Chapter 11:Problems With Yevon
"Well isn't this wonderful?" Ryan muttered dryly as they walked out of the Chamber of the Fayth only to find the Cloister of Trials had been reset to its incomplete state. He sat down, still tired from his rather fast battle against Seymour.
"Hey, you guys got the last one, right?" Tidus said with a smile towards Ryan, Matt, and Andy who nodded in reply. "Well then let us handle this one."
"If you say so." Matt said, sitting down next to Ryan. The three watched in silent laughter as their friends slid around the room, moving spheres, blowing up icicles, and restoring the puzzle to its completed state. After finding some hidden chest they waved for the three, who'd managed to catch their breath by this time, to come over. "Well, that went rather well, seeing that we're on ice and all."
"Yeah. Told you we had this one." Tidus said grinning.
"Let's go." Auron ordered again, leading them out of the cloister and into the main room of the temple. They were greeted by a group of grim faced Guado.
"Please…" Yuna pleaded.
"Give us a chance to explain." Auron finished.
"No need," Tromell informed them with a wave of his claw-like hands, "I already know what I'll tell the other Maesters."
"Meaning?" Auron demanded.
"Lord Seymour was the leader of the Guado before he was a Maester of Yevon." Tromell stated simply, glaring icily at the group.
"You're not letting us go." Tidus interpreted.
"Let you go?" Tromell questioned in mock humiliation. "Lord Seymour would never forgive us if we did."
"Wait! Wait!" Rikku cried excitedly.
"Jyscal's sphere!" Andy said, catching on to what the Al Bhed was thinking. "If we show them that they'll understand."
Tromell chuckled grimly and produced a sphere. "You mean this?" he asked coldly.
"Play it back." Ryan suggested. "Or are you afraid to learn the truth of your precious leader?" Tromell smirked and threw the sphere to the ground.
"The Guado take care of Guado affairs." Tromell stated flatly.
"Away!" Kimahri yelled suddenly, shoulder checking the nearest Guado.
"Run!" Auron agreed, plowing through the Guado in front of the group. The group chased after him, using their weapons to attack without killing any of the Guado that barred their path.
Getting through the wall of Guado was pretty easy. Once they were outside the temple however they found themselves on the run from multiple Guado guards. From time to time the faster ones would catch them, summon a few fiends to help them battle, and then fall under the group's power.
"This is getting annoying." Matt complained as the group sat down to rest, having appeared to escape their pursuers for the moment. "Any ideas?"
"Keep running." Ryan suggested, walking over to see what was around the next bend. "Well, there doesn't seem to be anyone out there." He informed, stressing the 'seem' immensely.
"Why do you think they stopped chasing us so quickly?" Andy wondered aloud. "We did kill their leader after all. You think they'd chase us all over Spira or something."
"Hey, I'd rather not have to worry about any more assassins thank you." Ryan said flatly. "So what do we do next?"
"Right now we should probably keep moving. At least until we're somewhere we're sure is safe." Tidus said. The rest of the group nodded as they walked out to confront whatever the Guado had up their sleeve. Surely enough two Guado stepped out from behind a hill, smirking.
"That can't be good." Rikku observed nervously. As if she'd spoken a magical word a massive, white furred fiend with blue skin, a loincloth, and claws that looked like they were at least six inches long walked up over the hill, standing in between the two Guado.
Ryan moaned. "Gimme a break!" He shouted at them. In response the two guardians muttered something, launching a bolt of lightning and icicles his way. Drawing his sword Ryan jumped in the path of the icicles, leaving the lightning to Matt. Grinning evilly he spoke, "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sou Sen!" he yelled, his blade flashing out as he cut the icicles to ribbons. Even so, several still managed to get past his sword, leaving superficial wounds along his arms and sides. Glancing over he saw Matt, fists' clenched in concentration as a wolf started to take shape out of the lightning. With a cry it turned back on the Guado that had originally cast the spell, and charged him. When it connected with the guardian the area quickly filled with the smell of burning flesh as the Guado dropped to a burnt crisp on the ground. "Yamu?" Ryan asked.
"Yamu." Matt said with a confirming grin. "I see you could've used some help." Ryan shrugged.
"Can we do this later?" Lulu asked as she cast a Fira spell on the guardian. It hit something and Lulu cursed, drawing a number of surprised glances her way.
"Well, what do you say we get rid of that spell for Lulu?" Tidus asked, hefting his sword to his shoulder like Auron. "Any ideas?"
"Yeah, kill'em the old fashion way and leave the big thing to Lu." Andy said, drawing his fist blades slowly. "Got any more techniques you wanna show off Ryan?"
"Yeah. I started it against Seymour but I didn't get to finish it." Ryan said, referring to the kick he'd managed to give in before collapsing against the rather resilient Maester. "Mind if I lead the… charge I guess you could say?"
"By all means." Matt said, bowing in mock submission.
"Right then." Ryan said as he prepared to charge in. He took a deep breath and took off, little more then a blur to everyone there. Accept Auron, who watched silently, easily able to distinguish Ryan's true form where others saw only blurs.
Suddenly the trail of snow stopped, blocking the horrified Guado guardian from sight for a second before he went flying into the air nearly twelve feet. As he started to fall the snow had settled enough to allow the group to see a blur as Ryan jumped up, slammed his sword's hilt into the Guado's stomach, sending it higher into the air as Ryan pushed off, launching himself at the ground. He landed as the Guado began to fall again, pushed off, brought his sword up above his head. "Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Sho Sen!" He yelled just before his sword's blade was driven up into the Guado's neck, severing the head clean off.
As if it he had seen the gruesome ending coming, the limp body's arm stretched out, magic flaring before dying away. As the group began to turn to the white fiend they saw a bloodlust in its eyes. Turning menacingly towards Ryan it raised a clawed hand and swung. There was a lot of blood, a roar of pain from the creature as Ryan's sword cut deeply into its hand, and cry of pain from Ryan as he slammed into a nearby wall, snow falling on top of him, and turning red, ending the horrifying sequence of events.
"Rikku, help Ryan." Auron stepped forward slowly in the silence that followed his command, his sword held over his shoulder, his one eye promising death to the fiend as he approached. As he got closer he broke into a run, dragging his sword along the ground, stopping suddenly in front of the fiend. Using his momentum he gripped the sword in both hands, and swung it like a baseball bat, cutting the creature nearly in half in a bloody display of power.
The creature roared in pain as it clutched at its own intestines as they spilled out of the wound Auron had made. As if it realized the futility of its actions it glared at Auron and slammed its fists into the ground. Over and over it attacked the ground, the group watching, thinking the fiend to be in its death throws. As the fiend dropped to the ground, dead judging from the incredibly large amount of blood it feel into, there was a loud pop from beneath the snow.
"You're kidding me." Matt moaned as he leaned down to wipe some snow from the ground. Only it wasn't ground. It was ice. And it was cracking, quickly, too quickly for them to get away. "Rikku, take care of Ryan!" He yelled over to the Al Bhed who'd managed to stop Ryan's bleeding for the time being. Kimahri had also sprinted over during the fiend's attacks on the ground, and was helping her to move Ryan so he was flat. There were several more loud cracks as the ice gave out, and then there was black.
