Well, another chapter finally done, so without further ado, on to the replies!

Iron-Reaver: Nope, didn't go with em...yet. Barthello's safe. D Anyway, you get to see my new outfit at the end of this chapter, so read on!

missmanga90: Thanks for the words of encouragement! I don't know about having them join in, because it wouldn't quite make sense, but possibly in the sequel. Who knows?

Aalazzerath:You're reading the update now.D


Chapter 10—Choices

About 30 minutes has passed since Tidus was heaved onto the elevator, and I'm getting bored. Really bored. So bored, I'm about to punch the wall for fun.

"There has got to be something I can do." I say to myself, eyes moving from the elevator to the doorway. Shaking my head, I look back at the elevator. "I know I'm going to regret this, but what the heck." Walking over to the elevator, I step onto it, and descend into the Cloister of Trials.

Reaching the bottom, I look around, hoping to find any sign of Tidus or the others. Nothing immediately enters my sight, and I walk into the next chamber, looking around there. Still nothing. So, I enter the next chamber, and the first thing I notice is that it has a pit of some sort in the middle. The next thing I notice, is that a hole seems to have been blasted into one side of the pit. Looking around a moment, I notice stairs on the left side, so I walk over to them, and go down into the pit. As I look at the hole, the first thing I see is...

"Tidus!"

Turning around at his name being yelled, Tidus' eyes almost bulge out of his head.

"He threw you down here too?!" he says, and I shake my head.

"No, I kicked his tail when he tried. I got bored and came down here after you." If a face fault could be done outside of anime television shows, I'm pretty sure I would have just seen one, judging from the expression on Tidus' face.

"You did what?" he asks, shocked.

"Just what I said. Come on, let's go find Wakka and the others." I reply, walking up the other set of stairs leading out of the pit.

"You are crazy." Tidus simply says. Turning around, I smirk.

"I know. That's why I'm so much fun to be around." I say, walking up to the closed door, Tidus following me a moment after. "So, any clue how to open this?"

Tidus shakes his head. "I haven't quite figured that part out yet." Sighing, I turn back towards the door, examine it a moment, and then remove the sphere sitting in a niche beside it. The door opens a second later.

"You mean to tell me, it was that easy?" Tidus says, awed.

"Yup. Come on." I reply, walking into the doorway.

Entering the room, I notice Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri, standing in front of a door. Apparently, it's the Chamber of the Fayth. A song can be heard, too. It's a sweet melody, and appears to be Latin words.

"The Hymn of the Fayth..." I think to myself, as the three guardians turn, surprised to see the two of us here.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wakka exclaims, and Tidus holds up both hands.

"It was Dona and that big musclehead man!" he says, trying to defend himself.

"Yeah. He picked Tidus up, and threw him on the elevator. I came down to get him." I say, looking over the three nervously.

"Knew this was a bad idea..."

"Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!" Lulu says sharply. Tidus looks at her, oblivious.

"What consequences?"

"She could be excommunicated!" Wakka says, which causes Tidus to hang his head for a moment. "Just wait." he tells the two of us, and continues to watch the doorway.

"So, what's in there, anyway?" Tidus asks Wakka.

"The fayth, remember?" he says, without taking his eyes off the door.

"Oh yeah, that thing. Right."

"The fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies." Lulu explains.

"Huh?" Apparently, Tidus still doesn't understand.

"Now they live forever, trapped in statues. But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an aeon."

"Creepy..." I mutter to myself, a look of something similar to horror appearing on Tidus' face.

"All that in this room? S-So what's Yuna doing in there?" he asks, slightly frightened.

"She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin." Wakka replies. Suddenly, the door opens, and Yuna walks out, falling to her knees as soon as she gets to the doorway. Wakka and Lulu rush to her side, and help her up. After Yuna rests a moment, reassuring us she'll be fine the whole time, we exit the Chamber of the Fayth, and head back out to the temple's entrance.

