This will be the most shocking chapter yet of Shadows of the Empire. It's also, without doubt, the longest. So brace yourselves, kids!
Just a little info: the song that Yuna is singing at the start of this chapter is from an FFX-2 music video called "Fly on the Wings of Love." I don't quite remember where I downloaded it. It may have been from , but I'm not sure about that. It's a very good AMV, and it perfectly fits Yuna and Tidus' relationship in my opinion.
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Weeks passed since the occupation of the Empire.
Yuna smiled lightly as she stared dreamily into the fire at the back of the cavern where she, Rikku, and Paine had discovered a sphere several months earlier. She couldn't explain why she felt so happy, she just knew that she felt an incredible sensation of hope swelling up in her chest.
It made no sense, she knew. The Empire had been tightening its grasp over Spira for the last few weeks, and the people were starting to be miserable. She ached to be out of that dingy cave and helping the people, but her happiness could not be weighed down by the events.
Sighing happily, she stretched her body out fully and leaned back against the cave's wall, staring up at the ceiling with a fool's smile on her face. Ever since she had awakened, there had been a song stuck in her head that made her think of Tidus. Even though thinking of him always made her happy, she knew that it was not the entire reason why she felt so good.
"Fly on the wings of love," she sang happily, not knowing how she could sing a song she had never heard in her entire life. "Fly baby, fly. Reaching the stars above… Touching the sky…"
She stood up suddenly, clasping her hands together over her heart as the sudden desire to sing and dance overcame her. Spinning around gracefully in the small area, she couldn't help but giggle as the silliness of what she was doing got through to her. But she didn't stop dancing, not for a moment.
"And as time goes by, there's a lot to try. And I'm feeling lucky, oh yeah." She paused in her carefree dancing, staring dreamily down to the hard cavern floor as she swung slowly in place. "In the softest sand, smiling hand in hand. Love is all around me…"
"There's just one more thing I'd like to add," she sang, holding up one finger as though she was speaking to someone in conversation, then swung her other arm out to her side in a grand gesture. "He's the greatest love I've ever had!
"Fly on the wings of love," she began to repeat, smiling widely. She felt as though this song she was singing had been written specifically for Tidus and herself. "Fly baby, fly! Reaching the stars above, and touching the sky…"
"Is that another one of Lenne's songs?" Tidus voice asked from behind her.
She spun around suddenly, feeling heat rush to her face as she realized that she had an audience. Smiling sheepishly, she clasped her hands behind her back and swayed softly in place. "Maybe," she said quietly, then looked up into his eyes. "But I want to think of it as our song," she added with a nod.
He laughed softly and walked across the small space to her, pulling her into a gentle hug as he kissed her forehead. "Then it is our song," he declared. "But only on one condition."
Blinking her bi-colored eyes up at him, she tilted her head to the side questioningly. "What's that?"
"You gotta sing it for me when this is all over," he said matter-of-factly, a smug expression on his face.
"Okay," she answered with a smile and a nod. She looked at him a moment longer, then said with a giggle, "I'll sing for you in front of the whole village!"
He pulled back just enough to stare at her grinning face, with a shocked expression on his own. "Wow! You sure aren't shy anymore, are you?"
She looked down to the floor of the cavern and smiled sheepishly again. "Well, maybe just a little. But it's just our village, and not all of Spira. I don't feel as shy if it's just Besaid. Everyone knows me, and knows you. And I want them all to know how much I love you."
Looking back up at him, she thought she saw a faint sheen over his eyes, but before she could tease him about it, he pulled her into a tight hug and whispered into her ear, "I love you, Yuna."
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him, feeling his muscled back against her fingers through the fabric of his yellow shirt. "I love you too," she whispered.
They stood there, wrapped together, for several long moments, until he finally stepped back and reached into his pocket. "I almost forgot, Wakka said that this arrived for you, from Nooj." As he finished his statement, he withdrew an orange sphere from his pocket and handed it over to her.