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"Well, isn't that wonderful." Seph muttered as he watched the group fall beneath the ice. "Now how am I supposed to get to them?" With a shrug he turned and headed back towards the Thunder Plains. No sense in staying there to watch a hole was there? 'They'll be back, and I'll be waiting.' He told himself quietly.
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When Matt started to regain feeling in his body he realized two things. The first was he was in water. The second was that he hurt. Badly, and all over. With a groan he forced himself into a sitting position, slowly opening his eyes. It was misty, damp, cold, and there was rubble everywhere. Lightning Edge was also right next to him, lying in the cold water. 'Perfect.' He thought bitterly as he stood up and looked around through the gloom for his friends. After awhile he spotted Auron ahead of him a little ways, his back turned to Matt. "So where are we?" Matt asked as he approached.
"Don't know." Auron stated.
"Where's everyone else, do we know that?" Matt asked. Auron nodded.
"They're scattered throughout the nearby area." Auron told him in his normal tone.
"Guess I'll go find them." Matt said with a sigh.
"Leave them be." Auron ordered. Matt looked at him oddly until he continued, "I've made sure they'll all live. Give them time to think about what they've done, and sort their feelings out. Don't forget, despite the fact that you aren't from Spira, nor are Tidus or your friends, everyone in this group other then Rikku and me were avid followers of Yevon."
"Yeah, and now they're branded as traitors." Matt said quietly, feeling more then a little guilty for the latest turn of events. Auron nodded and the two stood together in silence.
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The searing pain across his chest was quickly bringing Ryan back to consciousness. Once his mind was active enough to think of cursing Andy out he knew he was awake. Slowly he opened his eyes, and was grateful that the light where ever he was wasn't too bright. In fact it seemed rather dim.
"Hey, you're up! Finally!" Rikku said quietly. Ryan blinked trying to get rid of the two extra Rikku faces floating around the real one. After several minutes Rikku frowned at him. "You okay?"
"Um… which one of you is asking?" Ryan asked groggily. Rikku giggled and he started to, but stopped after the first one, waves of pain racing through his body like it was the Indy 500. He tried to pull himself into a sitting position, ignoring the pain that flared up every time he moved, but Rikku pushed him back down to the ground gently.
"Relax, would you? My gosh, men." Rikku said, rolling her eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked.
"You've got two broken ribs, and that thing cut you deep. You're not in any condition to be moving." She replied.
"Well that'd explain the searing hot pains." Ryan muttered, leaning his head back and realizing for the first time that he was cold. And that his head wasn't actually in the water, only his body was. He glanced down and saw a bunch of bandages wrapped deftly around his chest. He craned his neck and found himself looking at Rikku no matter how much he strained.
She blushed. "Everything was covered in water…" She said quietly. "And it wouldn't have done us any good to have you getting sick on us, so don't be thinking anything perverted, alright?" She demanded, adding the last part only when Ryan started smiling. He relaxed, held his hands up defensively, and closed his eyes.
'Well,' He thought happily, 'maybe being hurt does have its own advantages.' Another jolt of pain ran through his chest and he winced, dismissing the thought as stupid instantly. Grimacing he concentrated on his chest. He wasn't sure which ribs were broken specifically, but the pain in certain spots was a pretty good clue as to where it was. He whispered "Cura", but from how Rikku looked at him he wasn't sure it came out at all. Regardless he felt the healing spell roll over him a few seconds later, easing more of the pain then he'd expected away with it.
"Hey, you shouldn't be moving!" Rikku complained, trying to push him back down. It didn't work and he grinned at her.
His grin faded when something dawned on him. 'If I could get fix that so easily, why didn't Yuna do it?' His face paled and he turned to face Rikku so quickly she leaned back a little. "Where's Yuna?"
She leaned forward and pointed towards a nearby rock. There lay the Summoner, with the ever-vigilant Kimahri standing right next to her. Just then Tidus walked over and grinned. "Should we leave you two alone?" He asked without making any attempt to hide what he was getting at.
"Oh, but of course. We were just about to go over there," Ryan said in a calm voice, pointing to a rather dark area with lots of rubble on it as Matt walked up, "and have mad-passionate monkey sex." Tidus stared at him, obviously buying the lie.
"Damn man, already? I didn't even know you two were going out." Matt stated, a knowing smile on his face that told Ryan he was well aware of the lie.
'Never could out-lie you.' Ryan thought while he chuckled. "Well you need a new intelligence network." Ryan said quietly before turning towards a blushing Rikku, picking her up gently and walking off towards the area he'd pointed to earlier.
"Hey, I was kidding, you know!" Tidus stated as he watched the two walk off.
"I wasn't!" Ryan replied without stopping. The two disappeared behind a large piece of rubble as Wakka and Lulu walked over to join them. As soon as they were behind the rubble Ryan put a still blushing Rikku down.
"I don't… I didn't… I can't… were you…" She stuttered as Ryan bent down and took the bottom parts of his pants off with a zipper she hadn't seen before.
"Can I borrow my sweatshirt for a minute?" Ryan questioned and Rikku blushed even more. Quietly she took it off and handed it back to Ryan. "Hey, I was joking back there. Watch." He instructed as he threw his sweatshirt over the top of the rubble. There was a gasp of amazement. "But that doesn't mean that we can't make Tidus think we did, now does it?"
Rikku nearly exploded into laughter, her embarrassment gone. "You're so mean." She whispered as Ryan threw the pant legs over the top of the rubble. "I've got a bathing suit on under this you know." She said, pointing to her shirt. "So we could throw that over too."
Ryan considered it for a moment, but shook his head, clearly sad at his own decision. "As much as I would love that, I don't think we should go that far with it."
"What do you mean, 'as much as I would love that'? You hiding something from me?" She demanded, leaning towards Ryan until their noses were touching. This time Ryan found himself blushing. Before he could force himself to stop she smiled evilly.
'Well, cat's outta the bag now.' Ryan thought, oddly relieved. He grinned back, leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. She blinked and starred at him in amazement. "Well, now that that… awkward moment is done," Ryan said, standing up, "I think it'd be good to conclude our little joke. How about it?" Ryan asked.
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"Are they actually… gonna do that?" Tidus questioned Matt who just continued to smile, as clothing was hung over the top of the rubble. First was the sweatshirt that Rikku'd been wearing, followed by Ryan's pants. Matt half expected Ryan's boxers to come over next, but they didn't.
"What in the world?" Wakka questioned from behind Tidus. "What are those two doin' back there bruddas?"
"Ryan and Rikku are… they're…" Tidus stalled, unsure of how to break the news to Wakka. Another gasp from Rikku, much louder this time, drew their attention back to the rubble.
"They're having sex." Matt said flatly.
"What! At a time like this? Man, they really are out there, huh?" Wakka whispered in awe.
