Author's Note: Warning! From here on out, the story will probably not go anywhere near the game's canon. Okay, maybe in a few places some things will stay the same. For the most part, though, things will definitely change. Most of the events in Luca and on the Mi'ihen Highroad will not change. And...I don't think any of Operation Mi'ihen will change either, but that's way later. I'll give you the official when that chapter comes by. For now, enjoy Chapter Three!
Disclaimer: See Chapter One.
Sleepless Dreams
by Judanim
Chapter Three: "Far Away From Home"
The bright light had gone, but so had her two friends. Camilla found herself alone, floating above what looked like Zanarkand. She wasn't sure, though. Nothing made sense. Suddenly, a voice awoke her from her thoughts.
"Hey!"
The voice was familiar. She slowly turned, slowly because it was hard to move around in zero gravity. Then she saw a face to match the familiarity of the voice. "Jecht?"
The man known as Jecht smiled. He was Tidus' father, and one of the most famous blitzball players in all of Zanarkand. "Who'd you expect?"
Camilla snorted. "Certainly not you." She raised an eyebrow and noticed that Jecht didn't seem to be whole, like he was fading or something. "What's going on? Where am I?"
Jecht just shrugged. He was silent.
"Where's Tidus? And Auron?" she asked.
Still the man was silent. Then, he faded into nothingness, which was probably where he'd come from anyway. Her mind swam. She had no idea where she was, or what was going on. The last thing she remembered was being sucked into the giant creature that Auron had identified as Sin. Did that mean that she was inside Sin now? And why had she seen Jecht?
Then, her thoughts started floating away from her, and she couldn't catch them. She tried to conjure up an image that would remain constant in her mind, to keep herself and her thoughts grounded, but nothing stuck. The more she tried, the more she couldn't keep straight. It wasn't long before her mind just shut down and everything around her went black.
The temple courtyard was filled with people as usual, but something seemed off that day. Everyone was on edge. Rumors of Sin being in the ocean nearby were flying around Kilika, leaving every citizen of the small island in fear. No one had actually seen anything yet, but there was still the chance that something might happen.
Mep walked from the courtyard to the entrance steps. A few people were entering, tiredly climbing the steep and long sets of stairs. He started walking down the steps when someone raced up to meet him. It looked like one of the Kilika Beasts, the local blitzball team.
"Sir Mep!" he called. "Someone has been found at the docks! I think they came in contact with Sin! You must get there right away!"
The priest didn't hesitate. He hoped that the person wasn't too injured, because his White Magic was limited. He didn't know the most powerful of spells, which was of course Full-Life. The most he knew were Cure, Cura, and Esuna. He was trying to learn Life, but it wasn't going so well. He didn't have any chance to work on his skills, what with blitzball and the temple taking up most of his time.
The two ran down the temple stairs, through the twists and turns and useless side paths of the jungle, and into the village. The docks were a bit of maze, and many of the houses looked much the same, so for someone new it was easy to get confused. But, Mep and the blitzball player with him and been raised in Kilika, so it definitely wasn't a challenge.
"Larbeight! Over here!" a female voice called.
"There's Deim," Larbeight said to Mep. "She's with the refugee."
The refugee was only some ways down from the main dock where the S.S. Liki and Winno would anchor and shove off from going to Besaid and Luca, respectively. As Mep approached, the crowd surrounding the refugee thinned to let him through. He was surprised to find that it was a woman. She had dark chocolate brown hair and was wearing the strangest clothes. She looked nothing like anyone he'd ever seen.
"Who found her?" Mep asked.
"I did," Deim replied. "She's unconscious. I was hoping a spell would heal her enough to wake her up or something, that's why I told Larbeight to go get you."
"I see." Mep sighed, preparing himself for the spell casting. He laid out his hands flat, hovering just above the refugee's body. He took in a deep breath. "Cura," he said.
A pink light circled around her for a moment, then disappeared. Slowly she sat up and blinked, gazing in wonder at her surroundings. "Where am I?"
Mep set a hand on her shoulder. "You're in Kilika, safe from harm."
Confusion crossed the refugee's face. She seemed to want to ask a question, but chose not to. She kept silent instead, prepared to answer more inquiries.