As we get there, Yuna is surrounded by a small group of people, who offer caring smiles and nods. Tidus walks outside, and stops for a moment, apparently thinking about something. I walk over to him, deciding to try and help him.

"What's wrong?" I ask, causing him to turn to me.

"I...It's nothing." he says, turning back around quickly.

"Alright. If you say so." I say, walking back towards the others, as Yuna now walks up to Tidus.

"Are...are you okay?" she inquires, as Tidus simply stares off into space.

"I...I don't know." he replies, looking down.

"What do you want to do?" Yuna asks, and I quirk my eyebrow slightly at this odd question.

Tidus looks up again, and looks over at Yuna. "To scream real loud." he says, causing Yuna to giggle. Suddenly, Tidus does, in fact, scream real loud, causing everyone to turn around and look, and me to erupt in a fit of laughter.

Wakka shakes his head, before walking over to Tidus. "Come on, we gotta get back to the port. The boat's leaving for Luca soon." he says, starting to walk back to Kilika. Calming myself down, I start to follow him back, Yuna, Tidus, and the others walking along with me.

After about 30 minutes, we finally make it back to Kilika, and we start to walk back to the port, looking for the boat that's supposed to take us on to Luca. Wakka is the first to find it, and waves us over.

"Off to Luca at last! The matches start as soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?" he instructs, walking up the ramp onto the boat. Looking at it a moment, I notice for the first time that there's a name on the side.

"The S.S. Winno? Where'd that come from, I wonder." I say softly, climbing aboard as well, the others right behind me. Several minutes after we board, the boat gives a short jerk, and begins to depart towards Luca.


Walking out of the cabin, I stretch, having caught a slight bit of rest. I usually don't sleep during the day, but I decided to make an exception this time, after all the activity I just went through.

"Well, what do you know. It's nighttime. And I just got some rest!" I say to no one in particular, slightly annoyed by my misfortune. Looking at the boat more closely, now that I'm alert, I notice it has 3 different decks. Upper, middle, and lower. We're all on the middle deck, except for the Aurochs, who are on the deck below, talking amongst themselves. Yuna, Kimahri, 2 of the Goers, and another person are farther away from me, talking. Lulu and Wakka just walked to the upper deck, which leaves me and Tidus here, alone with Yuna and the rest. Yuna giggles at something, which causes Tidus to stand up, and walk over to them. Apparently, he's just as curious as I am.

"May as well go over there myself, then." I mutter, following Tidus.

"What are you all talking about?" he asks, one of the Goers turning to face him.

"Who are you supposed to be?" he asks, a slightly haughty tone to his voice, as the other member turns to him.

"Ah, I remember him. Guy from Kilika." he says, as I think hard, trying to remember their names.

"Bickson and Graav, isn't it?" I ask, hoping I got it right. They both nod, before Graav turns back to Bickson.

"You know, one of the Besaid Aurochs. Said somethin' about winning the cup."

Bickson seems to finally clue in, turning to Tidus. "Oh, right. You're that idiot."

"Don't call him that!" Yuna protests, causing Bickson to turn to her.

"But he is an idiot. They don't got what it takes to win the cup." he says.

"Well, they do now that I'm here!" he exclaims, standing up straight. Yuna seems to agree, cutting in.

"Yes, they will win! He used to be the star player of the Zanarkand Abes!" she says, causing Graav to laugh.

"Yeah, as if anyone lived in those ruins." he says, Bickson snickering softly as well. Yuna appears to be pretty mad now, and I back away slightly. Not that I'm scared or anything, it's just...yeah, I'm scared.

"It's not ruins, there's a big city there! There is!" she says, everyone staring at her as Tidus interjects.

"I got to close to Sin and..."

"There is a city, really!" she says, cutting him off.

"Somehow I get the idea that she can be scarier than Lulu when she's angry..." I think to myself, as Yuna turns her back to the two Goers.