Matt burst into laughter. "Oh my god!" He cried to the sky, nearly falling over. "I think you've waited long enough you two." Rikku moaned in reply and Matt's eyes nearly fell out of his head. "Hey, enough is enough guys." He said, walking over around the rubble. There was a scream, followed by a rock thrown at Matt, just high enough that it didn't actually hit him. "Oh shit! I'm so sorry!" He yelled, ducking as someone behind the rubble picked up another rock and tossed it at him. "And Rikku, damn you've got a nice body!" Matt added before jumping out of the way of a third rock tossed at him. After that he decided it was getting a little risky to stay so he ran back to the group, pale faced.
"Just a joke, eh brudda?" Wakka asked in an "I told you so" kind of voice. Loud laughter drew their attention back to the rubble. Ryan and Rikku was there, laughing hysterically. Ryan's pants were gone from a little below the knee down, and Rikku was missing Ryan's sweatshirt, but they were otherwise completely clothed. As they looked at the two, thoroughly puzzled, Matt burst out laughing, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"What in the name of Yevon…" Lulu wondered, walking up next to Wakka.
"You missed it Lulu! It was great!" Rikku informed the black mage who looked at her oddly. "Well I was taking care of Ryan, and I had his head on my lap, but Tidus took it the wrong way, so Ryan went along with the way Tidus took it and said we were about to have mad-passionate monkey sex back here. And then he picked me up and walked back here, and we were making all the sounds we could think of that would add to it, and then we put the bottom of his pants and his sweatshirt over the top, and then Matt came back and we threw rocks over his head, and he went along with it, and we had them thinking that we were having sex!" Rikku finished, taking in a deep breath.
"That was amazing…" Andy said, walking over to join the group. "You said all of that in one breath." All of the teens burst out laughing at the comment, but Wakka and Lulu starred at them harshly. "Well, perhaps it would be a good idea to figure out how to get out of here. Maybe." Andy added.
"We climb." Kimahri informed them.
"You insane? That's like, what, four hundred feet of sheer ice wall lil' boy blue." Ryan said adopting the nickname Matt'd given the Ronso when they'd first met. "I can't even do forty!"
A stirring at Kimahri's feet ended all further discussion. After they'd regained the rest of their clothing Ryan and Rikku joined the others around Yuna in time to hear the young Summoner say "I wanted to confront Maester Seymour about his father, Lord Jyscal. I wanted to convince him to turn himself in to Yevon's judgment."
"In exchange for marriage?" Lulu questioned.
"Yes, if that's what it took."
"What did Seymour say?" Tidus questioned.
"He didn't say anything. Now… now I don't think it was even worth it." Yuna said quietly, looking from Ryan, to Matt, to Auron, and Finally to Andy. "I'm so sorry about what I put you all through!"
"Hey, don't worry about it. All's well that ends well, right?" Andy asked.
"Dwelling in the past is futile." Auron informed them coldly.
"Hey! You don't have to say it like that!" Rikku complained.
"You want to waste time listening to her regrets?" Auron questioned.
"You didn't have to say it like that." Rikku replied quietly.
"Our immediate concern is Yuna's pilgrimage." Auron said, turning on the Summoner. "Are you willing to go on?"
There was a heavy silence before Yuna nodded. "Yes. But then, do you think Yevon will allow it?" she asked quietly.
"Does it matter?" Ryan asked, drawing everyone's full attention. "Who cares what they think. We said we'd protect Yuna from anyone right? If Yevon wants to brand us as traitors let'em. After all, it's just a word, and in the ends actions speak louder then words. We'll beat Sin, and then they'll have to apologize."
"Yes. It is the Fayth that give the Summoners their power, not the temples or the teachings." Auron said, agreeing. "If the temples try to stop us… we will defy Yevon if we must."
"Whoa!" Tidus and Rikku said, starring at the two like they'd just turned into Seymour.
"I can't believe you guys would say that!" Rikku added.
"Ryan, Sir Auron?" Lulu asked in disbelief.
"Count me out!" Wakka said strongly. "We've got to atone for the sins we have committed. Of course… it's not like I ever liked Maester Seymour, ya? No way I'll ever forgive him for killing Lord Jyscal… and for trying to do us all in too, you know? But still, the bunch of us going against Yevon? No way!"
"Why not? If they're gonna call me a traitor, I'll give them a reason to." Matt chimed in.
"Yeah. Besides, every revolution has to start somewhere." Ryan added.
"Impossible odds, slim chances of success, what are we waiting for?" Andy finished up.
"But still… we have transgressed, and must face our punishment." Lulu said quietly.
"We must go to Bevelle and speak to Maester Mika and explained what has happened. That is the only way, I think." Yuna told them.
"I agree." Wakka stated.
"Sir Auron?" Yuna asked.
"So it is decided." Auron said quietly.
"You will come with us?" Yuna asked, almost hopefully.
"I am the troublemaker, after all." Auron replied.
"Yeah, that's right! You can always count on Auron to complicate things!" Tidus said, clenching his fist.
"Yeah! Kimahri roars, and Auron runs off, and…" Rikku agreed.
"I never asked you to follow me." Auron informed them.
"But that's what friends are for one-eye." Ryan said with a laugh, which ended abruptly when Auron's 'one-eye' met his own two eyes. "But seriously, what kind of person would leave their friends to fight and not help them out?"
"That's right!" Rikku agreed.
"Thank you." Yuna told her guardians.
"Friends, huh?" Rikku said to herself quietly. Ryan wrapped his arm around her shoulders and smiled.
"Yep, friends. Ever had one before?" He asked sarcastically as Rikku pushed him away playfully.
"Man… How can you all act like nothing's wrong? Must got nerves of steel or something." Wakka said, a little jealous of their laughter.
"Nerves of steel my ass." Ryan said with a grin which caused everyone not from earth to look at him oddly. "It's got nothing to do with that."
"Then what's it got to do with then?" Wakka requested.
"It's simple really. The more you worry about it, the worse it's gonna seem. You just need to relax, and you'll be fine. Deal with it one step at a time, you know?" Ryan asked.
"Not really." Wakka muttered.
"He's right Wakka. You're too edgy. Listen to the hymn and calm down." Lulu said calmly.
"That's coming from the temple?" Tidus questioned.
"Yes, it is Yevon's gift. It soothes the heart of the faithful." Yuna informed him.
"Jecht used to sing this song." Auron said, causing Tidus to turn to him.
"Yeah, over and over. But not this good, that's for sure." Tidus said with a laugh.
"Another trait you share."
"What, you were listening?" Tidus asked in shock. After a few minutes he decided to continue, "Say, how'd you get to Zanarkand anyway? Sin?" Auron didn't respond. "Uh-huh. Thought so."
"The singing stopped." Lulu pointed out. Sure enough it had gone dead quite suddenly.
"That can't be good." Ryan stated as the ground started to shake. It happened so quickly that he and Rikku were sent sprawling to the ground, and once again the light Al Bhed knocked the wind out of his lungs. When he opened his eyes from the initial pain he gasped, not just for air but from horror as well.
"There's something here!" Wakka yelled.
"The ground!" Auron yelled, and everyone looked down intently.
"Above!" Ryan managed to get out, despite the lack of oxygen in his lungs. He thought no one had heard him until Rikku lifted herself off him and looked up… before screaming in terror.
Looking at Rikku, and then following her gaze Yuna gasped. "Sin!"
