Disclaimer: Ok…ok…I'll do it…I don't own FFX, Predator or anything we ripped off either blatantly of subtlety…Happy?
A/N: Ah, don't you love the great outdoors. I love the Calm Lands. It's full of chocobos and fiends and mini games (in FFX-2 that is) and, the stupid Caladborg quest…
Anyway, many thanks for the reviews. To DragonEtenal, points taken, thanks for the review. Enough of me, go read.
Chapter 13: The Not-So Calm Lands
The party had been running for the entire night, but once they reached the vast expanse of grassland, they knew it was safe. After all, who would chase them all the way there? The Yevonites would probably be mourning the dead or something like that anyway.
"Whoa! What is this place?" asked Rikku.
"The Calm Lands, a vast grassland where summoners would do battle with Sin after receiving the final Aeon," a familiar voice called from behind.
"Maechen!" called Yuna as she ran to greet him.
"Ah, my lady summoner, I'm glad you are safe. I heard the rumors, but I couldn't believe them. I had to come check myself," the grey-bearded old man replied.
"Unfortunately, they are," started Lulu, "We fought with the Al-Bhed and attacked the temple of St. Bevelle."
She was about to go into greater detail and defend their actions when Maechen's emotionless face broke into a smile.
"Standing up for you own beliefs and not doing what others are. How brave, how bold. I salute your courage, Yuna of Besaid. I knew you were something special when I first saw you," he said, "Now if you'll-"
Maechen was cut off when he noticed Tidus' new handguns.
"Those are Ebony and Ivory, no?" he asked.
"Huh? How'd you know? I thought the Warrior Monks' armory was out of bonds to everyone?" questioned Tidus.
"I saw them a long long time ago son," replied Maechen, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. You have my blessings and prayers, all of you. Farewell, good luck and Yevon go with you."
The party looked on as the wizened old man disappeared into the distance. Then, they too went on their way, with Tidus brooding silently what the old man had told him.
The immense roar of the hovercraft's twin 500 horsepower turbofan engines died down and the party disembarked, to be greeted by an old acquaintance, Rin.
"My lady summoner, it is good to see you," said Rin in a warm tone as he spread him arms to embrace her.
"I heard about home Rin, my condolences are with your, no, our kinsmen," replied Yuna.
"If your mother sees you now, she'll be proud of you. You remind me of her," said Rin.
"Back to the point Mr. Rin, have you any news about the Al-Bhed who attacked Bevelle in order to save me?" asked Yuna.
"Yes. They are re-supplying over yonder," he pointed to the edge of the Calm Lands, where it met the great Mt. Gagazet, "Commander Cid's representative just left a few moments ago. He brought me a report. Would you like to see it?"
"Certainly," replied Yuna.
"This way please," said Rin as he led her into the Agency.
The party was about to follow when a voice called from behind.
"If it isn't Wakka and Lulu!"
They spun around to see a man with bright eyes and crisp, dark curls of hair around the shaved crown of his head. He bore the attire of a senior priest, and carried a great staff decorated with jewels of many sorts.
"Father Zuke!"
Lulu and Wakka rushed over to greet their old friend. Zuke then turned his attention to Yuna, who just emerged from the Agency.
"Yuna of Besaid, daughter of High Summoner Braska. I have here a warrant for your arrest, though I did not expect someone of your prestige to be so young and tender," started Zuke.
"Father Zuke, I have heard of you, quite a reputation has you, though I was expecting you to be, taller," replied Yuna.
For a few seconds, the atmosphere was tense and Wakka and Lulu, knowing Zuke's true identity, expected a fierce fight between Aeons. However, Zuke's stern glare broke to that of a soft one.
"I have no intention of fighting you though. I leave the dirty work to my subordinates. But, on account of my friends traveling with you, I must warn you. Bevelle is on high alert now. I advise you to stay away," with that, he turned on his heel and left, disappearing behind a hill.
"Who was that?' asked Tidus.
"Father Zuke. I and Wakka used to be his Guardians. But he gave up on his pilgrimage here, choosing to be a priest instead. He used his power to summon Aeons on the many fronts that Yevon is fighting, although I heard from some Monks that he was away when we busted in," said Lulu.
