Disclaimer: I don't own any FFX characters or weapons or anything of such resemblance. I don't own Blitzball. I don't own the Besaid Aurochs. I OWNED the Luca Goers.
Chapter 4: Recovery (Part 2)
Luzzu and Gatta were riding their chocobos along one of the side roads of Luca. It was the Blitz season and the streets were jam-packed with people, making them resort to using the alleyways in order not to get caught in the human jam.
Then, a strange whitish-blue blur streaked past them, causing Gatta's chocobo to get slightly distressed. He tugged hard at the reins and yelled at it several times before it decided to calm down.
"Sir, what the hell was that?" asked Gatta, panting and still slightly stunned at that encounter.
"I think it was-" Luzzu was cut off by a female voice from the back.
"A track star disguised as a Summoner," Lulu, finished as she and Kimahri ran past the two bewildered Crusaders.
Gatta still couldn't believe it was Lady Yuna, even after catching sight of her Guardians. "They said Summoners had superhuman strength, speed, endurance, and could survive wounds that would kill a normal human three times over, but this is absurd, she was running like a…a…" said Gatta, finding it hard to find the prefect descriptive word.
"Chocobo on an overdose of steroids," Luzzu finished(Damn…if Yuna was a real person, she'd be the MVP of the track and field world…)
A/N: Skipping ahead to the hospital scene.
Wakka was feeling bored. And all this worrying was making him hungry. He remembered seeing a vending machine down the hallway that sold "Mars" chocolate bars. Normally he shunned Machina, but he, like the temple, made some exceptions. A vending machine that dispensed his favourite "Mars" bars was included in the list.
He walked to the door and was about to open it when he heard a weird thundering sound coming from down the hallway. Thinking little of it, he put his hand to the handle and was about to pull the door open when someone flung it open from the other side. Whoever flung it open did so hard, very hard.
Wakka was thrown backwards and the same whitish-blue streak that the Crusaders had seen dashed into the room. Wakka had his head buried under some extra linen, kept on the table he crashed into, and he couldn't see what was happening, but from what he heard, he was glad he couldn't.
Finally, when all the noise died down, he dared to dig his way out of the heap of sheets and took a peek out. Lulu and Kimahri were standing at the door, panting and there was equipment and other medical apparatus scattered all around the room. And Yuna? Where was she?
His eyes scanned around the room and he caught sight of her, lying on Tidus' bed.
"Damn…where'd Yuna learn to run so fast!" asked Wakka.
"Beats me," muttered Lulu before collapsing.
Kimahri just shrugged.
"If I'd known, I'd have signed her up for track n' field instead of cooking," muttered Wakka.
Tidus was busy wandering around dreamland when a sudden jolt of pain flushed him back to reality.
He saw a blurred image of someone on his bed.
"Must be the nurse," he muttered to himself, until his vision finally cleared.
It wasn't the nurse, it was the Summoner. And she was on his bed. On his bed!
Startled, Tidus tried to get out of bed, or at least sit up, but the pain refused to let him.
"Er…howdy Lady Summoner, may I help you?" he asked in a slightly embarrassed tone.
"Well, not really," replied Yuna sheepishly.
"Then could you do something for me?" Tidus asked.
"Sure, name it," replied Yuna.
"Get off, you're heavy."
A/N: Blitzball practice!
Wakka was overseeing the Besaid Aurochs having their usual training. They were doing the basic stuff, throwing, catching, and shooting. There was an air of nervousness around the dock. Yet, there was also a feeling of confidence.
Then, Wakka heard footsteps coming down the dock. Without thinking, he slammed his foot into the nearest Blitzball, sending it shrieking towards the intruder. However, the intruder casually volleyed it back to Wakka. It was only Tidus.
"Goddamn Tidus, you scared the fuck outta me! I thought you were some Luca Goer spy," said Wakka.
"Relax man, I've just come to train with you guys," replied Tidus.
"In you con-" Wakka stopped when he noticed Tidus didn't have any bandages or visible wounds, a great contrast to a few hours ago.
"Yuna patched me up, hate to admit it but she did a bloody good job," said Tidus.
"You gotta be kidding me," said Wakka.
"No jokes," said Tidus, as he readied himself for a kick.
