and Gippal cross his arms over his chest.

"Baralai, your offense and defense are strong, and you can heal." Baralai nodded at the sound of Sitaten's words.

"But you, Sita, would also be a great asset to our party. You have some knowledge of many styles, and you're quick. And despite your memory loss, you've fought and survived Aeon battles before and could possibly call one up if the need arises." Baralai sighed. "You would be the unpredictable element that would counterbalance Tidus, not to mention the fact that they know nothing about you in battle."

"True...but what if I botch it? We're much more tired than they are, and I don't know what might happen if an aeon senses my presence."

"Why are we talking about battle anyway? What if there isn't any need for it?" Rikku whined.

"Knowing Tidus, he'd misunderstand why we're here to stop him. He doesn't understand the term 'peaceful delegations'." Shuyin shrugged.

"Very well, then, are we ready to go?" Baralai crossed is arms over his chest. Sitaten heaved a sigh and nodded.

"Good."

"What is it Tidus?" Yuna turned to her companion with concern.

"You don't feel that?" Yuna furrowed her brows and glanced about her. Suddenly, a change took over her expression. "The air seems really charged...a lot like how it feels when an Aeon is near."

"Yeah...you're right." Yuna looked around. Gasping, she clutched Tidus' arm in fear.

"What is it?" He asked, searching.

"Over there!"At the crest of a hill appeared three figures, weapons at the ready. Tidus growled.

"Get behind me, Yuna." He stepped in fron of her.

"No," she moved beside him. "I'm fighting, too." As the figures closed in on them, Tidus jumped into a fighting stance upon seeing who was hunting them.

"Shuyin." he said darkly as he withdrew his blade.

"Little brother." Shuyin held his hand on the hilt of his identical sword.

"Wait! We aren't here to hurt you! We're here to help!" a little voice on his right squeaked.

"Who the hell are you!" Tidus narrowed his eyes at her. The girl blushed and cupped her hand with her cheek.

"Sitaten, I came.."

"To get to Bevelle. So, it's like that, huh?" Tidus turned his angry eyes towards his brother.

"What are you talking about?" Shuyin growled impatiently.

"You'd betray us like this?!" Tidus shouted. "No matter, I'll kill you easily."

"Wait, you've got it all wrong," Baralai interjected.

"Even got a priest on your side? We'll you won't live to tell your precious praetor!"

"Oh, dear." Sitaten tightened her grip on her staff.

"As always, he's jumping to conclusions prematurely. Prepare for battle." Shuyin ordered just as Tidus lunged at him and swiped his sword across Shuyin's middle. The two swords clashed with a resounding clang.

"We're not here to hurt you!" Sitaten called to the young summoner. The older girl bit her lip, inwardly debating as to whether or not she should start to fight.

"Yuna, don't listen to them! They've got to be with Bevelle!" In just one moment, Yuna's eyes hardened and she held her staff at the ready.

"I won't let you trick me!"

Oh, God. Two idiots we've got to deal with. Soon, the young summoner began to twirl her staff in a familiar dance, her legs and arms keeping the rhythm. Energy began to collect near her feet as the dance became wilder.

"Let's attack her while she's occupied." Sitaten began to move, but was suddenly stopped by the Praetor-to-be.

"No, if you go anywhere near her while she's summoning, the magic will shock you."

"We can't let her summon, remember!" she struggled within his grasp until he shook her.

"It's too late to stop her."

Suddenly Yuna slammed her staff into the ground and a crest appeared. Out of nowhere- a dragon-like creature swooped down and landed on the ground near her with a violent thud. With a long neck fashioned with multi-colored feathers, and large eyes, gigantic wings, stick legs, the bird was one of the most beautiful beings ever created. It was not until it croaked at them that Sitaten remembered the threat.

"You're always interfering with everything...I'll be glad to get rid of you once and for all." Tidus glared at his brother. Their swords were locked in a unwinnable hold, each struggling for dominance over the other.

"You're always swinging that sword of yours around without a thought. How you've lived so long I'd never guess." Shuyin slid his sword up to the tip of Tidus' and easily turned the offending weapon away from him. Throwing punch to Tidus' mid-section, he watched as he brother keeled over in pain and take a few steps back to regain his balance.

