Chapter Five: Trouble on the Road to Djose
Spira'sSentry: Thanks for the quick review man! You did it in like less than forty five minutes after I posted it! And I love that you think it's cool that I am making another story alongside the FFX story line, that's what this fic is all about.
Anasazi Darkmoon: I plan to read your fics sometime in the near future so expect some reviews from me soon. Yeah, Seymour is really creepy in the game so why fight it, plus I want to make all the characters hate him, 'cuz I hate him and I think he should rot in hell for all eternity, too bad that there is no hell in Spira, maybe I'll make one just for him.
Mtbanger: Welcome to this fic man! I hope you like this one a lot too and you will find that I have some awesome fight scenes like in my other fic. I hope something 'disastrous' doesn't happen to you or anything or anyone around you to prevent you from reading. And that's a shame that you don't like the name 'cuz I like it, obviously, and you're gonna have to deal with it the rest of the fic.
dark dragon knight1993: I'm very, very, very glad that you like my fic so much! See, I told you I would break away from it more, it was just the first few chapters so like I said I didn't know where I was going exactly, but now I know more. Yeah, sorry for the long wait, like I said I got addicted to C-S and that can take some time to get over. Anyway, here is chapter five, with less delay then the previous chapter!
The expanse of dirt road that was laid out before them stretched on for as far as the eye could see. A few trees and other assorted plants lined the banks of the extensive, dirt road, obstructing the group's view in several places where the road tended to twist. On the left bank of the dusty road, there stood an old, rusted statue of a man clad in knight like armor with a gigantic spearhead shaped sword sticking into a defeated foe. Along both banks were ruins that dotted the horizon, following the outline of the winding highroad. Only a few people walked among the miles of extensive dusty road, either milling around aimlessly as if on a peaceful hike or doing a somewhat more aimed path as if they wanted to get to where they were going in quite a hurry.
"Whoa…" Lauren scanned over the vast expanse of dirt road. "…what is this place?" She asked to no one in particular as she glazed around in awe at the sight of the highroad.
"This is the Mi'ihen Highroad." Lulu pointed out. "It is a large road that connects Luca to the Djose temple at the end of the road and then to the moonflow at the fork in the road at the temple. Many people use it to travel to the temple or to cross the moonflow to go on to towns on the other bank like the capitol Bevelle, where the Maesters reside." The black mage elaborated on the existence of the highroad.
"Cool." Lauren exclaimed. "But how are we supposed to get across it quickly?" She queried.
"We walk." Auron stated bluntly, taking off on the highroad at his usual pace.
"But isn't that gonna take a really long time? I thought we had to rush because of Yuna's pilgrimage." Lauren appeared confused, gawking after the striding guardian.
"Then we walk fast." Auron said sarcastically, cocking his head over his shoulder to look upon the blonde teen.
"Fine, whatever…" Lauren threw her hand up in defeat and began to take up chase on after the ancient guardian.
After a while of walking down the seemingly endless span of dirt road, the group came upon an old man with glasses and a tall hat. They spoke with him, but only briefly. The old man told them about some ancient ruins and that they could seek his advice anytime than they came upon the same path. Soon after speaking with the white bearded man, the group hastily moved onward down the road, wanting to get to their objective as soon as possible.
As Lauren and her friends sauntered on down the highroad they spoke with a few of the travelers, some of them giving Yuna items to help her along on her pilgrimage. Lauren was getting a bit worn out from walking such a distance in such a short amount of time, regardless of the fact that they were under constant fiend attack. The fiend battles got a little easier after each member of the group finally realized which types of fiends they personally were good at slaying. The first time they encountered a hard shelled fiend, Tidus and Lauren made an attempt to slay it but their blades only bounced off its rigid outer shell. Auron made them stand aside and he took one swing with his massive blade, severing the fiend straight in half.
A few moments after their meeting with the old scholar, Lauren and her friends encountered three people ridding on chocobos. "Lady Summoner, I presume?" The apparent commanding officer of the three rode forth and stopped right in front of Yuna. She had long red hair with a blue band running across her forehead, holding her hair to the sides of her tanned face.
"Yes, I am Yuna." The young, honey brown haired summoner strode forward and did her usual polite bow.
"I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights." The red haired, tanned skinned rider spoke proudly.
"And I'm Elma. We've been charged to guard the Highroad." The second rider stated, also with a bit of pride in her voice. She had mid length brunet hair with a rather wide brown leather like band wrapping around her forehead with two little strings of beads dangling off. Unlike her superior, Elma had light skin and had more of a short skirt like garment attached to the rest of her red clothes instead of a green one piece bathing suit under her attire.
"There have been reports of a large fiend appearing in this area, with a taste for chocobos." Lucil said, drawing odd looks from everyone. "Do take care, Summoner Yuna, if you are to rent any chocobos." She warned.
"Thank you. We will be careful." Yuna said softly and politely as she made the gestures for the Yevon prayer.
"Good. We should get back to our rounds. Farewell." Lucil said before motioning for her squad to get back to making their rounds to ensure the highroad is safe.
"A large fiend..." Tidus restated. "…let's go get him!" She shouted to the whole group.
"Why?" Auron queried in his usual quick and short manner.
"It's the right thing to do." Tidus declared, drawing a slight laugh from the ancient guardian. "What'd I say now?" The blonde blitz ace inquired angrily.
"Jecht said that a lot, too. And every time he said it, it meant trouble for Braska and me." Auron elaborated on the reasoning behind his laughter.
"I agree with Tidus." Lauren stepped in, after not saying much since the beginning of their trek down the Mi'ihen highroad. "I think we should go and get it so that no one else has to suffer because of it. I mean, we got the means to do it, all we need now is to find the thing and end its reign of terror."
