i'm back everyone! this chapter was aLOT of fun to write. i hope you all enjoy reading it, tho you wouldn't be here if you didnt. oh well, on to the fan replys!
Plum-Chan- Welcome! i'm glad you like my fic. it's always nice to from a new fan. and as for the sin thing, i didn't really think anyone would expect that, so i decided to work it intothe fic. seemed like a good idea... still does. well, keep reviewing!
Sephirothxx- i'm glad you liked the encounter with seymour on the thunder plains. i always wondered how easy it must've been for him to cross, being a 'peerless summoner' and all, and he DID have to cross. so what better place for ryan matt and andy to be sent back then right in his way? and i'm glad someone liked all the god/angel stuff, 'cause it was so boring to write.
(waiting for internet to start working again so he can read the next review.) i hate my internet... (five minutes later) hey, it's done! on to the next review!
labrat-seph- well, finally, a someone that likes to corect gramar! that's good, very good, so thank you. and as for the tidus/auron/ smelling thing, i actually had auron smelling tidus. but you're right, it does happen to most authors.
Da Ker MysTeR- well, that's not something i was expecting to hear, but welcome news none the less! i'm glad you like it so much you'd put it on your top ten list. and i'm glad you liked the encounters with the gods, because they were, as i said, boring for me to write... except ryan's, whose going to have several... problems... with lusniec later on in the story, and the following stories too. and i'm glad you like all the detail i put into my story, 'cause it isn't really planed (sweatdrop) well, moving along...
(waiting for internet to start working once more so he can see if there are anymore reviews) you know what? i'm not sure if it's norten, or if it's my computer, or both, but this sux. i have to do everything on in increments of five minutes. it's a plot i tell you, to keep me from updating!
Sejest Fanel- sorry if i spelled you name wrong. my internet's being a pain in the ass and taking, like, twenty minutes to load a page, and then it's usually just an error screen. in other words, i can't actually LOOK at your review, but i'm glad you like my story enough to review it! and as for updating my Legend of Dragoons story, i did update to chapter three. and you've got no room to talk, you've already read that chatper dude!
well now that that's done, on to the story!
Chapter 10:Traitors
The sound of a picture being taken snapped the three out of their light sleep. Followed quickly by another bolt of lightning, Rikku proceeded to yell at it.
"She's really weird at times…" Ryan whispered only loud enough for his friends to hear him over the thunder.
"Yeah." Matt agreed instantly before standing up slowly. "Well, I guess it's time for us to make our grand reappearance, eh?"
"Yeah, and I was really enjoying myself, sitting on the damp, cold ground." Andy added sarcastically. "Let's just go."
"Fire!" Lulu yelled so suddenly the three scattered on instinct. Looking in the direction of the group they moaned. Standing around them were two of the giant suits of armor that Ifrit and Ixion had taken down earlier.
"Damn, such a hassle." Matt muttered as he watched one swing at Auron. The guardian managed to block the attack, but the raw force behind it sent him flying backwards to land a good three feet away from them.
"We go in there and fight head on, we might be in trouble." Ryan whispered as he took off along the side of the battle, staying in the shadows the many spells Lulu was hurling at the fiends created. Once he noticed that Matt and Andy were following him he signaled from them to get behind the creatures. Just before he was behind the farthest to the right he heard Rikku yell, and turned just in time to see her sail into a nearby rock that had a cactus with eyes hammered into it. Before anyone could react the dark sky flashed once again as another lightning bolt sailed down towards the dazed Al Bhed…
And changed direction in mid flight, slamming into the armor Ryan was standing behind and sending it staggering back towards him several feet. Without thinking he jumped up as high as he could, more then a little surprised when he soared higher then the thing's head. Seeing a chance to kill the thing for good he drew his sword just before reaching the peak of his jump, and turned so he was parallel to the ground. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style," He started as he began his descent, raising his sword as far above his head as he could, and he stayed that was as he fell until he was right above the thing's head, "Ryu Tsui Sen!" He yelled as he slashed down as hard as he could and split the fiend in two down the center.
"Ryan?" Tidus yelled in disbelief.
"Later!" He said while jumping back to avoid being crushed by the iron giant closest to him. Turning he saw Andy charging the monster, his fist blades engulfed in flames that didn't seem to be hurting him. 'That's a new trick.'
Andy slammed into the thing's knee and jumped back after punching it only once. Before the thing had time to counter his attack a tornado of flames engulfed it. When the fires died down the wind blew the ashes away while Andy dropped to one knee from the exertion of controlling so much fire.
"Hey big guy!" Rikku yelled at the only remaining giant as she ran up to it for a second and jumped away, throwing a grenade at it in the process. "Thanks for the gift!" She said with a wink as the grenade exploded, blowing the thing back onto its back.
"See ya!" Tidus yelled as he and Kimahri jumped unto the thing, each shoving their weapon into its chest before jumping away to watch all three burst into pyreflies.
"Well that was fun." Ryan said as he and Matt walked over towards Andy who was just getting his second wind. Before any of them had realized what was going on Rikku, Yuna, Tidus, and Wakka were next to them, each of them shouting to have their questions heard over the thunder. "One at a time, one at a time!" Ryan yelled as loud as he could, barely being heard over the thunder and the questions.
When everyone had quieted down Yuna stepped forward. "What happened to you three?" She asked as Auron, Lulu, and Kimahri joined them, completing the ring around the three teens.
"Well, that's a good question actually…" Matt started, "and you probably wouldn't believe us if we told you. Hell, you've probably never heard of the people we met."
"Dnortih, god of thunder; Vena, god of Fire; and Lusniec, strongest of the Guardian Angels." Auron said quietly. Ryan, Matt, and Andy whirled around, utterly shocked that he knew all of the names of their predecessors. "I am wrong then?"
"No, but you're not telling us everything you know." Matt stated. "If you know that then what else do you know I wonder?" Auron smirked, but said nothing. "Guess you're in the same mood as always."
"Well, can't hurt to tell them, can it?" Ryan asked, suddenly becoming very curious as to whether or not Lusniec could hurt those who knew of him. The thought of the seemingly hateful angel attacking his friends sent chills down his spine.
"You okay?" Rikku asked, snapping Ryan out of his horrifying thoughts.
"Yeah, sorry." He lied, unable to shake the thoughts from his head. "Anyway, I dunno about either of you two, but I went through hell to get back here."
"What'd ya mean by that?" Matt asked.
Ryan sighed. "I had to fight… Billy." He said quietly. "Twice no less."
Matt and Andy stared at him in disbelief. "You fought Billy? How the hell did he end up in Spira? He was in a comma for what, the past six months?" Andy questioned.
"Who's Billy?" Tidus demanded.
"Billy was Ryan's rival where we're from. He was an arrogant piece of shit who thought way too much of himself, and way too little of nearly everyone else. Not to mention…." Matt started, but glanced at Ryan and stopped when he saw the dangerous look Ryan was giving him. "Well, anyway, they didn't like each other too much."
"And they got into a fight once too." Andy added. "Ryan won, but Billy's been in a comma ever since then."
"Right…" Tidus said, still not sure why that'd been hell for Ryan.
"Anyway, it wasn't that bad for me. I just talked to a god… as abnormal as that sounds." Matt said with a shrug.
"Same here, 'cept I did it in an active volcano." Andy concluded.
"That's all you did?" Tidus asked in disbelief. "There's gotta be more than that! Boring!"
"Well what did you do?" Ryan questioned.
"Ummmm… well… heh, guess you've got me there." Tidus said with a laugh. "Well, since that's settled I guess it's time to get moving again."
"Everyone… wait." Yuna said suddenly, causing everyone to turn to face her.
"What's up?" Wakka questioned.
"I have something to say." Yuna stated.
"Here?" Lulu asked in surprise.
"We're almost out of here! Let's go!" Rikku whinned.
"I have to say it now!" Yuna said defiantly.
"Over there." Auron said, pointing to the closest Lightning Rod Tower.
"I've decided to marry." Yuna declared after the group had reached the safety of the tower.
"I thought so." Lulu said almost sadly as a bolt of lightning struck and Rikku freaked out, grabbing Ryan's shirt and nearly pulling him to the ground in her fear.
"B-but why? Why'd you change your mind?" Wakka questioned the young Summoner.