"What's worse, Yuna counts on only you as her guardian." he spat.

"At least Yuna is still alive!" Tidus shot back. White hot anger coursed trough Shuyin's body upon hearing the words- the jab at his inability to protect Lenne. Growling, Shuyin sprinted for him, sword positioned for an undefendable attack.

"Yuna, move!" Sitaten ran to push the girl out of the way. It was a stupid move on her part.

Once Valefor locked his eyes on Sitaten, she knew it was over for the others. Immediately, the creature bucked and roared, knocking into trees and trampling bushes. No matter how hard she tried to explain to the creature that the others were not there to harm either of them, it went to strike at the one who summoned him.

Once Shuyin heard the landing of the infamous Aeon, he snapped out of his trance immediately. Yuna had summoned Valefor! Putting aside his anger, Shuyin yelled across to his brother, "You have to get her away from Sita! If Valefor sees her, it's over!"

"Yeah, right! An Aeon would never buck against it's summoner."

"Trust me on this- this is how Lenne died." as he said the words, he was left with a bitter taste in his mouth. Swallowing hard, he willed away the pain he felt. Dubiously, Tidus looked over to his lover and gasped when he saw the Aeon, who had turned a ghostly white, screech at lover in wild hatred.

"Yuna!" Sitaten heard Tidus shout from afar. As though possessed, she darted to block the path of the rampaging Aeon.

"Don't harm her!" The creature reared back and cried out in anger.

This is Lenne's sister. Oh, god, please don't let me be responsible for her death as well. She silently begged whoever would hear her.

"Please, you will understand later." she pleaded. Valefor calmed a bit and watched her for a moment, as if he was debating his answer. After several minutes of watching he dug his heels into the ground, roared to show his displeasure, and then took off.

"How did she..." Yuna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. A summoner was never able to dismiss an Aeon if another had called to it.

"Sitaten is better tied with the Aeons than most known summoners." Baralai frowned. Again, Sitaten's display of power of magic confused and worried him. How was she able to do such things? Where had she come from? Where had she learned all of this?

"What do you want from us?" Yuna turned to Baralai, eyes wide with fear and wonder.

Everyone started when Tidus jumped in front of Yuna, sword at the ready. When Sitaten looked to her side, she bolted back when she saw that Shuyin was standing ext to her, levelly glaring at his twin brother.

"I won't let you take her in."

"If you weren't so stupid to jump to conclusions, you would have understood that we are not here to capture you, you moron! We're here to help!" Sitaten shouted at him. Confused, Tidus took a step back.

"You see, you'd never get past their security system, and should you so manage- you have several priests and acolytes who know that you don't belong there. Not to mention the fail-safes they have in place to ensure that no one recovers that document. Lenne and myself must have surpassed three tests before we got to the mother of all Aeons..." Sitaten swallowed the bile that had risen in her throat, "Bahamut."

"Well make it."

"Are you so sure? If two of the greatest summoners in all of Bevelle couldn't get past it, what difference do you think that one baton and trinket sword will make?" Shuyin tightened his grip on his sword.

"I'm sorry, but we can't let you go to Bevelle- even to attempt to gain access to those documents. If you fail, then security will be even tighter- for months, and that amount of time means more lives lost." Baralai stood firm.

"Wait- so what are you going to do? This is our only chance to stop the war...I'd give anything for this!" Yuna shouted.

"Yuna," Sitaten lowered her voice, "Your sister died on this mission. She spent months in Bevelle, learning its secrets, getting familiar with its occupants. Your sister could walk by the priests and wave- you would be shot on the spot. Not only do your clothes give you away, but your eyes as well! If you want this- really want this- then you need to understand the situation better.

"Bevelle isn't all peaches and cream- you of all people should known this. Sneaking into the city unnoticed would be difficult, getting into the temple without a priest by your side is impossible. I should know. I lived there."

"Why should we trust you, a Bevellian?" Tidus spat.