He slammed the Blitzball full force into a concrete wall with a red and white bulls-eye about fifty feet away. It hit with astounding accuracy. He then backed a full ten feet before slamming another ball into the wall. He then repeated the process until he was over two hundred feet away.
Then he stopped. The wall started to crack a little, before even larger cracks appeared. Then, it gave a short rumble before it crashed to pieces.
The Aurochs all stared at the phenomenon, with their jaws opened so wide you could stuff Blitzballs in.
They just might have a chance this year.
On the roof of a short building, three figures in purple and blue jerseys were spying on the Aurochs practice. They were Bickson, Abus and Graav.
"So, boss, what you think of that?" asked Graav when they saw what Tidus just did.
"I think its good," replied Bickon.
"How's it good?" asked Abus.
"Competition."
Dachande breathed in the air of the planet's atmosphere. It stung and burned his lungs until it was nearly unbearable. He needed his mask, and he needed it back fast.
Then, he noticed a strange metallic object on a nearby bench. Curious, he moved in for a closer look. His curiosity paid off. It was his mask.
Delighted, he put it on and his normal vision was replaced by heat-vision.
He was back in business.
A/N: This is on the Al-Bhed ship where Yuna was held.
The Oblitzerator's targeting computer was locked on to a yellow blur streaking around the deck of the ship. Its Blitzball cannons were firing at full speed, but they all seemed to miss.
With the Oblitzerator focused on Tidus, Kimahri was able to gear up for a "Jump" attack. Springing into the air, he landed spear-first onto the top of the Oblitzerator. The Machina then thrashed about wildly, trying to get Kimahri off. It succeeded and Kimahri was thrown violently off the Machina.
However, his spear remained, deeply embedded past the Machina's armor. Lulu then blasted the spear with a fully-powered "Thunder" attack. Several chunks of the Oblitzerator fell of with minor explosions and sparks flew from the gaping holes, exposing the inner core.
Oblitzerator then stopped moving and crashed to the ground with a dull thud. The core then glowed brightly before exploding, sending pieces of shrapnel and other debris flying in all directions.
On the Mess Hall of the ship, the Al-Bhed crew members were having a meal when the explosion took place. They were startled, but showed little concern. Then, the door to the Mess Hall was suddenly torn off its hinges violently and several bluish-white bolts of plasma energy streaked through the room, hitting some crew men with astounding accuracy.
There was a short pause before all hell broke loose. Soldiers scrambled to the other side of the hall with their weapons and fired blindly at the doorway while engineers and other non-combat personnel fled to other rooms.
The fighting was intense, yet brief. In fact, it wasn't so much of a fight, more of a massacre. Tortured screams and the monotonous "bang bang bang" of automatic weapons slowly died down and the Mess Hall was covered in an eerie silence.
Tidus had used whatsoever Al-Bhed primers he found along the way, as well as an "English to Al-Bhed" dictionary to translate the signs on the ship. Not that he needed to actually, since there were pictures on the signs too.
It took them quite some time to get to the hold of the ship where Yuna was being held. The ship was a big fucking maze that would make even the Minotaur from Greek mythology proud. The signs, though informative, were as reliable as the Crusaders themselves. They were always late, lost, or had something on.
Finally, through either gut instinct, or sheer luck, they made it to the hold. Tidus pressed the button to open the door and was immediately forced to dive for cover from the oncoming hail of bullets fired from, judging from the sound and caliber, a sub machinegun.
After several minutes, the firing stopped and footsteps were heard pounding towards them. Whoever fired the gun was charging. Tidus then stuck out his foot and tripped the person, who, undefeated, started to hit him with a staff of rod of sorts.
"Take that you rotten Al-Bhed!" yelled his assailant.
Tidus groaned and grabbed the staff. It wielder stopped hitting him and grinned sheepishly. It was Yuna.
Lulu then peered into the Hold, only to see bullet holes on the walls and bodies scattered all around.
"They really pissed you off, didn't they?"
"I've seen that sign before, you know what that means? It means we're walking in circles! I told you we should have turned, but no…you just had to have it your own fucking way!" yelled Tidus.
