A/N: Sorry I haven't posted an update for a while. My computer got the flu in a serious way and we lost everything. I had to do a lot of waiting before I could use her again. But I did get quite a bit of this story written out by hand in the meantime, so here is Chapeter 12. I know, its hellishly long, but that was the only way to do it. I just couldn't break up Sin's attack on Zanarkand. I've also gone back to previous chapters and cleaned up a few grammer and wording issues that have been pointed out to me.
Thanks bunches guys! Keep reading!
I ended up spending the rest of that day with Allya and her family. It was a blast. Nothing like all the parties we went to, or my days with Auron. It was warm and full of life.
It was like waking up after a really bad dream.
I got back home about two hours before the game. Just enough time to get cleaned up and run back to the sadium. I would get there in time to warm up, but not too much else. If we could beat the Titans tonight, my day would go from great to perfect.
There were some fans gathered outside my house, so I spent a couple minutes signing autographs. A trio of boys wanted me to teach them how to play, but I didn't have time before the game. I wanted to do it after, but another boy-in a purple hood-told me I wouldn't be able to. I didn't really understand, but I promised the kids I'd teach them the next day. Then I had to take off, or I'd be late.
As I was jogging to the stadium, one of the radio stations was blaring on the loudspeaker about the game tonight. And about how my old man disappeared ten years ago. I was annoyed by the reminder that tonight's game was the Jecht Memorial Cup. I didn't want to be reminded of my old man right now.
I glared at his billboard as I ran by.
There was a huge crowd outside the stadium. I guess they were still waiting for seats.
Or waiting to mob unsuspecting players, I thought as a large group of girls moved to block my path inside. I managed to push through them, but it was a struggle.
Warm-ups were short and the coach gave me lots of time to indulge in my ritual of dangling my feet in the water and meditating before the game. It was something I'd picked up from Auron when I was little, and it helped me stay calm and focused on the game.
I was jolted out of my meditation when the dome opened and the music blared out of all the speakers. I stood on the edge of the sphere, watching the pre-game light show and waved to the crowd.
I'm not like my old man was. I can't remember every detail of the game to repeat to any fan willing to listen. I only remember the big stuff-like knocking the Titans midfielder out of the sphere and inot the crowd, or scoring a goal.
Or leaping out of the water to make a kick and seeing a swarm of fireballs blowing through the city.
Somehow, when the fireballs hit the stadium, I managed to grab onto a balcony rail and hang on. It took two solid hits before I lost my grip and fell to the ground. I hit hard-maybe should have died. I know I should have had broken bones. But when I got up, nothing was wrong, except for feeling like I got the wind knocked out of me.
I followed what was left of the crowd as they ran out of the demolished stadium in a panic. I didn't understand what was going on. I mean, who would attack Zanarkand like this? It wasn't like we had a standing army or anything. The whole thing made no sense at all.
As I ran out of what was left of the dome, I spotted a familiar red coat. NO! Why is Auron here? He wasn't supposed to be back today! He was supposed to be gone! I was panicked now--what if he got killed here, just because he got home early? What would I do without him?
"Auron!" I yelled, running up to him. "What are you doing here?" You aren't supposed to be here, my mind added.
"I was waiting for you." He sounded like nothing was really even going on. That confused me more.
"What are you talking about?" He walked away as I was talking, so I chased after him.
We ran down the road back toward my boat--and into more of the chaos. I saw bodies and rubble everywhere--and a few fiends too. People who were more panicked than I was ran past us in ones and two, more worried about what was behind them than what might be in front.
Suddenly, everything went white around me and I couldn't see anything. When the world came back, all the people who'd been running along with me were frozen in place. I took a step forward and spun around, looking for Auron.
He was gone.
But that boy in the purple hood was there. Not that I really noticed him at first.
"It begins," he told me.
I turned around to look at him, ready to ask about what was going on. I didn't get the chance.
"Don't cry."
Don't cry? I took a step toward him, and the world went white again.
I was getting really tired of not knowing what was going on.
