Wow, lots of reviews for last chapter, considering it was just an interlude for the most part. Oh well, on to the replies!
Daniel Wesley Rydell: Funny, real funny, ya know?
anbu713: Heh, I read that part, nicely written as well. This part's the escape from Home, get ready!
Bracey Face Anime Gurl: I shall 'mwahaha' whoever I wish! Mwahaha! (chuckles) And actually, 'meanie' is Rinoa's word. (whistles)
Iron Reaver: You, sir, shall pay. And not with Mastercard either.
ShadowStar05: Heh, for the first time, anyway...
Gray Wolf Demon: Hehe, I've updated!
desert-tiger: Welcome to Destiny's Call, tiger! Oh yes, Home is quite the dramatic scene. And it just gets better at Bevelle.
Gester: Welcome to Destiny's Call, Gester! I'll check out your fic; I don't know too much of FF7, but I'll read anyway if I can. You think my character is too powerful? I don't think I've done anything really extraordinary yet, but that's your opinion, you're welcome to it. I have noticed that I seem to take charge, but really, that's just how I am. If there is a leader, I'll follow. If there isn't, I take charge more often than not.
Jiranto Valsis: Heh, no problem on the lack of reviews. Thanks for being honest, too. I actually had a reason for the legendary weapons being introduced. Let me explain. I'm going based on what I think I would do, if I ended up in Spira. I figure, that it's better for us to have them, regardless of how we find them, and not need them for Sin, then to wind up there and find out are weapons are ineffective. Better safe than sorry, in other words. It won't be gone into further until after Bevelle, when the group is together once again, though. Putting up with honesty isn't a problem for me, either. I like hearing people's opinions.
Well, now that that's out of the way, onward to Home!
Chapter 26—Downfall
Waking up, the high afternoon sun is the first thing that greets me, shining down mercilessly upon the sandy ground.
"Bikanel Desert. Home of the Al Bhed." I say to myself, getting up, and re-sheathing the sword I still held in my right hand, as well as shaking my head to clear it. Looking around, I don't immediately see anyone, and that worries me for a moment. Since this desert is so expansive, I could've been dropped anywhere. I might not be close to anyone.
"Hey! Ben! Over here, ya?"
Suddenly, a voice knocks me out of my contemplation, and I look to my left to see Wakka approaching, blitzball in hand. Well, one fear shot down.
"Wakka. Glad to see someone else. Seen any of the others?" I ask him, and he shakes his head.
"I guess Sin brought us here. Wherever 'here' is, I mean. I haven't seen any of the others, either." he replies, and I shake my head, muttering a curse word in Al Bhed under my breath.
"Bikanel Desert. That's where we are. This place is huge, too. It might take us a while to find them." I tell him, and he points to a destroyed machina, half buried in the sand.
"Well, I found that, and was sitting near it. Maybe we can stay there, and hope they find us, ya?"
Nodding, I start to walk over to the pile of metal. "Probably the best thing to do, in this situation." I say, sitting down on the hot sand beside it, as Wakka does the same.
Pretty soon, probably 15 minutes later, I can make out something in the distance. Closing my left eye, and squinting, I can just make out a red coat.
"Auron!" I say, startling Wakka, almost causing him to fall over.
"Sir Auron? Where?" he asks, and I point into the distance, where Auron, and what looks like Tidus and Lulu are approaching us. Standing up, I give a loud whistle, and wave to them, Tidus waving and whistling back to confirm that they heard me. After they get to us, Tidus is the first to speak.
"Wakka, Ben! You two alone?" he asks, and I nod.
"Where's Yuna?" Wakka asks, and we all look at each other, before Wakka growls. "Dammit! First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambushed by machina!" he says, kicking the pile of metal. "Great day I'm having."
"Stupid as this may sound, considering we're in a desert and all, it needs to be said. Cool it, Wakka." I tell him. "Getting mad won't do us any good. We need to keep our heads and search for them."
"The boy is right." Auron says, nodding. "Let's go."
Beginning to head north, or at least what I think is north, we keep finding more and more destroyed machina. Seems like there was a lot of fighting out here, or failed tests of some sort. The Al Bhed must've been busy. Suddenly, I catch a glimpse of something, and turn to look at it.