"The toxin! Watch out!" Lulu cried. Too late thought, as the group was already starting to feel light headed and began to pass out one by one.
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Rikku opened her eyes slowly, and groaned at the blazing sun directly above her. Slowly she came to realize that she was hot, immensely so too. Hotter then she'd ever been at Home, or out in the dessert that surrounded it. As she became more aware of her surrounding she noticed a familiar rag-tag hut and smiled. 'I'm back!' she thought as she squealed in delight.
There was a moan from somewhere behind the hut. Hurrying, Rikku jumped up and ran around to find Ryan waking up, and Matt sitting Indian style in what little shade he could find. Taking off Ryan's sweatshirt she threw it onto Matt's head. "What was that for?" He complained as he threw it at Ryan.
"Come on, you mean you didn't notice this nice, cool, welcoming hut here?" Rikku asked in disbelief.
"I just got up, what do you want from me?" Matt questioned. "And I was gonna study Al Bhed to pass the time, which you interrupted."
Rikku looked at him like he was stupid. "Hello? Anyone awake in there?" She asked, knocking on Matt's head while shaking her own. There was a crack as a thunderbolt hit the sand a few feet away, but still closes enough to cause Rikku to curl up into a little ball. She glared at him as he laughed.
And Ryan threw his sweatshirt at him, one of the sandy arms landing in Matt's mouth. He spit it out instantly while Ryan shook his head. "Don't you know you should do something like that? It's not good to eat sand." He said dryly.
"That was cruel Ryan. Just plain cruel." Matt said as he spit sand out of his mouth. "Anyway, what does it matter that I was studying Al Bhed?" Matt asked, turning to face Rikku.
"Hello, I am an Al Bhed! I could teach you if you'd have bothered to ask." She told him. Matt and Ryan thought about and realized how stupid they must seem. "Well, now that that's settled why don't we go into my hut and work in the shade?"
"This hut's yours?" Ryan asked. Rikku nodded and he shrugged. "Well, you've got your reasons for having your own hut in the middle of a dessert. I'm not gonna complain if it means getting out of this heat." Ryan said as he and Matt stood up and followed Rikku, who seemed happier then usual, into the hut.
"Okay, now listen up." Rikku said in as fake a teacher voice as she could manage. All three of them burst out laughing, and it took them awhile to regain control of themselves. "Okay, seriously. Al Bhed isn't that hard to learn. I mean, seriously, Ryan's been using it to yell at people lately."
"He has?" Matt asked. "Must've missed that one."
"So did I." Ryan said with a shrug.
"Anyway, if this idiot can be using it without knowing it then it can't be that hard to learn." Matt said, motioning for Rikku to continue.
"Right then." She said. "Let's get started." For the next twenty minutes Rikku explained the basics to them, how to translate from Spirian, which they knew as English, to Al Bhed. It seemed like it was just a code, and one that didn't take long to learn either. Two hours later they were speaking basic Al Bhed, but it was a quick start. "You know, I never would've expected you two to pick up on it so quickly."
"Neither did I." Ryan admitted. "I have no talent with languages whatsoever. Guess it's 'cause the grammar's the same as English, or Spirian, or whatever it's called here."
Rikku, who happened to be the only one who was facing the exit, waved suddenly. "Hey guys!" She said, pushing her way out of the hut and running towards the rest of the guardians. "Where's Yunie?"
"Gone." Tidus said sadly.
"Gone… some guardian I am." Lulu said in defeat.
"Hey, we were all unconscious, we couldn't have done anything even if we'd wanted to." Andy retorted in an agitated voice.
"Umm… there's something I wanna tell you, but you gotta promise not to say anything." Rikku said, looking at Wakka who was glaring at her. "And no glaring either." She stopped and waited until Wakka nodded. "I know where we are. We're on Bikanel island. There's a place us Al Bhed call HOME near here. Yunie's there. I'm sure of it! Other Al Bhed must've come and rescued her!" Rikku said happily.
"Rescued? You mean kidnapped!" Wakka retorted in so angry a voice that Ryan thought he might have to intervene.
"Who cares? She's safe right, and that's all that really matters." Matt pointed out.
"That's right! Anyway, I'll take you there if you promise… promise that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know how they don't like us. Who knows what they'd do?" Ryan couldn't help but wonder what this HOME Rikku was talking about looked like.
His train of thought was interrupted when Wakka practically yelled at Rikku, "Gimme a break. What are you accusing Yevon of this time?"
"Yevon did something really bad to us before." Rikku retorted.
"Yeah, well you…" Wakka died off when Matt and Ryan both gave him death glares from where they were.
"Come on Wakka, just promise so we can save Yuna!" Tidus pleaded.
"Oh, alright! I promise, just lead the way!" He roared in a defeated voice.
"You got it!" Rikku said happily. She picked a seemingly random direction and started walking. Everything pretty much looked the same, and it gave the Mi'Ihen Highroad a run for its title as the longest stretch of land/road ever. Eventually the encountered some ruins, inside of which were more powerful fiends then they'd been fighting, but several treasure chest with potions in them. Plus there were several signs written in Al Bhed, and a few of the stones with the cacti with eyes on them. Some of the signs didn't make sense, but one mentioned Home being just up ahead. When Rikku read it everyone was pretty sure that her smile was the biggest in the history of Spira, because there seemed no way it could be any bigger. "Over here!" she yelled, pointing over the sand dune they were on and taking off. When she got to the top she screamed and started running down it even faster then she'd run up it.
"Damn." Ryan muttered before charging up the hill as quickly as he could, which was significantly slower then normal since he was in the sand. "My god…" He whispered in horror when he jumped over the top of the hill. Spotting Rikku he pushed the burning onion like city ahead and started off again, quickly catching up to her. "Is this HOME?" He asked her hesitantly when they reached the entrance. She nodded, tears flowing freely from her eyes. "Stay here and wait for the others. I'll go in and see if there's anyone I can help."
"E's y vnehat uv Rikku's" Rikku managed to say before he left. He glanced back at her, thought about it for a second and gave her a comforting smile.
"Yeah, I'm a friend of Rikku's." He said as the others reached the top of the hill. "I'll be back." He said before running through the entrance. As soon as he entered he saw Guado, fiends, and Al Bhed, who weren't hard to pick, being the most human like of the group. 'Damn Guado! Is this because of us killing Seymour?' he wondered as he drew his sword and walked into the nearest group of fiends, which were little floating balls of fire with eyes and a mouth.
His sword flashed out several time and they dropped to the ground, pyreflies leaking out of them. He heard gunfire and looked around, spotting several Al Bhed trying to fight off a giant fire-breathing fiend with horns sticking out of its back. Its skin was an odd shade of blue, except for its four paws, which were brown. And it was shrugging the bullets off like they were flies. It charged, spearing two of them closest with its horns, and grabbing a third one in its powerful arms. Ryan growled and the thing dropped the guy and turned completely to face him. The Al Bhed were starring at him like he was insane.
"E's y vnehat uv Rikku's.(I'm a friend of Rikku's)" He yelled to them, and their jaws dropped. "Ku cusa… bmyla cyva. (Go some… place safe)" He said, hoping he was saying go some place safe. The Al Bhed nodded, helped the wounded one up, and hurried away, but not before one handed him a pistol.
