Disclaimer: I don't own shit.
A/N: For those who play Devil May Cry 3, you will know the moves that Tidus pulls off in this chapter. If you don't, then the description will come in the appendix after the last chapter.
Chapter 10: The Defense of Home
Tidus' world slowly changed from black to blue. "Strange…" he thought. "Since when was the ground colored blue?" Then he realized he wasn't staring into the ground. He was staring at the sky.
A blinding light made him shut his eyes. "What the…" he tried to pick himself up, but he seemed to be floating. Forcing himself into a somewhat upright position, he found that he was floating in an oasis. The blinding light he saw just now was the sun.
Quickly paddling towards the shore, he pulled himself up the bank and collapsed onto his rump. He noticed the Rebellion and Brotherhood lying nearby, so he quickly grabbed them and stuffed them back into their sheaths on his back.
Forcing himself back onto his feet, Tidus began the long and tedious trek through the desert Sin had dumped him into.
No sooner than having covered about half a kilometer, Tidus was thrown off his feet by a huge gust of wind. With a startled cry, he looked up and was rewarded with the sight of an extremely hairy Garuda (that, my friends, is a Zu).
Tidus grinned. He could handle one hairy Garuda by himself. He leapt upwards as the fiend descended, intent on having the blitzer as a midday snack.
Tidus immediately leapt into the air and unleashed his newly learned Sky Dance combo on the fiend. He curled into a ball and spun horizontally (like a super-sonic spin), every slash striking it dead on in its gaping maw. The Zu pulled backwards for a moment, and then resumed its furious charge.
Tidus touched the ground lightly, and then took off again. He then performed his "round trip" ability, tossing the Brotherhood like a boomerang, to strike the Zu from behind. He continued his barrage by letting loose an Aerial Rave attack, a series of aerial slashes that looked too damn stylish, with the Rebellion. The Zu, busy trying to get itself past Tidus' viscous slashes, didn't notice the Brotherhood closing in until it had gouged out a huge chunk of flesh and nearly tore off its left wing. It roared in agony as Tidus landed on the ground, catching the Brotherhood and returning it to its sheath in one smooth movement. With one wing incapacitated, the Zu was forced to land on the ground, out of its element.
Tidus charged forward, but was swept off his feet by the Zu's good wing, tossing him backwards a good 30 feet. Rolling backwards to quickly get back on his feet, he rolled sideways to avoid being caught by the Zu's jaws, for it had lunged forward while he was tumbling backward.
The Zu kept up its relentless attack, forcing Tidus to dodge its snapping jaws without having a chance to attack. It threw itself forward again, but Tidus had flipped forward, over its outstretched neck. "Helm Breaker!" Tidus cried out as he threw himself downward with all his strength, the Rebellion slashing downward with full force. The Zu snapped its head back just in time, and the Rebellion struck sand.
As Tidus struggled to pull the Rebellion out, the Zu's jaws snapped forward. Tidus tried to shift out of the way, but the Zu was too fast for him. The razor sharp teeth struck his right arm, and Tidus screamed as pain shot through his arm like a red-hot razor. He pulled the Rebellion out with a shaking left arm, and sheathed it in exchange for the Brotherhood. The Zu lunged again, and Tidus held up the Brotherhood in a defensive position in a feeble attempt to block the attack.
But it never came. A red blur streaked past him and the Zu cried out in renewed pain. Tidus lowered the Brotherhood to see better, and he noticed Auron standing next to him. "Need help?" Auron asked. Tidus didn't respond, the Zu was coming for more. Auron prepared for another slash, but a lightning bolt came out of nowhere and struck the Zu in the eye. Finally succumbing to death, the fiend toppled to the ground in a messy heap, its carcass dissolving into pyreflies.
Both guardians glanced to their right and saw Lulu walking towards them. "You guys can't get anything done without any of us girls around." She muttered as they glared at her reproachfully. The trio trudged off together through the desert, trying to find everyone else.
Two hours later, they had managed to find everyone except Yuna. Rikku had been leading the party through the trackless wasteland, apparently knowing where she was going. Tidus looked over her shoulder and saw her fiddling with a radio. He knew she was trying to find any form of assistance, since she had told them that there was an Al Bhed Home here. "Anything yet?" He asked. Rikku looked at him sadly and shook her head.
Suddenly, the radio sprang to life. Apparently whatever message it was blaring out was very urgent.
"Yddahdeuh ymm Al Bhed ihedc! Home ec ihtan yddylg! Ymm Al Bhed ihedc yna du nadinh du Home essateydamo nakyntmacc uv mulydeuh!" (Attention all Al Bhed units! Home is under attack! All Al Bhed units are to return to Home regardless of location!)
A look of absolute horror came upon Rikku's face as the message played out. "What was that message?" Wakka asked viscously, his voice dripping acidic venom. "Alerting all of you Al Bhed that the summoner has been captured, huh?"
Rikku shook her head. "No. Home is under attack. We've got to get there!" Rikku said in a very shaky voice before taking off into the desert. "Hey Rikku! Rikku, wait!" Tidus cried out. But a roaring drowned out his cries. Everyone looked up. A massive hovership floated above them. Rikku cried out in relief and quickly set the radio to a certain frequency.
"Brother! Tufh raha!" (Brother! Down here!)
The hovership descended to the ground in front of them and six Al Bhed emerged. The first two among them were Rikku's brother and the sniper. Rikku rushed up to them and she started conversing with Brother in very rapid Al Bhed. The party walked hesitantly towards the ship, but they went inside with the rest of the Al Bhed. Wakka required some convincing from Auron's No-dachi before he finally stepped inside.
Warning: Blatant Matrix Revolutions Rip-off
Everybody was in the bridge, trying to find the fastest route to get to Home. Brother's eyes were darting over the map, analyzing every detail, every route, and every tunnel in the extensive underground network that the Al Bhed had built under the desert. Buddy was bending over the map as well.
"Drafiends ryja dygah Zihldeuh 21," (The fiends have taken Junction 21.) Buddy's finger pointed at the area that was supposed to be swarming with fiends.
"Dra fyo Pnudran yht E caa ed, ev fa tnub tufh vnus pnuytlycd rana, ehdancald 53, fa sekrd pa ypma du cinbneca dras. Fa ku vencd, ryssan yc taab yc fa lyh, drah pmuf uin AFS Crulgfyja. Rubavimmo fa lyh bihlr y ruma pek ahuikr vun oui du kad drnuikr fedr dra aclyba cbaatanc." (The way Brother and I see it, if we drop down from broadcast here, intersect 53, we might be able to surprise them. We go first, hammer as deep as we can, then blow our AFS (Anti-Fiend Shockwave). Hopefully we can punch a hole big enough for you to get through with the escape speeders.)
The hovership, named the Hammer, had six one-man escape speeders so that everyone could ditch in an emergency. Rikku's eyes narrowed as she analyzed the map more closely. She didn't like leaving Brother and Buddy behind. Not even Nhadala, who was standing behind them.