"Lauren has a very good point." Yuna backed her friend up. "I say let's destroy it to protect the people on this highroad." The young summoner turned to face all of her friends. "Is everyone alright with that?" Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri nodded. "Sir Auron?"
"As you wish." He stated briefly.
After their deliberation, the group moved on down the extensive Mi'ihen highroad once again. As they proceeded down the highroad they came upon a little girl and her mother. Yuna talked with the little girl and the mother about something called the calm that both Tidus and Lauren seemed a little more then lost on. The little girl skipped off after conversing with Yuna, her mother following closely behind her.
"So, what is the 'calm' that you were talking about with the girl and her mother?" Lauren broke the silence that followed the retreat of the little girl and her mother.
"The Calm is a time of peace. It comes after a summoner defeats Sin, and lasts until Sin reappears." Lulu explained from her relaxed spot near Yuna.
"I see…" Lauren trailed off. "But if Sin just comes back, is it really worth it to go through all this hassle with the pilgrimage and so on?" The blonde teen inquired.
"Don't say it isn't worth it... Because it is." Yuna sounded like Lauren had just killed all hope in Spira, yet she was determined that there was still some hope left.
"Okay, no reason to get all defensive like that Yuna." Lauren said calmly. "I was just asking what the point in it exactly is if Sin just comes back after ten years and then another summoner has to go through the same thing as the previous." She walked up to Yuna and placed her right hand on the summoner's left shoulder comfortingly. "Remember Yuna, I'm on your side."
"The whole reason for the pilgrimage is for summoners to get the final aeon and defeat Sin to bring on the ten year calm. Bringing the calm is the most important thing that I can do with my life. To help others and bring happiness, even for just ten years, is still worth it all and will bring meaning to my life. I will have felt like I have done something for all the peoples of Spira, like my father before me. Everyone regards him as a great hero but I'm not just in it to be just like my father, I'm in it to help people. Defeating Sin is all I can do and I hope to accomplish that soon with all your help." Yuna finished up a little speech, barely visible tears rolling down her face from her bi-colored eyes.
"Yuna…" Lauren looked into the summoner's eyes. "I will do all I can to ensure that you finish your pilgrimage and defeat Sin to bring the calm." Lauren unsheathed her katana and held it out in one hand. "Besides, I am getting a lot better at fighting fiends so I should be able to deal with them easily." She sheathed her katana.
"You still have much to learn about fighting." Auron stated bluntly, walking past the two teens.
"Sheesh Auron!" Lauren complained as the guardian strode past. "Why do you have to ruin everything?" The ancient guardian pivoted on his heel and gawked at the teen questioningly. "I was trying to cheer Yuna up and say that I was behind her all the way and you come and make it seem like I'm helpless to protect her. What's up with that!" Auron merely grunted and spun back around, carrying on strolling down the highroad.
Everyone followed after Auron rather quickly except for Lauren who hung back form a moment before catching up after her friends. They fought some fiends on this stretch of road. A few lizards and a flying fiend and two hard shelled fiends blitzed Lauren and her friends but they were hastily dealt with and were no problem at all for the group of fighters. A little later on down the highroad they came across a few familiar faces adding a cart heading towards Mushroom Rock.
"Hey, we saw the game! You guys are great!" Gatta shouted to Wakka and Tidus as they drew closer to the cart and its protectors.
"Congratulations, Wakka!" Luzzu congratulated Wakka on winning the crystal cup for Besaid. Wakka nodded his thanks right before the chocobo knights showed up to press them on with their work.
"Hey! Stop loafing around!" Elma rode up upon her armor clad chocobo with Lucil following closely behind her on another of the armor clad chocobos.
"Uh... The lady summoner and her guardians..." Gatta managed to stammer to his superior.
"This mission requires our full attention. We've no time to waste!" Lucil made it clear that they could not loiter for any amount of time or the mission would be in jeopardy. "Understood?" She asked right after she explained that they had no time to waste.
"Yes, ma'am! Apologies, ma'am!" Luzzu bowed to his superior officer and apologized for any inconveniences their stopping had inflicted on her or their mission.
"Carry on." Lucil said before motioning for her and Elma to hurry on to wherever they were headed.
"See? Keep your head down, say "sir" a lot, and you'll do fine." Luzzu told Gatta. He nodded. "Hey, Yuna. Even though Yevon rejected us...we still believe in you. That won't ever change." The red haired crusader showed Yuna his belief in her.
"Thank you, Sir Luzzu, Sir Gatta. But, you know... It's not too late for you to go back to Besaid, and..." Yuna did her usual polite little bow in front of Luzzu.
"We should be going, sir!" Gatta said to Luzzu and he nodded.
"Farwell for now Lady Yuna." Luzzu said goodbye before leading the cart the two were escorting down the road.
"I wonder what kind of mission Lucil was talking about." Lauren wondered aloud.
"We are going in the same direction, we will meet up with them and you can ask them yourself." Auron declared before leading the group once again down the dusty Mi'ihen highroad.
Even farther down the Mi'ihen highroad they met a disciple of Yevon named Shelinda. They spoke with her after a guard of the crusaders left saying something about they will defeat Sin even if they have to break the teachings. Shelinda, being the devout little follower of Yevon, was angered that they would break the teachings even if it was to rid Spira of Sin once and for all. She said that they were going to be using forbidden machina in the upcoming operation to stop Sin once and for all. She also felt helpless because none of them would listen to her for what she could only think of was because she was only a lowly acolyte. Yuna encouraged her that she wasn't worthless and instilled hope in the heart of the devout follower. Shelinda bid them farewell and said something about her being able to continue her training thanks to Yuna and left.
Lauren and her friends picked up their trail once again, which finally led them to a little Al Bhed shop with a chocobo corral stationed right next to it where people could rent chocobos. "We rest here." Auron said boldly, stopping in front of the little Al Bhed shop. Wakka's mouth dropped open and just gawked at the ancient guardian.