"Hey, there's Kimahri!" I tell Auron, noticing the Ronso attempting to climb a sand dune, and failing quite miserably, his large bulk simply sliding down the smooth sand. After a minute of running towards him, Kimahri notices us, and turns, standing up tall, but hanging his head slightly.
"What's wrong, Kimahri?" Tidus asks the Ronso, and Kimahri shakes his head.
"Yuna...gone." he replies, and Tidus puts a hand on his shoulder.
"It's not your fault, Kimahri!" he tells him, and everyone nods. Kimahri looks up, and nods too, as Auron speaks.
"Let's keep moving. We found Kimahri, we should find the others soon." he says, and all of us nod again, beginning to trudge through the hot desert once again.
I can't tell how long has passed between the time we found Kimahri, and right now, but it seems like an eternity. I can't stand the heat, and I'm sweating profusely because of it. It's driving me insane, but I have to go on.
"Hey, there's someone!" Tidus yells, grabbing our attention. Everyone looks, and I notice who it is immediately.
"Rikku!" I yell, catching her attention, and she waves back, running towards us, as we run to meet her. Embracing her in a hug, I smile.
"Are you okay?" I ask her, and she nods.
"I'm fine." she says, looking at our group. "Hey, where's Yunie?" she asks, a look of concern on her face.
"Gone." Tidus replies simply, almost the same time that Lulu speaks up.
"Gone...some guardian I am." Lulu says, lowering her head slightly.
Rikku looks a little unnerved at this point, fidgeting a little, and looking around. "Umm...there's something I want to tell you, but promise not to say anything." she says, Wakka glaring at her. "No glaring either!" she yells, annoyed. "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!"
Wakka looks a little skeptical at this, crossing his arms somewhat angrily. "Rescued? You mean kidnapped." he says, and Tidus growls, stepping in between myself, Rikku, and Wakka.
"What does it matter as long as she's safe?" he says, Wakka just maintaining the same expression.
"That's right!" Rikku agrees, and I nod as well, as she continues. "Anyway, I will take you there if you promise...that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed. Who knows what they'll do if they knew?" Wakka just snorts, looking back at Rikku.
"Gimme a break. What are you accusing Yevon of this time?"
"She's not accusing anyone of anything, Wakka. She's trying to keep her people safe from harm. Put yourself in their shoes, wouldn't you do the same if you were her?" I say, interrupting his little tirade. Wakka looks at me, glaring, and I glare right back. He just won't quit his racist statements.
"Can we just go already? We need to find Yuna!" Tidus says, thoroughly annoyed at myself and Wakka.
"Fine, let's go, let's go!" I say, and Rikku just looks back at Wakka.
"Just promise you won't tell anyone about this island. Promise?" she asks, and Wakka looks hesitant.
"Wakka, come on!" Tidus yells, and Wakka shakes his head.
"All right, I promise! Lead the way." he says, and Rikku smiles.
"You got it!" she says, sprinting off, the rest of us following.
After another 5 minutes of running, Rikku stops us. "Over here!" she says, climbing up a sand dune. We're just about to follow, when Rikku screams.
"Rikku!" Tidus and I cry, running up the sand dune and joining her. The sight that greets us is awful. The Al Bhed home is being destroyed, fires and fiends everywhere, along with the sounds of gunfire. Everyone else scrambles up the dune, and gasps at the sight.
"What? Yuna's down there?" Wakka exclaims.
"Of all the places...let's go!" Lulu says, and we all rush down the sand dune to join the fight, hoping to save not only Yuna, but the Al Bhed as well. No more than a minute later, we're inside Home, running past Guado and Al Bhed alike, looking frantically for Yuna. Suddenly, an Al Bhed soldier falls over, clutching a stomach wound, and Rikku gasps, running over to him.
"Keyakku!" she yells, kneeling down beside him. "Who? Who's attacking us? Fru tet drec du oui?" she asks, and Keyakku raises his head weakly.
"Yevon...Guado..." he manages to say, before his head drops back down, eyes glazed over in death, as pyreflies start to leak from his body.