"Ed yehd bnaddo," (It ain't pretty,) Buddy said as he noticed Rikku's expression, "pid dra fyo E caa ed, edc dra uhmo fyo pylg." (but the way I see it, it's the only way back.)
Rikku shook her head. "Hu edc hud. Dranac yhudran." (No it's not. There's another.)
She pointed at a tunnel much smaller than the one they had planned to take.
"Y cibbund meha. Ed tnubc tufh nekrd rana, y druicyht sadanc crund uv 21. Ev fana milgo, fa syo pa ypma du cmeb tufh fedruid dras ajan ghufehk." (A support line. It drops down right here, a thousand meters short of 21. If we're lucky, we may be able to slip down without them ever knowing.)
Both Brother and Buddy leaned closer to the map.
"Edc esbuccepma, drydc y salryhelym meha. Hu uha lyh bemud salryhelym," (It's impossible, that's a mechanical line. No one can pilot mechanical.) Buddy said.
"E lyh," (I can.) Rikku countered.
"Pimmcred." (Bullshit)
"Ufi tyri ud," (I've done it,) Rikku shot back.
"Dryd fyc 3 oaync yku, Rikku," (That was 3 years ago, Rikku,) Nhadala finally said.
"E cyet E lyh tu ed," (I said I can do it,) Rikku stated. Brother and Buddy started debating with each other in a corner in hushed tones.
After three minutes, Buddy turned to her and said "Veha. Famm tu ed ouin fyo. Zicd dno hud du kad ic gemmat."(Fine. We'll do it your way. Just try not to get us killed.)
Cid leaned over the tactical map. The ground was shaking and dust crumbled down from the ceiling. He looked up at it. Way up, the walls of the dock were soon going to be breached by Sand Worms.
"Druca Guado..." (Those Guado…) he muttered to himself.
An officer, 3rd Sergeant Shinra, strode over to him.
"Cen. Caecsel ec bnuzaldehk dfahdo-dfu sehidac du pnaylr," (Sir. Seismic is projecting twenty-two minutes to breach.) The officer reported.
Cid's lips pursed into a thin line.
"Drao lyhd ghuf fa tuhd ryja yh AFS, cu draomm ryja du yddylg eh fyjac. Luhlahdnyda uin uvvahca uh dra Sand Worms. Untan dra APU'c ehdu bucedeuh," (They can't know we don't have an AFS, so they'll have to attack in waves. Concentrate our offense on the Sand Worms. Order the APU's (Armored Personnel Units) into position.) He ordered.
"Oac cen." (Yes sir.)
Shinra left and Cid was left staring at the ceiling, where more dust was being shaken loose.
Gippal strode over to his command APU (a humanoid-shaped machine with arms that ended in huge machine gun barrels) and pulled himself up onto the pilot's seat. Flipping the 'on' switch, the control panel slowly moved towards him. As he watched, hundreds more of Al Bhed soldiers were climbing into their own APU's. He flipped few more switches, and gave the two joysticks that controlled the machine a little twist. The automation sprang to life.
In front of him, scores more of APU's were doing the same thing. In the loudest drill voice that he could muster, he yelled out, "VYMM EH!" (FALL IN!)
They arranged themselves in front him three ranks deep and countless files wide.
"Dra fiends yna ypuid du pnaalr dra tulg fymmc. Naluh crufc dryd fa'na uidhispanat rayjemo, ypuid dah du uha," (The fiends are about to breech the dock walls. Recon shows that we're outnumbered heavily, about ten to one,) started Gippal. "Dra mycd desa drec rybbbahat fa mucd pek desa. Edc ymm uv uin vyimdc, acbaleymmo seha."
(The last time this happpened (as in about 50 years ago when Sin attacked the last Home), we lost big time. Its all of our faults, especially mine.)
"Rufajan," (However,) Gippal continued, "Dutyo femm pa tevvanahd. Fa crymm cdyht vens ykyehcd draen yddylg! Dra mekrd uv jelduno ec fedr ic!" (Today will be different. We shall stand firm against their attack! The light of victory is with us!)
Gippal manipulated the mood of the gathering like a master. He could see the soldiers' eyes go from flat grey to sparkling blue. He could smell their hunger for victory.
"Ymm nekrd! Drec ec ed. Huf oui ymm ghuf sa, cu Emm zicd cyo drec yc cesbma yc E lyh. Ev edc uin desa du tea, edc uin desa. Ymm E ycg ec, ev fa ryja du keja draca pycdyntc uin mejac, FA KEJA AS RAMM PAVUNA FA TU!" (All right! This is it. Now you all know me, so I'll just say this as simple as I can. If it's our time to die, it's our time. All I ask is, if we have to give these bastards our lives, WE GIVE 'EM HELL BEFORE WE DO!)
A wild cheer erupted from the assembled officers, captains leading their men.
"Lraanc vun Lussyhtan Gippal!" (Cheers for Commander Gippal!) one yelled.
Gippal cut him off. "Hud oad, so vneahtc. Fa ryja fuh hudrehk oad. Upao so untanc yht vekrd mega fynneunc. Dutyo, fa femm feh drec pyddma, yht dutyo fa crymm nakyeh uin ruhun!" (Not yet, my friends. We have won nothing yet. Obey my orders and fight like warriors. Today, we will win this battle, and today we shall regain our honor!)
Another immense cheer went up.
The Hammer floated down the vertical tunnel and emerged into another conjoined horizontal tunnel. The sphere-oscillo finder's display showed a 3-D map of the tunnel that they were currently in. Their ship showed up as a tiny red dot, and at the very front of the tunnel was a big blotch of red that resembled an ink stain. Without a doubt, it was the fiends.
"Holy Yevon, would you look at that." Wakka said in awe.
"Quiet." Buddy silenced Wakka with a wave of his hand.
"Ruf vyn du dra ubahehk?" (How far to the opening?) He asked Nhadala.
"1.4 gemusadanc," (1.4 kilometers,) She replied.
"Fana cdemm kahanydehk duu rud y veamt," (We're still generating too hot a field,) Brother muttered.
"Nhadala, gemm ymm yiqemeyno cocdasc. Keja sa vimm syhiym, tnub tufh vuin bytc," (Nhadala, kill all auxiliary systems. Give me full manual, drop down four pads,) Rikku ordered.
The Hammer was kept aloft because of five hover pads on each side of the ship that blasted high-powered jets of super-heated air onto the surroundings. Rikku had all but one of them, the central one at the bottom, to be shut down so as to avoid catching unwanted attention from the fiends.
"Ed'mm puddus uid," (It'll bottom out,) Buddy muttered as Nhadala keyed in the commands to shut down all unnecessary functions.
The roar of twenty hover pads died down to the low rumble of one.
"Ayco pypo," (Easy baby,) Rikku muttered to herself as she moved the joystick with excruciating slowness.
"700 sadanc," (700 meters,) Nhadala said.
"Ev fa lyh zicd kad lmuca ahuikr ..." (If we can just get close enough…) Rikku nudged the joystick forward a little bit more.
