To Serve and Protect
By Snare-chan
Ratings: PG-13
Category(ies): Slight AU (Alternate Universe)
Warning(s): Spoilers for later parts in the game, namely after Zanarkand Dome
Status: Continuation, 2/3
Summary: There is more to the Omega Ruins than anyone could have realized, and it only took several mistakes for Tidus to make this clear.
Notes: So that it's very clear, anything separately set in /backslashes is Al Bhed speech/. Hopefully this will keep you from getting confused and allowing me to be lazy and not type in actual Al Bhed. You wouldn't want to translate that anyway, would you?
Also, please note I have indeed imbedded a non-FFX character into this piece. Don't be alarmed! She is hardly a Mary Sue and even if she were, she will not be around long enough for any of your little worries to come true. Trust me on this.
Disclaimer: I dun own Final Fantasy X; wish I did like everyone else. They should put FFX in stock, then I'd buy it all!
Ever since Tidus could remember Auron coming into his life, he'd been a large part of it.
At first, he'd absolutely hated his presence. Who was this guy? Where did he come from? Why was he even here? He and his mother didn't need him, with his overly large sword and gruff demeanor and everything that came along with the older man.
When he was younger, he'd tried everything he possibly could to get rid of him, from being pointedly obnoxious to pulling every single prank his devious mind could come up with. That hadn't worked out at all, and in fact, most plans usually backfired on him, so he moved on to the silent treatment. By doing so, he hoped that when the other saw he wasn't needed (much less wanted) he'd take the hint and go away. This worked just as poorly.
Eventually, he just became used to the guy hanging around, especially after his…mom passed away. In some ways, the stranger had been worse than his old man, and in others, had far surpassed what fatherly parenting Jecht could have ever hoped to meet. The man just never got angry over anything, lectured him almost constantly, and couldn't make a decent breakfast of toast to save his life. But he was his guardian, the only real parent he became accustomed to, and that was that.
As such, he'd unconsciously come to rely on the other for his guidance and support. At least, whatever he was willing to offer whenever he wanted. Auron had taken care of the bills, his Blitzball forms and his entire life in general. He'd taught him everything he knew, and despite how close they'd become, now more than ever, Tidus felt he owed the man more than he could ever offer.
That's why it was his turn to do the right thing, to be the one protecting. In the end, it was the least he could do.
Opening his tired eyes to the gloom of the Omega Ruins, Tidus quietly surveyed the small enclosure they'd boxed themselves into. The place was chock full of dead ends and chopped corners, all good places to rest or hide for a time. By all appearances, everyone looked fast asleep, though dozing a light one. Not much had changed since he'd last opened his eyes, or at least not when he looked down to Auron. Through the shaded cloth he couldn't see the bright red color of blood, though its wetness was there. He also looked like he might be developing a fever.
It was hard to tell how much longer he had left.
Gingerly starting to rise, he got caught and peered down at his arm, taking note that sometime during his thoughts, Yuna had wrapped a loose arm around his. Carefully, he moved it aside, helping her unconscious form lean back against the brick wall behind them before getting completely to his feet. Pulling out his Brotherhood, he ran his hand down the long blade, the strange steel freezing to the touch. For his time away, he'd leave it by Auron, unsure if it would actually do any good to keep his fever down, but willing to try and buy some more time.
Pulling out his extra sword, he started toward the exit. Even with how careful he tried to be, his shoes made soft squeaking noises. The sound grated on his nerves till he thought he was in the clear. At least he thought he had been, until soft hair brushed against his ankle.
Kimahri had apparently been unable to sleep at all and had taken to watching their surroundings, the large Ronso eyeing him in question as to his presence. He had to think quickly.
"Uh…did you hear that?"
Furry ears pricked up, swiveling back and forth on his head like tiny sensors. "Kimahri hear nothing."
"I um…had better check it out anyway. I think it came from this way."
The fellow guardian moved to follow, which just wouldn't do. Licking his suddenly dry lips Tidus paused, trying to look unsure.
"You had better stay here, just in case. I'll check it out pronto and be right back, ok?"
Looking genuinely unsure, the Ronso nodded, straightening his already upright posture to wait for his return…or no return as the case might be. His spear tapped the floor once as Tidus headed down a ways to take the first corner that would lead him deeper into the ruins. Instead of checking it out like he said he would, he continued forward, taking turns and twists at random. As he searched the ground, he felt kind of guilty for lying back there, but he had no choice if he wanted his plan to succeed.