"Keyakku? Keyakku!" Rikku exclaims, fighting back tears. I just put an arm around her shoulder, looking quietly at the deceased soldier.
"We'll avenge him...don't worry." I say, drawing my katana.
"A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?" Lulu asks, looking at us.
"Dryd ec fnuhk. Guado ku vun dra summoner." a voice to our left says, and we turn, to see a bald man approaching. Rikku stands up, and walks towards the man.
"Vydran..." she says, as the man kneels beside Keyakku, and checks for a pulse, finding none. Rikku looks on the verge of tears now, and I just growl, as the man turns to us.
"You Rikku's friends?" he asks, and I nod. "Well, don't just stand there, come on! Let's go kick those Guado out of our home!" he says, running off into Home, everyone following except me, Rikku, and Tidus.
"Who...?" Tidus asks, and Rikku looks at him, eyes shining.
"Cid. Leader of the Al Bhed...he's my dad." she says, and Tidus nods.
"Let's go." he says, Rikku and I nodding as well.
"Yeah. We have to save Yunie." she replies, and Tidus smiles.
"Not only Yuna. Right?" he asks, and she smiles.
"Right!" she says, and the three of us sprint off after the others.
As we run inside, we find the others in battle with a few Guado soldiers, Lulu, Auron, and Wakka quickly cutting them down, as Kimahri watches their backs.
"Yuna! Where are you?" Wakka yells, and suddenly another Guado and 3 Bomb fiends swoop down and attack us, Wakka immediately hurling the blitzball at one of the Bombs. The blitzball knocks the Bomb back, the other two immediately casting a Fira spell on Wakka, sending him back slightly, burned. Quickly, I cast a Cure spell on him, and proceed to run up and cut one of the Bombs with my sword, which causes it to use one of its special abilities. It explodes. I'm sent flying back, landing on my back on the ground, wincing as the dirt and rocks dig into my back.
"Ben!" Rikku says, dodging a slash from the Guado, as Auron runs in and cuts the soldier down. Lulu casts a Blizzara spell on one Bomb, causing it to freeze up and fall. Kimahri slashes the other Bomb, which also promptly explodes, sending him to the dirt as well. Casting a Cure spell on myself, I stand up and cast one on Kimahri.
"What in Yevon's name are those Guado thinking?" Wakka exclaims, shaking his head.
"This is terrible!" Rikku says, looking around, as we all run to the next area. Arriving, the first thing we hear is Cid's voice, over a loudspeaker system of some sort.
"Drec pedac! Rikku, oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Home! Yht dra fiend fedr ed!" he says, and I barely catch the translation, eyes widening.
"Oh no!" Rikku exclaims, and I turn to everyone.
"What'd he say?" Wakka yells, and I look at him.
"We've gotta get below ground, now!" I yell, looking around for any stairs leading down. I know that the Summoner's Sanctum is below ground, but I don't see the stairs.
"Where's Yuna?" Auron asks, and Rikku turns to him, pointing off in front of us.
"The Summoner's Sanctum! This way!" she yells, running off, but suddenly, we're ambushed by a small group of fiends, 2 Dingos and a flying eyeball type fiend, that I can't quite remember the name of. It doesn't take us but a minute to dispatch the trio, and soon, we're following Rikku down a stair set, headed underground, hopefully to safety.
"Over here!" she says, running inside a room, and finding the same amount of chaos and decimation that taints the ground above. Rikku's face falls, and I walk over beside her, remaining silent, as Wakka sums up everyone's thoughts in one sentence.
"This place done for."
"You're right. You're right, Wakka." she says, sadly, looking around at the room, dotted with fires, cracks, and other destruction. "We Al Bhed, we...we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we put our minds to it and worked together, we could build a new home. Everyone worked hard, we had our Home back again...but now...why did things have to turn out this way?" she continues, a small tear falling from her eye, as a low growl catches our attention from beside us. Looking, we see two Vouivre fiends, one on either side of us. A minute later, they burst into pyreflies, courtesy of my sword in one's skull, and Auron's sword, cleaving another in half.