"Right. Whatever your Ladyship says." Bickson remarks, as the two walk away.

"What's wrong?" Tidus asks Yuna. "You seemed pretty mad back there."

"They were being rude and...I do believe your Zanarkand exists. I really do, you know!" she says, facing Tidus.

"How come?"

"Sir Jecht used to always tell me stories. It'd be great to see your home someday. I'd love to go there." she says, smiling.

"Yeah." Tidus agrees, sounding slightly homesick.

"Yuna, you said Sir Jecht used to tell you stories of Zanarkand." I say to her, causing her to face me. "That was 10 years ago. How old were you then?"

"I was seven when my father defeated Sin." she replies, causing me to smile.

"Really? That would make you...seventeen now? Heh, you're my age, know that?" I tell her, grinning.

"Really? I had no idea." she says, smiling back at me.

Suddenly, I heard something that sounded like a commotion, coming from the deck above. Deciding to check it out, I turn to tell Tidus to come with me, only to find that he's already gone. Turning around, I notice him standing about halfway up the stairs to the upper deck.

"He must be eavesdropping on them..." I mutter, causing Yuna to look at me again.

"What did you say?"

"Ah, nothing." I reply, shaking my head. "I'll be back in a moment. I thought I heard something upstairs."

Yuna nods, and I turn, walking over to Tidus, in order to listen in as well. Knowing this conversation, this may not go too well.

"Well? Say something. You'll take responsibility?" Lulu says, causing Wakka to hold up his hands.

"Relax! He's bound to know someone in Luca." he replies. Lulu crosses her arms.

"And if not?"

Wakka shrugs, turning away from Lulu. "He could always join a blitz team. Anyhow, it's better than just leaving him in Besaid."

"What, just leaving him in Luca?" Lulu retorts. Turning back to Lulu, Wakka continues.

"What do you want me to do?" he says indignantly.

"Yuna wants to make him a guardian."

"Oh yeah, geez...there's that too, eh?" he says, staring at the ground.

"And whose fault is that?" Lulu says, looking at Wakka accusingly. Wakka just stares back at her.

"Not mine!" The deck falls silent for a few moments, and I catch a glimpse of Tidus' face. It looks like a stony mask, showing no emotion at all.

"It is mine, huh? Why do you think she wants to make him a guardian, anyway?" Wakka continues.

"Because he's Sir Jecht's son." she replies.

"Oh, right." Wakka says, suddenly doing a double-take. "Wait, you sure 'bout that? He's really Sir Jecht's son?"

Lulu nods. "It's hard to say, but Yuna seems to believe so."

"Okay."

"'Okay?' 'Okay?' That's all you have to say?" Lulu says, apparently expecting more of an answer from the orange-haired blitzballer.

"Well, yeah, I mean...He's gotta decide for himself, ya? Well, him and Yuna, I guess." Wakka replies, shrugging.

"And what about Ben?" Lulu says, recapturing my attention. I was just about to leave, until she said that.

"Well, I don't really know. Guess that's up for him and Yuna to decide, too." Wakka says.

"You're right, for once." Lulu says, causing me to stand up. I've heard enough.

"Now, to think about my current problem. I need money. I need to get another outfit, or something, as well as items, and maybe a new weapon. But I don't know where to get any." I think to myself, walking back to the cabin. Walking into the cabin, I flop down on the bed, but instead of being met with only the soft material of the mattress, something else makes contact with my back. I sit up in surprise, and turn around to look. My eyes come face to face with a small pile of money, lying on my bed.

"What the? How'd this get here?!" I exclaim in surprise, starting to count the bills. One thousand, two thousand...there's five thousand Gil here!

"I thought you may need some help." the fayth replies, appearing beside me, also scaring the daylights out of me as he does so. Surprised, I can't do anything for a moment, until I finally find the coherence to say something again.

"Thanks. I really appreciate it, you know?" The fayth nods, smiling.

"I know." he says, disappearing again.