"Shut up! At least we're walking in circles and not walking deeper into the ship!" retorted Lulu.
Then, Kimahri stopped, causing three people behind him to crash headlong into each other.
"What the fu-" Tidus was cut off by the sounds of someone crying.
The group slowly approached the source of the sound, only to see a room filled with dead bodies and coated in a rich coat of crimson blood. Skinned bodies were hanging from the ceiling and weapons were scattered everywhere. There were bullet holes on the wall, as well as something else. Tidus instantly recognized the huge holes on some of the walls. They were identical to those in the office. Whoever did this had him hanging for his life ten stories above Luca Square.
Yuna ran out of the room and started vomiting all her lunch out. Kimahri followed to help her. Tidus then found that one of the Al-Bhed soldiers was still alive, and he was crying.
"What the hell happened here?" asked Tidus.
"We were having lunch when some big thing came in. Started shooting' but we all got killed. I pretended to be dead and that's why I'm here. Wait a minute! Are you with him? Are you gonna turn me into that!" yelled the traumatized Al-Bhed soldier as he pointed to one of the skinned bodies.
"Well…" Tidus started.
"I knew it! You were with him! You're not taking me! I'll blow your brains out! Get away from me!" he yelled as he started firing his pistol wildly. However, from his position, he couldn't even aim, let alone hit.
Bullets ricocheted off the walls and left deep marks. Somehow, one found its way to Tidus' cheek and gave him a small scratch.
That was the final straw. He approached the man and slammed his fist into the former's temple. The Al-Bhed blacked out.
"So? We give him to the cops?" asked Tidus.
Some time later, the Al-Bhed was being led towards a waiting car to be taken to the station.
Suddenly, Lulu remembered about Wakka and the game. She grabbed a flare and threw it into the air, signaling to Wakka that Yuna was ok.
A/N: Blitzball Finals! Luca Goers fans beware!
"Remember boys! Zone defense! Keep them at bay! We beat them ten years ago; we can beat them this time!" Wakka yelled at the Aurochs.
"But Cap'n that was ten years ago, and we had the Blitz ace Sir Jecht to help us, who do we have now?" asked a pessimistic Botta.
"You don't say," Said Jassu, "we absolutely owned the Al-Bhed Psyches; we just might be able to pull off another upset win!"
"Jassu's got a point; we're in top form now! We can do it," encouraged Letty.
"Come on guys! The match is starting, lets go go go!" shouted Wakka.
"Yes Cap'n!" replied the Aurochs in unison as they trooped out of the locker room, looking like a proper Blitzball team.
Wakka was proud. These were his boys, disciplined and professional in their own right.
"Good afternoon Luca! Welcome to the finals of the Crystal Cup!" announced the cheerful commentator Jimma.
"That's right folks! We've got a spectacular match for you today between our very own Luca Goers and the Besaid Aurochs," said his partner Bobba, "For all you out there at the betting stands, the odds for this match are Luca Goers 6.78, Besaid Aurochs 3.22 according to Luca Pools."
"I don't know about you Bobba, but I got my money on the Besaid Aurochs. Judging by the way they thrashed the Al-Bhed Psyches 6-0, I'd say their in top form," commented Jimma.
"But up against a team like the Luca Goers, you never know!" replied Bobba.
"And look! Here they come now!"
Wakka entered the Sphere Pool and swam to his starting location. The referee then approached and the ceremonial handshake between the two captains took place.
"May the best team win," said Wakka.
"Indeed," replied Bickson.
The referee then started the ball, and the game was on!
Graav, the Goer's center, jumped and reached for the ball. He was about to make contact with it when a yellow blur streaked upwards and beat him to it. Damn, since when did he get so fast!
Letty, now with the ball in his possession, tossed it to Datto, who then volleyed it to Wakka. With adrenaline coursing through his body, Wakka sliced through the Goers defense like a hot knife through butter. Within seconds he was within firing range and he slammed the ball with all his might at the Goer's goal.
Raudy, the Goer's keeper, managed to get his hand onto the ball, but by doing so, he had to endure the bone-crunching impact of Wakka's kick. Somehow, he managed to find the strength to fling the ball to Doram, but Wakka was instantly in front of her.
