Chapter 10: Assault on Djose

Eriks leadinglady: I just want to apologize for the extended delay on this chapter. I had some massive writer's block and couldn't go on at all…it took me a few hours just to type a single page! Also since your my only reviewer now I didn't have much motivation either. Well during that lapse of writer's block I did make my time useful and started writing another fic "Ripped and Torn" it's a FFX fic, and don't worry I'm still gonna write this one. Anyway, I'm glad u think I fit the characters well, that's what I try to do and I'm glad it's working. Here's chapter ten for you after it's much delayed time!

Rikku awoke with a start at a loud rapping on the thick metal door separating her room from the hallway. "Who is it?" She called through the door.

The door slid open with a swoosh to reveal a familiar Al Bhed boy standing in the doorway. "Hey Cid's gi…I mean Rikku." Gippal corrected himself to make sure he didn't upset her.

Rikku shot out of her bed that she had slept in and up to stand in front of Gippal. "Hiya Gip!" She exclaimed. "When did you get back?"

"Oh, I got back about an hour ago and find out that you, Yuna, and Dr. P are here. I wanted to come and see you as soon as I found out, but you were still sleeping." Gippal replied.

"Gippal."

"Yeah?" A look of confusion spreading across his face.

She looked him in the eye. "Are you trying to avoid me?" She inquired drawing an even more confused look from the Al Bhed boy.

"What are you talking about Rikku? I'm here now. So why would you think that I'm trying to avoid you?" She lowered her gaze sheepishly to the floor. "What's the matter Rikku?"

Her gaze shot back up at Gippal. "We came here just so that I could see you again and then you weren't even here. Are you afraid of me Gippal?" His jaw dropped at the suddenness of the odd question.

"Jeez! You could have called or something to see if I was here in the first place! After all, if you wanted to see me so much why wouldn't you make sure I was here?" He complained causing Rikku to sob.

"And there you go again, being a big jerk!" She shouted through her silent sobs.

"I'm not being a jerk! I just want to know why you're getting upset when you could have just called before you came to see if I was here or not." He put a firm hand on Rikku's right shoulder.

She gazed into his eye with her dual green swirling eyes. "I don't know why I didn't call. I just wanted you to be there for me." She threw her arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest.

A knock came at the door causing the two Al Bhed to spin around to look at the door. "Is everything alright? I heard you two yelling." Yuna's friendly voice cut through the door with heavy concern.

"Yeah." Rikku and Gippal said in unison.

"Okay. I'll just leave you two alone." Yuna's footsteps scurried away from the door and then stopped as if she had looked back to the door but quickly picked back up.

A serene feeling washed over Gippal as he looked down into Rikku's jade swirl eyes. "Rikku…I'm not afraid of you and I will always be here for you." Rikku broke into tears, which Gippal could feel through his shirt as she squeezed him tight.

The couple stayed in each other's grip for a while until there came another rapping on the door. "Rikku, Gippal, we just got a transmission form Baralai." Yuna called through the door. "He says Seymour is back in Bevelle." Rikku shot out of Gippal's arms and ran over to the door. She swung the door open and stood before her cousin.

"What? How did he come back into power?" Rikku shouted at her cousin.

"Apparently the people of Bevelle still regard him as a Maester and have no idea of his true nature. It seems that he made up an alibi that he was just gone for the past three years on a break from being Maester and then brainwashed them into believing him." Yuna said.

"Is he still on the line?" Gippal strode forth to stand next to Rikku.

"Yeah."

"Well then, what are we waiting for? The three of them went out of the room and headed for the communications room.

When they arrived there they saw Paine already waiting for them. As they filled in next to her and around the screen they flipped the connection back on. Baralai flashed up on the screen as soon as it was flicked on. He was in an alleyway that from the looks of it was in a far worse part of Bevelle than he was used to being in. It was a mess. Garbage everywhere, trash cans flipped, dented, overflowing with trash. The windows for the buildings that lined the alley were all either smashed or boarded up. "Hey, you're back." Baralai sounded over the transmission.

"What's up Baralai?" Rikku queried in her usually upbeat voice.