"Zanarkand has may contacts within the city- some as young as four. I am one of those contacts, and I have been ever since birth. Neither I nor Lenne could get past Bahamut, and I have faced him before and survived. If you want to succeed, your chance will increase with me by your side. Even more so with the rest of us who understand Yu Yevon."

"How do we know that we can trust you?, we don't even know you. Not to mention the fact that you're with my brother and a priest."

"Listen, I know that you don't know me," Sitaten pulled out her silver chain and fingered the pendant for courage. "But I can hel"

"Hey" Yuna moved pushed past Tidus, eyes locked onto Sitaten's hand. "That was..." she stuttered. Sitaten's eyes glazed over and she continued to rub her chain.

"Lenne's. She gave it to me when she died," she turned to Yuna, her eyes hardening, "...by the hands of Bahamut." Yuna gasped and took several steps back, nearly knocking into Tidus.

"How"

"All will be explained, but first you need to call your lover-boy off, I don't speak well in threatening situations."

That night, the group congregated around a fire, everyone's eyes on Sitaten as she explained everything to the new additions. It only took a few minuted for them to get the general idea, but Sitaten did not know when they fully comprehended the extent of her power to sense emotion or her ability to use Shiva's overdrive.

"Wait, so..how..." Yuna furrowed her eyebrows. It was understandable, her confusion. A summoner so connected with an Aeon that she could use an overdrive. What's more, said Aeon had been missing for over seventeen years.

"We don't know any more than I told you. My memory loss coupled with Bevelle's antics makes everything so cloudy for me. It was our decision to meet up with every Aeon known to gather information about the missing Aeon. And once we find her, we can use her help in fighting Bahamut and getting those documents exposed."

Tidus took in a deep breath and raked his hands through his hair. The most were re-processing the information and Shuyin was sitting off to the side, absently sharpening his sword. Sitaten watched him carefully, something tugging at her heart. He was so close to her yesterday, why was he so adamant about avoiding her now?

"So, how do we go about doing that? It would take us maybe a year or two to visit all those temples- not to mention that Bevelle has control over three of them." Yuna muttered.

"That's where Baralai comes in. So long as a priest escorts a summoner into a temple, they are permitted to pray. We can save those three temple for last, so that the news of our appearance would reach the Main City after we have.

"But it would still take us a long time to reach our goal, should we ever."

"Um... maybe I can help there." Rikku, who had been uncharacteristically silent throughout the entire ordeal, piped up, a smug smile of satisfaction gracing her lips.

"Hey, Yuna, remember that underwater mission I went on years back- the one that I couldn't tell you about?"

"Y-yeah..." she hesitated.

"Well, we discovered a buried boat- a boat that flies. My father has been working on the renovation project for a long time. Maybe we can get them to test it out prematurely."

"You think he'd do that for us?" Yuna asked.

"Ku, no sweat. Without me, he wouldn't have it in the first place."

"Aw, come on Pops! I helped you get it! Besides, Yunie needs it, too!" Rikku yelled into the commsphere. The man on the other line replied in Al Bhed.

"Aw, come on...I don't want to..." a fuzzy reply came, "Okay, okay! But only because we really need this! Alright." Rikku pressed a button on her wristband and the communication ended.

"What did he want?" Yuna asked her cousin. Rikku grinned and blushed.

"Heh, heh....he wants us to do a special performance for him."

"Who?" Paine crossed her arms over her chest.

"Us three."

"No!

"Absolutely not."

"Aw- come on guys! What's the price matter...we're saving the world!" Rikku blew air out of her cheeks and straightened her hair.

"Why would you even drag me into this?" Paine grumbled.

"Well...at least we don't have to do it now, we can do it when we finish the job! Come on, guys! Besides..." Rikku trailed off as the ground began to shake. "It's too late, he's already here!

Suddenly, gracing the tops of the trees, a gigantic yellow and blue machina appeared.

"Pops!" Rikku jumped up and down, waving frantically as the hatch opened a bald man with wrinkly skin ran out with the vigor of a seventeen-year-old.

"Well if it ain't my little girl?" Rikku turned around and glared at Gippal after she caught him snickering.

"Hey" Rikku protested as he mussed up her hair.