Yuna hesitated for a second. "For Spira's future… and Yevon's unity. I thought it would be the best thing to do." She replied, and even she sounded sad about it.
"That's not good enough." Auron said, surprising everyone.
"He's right. Don't live for everyone but yourself Yuna." Ryan added.
"Wait is it… is it because of Lord Jyscal?" Lulu questioned.
"Hey, that sphere!" Tidus said suddenly.
"Sphere? What sphere?" Andy questioned aloud.
"Show me." Auron demanded, taking a step towards Yuna.
"I can't." Yuna said, stepping back from the old guardian. "I must speak to Maester Seymour first. I'm truly sorry but this is… it is a personal matter." She clarified.
"You're kidding, ya?" Wakka asked in disbelief.
"As you wish." Auron said, walking back to where he'd been standing before.
"I'm sorry." Yuna said quietly.
"Just one thing." Auron said, turning back toward Yuna.
"I won't quit my pilgrimage." Yuna stated firmly.
"Then it is… fine." Auron said.
"That's it? We don't have anything else we can say?" Ryan asked in disbelief. "Come on Yuna, you don't want to marry that creep."
"Hey, he's a Maester of Yevon, ya? You'll show him some more respect, got it?" Wakka demanded. Ryan rolled his eyes, but stayed silent.
"As long as she is willing to face Sin… everything else is her concern. That is a Summoner's privilege. As long as she journeys."
"Jeez, you can't just talk to him? I mean, marrying the guys is going a bit far, especially since you obviously don't want to." Matt said from his position just outside of the tower's protective covering.
"I don't. But I think it's the right thing to do." Yuna stated.
"Yunie…" Rikku started, stepping towards the Summoner. Another bolt of lightning landed nearby, spraying Matt with dirt, and she looked up at the sky, "Quiet," she yelled before turning back to Yuna, "I wish we could help somehow, some way!" She complained.
"It's okay… I'll be fine." Yuna replied with a sad smile.
'Not with that freak you won't.' Matt thought bitterly, but he kept his tongue in check, knowing how blindly Wakka followed Yevon.
"Next we go to Macalania Temple. Yuna can talk with Seymour there. We guardians will wait until they're done, and then plan our next move. Understood?" Auron asked, and everyone nodded grimly.
It didn't take the newly reunited group long to get out of the Thunder Plains, for which Rikku was incredibly happy, and into a forest that Lulu told them was Macalania Woods. Compared to the storm outside in the Thunder Plains, and the damp, oppressing feeling of sorrow that was the atmosphere of the Thunder Plains, the tall, quiet, welcoming trees of the forest were a welcomed sight by the entire group.
"You're worried about Yuna." Auron said to Tidus, but Matt and Ryan also stopped to face him.
"Is there any reason we shouldn't be?" Matt questioned.
"Yeah, what's she thinking?" Tidus added.
"The simplest answer would be… in exchange for agreeing to marry him… she hopes to negotiate with Seymour." Auron replied.
"Negotiate about what?" Ryan questioned.
"I wonder." Auron replied, ignoring the question.
"What, all by herself?" Tidus demanded.
"She's strong, but Seymour's the better negotiator." Auron said finally.
"Because of Anima… or because he's more experienced?" Matt inquired.
"Anima is one reason… but he is also more experienced." Auron admitted.
"Well don't worry about Anima." Ryan said with a grin. "We've beaten it once before, we'll beat it again." He said drawing a grin from Matt and confused looks from Auron and Tidus.
"When did this happen?"
"Well we didn't wanna bring it up because Wakka's so pro-Yevon, but we met Seymour on the Thunder Plains. He wanted to see how strong we were, so he summoned Anima and had us fight it. We kicked its ass." Matt explained.
"I see." Auron said. "But Yuna wants it this way."
"Argh! I don't get it, doesn't she trust us?" Tidus complained.
"I doubt it's that. I think that whatever she's planning is dangerous, and she doesn't want to have us get involved if she can prevent it." Ryan said quietly. "At least, that's the kind of thing that I would expect Yuna to do."
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Tidus complained. "But that makes me worry even more. She could just tell us."
"That's the way she is." Auron replied. "She's naïve, serious to a fault, and doesn't ask for help."
"If you take away the naïve thing, that sounds a lot like you Auron." Ryan said quietly to which Auron grunted.
"Yuna's easy to read," Auron said, and everyone there nodded, "but hard to guard. Stay by her, always." The last part was clearly directed towards Tidus.
"We'd better get back to the rest of the group. They're waiting for us." Ryan observed, pointing to the rest who were sitting around at the top of the root like thing they were walking along.
"Slowpokes!" Rikku complained in her normal, happy voice that had left during their brief visit to the Thunder Plains.
"Sorry." Tidus replied with a chuckle. "Yuna, let's go." He said, and the group started off. The group soon found that the fiends in the woods were much more difficult then the ones outside on the Thunder Plains. Particularly the three headed chimeras, which had the habit of using an attack that almost always seemed to knock one of them out before going out itself.
After one battle where Yuna and Ryan had both been caught by the attack the group was recovering when Barthello came running down the path towards them, frantically looking around. "Hey! You, have you seen Dona?" He gasped, trying to catch his breath.
"Dona? Can't say that I have." Tidus replied, apparently speaking for the whole group.
"What's up?" Wakka asked.
"We got separated on our way here!" Barthello growled, punching his fist into his hand. "Damn it all! I've got to find her!"
"Calm down." Auron ordered.
"But if anything happens to her…" Barthello shuddered, apparently thinking of the worst-case scenario.
"Running around in a panic isn't going to help." Auron informed Barthello who seemed to calm down slightly. "Right now you have to keep your cool, and search."
"But-" Barthello began, but Auron cut him off.
"Guard you emotions, then guard your Summoner." Auron said calmly, and the words got through completely this time as Barthello visibly calmed down.
"You're right." Barthello said in a surprisingly calm voice.
"Shall we search?" Auron questioned, but Barthello shook his head.
"No, I've taken up enough of your time. Thank you Sir Auron." He said before bowing and running off. At first Rikku started to follow him, but stopped when Wakka called out to her.
"What's up?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to wish him good luck." Rikku replied simply. With that done they moved on until Auron spoke up again.
"Wait. It is here… somewhere." He said before he pulled out his massive sword.
"What is?" Tidus questioned.
"Something you should see." Was all Auron said before he started to hack away at the trees to clear a path for the rest of the group. The progress was startlingly fast, especially when Matt started to chop at them as well. Eventually they found a path that wasn't overgrown, leading to a pool of water that didn't ripple even in the gentle breeze that reached the area.
"This place… its just water, isn't it?" Tidus questioned.
"This is what sphere are made of. It absorbs and preserves peoples' memories." Auron corrected. As soon as he finished a large, aqua green, semi-transparent, jelly-like sphere rose up out of the pool. "Fiends are also attracted to these places." He said before the thing changed shape from a sphere to a cylinder and went to smash down on Kimahri who managed to jump out of the way.
"Wonderful Auron. What the hell is this thing anyway?" Matt questioned as he drove Lightning Edge as deep into it as he could, doing nearly no damage to the blob.
"I don't know. It wasn't here when I last visited this spot." Auron admitted, driving his sword through the things center. Rather then hurt it the thing pulled itself back together where his sword had already passed through it, doing no damage at all.
As a tentacle shot out to hit Auron Lulu decided to intervene. "Watera!" She yelled, the spell slamming into the tentacle and blowing it to pieces. Although it reformed quickly, the spell had given Auron enough time to escape harm for the time being. Indeed the thing seemed faster after the spell, rather then weaker.
And in reply to Lulu's Watera spell it returned the favor, casting it's own water spell on the black mage and knocking her back a short distance. "Thundera!" Matt yelled, the lightning causing the thing to retreat away from the group. Then it glowed and came back into the battle.
"What was with that glow?" Ryan wondered as he attacked the thing, dealing nearly no damage. In return Ryan felt a bolt of electricity hit him in the back. When the pain stopped shooting through his body he cast a healing spell on himself and saw Lulu cast a Watera spell on the blob, driving it away again. 'Now it makes sense.' Ryan thought as he watched it glow again before returning to battle.