"Well, that takes care of my money problem. Now, guess I better get some sleep. It's pretty late, I think." I say to myself, falling back onto the bed again.


"Wake up, sleepyhead! We're almost at Luca, ya?" Wakka yells, rousing me from my sleep.

Groaning, I stand up, rubbing my eyes. Can't believe it's morning already. Walking out the door, I cover my eyes from the bright sun for a moment, waiting for them to adjust. As they do, I look out over the ocean in front of us, and gasp. Luca is enormous. The first thing I see is what I recognize as the blitzball stadium. It's almost as big as the one in Zanarkand. Buildings are scattered around it, and a large port lies just in front of us. The city is absolutely massive, reminding me of the capital of my own home state.

"Although, I bet, not nearly as confusing." I think, chuckling a bit.

As the boat pulls into the port, I start to get a bit nervous, noticing the large amount of people here watching. The voice of an announcer can also be heard, coming from speakers mounted on the walls of the stadium, which is barely a few hundred yards from the port.

"Ah, over there! The ships carrying the players are arriving now! This would be dock number 2." he says, as I make a mental note of the number.

"All the way from Kilika, it's the Kilika Beasts! High Summoner Ohalland used to play for them—a big name to live up to. Their hometown was recently attacked by Sin. Isn't that right, Jimma?"

"Yes, Bobba. They're going to be pulling out all the stops to try and bring back the cup this year."

"Exciting, isn't it folks! Our next team off the ramp is..." Bobba says, pausing a minute as all eyes go to the now exiting Aurochs. "Well, well, well! If it isn't the Besaid Aurochs! They're a living, breathing, statistical impossibility! I've never seen a team this bad! That's right! In twenty-three years they've never made it past the first round! Only a few die-hard fans are in the audience today."

"Best of luck to them, and a safe journey back to Besaid." Jimma says, as I start chuckling again.

"Fair and impartial media? What's that mean?" I mutter, mocking the announcers.

"Moving right along, our next team is...here they are, folks! Our very own Luca Goers! They've got power! They've got speed! They've got teamwork! They're an all around first-class team! And they're back home in Luca!" Bobba says, as the Goers walk down the ramp from their boat, waving to the crowd.

"Without a doubt, they are the favorite this year, Bobba. And after the way they dominated last year, it'd take a miracle for them to lose today."

"You can say that again, Jimma. Look at the crowd, folks! Look at the crowd! Looks like all of Luca has turned out to cheer the Goers on! They know, I know, and you know, folks! The Luca Goers are number one!" Bobba says, earning an annoyed look from Tidus. Wakka places a hand on his shoulder.

"It's like this every year, ya? Don't let it bother you." he says, and Tidus simply shrugs his hand off, walks over to a box, and climbs onto it, a megaphone in hand that he picked up from beside it.

"Stop right there, Goers!" he says, causing the whole team to stop and stare at him, his voice amplified around the dock by the device. "You guys are smilin' now, but not for long! Cause this year, us Aurochs are taking the cup!" he says, dropping the megaphone and beginning to laugh. Tidus gets down after a moment, and is immediately subjected to Wakka yelling at him.

"What in Yevon's name were you doing up there?"

"We sure stood out, though!" Datto exclaims.

"We were on the sphere!" Letty says, pointing upwards.

"We were?" Datto says, looking around. Suddenly, 3 people run right by us, looking very excited about something.

"Maester Mika is here!"

"Already?"

"The number 3 dock!"

Tidus looks pretty confused again, and turns to Yuna. "What's up now?"

"Maester Mika has arrived, that's what!" she says, clasping her hands excitedly.

"Mika? Maester?" Tidus still doesn't seem to get it.

"Maester Mika is the leader of all the peoples of Spira." Lulu explains. "He's come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held to celebrate his fifty years as maester."

"Fifty years? Shouldn't he be, uh, retired by now?" Tidus asks, Wakka shaking his fist at him.