"But, this is an Al Bhed shop!" The orange haired blitz player whined.
"Is that a problem?" Auron turned to face the blitzer.
"They don't believe in Yevon," Wakka exclaimed. "and in Luca they... They kidnapped Yuna!" He began to walk away form the group when a firm hand grasped his left shoulder. He whiled around and batted the hand off his shoulder to see that it was Lauren's hand.
"C'mon Wakka." She said softly. "Even if they don't believe in something that you do doesn't mean that they are bad people." The blonde teen tried to make Wakka accept the Al Bhed's beliefs.
"Yeah Wakka, lighten up and just forget that they don't believe in Yevon and only think of them as other people and give them the same respects u would give anyone else." Tidus tried to calm his friends mind with some of the brightest words he had ever said so far on their trek.
"Even so, I'm not tired one bit!" He exclaimed turning back around to stroll away from the Al Bhed shop as well as his friends.
"Well I am." Auron walked off towards the door to the Al Bhed shop and opened up the metal door.
"I'm a little tired myself." Lauren said, taking off after the ancient guardian into the shop. The rest of the group followed closely behind the blonde teen, even Wakka, after much resistance.
Once inside the shop they each got a separate room and they each retreated to it to get some rest except for Kimahri, who stood guard outside Yuna's room. Lauren unlocked her room and proceeded in and took off her orange and black sweatshirt and slipped into the comfortable cotton sheets laced on the bed. She fell asleep almost instantaneously as her head rested upon the soft pillow, the sheets wrapped around her body.
That night she had a dream at she was with Brian right before he died. It played out exactly like what had really happened only this time since it was a dream she saw him actually get shot. Pain flooded through her heart and she shot up in her bed rapidly at the terrifying sights and feelings. She was breathing hard as if she had just run ten miles; cold sweat condensed on her chilled skin and dampened her clothes. "Brian!" She called out into the silent night, but quickly covered her mouth as soon as she realized where she was and what time it must have been.
She gazed around the room still stunned from her dream and listened carefully for any signs that her cry had awoke anyone. Calming down, she stood up off the bed and began to pace about the room, thinking. 'What is wrong with me? I thought I was over this. What is it about this place that keeps flooding my thoughts with images of his face and the last time we were together?' Tears began to roll down her already chilled checks, making them even colder to the touch.
A soft rapping on the door brought Lauren back out of her thoughts and back into the world around her. "Who is it?" Without a word the door slid open slowly and Auron stepped into the teen's room. "What do you want?" She asked trying to keep her voice from sounding harsh.
"We train." The ancient guardian said bluntly, plucking Lauren's katana from its resting position up against the wall next to the door and tossing it to her.
Lauren caught the katana awkwardly and gazed at the guardian inquisitively. "Do you know what time it is? And why I'm I the only one that needs to train? Tidus seems like he needs it more than I do." The blonde teenager protested.
"You are not ready for your destiny that lies ahead of you, therefore you must train. You are lucky that I am doing this at all, usually I charge for lessons, but I must do this." Auron explained leaving some key information out of his explanation. "Now, come." He strode out of the door leaving Lauren to gawk after him for a moment before she finally gave in and chased after him.
Outside behind the Al Bhed shop, Auron awaited Lauren's arrival which finally came a moment after he stopped and began waiting. "Now, try to hit me." He said calmly.
"Are you serious?" Lauren exclaimed in disbelief.
"Do it." He commanded.
"Okay, but if you get hurt then don't blame me." She rushed the ancient guardian. She brought her blade in from the side at neck level with all her strength and speed behind it. Auron simply smiled and then at the last second ducked under the blade with inconceivable skill and speed. He popped back up after Lauren's katana blade had passed over his head and looked at her disappointed.
"You will have to do better than that if you wish to hit me." He taunted taking out his massive blade. "For every attack I dodge I get to attack you and visa versa." He charged her with his massive blade dragging beside him.
"What are you doing!" Lauren hollered as Auron drew closer and closer with his colossal blade posed to strike. "Are you TRYING to kill me!" The guardian clad in the red coat grunted and continued on his charge. He brought his blade up form the ground, ripping up several feet of earth in a strait line. Lauren preformed a frontward roll that allowed her to evade the oncoming blade with much ease and with time to spare.
"Seems it is your turn." Auron backed off and prepared to evade a blow from the learning teen.
Lauren reluctantly charged the ancient guardian, her katana out to her side and trained down. She leapt into the air only a few feet in front of Auron and came down upon him like a rock plummeting from the sky.
Auron sidestepped the desperate assault by Lauren allowing her blade to dig itself into the ground quite a few inches. "My turn." He took his blade up like a left handed baseball player and swung his massive blade at Lauren, who was desperately attempting to wrench her blade out of the ground. She saw the blade coming but yet could do nothing and just kneeled there, still trying to yank her katana free from the soil. At the last second Auron flipped his blade to the flat side and slowed down the momentum of his swing quite a lot. The flat side of Auron's sword smashed into Lauren's side sending her off balance and back a few feet.
Getting up slowly and rubbing her side, Lauren glared angrily at Auron. "What was that for Auron?" She gripped the hilt of her katana which had been knocked lose from the ensnarement of the soil from the guardian's blow.
"You missed." Was his only reply, shouldering his colossal blade once more and waited for Lauren to take her turn.
Lauren charged once again at the skilled guardian, her katana poised next to its sheath on the left side of her waist. She whipped out her blade from her side and brought it across her entire body in an upward right diagonal slash. Auron side stepped the blow but Lauren followed up with another slash at Auron's neck, which he also dodged with ease. She whipped the blade back around her head, blade tip pointing down, and brought it back in a downward left diagonal slash. Auron raised his blade in the path of Lauren's katana blade, stopping it in mid swing, sparks flashing off of the two colliding swords.