The party then proceeds into the Agency to rest their journey-weary bodies.
A/N: Meanwhile…
Zuke was walking along. He liked that Yuna girl's resolve, her boldness and her determination. He was also impressed by her quick mind and sharp tongue. He decided to tell Maester Mika that they didn't proceed this way. They probably returned to the Thunder Plains or had tried to use a sea bound route.
Then, he felt a presence behind him. It emitted a great aura of strength and was extremely big. This was no ordinary fiend.
Whirling around, he let loose a fury of holy bolts at the fiend.
Thinking he destroyed it, he was about to walk off when he felt its presence again.
It wasn't dead. It was very much alive.
It was also pissed.
A/N: Back at the Agency.
Wakka was about to take a sip of his tea when he heard a faint scream of terror and anguish. He put his cup down and looked out the window, but saw no one, only a few run-on-the-mill fiends prancing about.
He turned to Lulu, who was seated next to him. They were the closest to the window.
"Did you here that scream?" asked Wakka.
Lulu nodded, but Tidus said, "It's your stomach screaming for more food. Now hurry up and eat."
"It sounded like Zuke," he whispered to Lulu.
"I agree, but it can't be him. He's too strong for the fiends here…"
(A/N: Due to increased scrutiny on Dachande's killing spree, I refuse to comment whether it was him or not. You decide by yourself.)
"Thanks for the chocobos!" yelled Yuna to Pia, the breeder, who had lent them the chocobos to escape from the Yevonites who were hot on their heels.
"Don't mention it!" she replied.
She then led here chocobo flock back towards the corral next to the agency.
However, halfway, all her birds started to squawk loudly and grew restless. The started shifting their feet and bucked slightly. Pia was having a hard time controlling them. She tugged on the reins and yelled at them, but the normally placid birds refused to listen.
Then, they snapped.
The birds all bucked wildly and bolted in different directions in a flurry of yellow blurs. Even the skilled Pia was bucked off. Something big was around, something that they were scared out of their wits off. She scanned for a chocobo eater, but there was none. Getting up and dusting herself, she called to the Al-Bhed in the Agency, which was nearby.
The Al-Bhed, eager to help one of their friends, scrambled for their speeders and chased down the chocobos. However, in the confusion, Pia noticed a strange shroud glistening in the sun.
Then, as quickly as it appeared, it vanished into thin air, hard to imagine for a creature of its size.
(A/N: Now this was him alright, but he didn't kill anyone.)
A/N: Skipping ahead to Mt. Gagazet, snowy homes of the mighty Ronso tribe.
"Halt!" Kelik Ronso's voice boomed across the mountain.
"Traitors of Yevon shat not pass!" said Biran, the tribe's champion.
"Turn back immediately or we shall crush you," said his right hand man, Yenke.
"We are not traitors! We merely did what was right!" said Yuna.
"Lady Yuna. It pains me that one like you has turned traitor, you are by far the most powerful summoner I have seen, yet you ally yourself with ruffians and criminals! To think you even killed Maester Kinoc!" said Kelik.
"I did not such thing. Now get out of the way and lets us through, or we shall use force," replied Yuna sternly, her voice full of authority.
"You underestimate the Ronso! We have you surrounded, yet-"Biran was cut off by Kelik.
"Why do you wish to cross this mountain? Are you continuing on you pilgrimage?" asked Kelik.
"Yes. I am getting to Zanarkand one way or another. Even if I have to wipe out all the Ronso, or fall beneath your numbers, my will is set. I will get there!" replied Yuna again, this time even more aggressively.
"Why? Why do you persist? Could it be for fame, popularity, money? Who do you fight, tell me why?" yelled Kelik, the mountain shook, as though humbled by the Ronso Elders string words.
"I fight," she turned to look at the party, "Because I choose to. Because everyday, another person dies because of Sin! Everyday, another child loses his mother! Everyday, another mother loses her son in the fight against Sin! Everyday is filled with the mourns and cries for the dead! Why? Because Sin is there. I will tolerate this no longer. I will destroy Sin, even if it's only for a few years, even if I have to lay down my life, I will defeat it."
"Such determination…Very well! You shall pass!" He motioned to the gatekeepers, who opened the immense stone gates, "I was not wrong about you. The daughter if Braska is strong. We Ronso shall stop the pursuers from the temple! For honor, for glory! For Spira."