"From Nooj?" she asked, turning the sphere over in her hands. "So the Empire hasn't gotten him yet…"
"At least, not before this sphere was recorded," Tidus added, truthfully.
She nodded, not wanting to think about that. Forcing a smile, she hefted the sphere in her hand. "Well, let's see what he has to say."
Tidus nodded, and she gave the sphere a gentle squeeze in a particular way, triggering the playback function. She then held the sphere out so Tidus could see.
The flickering image that materialized was of a darkened room, and she could see pyreflies floating in the background. Looking closer, the room appeared to be of natural make, not man-made. The only place she could think of that looked that way was the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth. She glanced up at Tidus, saw he had realized the same thing, then looked back down the sphere as Nooj's face appeared in the image.
"Lady Yuna, greetings," the recorded voice said. "If you are watching this sphere, then I trust that you are still safe and free, as am I. Just recently, the Calm Lands have had a most interesting visitor. He says he brings an important message for you. As we realized that a sphere traveling from the Calm Lands to Besaid would garner much less attention than myself or he approaching you in person, we decided to record the message onto this sphere to be sent to you."
Nooj looked away from the sphere's viewing area, and nodded to someone offscreen. A clicking sound was heard from the same direction, and Nooj turned the spherecamera to the right.
She could see a man standing before the sphere, wearing dark clothing. The spherecamera wasn't focused on him, however, but on what he was holding. It was a small object, circular, silver, with what looked like small vents on the top of it. However, it became obvious as an image appeared hovering in the air over the object that it was similar to a sphere.
This image that was being recorded for her was of a young man, clad in dark robes, wearing a serious, yet pleased, expression on his face. The image was in a washed-out blue, so she couldn't tell the color of his hair or eyes.
"I presume that I am addressing the High Summoner Yuna," the man spoke in a soft voice that, much like hers, commanded respect and attention. "You are seeing this message because the Empire has taken control of your planet Spira. I regret that our meeting could not be under more peaceful circumstances, but certain things cannot be helped.
"My name is Luke Skywalker. I am the first of the new Jedi Knights. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. Very similar, in fact, to the summoners of your world. The Jedi called upon their knowledge and power of the Force to assist them in times of crisis, much like how your summoners called upon their aeons."
Tidus narrowed his eyes at the recording. He wasn't sure he liked the direction that this Skywalker was taking…
"Your father, like yourself, were both very gifted summoners. My research indicates that you broke records in your journey through the temples' Cloister of Trials. This was very much a testament to your own skill, yes, but also it is a testament to your family history."
Yuna looked up from the sphere into Tidus' eyes, confusion evident on her face. He shrugged slightly and gestured back toward the sphere. She nodded and looked back down to it. As Skywalker paused in his speech, she could hear the man holding the recording utter, "What is Commander Skywalker getting at?"
Skywalker's visage looked out at her from the sphere, pride evident in his features. "My research indicates that you are the descendant of Juun Toral, no doubt a very powerful summoner during his time. However, Juun Toral was more than just a summoner."
Skywalker paused again, seeming to marshal his words. Then he continued, slowly, "Juun Toral was a well-respected Jedi Knight serving the Old Republic. After a long war with the Sith, Master Toral discovered Spira and decided to settle there." Pausing again, Skywalker seemed to decide to approach from a different angle. "Lady Yuna, have you ever felt something in your heart or your mind telling you to take a certain path, or do a certain thing, and you did not know where or how you knew how to do that? Or has your body sometimes acted without the input of your brain, and you've saved lives that way?"
Yuna paled considerably, recalling specific moments in her life when she had had occurrences like the ones Skywalker mentioned. And she remembered hearing stories about her great-grandfather, many generations removed, Juun Toral. He had been the finest summoner of his day, much in the way that people regarded her and her father, Braska, as the finest summoners of their day. This man Skywalker was saying many things about her life and her family that she didn't think he could possibly have known.