Auron managed to push back Lauren with the strength of his two muscular arms but she came back at him with another blow. She raised her katana blade back over behind her head; a pallid light began to gather around the blade, illuminating it. Auron cocked his head and opened one eye wider than usual for only a brief moment, examining Lauren and she charged up her attack. She ran up at the ancient guardian and leapt up into the air a few feet above Auron and came down upon him, her katana blade radiating a vibrant pallid glow.
Auron hastily raised his massive blade in front of his face and placed his left hand of the flat side of the blade for extra support. Lauren came down upon him with intense speed and momentum from the sky with her shimmering blade over her head, ready to swing down upon her foe. Her blade smashed into Auron's and sent sparks flying every which way. The ancient guardian could feel himself being pushed back toward the Al Bhed shop and did the only thing he could do to counter the commanding blow dealt by Lauren. He pressed forward with all his strength and finally pushed the assailing blonde teen, a cracking sound ripping through the sound of the two blades grinding on each other.
Lauren flew back about ten feet through the air and smacked her head on a random rock, knocking her uncurious. Auron stood over the unconscious girl and examined his massive blade as its tip rested in the soil near his feet. "Hmmm. Maybe I took this a little too far." He noted a large crack in his blade running the entire length of the blade but then forking off near the tip. "If she can learn to harness that power… then she will be down the right path to fulfill her destiny." Auron took Lauren's katana sheath off her waist and sheathed the katana blade. Then he picked her up off the ground and placed her on his shoulder and carried her back off to her room where he left her for the night.
When she awoke, Lauren had a throbbing head ache and could not concentrate on anything at all. The room spun around in a whirl around the blonde teen and her comfortable bed placed under the window facing the Mi'ihen highroad. Within a few moments the whirling came to an abrupt halt, but her head still felt like she got hit by a train. She stumbled out into the hallway and headed for the shower room, thinking that maybe a nice warm shower may help the ache go away. She let the warm water cascade down her body; a few bruises dotted her smooth skin from the constant fiend fights as well as her training with Auron the night before.
After approximately fifteen minutes, Lauren got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her torso, running halfway down her thighs. She waltzed out through the doorway and across the hall to her room; her head ache had now subsided from her relaxing stay in the shower. As she was getting dressed a cry wafted in on the breeze through the partially cracked open window. Shortly after she head the cry for help someone rapped on the door, it was Yuna.
"Lauren, a fiend is attacking the chocobos and everyone else has gone to fight it." Lauren ran to the door after slipping on her orange and black sweatshirt and turned the knob to rush out to follow Yuna to help their friends.
Outside Lauren hurried along side Yuna, drawing her katana at the sight of the monstrous fiend that her friends were combating. It was just a massive head set upon two thick, muscular legs with arms reaching out from either side of what appeared to be shoulder pad like plates. Its mouth took up almost all of the front side of the head except for its hideous yellow eyes and its stubby nose. A chocobo had just pecked at the fiends fist that is was being carried in a scampered away down the highroad in the direction that the group was headed.
"Things here sure aren't pleasant to look at." Lauren said jokingly to Yuna as they met up with their fighting friends.
Wakka tossed his blitzball through the temperate morning air toward the chocobo eater's head. The blitzball merely ricocheted off and flew away from where Wakka stood poised to retrieve it. He ran over to where his blitzball now lay, evading constant fist pummels by the massive chocobo eating fiend's colossal fists. He finally acquired it just as the fiend whipped around one of its enormous arms right into the blitzer's side. He flew a good thirty feet and landed right in front of Lauren causing her to leap back in surprise.
"I see you finally made it…" Wakka could barely speak as he gazed up at the newly arrived blonde teenager.
"Don't worry Wakka. I'll get him for you." Lauren declared, taking off toward the gigantic chocobo eater.
The chocobo eating fiend turned all its focus on Lauren as she approached from the side. She leapt into the air to evade a fiendish blow cast close to the ground and landed on the fiend's other muscular arm. The fiend attempted to shake off its passenger but she had already made her way up on top of its head and was about to plunge her katana blade into the fiend's skull. The chocobo eater tried to reach her with its extensive arms but to no avail, they were not able to reach up atop its head. She plunger her katana into the fiend's flesh but surprisingly it merely bounced off the fiend's apparently harder than it appeared hide.
The chocobo eater, seeing no other way to get rid of its assailer even though she posed no threat, rolled forward forcing Lauren to leap off its head. The fiend quickly recovered and whirled around, swinging its massive arms to keep its attacker at a safe distance. Lauren charged the fiend and dove under its belly and began to slash away at the fiend's soft underbelly. The chocobo eater bellowed in pain and thrashed about causing Lauren to get out from under it unless she wanted to become a whole lot thinner. As soon as Lauren had rolled out from under the fiend located her and wrapped one of its fiendishly large fists around her frail body.
The fiend squeezed down upon Lauren's body with the force that Lauren had never experienced in her life and could have never imagined in her wildest dreams. She felt as though all the bones in her body were about to snap in half from the disturbingly powerful grasp of the chocobo eater. She tried in vain to wriggle free from the fiend's commanding grip but she could not budge even the smallest part of her body. She could feel the air being squeezed out of her lungs and soon began to breathe rather heavily and became lightheaded, giving her, her old head ache back.
Tidus rushed to aid his friend but he had the same problem as Lauren did for their blades were both of the same thickness. All his blows were deflected by the thick, rigid hide encasing the entire beast in a protective layer that almost nothing could permeate. Giving up all hope of saving Lauren by himself, Tidus rushed back to the rest of the group to seek aid while evading a commanding blow dealt by the chocobo eater.