A great cheer erupted from the Ronso surrounding the party. They were chanting out Yuna's name.
Yuna then turned around to face the party. Her face softened to a smile.
All in the party were awestruck at her speech. All except Auron. Braska was right. His daughter did have something special.
The party was climbing up the steps beyond the gate, when they heard footsteps.
"Wait!" a voice called out. They spun around to see it was Biran and Yenke, Kimarhi's rivals.
"Summoner Yuna may pass, Guardians may pass, but Kimarhi may not pass!" said Biran.
"If Kimarhi wants to pass, he must defeat us!" continued Yenke, as the two of them drew out immense halberds, over 12 feet long in length.
"Very well! Kimarhi shall show you the strength Kimarhi has gained!" yelled Kimarhi.
Whipping out the Spirit Lance, he spun it above his head at a great speed, while shouting a mighty war cry.
Then, he lowered it to chest level. His eyes turned a luminous blue and the Lance started crackling with blue energy. Razor sharp blades which glistened on the sun jutted out his left wrist, and his entire left hand started to blow a bright blue.
"Yes that's it Kimarhi! Show us the power you have gained!" yelled Yenke.
With a mighty shout, the three Ronso leapt at each other.
Biran took the first strike, intent on impaling Kimarhi in midair. But Kimarhi expertly dodged and placed a hand on the formers spear. He then used it to push himself skyward, dodging Yenke's Thrust Kick Attack.
Kimarhi gave a shout and loosed a volley of plasma bolts onto the two Ronso warriors. Dust and smoke kicked up, but from behind the smoke came a volley of lightning, ice, fire and water attacks. The two Ronso had apparently used Mighty Guard to shield them from his barrage.
Still in midair, Kimarhi spin his lance at a 180 degree angle in front of him, effectively blocking all the attacks. He then, aided by the force of gravity, slammed down spear-first into the ground, creating a huge depression but missing his opponents who had jumped away just in time.
Biran then used his Bulldoze attack, trying to slam Kimarhi with his head, but Kimarhi expertly dodged and kneed him in the stomach. Biran let off a painful grunt before stumbling to the ground.
Eager to avenge his partner, Yenke charged forth and launched several blows of the spear. However, Kimarhi parried them all both Ronso were exchanging blows at a rapid rate. But Kimarhi had another weapon. He extended his wrist blades and gave Yenke, who was caught off guard, two deep cuts on the arm.
Yenke backed off for a while, when casted White Wind to restore vitality. The cuts slowly disappeared. Distracted by Yenke, Kimarhi did not notice Biran sneaking up from behind. The latter kicked Kimarhi in the back, causing him to roar in pain. Taking the chance, Yenke slammed the blunt of his halberd into Kimarhi's head.
Reeling in pain, Kimarhi was unable to defend himself as Biran and Yenke mercilessly impaled his shoulders with their spears and drove him to a cliff. They slammed him onto the wall real hard, and then backed off.
"Kimarhi improve, but still not strong enough," said Biran.
"Biran ain't seen nothing yet," replied Kimarhi as he slowly got up despite his two massive shoulder wounds.
To his rival's utter horror, his wounds started to close in on themselves. Then, Kimarhi gripped his Spirit Lance more firmly.
"Let's Rock!"
Kimarhi gave a cry and charged forth swinging his lance at Biran. The latter tried to parry, but to his horror, his spear shattered.
Kimarhi then turned his attention to Yenke. He slammed his lance into Yenke, who was able to dodge. Then, Kimarhi disappeared.
"Huh?" muttered Yenke.
"Behind you," came a voice.
Yenke turned to see a charging Kimarhi. He brought up his spear to parry, but like Biran's, it too shattered.
Kimarhi then gave both Ronso Warriors a mighty push, slamming them into the cliff wall that they had slammed him a few minutes before. He then roared and charged a plasma bolt, intent on vaporizing them. However, he realized that they were his own kin, not fiends.
He relented and the bolt dissolved into atoms.
Biran then got up with a smile on his face. Yenke also got up. He too was grinning like a Cheshire Cat. They walked towards Kimarhi and gave him a bear hug.