"ihmesedat yssu. bnudald druca oui veht. yht tuh'd tea. (Unlimited Ammo. Protect those you find. And don't die.)" the Al Bhed said before running off with his allies. Ryan sat there, trying to figure out what the man had said completely, but was forced to stop when the dual horn started to charge him.
"Go to hell." Matt yelled as he fired an arrow, lined with lightning Ryan noted as it flew past him and into the dual horn's neck. The fiends stumbled for a second but didn't stop its charge.
With a growl Ryan charged forward, jumping into the air and spinning three times before his blade split through the thing's skull, coating him in its blood that faded with its corpse. "What was that brudda?" Wakka asked in disgust.
"Hiten Mitsurugi Style Ryu Kan Sen Arashi." Ryan said, looking at the gun in his hand. He sheathed his sword due to the lack of enemies. Suddenly a wounded Al Bhed struggled around a corner, turned and started firing on an unseen enemy. There was a cry, a spray of blood as a horn ran him through. The group ran over to help him, but saw the fiend collapse and burst into pyreflies only seconds after they arrived.
Rikku whimpered. "Keyakku! Who? Who's attack us? Fru tet drec du oui? (who did this to you?)" Rikku asked the dying man.
"Yevon… Guado…" He managed before his body went limp in her arms.
"Keyakku?" She asked quietly, her eyes widening in horror. "Keyakku!" She screamed when he didn't answer after several seconds, fresh tears running down her face as pyreflies began to leak out of Keyakku.
Ryan's hand was shaking in anger now, and he was well aware of the desire to walk around and slaughter every Guado he found, along with every fiend they brought with them.
"Drec ec fnuhk! Guado ku vun dra Summoner!" A man yelled in frustration as he rounded the same corner that Keyakku had come around.
"Vydran… (Father…)" Rikku whispered through her tears as he walked over to her and check Keyakku's pulse. When he didn't find one he sighed and shook his head.
"You Rikku's friends? Well don't just stand there, come on!" The man ordered, waving for them to follow him. "Let's go kick those Guado" his sentence was interrupted by three gun shots. Everyone turned to see two Guado drop to the ground, one with a bullet in its head, and the other clutching both its legs. Then they saw Ryan, hand shaking as he held fired the gun again, ending the remaining Guado's misery. "Out of our home!" he finished before giving Ryan an approving nod and walking into a nearby building.
"Who…" Tidus started.
"Cid, leader of the Al Bhed… he's my dad." Rikku informed them.
"Let's go." Tidus said, taking off towards the building Cid had entered.
"Yeah, we have to save Yunie!" Rikku said with a determination that nobody had seen in her.
"An all the Al Bhed we can." Ryan added as he took off after Tidus.
"Yeah!" Rikku agreed, thrusting a hand into the air. The friends walked into the building.
"Yuna! Where are you?" Wakka yelled, drawing the attention of a Guado and three of the bombs Ryan had fought earlier. The bombs made it to the group, but Ryan and Matt dropped the Guado before he took more then three feet towards them.
"You guys are really going at them." Tidus noted as he finished the first bomb. Suddenly a Blizzara spell killed the one next to him instantly. Then Kimahri shiskabobed the remaining one, leaving it unable to dodge Auron's ground crack cut.
"Hey Matt." Ryan said quietly. "First one to need more then two shots to drop a target losses." Ryan said quietly, but the echo in the silent room was loud and everyone looked at him like they'd never met him.
"What's wrong with you?" Andy asked having never seen Ryan so cold-hearted before.
"For every light in the world there is a equal darkness." Ryan stated. "This is my darkness."
"In other words, stay out of his way if you can." Matt informed the group who nodded. "And why two shots Ryan? Normally you'd be doing one."
"Figured you might need a second shot since arrows aren't as sturdy as bullets. Didn't want an unfair advantage." Ryan said simply. Suddenly a machine gun went off behind the group and they turned to see Andy peppering a chimera that was charging down the hall. "Armored." Ryan informed him. Suddenly two arrows shot out, each landing in one of the thing's eyes. It roared and Andy focused his assault down the thing's throat. "Well, on the outside anyway."
"Let's go!" Rikku demanded, leading the way through the burning and ruined building. For ten minutes they traveled through the building, picking up any surviving Al Bhed they came across.
Suddenly Cid's voice came over the speaker system in the building. "Drec peda! Rikku! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan duu! E ys majamehk RUSA! Yht dra veaht fedr ed! (This bite! Rikku! You read me? You go under too! I am leveling HOME! And the fiend with it!)" Ryan and Matt went pale really quick in the silence that followed.
"Tell me he was joking." Ryan muttered as he turned to Rikku. She shook her head sadly. "We need to get Yuna and get out of here, now! Where is she?"
"What'd he say?" Wakka demanded.
"He's gonna level HOME, and all the fiend with it." Matt replied shakily.
"Yunie's in the Summoner's Sanctum! This way!" Rikku yelled, leading them down a hallway. She nearly ran into a Guado who was in the process of calling a dual horn to its side. With a face as cold as stone she shoved her blades through his back, right into his heart. For a second he jerked, and then he fell to the ground limply. Ryan and Matt took care of the dual horn as soon as it turned to face them, clearing the way for them and several Al Bhed.
"This place is done for." Wakka stated after they were through the door. Ryan slapped him in the arm with the butt of his gun
"You're right." Rikku admitted, fighting to hold back the tears that were quickly building up in her eyes. "You're right, Wakka. We Al Bhed… we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that we scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we few put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard, we had our home back again… but now… why did things have to turn out this way?" yelled, turning and leaning into Wakka who was the nearest person.
"Rikku…" He said quietly, wrapping one arm around her as comfortingly as he could. He clenched his blitzball so tightly Andy thought it might explode at any second. "Damn those Guado, what are they thinking?"
"Rikku, what is the Summoner's Sanctum?" Lulu questioned once the young Al Bhed had regained her self control.
"The Summoner's Sanctum is where we keep the Summoners. We keep them safe here." She explained, wiping her eyes dry.
"You kidnapped them." Wakka said quietly.
"I know it's against the teachings and all that…" Rikku said, dieing off.
"I get why you did it, but…"
"Mind explaining then?" Andy questioned. Nobody answered him.
"It's quiet. Kimahri go now." Kimahri said before walking down a set of stairs.
By the time they found a room with Dona and Issaru in it they had more then two dozen Al Bhed traveling with them, each wielding his or her own weapon of choice and each protecting the children they'd had with them.
"Yuna!" Kimahri shouted into the large room.
"She's not here." Dona said, stepping forward. "Hello again. Wait here until we've preformed the sending." She instructed as Issaru walked over towards them.
"They died protecting us. It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending." He explained before he started to perform the sending with Dona. While the two Summoners were busy Pacce walked over to Tidus.
"Hey, what's 'sacrificed'? The Al Bhed said Summoners were being 'sacrificed'. That Summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage…" He explained.
"Why couldn't they just trust guardians to protect the Summoners!" Tidus yelled. "The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!"