There had been no way he could make it back to the pick up point for the airship thanks to their reckless running around before, so he was going to try a different approach. The place was old and riddled with passageways full of items, some dropped by fiends and others most likely brought by long gone travelers. There was no real way to tell what he'd find, but an Antidote or Potion would do nicely. Somewhere down here there had to be something to help Auron get better.
He hit more stops with chests during his travels, but none filled with anything that could help. Though he was sure they already had enough spheres to supply them all for quite a while longer, he tucked them away for later. Starting to his feet he lightly bumped his nose against the wall, his eyes crossing as something flashed with the simple contact.
Huh?
Laying his hand flat against it, nothing occurred at first, and then a bright flash emitted from the brick surface. A glyph like none he'd seen before glowed upon it, flickering in and out of existence before it disappeared again. With it went the wall, the rocks crumbling to reveal a secret passageway. Taking this as a good omen, he treaded along the stairwell carved into the stone without a thought, the wall unnoticeably reappearing and blocking off his exit.
For quite some time, he ran up and down stairs, through slim passageways and past obstacles along the way. By the time anything changed, he'd come to – of all things – a dead end. There was only a rock cliff at the end of this road, and it overlooked a large batch of lava below.
"Darn it!" Cursing, he kicked his foot into the dirt. "Enough with the stupid dead ends! Can't this place be fair for ONE SECOND!"
As his rant exploded with the last two words, they echoed over the expanse to amplify his words tenfold. Sitting down with a hard 'thump,' he glared all around him, wondering what the point of having a secret passageway was if it didn't lead anywhere.
Something shifted behind him, and he glanced backward with a start. Originally, he'd suspected maybe an attack. Had a fiend followed him, or one of the others? Then the ground shifted, the rock cliff under him beginning to give way from his harsh treatment towards it earlier and his added weight. With a yelp, he was on his feet and dashing back the way he'd come, bits of the ground falling away. He was too late to reach the stairs, and he was certain his fate would be the same as the other fallen bits and pieces – a nice lava bath of death.
Instead of being cooked well-done he landed on his back against hard ground on top of dirt and pointy little stones. The fall had not been a pleasant one as he was left lying there in pure agony. Of course he was happy to still be alive to feel any sort of hurt, but he didn't have to actually like the fact his spine might be shattered into several shards. In his head, he thought his nerve endings were telling him his body's pain story in the words of the fayth, but as his bearings slowly returned to him, he realized he actually was hearing the song of prayer.
"Ieyui
Nobomeno
Renmiri
Yojuyogo…"
Lifting his head, he spotted a large archway chiseled out of the stone. It was primitive looking and had perhaps been here since the Omega's creation, long ago when it wasn't in ruins. Aging didn't look like it had occurred, and rising to his aching legs, Tidus made his way towards it. He was stuck now anyway, so what else could he possibly do but go on ahead? Who knew; maybe he'd find a whole horde of Antidotes on the other side.
"If I survive this, I'm never owing Auron anything again," he muttered.
There was absolutely no light here, so he was forced to feel around with his hands and feet. Stumbling around in the dark, he came up to a crossroads, his fingers losing their way as the walls split off into different directions. He knew exactly what to do.
"Eenie meanie minie moe…right it is then!" Smiling at his quick wit, he moved in that direction, his foot eventually smacking into an upraised platform from the floor. It was another set of stairs, and nearly crawling on his hands and knees, he progressed to the top where he could see some soft shades of purple light. Had he somehow made his way back up to the original Omega Ruins?
But there were no obvious signs that he had worked his way towards the first path, or the 'surface' at all for that matter. An archway of some importance rose in front of him. The delicate frame and decorations surrounding it only reminded him of one thing, and stepping into the temple, he was met with nothing like the familiar ones on Spira. No statues of old summoners were placed in a wide circle, and no priests stood watch over it. The only consistent thing he recognized was the constant chanting, which had grown louder now that he was here.
"Ieyui
Nobomeno
Renmiri
Yojuyogo
Hasatekanae
Kutamae…"
The song trailed off before picking up again, the person or whatever singing it picking it up again a couple seconds after they had just finished. Having seen no one alive down here, he guessed, despite all logical reason, that it must be a fayth. It would explain the singing at least, since along with their fate, they were cursed to repeat the words of prayer for eternity…or something. He couldn't be sure about these things, and mostly just picked them up by short observations. Tidus had never been to a temple where the sacred aeon wasn't chanting.