Intercepting the pass, Wakka grabbed the ball again and shot it again at the goal. This time, Raudy was not so lucky. Caught unawares, he was unable to save the ball and conceded a goal.
The crowd roared with applause as the big screen on the stadium showed the replay. A chime went of and the number on the Auroch's scoreboard had changed from 0 to 1.
Bickson was getting impatient. Wakka had improved too much and had to be shut out from the rest of the match. He did several hand signals, then pretended his hand was a knife and slit his throat. Devilish grins appeared on the faces of the Goers.
Blitzoff! Graav deliberately fumbled the ball and lost possession to Letty, who, as usual passed it to a surprisingly unmarked Wakka. Wakka then tore down the right flank and tried to get within firing range.
Big mistake. All that he did was isolate himself from the other Aurochs. Now, alone in Goer territory, he was out of shooting range, but reluctant to pass and loose possession. This was exactly what Bickson wanted.
The Goers the violently tackled Wakka again and again, causing him to roar with agony. They continued for some time more until they were confident Wakka was too battered to play. Then they resumed their usual tactics.
With their mainstay unable to play properly, the Aurochs were sitting ducks and the Goers quickly equalized, and my fifteen minutes to full time, had chalked up a 2 goal lead.
Taking the initiative, Datto called for a time out.
The Aurochs were feeling miserable. They had such high expectations, but now all hope was lost. Yes, they did try to encourage each other, but it was hopeless. There was an air of misery and despair in the locker room.
"Damn…we were going so well, but the Goers just had to use their dirty tricks and screw the game up!" cursed Letty, finally breaking the silence.
"Yeah, now we're one man down, looks like were gonna have to forfeit," said Botta.
"I…can…still…play…" Wakka managed to choke out.
"Er…no offense Cap'n ya? But you look kinda beat," said Jassu.
"Looks like we'll have to forfeit," muttered Botta.
Despite being arguably the worst team in Spira's history, they had their dignity and NEVER quit, no matter how terrible to odds.
There was an eerie silence throughout the entire locker room. Even the seemingly noisy air-conditioner had mysteriously gone mute.
"I remember this happening ten years ago," Letty finally broke the silence, "They used the same bloody tactic against old Cap'n Ryu. We thought we were goners, but thank Yevon the Blitz ace Sir Jecht stepped in and subbed Cap'n out. Man, he whipped us into shape with just his words and we went on to thrash those bastards up."
"Not as if someone is gonna step in now-" Botta was cut off by the heavy door creaking open on its old, rusty hinges.
"Miss me?" a familiar voice asked.
"Hey! It's the kid!" shouted Keppa in Joy.
"You here to play with us?" asked Jassu.
"Yup," replied Tidus, "And what was that about Jecht just now?"
"Nothing, just reliving old times," said Letty, "Why do you ask? What's up with you and Sir Jecht?"
"He…he's my old man," Tidus said as he proceed to the back of the room.
The Aurochs were stunned. They were dealing with the son of a legend? The great Sir Jecht? They stared blankly into space with the jaws hanging open.
"Ok! Secret strategy meeting! Gather round," called Tidus. The Aurochs obeyed.
"When this happens, we can do either this, this or this. If this fails, we can do this. When I do this, do………"
"Welcome back folks! An unexpected turn of events has just taken place. The besaid Aurochs have substituted right –winger Captain Wakka for a certain Tidus," announced Jimma.
"Well, perhaps Tidus is a free agent the Aurochs signed in desperation," commented Bobba.
"Either that, or he could very well be their secret weapon," replied Jimma.
"Well, only time will tell. Meanwhile, lets all enjoy the match!"
Tidus entered the Sphere Pool and took a good look around. There were the fans, the goalposts, the commentators' booth, and most importantly, the opposing team. It felt just like home. Except here, they didn't know a thing about the near-legendary-when-back-in-Zanarkand Tidus, son of Jecht.
Tidus then swam up to Bickson and extended his hand for a shake. Bickson complied.
"May the best team win," said Bickson.
"Of course. But we all know that it'll be us, cause' (imitating Bickson's voice from Kilika temple) the Besaid Aurochs always win," replied Tidus as he swam off.
