Author's Note: Okay, before I say this, I must say that I like living. Anyway, I actually finished this on Sunday night/Monday morning, but I chose not to publish it until after I got back from vacation. So, yeah... Okay, I'd also like to take this oppurtunity to say that, even though I practically watched the opening Zanarkand scene play-by-play, I didn't get all of the details of the game exact. So sue me. Wait. Don't. Also, uh, in the opening scene, when Tidus is walking down the overpass to the stadium, does anyone else notice that the commentator (Zanar, I believe his name is) sounds like Auron? Hmmm...
Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize. Auron, Tidus, Zanarkand, the little fayth--they all belong to Square. I do own, however, Camilla and all that goes with her (the katana, especially. There's more background behind that thing if anyone wants to know, even though it doesn't have much to do with FF [clears throat]).
Sleepless Dreams
by Judanim
Chapter Two: "The Blitzball Match"
Night fell on the wondrous city of Zanarkand. Everything was lit up, not a speck of darkness could be found within the metropolis. Nearly everyone in the city was heading towards the dome, to the stadium to watch the Abes from A-East and the Duggles from C-South compete for the cup. Camilla was one of those heading towards the stadium. As she walked down the overpass, she couldn't help but think about her conversation with Auron earlier that day. Why didn't he answer her question? It wasn't all that complicated, but he didn't reply at all.
She remembered looking at him as he was gazing at the ocean. The look in his eye had told her that he had an answer, that he had an explanation. He just chose not to share it. Something was holding him back…but what?
"Hey, move!" someone behind her yelled, pushing her rudely out of the way.
Camilla rubbed her left temple before getting out of the road. She'd almost forgotten how serious the people of Zanarkand were about their blitzball. Sure, she loved the sport too, but she'd never get mad at someone for walking a little slower than everyone else walks. She sat down on the edge of the overpass and sighed. Auron had been so cryptic that morning, more than usual. He was a total enigma, but yet she refused to give up trying to solve him. For ten years she hadn't even thought of giving up, when even Tidus (who Auron watched over from afar) felt that it was impossible. Now, though, she was beginning to have her doubts. She wouldn't be so confused if she'd just kept to herself and stayed away from him. But, it was hard sometimes. Auron seemed like the only person in Zanarkand that she could really talk to, yet he was the one who frustrated her the most. Still, something drove her to try to figure him out.
"Camilla!" a light, female voice called. "What are you doing here? The game's in a few minutes! We're gonna be late!"
The twenty-eight year old looked up to see Jilah running towards her. Suddenly her heart didn't seem to be into watching blitzball, but she had to go. She couldn't let Tidus down. "Just taking a quick break. These crowds are brutal."
Jilah grinned. "The crowds are always brutal during blitzball season, you dork. Now come on! We gotta go see the Abes kick butt!"
The stadium was jam-packed with the people of Zanarkand. There was hardly any seats open, but there were just enough to seat anyone who hadn't quite made it to the stadium yet. The place could house the entire city if the occasion called for it, and blitzball was definitely one of those occasions.
Camilla sat her in seat, somehow remaining sane with the chaos going on around her. She saw Tidus step up from the ring that surrounded the sphere pool. He waved at her, giving his trademark confident grin. She waved back and smiled half-heartedly, her mind still focused on the conversation. A look of concern flashed across Tidus' face, or at least she thought it did. It was hard to tell from the distance.
Tidus turned away as a ball of energy in the center of the stadium exploded, revealing the sphere pool. He and the rest of the Abes jumped in, followed closely by the Duggles. The former were clad in yellow and black uniforms, whilst the latter donned crimson ones. Both were championship caliber teams, so this was going to be one exciting match. One had to wonder if ten minutes was going to be long enough, both for the teams and the fans. Then again, there was always overtime.
The crowd went nuts as both teams launched into an all-out offensive. The Abes' midfielder got it first and tried passing it to Tidus. The Duggles' midfielder, who had an insane blocking ability according to Jilah, managed to block the pass and headed for the goal. Many of his teammates followed, but the Abes definitely weren't having it. The defenses kicked into gear, the left one managing to tackle the ball away from the midfielder.
Tidus wriggled out of a tough spot where he was surrounded by two of the Duggles. He gave a sign to make it known that he was open, and the ball came flying his way. The opposing left forward tackled him, but he managed to get away with the ball still in his hands. Endurance was something he'd quickly built up in the year he'd been playing.