Kimahri took Tidus' place in the rescue attempt of Lauren; his razor sharp spear should be more than enough to penetrate the fiend's rigid hide. The mighty Ronso ran up and thrust his forceful spear into the fiend's arm that held Lauren in the grip of its fist at the end of the long arm. The chocobo eater cried out in pain as Kimahri's spear almost went right through its arm and out the other side. The fiend's gigantic fist almost opened immediately after Kimahri thrust his spear through its arm, dropping Lauren to the ground with a soft thud.
Yuna rushed over to where Lauren lay as Kimahri battled the fiend back with the aid of Auron and Lulu casting a few spells, even though they had little or no effect on the massive beast. The young summoner trained her staff toward Lauren's body and yelled, "Cure!" Instantly the blue healing aura enveloped Lauren and she felt life rushing back into every extremity. She fluttered open her turquoise eyes to see Yuna crouched over her, staff in hand. Lauren sat up and gave a nod of gratitude which Yuna acknowledged with a nod of her own and helped the injured teen upon her feet. The two girls rushed hastily over to where their friends had been pushed back near a cliff edge and were about to be pushed over it.
Auron rushed at the chocobo eater as fast as he could, his massive sword resting upon his right shoulder the entire time. The gigantic fiend lashed out with a punch from its left arm that would have had enough force behind it to bring down the Al Bhed shop the battled near. Auron skillfully eluded the massive blow and continued on his charge after he regained his footing from the shockwave created by the punch from the fiend nailing the ground. The ancient guardian, once close enough, brought his colossal blade down upon the immense fiend's right wrist. The chocobo eater let out a wild cry of pain, but the blade did not do much damage to it for its hide was too tough for it to permeate.
Auron did a baseball slide along the dirt road right underneath the chocobo eater to evade being either eaten or smashed by one of its muscular arms. The ancient guardian hopped onto the enormous fiend's back and began to hack away at the shoulder pad like things positioned above its shoulders. The fiend let out a bellow of pain as it whirled around, catching Auron off guard and sending him to the ground, his large blade landing on top of him. He slowly eased himself up, but was struck with a commanding blow to the side of the head which sent him sailing through the air. The guardian crashed into the sign right above the entrance to the chocobo corral, snapping it in half and sending shards of splintered wood out in all directions as well as into his back.
"Yuna we can't hurt that thing. You gotta summon something." Lauren informed her friend as the two teens rushed toward where their friends were combating the massive fiend.
"Right!" Yuna nodded and went into a summon performance. She began to twirl her staff out in front of her, a small orb of fire forming in the center as she continued to twirl her staff. Then with a movement of her right hand, she guided the small sphere of red-orange flame down into the dusty road. She kneeled down, hand placed on the ground as pieces of soil began to crack and rise out of the ground. The pieces of ground ejected from the ground, shooting Yuna up into the azure sky, a massive orb of fire with something inside held the fragments of earth in the air. The creature within the flame sphere spun around and disbanded the sphere of red-orange flame around it with a mighty outburst with its powerful arms. The creature fell through the air, catching Yuna upon its right shoulder as it fell, and landed on the ground with a loud thud behind the chocobo eater.
Ifrit let out a grand roar, letting Yuna down from its shoulder, which drew the attention of the chocobo eater away from the rest of the group. Ifrit flashed its mighty black claws before leaping into the air at the huge chocobo eater. The aeon brought its massive claws down upon the chocobo eater's face, ripping deep gashes into the fiend's though as nails flesh. The fiend let out a cry of intense pain and lashed out at the aeon with a barrage of devastating punches while trying to devour Ifrit with its colossal jaws. The agile fire aeon evaded every single blow dealt by the chocobo eater except for its last punch that sent Ifrit sailing through the air but the aeon hastily did a back flip and landed while skidding backward on his claws.
"Ifrit, Meteor Strike!" Yuna called to her newest aeon. The fire aeon complied and began to create a sphere of pure red-orange fire in front of its massive jaws with its arm cocked back to strike it like a volleyball. Ifrit leaned back away from the orb of pure fire gathering in front of his face and prepared to slap it into the chocobo eater's face. The fire aeon finally slapped it with its poised claw and sent it sailing through the air toward the mammoth fiend's face, right at its mouth. The orb of red-orange fire soared through the azure morning sky and smashed into the fiend's face with a deafening crackle as the fiend's flesh began to be singed off. The collision sent the chocobo eater onto its back and waving its arms around in sheer confusion and panic.
"Now is our chance! Strike it when it's down!" Auron commanded to the entire group, taking the lead in the charge against the fiend.
Tidus reached the incapacitated chocobo eater first, being the fastest, and began to slash away at the fiend's supple underbelly. The fiend let out vociferous cried of pain as brotherhood sunk into its supple underside flesh. He drove brotherhood's blade into the fiend's right thigh in an attempt to make it not be able to walk if it ever got back upright. He wrenched brotherhood out of the open wound, crimson colored blood dripping off the edges of the blade, and continued his assault on the fiend's exposed underside.
Lulu tried to aid her friend from a distance with her magic but it seemed like every spell in her arsenal did little if any damage to the immense fiend. She first tried a fire spell, seeing Ifrit knock it over and singing its skin made her think that maybe it had some kind of weakness toward fire. The spell merely struck the chocobo eater's underbelly and did not do anything to aid her friends in dispatching the fiend. Then she tried a lightning spell to see if maybe it had some sort of weakness toward that element. The bolt of superheated lightning flew into the chocobo eater's flesh and simply bounced off regardless of the fact that she assailed its weak side. Then she tried a water element spell but that also had no effect on the massive fiend for its hide was too rigid. Finally she attempted a blizzard spell, which she carefully aimed at the wound Tidus had put into the fiend's right thigh. The spell struck the fiend square in the wound and began to freeze the flesh it came into contact with inside the wound.