"600 sadanc,"(600 meters,) Nhadala intoned.
Suddenly, one of the hover pads scraped against a piece of wreckage that jutted out from the tunnel floor. The sound reverberated throughout the tunnel, and every fiend looked in their direction.
"Cred!" (Shit!) Rikku cursed.
"Zek'c ib, rana drao lusa!" (Jig's up, here they come!) Nhadala said urgently.
"Keja sa vimm bufan, vimm cocdasc!" (Give me full power, full systems!) Rikku shouted.
"Man the gun ports, every goddamned one of 'em! Go, go!" Buddy ordered. Everyone except Tidus scrambled out of the cockpit.
"Nhadala, ouina dra pacd kihhan fa ryja, ku fedr dras." (Nhadala, you're the best gunner we have, go with them.)
Nhadala unbuckled herself from the co-pilot's seat and dashed out.
"Tidus, take her place!"
The Hammer went from adamantoise-slow to coyote-fast in less than 5 seconds.
"Whoa, watch it there, lady!" Auron yelled as the Hammer lurched forward at increasing speeds.
"Hang onto your lunch, Auron. Here we go!" Rikku jammed the joystick downward and the hovership was put into a flip that would've made Gippal proud, and it plunged straight into the entrance to the mechanical line.
"Rumo Yevon! E tethd ghuf drec creb luimt tu dryd!" (Holy Yevon! I didn't know this ship could do that!) Buddy muttered to himself as he tried to keep the contents of his stomach inside.
Gippal's APU slowly strode forward, step-by-step. Every time the foot of the massive machina hit the floor, the platform shook. The shaking was made even worse with the fact the Gippal was accompanied by two more officers in their own APUs. When Gippal had reached his assigned position, he put his APU to a halt. His officers did the same after arranging themselves into a triangle formation.
Gippal glanced around he dock. Every APU in the regiment had been arranged in an array that had been designed to make maximum use of their firepower. The massive control tower that stood in the middle of the dock bristled with guns, all the more giving a chance that the fiends were screwed the moment they entered the dock.
A crumbling in the ceiling caught his attention. Turning his gaze upward, he saw an ominous crack in the domed ceiling of the dock. The crack grew steadily larger every second. Soon enough, the source of the crack emerged. A sand worm, apparently burrowing its way down, appeared in the center of the now-massive crack.
Not yet. Gippal told himself. The Sand Worm emerged fully from the hole and fell like a rock into the dock itself. Gippal restrained himself from turning his guns on the now-helpless fiend. The infantry would take care of those.
Keeping his gaze on the hole, Gippal could now hear a steady roaring, growing louder every second.
Now…
"Ghilgma ib!" (Knuckle up!) Gippal yelled and switched off the safeties for his machina's two massive machine guns. Every other APU did the same. In less than half a second, not a single barrel was pointed away from the hole where the fiends would emerge.
Gippal could now see faint flapping of wings. The fiends were about to emerge.
"VUN HOME!" (FOR HOME!)
The APUs opened fire. Lead poured in from all directions. The vultures that were at the mouth of the hole were instantly shredded to pieces, and those that were foolish enough to continue barreling forward were ripped to shreds by the Al Bhed's guns. But even with the massive amount of firepower on the Al Bhed's end, the fiends had found the vector least protected by the gunfire, and they quickly darted through.
The APUs on that side of the dome quickly shifted their fire to obliterate the fiends in the dock, but that meant diverting their firepower from the hole.
Which meant that more fiends were able to come through.
Soon enough, enough fiends had darted through the hail of lead, that the APUs had diverted their attention from the hole, and were now mowing down the flyers that darted here and there. Only the guns on the control tower remained trained on it.
On the lower levels, the Sand Worm slowly picked itself up, preparing to burrow into the inner sanctums of Home. Al Bhed infantry navigated their way through the tunnels and passageways, harrying the Sand Worm from everywhere, but their RPG's (rocket propelled grenades) seemed to have no effect on its thick hide whatsoever. Luckily, one of the soldiers hit a vulnerable spot, and the Sand Worm flailed around for a bit before steadying itself and resuming its burrowing.
Up above, Gippal and his men fired their guns madly, trying to take down as many fiends as possible.
"Myykan ib!" (Laager up!) He cried out and whirled his APU to his right, rearranging himself back into the triangle formation. The three slowly rotated around in a wheel of death, cutting down fiends left and right. Scores of Ahrimans and Vultures were felled as the bullets sliced through their frail wings.
Suddenly, the left gun on one of the officer's APUs sputtered two rounds and the bolt locked open. Out of ammo.
"Namuyt!" (Reload!) The officer, whose name was Zuka, cried out, still firing at the fiends with his available right gun.
Inside a fortified bunker, a soldier yanked up the eyepiece of his helmet.
"Namuyt heha!" (Reload nine!) He stated.
A box of ammo was loaded onto a cart designed specifically to reload APUs. Benzo (should he be here?) glanced nervously to the young soldier next to him, who had the misfortune of having the box of ammo end up on his cart.
They locked eyes for a moment, and then the gate opened. An Ahriman immediately descended on it, intent on devouring the soldiers holed up inside the bunker. But an APU beat it to its goal, and it was mowed down mercilessly.
"Ku, ku, suja, suja!" (Go, go, move, move!) The guard urged.
The soldier rushed out along with two escorts armed with AK-47s.
Gippal's face contorted with exertion as he shifted his aim left and right, trying to bring down the immense number of fiends that had made it through the hail of lead that the tower still provided.
"Fydlr ouin mavd!" (Watch your left!) He yelled to Soha, the other officer, when he noticed a gap into their field of fire. Soha immediately shifted his aim to his left, cutting off the three vultures that had tried to dart around him.
"Tuh'd mad dras drnuikr!" (Don't let them through!) He yelled. Soha shouted an affirmative. But as Gippal fired at a target to his right, and Soha fired at a target to his left, a lone vulture took advantage of the gap in their defense and slipped through.
It impacted on the back of the Zuka's APU, sending him tumbling off the platform.
"Zuka!" (Do I have to translate this?) Gippal cried out, but he knew that Zuka was already dead.
He tore his eyes away from where he had seen Zuka land, and continued blasting at the fiends.
The tower continued blasting lead at blistering rates at the hole, but fiends were still leaking out of it. Suddenly, a stream of fiends so dense that the guns of the tower made hardly any difference in whittling down their numbers emerged from the hole. The tower's guns continued firing and firing, slaughtering fiends by the dozens. But for every one fiend they slew, a hundred more were waiting in line.
The immense number of fiends formed a crude battering ram, and though the guns slowed them down somewhat, they barreled forward, intent on collapsing the tower. They did. The battering ram that was composed entirely of fiends impacted against the top of the tower, toppling it, and bringing down more than half of the Al Bhed's firepower.
Down in the command room, the tremor caused by the felling of the tower reverberated throughout the room.