Camilla watched the game with a smile, most of her problems disappearing into the game. The conversation with Auron stayed in her mind, but she ignored it for a little while. Auron could wait until the Abes took the cup.
Jilah was screaming her head off, rooting for the Abes. The fact that she had money placed on the team didn't help matters, but she wasn't acting any differently from anyone else in the crowd.
Two more players decided it would be fun if they ganged up on Tidus and tried to take the ball, but the Abes' best shooter and left forward was quicker than that. Somehow one of the Duggles managed to get the ball, but he wasn't worried. He tackled the player hard enough to send them flying out of the sphere pool, landing in the crowd. The ball went loose, and the remaining player got it, but Tidus made short work of him as well, and headed towards the goal.
The other players from both teams headed towards the goal as well: the Duggles to stop Tidus, and the Abes to stop them. The Duggles' defenses were kicking into high gear, but many knew that that wasn't enough to stop one of the best shooters in blitzball history.
A crimson-clad defense stood in Tidus' way of the goal. He broke through them with ease, and went in for his shot. He kicked the ball up in preparation for his Sphere Shot, and quickly followed it. He flipped in midair, and was seconds away from shooting the goal, when he opened his eyes and saw something strange. A huge floating ball of water was laying waste to Zanarkand, shooting out blasts of energy at the stadium. "Huh?" Tidus wondered. Then, he started to fall, somehow flipping over again.
Camilla looked up, the euphoria of the game leaving her. Tidus was falling straight downwards, to where she didn't know. The stadium was in sudden chaos. People were fleeing as the structure began to fall apart. She looked around for Jilah, and then saw a piece of the metal ceiling lying where a whole section used to be. She ran to the spot when saw a bit of a blonde head poking out from underneath.
"Jilah?" she called out tentatively among the madness.
There was no answer. Camilla lifted as best she could a small section of the broken ceiling, and gasped as she saw the bloodied body of her friend. Tears came to her eyes, and she wanted to stay there forever and ask why, but time didn't allow her. She had to find Tidus, and where she found him, she'd probably find Auron. Or the other way around, it didn't matter.
Camilla left the stadium, running around fallen pieces of building as she went. The chaos was worse outside. Suddenly, time froze, and a little boy wearing a purple hooded robe stepped forward. "Now is the time," he said.
"Time for what?" she replied, half out of curiosity, and half wanting to ditch the kid and find Auron and Tidus, the only people in Zanarkand besides Jilah who she truly cared about.
"Destiny," the boy responded simply, and a sword appeared in his hand. It was a katana, with a beautiful gold hilt. Engraved into the blade was a symbol Camilla had never seen before, but she still recognized it somehow. "Use it with care and wisdom, Green Mage." Then, he disappeared, and time resumed.
Camilla stood in front of the ruined dome, dumbfounded. She stared at the katana in her hand, not sure what to do with it. Then, her mind began working again: Auron and Tidus.
Minutes earlier, outside the dome in the same place where Camilla was currently standing, Tidus ran outside, more scared and confused than words could express. He'd just seen half his city get blown to pieces. What else was he supposed to feel?
He spotted Auron standing some feet away. He stopped short, even more confused. "Auron!" The man in red didn't turn. He ran closer. "What are you doing here?"
Auron looked up. "I was waiting for you." He started away from the dome, hoping like hell that the blond blitzball player was smart enough to follow him.
Tidus stared at his guardian as he retreated. "What are you talking about?" He quickly followed him out onto the overpass. Keeping up with Auron was a task easier said than done. Usually the younger one was faster, but something gave speed to the older man's steps as they ran down the overpass.
Then, things seemed to slow down even more. Tidus stopped, looking around. Everything froze--everything but him. He turned around and saw a little boy in a purple robe standing there, staring up at him.
"It begins," the little boy said.
Tidus glanced around again, then stared harder at the boy. "What?"
"Don't cry," he said with pure calm in his voice.
As Tidus took a couple steps closer to the kid, he disappeared and things began moving again. He spun around, looking for the little boy. "What the…?" He turned until he saw Auron standing further down the overpass. "Hey, wait!"