I looked around again once I could see again. The world in all its horror had started back up. "What the…?"
Auron was back ahead of me on the road. "Hey wait!"
I dropped into a sprint to catch up with him before anything else happened. I slid to a stop just in front of him.
I leaned over panting as I told him, "Hey, not this way." I wanted to take one of the side streets and just get out of the city.
He glanced at me, and then back the way we'd been running. "Look."
I did--and kind of wished I hadn't. There was this huge ball of…water, I guess, hanging in the air over Zanarkand. Every few seconds it would suck some part of the city into itself. I stood there with my jaw somewhere near my knees.
"We called it Sin."
I looked back at Auron. "Sin?" This thing was something he knew about?
Before I could ask him about what he knew, a huge fiend slammed into a building just ahead of us. It must have been a carrier of some kind, because right after it hit a swarm of smaller fiends came flying at us.
When they approached us, I swung my arms wildly, trying to keep them back. I knew it wouldn't work, but I did it anyway. When one of them jumped at me, I fell on my butt trying to get away from it.
I was pretty sure I was going to die then.
"Take it." I looked up to see Auron holding a sword out to me. "A gift from Jecht."
"My old man?" I was a little confused about that, but it fit right in with the rest of my night. I grabbed the hilt, and Auron pulled me up by it before he let go.
I hadn't expected it to be so top-heavy. And having him let go so suddenly threw off my balance. I fell on my butt again. But at least I got right back up.
Auron just looked at me. "I hope you know how to use it."
Sure I knew how to use it. Did he think I'd lived with him for ten years and not picked something up? I nodded to him and took a ready stance to attack the fiends.
"These ones don't matter," he told me as I attacked one. "We cut through."
I wanted to ask him exactly why they didn't matter, but this really wasn't the time. I just concentrated on the fight and ran on when he did.
The next swarm was a lot bigger. There were at least twenty of the little winged fiends between us and the next stretch of open road. It was a little intimidating.
Auron stopped beside me as I took in the sight of the swarm. "Don't bother going after all of them. Cut the ones that matter and run."
And we did. Slicing open the ones right in front of us, we made our way on to the open road again.
We ran further--onto the overpass near the radio station and to the top of the hill there. Just a little further on was another of those carrier fiends--right in our way. It was imbedded in the road and surrounded by more of those little winged fiends.
We stood there for a second or two, just looking at it. Then Auron ran off toward it. I held out a hand to stop him, but something about the way he went after it stopped me from saying anything.
I think--at that moment--I understood what he'd told my mother about defending his homeland from fiends with my old man and some other friend. This was what he was made for--not cooking or shopping or raising ungrateful little boys.
I ran after him, determined to stop being that little boy.
Assuming we survived the night.
I was pretty angry at this whole thing by now. So many dead people and so much destruction. It was such a waste. I wanted to take it out on anything I could.
"Get out of my town!" I shouted at the fiend as I stopped next to Auron.
He looked at me and gave me a grim smile. "Some can't wait to die!"
The old guy sounded almost…excited. And I saw why when he unleashed an attack that took out all the little fiends in one really big blast.
Wow.
We took out the carrier fiend pretty quickly after that. And then Auron took of down the road toward the docks again.
I was beginning to think that he had a specific destination in mind. And I really didn't like it.
I was beginning to think that he was running toward Sin.
For some reason, Auron stopped in front of the billboard announcing tonight's Jecht Memorial Cup game. My old man was smirking down at us, like this whole thing was funny.
"What are you laughing at, old man?" I asked him. Not that I expected an answer.
I looked over at Auron. "Auron! Let's get out of here!" I hoped he'd go for it.
"We're expected."
"Huh?" Crap. I was afraid he'd say something like that. And then he ran on down the road.
I was pretty sure he was running toward Sin now. And for some stupid reason, I was following him.
"Gimmie a break, man!" I shouted as I took off after him.
We were brought to a very sudden halt when several hundred of those little fiends slammed into the ground in front of us. I was all for turning around and going back the way we came when another huge swarm dropped in behind us.
