!Author's Notes!

Here I am, Back with chapter 5! Okay, Let's just get started, eh? Btw, In case you're wondering... Rikku's parents(that I created in this fic) aren't both Al Bhed. While her mother was an Al Bhed, her father was only half-Al Bhed... making Rikku a 3/4th's Al Bhed. (But, Only for this story and the other one connected to it, 'Who Am I?').

!Secrets of the Den of Woe!

)Mushroom Rock Road(

Rikku, Yuna, Paine, and Leonn are standing at the sealed entrance to the Den of Woe. Leonn walks forward and places each Crimson Sphere in a recess on the seal-door of the cave. Once all the Crimson Spheres are placed, there's a loud shaking sound before the seal vanishes and reveals the opening of the Den of Woe. Leonn turns to the others, "Hope you girls are ready for this." he says, then turns back toward the cave entrance, "... cause, I sure ain't!"

"We hafta believe in ourselves!" Rikku states, then looks back-and-forth from Yuna to Paine, then back to Yuna, "... r-right, guys?"

Yuna turns back to Rikku and nods, smiling slightly, "Right!" she agrees, "As long as we all fight together and believe in ourselves and each other, we'll be fine." Rikku smiles at Yuna's words of encouragement.

"Alright." Paine says, walking up beside Leonn, "Let's get this over with." The four then enter the Den of Woe...

)Inside the Den of Woe(

"Pyreflies?" Leonn says, stunned at the sight of thousands of pyreflies inside the cave, "... it's like the Farplane..."

"No... it's not." Paine says, as if she knows something, "... these pyreflies are filled with hatred. They possess people and cause them to turn on one another!"

"... you've been here, eh Paine?" questions Leonn. Paine nods once as the four continue through the cave... most of the pyreflies avoiding them.

Suddenly, A ball of energy flies at the group, causing them to scatter in order to avoid it as it impacts roughly the center of where they were standing. Leonn and the others look up to see Sarah standing several feet infront of them with her right hand outstretched toward the group.

"... S-Sarah?" Leonn says, his eyes widening somewhat. Sarah lowers her hand and Leonn starts to walk toward her, however...

"Leonn! Look out!" Rikku calls, causing Leonn to stop and jump back as a beam flies through from off to his left.

"It's you..." Paine says, causing the others to look where she's looking, "Elle..." Ellone is standing leaned forward slightly with both hands outstretched infront of her.

Ellone lowers her hands and walks over beside Sarah.

"... it's just like back then..." Paine says, "They're both under the control of the pyreflies!"

"Then, There's only one course of action..." Leonn says, readying his nodachi in his right hand, "We... must fight them... until they're exhausted."

Paine nods, pulling her sword out, "Right. Once their bodies are exhausted, the pyreflies should flee... I hope." Rikku and Yuna ready their weapons as well...

(I'm not intending on including this fight-scene)

Once the battle's over, both Sarah and Ellone collapse onto the ground as the pyreflies flee from their exhausted frames. Leonn and Paine run over to check on them.

"A-are they...?" Yuna wonders aloud, holding her right wrist in her left hand infront of her.

"No." Paine states in response, "Elle's alright." she looks up from Ellone toward Leonn and asks, "How about Sarah, Leonn?"

After checking the girl, Leonn looks up from her to Paine and nods once, "... she's alive. We have to get them out of here... and away from these accursed pyreflies!" he scoops Sarah up in his arms and stands up, as Paine picks up Ellone and stands also.

Leonn heads toward the exit, carrying Sarah, and Paine starts to head out behind him. Paine looks to Rikku and Yuna, "We won't take long." she says, "Then, We'll find out what's responsible for all of this!" she finishes with a nod, before turning and following after Leonn.

)Just Outside the Den's Entrance(

Leonn has just finished sitting Sarah against one of the 'walls' as Paine exits the cave, carrying Ellone. Paine kneels down and lays Ellone on the ground, however... just as she lies Ellone down, the seal that covered the cave entrance reappears suddenly.