"Yes, Lady Yuna, that is correct," Skywalker's image said, as though reading her thoughts. "You are gifted with inheritance of the knowledge of the Force. Your father knew this as well. I have sensed several strong disturbances in the Force, centered around objects, that are on an island on Spira called Besaid. One of these is probably a message from your father, telling you of your history. Another is likely the weapon of the Jedi, the lightsaber.
"The Rebel pilot who has brought you this message, also has a means by which you can contact me, and I can provide you lessons on how to use your powers of the Force, and the lightsaber, when you find it. I anxiously await the day that I might speak to you directly, Lady Yuna."
Skywalker's image on the sphere blinked out, and the man returned the device to his pocket. Yuna could hear the man and Nooj conversing in surprised tones; they evidently had not pre-screened the message before recording it onto the sphere. But she paid no attention to their words; her mind streaking down corridors far away from the contents of the sphere.
She remembered, vaguely, the stories her father used to tell her about people who could leap dozens of feet into the air, move objects around at will, and that wielded swords of pure light. She remembered, as a little girl, listening in awe to those stories, and envying those people with such mysterious powers. Was it possible that she, too, could do all those things? And more?
The sphere had long gone silent in her hands, its message finished. She simply stared blankly into space, until Tidus waved his hand before her eyes and then snapped his fingers twice, rapidly.
She blinked and looked around in confusion, as though not remembering where she was, then her eyes focused on Tidus, who was watching her with a curious expression. "Father left me a sphere," she mumbled, absently.
"Come again?" Tidus asked.
She looked up at him and smiled slightly, setting Nooj's sphere on the ground before standing up and taking both of his hands in hers. "My father left a sphere for me in the temple. I could never get it to play, and neither could anyone else. Every time I tried, it always asked me for a password. I guess that password is Juun Toral, the name of my distant great-grandfather."
Tidus nodded, squeezing her hands gently. "So we're going to the temple? I'll go tell Wakka that he needs to figure out some way to distract the stormtroopers so that we can sneak in."
Nodding, she smiled at him, then leaned forward and kissed him lightly, then gave his hands a squeeze. "Thank you."
Returning her kiss with one of his own and a smile, he pulled his hands away from hers and, with a wave, turned and dashed out of the cavern.
Sighing wistfully, Yuna sat down on the blankets that they had slept in for weeks, and picked up the sphere again, turning it over in her hands. "So," she said quietly. "I'm a Jedi."
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An hour later, Tidus and Yuna crouched in the jungle behind the temple, listening carefully to the conversation at the front of the temple.
"So, what exactly did you guys come here for?" Wakka's voice reached to them from around the building. "I mean, from what I hear, you guys didn't have no problem takin' over, so you can't be after our machina, ya?"
There was an audible pause, which Tidus found to be discomforting. From what Wakka had said, the two stormtroopers who were stationed in Besaid were actually quite friendly and seemed to enjoy talking to the villagers.
Finally, the stormtroopers relented. "You're right about that, Wakka," the mechanically-filtered voice said. "Your weapons would be useless to us in fighting the Rebels. That's not what we're here after. We'd heard reports that indicated that some monster had been terrorizing your planet for a thousand years. We're here after that."
Yuna gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth. Beside her, Tidus clenched a tight fist, his expression twisted in anger. They could hear the shocked reactions of the villagers within earshot of the conversation.
"You… you came here for Sin!?" Wakka burst out. "Are you guys out of your minds!? You haven't lived here! You haven't seen what Sin can do!"
As Wakka continued his outburst, Tidus looked over at Yuna and squeezed her hand, nodding toward the temple and drawing his sword. She nodded also, checked her guns, and then slipped forward as silently as possible.
"I went on a pilgrimage against Sin as a guardian! I've seen first-hand what it can do, ya!? It just kills and slaughters and destroys. Without thought or mercy! And you want to unleash that on any number of worlds!? What in Yevon's name is wrong with you people!?"
As Yuna slipped up onto the raised platform that led into the temple, she saw the stormtroopers exchange a glance and tensed, hoping that they didn't spot her, hoping that they wouldn't level their blasters on Wakka.