We were trapped. We'd been expected all right.
Auron summed up the situation with his usual ability for understatement. "Hmph. This could be bad."
Could be? I thought. If this isn't bad, what is?
We were just barely holding off the fiends while Auron looked around for a way out. He pointed out a fuel tanker that had been knocked partially off the road. A few sparking cables were all that kept the fuel cells from falling away from the transport unit--and the overpass, by extension.
"That. Knock it down."
"What!?" Was he nuts? That thing could blow up the overpass. Or bring down the building next to us. Eitehr way it would kill us all.
Oh.
"You'll see." Yeah, that was what I thought he meant.
He held off the fiends that got too close, while I slashed at the tanker's cables. After about the fifth strike, the cables let go and the fuel cells fell over the side. I watched them fall until they were lost in the cloud of dust and smoke near the ground.
The explosion was everything I expected. It knocked the building next to us down. It nearly fell on top of me, along with the fiends, but I dodged out of the way. Barely.
We watched it as it settled into its new place in the cityscape. Then Auron looked over at me, almost like he was apologizing for something.
But all he said was, "Go."
He wanted me to run across a burning building and onto the other side of the road. The old guy really had lost it. But I guessed that dying in an explosion was better than some of the other ways I could go tonight.
So I ran. And he followed me this time.
I was about half way across when I felt things start exploding behind me. Then they started blowing up around me too. I put on all the speed I could, but I didn't think I was going to make it across.
And then the edge of the building was in front of me, and I jumped. Just as everything went up in a fireball behind me.
Somehow, I managed to grab onto the edge of the overpass, but my grip wouldn't hold long.
"Auron!" I didn't think he'd made it, but he surprised me again by walking up to the edge of the road. "Auron."
He just looked down at me for a minute. And then he looked up at Sin.
I nearly lost my grip when I realized the thing was right above us.
"You are sure?" Was he talking to it?
He must have gotten some kind of answer, because he reached down and grabbed me by the front of my vest and pulled me up. And then Sin was trying to pull me in too.
"This is it," Auron said to me. "This is your story. It all begins here."
All I had time to do was scream as Sin pulled us both in.
Thanks bunches guys! Keep reading!
I ended up spending the rest of that day with Allya and her family. It was a blast. Nothing like all the parties we went to, or my days with Auron. It was warm and full of life.
It was like waking up after a really bad dream.
I got back home about two hours before the game. Just enough time to get cleaned up and run back to the sadium. I would get there in time to warm up, but not too much else. If we could beat the Titans tonight, my day would go from great to perfect.
There were some fans gathered outside my house, so I spent a couple minutes signing autographs. A trio of boys wanted me to teach them how to play, but I didn't have time before the game. I wanted to do it after, but another boy-in a purple hood-told me I wouldn't be able to. I didn't really understand, but I promised the kids I'd teach them the next day. Then I had to take off, or I'd be late.
As I was jogging to the stadium, one of the radio stations was blaring on the loudspeaker about the game tonight. And about how my old man disappeared ten years ago. I was annoyed by the reminder that tonight's game was the Jecht Memorial Cup. I didn't want to be reminded of my old man right now.
I glared at his billboard as I ran by.
There was a huge crowd outside the stadium. I guess they were still waiting for seats.
Or waiting to mob unsuspecting players, I thought as a large group of girls moved to block my path inside. I managed to push through them, but it was a struggle.
Warm-ups were short and the coach gave me lots of time to indulge in my ritual of dangling my feet in the water and meditating before the game. It was something I'd picked up from Auron when I was little, and it helped me stay calm and focused on the game.
I was jolted out of my meditation when the dome opened and the music blared out of all the speakers. I stood on the edge of the sphere, watching the pre-game light show and waved to the crowd.
I'm not like my old man was. I can't remember every detail of the game to repeat to any fan willing to listen. I only remember the big stuff-like knocking the Titans midfielder out of the sphere and inot the crowd, or scoring a goal.