Camilla ran hurriedly up the overpass, a little unbalanced due to the katana in her hand. It wasn't an especially big blade, but it was enough to knock her off-center, and probably take out anyone who tried to mess with her. She got onto the overpass, quickly realizing that she was running in the wrong direction. She didn't care; she had to find Tidus and Auron. What if they were dead already?
To her relief, she saw them up ahead, staring at something in the sky. She followed their gazes to see a huge floating ball of water. Inside, there seemed to be a strange creature of some sort, but she couldn't identify it. She was close enough to hear Auron speak.
"We called it 'Sin,'" he said.
Tidus looked at Auron, blinking a few times. "'Sin?'"
Then, a loud shattering of glass turned all three away from the gigantic creature floating in the middle of the city. A bizarre, well, thing had just popped out of the side of a building, and it released strange smaller creatures from its tentacles onto the overpass. They ganged up on Tidus, who tried to push them away in futility and ended up falling down.
Camilla glanced at the katana in her hand, realizing she could help. Given she didn't know how to use the thing, but she hoped that her mind had some kind of natural instinct for it. She ran up to Auron and Tidus. Before she could speak, Auron's words stopped her.
He offered a long sword to the youngest of the three. "Take it."
Tidus hesitantly grabbed it. Auron used it as leverage to pull him up. With some difficulty, he managed to get a good feel for the weight of the sword within a few seconds.
Auron took a small step forward. "A gift from Jecht."
The blond looked back in surprise. "My old man?" He used the sword to make some of the strange creatures back off, but it wouldn't hold them for long.
Camilla blinked, considering what Auron had said earlier that day, and what he had said just now. He really had known Jecht. She walked up to his side, holding her katana firmly in her hand. "Would now be a good time offer my help?"
Auron turned, just short of surprised, although it didn't show. "Camilla, what are you--" He cut off his own sentence. He let out a sigh, realizing somehow this fit into the big scheme of things. The cowl of his jacket hid his small smirk. He knew that she was different for a reason. "Perfect time."
She didn't read fully into his expression or his pause; she would've, but there wasn't any time. "Good."
Tidus glanced back again. "Camilla?"
"No questions! Let's stop these things!" she exclaimed, holding up her katana protectively in front of her. She still wasn't sure how to use it.
Tidus nodded and swatted at the creatures again, hitting nothing and falling over again. He struggled to keep his balance with the sword.
Auron glanced at Camilla, not truly worried about her. It was the younger one that scared him. "I hope you know how to use it."
"Uh-huh," Tidus replied, nodding. He fell into a defensive stance and used his arm as the shield instead of his sword.
The eldest had long ago shouldered his blade and prepared for battle. He bent his knees and held his left arm out in front of him, the right holding his huge katana. "These ones don't matter. We cut through!"
Camilla and Tidus both nodded. All three basically just attacked the creature that was standing directly in front of them, as per the oldest one's orders. The creatures weren't that strong, each went down in a single hit from any of the three, but there were lots of them. They moved up until they were surrounded, three in front and two in back.
"Don't bother going after all of them. Cut the ones that matter, and run," Auron advised.
And they did just that. After striking down the three in front, Tidus was the first to head out in front. Camilla was close behind him, while Auron brought up the rear. Ahead the overpass went uphill, so each put a little power in their footwork to maintain speed. More pods appeared behind them, but they just kept running.
Suddenly, the road shook, and all three paused. Camilla looked at Auron, somehow knowing that he knew precisely what was going on. Thing was, she was right. Tidus also looked at the thirty-five year old, expecting him to have the answers. Auron just glanced at the younger two and kept running. Tidus and Camilla exchanged glances and followed him up the path. There they saw the creature that had burst out of the building and sent the foot soldiers after them. For a moment, Tidus hesitated, but Camilla ran forward without question. She was not about to let this thing, whatever it was, to rampage through her city.
Before long, all three stood in front of the monster. Five of the smaller creatures seemed to be guarding it, but that wouldn't stop the three.
"Get out of my town!" Tidus exclaimed, his face and voice revealing his anger.
Camilla glanced between her younger friend and the beasts. "Or else."
Auron seemed to grin. "Some can't wait to die!"
The large beast, which was a pillar with tentacles sticking out of the sides and top, hit the party with a powerful spell that left them feeling a little hurt, but not enough to stop them.