"How did you get here, and where are you originally from?" Mep stood up and offered a hand to her, just to be polite.
Hesitantly she went to grab his hand, but just as quickly pulled it back. She stood up on her own and looked at Mep, both uncertainty and confusion in her eyes. "I think…Sin brought me here. And I'm from Zanarkand."
The crowd around them silenced. Even Mep was surprised. He had heard people dish out some pretty big lies (he did work for the temple), but this one topped his list so far. "Hmm…If Sin brought you here, then I'm sure that you've been affected by its toxin. Praise be to Yevon that you even survived! In time you will eventually remember all the correct details of your life. Hopefully, you remembered your name?"
"Camilla," she replied after a moment. He had just basically called her nuts. For what, saying she was from Zanarkand? Why was that odd? If they had never heard of it, they were ones to talk, then. She had never heard of Kilika, either.
"Let's get you to the temple, then, Camilla," Mep continued. "You'll be very safe there, both from fiends and another encounter with Sin."
Camilla gazed in wonder at the statues surrounding the circular area of the great hall of Kilika Temple. They were the high summoners of the past, the ones who had defeated Sin. That's what Mep had told her, at any rate. Her gaze stopped upon the second statue that stood just to the right of the stairs leading up to the Cloister of Trials.
Mep noticed her gaze and smiled. "That is High Summoner Braska, whose Calm has lasted these past ten years. Many thought that it would be impossible for him to defeat Sin, but he met those rumors and doubts with victory. Kilika Temple has just recently received this statue."
Camilla stared at the statue, brooding over Mep's words. This guy beat Sin ten years ago? She raised a mental eyebrow. Why did everything fall on that date? Jecht died and Auron came to Zanarkand in that same amount. Was there the possibility that it was all related? "Why did people think it was impossible for him to defeat Sin?"
The priest chuckled. "Lord Braska had wed an Al Bhed woman seven years before, and his guardians weren't pictures of perfection, either. One was a fallen warrior monk, and the other…" Mep shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Get some rest, Camilla. Questions can wait until the morning." With that, he walked away.
When he had gone outside of the great hall, she walked in front of the statue of High Summoner Braska. She had a feeling that everything she knew at the moment had something to do with this man, she just wasn't sure what. And she knew for a fact that Mep was hiding something from her, and that she would discover. For now, though, she was content with exiting the great hall and using the spare nun's chambers to get some sleep.
The next day was extremely bright and beautiful. The people of Kilika were a bit calmer than the day before because Sin hadn't appeared, but some still weren't at ease. Camilla's appearance could mean that the beast was indeed nearby. Not often, though, did the people of Spira listen to skeptics.
Camilla was back in the great hall not long after she woke up. Her sleep was fitful, with dreams that focused on the last events she had witnessed in Zanarkand. She came inside to see if Mep had any answers, if she could find him. Perhaps partially solving the Braska mystery would help clear her mind. At the least it would be off of Zanarkand and all that went with it.
"You're awake. Good. I was afraid a fiend had slipped in during the night and killed you or something," Mep called across the hall. "Of course, that's a task easier said than done. For the fiend, that is."
She tried to give a smile. "I guess having a run in with Sin really takes a lot out of you."
Mep cleared his throat. "About that." He walked closer to her. "I believe it would be best for you to start working on getting your memory back. Once you do, you can go back to wherever it is you're from and get back to your normal life."
Camilla was tempted to say, "Yeah, I'll just go back to my destroyed city and try to carry on with my 'normal' life. Hopefully I'll find all the bodies of my friends lying around. How would that be?" But, instead, she just nodded. She simply didn't have enough energy to retort.
The priest of Yevon stepped even closer to her, almost as if he was trying to cover up their words. Of course, being a part of Yevon was all about secrets, so this was indeed nothing new. "Yesterday, Deim told me that you were carrying a weapon with you when she found you."
"My katana!" Camilla gasped. "Where is it?"
Mep seemed nervous. "Well, you see, I'm not quite sure. When I got to the town, it was not on your person, but Deim did say you had it. I wonder who took it, hmm?"