Or leaping out of the water to make a kick and seeing a swarm of fireballs blowing through the city.
Somehow, when the fireballs hit the stadium, I managed to grab onto a balcony rail and hang on. It took two solid hits before I lost my grip and fell to the ground. I hit hard-maybe should have died. I know I should have had broken bones. But when I got up, nothing was wrong, except for feeling like I got the wind knocked out of me.
I followed what was left of the crowd as they ran out of the demolished stadium in a panic. I didn't understand what was going on. I mean, who would attack Zanarkand like this? It wasn't like we had a standing army or anything. The whole thing made no sense at all.
As I ran out of what was left of the dome, I spotted a familiar red coat. NO! Why is Auron here? He wasn't supposed to be back today! He was supposed to be gone! I was panicked now--what if he got killed here, just because he got home early? What would I do without him?
"Auron!" I yelled, running up to him. "What are you doing here?" You aren't supposed to be here, my mind added.
"I was waiting for you." He sounded like nothing was really even going on. That confused me more.
"What are you talking about?" He walked away as I was talking, so I chased after him.
We ran down the road back toward my boat--and into more of the chaos. I saw bodies and rubble everywhere--and a few fiends too. People who were more panicked than I was ran past us in ones and two, more worried about what was behind them than what might be in front.
Suddenly, everything went white around me and I couldn't see anything. When the world came back, all the people who'd been running along with me were frozen in place. I took a step forward and spun around, looking for Auron.
He was gone.
But that boy in the purple hood was there. Not that I really noticed him at first.
"It begins," he told me.
I turned around to look at him, ready to ask about what was going on. I didn't get the chance.
"Don't cry."
Don't cry? I took a step toward him, and the world went white again.
I was getting really tired of not knowing what was going on.
I looked around again once I could see again. The world in all its horror had started back up. "What the…?"
Auron was back ahead of me on the road. "Hey wait!"
I dropped into a sprint to catch up with him before anything else happened. I slid to a stop just in front of him.
I leaned over panting as I told him, "Hey, not this way." I wanted to take one of the side streets and just get out of the city.
He glanced at me, and then back the way we'd been running. "Look."
I did--and kind of wished I hadn't. There was this huge ball of…water, I guess, hanging in the air over Zanarkand. Every few seconds it would suck some part of the city into itself. I stood there with my jaw somewhere near my knees.
"We called it Sin."
I looked back at Auron. "Sin?" This thing was something he knew about?
Before I could ask him about what he knew, a huge fiend slammed into a building just ahead of us. It must have been a carrier of some kind, because right after it hit a swarm of smaller fiends came flying at us.
When they approached us, I swung my arms wildly, trying to keep them back. I knew it wouldn't work, but I did it anyway. When one of them jumped at me, I fell on my butt trying to get away from it.
I was pretty sure I was going to die then.
"Take it." I looked up to see Auron holding a sword out to me. "A gift from Jecht."
"My old man?" I was a little confused about that, but it fit right in with the rest of my night. I grabbed the hilt, and Auron pulled me up by it before he let go.
I hadn't expected it to be so top-heavy. And having him let go so suddenly threw off my balance. I fell on my butt again. But at least I got right back up.
Auron just looked at me. "I hope you know how to use it."
Sure I knew how to use it. Did he think I'd lived with him for ten years and not picked something up? I nodded to him and took a ready stance to attack the fiends.
"These ones don't matter," he told me as I attacked one. "We cut through."
I wanted to ask him exactly why they didn't matter, but this really wasn't the time. I just concentrated on the fight and ran on when he did.
The next swarm was a lot bigger. There were at least twenty of the little winged fiends between us and the next stretch of open road. It was a little intimidating.
Auron stopped beside me as I took in the sight of the swarm. "Don't bother going after all of them. Cut the ones that matter and run."
And we did. Slicing open the ones right in front of us, we made our way on to the open road again.