Yuna wasn't here, so approaching it didn't seem wholly worth the trouble of going through the trials or tribulations set out for summoners and their guardians to partake in to earn the rite of passage. The couple of times he'd revisited the previous shrines, however, the fayths that resided in them always offered him a gift for all their trouble (and a depressing bit of conversation to him, but he had learned to put up with that. He sure wouldn't be his usual happy-go-lucky self if he was locked away in a glass case for forever).
Convinced that maybe they could give him some Potions, the time would be worth it, but first things first. Ducking into the side rooms, he searched through the tattered fabrics and chests littering them in case they could provide him with what he wanted. He discovered a new bracer that could at least replace Auron's old one before grudgingly heading towards the chamber.
It will all pay off he reminded himself, recalling that back with the others, they were lacking in curing products and handling a sick guardian.
The first room he entered was like the rest of the place, made perfectly of rock and brick inlayed with soft glowing crystals. Having learned from previous trials, he felt along each wall in search of hidden glyphs or spheres, the small corner by the open cave door revealing an Omega sphere well hidden under a small boulder. Sensing this might be part of a bigger pattern, he kept this in mind as he headed into the next room, unable to find anything else of use in here.
The second place…was far larger by comparison. Like, bigger than the airship. In fact, this place could probably fit two or three with little to no effort. Spheres of all colors lined the high raised walls, lighting the room with a gentle glow of the rainbow. Rubbing his neck with a sigh, he looked in all directions. Tidus had long since grown to despise the temples, the tests put forth for them just to get to the chamber headache-inducing and, in his mind, just plain stupid. Besides one or two, he'd never been able to figure them out on his own, Auron or the others there to help him find the way.
"Would it really hurt to just put up a sign saying, 'this way'?"
Shaking his head, he explored the ground floor in search for slots, pictures…anything that could be of use to him. He looked under every pile of dirt and rock to come up with nothing. It appeared the riddle was with the other spheres and the walls. Looking up at them again, he turned in circles, coming at a stop at the locked doors on the opposite side of where he'd entered. Just above it was some sort of glyph that had been carved there, and on closer inspection, he realized it was the same design of the one that had led him down here.
Using his well-practiced balance and ability to perform impossible-looking tricks, he 'scaled' the door till he was high enough to place the Omega sphere into the slot in the middle of the glyph. It gave a satisfying flash before dimming, signaling that he'd done at least one thing right so far. Trying the doors on his way down, they refused to open, meaning he had some things left to finish.
Pouting, he backed off till he was in the center of the cavity again. Several of the spheres still flashed at him cheerfully from their perches in the wall. If he didn't know better, he would even say they were mocking him.
From about a half-story up, he spotted a peculiar shadow, and a couple others for that matter. Upon inspecting them, he found that they, too, were glyphs. These were nothing like that representing Omega but rather those from previous journeys. The setup reminded him of Anima's temple, though he hoped that wasn't the case. All the special spheres he'd picked up from the others had been left there. But…maybe there was another way.
Inspecting the sparkling stones in the wall, he went over each one, searching for a couple in particular. Destruction, white, power, Besaid, luck…double-taking, he went back to the Besaid one, removing it and feeling a warmth in his palm. The others were standard for a temple or found regularly around this world, so what was this doing here? Figuring that it was part of the puzzle he went about trying it into the couple other glyphs in the room until one of them glowed. He had to be on the right track now, and scaling to the others, he collected and placed Kilika, Djose, Macalania, and Bevelle spheres into their special places. Once completed, they all shined as one.
"Finally!" he crowed, reaching for the handles of the doors to make his way through…only to find them still locked in place. "What! Oh come on; what more do you need from me?"
Kicking the doors, a sharp pain shot through his entire foot and leg, causing him to hop up and down as he walked it off.
"Stupid temple…" he muttered, sitting down to massage his sore toes through his bright yellow sneakers. In the meantime, he looked over everything one last time. He'd placed all the temple spheres into their appropriate space. There was Valefor's, Ifrit's…every summoning he could find…except three very distinct ones. Somehow he'd forgotten about Yojimbo, Anima, and the Magus Sisters, but why would he? Their temples didn't really have their own sphere, in reality only one even had a real temple, one lost and the other kept locked away.