The citizen of Zanarkand tried to control her anger. That was her katana, damn it, and if someone else had it she was going to kill that particular person. The fact that this was a strange world, full of strange people, didn't help matters, either. She turned around and started to walk out of the temple, but Mep was quick to follow her.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her behind one of the columns in the shady portion of the courtyard. "I found it while you were sleeping. Someone had brought it to the temple because it bore the symbol of Yevon, and they thought that it had to belong to a warrior monk. The thing is, no warrior monk's sword actually bears this symbol. So, I'm assuming that it's yours."
"Where is it?" Camilla growled. She was not in the mood for puzzles and games.
Only two words lefts Mep's mouth before he dragged her across the courtyard into the monks' chambers. "Follow me."
On the table in the middle of the room was Camilla's katana, unscathed. She picked it up and held it, partly wondering how she was going to carry it. She was not going to let this thing leave her side again, not for the life of her.
Mep watched her examine the sword for any potential damage. A grimace crossed his face. "Tell me, Camilla, where did you get this sword?"
Camilla looked at him strangely. Since when did he care? Better yet, since when was he willing to believe her? She raised an eyebrow. "I got it in Zanarkand. A little boy gave it to me. I never did catch his name…"
The priest's eyes went wide. "Was this little boy wearing a purple robe?"
"Yes," Camilla said slowly, watching him mysteriously. Something was definitely up.
"But…that's impossible." Mep's voice started out normal, then slowly descended to a mutter. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, pondering something. "Summoners wield staves for the most part, so that cannot be why the fayth reached out to you. But then there's always…" He looked up at her. "Did the little boy call you any particular name?"
Reluctantly, Camilla opened that can of worms. She reflected back on her last night Zanarkand, and tried to remember what the little boy had said. It took a lot of effort, though, to hold back the other memories that threatened take over her mind. The ones of Auron, Tidus, and Jilah all stood on the edge of the dam, just waiting for it to yield. But Camilla refused to let it. With great difficulty, she remembered the name. "Green Mage, I think."
At those words, Mep gasped. It's not often that a priest of Yevon is surprised by anything, but this definitely had caught him unawares. Those were two words he'd never thought he'd hear in the same sentence in the present tense. Every member of the Yevon clergy was forbidden to speak of it. They were to act like it didn't exist. Some actually believed it didn't. But, this was the proof. "If you are the Green Mage," he said slowly, "then this must be the Katana of Brilliance-the only weapon besides a summoner's staff that can defeat Sin."
Camilla blinked quite a few times. "What?"
Mep sighed and took a seat at the table. He indicated for Camilla to do the same. "There is an old Spiran legend that Yevon has hidden from its citizens for a thousand years, or at least as long as Sin has reigned. For these past generations, summoners have been the only ones with the power to destroy Sin, but there is another with this ability. That is the Green Mage. It is said that this mage could help a summoner defeat Sin, without having the summoner give up their lives in the attempt. And there is a way that this mage could not only defeat Sin, but defeat it forever."
"Why would, uh, Yevon hide it, then? Isn't that a good thing?" Camilla asked.
The priest clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "If this mage manages to help defeat Sin forever, Yevon would lose its power over the people. Sin keeps Yevon in power and in control of Spira. The maesters would never allow this mage to live, if they truly existed." He looked at Camilla. "In spite of this, the fayth don't lie. If you were called the Green Mage, then I'm afraid it's the truth, no matter what the cost may to be Yevon or your personal health."
Camilla couldn't believe what she was hearing! She wasn't some savior or whatever…was she? "So, what you're saying is, I could help a summoner defeat Sin, with my little dinky katana? No way in blitzball."
At the mention of Spira's favorite sport, Mep had to chuckle. For a moment his mind thought about the techniques he was trying to master (and how he was trying to beg Larbeight to let him try out for the team), but soon it was back to the matter at hand. "I believe blitzball has nothing to do with this. Your katana isn't dinky at all. It holds great power. That power just has to be unlocked, and then you would be ready to defeat Sin."
"Oh? And how do you suppose I can go about doing that?" Camilla posed, staring straight at Mep. She was ready to laugh at his answer.