"The pilgrimages have to stop!" Rikku yelled. "If they don't, and they get to Zanarkand… They might defeat Sin. Yunie could… but then she… she'd die, you know? You know, don't you? Summoners journey to get the final Aeon! Yunie told you, didn't she? With the final Aeon Yunie can defeat Sin. But then… but then… if she calls it the final Aeon's gonna kill her! Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know!" Rikku finished and started crying while sitting on the ground.
"Was I the only one who didn't know?" Tidus demanded.
"We didn't either." Ryan stated.
"Tell me why!" Tidus yelled as he bent down so he was on the same level as the Al Bhed. "Why were you hiding it? Why didn't"
"Tidus!" Ryan yelled suddenly. Tidus stood up and turned to Ryan, tears running freely down his face.
"Shut up! Aren't you angry that they didn't" Tidus was stopped in mid sentence when Ryan's backhand connected with his jaw, knocking him to the ground. Everyone in the room gasped and starred in amazement. "What the hell?"
"You finished whining yet, because we don't have anymore time to waste." Ryan said through clenched teeth. "If Yuna's not here, then she's probably not in HOME at all. That means that if we die here, Yuna won't have anyone to save her from whoever took her."
"Don't you think we tried to stop her, Tidus?" Lulu asked in a gentle tone. "She follows… her heart."
"Yuna, she knew what she was doing when she choose to become a Summoner? To face Sin, ya? She knew!" Wakka added in.
"But Wakka, that's just totally wrong! Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves… so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?"
Suddenly a dual horn appeared, stepping out from behind a bunch of flames. "But that is our choice." Issaru said as he summoned his own version of Ifrit, while Dona summoned her Valefor.
"We all live in fear of Sin." Dona added. "You know that."
"A world without Sin… that is the dream of all of Yevon's children. And we will use that power, even if it means our lives!" Issaru stated firmly. Tidus ran over to Valefor.
"And all this time I've been telling Yuna… let's go to Zanarkand together! Let's beat Sin! I told her all the things we could… we could… and all along, the whole time, I didn't know anything! But Yuna, she'd… just smile." Tidus ended by sliding to the floor in front of Valefor. "I can't let her die! I'll find her!" He declared, rising with a sudden determination shining in his eyes.
"Then let's get out of here. Rikku, lead!" Ryan yelled.
"Right!" Rikku said, leading the group through the halls and into a hanger. "Fryd'c fnuhk vydran? (What's wrong father?)" She asked when she saw Cid leaning over a computer console.
"The doors are jammed, and Keyakku was the only one who could type it fast enough to get the doors open in time." Cid explained in a dejected voice.
"What do you need to type?" Rikku asked. "I'm not as fast as Keyakku, but I'm not gonna sit here and die!" Cid handed her a two pages, front and back of random letters and codes. Rikku paled. "How long do we have?" She asked.
"Five minutes, maybe a little bit more." Cid said crossly. "Forget it, we'll make our own way" He stopped before he could finish his sentence because Ryan had shoved him out of the way and was looking at the keyboard, smiling. "This isn't the time to be smiling boy! We've got to reroute power so that we can blow this door open."
"Relax. If there's anyone here alive that can type that in five minutes, it's Ryan." Matt said with a laugh. "We'll keep the fiends at bay, you get that door open."
"Right." Ryan said in a carefree voice. "Rikku, lemme see that." He said, pointing to book.
"You've only got four minutes kid, there's…" Cid's complaint die in his throat as he watched Ryan type. "Rikku fru ec drec get? Ra dobac vycdan drah sucd Al Bhed! (Rikku who is this kid? He types faster then most Al Bhed!)" Cid questioned.
Matt grinned. "Who is he? In our world, almost everyone has a computer. And almost everyone is fast at typing. And Ryan's faster then most of the people who teach typing. And just as accurate too." He told them. "He scares people back home," Matt said as he looked at his shocked friends, "and he shocks people here."
"How much time do I have left?" Ryan asked as he began the third page.
"Three and a half minutes…" Cid said absently. "Brother, bnabyna du myihlr! (Brother, prepare to launch!)" Cid yelled. Someone yelled back and ran onto the ship.
"Done." Ryan said. Everyone but Andy and Matt looked at him in shock. "What? Thought I told you I was a social outcast." He said simply. "Save the questions for later, I'd rather not educate the dead." He added as Wakka and Lulu both took a breath, probably to voice the question that was running through everyone from Spira.
"Right, everyone on. If you aren't on when we leave, I'm leaving you behind." Cid directed before boarding the ship himself. When the group got on board there was lots of shouting, mostly between Cid and the leader of the Al Bhed who'd attacked them at the Macalania Travel Agency.
"Where's Yuna?" Tidus yelled to Cid, who promptly ignored him and continued to prep the ship for launch. Apparently Tidus had run out of patience, because he started to walk towards Cid.
"Whoa!" Andy yelled as he and Matt grabbed Tidus by the arms and held him back.
"Lemme go! He knows where Yuna is!" Tidus cried.
"Tidus, you're about to get into a fist fight with the leader of the people who we're getting a ride with. Not to mention the fact that it's a ride that's gonna save our life." Matt pointed out, which calmed Tidus down a little. "Look, I don't care if you wanna fight with Cid or not, just save it until after we're in the air, and not about to blow up.
"What'll you do when you find her?" Cid questioned Tidus.
"I didn't know anything about what a Summoner's supposed to do. And I told her all those things without even thinking. I've got to tell her. I've got to tell her I'm sorry!" Tidus replied.
"That's it? You're gonna tell her your sorry?" Cid asked in a disgusted voice. "And then you just drag her off to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin, huh? You're all the same-let the Summoner die so we can live in peace!" At this he reached for Tidus, but stopped instantly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He glanced to his right and saw Ryan starring him in the eye. "What the? Impossible, you're over there!" He said, looking back at the after image of him standing next to Rikku. Slowly it was fading away. He snorted. "Magic. Tsh."
"Wrong." Ryan said. "I'm fast, but enough about that. Who said anything about letting Yuna die? Hmmm?" Ryan questioned.
"Yeah! I won't let Yuna die!" Tidus agreed.
"Yeah? Words, hah! Show me action!" Cid snorted in disbelief. "How would you save her anyway?"
"Oh, I think I have an idea!" Matt piped up, drawing all attention to him. "Rikku said that it's the final Aeon that kills the Summoners, and not Sin. So we just kill Sin without the final Aeon, how hard could it be?"
"Are you insane?" Lulu gasped.
"It's certainly very possible." Matt admitted with a shrug. Cid grinned.
"I like that kid. Only one problem. If it was possible to kill Sin without the final Aeon, wouldn't someone have done it already?" Cid questioned. Ryan, Andy, and Matt laughed. "What?"
"Sorry, couldn't expect you to know this. But maybe you know the last time three gods fought Sin?" Andy asked.
"Three gods… what are you babbling about?" Cid demanded.
"Long story. You see" Ryan was cut off by the scream of an Al Bhed.
"Cid! Dra lrynkac teth'd kud uvv! (Cid! The charges didn't go off!)" One he yelled.