The eldest of the three quickly unleashed his Bushido attack, using the Dragon Fang technique, to get rid of the smaller creatures. The monster retaliated with the spell again, but it seemed to do less damage the second time.
Tidus attacked, followed by another spell, and then Camilla struck. She was still surprised how easy it was to hit the monster. Her moves were as quick as Tidus', but with the type of power to match the intensity of Auron's attack. They followed this pattern, not minding the damage they were taking from the spell now. It seemed to do less and less damage with each hit.
Once all of the creature's tentacles were gone, it slowly faded into a mass of little flying balls of energy, or pyreflies. They ran around the base of the lifeless form and stopped for a moment to heal.
Auron was about to grab some potions out of his pack, until he saw a spinning blue sphere sitting on the other side of the bridge. "Over there! Touch it and go!"
Camilla followed him over to the sphere and hesitantly touched the sphere, feeling a strange cooling sensation course through her as she did so. Tidus was right behind her. She looked up at Auron, but he was already running down the road. So many questions lay in her mind, and she had a feeling that the older man could answer nearly all of them.
The younger two quickly followed Auron as soon as they were healed, heading down the overpass. A building nearby displayed an image of Jecht. At this point it was fading in and out, but never disappearing entirely.
Tidus glared at the image. "What are you laughing at, old man?" He looked at Auron and Camilla. "Guys! Let's get out of here!"
Auron was looking straight ahead. "We're expected."
"Huh?" Tidus asked.
Camilla followed his gaze, as the eldest one was silent. Suddenly he ran off. Tidus was two steps away from rolling his eyes. "Gimme a break, man!" With that, he ran up the road, following Camilla, who had instantly run after Auron.
They stopped as a legion of the smaller creatures appeared in front and behind them. They were entirely surrounded, with no way out. Of course, they could've jumped off the side of the overpass, but that would've been suicide.
Each took down a creature in a single hit, but a new one always replaced the fallen one. It was an endless tide of…whatever they were.
Auron sized up the situation, and realized what he knew already--they were severely outnumbered. "Hmph. This could be bad." He glanced around the area, then saw an opportunity. On the other side of the bridge was a tanker just waiting to explode. All it needed was a little push. "That--knock it down."
Tidus was confused. "What?"
Camilla saw the tanker and realized Auron's plan. "Are you crazy?"
Auron glanced at Tidus, and then looked a little longer at Camilla. "Trust me, you'll see." He gave the example by hitting the tanker. The blade acted as a wedge, and it pulled the main part of the tanker from the part that was holding it to the bridge.
Tidus shrugged and decided to trust his guardian, and hit the tanker as well.
The female of the group shook her head. She knew what the results would be, but she also trusted Auron. I must be nuts, she thought. Putting her hesitation aside, she struck the tanker.
Between each of their attacks, the little buggers got in quite a few attacks, but most of them were dodged. If nothing else, the two citizens of Zanarkand could dodge like crazy. In no less than two more hits, the tanker went down. The ensuing explosion caused the road to burn up, destroying the strange creatures.
"Go!" Auron said.
Tidus glanced at him and ran ahead. Camilla paused looking at him. She wanted to ask him so many questions, if only she had the time. "Auron--"
"Go," he repeated, only a bit softer. Behind the cool exterior and sunglasses, she could tell there was a gentle pleading in his eyes, because it showed in his voice.
Camilla nodded and followed Tidus, Auron not too far behind the pair. They ran up the road, which was weakening under their steps. Suddenly it gave way, forcing them to jump to reach the next section of the overpass.
Auron made it easy, landing almost gracefully on both feet. It was almost as simple for Camilla, but she didn't clear it quite as well. Auron reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the ledge. Before he turned to help Tidus, though, she could've sworn his gaze and his touch had lingered on her longer than intended.
Tidus just barely hung onto the ledge. The section of the overpass was suddenly being pulled into the huge floating ball of water, which now didn't seem like water. It shook so hard that Camilla was forced to cling to Auron for balance. She gripped his arm as he pulled Tidus up by his shirt. She felt something pulling her upwards as he glanced between them.
"This is it," he began. He pulled Tidus up to almost eye level. "This is your story. It all begins here."
Camilla gasped as she, Auron, and Tidus were engulfed by a bright light and slowly were sucked into the thing floating above them--Sin. She couldn't help the scream that escaped her lips as her friends, and herself, disappeared into the creature's shell.