"Rikku..." Wakka trails off, looking around. "Damn those Guado! What are they thinking?" he says, as Rikku leads us down another set of stairs, at the far side of the room.
"Rikku, what is the Summoner's Sanctum?" Lulu asks, as we run down a hallway underground.
"The Summoner's Sanctum is where we keep the summoners. We keep them safe there." she replies, Wakka frowning.
"You kidnapped them." he states, and Rikku nods.
"I know it's against the teachings and all that, but..." she begins, but is cut off by Wakka.
"I get why you did it, but..." This time, it's Wakka's turn to get cut off, Tidus interrupting, and I think a moment, before mentally cringing, knowing what's about to happen.
"Well, I sure don't get it, Wakka. They might get hurt on their pilgrimage, so you kidnap them? I mean, if the summoners don't do their job, then who will beat Sin? You want to protect them, I know. But guardians are there for that. If guardians do their job well, summoners will be safe!" Tidus says, all of us remaining silent. "Right?" he repeats, everyone still remaining quiet. "Right?" he says, a bit more insistently, and I interrupt, seeing a third set of stairs in front of us.
"Is this the Sanctum?" I ask Rikku, who nods, looking down the stairs, which are too dark to see down, really. Kimahri steps forward, looking down into the darkness.
"It's quiet. Kimahri goes now." the Ronso says, walking down the stairs, everyone closely behind him, ready for anything.
As we all make our way down the stairs, the area becomes brighter, until we're standing in a lit room at last. Rikku takes one look, and gasps. I see why after a moment. There are small fires in the room, scattered throughout it, and dead Al Bhed and Guado soldiers, lying on the floor, with pyreflies hovering around slowly.
"Yuna!" Kimahri roars, and Dona and Isaaru walk towards us, their guardians nearby.
"She's not here." Dona says, looking at us. "Hello again. Wait there till we have performed the sending."
"They died...protecting us." Isaaru says, speaking up. "The least we can do is give them a proper sending. I nod slowly at this. I would help perform the sending, but I don't have a staff. After a moment, Pacce runs up to Tidus, looking up at the taller teen.
"Hey, what's 'sacrificed'?" he asks, Tidus looking down in confusion. "The Al Bhed said summoners were being sacrificed. That summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage..."
"Why couldn't they trust guardians to protect summoners..." Tidus breaks in, staring at Pacce. "The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!"
"The pilgrimages have to stop!" Rikku exclaims suddenly, causing Tidus to turn to her, as she walks up to look at him. "If they don't, and they get to Zanarkand...they might defeat Sin. Yunie could...but then she...Yunie will die, you know?" Rikku says, eyes full of grief and anguish over Yuna. "You know, don't you? Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin...but then...if she calls it, then the Final Aeon's gonna kill her. Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know?" she finishes, dropping to her knees, as I walk to her side, kneeling down to console her as she cries softly.
"Was I the only one who didn't know?" Tidus says, looking down at Rikku. "Tell me why! Why were you hiding it? Why didn't I know?" he says, forcefully, as Wakka and Lulu step closer.
"We weren't hiding it..." Wakka says, looking down.
"It was just...too hard to say." Lulu states, looking at Tidus solemnly. Tidus looks at them for a moment, before screaming, and falling to his knees.
"Lulu!" he yells. "How could you? How could you? Isn't she like a sister to you? I thought you were family!" he exclaims, glaring at Lulu, before shifting his gaze to Wakka. "Why don't you do something, Wakka?"
"Don't you think we tried to stop her?" Lulu retaliates, more forcefully than usual. "She follows...her heart."
"Yuna, she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a summoner. To face Sin, ya? Yuna knew!" Wakka exclaims, staring Tidus in the eyes.
"But, Wakka, that's just totally wrong!" Rikku says, standing up again, wiping her eyes. "Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves...just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?" As Rikku finishes speaking, I glance over, and notice a group of pyreflies, merging with each other, a Wendigo fiend appearing in a small flash of light. I draw my sword, but Isaaru and Dona step forward, standing in front of the fiend.
"But that is our choice..." Isaaru says, Dona nodding.