Then the stormtrooper on the left turned back toward Wakka and shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Either way, it's a moot point now. Since you people killed Sin two years ago." There was no mistaking that the stormtrooper was not pleased with that information.
"So you think that you could've just boxed Sin up, stuck it in your big ship up there, and cart it off to whatever world you felt like destroying, ya? Lemme tell you brudda, it don't work that way!"
Any reply the stormtroopers may have made was lost on Yuna and Tidus, the two of them having slipped into the temple while Wakka was still raving. Once inside, they quickly moved away from the main entrance, Tidus wondering where the sphere was, and Yuna heading directly to the statue of her father. Sensitive to the fact that she may want to be alone, Tidus simply stood aside and watched her.
Clasping her hands before her, Yuna craned her head back to stare up into the face of her father's statue, feeling like a little girl again. "Father, why didn't you tell me?" she whispered quietly.
She waited for a moment, as though expecting an answer, then tore her eyes away from the statue and turned back toward Tidus, smiling apologetically. "Come on," she said, pointing to the temple chamber to the right of the path up into the Cloister of Trials. "The sphere is in here."
Tidus nodded and followed Yuna into the antechamber, closing the door behind them just in case the stormtroopers decided to wander around the temple. He watched in wonder as she moved directly to a shelf and reached up toward a sphere set high up. Even standing on the tips of her toes, she couldn't quite reach it.
She turned around and looked to Tidus as he struggled to keep from laughing, her cheeks burning red. "Umm…?" She gestured to the sphere.
He laughed and walked over to the shelf, stretching up to reach the top and grab hold of the sphere. Lowering back down to his regular height, he handed the sphere over to Yuna with a snicker and kiss on the forehead.
Blushing furiously, she smacked him in the center of his chest with her open palm, then turned away and placed her hands on the sphere, squeezing gently to activate it. The sphere pulsed lightly, then a voice wavered out of it. "Say your password."
Yuna cleared her throat, looked over at Tidus, then back down to the sphere. "Juun Toral," she said, hoping she spoke clearly enough.
She paused, holding her breath, and waited. The sphere glowed brightly, and then the glow faded, with an image of Braska replacing it. Yuna barely held in a squeak of joy at having successfully unlocked her father's sphere. She smiled brightly at Tidus, then turned her full attention to the sphere.
"Hello, Yuna," Braska's voice said from within the sphere, as his smiling image looked out at her. "If you're watching this sphere, then you've been informed of your heritage and knew to use your great-grandfather's name as the password.
"Everything you were told about your heritage as a Jedi is true. Juun Toral came to Spira two hundred years ago and began our family line. Every descendant of his has been strong in the Force, but none have ever needed to use that power until now. You, Yuna, must take up the mantle of the Jedi Knight.
"Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of any spheres or recordings on Spira that can help you learn the ways of the Force. I assume that you learned of your heritage through an outsider who has informed you of such. It is my hope that this person has offered you a way to learn how to become a Jedi."
Braska paused, his image showing his pride in his daughter. "I cannot assist you in learning the ways of the Force, Yuna. But I can give you the weapon of the Jedi. This sphere is the key, Yuna. The statue of myself in the Besaid Temple took so long to arrive because I had it custom-built.
"Take this sphere, Yuna, and place it in the recess at the back of the pedestal on my statue. It will open a hidden slot, and within you will find the lightsaber of your great-grandfather, Juun Toral, which has been handed down in our family for generations. I don't suggest you try to use it until you have received training. It is a most unconventional weapon.
"Yuna, if you are watching this sphere, then I have mixed feelings for this day. I am proud that you are living up to our heritage as protectors and guardians in a way that no one has done since Master Toral. But I am in fear, knowing that your ascension to Jedi Knighthood comes in Spira's darkest times. I pray that you are able to protect Spira with your powers, and that you remain safe in these trying times." His form shrunk slightly, and it took her a moment to realize that he'd stepped away from the spherecamera so that she could see his prayer genuflection. She winced slightly, having forgotten that her father had died before she had seen the falsehoods of Yevon torn down.