On the far side of the chamber, there was a locked chest. Mep dug into his robes and pulled out a key, and opened it. From it he pulled out a small wooden box, and then sat back down. He slid the cover off the box, which bore the same symbol as Camilla's katana (now known as one of the symbols of Yevon), to reveal a bunch of green-tinted spheres. He offered them to Camilla.
She picked one up and examined it. Inside there was the form of some kind of beast. She looked at the priest with curiosity. "What are these?"
"They are every Green Magic sphere that could be found within Kilika, Besaid, and whatever ruins may lie south of the mainland," Mep replied. "There are only ten here, but there are nearly forty total."
Camilla blinked. "Forty? You expect me to find forty of these things? And let me guess, they're spread all over the place, right?"
"Wrong," the priest said. "Most, if not all, are gathered at the temples. That is so the every day person never finds them. Of course, the spheres are useless without the sword." He indicated to her katana.
Silence crept over the small chamber, sinking into the air and building tension. Camilla sighed. "So, even with the sword and the spheres, I'm still useless, right? I need a summoner to aid. That's what it sounds like, at least."
Mep nodded. "This is true. Some of the legends say a Green Mage could defeat Sin on her own, but I doubt you'd be allowed without some summoning demonstration involving the fayth, and mages of any kind don't have that kind of power. You can summon beasts to aid you in battle and sometimes outside thereof, but not to a summoner's extent." He picked up one of the spheres and examined it. He recognized the symbol inside as the spell Cura. "Sadly, I do not know of any summoners you can aid yet. At least, I have not received any news from Bevelle."
"Well, that royally bites," Camilla muttered. "Since we have some time to kill waiting on a dinky summoner, how 'bout you teach me how to use this thing? I mean, I've got a fighting technique down 'cause of the mass of fiends that attacked Zanarkand before it was destroyed, but I have no idea how to use the spheres and summon and stuff."
The priest of Yevon chose not to comment on most of her statement. "All right. The best place to train around here is the jungle. Follow me."
Camilla held her katana perpendicular to her torso, parallel to the ground with her right hand. In her left she held one of the spheres Mep had given her earlier. She was awaiting instruction from the priest.
Mep took in a deep breath, recalling the old lessons he'd been taught as a teenager ascending through the ranks of the Yevon priesthood. "Now, place the sphere into the sword."
"What?" Camilla asked. She stared first at him, then at the weapon in her hand. "That's impossible! There's no where to put it."
"Just do it," the priest insisted.
After a bit more grumbling, the citizen of Zanarkand did it. The sphere disappeared into the katana, and a strange kind of intangible power seemed to emanating from it. Well, at least that appeared to be the correct way to do it.
"Excellent!" Mep exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Now, summon Ifrit."
Camilla nodded. She concentrated on the little sphere she had just "dropped" into her katana. "Ifrit!" she called.
The sword glowed red for a moment, then out of the weapon appeared the hell demon with a heart of flame, Ifrit. He roared, the sound echoing throughout the surrounding jungle.
Mep chuckled. "I'm sure even the mighty Lord Ochu was afraid of that one."
"That doesn't mean I'm ready to face him. Especially if it's a particularly big fiend," Camilla said offhandedly, staring at Ifrit in awe. Never before in her life had she seen such a creature. It was one of those things where, although it looked fearsome and all, it also seemed to exude a strange kind of…warmth and gentleness.
"You'll be ready soon enough, I'm sure." Mep looked around, and then spotted a Ragora in the distance. "I believe your first test lies right over there."
Camilla turned and saw the plant fiend. She took in a deep breath. "Uh, right." She walked closer to it, Ifrit closely following her. She looked at the summon beast unsurely. "Um, attack it…please?"
Ifrit didn't change his position. He just stared blankly ahead.
The priest of Yevon couldn't help his laugh. Then he realized it was rude to laugh at other people's ignorance, and he straightened up. "I believe you have to give it a command. Ifrit's special attack is Hellfire. You could also use Meteor Strike, but Hellfire might be more effective against a plant fiend such as this one."
"Okay." Camilla looked at Ifrit, hoping that Mep wasn't lying to her. "Ifrit - Hellfire!"