"You are already aware that Seymour has returned to Bevelle, right?" Hi friends nodded. "Well, he brainwashed the people and all the higher ups, including me, in to believing whatever he wanted us to believe. Anyway, after a while a strange man come into the temple and charged up to where Seymour and I waited. The man fought Seymour and I and won. Seymour got pissed and went all out and I barely made it out but the man picked me up and carried me out." He informed everyone.

"Who was this man you keep talking about?" Yuna asked the question that was obviously going through everyone's mind.

"Um…his name was…hold on." Baralai goes off screen for a moment and then returns with the man. Yuna's, Rikku's and Paine's eyes widen in terror as Xanthos walked in the company of Baralai.

"What are you doing with him?" Rikku shouted at Baralai. He stared blankly at the screen with his friends on it and then glanced to Xanthos.

"Xanthos, what are you planning on doing?" Paine glared at the shape shifter.

He started to laugh but contained himself. "Oh, so you're not thankful that I saved your friend. I am not your enemy anymore. My only enemies are Seymour, Yu Yevon and any other scum ball that is tied with them."

"What are you doing in Bevelle? We thought you were killed back in that place." Rikku pawed at the air in her usual energetic fashion.

"No, I did not die in that godforsaken place. I came here to get a little relaxation when I found out that that disturbing man, Seymour, had come slithering back into power. As you must know from our previous meetings I couldn't let him get away with that after being in league with Yu Yevon. So I did the only thing I could do, I went to kill him. When I got there I found your friend, brainwashed, and fought him off. Then I confronted Seymour and kicked his ass but he cannot be destroyed…He forced me to retreat by throwing his massive blade after me. Baralai was unconscious and in the way of the sword so I picked him up, because he doesn't deserve to die, and escaped." Xanthos went on explaining what had exactly transpired.

"Xanthos! We've got company!" A female voice called to him from out of frame.

"Hang on." Baralai said, slipping the flip screen into his pocket. He Xanthos and Rena ran to a door and flung it open as a platoon of Bevelle guards marched down the alleyway. They surveyed the alley and didn't find anything out of the ordinary and soon left. The three of them exited the building and came back into the alleyway, Baralai whipping the communicator out. "Sorry about that. Too many guards wandering around now a days."

"Who's that?" Yuna inquired scanning over the brown haired girl that joined up with Xanthos and Baralai when the guards came.

"Oh, that's Rena." Xanthos introduced her to Yuna and her friends. "We go way back, but now onto the matter at hand."

"And what would that be?"

"I have found out that they, the Bevelle guards, have found out that the Machine Fraction has created a machina that is indestructible. Is that true Gippal?" He nodded 'yes'. "They will pounce on your position and take control of the machina by force. You must defend the machina or else they will control it to take over Spira." Xanthos walked over to Baralai. "We will come immediately. They'll probably come soon so you will need our aid."

"Right! I will form up my men and prepare them for battle!" Gippal shouted. Then he turned towards the door and ran out at full speed.

"We should get ready too." Paine stated shutting off the communicator. "Rikku. Go help Gippal round up the Al Bhed workers."

"On it!" Rikku ran towards the door but came to a screeching halt right before she broke through the door. "Yunie, where's Tidus at?"

"He's still out cold." Yuna's voice was saddened by the thought of the condition he was in.

"It's alright Yunie." Rikku pattered her cousin on the back. "He'll wake up sooner or later." She then left her to go aid Gippal in rallying the Al Bhed.

After a short while Rikku and Gippal mustered the workers of the former temple to form the defenses. Machina gun emplacements were planted on either side of the main entrance and set up near the bridge, the one path leading to the temple. The Al Bhed workers hid behind the multitudes of boulders and any other things they could find, guns resting in their arms. Some riflemen hid on top of the temple to pick off any officers they could spot as well as any other enemy they could shoot. The main gate to the temple was barred shut with reinforced steel bars bolted to it. Behind the gate stood a few rows of riflemen followed by swordsmen but in front of the AL Bhed rested a bunch of machina that were going to be used as shields and weapons.

After most of the day passed and the sun began to plummet from the sky the sound of numerous boots marched in unison upon the long bridge to the past temple. The Al Bhed grew nervous and started to waver from their posts, but a few higher ups make them hold their positions firm. The dark silhouettes of a cluster of Bevelle soldiers made its way onto the horizon. The Al Bhed calmly awaited their enemies to get within range of their weapons. The Bevelle regiment came to an abrupt halt right as the first booted foot fell upon the sandy area just over the bridge. A silent alarm was risen at the first booted foot on their territory and the mounted guns popped out of nowhere and unloaded on their enemies.