"We all live in fear of Sin. You know that." she says, Isaaru preparing to summon an aeon, Dona following suit.
"A world without Sin...that is the dream of all Yevon's children. And we will use that power, even if it means our lives!" he exclaims, as Valefor and Ifrit suddenly appear, beginning to fight the Wendigo with a roar.
"And I've been telling Yuna, 'Let's go to Zanarkand together!'" Tidus says, apparently talking to himself. "I told her all the things we could...we could...but Yuna, she'd...just smile." he says, as the Wendigo roars, bursting back into pyreflies from a Sonic Wings attack by Valefor, the aeons vanishing again. Tidus stands up, clenching a fist then, and I walk over to him.
"I can't let her die! I'll find her!" he exclaims, and I look at him solemnly.
"Then let's stop all the moaning about not knowing, and let's take action! Let's find Yuna, and make sure she's safe!" I tell him, looking at everyone. Rikku nods, and motions for us to follow, running back up the stairs. All of us follow, Dona, Isaaru, and their guardians, as Rikku leads us down another hallway, and then up another flight of stairs. What we find inside, is an enormous airship, similar to the one the Al Bhed used to fight Sin in Operation Mi'ihen. I stare in awe at the massive vessel, before Rikku slaps me on the shoulder lightly, snapping me out of my daze. Following everyone inside, I head for the bridge, Tidus in front of me, as we take the stairs up. Arriving at the bridge, I see Brother in what I assume to be the pilot's chair, and Cid standing in the middle of the bridge, near a large sphere of light. Running towards him, I hear him talking to Brother.
"Hu desa! Ku, ku, ku!" he tells Brother, who looks back at him from the seat.
"Three minutes mavd!" he replies, and Cid looks anxious at this.
"Rinno, rinno! Oui ryja one minute!" he tells Brother, who turns back, beginning to mess with the controls in front of him. Tidus and I get near him at this point, and Tidus speaks.
"Where's Yuna?" he asks, and Cid just looks at Brother, telling him something else.
"Ajanouha uh puynt?" he asks, speaking again after a moment. "Ajanouha ymeja!" he exclaims, as Tidus puts a hand on Cid's shoulder, spinning him around, as everyone else runs in.
"I said, where is she? Answer me! Answer me, damn you!" he exclaims, furious, and Cid removes his hand, looking him in the eyes with a stern gaze.
"What'll you do when you find her, eh?" he asks, Tidus looking down.
"I didn't know anything about what a summoner is supposed to do. And I told her all those things without even knowing. I've got to tell her. I've got to tell her I'm sorry!" he exclaims, annoyed, and Cid's gaze turns into a glare.
"That's it? You're just gonna tell her you're sorry?" he says, throwing his hands in the air. "And then you just drag her to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin, huh? You're all the same—let the summoner die so we can live in peace!" he says, grabbing Tidus and flipping him, Tidus ending up on his back, on the floor, as I step forward, in between the two.
"No! I'm not gonna let Yuna die!" Tidus says, from his new position on the floor. Cid just snorts.
"Hah! Words! Show me action!" he insists, and Tidus stands up, locking eyes with the older man.
"I'm telling you, she won't die!" Tidus repeats, and Cid nods slowly.
"Boy, don't forget those words, 'cause if you do...I'm gonna make you regret it." Cid says, threateningly, and Tidus nods.
"I won't." he says, as Cid turns back to the sphere of light, which I recognize as the tracking device, though I can't remember the name.
"So, you know where she is?" Tidus asks Cid, who turns to him again.
"Course not. That's why we're gonna look! Using this airship!" Cid says, and Wakka looks a little stunned.
"A-Airship?" he says, as the ship rumbles, Brother in the pilot seat, still fiddling with the control panel.
'Little slow on the uptake, there, Wakka.' I think, chuckling inwardly.
"Vydran! Nayto du ku!" Brother says, looking back at Cid.
"Oaaryy! Y vmekrd 1000 years ujantia!" Cid exclaims, raising a fist in the air, as the ship continues to rumble, and through the front window I can see two enormous panels open up, sand spilling into the now-revealed hangar. The airship gives a last, mighty rumble, before beginning to lift off, and out of the bay, floating up into the air like a great bird.