The chocobo eater somehow managed to fend off its assailants with its muscular arms and began to rock back and froth trying to get back upon its feet. Lauren rushed at the massive fiend but it was too late, it had already gotten back upon its barrel like legs and was lumbering toward her. She continued to charge at the fiend just as she had done near the beginning of the encounter. The chocobo eater lashed out with its right arm as it stumbled with its frozen and wounded leg, giving Lauren somewhat of an advantage because it could not move as fast. She sidestepped the punch and flashed her katana blade in between the knuckles on the fiend's fist that had just missed her. Her blade surprisingly dug into the fiend's flesh causing it top come to an abrupt halt right next to her.
The chocobo eater now seemed as though all the numerous wounds were finally catching up with it. Its movements were slowed down and were growing slower with every passing moment, its frozen over leg dragging along the ground. Lauren took full advantage of the fiend's slowing down and leapt up onto head and began to stab at one of its glowering yellow eyes. Her katana blade sank into the chocobo eater's left eye causing it to go into a state of confusion, panic, and pain. It thrashed about randomly trying to topple its assailer off its back and finally succeeded after thrashing around for a moment Lauren was flung off its back. The gigantic fiend finally focused its attention on Lauren instead of its pain and poised an enormous fist right above the toppled teen. Right before the chocobo eater flung its devastating fist down at Lauren a blitzball covered in a sheet of clear ice flew overhead and went right down the fiend's throat.
Lauren looked up over her shoulder while the chocobo eater gagged on the blitzball to see Wakka finally standing after his initial contact with the fiend. "Miss me?" He joked coming over to help Lauren to her feet.
"Thanks Wakka." She said as he helped her to her feet and away from the gagging fiend.
"Anytime, ya?" The chocobo eater finally spit the icy blitzball out of it throat and was about to charge down the two teens.
Kimahri lunged forward, spear out in front, and impaled the chocobo eater right before it got within range to attack Lauren and Wakka. The spear sank into the fiend's flesh but not very far, only about a foot, but that was enough to stop it form continuing after Lauren and Wakka. Kimahri stared down the fiend as it prepared to launch an attack at the mighty Ronso but when it flung a devastating first at the Ronso he wrenched his spear out of its flesh and eluded the blow. He plunged his spear into the same wound that he had inflicted earlier when rescuing Lauren causing the fiend to drop its right arm tot the ground from all the pain.
With one of its arms incapacitated, Kimahri took to slashing up the fiend while still evading its one good arm. He plunged his mighty spear into the fiend's right and only remaining eye with a sickening squish as the eye popped out of its socket and landed on the ground near Kimahri. Now blinded, the fiend was not much of treat: however, none of the group could easily dispatch the fiend so Yuna had Ifrit deal with the pathetic fiend.
Ifrit leapt up into the air and began to charge up an enormous fireball right on the end of his snout. He fired the sphere of pure fire right into the chocobo eater, singing even more of the fiend's flesh than the meteor strike had. A plume of fire shot up from the ground where the sphere struck the chocobo eater and it was sent up, floating in the middle of a newly created sphere of floating fire. The fire aeon landed, skidding along the ground away from the fiend and tearing long claw marks into the soil. The aeon then dug into the ground and ripped up a massive piece of earth shaped like a jagged rectangle and heaved it at the floating chocobo eater. The piece of earth struck the fiend in the sphere of flame causing it to explode and send the fiend careening into the ground. It smashed into the earth near a cliff and was sent tumbling over the edge as it cracked from the force of the chocobo eater striking it.
Yuna disbanded Ifrit after he had disposed of the chocobo eater and walked over to where the rest of her friends gathered near the entrance to the Al Bhed shop. "What's the matter with you Yuna?" Lauren queried as the young summoner got near to her. "You look really worn out."
"She is tired 'cuz she hasn't summoned that much so when she does it takes a lot out of her, ya know?" Wakka said as Yuna finally stopped in front of her guardians, a sweat drop making its was down her face.
An Al Bhed man with long blonde hair and dressed in an off white shirt came waltzing out of the shop and addressed the group. "Have you an interest in renting some chocobos?" Rin inquired in his polite voice. "As a token of our gratitude, the first time is free of charge. Please ask the attendant, if you wish to rent." He showed them to the chocobo corral.
The chocobo attendant lady stood at the gate to the chocobo corral and smiled as Lauren and her friends approached. "Thank you so much for saving the chocobos!" She thanked them excitedly.
"We'd like to rent some chocobos." Yuna spoke for the entire group.
"Alright. Right this way." The chocobo attendant led the seven of them into the corral and showed them each to their own chocobo.
"Whoa! How am I supposed to ride this thing?" Lauren exclaimed as she was shown to her chocobo.
"Get on its back and ride it." Auron stated sarcastically.
"That's not what I meant. I mean I have no skills at riding anything, let alone a six foot chicken" She complained as she attempted to mount the chocobo. The chocobo stayed still, much to her surprise and delight, but she still couldn't get onto its back and stay put. Finally after trying to mount the chocobo for approximately five minutes she finally got her leg over the thing and perched herself in the saddle. "Finally!" She declared as the rest of her friends began to file out of the corral. She followed closely behind but did not try for a speed record for she still could not stay on top of the chocobo very easily.
After ridding down a long winding road with a wooden bridge near the start, Lauren and her friends finally find themselves at a gate guarded by crusaders. Talking to one of the guards is Donna from back on Kilika. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a summoner!" The black haired, scantily clad summoner exclaimed.
"Sorry, ma'am! No exceptions!" The guard refused her passage, regretfully.
"You dare impede a summoner's pilgrimage?" She queried trying to strike the guard's morals and beliefs but to no avail.
"Sorry, ma'am! No exceptions!" He repeated.