"No!" Leonn shouts, running up to the entrance as the seal finishes rematerializing. He throws his arms against the seal-door, then draws his right arm back and pounds against the seal, following that by repeating the process with his left arm, then he draws back both arms and pounds against the seal again, "Grrrr!" he growls in frustration, as his attempts fail.

"The seal..." Paine says, still kneeling next to Ellone, "How?"

"Ha ha ha ha!" laughter is heard emanating from an unknown source.

Leonn backs away from the seal-door, his eyes darting back-and-forth as if in an attempt to find the unseen force behind the laughter. Paine stands up and looks around as well, neither knowing exactly what they're looking for.

"Who are you!" demands Leonn, however, there's no response from the previous voice.

"Uhhh..." Sarah begins to rouse, as her eyes twitch slightly before they slowly begin open, though she quickly closes them again as the light outside the cave is initially painful to them, "Uhn..." she finally opens her eyes, raising her head and gasps slightly upon seeing Leonn, "L-L-Le-Leonn!" she manages to strain out.

"Huh?" Leonn gasps slightly, turning his head toward Sarah, "Sarah! You're awake!" he runs over and kneels next to her.

"Leonn!" Sarah says, as she throws her arms around Leonn's neck, "I was so scared! I couldn't stop myself!"

"Shhh." Leonn says, wrapping his arms around Sarah, his left arm around her shoulders and his right hand on the back of her head, "Don't worry about it, it's all over now..." a moment or so later, he asks, "But, What happened?"

"... it was Trema." another voice says, causing everyone to look toward Ellone, who's now sitting up.

Paine kneels next to Ellone, "Elle?" she asks.

"I... knew you would find me, Paine." Ellone says, still looking at the ground infront of herself as a few tears fall from her eyes, "I... I never lost hope..."

Paine leans closer, curling her arms around Ellone in a hug, "... I'm sorry it took me so long." she says.

After a few more moments, "Who's... Trema?" Leonn asks, he and Sarah now standing.

"Well..." Ellone starts, as Paine helps her to her feet.

... Explanation (I haven't actually played the Den of Woe in FFX-2, so I can't include an accurate explanation. If you've played that part, then you know Trema's story. If not, use your imagination... like me) ...

"... he was also the one who controlled Omega." finishes Ellone.

"But, How does that explain the Seal closing?" questions Paine, helping Ellone to stand up.

This time, it's Sarah who answers, "Trema... controls the Den of Woe, including the Seal placed on it." she explains, "He even controls the pyreflies, which are filled with undescribable hatred towards all Spira... in fact, anyone who's heart possesses hatred, anger... even despair or regret, Trema can use those emotions to take control of the person."

"... oh no!" Leonn says suddenly, spinning toward the Seal, "Rikku and Yuna are still inside!"

)Den of Woe/Interior(

"Rikku... shouldn't we have waited on the others?" asks Yuna, as she and Rikku walk deeper through the cave-tunnel.

Rikku bites her bottom lip, slightly, as they continue walking with Rikku a couple steps ahead of Yuna, "M-maybe you're right, Yunie..." she says, then stops after a couple more steps. Rikku spins toward Yuna, "Whaddya say? Wanna head back and find the others?" she asks, almost childishly.

Yuna looks comically stunned... afterall, going ahead without the others 'was' Rikku's idea in the first place. The former High Summoner then smiles and nods once to the blonde Al Bhed, "Yes! Let's!" she says, "!" then gasps, causing Rikku to turn around in time for a bright flash of light... which severely inhibits their vision.

Once the bright flash dissipates, Rikku is standing with her left hand against a stone wall of the cave-tunnel and her right hand covering her eyes, Yuna standing a few paces behind her in a similar circumstance. Suddenly, A fist flies at Rikku from her right side... Rikku barely manages to notice it out the corner of her right eye and falls backward to avoid it, her eyes popping wide open, as the fist buries into the stone wall.

"Rikku!" Yuna calls as she kneels down behind the Al Bhed girl to check on her.