We ran further--onto the overpass near the radio station and to the top of the hill there. Just a little further on was another of those carrier fiends--right in our way. It was imbedded in the road and surrounded by more of those little winged fiends.
We stood there for a second or two, just looking at it. Then Auron ran off toward it. I held out a hand to stop him, but something about the way he went after it stopped me from saying anything.
I think--at that moment--I understood what he'd told my mother about defending his homeland from fiends with my old man and some other friend. This was what he was made for--not cooking or shopping or raising ungrateful little boys.
I ran after him, determined to stop being that little boy.
Assuming we survived the night.
I was pretty angry at this whole thing by now. So many dead people and so much destruction. It was such a waste. I wanted to take it out on anything I could.
"Get out of my town!" I shouted at the fiend as I stopped next to Auron.
He looked at me and gave me a grim smile. "Some can't wait to die!"
The old guy sounded almost…excited. And I saw why when he unleashed an attack that took out all the little fiends in one really big blast.
Wow.
We took out the carrier fiend pretty quickly after that. And then Auron took of down the road toward the docks again.
I was beginning to think that he had a specific destination in mind. And I really didn't like it.
I was beginning to think that he was running toward Sin.
For some reason, Auron stopped in front of the billboard announcing tonight's Jecht Memorial Cup game. My old man was smirking down at us, like this whole thing was funny.
"What are you laughing at, old man?" I asked him. Not that I expected an answer.
I looked over at Auron. "Auron! Let's get out of here!" I hoped he'd go for it.
"We're expected."
"Huh?" Crap. I was afraid he'd say something like that. And then he ran on down the road.
I was pretty sure he was running toward Sin now. And for some stupid reason, I was following him.
"Gimmie a break, man!" I shouted as I took off after him.
We were brought to a very sudden halt when several hundred of those little fiends slammed into the ground in front of us. I was all for turning around and going back the way we came when another huge swarm dropped in behind us.
We were trapped. We'd been expected all right.
Auron summed up the situation with his usual ability for understatement. "Hmph. This could be bad."
Could be? I thought. If this isn't bad, what is?
We were just barely holding off the fiends while Auron looked around for a way out. He pointed out a fuel tanker that had been knocked partially off the road. A few sparking cables were all that kept the fuel cells from falling away from the transport unit--and the overpass, by extension.
"That. Knock it down."
"What!?" Was he nuts? That thing could blow up the overpass. Or bring down the building next to us. Eitehr way it would kill us all.
Oh.
"You'll see." Yeah, that was what I thought he meant.
He held off the fiends that got too close, while I slashed at the tanker's cables. After about the fifth strike, the cables let go and the fuel cells fell over the side. I watched them fall until they were lost in the cloud of dust and smoke near the ground.
The explosion was everything I expected. It knocked the building next to us down. It nearly fell on top of me, along with the fiends, but I dodged out of the way. Barely.
We watched it as it settled into its new place in the cityscape. Then Auron looked over at me, almost like he was apologizing for something.
But all he said was, "Go."
He wanted me to run across a burning building and onto the other side of the road. The old guy really had lost it. But I guessed that dying in an explosion was better than some of the other ways I could go tonight.
So I ran. And he followed me this time.
I was about half way across when I felt things start exploding behind me. Then they started blowing up around me too. I put on all the speed I could, but I didn't think I was going to make it across.
And then the edge of the building was in front of me, and I jumped. Just as everything went up in a fireball behind me.
Somehow, I managed to grab onto the edge of the overpass, but my grip wouldn't hold long.
"Auron!" I didn't think he'd made it, but he surprised me again by walking up to the edge of the road. "Auron."
He just looked down at me for a minute. And then he looked up at Sin.
I nearly lost my grip when I realized the thing was right above us.
"You are sure?" Was he talking to it?
He must have gotten some kind of answer, because he reached down and grabbed me by the front of my vest and pulled me up. And then Sin was trying to pull me in too.
"This is it," Auron said to me. "This is your story. It all begins here."
All I had time to do was scream as Sin pulled us both in.