"Frana dra ramm ec so ehvyhdno!" (Where the hell is my infantry!) Cid asked Shinra. "E fyhd dryd kuttyshat Sand Worm dygah tufh!" (I want that goddamned Sand Worm taken down!)
At the lower levels of Home, the infantry continued harassing the Sand Worm, while it continued its leisurely burrowing. Then, four rockets hit at the exact same spot at the same time. Their combined effect did what a single rocket could not have done. The Sand Worm roared in pain and it flailed around before dissolving into dozens of pyreflies.
Everyone in the Command & Control(C&C) room cheered as they Sand Worm disappeared from their sensors.
Suddenly, the technician at the sensor station cried out "Sand Worm 2 yd dra pnaylr buehd!" (Sand Worm 2 at the breach point!)
"Kuttyshed!" (Goddamnit!) Cid cursed.
The Sand Worm wriggled itself out of the massive hole that the first one created, and toppled down onto a bridge where three APUs were standing. One of the pilots stopped firing and looked up. His comrade could have sworn a saw a brownish shade on the soldier's pants before that Sand Worm crashed into the bridge, killing all three of them.
The Hammer tore down the narrow tunnel that was the mechanical line, guns blazing at the fiends that pursued them. It definitely wasn't designed to navigate tunnels as narrow as this, and Rikku found that out the hard way as she took another sharp turn, the edge of the hovership scraping against the tunnel wall.
"Cred, cra'c kud y vyd ycc!" (Shit, she's got a fat ass!) Rikku cursed.
Fiends had latched onto the ship and were tearing away wildly at it. One of the hover pads were being pecked at mercilessly by three Vultures, and the armor plates protecting it were soon torn off. The damage registered on the hull display.
Rikku cursed as she watched the hull integrity readout dropped another 3 percent.
"Keep 'em off me!" She yelled into the mike.
"Yevon, there's a shit-storm of 'em." Auron muttered as he gunned down fiends by the dozens.
The fiends were slowly encroaching the surface of the ship, and Buddy noticed that they were headed for the front of the ship, where an antenna stood.
"Brother, oui caa dryd?" (Brother, you see that?) Buddy asked.
Brother glanced at where the fiends were headed.
"Drao'na yvdan dra nyteu! Cdub dras!" (They're after the radio! Stop them!)
Too late. The fiends tore through the meager plates that were welded onto the antenna like a hot knife through butter. As the piece of metal tumbled away, so did their hopes of contacting Home.
The Al Bhed technician at the sensor station started as the systems started to read an anomaly in one of the tunnels outside of Home. He zoomed in, and noticed a blue blip being chased by several red blips.
"Cid, E kud ehlusehk!" (Cid, I got incoming!) he shouted.
"Fa kud y tulg vimm uv ehlusehk!" (We got a dock full of incoming!) Cid retorted.
"Cen, oac, cen, pid drec ec tevvanahd, cen!" (Sir, yes, sir, but this is different, sir!) the technician said.
"Fryd?" (What?) Cid asked, coming over to look.
"E drehg edc uha uv uinc, cen,"(I think it's one of ours, sir.) He said uncertainly.
Cid stared at the mass of red blips and the blue blip that was being chased by them.
"Dryd'c esbuccepma." (That's impossible.) Cid stated disbelievingly.
"Sphere Oscilo Finder'c dnoehk du luhvens, cen," (Sphere Oscilo Finder's trying to confirm, sir,) Shinra told him.
"Luhdyld dras. E fyhd yllacc lutac," (Contact them. I want access codes,) Cid demanded.
"Fana dnoehk, cen. Dranac hu nacbuhca." (We're trying, sir. There's no response.)
Cid looked at the screen more closely. "Edc y dnelg. Dryd'c hud uha uv uinc. Ed lyh'd pa. Dryd'c y salryhelym meha. Hu uha lyh bemud salryhelym." (It's a trick. That's not one of ours. It can't be. That's a mechanical line. No one can pilot mechanical.)
Nobody except…
Rikku jerked the joystick around and put the Hammer into a spin, navigating around another tight corner.
"Forward aft, 30 degrees at eighty percent." She told Tidus.
"30 degrees, eighty." Tidus repeated, inputting the command as fast as his fingers could move. The ship barely made it past the next turn.
"Lower starboard, 60 degrees at twenty percent."
"Sixty degrees…" Tidus' hand fumbled, and he input ten percent instead of twenty. The hovership nearly crashed into the wall, and it took all of Rikku's piloting skill to bring it back on course.
"Shit! Come on, keep up!" She snapped at Tidus.
"I'm trying!" He retorted.
"Cen, Sphere Oscilo Finder luhvensc. Edc dra Hammer, cen," (Sir, Sphere Oscilo Finder confirms. It's the Hammer, sir,) The technician at the sensor station told Cid. Cid stared at the sensor display disbelievingly.
"Ruf lyh dryd pa?" (How can that be?) he muttered to himself.
"Dra creb ec ihtan yddylg, cicdyehehk rayjo tysyka, pid yd edc bnacahd jamuledo, ed'mm naylr Kyda 3 eh 12 sehidac," (The ship is under attack, sustaining heavy damage, but at its present velocity, it'll reach Gate 3 in 12 minutes,) The technician continued.
"Cen, draen AFS luimt dyga uid ajano veaht uid drana," (Sir, their AFS could take out every fiend out there,) Shinra said.
"Ed't dyga uid suna dryh dryd. Ed'mm feba uid uin ahdena tavahca cocdas. Fa pmuf yh AFS ehceta drana, famm muca dra tulg," (It'd take out more than that. It'll wipe out our entire defense system. We blow an AFS inside there, we'll lose the dock,) Cid muttered. (AFS's have the curious effect of disabling machines as well)
"Cen, fa ymnayto mucd dra tulg." (Sir, we already lost the dock.)
Cid paused for a moment.
"Ubah dra kyda." (Open the gate.)
"Kyda 3 ec hud nacbuhtehk!" (Gate 3 is not responding!) The technician at the wrecked Gate Control tower shouted into the radio so as to be heard over the sounds of battle.
"Faja dygah lnedelym tysyka, Cen!" (We've taken critical damage, Sir!) He paused at the sound of someone screaming. "Fa'ja mucd luhdnum! Fa lyhd ubah ed!" (We've lost control! We can't open it!)
Rikku guided the ship past two more sharp turns and then followed the tunnel into a loop. As she straightened the hovership, Tidus noticed an opening at the end of the tunnel.
"There's the exit." He pointed it out to Rikku.
"On my mark, give me full power at 90 degrees to lower left starboard." She ordered. "Full power… ninety degrees…" Tidus repeated.
Rikku pushed the Hammer to go even faster, and as soon as they were at the exit, she shouted "Now!"
Tidus slammed his fist down onto the button to alter the course, and gave an almighty grunt as the hovership went from vertical to horizontal in half a second. Rikku jammed the joystick downward, and it was all she could do to prevent the ship from crashing onto the tunnel floor.
"Hold on, baby." She muttered to herself. The Hammer finally rose from the ground, and Rikku relaxed her hold on the joystick a tiny bit.