"Go to hell!" Matt yelled as he slammed his axe into the blob's side, again doing no damage. In return he felt an ice cold pain shoot through his left shoulder, followed by the sensation of warmth running down that arm. He knew that something had gone through his shoulder before he looked, but he still cried out in horror when he saw an icicle more then a foot long protruding from his shoulder.
"Shit!" Ryan yelled as he ran over to Matt. "Calm down man. Calm down." He said in as calm a voice as he could manage. After several tense seconds Matt relaxed. "This is gonna hurt like hell dude." He warned as he put his left hand on the blunt side of the icicle sticking out behind Matt.
"What are you gonna do?" Matt whispered, straining to keep from crying out in pain.
"It's a puncture wound Matt. Before we use Magic to heal you, we have to…" Ryan trailed off and Matt chuckled nervously.
"You've gotta get it out of me first, right?" Ryan nodded grimly. "Just don't let me bleed to death if you can't stop it." Matt said in as close to a joking voice as he could manage in his situation.
"Right." Ryan said as he took a deep breath. "On three, okay?" Matt nodded. "One. Two. Three!" Ryan shouted, pushing forward as hard as he could with his left hand and holding Matt's shoulder still with his right. The thing came out, Matt screamed in pain, and Ryan froze for a second at all the blood that sprayed out of the wound. "Cura!" He whispered, willing the magic into the ruined shoulder. At first it didn't seem to work, but after a handful of torturous seconds the blood flow began to lessen, until it stopped completely. "Cura." He whispered again, and watched in relief as the hole began to knit itself back together. Several minutes later he was jerked back to the fight when a blizzard spell nearly impaled him. Had Matt not kicked him in the stomach rather suddenly he would've been dead, instantly. "Damn it!" He muttered angrily as he rolled along the ground, trying to get air back into his lungs that Matt had forcibly emptied.
"Fira Fury!" Lulu yelled, casting twelve fire spells in the fiend's direction. The gasp she made a few seconds later told Matt and Ryan that something was out of place, even before they looked and gasped themselves. All twelve of the flames were suspended in mid-air.
With a grin Andy snapped his fingers, another, much smaller, flame appearing over his hand. Instantly the twelve Lulu had created flew over to merge with his, much to the amazement of everyone there. "I summon you, Suzaku!' He yelled, throwing the ball of fire, now bigger then his head, into the air. For a second it hung there, doing nothing. After a few more seconds of doing nothing it shot up at an amazing speed, changing into a giant bird made of fire as it did.
"Suzaku, god of flames." Ryan muttered in awe as he watched Suzaku finish its transformation. When it was finished it let out a cry before charging the blob, driving itself halfway through the fiends jello like surface before exploding, instantly disintegrating the monster. 'Andy, you didn't just talk to that god did you?'
"What the hell was that?" Tidus demanded as he sat down. "And why didn't you use it earlier?" As if it was his reply Andy passed out and collapsed onto the ground, completely drained of all his energy.
"Well that's probably not good." Ryan muttered, sitting down on the ground himself.
Auron walked over towards the remains of the fallen monster and picked something up. After wiping it off he turned around and threw it to Tidus.
"Whoa, this is old!" Wakka stated after looking at the object Auron had thrown. "Don't know if you can play it back."
"What is it?" Ryan asked, struggling to his feet and walking over towards the group.
"A sphere. Jecht left it here ten years ago. Play it back." Auron ordered, and Tidus obeyed as Ryan walked over to see how Andy was doing.
"Did it work?" He muttered as he propped himself up on his elbows.
"Yeah, it worked alright. Mind explaining why you're summoning a phoenix?" Ryan questioned. "They are ancient gods of fire too you know."
Andy shrugged. "Maybe that's why it was a phoenix?" He asked.
"But the god of the phoenix, Suzaku?" Ryan asked in disbelief. "That's a pretty large stretch of the imagination Andy."
"Well believe it or not, it's your choice." Andy said before looking at Ryan oddly as a healing spell started to restore his energy. "Hey, if I've got a connection to fire, and Matt's got a connection to lightning, what's your connection to?"
Ryan shrugged before pulling Andy to his feet. "I dunno. It very well could be I don't have one, as much as that sucks. After all, I'm just an angel, not a god like you two, remember?"
"Right, 'just an angel' my ass. You've must have some special talent. I doubt you'd have been chosen if there wasn't something similar between you and Lusniec." Andy stated, and Ryan remained silent. That same question had been in the back of his mind since he'd gotten back to Spira, but he'd never been able to pin it down. And here Andy was, hitting the nail on the head.
"You've got a good point Andy." Ryan admitted after Matt had joined him. "What is it about me that caused Lusniec to choose me as his successor."
"Worry about things you can't answer again?" Matt questioned sarcastically. "Give it up, some things you just aren't meant to know."
"Maybe." Ryan admitted, but the thought lingered until Wakka hit Andy with his blitzball, calling for them to catch up or be left behind. "Oh well, guess the time to think about that's over isn't it?"
"Looks that way." Andy agreed before the entire group started off. Two days later found them standing in front of another of Rin's Travel Agencies.
"Well these are conveniently placed around the world." Matt noted, thankful to be out of the woods. As they got closer Tidus noticed Clasko standing in front of an armored Chocobo, and he turned towards them as they approached.
"Hi there. Well would you look at this? They always leave me behind." Clasko complained. Then the Chocobo squawked at him and he turned to face it for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "Oh, you want me to scratch you?" He questioned, and sure enough he was right. As soon as he started scratching the Chocobo it purred like a kitten. "There. Good boy!"
"How'd you know what it wanted?" Tidus questioned the Chocobo Knight.
"I've always been able to tell how Chocobo feel. Maybe I'd make a better Chocobo breeder then Chocobo Knight, huh? Which job do you see me doing?" He questioned the group.
"Chocobo Knight." Tidus confirmed.
"I dunno about that." Ryan said drawing everyone's gaze. He sighed, "Well, no offense meant, but you don't seem like the kind of guy that's very good at fighting. Maybe you'd be better as a breeder, if only a breeder for the Chocobo Knights."
"Maybe. I'll have to think about it. Hey" Clasko started to say something else but was cut short when an arrow burst out of the window of the nearby agency.
"Wonderful." Matt said with a sigh. "We finally get out of the woods, and then someone starts causing trouble at the inn. When will it ever stop?" Before anyone could answer the rhetorical question several more arrows, along with someone who was in a lot of pain, came flying out the shattered remains of the window, covering the snow that was on the ground in blood.
"That can't be good." Ryan muttered as he ran over to the man lying on the ground, stifling the urge to scream. "Hey, hang on. We're gonna help you out." Ryan whispered calmly as Yuna appeared next to him.
"I've got this, go help the others." She said. Ryan nodded and headed to help his friends who were entering the agency.
"Oh my god!" Rikku gasped when she saw the interior. Blood was everywhere, tables and chairs were upturned and arrow filled, and the occupants were constantly groaning in pain.
"Wha? They wouldn't givsh me anymore 'ta drink." A man dressed in black, with a black longbow and rather large quiver of arrows, said with a hiccup.
"You did this?" Auron questioned.
"Yesh. Who wanst 'ta know?" The man demanded in his slurred speech, wobbling his way towards the group. "Hey wait a sechond. I recococococ…" He stopped, unable to say the word.
"Recognize?" Ryan asked in an annoyed voice.
"Yesh, shat's the word I was looking fer!" The man said excitedly. "Recognish. I recognish you three!" He said pointing from Andy, to Matt, and finally to Ryan. "You three ish supposh to be in 'da Farplane right now. Guessh Seph messhed up."
"Sorry, we're not that easy to get rid of." Matt said with a grin as the guy picked up his bow. 'Is he serious? He can't even talk right, and he's gonna fight us?'
"Well I'll have to correct shat now won'sh I?" The man asked, his eyes suddenly narrowing and losing the drunken glare they'd held throughout the conversation. "Go to hell!" As if on cue there was a snap, and a wall of fire shot up in front of the group, incinerating the arrow that had been heading towards them. 'So that's the fire kid.' The man thought as he turned, following Matt and firing while he was in mid-air and unable to dodge.
Without thinking Ryan put his finger behind the finger guard of his sword, twisted his body away from Matt, and then spun back around, launching the sword into the arrow just enough to make it spin and slap into Matt's chest with the feathered end first. 'Did he plan that?' Auron wondered until an arrow dug into his left shoulder. He stopped his running, turned towards the man and glared. The man trembled visibly under the stern master's gaze, but continued to fire on Auron's comrades.