"Useless!" Donna shouted at the guard and turned toward Lauren and her friends.
"Oh, it's you." Donna greeted the seven companions. "As you can see, not even summoners can pass. But they'll call on us in the end. Just wait and see. In the meantime, I think I'll have a nap. Oh, Barthello?" Barthello rushed over to Donna's side and prepared to leave.
"But why won't they let anyone pass?" Lauren inquired.
"Who knows who cares? All I know is that they are impeding my pilgrimage which goes against the teachings. But for now, like I said, I'll go have a nap." She waved for Barthello to follow her and stormed off.
As Donna fazed out of view a large cart drawn by chocobos guarded by two crusaders came up the highroad toward the gate. "Gatta and Luzzu reporting, sir!" The familiar voice of the young crusader rang out through the air.
"This is the last of them." Luzzu told the guard.
"Good to have you with us. Go on through!" The guard ushered them through the checkpoint and onto Mushroom Rock road.
In the back of the cart the cloth stretched over it was absent and Lauren gazed in to see a fiend behind the bars that surrounded the cage. "What is that!" The blonde teen hollered at the sight of the fiend.
"That's a Sinspawn, didn't they tell you? We're bringing sinspawn from all over Spira here. Sinspawn inevitably draw Sin, right?" Everyone but Lauren nodded. "We're going to lure it into a trap!" The guard expressed great enthusiasm and pride of their operation.
"But how are you going to defeat Sin? It's so big and I thought nothing could really defeat it except for summoners." Lauren questioned in mass confusion.
"We have an alliance with the Al Bhed here. With their firepower and our military strength we should be able to defeat Sin once and for all!" The guard explained their current situation.
"What! You're using the forbidden machina and you're allies with the Al Bhed!" Wakka voiced his anger at both the Al Bhed and the crusaders.
"Wakka! Calm down, remember our little talk back at Rin's?" Lauren placed a hand on the blitzer's shoulder.
"But…but…" The orange haired blitzer stammered.
"C'mon Wakka, it's alright. We already said that they are people like you and I and that even if they have different religious views they are still people that have the right to be treated with respect." Lauren attempted to calm her friend down but it was all in vain.
"You don't know the half of it!" Wakka shouted at the blonde teen and stormed off away from the crusader's checkpoint.
"Hey Wakka! Come back!" Lauren hollered as her friend ignored her and continued away from her. "What's Wakka's problem with the Al Bhed?"
"When Wakka's brother, Chappu, went off to join the crusaders he made that sword that Tidus now has for his brother to use, but when he went to give it to him Chappu declined it and used an Al Bhed weapon instead." Lulu explained.
"Oh…" Lauren gazed off in the direction Wakka had gone. "So that's all? I guess that sword must mean a lot to him for him to get all upset like this."
A few moments later Wakka returned to the group in silence. After the group sat around a while, Maester Seymour came up the road toward the checkpoint with his Guado escorts. "So we meet again, Lady Yuna." His eerily soft voice made the hair on the back of Lauren's neck stand straight.
"Y-Yes?" Yuna stammered.
"You look troubled. Is there anything I can do?" Seymour questioned the young summoner. Her silence answered his question. He walked over to the guard.
"Maester Seymour. Let me show you to the command center." The guard greeted the Maester.
"Hold, I have a request." The guard gawked at Seymour questioningly. "I need to have Summoner Yuna and her guardians let through to the command center." He glanced back at Yuna with an eerie smile that made Lauren's stomach turn.
"But, Maester Seymour, sir." The guard agued.
"Do not worry, I will take full responsibility." The Maester dismissed all worries of the guard. The guard nodded in acceptance and stood to the side to allow Seymour and the rest proceed to the command center. "It is done." Seymour said to Yuna as he walked back toward her and her friends.
"Thank you. Your grace." Yuna bowed and then did a Yevon prayer. Seymour returned the prayer and when he rose, something in Lauren's pocket caught his eye. It was a golden chain that was barely draped over the edge of her jean pocket. A creepy smile stretched across his face as he continued his ascent upward till he met Lauren's questioning eyes. His smile instantly vanished after he realized that she was staring at him with the utmost curiosity. He waved to his escorts and they took off through the gate and onward toward the command center stationed at the top of Mushroom Rock road.
The group began to move onward to follow Maester Seymour but Lauren stayed behind pondering why Seymour looked at her that way. "Lauren, is something the matter?" Yuna turned to face the blonde and strolled back to stand before her.
"I don't know… I just didn't like the way Seymour looked at me." Lauren said drawing a very confused look from Yuna. "He had a smile on his face that was so creepy it made my skin craw and he was looking directly at me."
"I didn't see him smile or look at you." Yuna admitted. "But I'm sure he didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. After all, he's a Maester of Yevon." The young summoner tried to subdue Lauren's fears.
"I guess…"
"Yuna, Lauren! Let's get going!" Tidus hollered back to the two teens as he and the others were about to pass through the gate. The two hurried along after him and the others.
On the other side of the checkpoint, a guard stood and then began to speak, "All hail Maester Seymour!" And with that Seymour came literally out of nowhere and stood before all the crusaders gathered around and Lauren and her fiends.
"Brave Crusaders of Spira, protectors of all Spira. Believe in the path you have chosen, let faith be your strength! I, Seymour Guado, Maester of Yevon, will bear your witness to your deeds today." The crowd shot up a round of excited applause and shouts.
"What's going on? Why's Maester Seymour backing the Crusaders, eh?" Wakka finally broke his silence due to his complete outrage at the current situation. "They're violating the teachings!"
"Even going against the teachings they're willing to risk it for the greater good." Yuna turned to her distressed friend. "Wakka, I think Maester Seymour sees that, too."