"Goddamn, girl, you can drive." Auron muttered. "We ain't Home yet. What about the gate?" She asked. Tidus glanced at the sensor display.
"Fiends are inside the dock." He told her.
"Are we too late?" Rikku cranked up the speed even higher.
Inside Home's dock, to say that it was a living hell would be an understatement. As soon as Al Bhed soldiers emerged from cover, they were plucked off their feet by the fiends before they could even fire a round from their assault rifles.
Inside the passageways, the fiends pressed inexorably inward. Even if the Al Bhed could defend themselves from one side, the fiends attacked them from another. Soldiers dropped like flies, and the tunnels were filled with the cries of the dying.
Cid wiped off the dust that had gathered on the tactical map. "Ruf syho APUc yna ubanydeuhym?" (How many APUs are operational?) he asked Shinra. "Drendaah cen." (Thirteen sir.)
"Kad sa dra uha lmucacd du Kyda 3." (Get me the one closest to Gate 3.)
Gippal fired his guns left and right, mowing down fiends by the dozens, but no matter how many he killed, there were always more of them. He screamed, not in fear or pain, but in rage as he fired again and again at the fiends set on them by the hated Guado who had ruined his life.
He knew nothing but the rage that engulfed him.
All of a sudden, the APU's left gun sputtered and went dead. "NAMUYT!" (RELOAD!) He screamed.
"Ed'c beccehk sadym," (It's pissing metal,) The soldier inside the bunker muttered to himself. Another box of ammo was loaded onto a cart. Benzo's cart. He looked in shock at the soldier who stood at the doorway.
"Ku!" (Go!) the soldier said, pulling the lever to open the door. The door opened, and Benzo rushed out with his two armed escorts. He ran forward blindly, following the soldier in front of him.
Occasionally, his escorts would fire a burst of lead from their AK-47s at a fiend that had gotten too close. But the rear escort let his guard down, and an Ahriman snatched him off his feet.
Benzo had finally reached Gippal's APU, and he pushed the cart to the back of it. Raising the cart's platform, he started to load in the box of ammo.
"Raytc ib, draona lusehk nuiht!"(Heads up, they're coming round!) Gippal shouted to the remaining escort.
The soldier quickly fired at the fiends that tried to approach from behind, but as he fired at an Ahriman, a Vulture speared him through the stomach with its beak, and carried him off.
"Pareht oui!" (Behind you!) Gippal cried out. Benzo leapt aside as Gippal's APU turned around, cutting off the fiends that had tried to sneak up behind them. Benzo picked himself up and noticed that the box of ammo was only half-loaded.
Oh shit. He thought before climbing up the back of the APU. He started kicking at the ammo box.
"Ed'c zyssat!" (It's jammed!) He yelled to Gippal, still trying to get the ammo box inside the magazine receiver.
Gippal looked forward and saw fiends forming themselves into a solid battering ram; similar to the one they had formed to collapse the tower. So this is how I'm going to die…
"Vunkad ed, get!" (Forget it, kid!) he shouted to Benzo. "Kad uiddy rana!' (Get outta here!)
Benzo gave the ammo box one last kick, and it finally slid inside the receiver. "E kud ed!" (I got it!)
Gippal shifted his APU to face the battering ram head on and fired with both guns blazing on full-auto. He screamed, this time in genuine fear. His guns mowed down the fiends dozens per second, but there were hundreds more of them. "HUUUUUUUU!" (NOOOOOOOO! .')
The fiends hesitated for a split-second, and then dove forward, completely engulfing the lone APU. Gippal screamed in raw agony as claws and teeth ripped at his body from everywhere, his stoned fingers still clenching down the triggers on his joystick. Finally, when all the fiends had passed, the APU's guns sputtered out three rounds before collapsing onto its back.
Benzo threw himself onto the ground as the APU fell. He quickly glanced at the cockpit. From where he could see the top of it, it was covered with blood.
"Lybdyeh Gippal!" (Captain Gippal!) he whispered, his heart filled with dread. He scrambled up and climbed to the side of the open-air cockpit. Gippal lay supposedly dead in the seat, his corpse riddled with innumerable cuts, bites, gashes and lacerations. Blood coated the entire cockpit.
Oh no! Benzo couldn't see how Gippal could still be alive. Suddenly, the 'corpse' drew in a rattling gasp of air.
"Drao'na lusehk,"(They're coming.) He muttered. "Draona lusehk. Dra Hammer." (They're coming. The Hammer.)
His eyes locked with Benzo's.
"Fryd?" (What?) Benzo couldn't understand him.
"Oui ryja du ubah dryd Kyda," (You have to open that Gate.) Gippal spoke with incredible effort through the pain that overwhelmed his senses. "Cut the counter-weights."
Benzo glanced up at the massive gate behind the APU.
"Oui lyh tu ed! Rinno! Ranac hu desa," (You can do it! Hurry! Here's no time,) Gippal said urgently.
"Lybdyeh, E teth'd vehecr dra dnyehehk bnuknys," (Captain, I didn't finish the training program,) Benzo admitted.
Gippal managed to give a small laugh despite his pain.
"Haedran tet E." (Neither did I.) He confessed before becoming horribly still.
Benzo quickly searched his pockets. There was supposed to be an Elixir somewhere in there!
He found it and quickly poured its contents all over Gippal. His wounds started to close in on themselves, leaving only scars in their wake. The only injury that remained was his right eye, and though the wound was gone, the pupil of the eye was no longer a bright green, but a dull grey. Benzo knew Gippal would never see out of that eye again. He started to buckle himself into the cockpit seat, sitting on Gippal's lap so he could reach the joysticks.
The fiends continued tearing away at the Hammer, this time disabling the hover pads that kept the rear end of the ship off the ground. The Hammer's rear fell and started grinding against the tunnel floor. Inside the ship, one of the ammunition lines went berserk. Round flew out of it, cutting through equipment and a crewmember.
"Mulg dryd tufh!" (Lock that down!) Brother shouted.
"Gemm dra vaatan!"(Kill the feeder!) A crewman shouted.
"Fa fuhd syga ed, fa kuddy pmuf dra AFS huf!" (We won't make it, we gotta blow the AFS now!) Brother said urgently through the comm. to Rikku.
Rikku struggled to keep the hovership under control. They had to make it.
Come on, someone, please! she silently begged.
Gippal's APU rose, but this time Benzo was piloting it. Turning it around, he started moving it towards the gate. "Gaab ouin faekrd vunfynt." (Keep your weight forward.) He muttered instructions from the training program to himself. "Mekrd yc y vaydran, mekrd yc y vaydran." (Light as a feather, light as a feather.)
The APU charged forward, brushing aside debris like pieces of cardboard.
"Cid, Sphere Oscilo Finder nabundc Lybdyeh Gippal'c APU ec ib yht sujehk du Kyda 3!" (Cid, Sphere Oscilo Finder reports Captain Gippal's APU is up and moving to Gate 3!) Shinra said urgently. Cid looked up, stratled by this piece of news.