"Sir Auron!" Yuna cried, coming into the inn to see the unsent bleeding profusely, but seemingly unaffected by the arrow in his left shoulder. The man in black smiled evilly, turned towards Yuna, and fired three arrows at the same time. Screaming, Yuna ducked and twisted, trying to present as little a target for the arrows as possible.
There was the sound of two people sliding to a stop, a grunt, and the sound of metal on metal. Yuna opened her eyes and looked back to see Ryan, Rikku and Tidus standing in front of her, with two arrows at their feet, and the third nowhere to be seen. "You okay Yunie?" Rikku asked, turning around and kneeling down to check on the Summoner.
"Turn your back on me and die!" The man yelled, launching over a dozen arrows at once. There was a sharp crack as two bolts of thunder hit the first two arrows, then branched out and destroyed the others. 'Who are these people?' The assassin wondered as he turned to see Lulu smirking, and Matt grinning with lightning arching around his hands.
"Give it up pal, you can't beat us." Andy said, snapping with both fingers at the same time, causing to flames to appear and begin to move slowly towards the man.
"What a pain." The man muttered, grabbing three-dozen arrows and directing them all towards Yuna, Tidus, Rikku, and Ryan who had now retrieved his sword. "Sorry, but this is my job. Nothing personal." He said as he fired at them.
'Shit!' Ryan thought, panicking rising inside of him. Fire and lightning hit some of them, but this time the spells didn't spread to the others like they had before, leaving two and a half dozen arrows still flying at them from across the room. He moved so that Rikku and Yuna were shielded behind Tidus and himself. Much to his surprise everything in the room slowed down until the arrows were moving towards him no faster then a crawl.
:Shall I lend you a hand: a voice in his head asked. :Relax. And let me show you how to use that sword.: The voice demanded in a rather annoyed voice.
'Who are you?' Ryan thought to himself. Suddenly the world went from slow motion to completely black. Save the man in the snow-white kimono with long silver hair. "Lusniec?" He cried out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your ass, you incompetent moron." Lusniec replied in the same annoyed tone. "Yuna can't die here, and if you die it'll be on my head. So instead I'm giving you two options." He said holding up one finger. "The first is I take over, kill the guy, and then let you take control again. The second," He put up the next finger on his hand, "is that I teach you how to make a shield with your sword."
"A shield?" Ryan repeated in disbelief.
"A shield." Lusniec confirmed, a sword materializing out of thin air.
"This I've got to see." Ryan said with a nervous chuckle.
"As you wish." Without any hesitation he stepped back until Ryan was out of harm's way and drew his sword so fast that Ryan could barely see the after image, none the less the real blade. "Attack me." He ordered as Ryan watched the after image reach the end of its movements and saw Lusniec had already sheathed his sword.
Nervously Ryan swung his sword down at Lusniec. In mid-air it stopped, hitting something rather dense, and then bounced back over his head, knocking him off balance. "The shield I assume?" Ryan questioned, and Lusniec nodded. "Okay, but how did you actually make the shield?"
Lusniec grinned. "Always asking questions. It's simple," Lusniec said as the sword disappeared, "all you have to do is find the power that you used against Billy."
"What power?" Ryan questioned. "I used some special power against Billy?"
Lusniec nodded and sighed. "I guess it's not surprising that you don't remember. It's hard to notice such small things in the heat of battle. Okay, listen up. You've got my power, which means that you can use, create, and manipulate holy powers at will." Ryan smiled and Lusniec sneered at him as he continued, "However it takes up a great amount of energy to do it, so only do it when you have to until you've built up more stamina. However, in situations where you've got no other choice, you'll need to be able to bring that power up without thinking, like you did when you used the Wind Cutter."
"Wind Cutter?" Ryan repeated curiously.
"Shut up and listen!" Lusniec yelled. "Find the reason you were chosen as the heir to the power of the ultimate guardian angel and you'll find what you need to bring out that power."
"The desire to protect those around me?" Ryan questioned as Lusniec turned to walk away. As soon as he heard the words Lusniec stopped and turned back.
"Good." He said simply. "Now all you have to do is concentrate on that, and draw your sword as fast as you can, which will be much faster then it used to be."
Ryan nodded. "So I just draw my sword. That's it?"
"It's not too complicated for you is it?" Lusniec asked dryly. "Look, just try it, we'll see how much practice you need."
Ryan nodded, sheathed his sword, and drew it as fast as he could. To his surprise the glow he'd seen when he'd first drew it returned. There was a flash that lasted only a second, and then was gone. Blinking the dots out of his vision he looked at Lusniec, whose eyes had gone completely white as he stared at Ryan.
"Something wrong?" Ryan questioned.
'Impressive strength for his first time using it.' Lusniec thought to himself, ignoring the question Ryan had presented, and focusing on the half bubble that had appeared around Ryan, who was oblivious to it's presence. "Good, you're beginning to understand your power. I don't plan to do this again if I don't have to, so deal with the problem of learning to use your power in different ways on your own." Lusniec ordered as two silver wings appeared on his back and began to lift him gently into the darkness.
"Hey, what's this called?" Ryan yelled. Lusniec paused in his flight, thinking about what he'd called the shield when he'd first created it. He smiled when he remembered.
"It's called the Shield of Hope!" He yelled back before disappearing into the fading darkness.
Ryan grinned as the world returned to its slow motion like state. He sheathed his sword, while the arrows began to pick up speed, and stepped forward. Suddenly the entire world was back to its original speed.
"Ryan, look out!" He heard Rikku and Yuna yell as one. He grinned and drew his sword, and sheathed it before the after image left by the speed was halfway through the path of the swing. There was a sharp crack as the remaining arrows struck the invisible barrier before falling to the ground harmlessly.
"What the hell?" Andy questioned, bewildered by the quick turn of events. Ryan dropped to one knee, suddenly exhausted but still chuckling.
"What the hell are you people?" The bowman asked in horror as the friends circled in around him.
"Well, we range from mages, to blitzball players, to master swordsmen, to gods, and he's an angel. And you range from charbroiled to well done." Andy informed the man with an evil voice that sent shivers down the man's spine.
"Your move pal." Tidus added. The man laughed.
"Now I see why they sent Seph. You guys aren't mages, or gods, or swordsmen. You're monster, every last one of you." He said as he drew a small dagger from his boot. "And so is he."
"What are you talking about? Who's Seph?" Ryan demanded.
"Seph? Oh, he's a killer, a professional assassin. And he's the best in the business too." The assassin stopped, flipping the dagger in the air absent-mindedly, catching it by the blade each time. "Not to mention he's really weird. Even for an assassin he's amazingly hard to track down."
"Anything else?" Ryan asked, standing up slowly.
"Well, he uses weird weapons. At first they're just like two pendulum blades, but then he uses some weird power to connect them with water… dunno how he does it, but it was a lot like that fire thing you did." He said pointing towards Andy. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Dead men tell no tales, right?"
"What do you mean brudda?" Wakka demanded, bringing his blitzball up to a throwing position.
"Well now that I've lost, I'm a liability to Seph. You don't last long in this world if Seph's after you." The man said. With a shrug he tossed the blade one last time, caught the dagger by the hilt, and prepared to shove it into his heart.
"What in the name of Yevon?" Wakka demanded, raising a hand to stop him. "You nuts or" he stopped mid sentence as a pendulum connected to a thread of water wrapped around the assassin's hand, cutting it off neatly.
The assassin looked at the pendulum lying on the ground, then at his own severed hand, still clutching his dagger, and finally at the source of the attack. The calmness that he was giving off was amazing to everyone present. There was no scream of pain; in fact there was no trace of pain on his face at all. "Seph." He said simply. "Didn't think you were so close behind." The black robed figure said nothing, just stood there. "Guess this is the end of our agreement then, isn't it?" The figure nodded silently. "Well make it quick. You owe me that much after all the shit I've gone through for you."
"Indeed." Seph said in a surprisingly sad sounding voice. "For what little it means, you were the one I trusted the most."
The unnamed assassin smiled slightly at the comment. "Thanks." He said calmly while the thread of water began to wrap itself around him, drawing blood wherever it touched. "See ya in hell then."