The hell demon with a heart of flame swooped into action. The ground beneath him became something akin to a pool of lava, and it then shot him up into the sky. In moments he was behind the ball of lava and flame, and he threw it at the fiend. Within seconds it was no more that a cloud of pyreflies.
Camilla blinked, remembering the last time she'd seen a mass of pyreflies like that. The fading body of the Ragora turned into the fading body of a huge, black fiend. It stood not in the midst of a jungle, but in the middle of an overpass, surrounded by the buildings of Zanarkand, which even then were crumbling before her eyes. She couldn't help the tears that came to her, but she fought them. Now was not the time for crying.
"Congratulations," Mep said, walking up to her. "I believe you've just defeated your first fiend. Not bad, for a rookie." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Are you all right?"
She quickly wiped away any signs of tears that may have been on her face. She looked at him, smiling as best she could. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just suddenly reminded of…home."
Mep hesitated to use his initial response. Finally, he just said it. "Zanarkand, you mean?"
In an instant she whirled around to face him. A look of disbelief crossed her face. "Since when do you believe me about Zanarkand anyway?"
"Well, I've started to think about what you said about the fayth," Mep began. "And it occurred to me that if the fayth talked to you, and entrusted you with the title of Green Mage, then it's not really out of the realm of the possibility that you really are from Zanarkand, is it?"
"No, I guess it's not," Camilla replied. She stared at the ground, her mind suddenly wondering what had become of Tidus and Auron. She hoped that neither of them had ended up in someplace dangerous, like a pile of ruins infested with strange fiends. Thinking about them, though, had its consequences. She kept seeing Zanarkand in its final moments, Auron's face as he urged her to continue on, and the last she'd seen of Jilah at the stadium. One odd memory appeared among the rest, the one of seeing Jecht floating inside Sin. It couldn't possibly have been really him, but that didn't change the fact that she had seen him. What did that mean?
"Are all the citizens of Zanarkand prone to spacing out?" Mep asked, interrupting any and all thoughts Camilla might have had.
She wasn't sure if that was his attempt at a joke or not, but either way, it didn't help. She gave him a weak smile and then headed up towards the temple steps. The idea of training suddenly didn't appeal to her. She seemed too tired to move, but perhaps that was only because of the overwhelming mixture of confusion and grief in her heart. She had an urge to cry, whether out of frustration or sadness she couldn't tell. She fought the urge all the way up the temple stairs, through the courtyard, and to the doorway of her temporary chambers. Once there, inside the safety of solitude, she cried. She hadn't cried in years, probably not since her parents had died when she was seventeen.
If there was any resistance left inside her, it faded when she hit the bed stomach-first, her face diving into the pillows. Silent tears fell at full force, driven on by memories and disconnected sentences. Words and scenes played in her head, none of them making sense. She remembered them well enough, but why they had happened was something she couldn't comprehend. Perhaps that's why she cried. It wasn't because she couldn't handle the events, but it was because she didn't see the reason behind it; that's what brought the tears.
"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.
The reminder of the scene begot a fresh torrent of tears. These she could identify. These were tears of frustration. Under normal circumstances, she would've thought, any normal person would've told her specifically to run the other way, to leave, but not Auron. No, Auron had practically encouraged her to run ahead and get sucked into Sin. It was almost as if he wanted her to go there, to be brought into this world of madness.
But why? Why did he want her here? Why didn't he tell her to run the other way? It wasn't like he knew about the Green Mage thing. She hadn't told him, and unless he knew the symbol on her katana by sight… The thought occurred to her. What if he did know? There was a lot that he hadn't told her over the course of ten years, but it was impossible that he knew that insignia. If she didn't, how could he? That was logical…right?
Camilla sighed heavily, wiping tears from her eyes, now angry more than anything else. She tossed a spare pillow across the room and watched with satisfaction as it bounced off the opposite wall and knocked over a miniature statue of a high summoner. The sigh turned into a groan as she went to pick it up. For a long minute, she stared at the figure, both wondering at the detail and contemplating its likeness. "Braska," she thought, for that was who the stone carving depicted. Something about the man was familiar. She shook her head and put it back on the shelf. She sat down on the bed, staring at her sheath less katana.
If and when she found Auron, he would have a lot of explaining to do.