Both girls look to see who the fist belongs to... and see the same man from the computer-display... Krios!

Krios quickly jerks his right fist from the stone wall, leaving a hole where he punched. Rikku and Yuna then look beyond him to see Shilaya... both, Krios and Shilaya take their respective stances and the scene switches into battle. Rikku and Yuna ready their weapons and take their stances as well, Rikku saying, "Why...?" (Once again, I'm using the in-game battle-setup for the fight-scene).

)Outside(

This time, it's Paine who's attacking the Seal by slashing at it with her sword... unfortunately, she's meeting with same failure as Leonn. After two more slashes, Paine stops, breathing heavily, "We... have to get in there!" she states, "Our friends need help!"

"The Seal... can't be broken by sheer power..." Sarah explains, now standing up, "No matter how hard you try..."

"Is that so...?" questions Leonn's voice, causing everyone to look toward him... seeing him in his Dragoner form as a fire starts to swirl around him from his feet up. He bends his elbows, bringing his forearms and hands up horizontally at his sides, both pointed forward, and grips his hands into fists as the same swirling fire encircles them, "We'll just hafta see about 'that'!" he states, then says, "Paine, Move outta the way. I'm gonna hit it with everything I've got!" Paine nods and moves away from the Seal.

Leonn draws both his arms up infront of himself, crossing them in an 'X' fashion over his chest, then quickly jerks them to his sides as he snaps his head back and roars, causing the swirling fire around him to explode, leaving a fiery aura enshrouding his entire body. Leonn then crouches slightly and shoves off with both legs, flapping his dragon-like wings once, launching himself at the Seal. He brings his left arm around infront of himself and draws his right fist back, he lets out a quick roar as he nears the Seal and brings his left arm back to his side, throwing his right fist forward in a fiery punch against the Seal !Scene-switch!

)Inside(

Rikku leaps back to avoid an overhand right punch by Krios and lands a step or so away as Krios' fist hits the ground where she was. Without a second to think, Krios quickly brings his left fist upward as he steps toward Rikku... hitting her with an uppercut, knocking the blonde Al Bhed girl onto her back.

"Rikku!" Yuna calls worriedly, quickly spinning to look back at where Rikku is as the Al Bhed girl pushes herself up to a sitting position.

Rikku's spiralled eyes quickly widen somewhat, "Yunie! Look out!" she shouts, causing Yuna to spin back toward Shilaya as a blast of magic flies at the the former High Summoner. Yuna manages to raise her arms to partially shield herself as the blast hits her, knocking her to the ground.

Rikku and Yuna both manage to get back to their feet and Rikku runs over to Yuna, "Are you okay, Yunie?" she asks.

Yuna nods, "I... think so." she responds, "How... are we going to beat them?"

"By focusing on one, first." Rikku replies, running at Shilaya and performing her standard physical attack: a horizontal swipe with the left-hand dagger, following by spinning her back toward Shilaya and thrusts her right-hand dagger back into Shilaya, then hops back to her starting position.

As soon as Rikku's attack is finished, Yuna pulls out her second gun and starts blasting away at Shilaya with 'Trigger Happy'. Then, Rikku physically attacks again, followed by Yuna using 'Trigger Happy' again. !Scene-switch!

)Outside(

Leonn finally breaks-off his attack against the Seal and backs away, breathing heavily, changing back to his regular self. As soon as he backs off, Paine runs toward the Seal and swings her sword against it again, this time powered-up by the 'Excalibur' ability. Paine breaks-off after a little while longer, lowering the end of her sword to the ground and breathing heavily, "... what're we going to do?" she questions to no one in particular, as she punches the Seal with her left hand in frustration.

"We'll get in..." Leonn says, changing back into his Dragoner form, "By combining all of our power together!" he glances back to Sarah, "You ready to back me up, Sarah?" he asks.

Sarah responds with a swift nod and a, "Mm-hm!"

"I'll help, too!" Ellone says.