"Tysh! (Damn)!" Cid yelled. "Ymnekrd, fa'mm pmuf ed ib fedr dra vunpettah machina! (Alright, we'll blow it up with the forbidden machina!)" Cid ordered.
"What's wrong?" Wakka questioned.
"The charges didn't blow, so we're gonna blow home up with the forbidden machina." Rikku said dejectedly.
"You four." Cid said, looking at Tidus, Matt, Andy, and Ryan. "Don't ever forget those words. Gods or not, I'll make you regret it if you do."
"Vydran! (Father!)" Rikku's brother yelled.
"Vena! (Fire!)" Cid ordered back, the name of the god of fire not escaping the notice of Andy, Auron, Matt, or Ryan.
'Wait… if Vena is fire in Al Bhed, then maybe Dnortih and Lusniec mean something!' Matt thought, glancing over at Ryan who was also contemplating the connection.
Auron chuckled to himself as they realized the names were just words in Al Bhed. Vena, fire, God of Fire; Dnortih, thunder, God of Thunder; and finally Lusniec, Michael, strongest of the angels.
Everyone's thoughts were interrupted when the Al Bhed began to sing the Hymn of the Fayth. Wakka was looking around in amazement, but before he could say anything the airship jerked, and then there was a loud explosion. Rikku ran over to the window, watching sadly as the first explosion set off one of the charges, which exploded and set of another, and explosion continued to occur until HOME had been leveled.
"Gah-hah-hah-hah! Nadinh du dra cyht! (Return to the sand!)" Cid yelled, oblivious to the fact that he'd just blown his own home to ashes. Brother started crying and Cid turned to him. "Hu haat vun daync! Fryd'c kuut ypuid machina, ec drao lyh pa piemd yhaf, oui caa? (No need for tears! What's good about machina, is they can be built anew, you see?)" Cid asked, and Brother nodded, still crying.
"Hey, look. Don't get so down." Wakka said to Rikku when she walked back to the group. "Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?" It was an obvious attempt to cheer her up, but it didn't work.
"You can cram you happy festival, you big meanie!" Rikku yelled at him before running off the bridge.
"Was it something I said?" Wakka asked honestly.
"Words just aren't your thing Wakka." Matt said, patting him on the shoulder. "You try, so don't worry about it." At this Ryan sighed, shrugged, and started off after Rikku. "And there goes the world's youngest, unofficial psychiatrist now."
"What're you talking about brudda?" Wakka asked.
"Ryan has a talent for getting even the shyest people to open up to him. It's just something he's been doing for pretty much as long as I can remember." Matt informed. "Guess it does help that he was pretty much raised by girls though…"
"Maybe." Andy agreed.
"But by doing so, he takes on everyone else's problem. He has the tendency to forget that he has to worry about himself sometimes." Matt added. "Oh well."
"So you know where Yuna is?" Tidus asked Cid hopefully.
"Of course not! That's why we're gonna look, using this airship!" Cid replied.
"Airship?" Wakka repeated.
"Airship." Matt confirmed.
"Oh boy, wait till the boys back home hear about this one." Wakka muttered to himself.
888
"Rin?" Ryan questioned in surprise. The happy Al Bhed travel agency owner turned and smiled at him.
"Rammu. E ys kmyt oui ymcu syta ed uid ymeja. (Hello. I am glad you also made it out alive.)" Rin informed him before realizing that he was speaking in Al Bhed. "My apologizes. How comes your study of our language?"
"Knayd. Ed dygac yfrema du kad icat du, pid uhla oui'ja ku dra ryhk uv ed, ed'c ylidymmo naymmo cesbma du maynh. (Great. It takes awhile to get used to, but once you've go the hang of it, it's acutally really simple to learn.)" Ryan replied almost instinctively. "Anyway, where's Rikku? Did she come through here?"
Rin nodded. "Yes, and she seemed very torn up about something." Rin informed the reincarnated angel.
"Well? Where did she go?" Ryan asked when Rin didn't continue.
"I believe she went over there." Rin said, pointing to a room farther along the corridor.
"Dryhg oui! (Thank you!)" Ryan yelled as he sprinted over to the door Rin had pointed to. Sure enough there was Rikku, looking out a small window and crying. She stiffened when Ryan opened the door, but didn't turn around. "Hey." He said quietly, walking into the room and closing the door behind him.
"Hi." Rikku whispered her reply, still not turning around. Ryan walked up behind her but stopped, unsure of what he could possibly say to someone who'd just seen so many of her friends die, and had her home blown up by her own father, even if he didn't want to do it. He took a deep breath, deciding to point out that Wakka had been trying to cheer her up, but she turned around and buried her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him with more strength then he'd thought possible for someone with so small a frame. "Why'd this have to happen? Why couldn't they just leave us alone? We were just trying to save the Summoners, is that so wrong?" She asked between sobs that were quickly being absorbed by Ryan's sweatshirt. "Why does everyone hate us? And why does everyone keep blowing up our home? It's not fair!"
Ryan looked down at the Al Bhed and wrapped an arm around her more on instinct then anything. "Not everyone hates you." He said quietly. She looked up at him, tears still streaming down her face. He wiped one away while saying, "Me and Matt and Andy don't hate Al Bhed. And neither do Auron, or Kimahri, or Tidus, or Yuna, or Lulu. And I think Wakka's coming around, slowly, but coming around none the less."
"But so many still hate us! They blame us for Sin still being here!" Rikku replied.
Ryan shook his head. "They're just afraid, and that's what the Maesters of Yevon tell them. But we'll change that! We'll show them that the Al Bhed aren't the reason for Sin being here!" Ryan said gently. "We'll show them all that they were wrong, whether they want to admit it or not."
Rikku smiled slightly. "Yeah!"
"And we'll rebuild HOME too! And we'll make sure that nobody can blow it up!"
"Yeah!" Rikku agreed, a little louder this time.
"And then we can all live happily! Without having to worry about Yevonites attacking!"
"Yeah!" Rikku yelled in her normal voice. She stopped and wiped the tears away. "Thanks." She said, hugging Ryan a little tighter.
"What are friends for?" Ryan replied simply. "Wakka tried, but he isn't very good with words. Or knowing what to say. Or anything that involves intelligence come to think of it…" Ryan added sarcastically. Rikku giggled at the comment and Ryan's smile grew in size. "There we go."
"What?" Rikku asked in confusion.
"Being sad doesn't suit you. It's just not Rikku." He said. Rikku thought about it for a second, lessening her grip on him slightly, and then nodded. "So what do you say we cheer up. As long as there are still Al Bhed in the world, there will always be a good chance to rebuild HOME. I mean, you did it once already, right?"
"Right!" Rikku agreed.
"Rikku! We found Yuna! Get up here, and bring that boy toy of yours with you, I've got a few things to say to him!" Cid's voice rang out over the intercom.
"Boy toy… Does he think that we're going out?" Ryan asked, looking down at the smiling girl wrapped in his arms. It did feel right; he wasn't going to deny that much.
"It looks that way." Rikku said with a giggle. "But dad's always been overprotective. He'll probably say something like, "She cleared her throat and said the next part in a Cid like voice, "You ever hurt my daughter, I'll kill you. Understand? Good, now get ready to go save my niece!"