"Yeah." Seph said just before the thread tightened, cutting the man to pieces instantly.
"What are you?" Tidus questioned, stepping away from the dark figure.
"Me? I'm a businessman. And he was going to ruin me. The second he lost it became necessary to kill him." Seph said calmly as the pendulum began to pull back into his sleeve. "Know this. Had it not been for you, I would have had no need to kill him. He was my friend, and you'll pay for having forced me into this situation!"
"Please, will you… will you let me perform the sending?" Yuna asked, stepping forward bravely. Seph nodded before turning and walking out of the inn so silently he could very well have been a shadow.
While Yuna performed the sending for the handful of people who'd died Rikku and Ryan went around checking up on people. Ryan was more then a little impressed at how much she knew about treating injuries. "That was horrible." She said when they were done. "I've never seen someone so… heartless before." Ryan wasn't sure what to say. He'd never seen anything like it before either, but there was something familiar about Seph. Or more specifically the feeling Ryan got when he was nearby. "Hey, you okay?" Rikku asked, snapping him out of his pondering.
"Huh… oh, yeah, sorry. Just zoned out for a second." Ryan said causing Rikku to giggle quietly. "Hey, what's so funny? Hey?"
Rikku pointed to the ground. Following her gaze Ryan noted the rather large pile of fiend shit he'd stepped in while he'd zoned out. "Oh my god, that's hilarious!" Rikku managed through her giggles.
"Yeah, yeah. So hilarious to you maybe. Damn, this sucks." Ryan complained, trying in vain to wipe the crap off with snow. After falling twice he noticed that Rikku's arms were covered in goose bumps. Looking her over he noticed that it wasn't just her arms, but all her exposed skin. And with short shorts and a tank-top, that was a lot. "Jeez, maybe you should've dress more for the weather." He complained, stopping his vain task for the moment to take his sweatshirt off and give it to the lightly dressed Al Bhed.
"What's this for?" She asked as she took the sweatshirt. "Is it that obvious I'm not use to the cold weather?"
"It's got nothing to do with that. I just didn't want you getting sick because you were too cold." Ryan said, focusing once again on cleaning off his shoe.
"Well thanks." Rikku said happily. Ryan looked up and nearly burst out laughing.
"Well, it is certainly a… different look." He admitted. Rikku pouted in reply and Ryan couldn't help but laugh. The sweatshirt was a large, and she was probably just big enough to fit into a medium, meaning the bottom of the sweatshirt came down below her shorts. She looked like a little kid getting ready to go to bed. After a few seconds Rikku looked down, saw just how funny she actually looked and joined in on the laughter.
Suddenly Ryan stopped laughing, a puzzled look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked when she noticed.
"Do you smell that?" Ryan asked. Rikku sniffed the air several times before shaking her head. "I could've sworn I smelled gasoline…" Ryan persisted. "Well then I guess it might make sense for you to not be able to smell it."
"What's that mean?" Rikku asked, casting Ryan an uncertain glance.
"Heh. Well you're an Al Bhed right? Aren't Al Bhed supposed to use a lot of machines?" Ryan questioned.
"How did you know?" Rikku asked quietly.
"Well it was when we first met. You were the one in the machina, you admitted to that much. That meant you were either a heretic, or you were an Al Bhed. Then I saw you had green eyes that had swirls in them. Not to mention that before we got onto the Shoopuf a guard mentioned Al Bhed sightings in the area." Ryan shrugged. "No big deal to me either way. Just make sure you don't slip up around Wakka, and try to keep the temperature in mind, ok?" He asked, wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulder. Rikku giggled. "What now?"
"Nothing, you just sounded like my dad there." She informed him. "And as for the temperature, I'm from a desert, so I didn't know it could get this cold."
"I see." Ryan said in as funny a voice he could manage. He succeeded in causing Rikku to burst out laughing, which drew an odd look from the Guado approaching them.
"Lady Yuna is here, is she not?" Tromell asked when he'd reached the two friends.
"Yeah, hang on. And you'd better really be Tromell, and not another assassin." Ryan added sarcastically.
"What was that all about?" Tromell questioned Rikku as Ryan went outside.
"Let's just say we've been having a problem with people trying to kill us recently. First the event at the Farplane, and now we just had another one like it. Except we didn't actually lose anyone this time. And a lot more people got hurt. And the Travel Agency is beat up." Rikku finished with a smile.
"I see." Tromell said quietly. "That is truly sad to hear, but it lifts my heart that Lady Yuna escaped unharmed."
"Yep, I'll go see what's takin' them so long!" Rikku said before bounding into the agency just in time to run head first into Ryan.
"Owww!" He cried as he landed on the floor, rubbing his head.
"Rikku, are you okay?" Yuna asked, bending down next to the Al Bhed.
"Ouchie." Rikku complained, rubbing her nose gently. "That hurt you big meanie!"
"What!" cried out over everyone's laughter. After the laughter had died down Tromell started walking back towards them.
"Go prepare yourselves for the trip ahead." Auron informed. "We will wait for you."
"Right." Ryan said, helping Rikku up before going back into the agency.
"What can I help you with sir?" The attendant behind the desk asked.
"Yeah, what kind of weapons and armor do you have?" Ryan questioned. The attendant pulled out a small magazine and handed it to him. "Thanks." He said, taking the magazine. 'It's great that Wakka can kill things from a distance for us, but it'd be better if we didn't have to rely on him and Lulu alone to take care of airborne fiends.' Ryan thought as he turned to the ranged weapons section. Several things caught his eye as soon as he reached the pages, namely the massive variety of weapons, the amount you could buy of each, and the price. They were so cheap! 'I like this place.'
Most of the weapons were different types of blitzballs, much to his surprise. But there were also some weapons he'd heard of before. Kunai, Throwing Stars, Throwing Spikes, Throwing Daggers, and Throwing Axes were all present, but they didn't give the quantity. After asking the attendant she explained that the holder was magic, and never stopped producing the object in question unless it wasn't being used.
Smiling, he turned to the armor section. At first all the armor had been bulky at cumbersome, but the last page showed gloves and necklaces as armor. 'Necklaces and gloves as armor?' he thought to himself in slight surprise. Shrugging he noticed one necklace that supposedly increase the user's speed so long as it was kept on. 'Bingo.' He thought before looking at the gloves, rubbing his raw hands unconsciously. As much as he enjoyed using the Hiten Mitsurugi Style, all that high speed contact while holding a piece of wood wrapped in leather did a number on his hands. After picking out what he wanted he walked over to the attendant, relayed his purchase, paid for the items, and left.
As he walked outside he heard Yuna question Tromell, "I want to keep journeying, even if I marry. Do you think Maester Seymour would let me?"
"But of course, my lady. Lord Seymour wishes nothing else, I'm sure." Tromell replied.
At this Yuna turned back to face the group. "Goodbye." She said quietly.
"Well… We have to follow Guado traditions. I'll have to ask you to wait here a little longer. I'll send someone to escort you." Tromell informed them while Ryan walked to the rear of the group, quietly adding his new pendant to his necklace with his now gloved hands. His fingers were still exposed, which he'd regretted since they were in such cold weather, but the leather kept the rest of his hand warm, and protected from some of the pain that his faster attacks caused him. He also had a pack similar to the one that Andy had to hold his fist blades, and a Throwing Star holder strapped to his right leg.
"I…" Yuna started, but seemed unable to put whatever she wanted to express down with words.
"We're all with you. Do as you will." Auron said rather gently.
"Thank you." Yuna said with a bow to the group before turning and heading off with Tromell.
Ryan stiffened. 'There's that smell again. It's getting stronger!' Ryan thought, panicking as the smell of gasoline came with the wind. "Some kind of machine's coming." He said suddenly.
"Yeah, you can smell it because of the wind." Andy agreed, drawing his fist blades.
"Glad I'm not the only one who smelled it." Matt muttered, hefting Lightning Edge onto his shoulder to reveal a throwing axe strapped to his hip. And in place of his old axe was the bow the unnamed assassin had been using, and Ryan was pretty sure that the quiver that never ran out of arrows was strapped to his other side. Apparently the two had been thinking the same thing again. "There's just never a dull moment around here, is there?"
As if on cue eight snow mobiles came flying over the hill. "Wonderful." Ryan muttered. "As if fiends weren't bad enough." Ryan said sarcastically as he started off towards the ring of snowmobiles now circling Yuna and Tromell.