"Kimarhi grow strong, Brian and Yenke very proud," said Biran. He then turned to face the peak of the mountain and bellowed, "Sacred Mount Gagazet! Hear me! There is a warrior that has bested Biran this day! And his name his Kimarhi!"
All the Ronso who had gathered to watch the fight started to cheer and soon the mountain was full of their cheers. Even Kelik was cheering. Then, when it finally died down, Biran winked his eye mischievously and nodded to the crowd.
"Hornless! Hornless! Hornless!" they roared before collapsing to the ground and roaring with laughter.
The party was climbing up the steep slopes of Gagazet when Rikku tapped on Tidus' shoulder. She nodded to him and they both started to lag behind.
"What should we do? After this it's Zanarkand already, but we don't have a plan," she said.
"Don't worry, I'll think of one, even if it means dragging Yuna out of there, I'll do it. After all, it ain't over till it's over," replied Tidus.
"You know what? You sounded like a leader there just now," commented Rikku.
"Star player of the Zanarkand Abes," replied Tidus as he struck a pose.
"Ah ha," said Rikku as she bowed.
Then, a voice from behind startled the both of them.
"It's been awhile, son of Jecht."
Acting on impulse, Tidus whipped out Ebony and Ivory and aimed then at the source of the voice, who was none other than Seymour.
"Rikku, get Auron," said Tidus, "I'll hold till you guys return."
Rikku wanted to protest, but decided Tidus' was the wiser head. She turned around and scurried into the distance.
"Son of Jecht, my my your courage impresses me, although it's clear you will die here by my hands," said Seymour.
"Come and get some bitch!" replied Tidus, causing Seymour to go red in the face.
"Save some for Kimarhi!" called a familiar voice.
Tidus turned to see the party arriving just in time.
"Ah, the Ronso. Yours was a valiant race. They tired to bar my entry and jumped at me one after another, but they all fell to me," said Seymour ominously.
"You kill Kimarhi's friends, you shall pay!" roared Kimarhi as his eyes started to glow bright blue. Remembering his experience at Bevelle, Seymour cowered away in fear.
"Can we stop this dialogue and just fight?" asked Rikku.
"Um… ok," said Seymour as he produced a small device from his pocket. He then pressed a button and the entire mountain started to shake. The immense roaring of twin jet engines was heard from beyond the side of Gagazet.
From beyond the cliff emerged a great Machina weapon, glistening in the sun. It had rocket launchers and cannons everywhere. To say it was armed to the teeth would be an understatement. The only problem was, it was pink and in the shape of a giant teddy bear.
"Meet Mini-Pooky," said Seymour as he took his teddy bear from his robes.
"But isn't that thing bigger than Pooky?" asked Wakka.
"That's not the point…now," Seymour turned around and tried to climb up the leg of the immense Machina to the cockpit, in the chest. However, he nearly lost his grip and fell many times and, despite the party's shouts of encouragement, he still took half an hour to get to the cockpit.
Now that he was in the cockpit, he grabbed the joysticks and flicked a few buttons. All the guns were trained on the party, who were already ready for combat. He loved this thingy. It was a really cool toy, and it was pink, his favorite color. The only problem was that it vibrated a lot (because of the engines).
Then, it stopped vibrating.
Seymour felt more comfortable now. He grasped the joysticks and was about to pull the triggers when he noticed a red light flashing on his dashboard.
"What does 'out of gas' mean?" he asked.
The answer came instantly.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH," yelled Seymour as he and is monstrous contraption plummeted to the ground like a leaden weight.
Cautiously, Tidus crept towards the cliff's edge and yelled, "Hello?"
His voice echoed down the cliff before hearing a weird "Splut".
"That was easy."
A/N: Oh well…poor Seymour. How'd you like the Kimarhi fight scene? More action than the previous one anyway. Zuke gets toasted too, but I wonder by what?
Anyway, on a sad note, this story will be ending soon; we plan to write no more that 5 more chapters. Oh well, every story has to end somewhere. Sorry if it seems a little rushed. I typed this at the airport after my plane got delayed. Keep reviewing anyway!
P.S.: A little spoiler…the next 2 to 3 chapters will absolutely either make or break the entire story.
This is the Master, signing out.