For Yojimbo, that cheap-skating samurai-like aeon, he had demanded money for his services, while the Magus Sisters had to be obtained through two completely irrelevant objects. Like this temple, Anima required the unlocking of other temples, so what more could he do? Unless this place would accept accessories and some loose cash, he didn't know what more he could do.
…
"Could it really be that simple?"
Pulling the Blossom Crown and Flower Scepter from hiding he looked around for a place to set them, his eyes falling on some strange looking slots beside the door. Miraculously, they fit perfectly, and as he stepped back to eye his handiwork, a pedestal with a basin on top appeared in the spot he'd been standing. This had to be for the money, and reaching deep down into his pockets he pulled out all he had. It wasn't a whole lot since this was just spare change in case he got separated from the group and needed miniscule provisions, but it would do.
As the gold clinked into the pot and it dipped back out of sight, the glyphs he'd activated above came fully to life and shot off their standard colors with vigor. The double doors that had eluded him till now slid open of their own accord.
"Ieyui
Nobomeno
Renmiri
Yojuyogo…"
Nodding with pride, he stepped through those doors, feeling on top of the world. He had done this one all on his own with no one's help, and soon he would be getting some items. The voice of the fayth completely filled his head as he entered the chamber and rid his mind of many troubling thoughts. Stepping towards the aeon's room, the feather fans parted to let him through.
Soft lavender hues lighted the area, making it a little difficult to see the small room in all its glory. The real show came from the center where the glass container holding the fayth was placed, the cracking glass revealing the bare back of…a girl?
Whoever it was didn't sport broad shoulders, so he thought so. Something akin to a flowing cape emerged from between her shoulder blades, ranging from top to bottom a light blue, navy and then finally orange. Gradually, her skin color changed to a light violet till her body melded into the framework. Her head was slightly tilted, and though Tidus couldn't see her face, a long spike that was her hair protruded out from the scalp, changing from a natural blonde color to pastel blues and pinks. Other than a mesh of fish-scale looking armor attached to one arm, that was all he could see.
The case began to pulse, flashing a bright onslaught of light that temporarily blinded him. Gaining back his sight, a woman stood before him, her ghostly form transparent enough for him to see right through to the other wall. Folding her arms in front of her, she turned to face him, a cookie cutter to the fayths he'd seen before. Blank eyes, grim face…and a sad voice. She reminded him of someone else too, of someone like Rikku. The blonde hair, the beautiful swirling eyes, it was all the same.
/Who are you/
Her voice carried easily in this place. She probably could have whispered in the same tone and Tidus could have heard every word perfectly. That wasn't what caught his attention though, but instead the language she used. It was in that strange, new tongue he'd been starting to learn, Al Bhed, and this clearly explained the resemblance between his exuberant friend and this summon. But didn't these people shun this sort of thing, becoming a fayth or summoner or…anything having to do with Yu Yevon?
"Me? Oh uh…Tidus, and I'm-"
"Lost for all eternity, drifting through reality with no true destination. I have heard of you, back then…" she trailed off in plain English after hearing him speak, her interruption leaving him slightly off guard. Then he remembered that she was a fayth, after all, and they all seemed to know him very well even when they had never really met. Or had they? It was all so confusing.
"The end is near; I can feel it in my soul. Whether good or bad, we have but only to remember that one way or another, we all shall no longer roam on forgotten paths."
This was how it always was. He'd show up, they'd exchange some depressing banter, and then he'd get some goods and move on. Sometimes he wondered if they did this all on purpose just to spite him. It wasn't his fault that they had volunteered to become aeons, thus why did he deserve such treatment? He was deeply tired of being reminded of his doomed fate and having it rubbed in his face.
"Look, lady, I don't mean to bother you but I'm in a hurry here, so can we cut the destiny crap? Auron…my guardian friend, he's really hurt and I need something that can heal him."
For the first time he had laid eyes on a summon, their true self, he saw a change in expression. The woman seemed to blanch, if possible, and her lips pursed in uncertainty. The look didn't suit her face and honestly left him a bit unsettled. Perhaps he should have been more patient instead of upsetting the one thing that could give him what he deeply needed?
"Please, explain. I wish to know."
To Be Continued…