"So...where's this group of yours that needs a lift?" he asked in that harsh voice of his. Immediately, Shuyin and the rest took a step forward.

"Bunch o' ya ain't it?" he looked around at all of the different faces.

"Alright...get on before I change ma mind." he turned heel and walked into his ship. Rikku shrugged and followed him, the rest following suit.

Once inside, the temperature dropped at least twenty degrees. Examining her surroundings, Sitaten found that she was encased by a hard shiny blue metal that swept the ground, walls and ceiling of the flying machina. Taking a careful step forward, Sitaten needed a gentle push from Paine.

"Come on, it's not going to bite you."

Before long, they were led into the main room that was the cockpit. Of course, here all of the controls for the major systems resided. Toward the front, where there was a large glass window that stretched over the front tip of the ship, there were three seats, one for the captain , and two for the pilots. Off to the side, Sitaten noticed a little guy in a khaki suit and gas mask.

"I guess you can use it." Sitaten nearly jumped back. The voice she heard could not have belonged to anyone older than thirteen.

"Oh...that's Shinra." Paine followed her gaze. "A natural whiz-kid." Sitaten stepped over to see the boy, grinning from ear to ear. She was great with kids- and they always loved her, too.

"Heya" Sitaten cheerfully leaned over the console that the kid was currently absorbed with.

"Hi, Rikku." he said without glancing up. Sitaten blinked- well, her greeting was reminscent of Rikku's.

"I'm not Rikku." she said. Interested, the adolescent glance up. By the way he jumped, she was sure that she must have surprised him.

"Oh...who are you?" Although his question came off a bit rude, Sitaten was willing to let it slide.

"People call me Sita."

"Sita..." the kid muttered under his breath and began to type in some keys, seemingly forgetting her.

"Oh, Sita, an abbreviation or alteration of Sitaten, exactly translated as 'daughter of' 'aten'. Name is derived from the southeastern islands, beyond the border of the main continent. Hmm...doesn't say much about the inhabitants of these lands."

What the hell? Sitaten blinked. Whiz-kid indeed. She would bet all her money that he came up with the program himself. Gee- he knew things about her that even she didn't know. "I guess you know a lot about me already, and all I've said was three words to you."

"Four..." he corrected. Oh, so he was one of those? Sitaten smirked.

"'Heya' is not a proper word." The kid seemed taken aback, but with his next words, she was sure she could hear a smile in his voice.

"I'm Shinra." he introduced, "I've never seen you around before." he noted.

"That's because I'm not originally from Zanarkand." Sitaten shrugged, leaving her origins unknown.

"Can you tell me more about your home, I'd like to add some more information to my dossiers."

"Oh, so you're already making a profile of me?" Sitaten teased. Suddenly, she felt waves of embarrassment emanate from his tiny body.

"I make a profile of everyone I meet."

"It's okay, dear. But not now, maybe after we finish our mission?" she smiled sweetly.

"O-okay." That was the end of their little conversation as someone cleared their throat expectantly. Turning around, she found that the old man from before was eyeing her carefully.

"I think I know you from somewhere." he narrowed his eyes.

"I'm Sitaten," she shook his hand, "a very close friend of...." Sitaten stopped herself short. She was about to mention Lenne. "Rikku's."

"Welcome aboard the Celsius. I'm the captain of this here ship, and it took us a while to get her fat arse in motion. So," he started on another note, "where are we off to first? From what I hear, you're the one who cooked up some hair-brained idea and now you want to travel all over Spira."

"We should start with the weaker Aeons first," Yuna suggested. "Besides, I think you promised Valefor an explanation when you dismissed him."

Furrowing her eyebrows and biting her lip, Sitaten looked to Shuyin for help. But for some reason, he refused to return her gaze. What was the matter with him? No matter, she'd find out on the next mission, maybe a little after their success. She turned back to 'Pops' and stood proudly, chin in the air.

"All right, I suppose Besaid is an excellent place to start."

Okay, come on, you guys, please review. I really need to kn how I'm doing on my story and if my writings improving. If you have any questions to ask, feel free to ask them and I promise I'll reply. I just need to know how my work is going.