"Always remember Yuna, that I am very proud of you, and I love you."
Then the recording ended, and she lowered the sphere, choking back a sob. She wanted to make her father proud of her, but knowing that he would not be here to tell her how proud he was hurt. She knew it was selfish of her, but she didn't care. She had always acted for others, for Spira. She wanted to do something for herself for once. Genuinely for herself and no one else.
Suddenly she felt strong arms around her, and a warmth pressed against her tightly. For a moment, she thought that it was her father, then she caught sight of Tidus' blond hair and blushed slightly, having momentarily forgotten he was there.
She smiled a little. Okay, maybe for me and him, but still…
Pulling back slightly, she smiled up at Tidus. "Let's go get my lightsaber," she said.
"You got it," he said, pulling down a fist in that way he always did. She could tell that he had no clue about Jedi or the Force or lightsabers, but he was behind her anyway. Then again, all she knew about them was from the stories she remembered her father telling her when she was a child.
Smiling, she held the sphere in one hand, intertwining her other with Tidus' as she walked out of the antechamber and headed directly toward her father's statue. Kneeling down, she pulled her hand away from Tidus' and felt around the ill-lit base of the statue. Taking a hint, Tidus knelt on the other side and did the same.
After a few moments, Tidus suddenly jerked up and reached for the sphere with one hand. "Did you find it?" Yuna asked excitedly, handing over the sphere.
He nodded, and slid the sphere into the recess he was holding his other hand over. Pushing it in until it locked into place, he waited. Leaning over him, Yuna watched with the excitement of a little girl getting her first bicycle for Christmas.
The sphere pulsed brightly, then slid fully into the recess as a small stone cover slid over it. There was a faint sound of stone scraping against stone, and a slot below the hidden recess opened.
Blinking, somehow having expected the lightsaber to come floating out into her hand, Yuna reached past Tidus and into the slot. Her fingers touched something cylindrical, which she wrapped her hand around and pulled out of the slot. Once she had it free, she turned and held it out under the torchlight in the dim chamber.
The object she held in her hands was the length of her forearm, solid metal, with a round button on one side, and it was trimmed in blue and green metal. The same color as my eyes, she thought, turning the cylinder over in her hand. It's almost as if this was made specifically for me.
Looking up at Tidus, she stepped back away from the statues into an open space, and pressed the silver button under her thumb. With a snapping hiss, a brilliant blue-green blade flashed into existence, its light expelling the darkness of the chamber. She testingly swung the blade through the air a few times, listening to the change in pitch of the weapon's hum.
What surprised her the most about the weapon was that its weight did not increase when she activated the blade. Just to make certain, she pressed the button under her thumb again, banishing the blade. Once more, the weight did not change. So this is why the lightsaber is such a difficult weapon to master, she pondered.
She looked across the temple to Tidus, who was staring at her in wonder, as though she was some heroine from whatever fairy tales he had been told as a child in Zanarkand. Smiling sheepishly, she tied the lightsaber to her belt and crossed the distance between herself and Tidus, enfolding him in a tight hug.
He laughed aloud, and she pulled back from him, looking up at him curiously. "So you've been the High Summoner, a sphere hunter, a fiend hunter, a singer, a blitzer, and now you're going to be a Jedi Knight. What else is there for you to do, Yuna?"
She laughed as well, and hugged him again. I have an idea, she thought to herself as she looked up into his ocean-blue eyes. But we'll deal with that after we kick the Empire off our planet.
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A/N: Holy shit! Yuna a Jedi!? Who saw that one coming? No, really. I've been dropping hints since chapter one. And if you think that one came out of the asteroid belt, just wait until you see what else I've got planned! Business is picking up, ladies and gentlemen!
And now, shout-outs.
Morgaine of the Fairies: Glad you're enjoying it. Look forward to more action and adventure in future chapters! And sure thing, I'll check out your fic tomorrow. I would've tonight, but I've spent HOURS working on this chapter. xx It was like seven pages. My longest yet.