The hidden Al Bhed flew out of their hiding spots after the first turret opened fire and unloaded clip after clip at the Bevelle soldiers. The guns finally came to a blaring halt. Everyone stared at the smoke that now enveloped the entire regiment of Bevelle soldiers. The smoke gradually decreased. Out from the dust protruded a line of navy blue and mauve shields, each protecting the front line of where each soldier stood. The defenders' jaws all dropped in horror at the sight of their enemies surviving their unrelenting bombardment of bullets. The soldiers smiled, evilly, before picking back up to their regular marching pace, heading towards the temple and its defenders.

The Al Bhed defenders opened up another merciless shower of bullets at the oncoming invaders. Their shields made easy work of the bullets, refracting them back all over the entire battlefield. Some of the bullets were deflected back at its owner, killing them with their own ammo. Some of the Al Bhed fled away into the surrounding hills, the ones that stayed got slaughtered without the enemy even touching them.

After the regiment wiped out the Al Bhed defenders, they marched their way up to the main gate of the temple. A group of five of them rammed the door with their shoulders but could not budge the sturdy steel door. A cloaked figure emerged from the heart of the brigade, stepping in front of the door. He raised a single cloaked arm and fired a ball of massive flames into the door, melting it on impact. He waved a hand, commanding his troops to move into the temple. The company flooded into the temple's main chamber to meet their next opponents head on.

The row of machina guarding the other Al Bhed pounced upon the Bevelle soldiers as soon as they stepped inside. The shields were torn asunder by the machinas' heavy machine guns and piercing weapons. The first rank of solders, shield wielders, were completely ripped asunder by the machina, leaving the second rank, sword wielders, to deal with the machina threat. They smashed into the ranks of the machina, swords boring deep cuts into thick and thin armor plated machina alike. The machina carcasses fell to the ground in furry of sparks and random explosions.

The Bevelle swordsmen charged past the flaming and sparking wreckage of the machina, but where pinned down by a volley of bullets. Some of the swordsmen pushed forward still using fallen comrades as shields. The ones that reached the ranks of Al Bhed riflemen tore apart the line until they were brought down by either a bullet or a sword from the swordsmen behind the rifles. Soon the entire Al Bhed rifle ranks were smashed by the overwhelming odds brought by the Bevelle soldiers. The Al Bhed swordsmen charged back at the solders and clashed blades casting the familiar metal on metal sound throughout the temple.

The Al Bhed ranks were being pressed back by the devastating force of Bevelle until three friends leapt into the fray. Paine hurtled into the battle, her sword glancing off many a soldiers' flesh. Yuna opened fire from the top of the stairs leading to the cloister of trials down into the ranks of soldiers. She dropped about ten Bevelle soldiers before they broke through the ranks protecting the stairs. A yellow blur flipped onto the flight of stairs as the soldiers were just about to cut Yuna down. The yellow blur pulled a 360 sending the first few opponents off the stairs with rather large gashes in their flesh. Then the blur continued on to do a cartwheel down the stairs, blades slicing up the enemies along its descent. Rikku pulled a front flip at the bottom of the stairs and shot a thumbs up back at her cousin. Yuna smiled and whipped up a pistol to shot down an enemy just as he was about to bring his blade down on Rikku.

Paine took up the front assault on the Bevelle soldiers with a small trail of Al Bhed swordsmen following her closely. Her blade locked with an enemy's blade and they fought out a deadlock for the next blow. Paine easily overtook the puny swordsman's strength and forced her blade through his chest. She slid her blade out of the body with a horizontal slash to the right which also severed another swordsman in half. A soldier charged Paine when she had her back turned to fend off another attack and brought his sword upon her spine. She felt something press against her back violently and whiled around to see one of the Al Bhed in a deadlock with the soldier's blade.