"Fruy! Ed sujac!" Brother says, awed.
"Necg pek, feh pek!" Cid says, and I chuckle at the statement. Win big, indeed. We're now fully off the ground, the airship turning slowly, before flying away from home, several flying fiends attempting to chase and attack us, but quickly getting left behind by this gigantic ship.
"Fruy! Ed vmeac!" Brother exclaims again, excited at the functionality of the ship.
"Haqd, fa ica dryd!" Cid says, pointing to a series of buttons on the control panel. I can make out the word 'weapon' in Al Bhed, and so I assume it's the missile commands. Brother looks down, then back up at Cid, nodding slowly.
"Frydajan oui cyo." Brother says, solemnly, beginning to punch several buttons on the console, also beginning to sing the Hymn of the Fayth. Cid joins in, as well as the other Al Bhed after a moment. Realizing what's about to happen, I begin to sing too, out of reverence. Rikku looks quite sad, and honestly, I can't blame her.
"What's going on?" Wakka asks, looking at Rikku, who turns to face him slowly.
"We're...we're going to blow up our Home." she says after a moment.
"How?" Lulu asks, looking at Rikku as well.
"With one of the forbidden machina!" Cid says, having overheard the query, before turning back to Brother. "Nayto?" he asks, and Brother gives a small nod. "Vena!" Suddenly, a series of small panels on the side of the ship open up, and a large salvo of missiles, probably 3 dozen total, fly out of the sides and turn around, headed back towards the Al Bhed home. Peering out the side window, I can just make out the missiles' trails, and the massive explosion that overtakes the area after a moment, completely decimating anything around. The explosion inches closer to the airship, before engulfing us completely, as the airship speeds up and out of the explosion, jetting off into the sky, leaving the flaming ruins of the once-proud Al Bhed home behind.
"Gah-hah-hah-hah! Nadinh du cyht!" Cid says, and I hear a small sniff, looking over to see Brother, sobbing quietly over the loss.
"Hu haat vun daync!" Cid tells Brother, who looks up at him. "Fryd ec kuut ypuid machina, ec drao lyh pa piemd yhaf, oui caa?"
"Ra'c nekrd, oui ghuf." I tell Brother, and Cid gives me a strange look.
"Oui cbayg Al Bhed?" he asks, and I nod.
"Rikku dyikrd sa." I reply, pointing at her, Rikku giving a small nod at her father.
"Hey, look, don't get so down." Wakka says, walking over to Rikku. "Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?" he tells her, and I can almost see Rikku's eye twitching, as she glares at Wakka.
"You can cram your happy festival, you big meanie!" she tells him, stalking off, as Wakka hangs his head. Tidus walks back up to Cid, having walked away to look around the bridge.
"Did you find out anything about Yuna?" he asks, and Cid shakes his head.
"I'm lookin' into it, okay?" he replies, causing Tidus to sigh. "Don't worry. I'm using a sphere oscillo-finder. If she's out there, we'll get her." I snap my fingers softly, now remembering the name.
"A sphere oscillo-finder?" Tidus queries, equally as confused as I am.
"It's an ancient machina." he says, and I quirk an eyebrow. "I don't know how it works either, so don't ask me, okay?" he adds after a moment, and I almost laugh. Funny how the new machina fail almost every time, but something as old as this thing works perfectly.
"And you still use it?" Lulu asks, crossing her arms. Cid laughs, turning to her.
"I don't even rightly know how this rig flies, either! All because of the Yevon taboo on machina, we're running around in the dark here! Ain't it a rush, kiddos?" he tells her, and this time I do laugh.
"Let me take a look at the computer stuff. I might be able to figure something out. Anything's better than what we're working with now, huh?" I ask him, and after a moment, he nods.
"Alright, see what you can do." he says, and I nod, walking over to one of the consoles, and beginning to examine it.
"Yuna...just hang on. We're coming." I say to myself, before beginning to work on the instrument.
Quite the long chapter there, but now, it's rescue time! What'll happen when they find Yuna? Keep reading to find out, and as always, please review!