"Stand back." Auron ordered the two once Yuna's guardians had reached them.
"Thank you." Tromell said before leading Yuna away from the fight. He'd only gotten about ten feet before Yuna broke free of his grip and ran back to her guardians. "Lady Yuna!" He cried helplessly.
"Rikku! Tuh'd ehdanvana un oui kad drec?" A voice called out from atop the hill where the snowmobiles had gone. Suddenly a giant cannon on wheels showed itself as it began its slow descent towards the group. "Ouin bnaleuic magic yht Aeons yna caymat!" the guy with the Mohawk yelled down.
"I've got no idea what he just said, but that cannon's getting closer!" Ryan said, stating the obvious.
"He's gonna use an anti-magic field on us!" Rikku shouted in panic.
"Ked dras!" The guy yelled as the crawler came within striking distance of the group.
'Shit!' Matt thought as the cannon rose up, revealing several machines guns pointing towards them. "Scatter!" He yelled, and everyone complied.
"Rikku, how do we get rid of the anti-magic field?" Ryan yelled to the Al Bhed.
"It wouldn't be on the Crawler, it'd be a totally separate machina! Destroy that and we'll get rid of it!" She yelled as loud as she could, hoping everyone that didn't rely on magic could hear her.
'A second Machina…' Ryan thought as he ran in to slash as the Crawler. As he was jumping back from hi s attack he saw a much smaller machina darting back and forth through the air around the Crawler. "Matt!" He yelled, pointing to the darting machine. Matt followed the direction he was pointing in, spotted the machine, and smiled. Dropping Lightning Edge he picked up one of his throwing axes, took aim, and launched. At the last second the machina moved and Matt's cursing could be heard over the screeching of metal on metal as Auron's massive sword ripped through the armored plating on the outside of the machine.
Seeing a chance to strike, Wakka launched his blitzball at the smaller machine. He too missed, the machine dropping under the attack. And right into Ryan's sword, which had been coming up under it. As soon as he'd seen where Wakka's attack was going he took a guess at how the floating thing would react. And he'd, luckily, been right. Rather then waste time rising or energy going to the sides, the thing had let gravity take its course, saving time and energy.
Covered in oil, Ryan dropped back down onto the crawler, shoving a kunai through an exposed wire, and hopped off. Again he lucked out, since the wire had apparently been the power to the left machine gun, since it stopped firing as soon as the wire had been severed.
"Thunadara!" Lulu and Matt yelled in unison, both spells hitting side by side and doing a great deal of damage to the machine. Suddenly the air filled with electricity, and everyone looked back to see Ixion emerge from thin air.
"Thor's Hammer!" Yuna yelled. The unicorn's horn started to glow as electricity surrounded the giant machina. After that it raised the machine up, then something exploded and the machine dropped back down, very burnt and very beat up, but still not done. Suddenly another one of those little machines appeared, and Ixion quickly disappeared.
"Damn!" Matt yelled, throwing another axe at the nimble thing, and missing again. Just then Ryan got an idea. Running over to Rikku he grabbed the hood of his sweatshirt, cut a small piece off and wiped it quickly up and down the blade of his sword and over his face. Smiling at a very confused Rikku he wrapped the now oil drenched piece of cloth around the handle of the kunai he'd cut the hood with.
"What are you doing?" Rikku questioned when he turned towards Andy.
"Just blowing that thing to hell, and possibly back too." Ryan said calmly. "Andy, I need you to light this on fire."
"Magic doesn't work, my gloves won't make flames." Andy told him, but Ryan just grinned.
"Don't worry about it. This thing is covered in oil." He said, pointing to the cloth. "One spark and it's going up instantly."
"Ah. But you're gonna get burnt really badly if you do this." Andy pointed out. Without reply Ryan flipped the dagger around so that he was holding it by the blade, and the cloth was closest to Andy, who just sighed and said, "You're one crazy dude."
As soon as the cloth was lit Ryan ran until he spotted the part of the armor Auron had broken through, which had grown by about a foot in all direction over the course of the battle. 'Here goes nothing.' Ryan thought as he threw the dagger at the hole. Despite the size he nearly missed. Nearly. "Everyone! Down!" He yelled once it went in. Before anyone had the chance to question why there was a loud explosion, parts of metal went flying everywhere, and everyone was knocked to the ground anyway.
"My Lady!" Tromell cried, running over to Yuna to check to see if she was alright. Once he was sure she was he lead her away in a hurry.
"Rikku! I femm damm Vydran!" The guy with the Mohawk yelled down.
"E ys dra guardian of Yuna, oui caa? Yuna ec cyva! Fa femm kiynt ran! Cra ec cyva!" Rikku yelled in response.
"Oui tu drec ymuha, cecdan!" The Al Bhed leader said before running off.
"I told him I was a guardian. Well, guess I had to, really." Rikku said quietly.
"How come you speak Al Bhed? Why?" Wakka questioned Rikku.
"Because I'm Al Bhed and that… was my brother." Rikku whispered.
"You knew?" Wakka demanded, turning on the rest of the guardians who all nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"We knew you'd be upset." Lulu said simply.
"This is great! I can't believe I've been traveling with an Al Bhed! A heathen!" Wakka yelled, throwing his hands up in the air.
"That's going a little far Wakka." Matt said nervously, glancing over at Ryan who was clenching and unclenching his fists.
"You're wrong! We've got nothing against Yevon!" Rikku yelled, pointing a finger at Wakka.
"But you Al Bhed use the forbidden Machina! You know what that means?" Wakka demanded.
"That they don't follow the Maesters of Yevon simply because of who the Maesters are?" Ryan questioned sarcastically. Lulu, Rikku and Wakka all gasped in unison. Matt and Andy groaned, knowing something bad was coming, and Tidus, Auron, and Kimahri watched silently.
"What, now you're a heretic too brudda?" Wakka demanded angrily.
"Maybe." Ryan said flatly.
"So I've been traveling with two heretics!" Wakka yelled, taking a step towards Ryan. "What do you have against Yevon? What makes whatever you believe in so much better?"
"Me? Oh, I don't have a problem with Yevon. My problem is with the Maesters." Ryan stated flatly.
"Wha?" Wakka asked in amazement.
"Aren't they supposed to be the leaders of all the people in Spira?" Ryan questioned. "Well they've got a hell of a way of showing it. I mean, letting all those people at Operation Mi'Ihen die, and not raising a hand to stop it."
"The people at operation Mi'Ihen were heretics too! Because they thought they could stop Sin by using the forbidden machina!"
"Eteud! So just because they use machines they're no better then fiends to you?" Ryan demanded. Wakka looked like he was going to reply but Auron put an end to the arguments.
"Enough! This bickering amongst ourselves is pointless." He said while walking over to one of the snowmobiles. "Rikku, will this move?" he asked. Rikku walked over and started to examine the snowmobile.
"We're not using that, are we? Wait… Sir Auron isn't Al Bhed too, is he?" Wakka complained.
"Wakka, let it go." Matt said quietly.
"What?" He demanded.
"Well first off it's starting to annoy everyone around here, and second, take a look at Rikku." Matt replied quietly, pointing to the small Al Bhed who was barely blinking back tears, despite the happy feeling she was giving off.
"How did you even notice that?" Andy asked.
Matt shrugged. "I've know Ryan and his few other friends for a long time. He hangs out with a lot of people that can hide their emotions well enough that very few can read them. So Ryan and me have become two of those who can. I just don't show that I can do it as much."
"Well it serves a heretic right." Wakka stated definitely.
"Wakka, come on!" Tidus complained. "I mean, getting angry just because you found out that Rikku's an Al Bhed… I mean, you guys got along fine until now, didn't you?"
"That's different, I mean…" Wakka started, but stopped when he couldn't think of any rebuttal.
"Look Wakka," Ryan said in a much calmer voice, although it still held a trace of annoyance, and possibly anger in it, "Rikku's the same girl you've been traveling with until now. Stop thinking about her as an Al Bhed, and start thinking about her as a friend. You might just find out now all 'heretics' are as bad as you think."
"Exactly!" Tidus agreed. "I don't claim to know much about Spira, and I probably know even less about the Al Bhed, but… I know, Rikku's a good person. She's just Rikku."