The Bevelle soldier kicked the Al Bhed in his stomach, sending him to his hands and knees gasping for air. The soldier poised his blade above the incapacitated Al Bhed's head ready to bring it down to execute his prisoner. His sword plummeted through the air towards the AL Bhed's neck but Paine shot her skull blade below the sword. The sound of the two swords clanging together echoed through the chaos filled room over all other noise. Paine punched the soldier in his face while they were staring down each other. He fell back and much to his dismay was impaled on Paine's custom blade. His body slid off the end of her blade, leaving a streak of crimson blood along the length of the blade followed by a puddle on the ground. The Al Bhed thanked Paine with a nod but was cut down by a massive, jagged blade bursting through his stomach. Paine stared upon the figure that had just cut down the Al Bhed she had saved and saw the cloaked man that had broke down the main door.

By this point in the battle Yuna had changed into her dark knight dresssphere seeing her gunner sphere useless for close up fighting, which was all the fighting within the temple walls. She formed a purple, black and gold circle beneath her and spun her blade around overhead. The circle gave off golden flashed of energy all around it. She then stopped her sword in mid spiral and brought it down as to slash someone. The circle around her feet spread out in a destructive wave of pure dark energy that extended about ten feet around her. All the Bevelle soldiers in the blast radius, maybe three or four, were utterly vaporized right before everyone's eyes.

Rikku was still bouncing around in her thief dresssphere, cutting down any enemies that came along her path. She fought her way around the chamber easily but then her gaze came upon Paine fighting the cloaked man. Her eyes shot wide open in horror as the cloaked man smashed Paine in the side with the flat side of his jagged blade. The blow cast her across the room, crashing into countless Bevelle soldiers and Al Bhed alike until she collided with a statue of one of the former high summoners. The statue crashed down upon her with an immense force that splashed up dust in all directions.

Rikku cried out for her friend but it was no use she was completely trampled by the statue. She ran over to the statue in a blind rage of anger and sorrow, slitting the throats of countless soldiers. She arrived at the scene of the statue tumble to see no signs of Paine anywhere. She collapsed to her knees, tears streaming down from her jade eyes, down her cheeks and finally descending off her chin. "Paine…no…" She sobbed, getting back to her feet. "I will make him pay!" She whispered, a flame of anger burning in her jade, swirling eyes. She rushed over to where the cloaked man stood observing her.

Yuna turned to see Rikku sprint towards the cloaked man. Yuna had to hastily shift her focus to a group of soldiers about to pounce on her. She whipped around her spiky sword in an effort to drive them back, but it was futile. The soldiers plunged upon her with their blades thrust out in front of them. She barely evaded the first soldier's blow as another came from the side, brushing against her skin. A third blow came down at her head. She dodged it to the left but was cut off by yet another sword stroke, catching her in the thigh.

She let out a small cry of pain as she went into an all out attack. She took her blade and rammed it through the first soldier's shoulder. He fell to the ground in a wailing pain that pierced the very chaos in the temple chamber. The second soldier suffered a blow to the side of the head with the flat side of her blade conveying him into the third. The fourth one, the one that slit her thigh, came in from behind her as she finished up with the second one. She pivoted on her heel and brought her sword around at neck height. The soldiers head came clean off and was flung across the room, knocking into another soldier allowing an Al Bhed to slay him.

Rikku leapt into the air, only a few feet away from the cloaked man, and went into a wild spin. The cloaked man stuck his jagged blade out in the path of Rikku's spin. She smashed into the sword and came to an abrupt halt. Vibrations ran up through her daggers, into her arms, and then to her entire body as she fell to the ground from the force of the blow dealt by the cloaked man. He poised his blade in the air directly above where Rikku shook, desperately trying to overcome the tremors. He brought his jagged blade down upon her but as he did she regained control over her body and rolled out of way to the right.

The cloaked man's sword buried itself into the ground with the sheer momentum, but only for a single moment. Rikku leapt into a roundhouse kick as the man withdrew his blade from the ground. Her foot connected with his head. He did a little spin on his heels as he fell to the ground. The hood of the cloak came off to reveal who this man really was. He had a bunch of scars spread across his face with two deep brown eyes set in the midst of all the scars. His mid length brown hair was now all matted and knotted from being in a cloak hood for a long time and due to the battle. 'Yu Yevon!' Rikku thought as the man was revealed. The smiled evilly, and began to laugh manically.