"Hey! Mind your mouth, now." he says, as Yuna walks up to the two of them.

"Let's all go see him!" she suggests, and everyone nods, turning to walk towards the deck where Maester Mika is at.

"Well, Maester Mika has shown up at last...wait a minute. That means that...oh no. He's here too!" I think to myself, my eyes going wide for a moment, before my face turns into an angry expression.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Tidus asks, noticing the look on my face.

"Nothing." I reply, my face going back to its normal, apathetic look.

As we arrive at the dock, the first thing I notice is that this place is packed. Well over 50 people are standing around, hoping to see the maester. Tidus is hopping around, trying to find a viewpoint.

"Can't see a thing!" he complains, and Wakka puts a finger over his mouth.

"Shhh!" he says, as loud, joyful music begins to play. Finally, someone begins to walk down the ramp, and the sight of who it is makes my skin crawl.

"Maester Seymour." I say softly, contempt filling my voice. Seymour walks down the ramp slowly, bending down at the bottom and performing the prayer gesture. Everyone in the crowd, except for Tidus and myself, does it as well. The next off the boat, is none other than Maester Mika himself. Descending the ramp, he stops in front of Seymour, and begins to speak, everyone quieting down almost immediately.

"People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome. Rise, Maester Seymour. And all of you as well. I present to you...the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the Farplane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a maester of Yevon." Maester Mika says, as Seymour steps forward now.

"I am Seymour Guado. I am honored to receive the title of maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as maester to the best of my abilities." he says, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Same old political bullshit..." I think, as Wakka nudges Tidus in the ribs.

"You, too! Bow your head!" he says, Tidus following his head, as well as myself a moment later, reluctantly. As Mika and his group leave, I turn to leave myself.

"Where are you going?" Wakka asks, and I turn back to him.

"Shopping. I need another outfit, and some supplies." I reply, turning back to the city.

"Alright, we'll be at the stadium before long. Just go there when you're done." he says.

Walking into Luca, I take the chance to look around some. Now it really reminds me of my home state. The buildings are all clustered together, and it takes me a minute to find what I'm looking for. Finally finding it, I walk inside.

"Can I help you?" a lady asks, apparently the storekeeper. Shaking my head, I turn to look at her.

"Not right now. I'm just browsing." I say, looking around for the men's clothes. Giving a short nod, the lady walks away. Spying the clothes on the right side of the store, I walk over, looking around for what I want.

"Hope they have it..." I mutter, looking over a rack of shirts, before smiling and pulling one out.

After a few minutes, I've found exactly what I'm looking for, and walk to the counter. Looking over my purchases a moment, she scans each one, reaching for a bag as she does so.

"That'll be 2100 Gil, please." she says, and I pull the money out of my pocket, counting out the amount and handing it to her.

"Thanks." I say, leaving the store. Looking around again, I quickly find a restaurant of some sort, and walk inside, heading for the bathroom to change.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." I say, looking over myself in the mirror. Instead of the black and white outfit I was wearing when I came here, I'm now dressed in a silver, short-sleeve T-shirt, and a pair of red shorts, much like a pair of gym shorts. The tennis shoes I was wearing have been replaced by a pair of soft, silver slippers, resembling a pair of beach shoes, but designed for protecting the feet when kicking. My hands are also covered in a silver pair of fighting gloves. The top part of them, from the wrist to the start of the fingers, are the same red color as my shorts, and the rest is silver. They stop at my first knuckle, giving me more freedom than ordinary gloves. Also, a small backpack is slung over my right shoulder, carrying my other set of clothes.

"Certainly more comfortable. Easier to move in, too." I say to myself, throwing a few punches and kicks to test my movement. "Guess I better get back to the stadium." I decide, shouldering the pack better, before walking out the door, and back to the blitzball stadium.


So, how was it? Please review! I want to know who's reading, it's a little disheartening to write when you only know that a couple people are taking the time to leave their thoughts!