"Lu?" Wakka asked, turning to his friend.
"Just think of this as an opportunity to learn more about the Al Bhed." She replied calmly.
"Ha!" Wakka complained before leaving.
"Let him go. Give him time to think." Auron told Tidus before he could follow Wakka.
"I'm sorry." Rikku said quietly.
"You've done nothing to apologize for." Lulu said comfortingly.
"Yeah, that part was me." Ryan said with a shrug. "Oh well, I'll talk to him once we've both had time to cool down."
"All right! Let's ride!" Tidus yelled while walking over to a snowmobile and sitting down on it.
"You sure you know how to drive this?" Rikku asked skeptically. Before Tidus could reply Kimahri walked over to a flipped snowmobile, flipped it so it was sitting properly, sat down, and took off towards Macalania Temple.
"Better then Kimahri does." Tidus said with a shrug. Just before he took off Lulu sat down on the back of his, and nodded for him to go. With another shrug he started off, followed closely by Auron, then Andy, and Matt.
Rikku started looking at the last two snowmobiles, kicked one, cursed at it in Al Bhed, and looked at Ryan sheepishly. "Uh… heh, it won't start." She informed.
"Ahhh. So that's what the cursing was all about." Ryan said sarcastically.
"Hey, how'd you know what I said?" Rikku demanded. "And on that note, why'd you call Wakka an idiot in Al Bhed?"
"I called Wakka an idiot in Al Bhed?" Ryan asked in confusion.
"Yeah. You said 'eteud' which is idiot in Al Bhed." She informed him.
Ryan shrugged. "Can't say I knew that." He admitted. Suddenly he heard a voice chuckling in the back of his head and frowned.
:I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to like you more and more.: Lusniec's voice said from inside his head. :And you're becoming more and more like me the more I watch you.:
Ryan shivered and Rikku tapped him on the shoulder. "You okay?" She questioned. Ryan shook his head.
"No. Remember when I fell into the Farplane?" he asked her and her face paled instantly. "Well I met a powerful angel named Lusniec there. And he keeps popping up in my head randomly and talking to me. It's really annoying." Ryan said with a sigh.
:And so you continue.: Lusniec said, his voice fading away until it was gone.
'This is gonna be a long trip.' Ryan thought bitterly as Rikku got onto the snowmobile, motioning for him to get on too.
"Unless you wanna walk the whole way. Don't worry, I don't bite." She added jokingly.
"You know, the last person that said that to me actually did bite me…" Ryan said before he got on and they took off laughing.
"I wanted to thank you." Rikku said when the started to catch up to Tidus and Lulu. "Not a lot of people have the guts to question the Maesters, or stand up for the Al Bhed. So thanks!"
"Don't worry about it. That's what friends are for isn't it?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah, I suppose so. Hey, there's the temple now!" Rikku said, taking one hand off the wheel carefully and pointing towards a temple that was accessible from a lone bridge, because the rest of it was held up by a frozen lake. Suddenly Ryan's hand shot forward, grabbed the handle Rikku had just let go of and squeezed, pulling Rikku as close to him as he could in the process. Since they had been going feel speed, and Ryan hadn't eased on the brake they were sent flying off it. Ryan twisted in midair so that Rikku landed on top of him, rather then the other way around. Despite how little she weighed the wind was still forced out of his lungs when they landed. "Ow, what was that for?" Rikku complained as she stood up, brushing herself off. Ryan pointed back towards their snowmobile to where Andy was sitting on the snow, next to his snowmobile, which wouldn't start, starring at them. "Oh."
"Eyes… on the… road." Ryan gasped as he sat up.
"Sorry!" Rikku practically yelled as she helped him to his feet completely. "You okay?"
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Yeah. You know me, having a hundred and fifteen pound Al Bhed land on me after we were launched off a snowmobile that was doing about eighty miles an hour, doesn't hurt at all." He said in such a sarcastic voice that everyone, even Auron, laughed.
"Once Ryan can breathe again we head inside." Auron declared after he was done chuckling.
"Don't worry 'bout me. It's not the first time I've had the wind knocked out of me. Let's go." Ryan ordered, and everyone started towards the temple. When they got there the guard held up a hand for them to stop.
"Halt. The likes of her," The man said, pointing at Rikku and sneering, "are not welcome in this hallo" He stopped in the middle of the word when he saw Ryan's glare.
"She is a guardian." Auron stated simply.
"Any more complaints?" Matt asked, hefting Lightning Edge menacingly. "Come on, I just love to solve problems like this." The man shook his head quickly. "Damn." Matt said, snapping his fingers.
After dealing with the problem at the door they encountered another. Shelinda. She berated Tidus about lying about the marriage of Yuna and Seymour. Then she proved to be useful by telling the group that Yuna had gone into the trials with Maester Seymour. The news sent a shiver down the spine of all three of the teens from earth, who shared an uncertain glance. Before they could voice anything someone came out of a room reserved for visiting summoners yelling about a sphere in Yuna's belongings.
"This may well answer a few questions." Auron stated as everyone gathered around the sphere.
When Tidus played the recording they heard the voice of Lord Jyscal, Seymour's father. He said, "What I'm about to tell you is the unclouded truth. I swear it on my honor as a Guado. Listen to me very carefully, for I shall tell you the truth about my son, Seymour. His mind is closed even to me, a Maester of Yevon. But I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart. He is using Yevon, the Guado and even the Summoners. If he is not stopped he will surely bring chaos and destruction to Spira. I will leave this world soon, killed by my own son. But I do not fault him. Because I was not wise enough, he has suffered and become twisted. I could not protect him and his mother from the world and its cruelty. I will accept death as my punishment. But whoever is watching this… I implore you to stop Seymour. Stop my son!" The recording ended and everyone in the room was silent for a moment as what they'd just heard sunk in.
"Well this is a great turn of events." Ryan muttered.
"Will Yunie be alright?" Rikku asked Auron.
"Without us, no." The wise man replied flatly.
"So what are we waiting for?" Matt asked as he, Ryan, and Andy followed Auron out the door.
"Where you going?" Wakka demanded as Rikku and Kimahri walked out the door after their friends.
"You saw, didn't you? Seymour's bad news!" Tidus said.
"But he's a Maester!" Wakka retorted desperately.
"Fine, stay here if you want to!" Tidus said before disappearing out the door.
"Perhaps Ryan was right to not trust the Maesters. But even so, we should at least hear him out. Come on Wakka." Lulu ordered as she walked out the door.
"This can't be happening!" Wakka complained to the empty room before following his friends out of the room.
When he reached the rest of the group Auron told him, "We will protect Yuna from anyone. Even a Maester."
"This can't be happening." Wakka complained again.
"Chill out Wakka. We can't be sure it was actually Seymour yet." Ryan said as they walked through the completed trial, and entered the room where Seymour and two of his guards were waiting.
"Seymour!" Tidus yelled.
"Please be silent. Lady Yuna prays to the Fayth." Seymour said calmly.
"Why don't you try and make us?" Matt taunted. Before Seymour had the chance to say anything Yuna came out of the prayer's room.
"Yuna!" Tidus yelled in relief.
"But why…?" She questioned uncertainly as she started towards her friends.
"We saw Jyscal's sphere." Tidus explained.
"You killed him." Auron accused Seymour, stepping forward.
"I did no such thing. But believe that if you must." Seymour said quietly. "But certainly Lady Yuna knew of these things, before she decided to come. Did you not, Lady Yuna. So why have you come?"
"I came… I came to stop you!" She said defiantly.
"I see. So you came to punish me then." Seymour said calmly turning to face the group as Yuna took a step back into the circle of her friends. "What a pity. Ah, of course. 'Protect the Summoner even at the cost of one's life.' The code of the Summoner. How admirable." Seymour declared as he pulled out his own staff. "Well, if you're offering your lives, I shall have to take them."
"Maester Seymour, I trust my guardians with my life." Yuna said, looking around at her friends. "But they are also my friends. I will not stand by and watch them be hurt. I will fight too." She declared.
"All right!" Tidus yelled.
"So the gangs all together again." Ryan said with a chuckle.
"I knew you were bad new the first time we met!" Tidus yelled.
"Oh my sincerest apologizes." Seymour said smugly.
"Seymour!" Tidus yelled, tightening the grip on his sword.