Perhaps there was still hope...
Benzo urged the APU forward, but a bunch of fiends stopped him in his tracks. He raised the APU's guns, aiming carefully.
"Tuh'd ujan-cxiaawa dra dnekkan." (Don't over-squeeze the trigger.) He muttered before opening fire.
Three vultures were killed, and the rest scattered. Benzo shook his head to clear it of what had just happened, and continued forward.
"Lybdyeh Gippal'c APU ryt zicd naylrat Kyda 3!" (Captain Gippal's APU had just reached Gate 3!)
"Ruf silr desa?" (How much time?) Cid asked Shinra.
"Dfu sehidac du esbyld!" (Two minutes to impact!)
Cid snatched up the radio. "Lybdyeh Gippal, tu oui lubo?" (Captain Gippal, do you copy?)
No response.
"E drehg rec nyteu ec tufh, cen," (I think his radio is down, sir,) Shinra told him. Cid took no heed. Downed radio or not, Gippal would get his message.
"Gippal, drec ec Cid. E tuhd ghuf ev oui lyh rayn sa, pid ev oui lyh..." (Gippal, this is Cid. I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can…)
…the Hammer's 2 minutes away. You've got 2 minutes, captain, to get that gate open…
Cid's voice echoed throughout Gippal's half-conscious mind. Two minutes…open the gate…
Rikku…
"Kad du dra syeh talg! Lrynka dra AFS!" (Get to the main deck! Charge the AFS!) Brother shouted to Buddy.
Buddy tore himself away from the gun port and dashed for the main deck. Dodging a live wire that had been torn off its base, he threw himself through a small fire that had blossomed inside the ship before reaching the control station.
His fingers moving faster than he thought they could, he quickly set the AFS charging.
Benzo stopped at the foot of the gate, and turned the APU to face the gears that kept the counter-weights in place. Raising the APU's guns, he took aim. Little did he know that a fiend was barreling straight for him.
He saw it at the last moment and tried to aim, but he didn't have enough time. The fiend crashed into the side of the APU and they collapsed onto the floor. Benzo looked up in panic and saw the fiend rearing up to strike again.
A massive jerk brought Gippal back from his half-conscious state. Looking around, he saw Benzo seated on his lap, piloting the APU. Then he looked right and saw the fiend. With a lightning-quick motion, he drew a machine pistol from his belt and blew the fiend to kingdom come. With the fiend dead, Benzo was free to cut the counterweights.
"Tu ed, get,"(Do it, kid,) He told Benzo.
Benzo nodded and brought up the APU's gun. Aiming at the counterweights carefully, he opened fire. The rounds cut through the gears like a wedge, and the gate started to open slowly.
Rikku saw it first. A stream of reddish light was emerging from the end of the tunnel. The gate was opening.
"Yes!" she said, her voice laden with relief. Tidus looked at her uncertainly.
"Can we make it?" he asked.
"We ain't come this far."
Rikku pushed a lever to redline the reactor, pushing everything past a 100 percent. The hovership raced forward, completely outstripping the fiends that pursued it. It crashed through the half-open gate, coming to a harsh landing on top of one of the bridges.
As soon as it landed, fiends began hightailing it out of Home, for they knew that ship had come with an AFS.
"Pinh ed, Buddy!" (Burn it, Buddy!) Brother shouted.
Buddy twisted the switch to activate the AFS, and a greenish shockwave emanated from the Hammer. To the machines and people in the dock, it took no heed, but to the fleeing fiends, it gave no quarter. As soon as the wave touched a fiend, it exploded.
Soon, every fiend within a kilometer's radius of Home was reduced to a bunch of pyreflies. In the C&C room, everyone except Cid cheered. Cid didn't cheer simply because he was too relieved to even do so. What mattered was that they had bought time, and that was all that mattered.
Rikku, Brother and Buddy strode out of the elevator to be greeted by Cid.
"Ug, ev ed fych'd vun dra vyld dryd ouiryt zicd puikrd ic jymiypma desa, E fuimt luhcetan ryjehk oui luind-syndeymat. Ev oui'mm aqlica sa, E ryja du dno yht cymjyka drec tapylma." (Ok, if it wasn't for the fact that youhad just bought us valuable time, I would consider having you court-martialed. If you'll excuse me, I have to try and salvage this debacle.)
Rikku stared at her father in shock. Court-martialed? Debacle?
"Tet E zicd secc cusadrehk, Vydran? E druikrd fa zicd cyjat dra tulg," (Did I just miss something, Father? I thought we just saved the dock,) Brother said.
"Fryd'c dra syddan fedr oui baubma? Oui lyh'd drehg pid veja sehidac eh vnuhd uv ouin vyla. Dryd AFS ghulgat uid ymsucd ajano beala uv ryntfyna yht ajano APU. Ev E fana dra Guado, E fuimt caht ajanodrehk E ryt rana nekrd huf. Cyja dra tulg, Brother? Oui zicd ryhtat ed du dras uh y cemjan bmyddan. Ev oui ryth'd puikrd ic desa fedr dryd yldeuh, ed fuimt'ja paah luhcetanat dnaycuh. Huf, ev oui'mm aqlica sa..." (What's the matter with you people? You can't think but five minutes in front of your face. That AFS knocked out almost every piece of hardware and every APU. If I were the Guado, I would send everything I had here right now. Save the dock, Brother? You just handed it to them on a silver platter. If you hadn't bought us time with that action, it would've been considered treason. Now, if you'll excuse me...")
Cid pushed his way past them into the elevator.
"Famm, dryd teth'd ku cu famm." (Well, that didn't go so well.) Buddy muttered.
At the dock, the surviving Al Bhed soldiers bustled about, salvaging whatever was still usable. An officer hurried a soldier who was welding off one of the guns from an APU.
"Lusa uh, kad ed lid!" (Come on, get it cut!) he said. A sentry came towards him, reporting that the bridge was clear. Then, a faint roaring could be heard coming from the open gate. The officer stared at it in dread.
This could mean only one thing.
"Tu oui rayn dryd?" (Do you hear that?) he asked the sentry.
The sentry turned, the roaring growing even louder.
"Kad dryd lypma nih!" (Get that cable run!) Cid ordered to one of the technicians. "E fyhd drec codas pylg uhmeha!" (I want this sytem back online!)
"Cid, ed'c dra tulg! Drao kud ehlusehk." (Cid, it's the dock! They got incoming.) Shinra reported, turning towards him.
Cid frowned.
"Untan ajanouha du vymm pylg. Caym dra cryvd. Huf!" (Order everyone to fall back. Seal the shaft. Now!) Once everyone had retreated into the inner sanctums of Home, Cid had planned to blow up to main shaft that led into them, cutting off access and buying them more time to evacuate.
"Suja ed!" (Move it!) The oficer cried out. As the last of the soldiers disappeared through the exit, he glanced back at the gate.
Oh my god!