This served to piss Bickson off big time. He wasn't just gonna beat the Aurochs. He was gonna humiliate them.
Blitzoff! Letty managed to reach for the ball a second before Graav did. Cranking up, he tossed a long pass to Tidus who magically darted in and out of the Goers' defense, leaving them utterly confused, not to mention awed.
Once in firing range, he let off a shot that streaked through the water like a torpedo. Despite its speed, Raudy was somehow able to deflect it and the ball was loose once again.
Datto saw a break in the Goers' defense and went in to try and claim the pass. Desperate to reclaim possession, he dove for the ball, only to find that he had misjudged the distance and speed. He missed the ball narrowly, but the momentum caused him to charge forth and ram the ball with his head.
A chime was heard shortly after, as well as the roar of a frenzied crowd. Datto then looked around and saw the other Aurochs swimming towards him. Great. They're gonna kill me for loosing possession and conceding another goal.
But they didn't. Instead, they hugged him, cheered and patted him on the back. Confused, he looked at the scoreboard in time to see the '1' under the Besaid Aurochs' logo change to '2'. Under it in fine print was the following: 'Datto 17th min'.
He'd just scored. (Diving header. Not bad eh?)
Abus was horrified at the way Datto had just scored. It definitely couldn't have been planned. Or could it? His thoughts swirled around him again and again. Could the Aurochs actually beat us this time?
Who cared anyway? He was within firing range and he could probably pull this one off. Slamming a shot in the direction of Keppa, he kept his fingers crossed and hoped that Yevon would give him a chance to further his goal tally.
But Yevon wasn't on his side today. Whether by sheer luck or hidden talent, Keppa expertly dove in the direction of the oncoming ball and punched it back into play, pausing shortly after to massage his sore arms.
Seeing his chance, Bickson scrambled for the loose ball and got it before anyone else. His eyes darted around the Sphere pool. He didn't see any defense. Except Jassu, who was approaching fast. He was confident he could pull it off, after all, he'd gotten it past Jassu millions of times.
He closed his eyes and wound up for his special shot, the Corkscrew Shot (Duh I know that the Corkscrew Shot it an FFX-2 Blitzball move, but do I care?). After several flamboyant acrobatic flips and twists, he opened his eyes to fire the shot. However, instead of seeing the usual scene of the Sphere Pool, the goal and the cheering fans beyond, all he saw was a foot. Jassu's foot.
He endured the crushing force of the solid tackle before feeling the ball being snatched from his arms. Then, he was forced back and crashed onto the wall of the Sphere Pool (I know Tidus shoved someone out of the Sphere Pool before, but I need the Goers to stay in the pool. You'll see the wisdom of that later).
Jassu then passed the ball to Letty, who cruised through the water at breakneck speed before being confronted by Graav. Graav wound up for a tackle and Letty covered his face and braced himself for the impact. It came and he felt the ball being snatched out of his arms.
Pissed, he spun around to give chase, but felt a sharp pain coursing through his body. What the fuck! Theasshole hit me with a venom tackle!
Graav glanced back and saw his opponent groaning in pain. There was only one person that could withstand his venom tackle and that was Bickson. This earned him respect, and it was out of this respect that he transferred to the Luca Goers. He smiled in sadistic glee and resumed his charge, only to be confronted by Botta.
He thought lightly of Botta and used his arms to shield his body from the impact. An unexpected and overwhelming force greeted him and the ball was stanched from his hands.
Pissed, he tried to give chase, only to feel a sharp pain coursing through his body. How'd he learn venom tackle!
Botta glanced at Graav clutching his stomach and chuckled to himself. They didn't call him 'Botta the Copycat' for nothing. There, a taste of his own medicine. Do onto others what you want other to do onto you indeed.
He then fed Tidus a long pass.
Tidus received the pass and busted through the Goers' defense like an armor-piercing round bunking through a concrete block.
Then, Belgerda and Doram, desperate to prevent him from equalizing, did a double-team on him. However, instead of trying to break past, he prepared for a shot. From this distance! And with us marking him!
It was only then did Belgerda notice the Tidus wasn't aiming for the goalpost at all. Rather, he was aiming straight for her.