"Surprised to see me Rikku?" He looked into her eyes which were now trembling with fear as well as hatred. "Now you have shown me your weakness." He rose back upon his feet. "Your fear will destroy you!" He lunged at her with his massive, jagged blade thrust out. She barely eluded the blade as it caused a paper cut like slit to open up on her stomach. Although the cut wasn't deep enough to do anything she doubled over in pain with a look of confusion, fear, and anger mixed into one expression.

Yu Yevon laughed even more at Rikku's reaction to his attack. "Even the slightest touch from my blade is deadly. It has all my power focused into it at the moment and can do as much as if it sunk deep into your flesh with just the slightest touch." He laughed.

Rikku could feel something flowing through her body from the point at which the blade came in contact with her skin. It flooded her veins and surged into every inch of her body causing it to go numb. She could feel the mysterious feeling flow up into her brain. Her vision wavered and her hearing became muffled. She became dizzy and stumbled around like she was drunk. Breathing became hard as the feeling completely overtook her body in its painful manner. She coughed up some blood and fell to her knees. She couldn't feel anything, it had all gone numb. She moved her lips but nothing would come out of her paralyzed mouth. With her last ounces of strength she mouthed Gippal's name before she collapsed flat on the floor.

Yuna saw her cousin succumb to what appeared to be a poison and rushed over to her aid. Before she could reach her cousin she was jostled to the ground by a group of four soldiers. She tried to ward them off but they pinned her sword arm to the ground with their booted feet and did the same to the rest of her appendages. The soldier that pinned her sword arm to the ground poised his word just resting above her neck. He pressed it firmly against her neck, drawing a few trickles of crimson blood from within.

Just as he was about to push his blade through her neck a strange blur flashed across the ceiling of the chamber and landed behind the soldiers. It simply spun around while moving towards the soldiers, casting them aside. It bent down over Yuna and gazed into her bi-colored eyes. "Miss me?" A familiarly friendly voice came out of the blur's mouth. Yuna closed her eyes tight and then opened them back up with haste to gaze upon the man.

"Oh, Tidus…" She threw her arms around the blonde haired blitz ace, almost dragging him down on top of her.

"Now that you're safe we gotta go help Rikku." Tidus took off to where the blonde Al Bhed girl lay in constant numbness. Yuna quickly pulled herself up onto her own feet and chased after Tidus.

Yu Yevon turned to the two that were charging towards him. Tidus opened up the attack with a slash that he brought around over head while also heading into a 360. Yu Yevon parried the blow to the side, his massive jagged sword driving Tidus' into the ground. Yu Yevon brought his blade down upon Tidus' blade, now stuck into the floor tiles. Tidus barely got the blade lose and out of the way as Yu Yevon brought his sword down upon it. Tidus saw an opening in the god's defenses as he went to take hi blade back up and thrust his sword at his side. The god took the blow to the side a staggered backwards from the strike. He then lashed out with his left hand and gripped Tidus by the neck and threw him against the wall.

Yuna leapt into the air, blade facing down, at Yu Yevon's back as he whirled back around after tossing Tidus. Her blade sunk into his flesh causing him to let out a shrill shriek of pain, but only for a split second. He gripped the blade of Yuna's sword and yanked it out of his flesh, Yuna still grasping tight to the hilt. He lifted his arm carrying Yuna and her blade into the air right above him. Then he brought his muscular arm down towards the ground, dragging Yuna, her blade and the air alike towards the tiles. Yuna flipped onto her feet but the momentum of the movement done by Yu Yevon snapped her balance. Her face smashed into the floor tiles and her sword was wrenched from her grasp.

Tidus charged back to Yu Yevon in an attempt to catch him off guard, but rather than being caught he twirled around and brought his blade, along with Yuna's into Tidus' sides. He gasped for air before Yu Yevon released the pressure done by the swords allowing Tidus to collapse to the ground. Rikku slid her left eye open ever so slightly but enough to see Tidus laying on the ground about to be cut up. She focused all her remaining strength into her right arm and felt around in a pouch lashed to her waist. She felt the object she was looking for with feeling barely lingering in her fingers long enough for her to pull it out. She stretched out her arm along the floor and rolled the oval shaped object across the floor over her head.