From the open gates emerged a mass of fiends larger than any he had ever seen in his life. Forcing his gaze away, he followed the soldiers through the exit.
"Ymm lmayn." (All clear.) Shinrareported.
"Tu ed." (Do it.)
With everyone inside the lower levels, nobody came to harm as the main shaft exploded and caved in on itself. A shockwave reverberated throughout Home, and the lights went out for a few seconds before coming back on. Cid stared up at the ceiling.
"Ouin suja." (Your move.)
"Lets go go go!" yelled Gippal as he directed the flow of soldiers hurrying towards the airship dock.
He was so caught up with the evacuation operation that he didn't notice the party approaching him. When Tidus put his hand onto Gippal's shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin and unleashed a volley onto Tidus.
"It's just you. What do you want? I'm busy," he asked.
"'Where's the summoner?" asked Tidus.
"Should be in the summoners' sanctum. A security detail is proceeding there to evacuate the summoners and seal the shaft. Not all bombs have exploded you see, so the shaft is thinner than other sectors. According to Intel, the fiends have detected the breach and are heading there now," Gippal was interrupted by Nhadala.
"Captain, request permission to move out!" she asked.
"Permission granted, but take the Guardians with you," Gippal leaned forward and whispered in a hushed tone, "Obey all their orders," he glanced at Auron, who stared menacingly back, "Especially the one in red."
"Damn...this place is a mess, and the summoners were held here for what purpose again?" asked Lulu.
"We wanted to stop them from their pilgrimages to stop them from dying. It's not fair to them. Their human too you know!" replied Rikku.
But why would they die? It they die so easily, what are Guardians for? Tidus was getting confused. Really confused. He knew he was missing a major fact here, but he knew better than to open his mouth.
At the end of the corridor, Nhadala motioned for the soldiers to take their positions in case of an ambush while she opened the door with a key-card. All clear. The soldiers scurried and scanned the room for fiends. They saw Issaru's Ifrit (what was its name again?) and Dona's Ixion decimate the last of the fiends in the room. Then, Ifrit lugged a huge piece of debris and blocked the doorway. They came just in time; the fiends had already broken through.
When Issaru saw the party, he walked over, bowed and apologized," I'm sorry. We tried, but we couldn't stop them."
"Stop who? For what? And where's Yuna?" asked Tidus, feeling anxious and impatient. The makeshift door would not hold for long.
"Our point precisely," continued Dona, "Yuna was taken by the Guado. She fought well, the first summoner I knew that could summon four aeons at once while still maintaining enough power to shoot a gun. But she still fell. There were too many."
"My apologies," they said and bowed together.
"Never mind, at least you're safe," replied Lulu, "Now let's get outta-" She was cut off by Tidus.
"Why?" he asked, "Why did you Al-Bhed have to drag Yuna to this Godforsaken place to get kidnapped by the fucking Guado! Tell me why!"
Tidus was clearly pissed. His voice echoed throughout the empty metal corridors around Home. Everyone fell silent; even the fiends pounding on the "door" had mysteriously decided to break for tea.
(A/N: Imagine the "To Zanarkand" Theme being played, making the atmosphere feel down and miserable)
"Tidus-" Lulu started, but she was cut off by Rikku.
"Yuna will die, get it? She will die when she goes on the pilgrimage!" she shouted.
"Why? Its not as if I'm too weak! Even if I am I'll grow stronger! I'll even sacrifice my life for her!" replied Tidus in a loud, aggravated tone.
"You still don't get it. When Yunie get the final aeon and summons it, it will kill two things-" Rikku was cut off again by Tidus.
"Yes! I know! Sin! Sin will be dead!" he yelled.
"What about the second thing? The second thing would be her!" Rikku yelled back.
"What the ...!" muttered Tidus, face pale in shock.
"The final aeon will kill Yunie. Don't you get it?" said Rikku again, this time in a softer, more gentle tone.
Tidus stared hard into her green swirly eyes. They were brimming with tears. She couldn't have lied.
"Why didn't you tell me..." he muttered in a hoarse tone, trying to keep back the tears, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!"
As if on cue, the fiend returned from their tea break and broke down the door. Eager to vent his anger, pain and frustration, Tidus picked up two heavy machineguns nearby and shifted both to "full-auto". The he mounted but onto each arm and blasted hundreds of ammo slugs into the wave of fiends, yelling in pain and agony as he fired.
"Tidus!" Rikku yelled, but was held back by Nhadala.
"He's given us enough cover fire. Lets go!" she said.
Although Rikku was reluctant to leave Tidus, Nhadala's was the wiser head. She followed the latter's plan.
"Go! I'll stay with him until all of you are at the door!" ordered Auron as he too picked up heavy machineguns and started firing.
The group of ragged and exhausted soldiers and guardians made sprinted to the corridor, quite easy since all the fiend were dying at the hands of Tidus and Auron. When they reached the corridor, Rikku called back, "Auron!"
Auron nodded and stooped firing. He yelled to Tidus to stop and retreat, but Tidus was blinded with rage. He couldn't hear him.
Reluctantly, Auron used the blunt end of his No-Dachi to knock Tidus senseless. Then he carried Tidus onto his shoulder and made a break for the corridor. The made it just in time and Nhadala managed to close the door early enough so that the pursuing coyotes crashed headfirst into the steel door.
The group, shaken, exhausted and glad to have their lives, then swiftly retreated to the airship docks to report to Gippal. The door would no hold for long...
The atmosphere in the airship was tense. According to radar, the fiends were going to bust in through the door at any time. The heavy metal door was mighty, but every soldier knew that the strength of several thousand fiends was mightier.
The airship's engines had not been used for too long and had to be warmed up, before they could become airborne. Meanwhile, the Al Bhed commanders had taken extra precautions to successfully hold out the fiends.
However, this time was very much different from the first. Firstly, the fiends were much lesser in number and were weaker; also, the opening was smaller, thus the Al-Bhed were confident that they could take down more fiends with less lead and thinking time.
Secondly, they now had an estimated time to hold out for, thus the soldiers morale could be raised easily, as they were all anxious.
Thirdly, the soldiers now were fighting for their survival. They were backed into the corner and had no way out. They had to fight desperately, and this usually increased their fighting abilities.
Every window or door had been converted into a gun port, occupied by one or more machine gunners, RPG troopers, or snipers. All guns were trained onto the single, pathetic door, less than two meters by one.
Every open space of the air ship was packed with machine guns, the deck, the balcony, the hood, everywhere where the simple three legged firing tripod could be placed, it was. (Kinda makes you wonder where they got all the guns)
Then, the fiends started pounding on the door. Then, even more joined in until depressions and dents were made on the surface. Every Al-Bhed soldier had his heart in his mouth. His stomach twisted in an icy knot. The entire place stank of fear, anxiety and sweat.
Then, the door gave way with a great crash and the fiends streamed in. A mighty war cry was raised from the Al-Bhed camp and hordes of bullets streaked towards the wave of fiends. The numerous machineguns were doing their job, and coupled with the lack of entry room, the fiends were cut down in droves.