The two laughed as they walked out of the room and turned towards the bridge. As they reached the bridge they saw a big movie of Yuna playing, her hair back in a ponytail and wearing a wedding dress. She was standing next to Seymour, who was in an outfit Ryan, Matt, and Andy could only guess was a groom's outfit.
"What the hell is with this guy?" Andy complained. "What, do we have to kill him twice or something? Or do the dead just not stay… well, dead."
"He's become an unsent." Lulu informed him. "Yuna is probably going to try and send him."
"Well let's go help her!" Tidus cried out. "Gramps!"
"Easy, kiddo. Bevelle's defenses are top-notch." Cid replied.
"What's the matter, scared? Yuna's there! So we go there and get her! And that's all!" Tidus told the Al Bhed leader.
"That's right. We'll cut down anyone who gets in our way. After all, we've got a job to do, right?" Ryan asked.
Cid grinned. "I like you guys. You've got guts." He turned to Brother and gave an order in Al Bhed. There was a sudden increase in the speed, one so violent it nearly toppled the entire group. "It'll take awhile to get to Bevelle. In the meantime"
"We prepare for battle!" Tidus yelled. Before they could leave the control room the entire ship shook, and Rin came running onto the bridge.
"We are being attacked from within. Some of the Guado who attacked HOME must have snuck on board." He informed them.
"Well you're awfully calm about it." Cid noted.
"I am calm about most things." Rin replied.
"So we've noticed." Matt muttered.
"Fiends! There's nothing to do but"
"But destroy the ship and all go down together!" Rikku finished for here dad, drawing a confused look from Cid. "You gotta learn a little restraint pops. If you crash the ship, we can't go rescue Yunie! Leave the fiends to us professionals!"
"Yeah. Besides, if it weren't for you, we'd have bite the big one back at HOME. We owe you one." Matt pointed out as he hefted Lightning Edge. "Besides, nothing better to relieve a little stress is there?"
"Yeah, and we all know you could use a little 'anger management' too, Matt." Ryan added, drawing a laugh from everyone in the cabin.
"Thanks everyone." Rikku said quietly. The two nodded before the group started towards the door.
"Rikku, you've made some very good friends, I think." Rin told her as she walked by. "But perhaps more?"
"Shut up Rin!" Rikku said playfully, blushing as she ran to catch up with the others.
"That was it? That was all they could do?" Andy asked sadly as they walked up into the cabin area. "Man, three fiends on the whole ship. That's so boring."
"Huh, now there's a rare sight." Auron muttered.
"Oh boy. That can't be good if it's rare to Auron." Ryan muttered as he turned to see a Chinese dragon with red scales, leathery wings, and horns up its head. "Wonderful."
"Whoa, that's huge!" Tidus cried, alerting the group that he'd seen the dragon.
"What is that?" Rikku questioned.
Lulu provided the answer, "The guardian wyrm, Evrae. The great sacred beast-guardian protector of Bevelle." She informed them, fear creeping into her voice slightly.
"The red carpet has teeth." Auron muttered.
"Damn, losing your nerve their Lulu?" Ryan questioned. She didn't reply, just watched Evrae.
"Hey, if that's the great protector of Bevelle, wouldn't that mean we're close to Bevelle?" Andy wondered aloud.
"Rikku, do you read me?" Cid asked over the comlink. "We're going to fight that thing. Get on deck and show him what you got! Go!"
"There he goes again." Rikku said, shaking her head helplessly.
"The ferryman asks a high price." Auron said before walking towards and elevator near Rin. They exchanged a few words before Auron walked onto the elevator, waiting for the others.
After purchasing several things from Rin, and after Ryan had given Andy his Kunai so he'd have something to attack the flying creature with other then magic, the group joined Auron on the elevator.
'This is gonna be interesting.' Ryan thought as they reached the deck of the airship. The wind was whipping by so fast that it was hard to hear the person next to you unless they were yelling, but as they slowed down it became bearable.
"We gotta keep our distance, boys, but we can't let her get too far away." Cid's voice boomed over the ship's loudspeaker. "You all have to tell me when to move!" Evrae started to maneuver towards the ship. "But tell me quick, eh? This rig ain't so nimble, you hear?"
"Roger!" Tidus yelled. "I'll give the commands!"
"Not alone you won't!" Rikku informed him. "I am an Al Bhed after all."
"I think we've got more urgent matters on our hands then who's going to give the commands to Cid!" Andy yelled as he hurled a Kunai at the creature. It had more then enough distance, but apparently Evrae was armored.
"Yeah, this is gonna take some doing." Ryan muttered as he, Matt, Wakka, and Lulu opened up on the thing, hitting it with everything they had. Wakka's blitzball didn't do much of anything until he started adding a cloud of darkness to it. Blinded Evrae could do little more then thrash about helplessly, hoping to hit the group. And the thing shrugged Lu's magic off like it had barely felt it, and Ryan's gun wasn't doing much damage against the armored hide either.
As the vision-impairing darkness began to dissipate Rikku yelled for Cid to move away just as Evrae inhaled. Seconds later the ship responded, but it was too late for Tidus and Ryan to avoid the green fog that was a lot more dangerous then it appeared to be. Instantly the two felt the poison beginning to course through their veins.
"Ryan, Tidus!" Rikku shouted, grabbing a bottle out of a pocket before running towards the two. She was nearly there when the guardian of Bevelle swooped in, slashing the two with its tail. Despite being poisoned, and going blind, and being light headed, they managed to block most of the attack. But not enough of it. Their friends looked on in horror as they were launched off the ship. "Ryan! Tidus!" Rikku screamed, falling to her knees in disbelief.
"I summon you, Suzaku!" Andy yelled, hurling a giant ball of fire at the monster. As it soared through the air it slowly changed into a phoenix, but not quickly enough. Evrae's front most horn glowed yellow and then started shooting out millions of tiny little balls of energy. Even the flames of the heir to the powers of the god of fire couldn't stand against the strength of the assault. Andy watched in horror as Suzaku screeched in pain before dissipating into ashes.
"Vydran! Red ed fedr ymm dra seccemac fa ryja! (Father! Hit it with all the missiles we have!)" Rikku shouted.
"Ymm uv dras? (All of them?)" Cid shouted in disbelief. Before his daughter could reply a yellow cloud drifted by, catching her attention and seeming impossibly out of place. Her eyes widened in a mix of horror and surprise as pyreflies started to leak out of it.
"Rikku!" Auron shouted, turning to see the Al Bhed starring at the cloud, entranced by the scene. "Rikku! Move it!" He shouted again. The Al Bhed stood up hastily, nearly falling over the edge herself, and turned back to fight the thing that had killed two of her best friends.
and there we have it! what's gonna happen to Ryan and Tidus? and what's with the yellow, pyrefly leaking cloud? well i know, but you're gonna have to wait until my next update. so until then, read, review, and spread word of my fic if it isn't too much of a problem. new fans are always welcome! oh yeah! one last thing, i have to give a shout out to my friend rachel, because 'mad passionate monkey sex' is her's, as far as i know. well, she's the only one i've ever heard use it.