"Maester! We must stop this!" Wakka yelled. Seymour didn't even bother to reply to his plea. "Oh, this can't be happening!" Wakka complained once again.
"You may be a Maester but I will still fight!" Yuna cried, bringing her staff up defensively.
"Your eyes, burn with resolve! Beautiful!" Seymour replied in the creepiest voice Andy had ever heard. "Alas, my dear Summoner, I must end the suffering of your guardians here. Fira!" Seymour yelled, beginning the fight. The friends scattered to avoid the magical fire.
While the rest of the group continued to distract Seymour and his guardians, Matt chucked both his throwing axe, one at each of the guardians, and took up his bow. Grabbing an arrow, he sighted down Seymour and fired. The Maester saw the arrow and raised a hand, a shard of ice appearing in its path well before it reached him.
'Damn.' Matt thought, throwing his bow to the ground he picked up Lightning Edge and charged in, dodging a blast of water in the process. With a roar he swung his battle-axe down as hard as he could, fully expecting to cleave the warped Maester in two. Two inches before that happened a barrier become visible when Lightning Edge struck it. Having committed to the attack completely Matt didn't have the chance to recover, and felt a blast of water slam into his stomach from point blank range, throwing him across the room.
"Don't tell me that's all. I expected more." Seymour taunted. He was going to say more but a grenade rolled out from behind him. He looked at it dumbly for a second, and went to kick it. Just before his foot hit it the thing blew up. The explosion would've killed any normal man, but his protective spell held just enough to keep him alive, although it did little to dampen the impact from his collision with the wall.
"Expect that?" Rikku taunted as Seymour got to his feet shakily.
"Fell my pain. Come, Anima!" Seymour cried as a familiar hook and chain dove into the dark hole that had appeared in the ground.
"That's not good. I didn't mean it, really!" Rikku cried having never seen Anima before. When it arose out of the hole she screamed.
"Relax." Ryan said, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not that bad, believe me."
"This isn't the thunder plains, children." Seymour sneered. "You won't get lucky again!"
"We'll see who got lucky." Andy said as he started to charge in towards the massive Aeon. While he charged Anima gathered energy in it's one visible eye and fired at him before he was close enough to attack. Despite the massive power the Aeon wielded the attack wasn't able to break through the barrier of flames that appeared. With a snap of his fingers the fire slammed into the giant Aeon, weakening the armor like bandages.
"Oblivion!" Seymour yelled the command after the enraged Aeon had started to use the powerful attack. The ground around the Aeon began to change to the color it was when Anima had first been summoned, and the three closest foes, Matt, Andy, and Auron, were sucked into the void. Once inside they were pummeled by Anima's darker half, which lay beneath it and also chained. As they cried out in pain it gathered a massive amount of energy and hurled it at them, shattering the elemental defenses of Andy and Matt, and knocked all three out instantly.
"Pcydynt!" Ryan yelled, not finding it odd that he was once again speaking a language he didn't know as he charged the massive Aeon so quickly he was little more then a blur to everyone present. When he stopped moving he was standing on Anima's left shoulder, sword drawn. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sou Sen!" He yelled, slashing the side of the giant Aeon's face repeatedly, at a speed so fast that the reflection nearly blinded everyone watching the fight. When he was done the Aeon slumped over, pyreflies leaking from the multiple cuts. By this time Yuna had been able to revive And, Matt, and Auron, all of whom were surprised at the speed of the attacks.
Seymour growled as Ryan jumped down towards him with his sword pointed down, trying to impale the Maester and end the fight. Seymour stepped to the side as Ryan came down. "Die! Multi-Fira!" He yelled, casting multiple fire spells as the boy hit the ground, causing a giant cloud of dust. Everyone waited for the dust to settle, and Yuna and her guardians let out a sigh of relief when they saw Ryan standing there, un-harmed. "What?" Seymour demanded as he launched another spell, which bounced off in different directions but still didn't touch the boy.
"Wow, you're an idiot. Falling for such an old trick." Ryan muttered as he started to fade away, literally.
"What? What's going on?" Lulu questioned.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style's true speed." Andy muttered in amazement. "The speed of the gods, a speed so fast not only is it just barely perceivable by the human eye, if the user moves at full speed from a still position it leaves an after image."
"That's what was inside the barrier then?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah. Now the real question is where's the real Ryan." Matt asked as much as said. Suddenly Seymour's barrier flared back to life as Ryan's sword made contact with it multiple times until it faded and he cut Seymour across the chest.
"That's the fight." Auron thought out loud. "Against so fast an opponent a mage has little chance once they get in close."
"Yeah, then why isn't he finishing Seymour?" Tidus questioned. As if to answer it Ryan appeared in front of Seymour, bent down so low that his left hand was pressed firmly against the ground. His right leg shot up like it was a spring that'd been pressed down for days. It slammed into Seymour's chin, sending the Maester flying more then six feet into the air. With a sickening thud the Maester of Yevon landed, causing his own cloud of dust. Ryan watched, still kneeling from exhaustion.
"Was that the end?" Rikku questioned as the group ran over to Ryan in case the Maester wasn't finished.
When the dust settled Seymour was laying in a growing pool of his own blood, which emptied into the cracked and splintered stone floor on which he was laying. "I'd say that's the end." Tidus said.
"Don't… count on it." Seymour growled as he stoop up slowly, picked up his staff and glared at Ryan with a furious expression. "Now die!" he yelled, as Fira, Watera, Blizzara, and Thundara spells hit him at the same time, sending his limp body flying back with icicles sticking out of it from various places.
"Ryan!" Rikku yelled, running over to the battered and dying guardian.
"Yuna, the new Aeon!" Tidus yelled.
"O Fayth, lend me strength. Grand Summon!" Yuna whispered, and Seymour's eyes widened in horror as a bunch of icicles landed in between Yuna and him. A spirit slowly drifted into the icicles, which exploded when it was completely inside them. A woman with thick blue hair, blue skin, and an outfit that gave Dona's a run for the skimpiest ever, showing more blue skin that was as smooth as ice. "Diamond Dust!" Yuna ordered the Aeon.
"No!" Seymour yelled helplessly a wave of ice encased him before he could banish the Aeon. With an almost lazy snap of her fingers the ice goddess shattered Seymour's ice prison. Even after the attack had ended more then one icicle was sticking out of Seymour. But still the Maester wouldn't stay down. "Be gone!" He yelled, and with a sweep of his hand the Aeon began to dissipate into pyreflies.
"You're really pissing me off!" Andy yelled as he charged the Maester. Seymour grinned and countered the charge with a Thundara spell. It didn't work, nor did it seem to have any effect on Andy, who growled the pain away and shoved the end of one fist blade through each of Seymour's lungs. "Now stay down!" He growled as he kicked Seymour in the chest, pulling both blades out and stepped away from the dying Maester.
Yuna ran over to the fallen Maester. "Yuna… you would pity me now?" Seymour asked before he died. Yuna closed the Maesters eyes. Tromell and several Guado walked into the room and gasped a few seconds later.
"Lord Seymour? What has happened here?" Tromell demanded.
"What… what have I done?" Wakka asked as the realization that Seymour was dead.
"Wait a minute. It's not our fault at all! Seymour struck first, he's the bad guy!" Tidus declared.
"Give it up Tidus." Ryan said as Rikku helped him walk over to the rest of the group. "Seymour was the leader of the Guado, do you really think they believe he can do anything wrong?"
"You did this?" Tromell asked in a voice mixed with horror, surprise, betrayal, anger, and a deep sadness.
"Yuna. Send him." Auron ordered. Yuna nodded and prepared to send him.
"No, stop!" Tromell ordered, stepping between Yuna and Seymour's corpse. "Step away from him traitors!" As if on some unknown cue the Guado that had entered with him carried Seymour off.
"Traitors?" Yuna repeated in disbelief.
"Wait a minute. Seymour's the bad guy, right! We'll explain to everyone what happened." Tidus suggested.
"It won't be that easy," Auron said in his usual, impassive tone, "Let's get out of here."
well there it is folks. another 30 some page chapter. i hope you like it, and i must apologize because i warned that there might be fluff in this chapter, but i was thinking of the second time we'll go to macalania woods. i always forget abou that since it's such a short stay. anyway, don't forget to review. cya next time!