Rockets slammed into their targets, exploding in great displays of phosphorus and sulphur fireworks. Five centimeter thick in diameter sniper bullets easily reduced fiends to swarms of pyreflies. The high caliber anti-aircraft guns easily mowed down the fiends and grenades assisted in crowd control.
The party also assisted the Al-Bhed. Lulu launched spell after spell while Wakka, overcoming his guilty conscience about using Machina, heaped grenades at them. Auron had dual machineguns blazing at full auto while Rikku used her minigun. Kimahri had not one, but two machine guns in each hand and had enough strength to aim them with accuracy in full auto. When he ran out of lead, he dropped the guns for the Al-Bhed to reload (Ronsos lack the dexterity to reload guns) and tossed several grenades with a single hand at the oncoming horde.
Then, Auron noticed three Guado Guardians approaching the ship. They had "Protect" spells cast on them, which protected them from the gunfire. He had heard several Al-Bhed soldiers say something about the "Great Sir Auron" and one had even asked for his autograph. Now was his chance to strut his stuff.
He leapt off the deck and swaggered towards them.
The three Guado guardians stopped in their tracks as the legendary Auron, Guardian of Lord Braska, swaggered towards them. The one with the nickname 'Sev', smirked. He had earned his nickname because once, during a raiding party on an Al Bhed militant outpost, he himself had scored 70 confirmed kills.
Hence, 'Sev' represented his SEVenty kills.
Even if it was the 'Legendary Sir Auron' in front of them, he was just an old man. An old man waiting to be swept out of the way.
The Guado Guardian on his right, nickname 'Fixer' for his field medical skills, muttered, "It's him."
The Guado Guardian on his left, nickname 'Scorch' for a fire spell accident that left him without eyebrows for a time, continued Fixer's statement. "The unsent."
"Do we proceed?" Fixer asked.
"Yes." Scorch replied.
"He is still..." Sev cut off Fixer.
"Only human." Sev charged.
Auron raised an eyebrow at Sev. Shifting himself slightly to the left, he dodged Sev's poorly aimed punch and took the opportunity to grab his arm. Yanking on it brutally, Auron allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction as Sev screamed while his shoulder was violently dislocated.
Planting his No-Dachi into the ground, he kicked Sev across his back twice and hit him with a Bruce Lee-style punch, complete with wobbling fist and over-emphasized battle cries.
As the punch propelled Sev away from him, Scorch lunged forward. Auron dodged around Scorch and pushed him to the floor, causing him to fall flat on his face. Planting his foot on Scorch's back, Auron stomped, snapping his spine and causing a violent twitch in his left arm before finally lying still.
Auron turned around to look at Fixer, only to find that he wasn't there. Then, by pure instinct, he back flipped, dodging the viscous palm strike that had meant to snap his own spine.
Landing behind Fixer,Auron grabbed him by his neck and twisted it, breaking it with a very audible SNAP! Before Fixer even started to fall, Auron fired five palm thrusts of his own into Fixer's back in the blink of an eye.
AsFixer started to fall, Auron spun around and kicked him with the back of his heel, propelling him all the way to the other wall which he smashed into, leaving a rather visible indentation.
Auron stared at the dead bodies of the Guado Guardians. He then took a moment off to bask in the glory of his victory. He could already feel the number of fans of his increasing thanks to that spectacular display.
Then, his victory celebration was cut short by an immense roar. The airship had finally come to life and was ready to take off.
"Sir Auron! Get on board now!" he heard someone yell.
Another chance to show off.
Leaping high into the air, he performed several somersaults, still carrying his No-Dachi, by the way, and landed smack onto the deck. The feat would have been perfect if he had landed on his feet instead of his head though.
With that, the hanger door opened and the airship bolted out like a bird released from a cage. Despite all the odds, the Al-Bhed survived, and despite all the odds, they will live on another day.
Their story has not yet ended.
Tidus and the party were gathered in the war room of the airship with Cid and his ranking officers for a strategy meeting.
"Ok people, listen up," Cid started, "Our gratitude to the Guardians who helped us escape without lives, but now we have an even more important mission."
He motioned to Nhadala, who continued, "The sphere oscillo finder currently shows that Lady Yuna is being held at the temple of St. Bevelle. Our mission is to infiltrate Bevelle and reclaim the summoner. Well, actually, that's your job. We'll "tour" Bevelle and have some fun, you know."
There was silence across the room as the party digested the plan.
"It'll be hard, Bevelle's defenses are top-notch," commented Wakka, finally breaking the ice.
"Hello," replied Gippal, "We built that city, until they drove us out."
"What the..." Wakka wanted to protest, but glares form the Al-Bhed officers and his fellow Guardians stopped him.
"Anyway, I assure you, Sir Wakka, we are more than prepared for the fight," said Cid.
"What about Evare, Bevelle's guardian wurm?" questioned Lulu.
Suddenly, Tidus had a momentary flashback. He envisioned an immense dragon circling Bevelle. It was jet black and had a great wheel on its back. Its eyes glowed a demonic red and it's talons were a shiny silver. Atop its head rested two ivory horns, twisted and scarred from combat. His vision then started to blur, but a jab from Kimahri cleared it for him. He was back on board the airship.
A picture was being passed around the table of Evare. Though both beasts, the one in the flashback and in the one in the picture looked equally mighty, they bore many differences, which led Tidus to conclude they were different.
"Cid, what do you have to combat this wurm," asked Auron.
"You guys," was the immediate response, which drew hearty laughter from the Al-Bhed officers.
"Seriously," said Cid, "You'll see."
"All hand prepare for combat!" the PA system announced.
Al-Bhed soldier scrambled from their bunks and reported to their respective stations. Today was the day that they assaulted the capital of their most hated enemy. This was their finest hour.
Payback time.
The party was on the deck of the airship eagerly awaiting combat. They all wanted to save Yuna and were as determined as ever. Then, an ear-piercing shriek echoed throughout the heavens and the great wurm swooped out from the clouds and confronted the airship.
Tidus was formulating a strategy in his mind when he was rudely interrupted by the sounds of gears and hydraulics.
Shocked, he spun around and saw cannons of all sizes emerging from their gun ports, hidden to await usage. Machinegun nests were all trained onto the lone beast in the sky.
Then, an even louder sound drowned out the sounds of the gun ports opening. It was the sound of dozens of engines igniting at once. Then, in a synchronized motion, the sources of the noise zoomed out of the hanger, revealing themselves to the party as fighter planes. They stared to swarm around the airship, awaiting the order to fire.
In the bridge, Cid smiled to himself as he saw that the airship was in perfect working order. Bevelle would surely crumble under their might. Their time had come.
He looked at the men around him and put a hand on Brother's shoulder. Then he picked up the radio and breathed one word into it.
"Fire."
Our sincerest apologies if the text appears bunched up, but it seems that QuickEdit has a few problems. And, if you can name us a chapter in a story that has more words in Al Bhed spoken than this one, we guarantee your money back!