Leonn nods, then raises his right arm as fire swirls around it again... however, this time the fire is acompanied by ice, water, and lightning, courtesy of Sarah's magic. Leonn grips his hand into a solid fist, "Alright! Paine, Let's break this Seal!" he says, then flies toward the Seal.

Paine nods once and grips the handle of her sword in both hands, then starts a swing with her sword, again with the 'Excalibur' ability, and the blade also begins glowing from Ellone imbueing it with her own magic. The blade of Paine's sword and Leonn's fist near the Seal at the same instance... !Scene-switch!

)Inside(

"Ughn..." Shilaya drops to a sitting-like position and her head drops forward unconscious.

As soon as Shilaya drops unconscious, Krios crosses his arms over his chest quickly, then jerks them to his sides as his head snaps back, "Grahhhh!" he yells as his entire body is consumed by a powerful aura... his 'Enraged' state, caused by Shilaya being knocked out. Krios then runs toward Rikku and Yuna, and punches toward them with his right fist... !Scene-switch!

)Inside/Near Entrance(

There's a slight spark, then... the Seal explodes, shattering into hundreds of tiny pieces as Leonn and Paine run in, Sarah and Ellone follow. The four head into the cavern to find Rikku and Yuna... small 'time-skip', Paine and the others arrive where the fight has been taking place and see Rikku and Yuna both 'knelt' and breathing heavily, Krios is standing a few feet infront of them... and looks as if he's unharmed.

"Are we... too late?" questions Paine, concerned.

A moment passes, then... Krios' aura fades and he slouches forward slightly, breathing heavily, "... well done, my daughter." he says toward Rikku with a partial smile.

"My name's Rikku!" the blonde Al Bhed girl responds.

"Heh..." Krios responds, then nods slightly, "Rikku it is, then... ughn..." he then falls backward and hits the ground on his back.

"Father!" Rikku calls, pushing herself up to run over to him.

Krios slowly opens his spiralled eyes to look at Rikku, "You've... grown well." he says, again smiling slightly, "You've grown up to be a strong young woman..."

"But, You've managed to retain your kind heart and gentle nature." Shilaya's voice adds, causing Rikku to look over where she's 'sitting'. Shilaya has her head raised now toward Rikku and is smiling, "And, Your father and I are very proud of you."

"Mom..." Rikku says, then smiles.

"Worthless fools!" a booming voice states.

"What the?"

"It's Trema..." Krios says, "Rikku... you and your friends must stop him!" "It is the only way you can escape this dungeon." he adds, "His altar is just ahead..." he points to a door in the north-east direction, "Through that door."

Rikku looks toward the door, then back down at Krios and nods, "Don't worry, We'll bust 'im up, real good!" she says, "Then, We'll all get outta here, together." she then looks back at Yuna and the others, "Right, guys?"

Yuna, Paine, and Leonn nod in agreement. Yuna then runs up to where Rikku is, they nod to one another and then head toward the door. Paine turns to Leonn, Sarah, and Ellone, then shrugs and runs off to catch Rikku and Yuna. Leonn shakes his head slightly, then nods once basically to himself and turns to Sarah and Ellone, "We'll take care of Trema." he says, "See what you two can do to help Krios and Shilaya, okay?" Sarah and Ellone both nod, then Leonn turns and runs off to join up with YRP.

!To Be Continued!

Ramblings: Well, How is so far? Pretty strange, eh? Well, There'll be one more chapter in which the group's gonna fight Trema... or rather Omega Trema, since I don't know what Trema looks like... I'm just gonna have him merge with Omega Weapon since I know what it looks like and that's what Rikku and the gang are gonna fight. Okay, Next chapter will be the last. BTW, If you all are wondering why my typing format is changing so often... the reason is that this site is screwing with my format and deleting my type of format, then I change it somewhat, then they change it again, and so on. Please, Just bear with me, if I manage to finish this story using my basic editor(Notepad), then I'm going to try to find a typing program that this site will allow my format in... just be patient, okay? Well, Ja til next time!