Raudy was having a terrible day. First, he had to endure the bone-crunching impact of Wakka's kick. Then, the Aurochs took an early lead courtesy of Wakka. Then, they played dirty and shut Wakka out of the match before taking a two goal lead. Then the new guy comes in and the bald guy (Datto) scored with his head. Then, the redhead (Botta) learns venom tackle and the other guy (Jassu) blocks Bickson's Corkscrew Shot.
And now, the new guy wants to shoot from two hundred yards away with two defenders blocking him. But to Raudy's utter horror, Tidus casually slammed the Blitzball into the two defenders' faces, knocking them out. He then proceeds to spin crazily like a madman before kicking the ball at him at an astonishing speed.
Raudy was trying to anticipate where the ball was coming from when it started to spin and dart about in wild directions. Then, it disappeared momentarily before appearing again at the back of the net.
Raudy, as well as the commentators and the spectators, were stunned beyond words. They had all, most of them anyway, seen the shot before. But where, when, and most importantly, by who?
Then, it struck Raudy. This was the Sublimely Magnificent Jecht shot Mach 3 (Jecht shot 2 actually), performed by none other than the great Blitz ace Sir Jecht himself ten years ago when he played for the Aurochs. Most thought it had been lost to history, but some believed that it would resurface. Their patience paid off and this spectacular display was their reward.
"The…Aurochs…have…equalized…THE AUROCHS HAVE EQUALIZED!" Jimma practically yelled into the microphone.
A loud cheer resounded throughout the stadium. Fans hugged each other and yelled in happiness. Their team might actually win this year.
Tidus was now facing a big problem. Now both teams were desperate for another goal. They had successfully defended their goal from an all-out Goer attack, but how long more would they be able to hold out?
Tidus glanced around and saw the goers retreating to their half of the Sphere Pool. Despite the fact that the Aurochs had possession now, they all looked half-dead, while the Goers were still kinda energetic. If they went into overtime, they would be screwed.
He needed to attack them from an angle that they were not prepared to defend. But from where? Then, it occurred to him. Of course! From above.
He issued several orders through hand-signals and slammed his fist into his palm. This time it was the Aurochs' turn to have devilish grins on their faces.
"Ten seconds left!" announced Bobba.
Ten seconds? Good that will be all the time we need.
"NINE!"
Keppa passed the ball to Letty.
"EIGHT!"
Letty fed the ball to Botta with a long pass.
"SEVEN!"
Botta slammed the ball to Jassu.
"SIX!"
Jassu volleyed the ball to Datto.
"FIVE!"
Datto back flipped and sent the ball speeding upwards to a Tidus who was already streaking that way.
"FOUR!"
Both Tidus and the ball broke the surface of the water.
"THREE!"
Tidus back flipped and prepared to execute his special shot: The Sphere Shot. Outta the way Jecht. This is my show.
"TWO!"
Tidus slammed his foot into the ball, sending it streaking back into the water.
"ONE!"
The ball charged thought the poll with the force and destructive power of a meteor entering Spira's atmosphere. Just, instead of leaving a trail of debris and wreckage in its wake, it left a trail of utterly stunned and subdued Goers.
"ZERO!"
The ball crashed into the back of the net just in time.
The crowd went ecstatic, hats were thrown and balloons were released. A great cry of joy engulfed the entire Luca. For that moment, every thought was banished from those present's minds. Except for the Besaid Aurochs winning. It had been a long wait, but now it was over. Despite immense odds, the Aurochs managed to defeat a superior team and bring the Crystal Cup back to Besaid.
Tidus crashed back into the water and was instantly surrounded by the rest of the Aurochs. They cheered, hugged each other, slapped each other on the back and laughed till they cried.
Tidus then looked around. His vision then changed. He no longer saw the Luca stadium illuminated with sunlight. Instead, he saw stars and the night sky light brightly with spotlights. He was no longer in Luca. He was back home on Zanarkand and the Aurochs were replaced with the Zanarkand Abes. Then, the vision faded and he was back in Luca again. But who cared? They still won. The spirit of victory was still there.
He gazed at the cheering fans. They were cheering his name. Shouts of "Tidus! Tidus! Tidus!" echoed throughout the stadium. He roared and pumped his fist into the air.
This game was theirs.
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