Yu Yevon glanced down at his feet to see a grenade roll up and touch his big toe. He instinctually kicked the grenade away from him but it was too late. It went off just as he made contact with it, kicking up dust and fire into the god's face. He fell backwards out of the smoke prison with pieces of razor sharp metal lodged into his face. He flicked his eyes open, shards of pointed metal protruding out from them. He waved a hand in front of his face and cast a healing spell upon it. The metal shards disappeared into thin air and the blood streams down his face dissipated.

He rammed his two swords into the ground giving him leverage to lift himself to his feet. One glance over at Rikku stunned her breath causing her to grope fro air. He kept staring into her eyes, which were now held open by an unseen force, keeping her from drawing a single breath. Yuna tackled Yu Yevon, breaking his stare on Rikku, releasing her of his spell. He shook her off his side as the tumbled to the ground, sending her sailing through the air until she struck Tidus, who had just now stood up. The two tumbled a few feet along the ground until they came into contact with a pile of dead bodies.

Yu Yevon let out a bellowing laugh that sounded through the entire temple, shaking it to its foundations. The god began to stride forward but came to an abrupt halt when something sharp pierced through his spine and burst out his chest. He gagged on his own blood as the blade was removed from his flesh. He staggered forward before turning around to see the identity of his attacker. His eyes followed the wall as he spun around until they came upon a brown haired woman with a large katana like sword resting in a defensive position. Next to the woman stood a platinum haired man with dual katanas poised for an attack.

"I guess you weren't expecting us Yu Yevon." Xanthos strode forward nearing the enraged god. "Look at the face of evil Rena, it's so flustered." He joked causing Rena to laugh.

"Shut up!" The god roared while taking his two blades and whipping them around over his head and bringing them back down at Xanthos and Rena. They both dodged the swords by simply doing a back flip in unison. Xanthos saw an opportunity to attack Yu Yevon and took it. He plunged his dual katanas into the god's side while ducking under another massive swing by barely a centimeter. Yu Yevon dropped Yuna's sword to the ground, a clamoring metal stabilizing on tile sounded throughout the chamber. He then went on to try to grasp Xanthos in a strong grip but Xanthos had other plans. He removed one of his katanas from the god's side and slashed his palm wide open. Yu Yevon fell back, Xanthos ripping his other katana out of the god's flesh, coating the floor behind the god in crimson blood.

"Rena, now!" She charged Yu Yevon with her kanemitsu dragging after her, scraping up sparks from the ground. She leapt up with her blade whipping around to bring it down in a downward stab. Her blade sunk deep into Yu Yevon's flesh and stopped on what would have been his pelvis. She landed on the ground in front of the god and smiled an eerie smile as she ripped her blade up through his flesh and out the top of his head. She set the tip of her blade down upon the now blood stained floor tiles and shoved a strong foot into the god's chest. His two halved from the waist up flipped out wildly from one another as he tumbled to the ground.

"Finally…it's over." Xanthos slid his dual katanas back into their respective sheaths. "I have finally taken my revenge on that sick and twisted man for destroying our home." He walked over to stand beside Rena as she slipped her kanemitsu back into its sheath.

Xanthos inspected the battlefield. None remained alive except for Tidus, Yuna, and Rikku who was slipping more and more into death. He strolled over to her and flipped her over onto her back and held her head up in his right hand. His left hand found its way into a pouch lashed to his leg and produced a vial. He popped the top and forced the liquid down Rikku's throat. She felt the feeling come flooding back into her body and her vision returned as she flashed open her jade eyes. She gazed up at Xanthos with an admiring look painted on her face. He simply returned her gaze but with stern eyes.

He lay her head gently back on the ground and stood up to go walk over to where Yuna and Tidus were crunched up in a ball against a pile of dead bodies. He glanced over the couple and saw no severe damage done to them.

By this point Rikku had mustered enough strength to stand and stumble around the carnage. A twang of pain shot through her heart as she glanced over a toppled statue that she remembered as the one that crushed Paine. She searched once more around the fallen statue for her friend but she was no where to be found. A low moan erupted from behind the fallen statue. Rikku looked back behind the statue to find Paine laying face down on the floor tiles. "Paine…Paine! You're alive!" Paine made no other noises then moans as Rikku dragged her from behind the crumbled statue into the center of the chamber to help heal her wounds.