"Ah, Sir Auron. It is an honor." Seymour waltzed over to the ancient guardian, finally realizing him fully. "I would be most interested in hearing what you've been doing these past ten years." Auron looked at him oddly.
"I've got nothing to say about it." Auron said defiantly and walked off away from the group.
"I...see. Sir Auron must be a great asset as a guardian." Seymour looked after the ancient guardian.
"Your Grace!" Yuna got his attention.
"Please, there's no need for formalities." Seymour walked over to stand in front of Yuna.
"Excuse me... Maester Seymour? Why is your Lordship...presently...present here...sir?" Wakka managed to stutter to the Guado Maester.
"Please, speak as you normally would."
"Uh. Isn't this operation again the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you gonna stop them?" Wakka awaited the Maester's answer intently.
"It's true... I should. However... Both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira. This Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share. Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure. And I, Seymour Guado-the person, not the maester of Yevon... As a denizen of Spira, I wish them well in their endeavor." Seymour explained his reasoning for not stopping them as well as being present.
"But, using machina... That's bad, isn't it?" Wakka still continued his argument.
"Pretend you didn't see them." Seymour said staring right at Wakka.
"Beg your pardon, but that's not something a maester should say!" Wakka exclaimed while staring at the Maester in disbelief.
"Then, pretend I didn't say it." Wakka seemed to be very outraged at the Maester's disregard for keeping the teachings of Yevon upheld in this operation.
"See Wakka, even the Maesters think that what they are doing here outweighs the fact that they are using forbidden machina." Lauren told her orange haired blitzer friend. 'Even if he is really, really creepy!' She thought to herself while looking over the Maester of Yevon.
Maester Seymour left the group to proceed onto the command center after Wakka's little outburst. Soon Lauren and her friends moved along to proceed to the Djose temple but were blocked off by Clasko, the third person in the chocobo knights that they had met earlier but had remained silent. He said that Seymour had requested Yuna's presence at the command center and said that they had to take the long way around because they were not quite done with the preparations on the other road.
So they took the other, longer road up to the command center. As they entered the new road a guard warned them about fiends being on the road and that they should take extreme care while crossing. Yuna thanked the female guard and led the group onto a strange symbol that then proceed to rise up out of the ground, producing a platform that moved them up to a higher level. The road they were forced to take was a extensive one, but nothing compared to the Mi'ihen highroad, and snaked along from side to side with some platforms of different elevations.
The fiends that the seven companions encountered were nothing much of mere annoyances. That is except for the fiends that looked like abnormal plants with mouths and were red colored. These fiends shook their large leaves sending a cloud of pollen toward that group that put them to sleep once breathed in. One by one, they would eventually wake after several moments and then they would destroy the fiends rather hastily. Finally they reached the end of the tail and rose up on another of those strange platforms that they had used when they first entered the trail. Upon the ledge of the upper most landing stood Gatta and Luzzu and they were apparently arguing about something.
Gatta was put on command center guard instead of being sent to the front lines for the oncoming confrontation with Sin like Luzzu. Luzzu told him that guarding the command center was just as important as battling Sin in the main confrontation but Gatta still felt that he was missing out on all the action. Finally he gave into Luzzu's constant reassuring and hurried off down the road that Lauren and her friends were just about to take to the command center.
"Gatta deserves better..." Tidus said as they drew close enough to Luzzu for him to hear. The crusader looked up at Tidus and gave him an odd look.
"At least there's no chance he'll get hurt." Wakka reassured, turning to Luzzu. "Why are you guys fighting, anyway? Aren't the almighty Al Bhed machina enough?" He mocked the sacrilegious weapons.
"They still need some time to get them ready. Our job is to keep Sin at bay till they're done." Luzzu explained. Wakka seemed to get very annoyed at Luzzu. "Wakka... I might not get another chance to say this. It's about your brother." Lulu mouthed the words 'Luzzu, no' but it was too late and nothing could stop him anyway. "I'm the one who convinced him...to enlist." Wakka's jaw dropped until the rage building within him came to the surface and he punched Luzzu in the face casting him to the ground.
Wakka loomed over Luzzu as if the punch wasn't enough to relieve his anger and he was about to do something more drastic. "Wakka! Stop!" Lauren grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around to stare her straight in the eye. "There's no point in hurting Luzzu. The past is the past and it's done and over with and there is no way to change it."
Wakka just stood there and stared down at the ground. "When we used to play blitz together, Chappu used to say... He'd say that- when we won the Cup, ya?-he'd propose to Lulu. And then one day... goes off and becomes a Crusader. Just like that."
"Chappu also said to me... That being with your girl is good... But keeping Sin far away from her is better." The red haired crusader told Wakka of his brother's feelings.
Wakka stared at Lulu questioningly but before she could say anymore Lucil appeared riding her chocobo. "All Crusaders in the vanguard are to assemble on the beach!" She ordered.
"That's my cue!" Luzzu began to head for the beach but Wakka stopped him.
"Luzzu! Don't die out there." The orange haired blitzer hollered at the red haired crusade.
"So you can hit me more?"
"Lots! Lots more!" Luzzu and Wakka smiled at each other and then he turned back to getting to the beach but Yuna blocked his path.
"Sir Luzzu, please! Please, don't go!" Yuna begged the crusader not to go and battle Sin head on.
"Let him go. The man has already chosen his path... as you did when you became a summoner." Auron commanded. Yuna obliged and moved to the side allowing Luzzu to pass.
"What does Yuna choosing to be a summoner have to do with a life or death situation?" Lauren queried curiously looking out over the blank faces of her friends except for Tidus, who was apparently wondering the same thing. "What's the matter? Why aren't you saying anything?" She complained but still no one responded.
"We must hurry to the command post." Auron finally broke the silence and strode over to the huge elevator that would carry them to the upper level where the command center resided.
Once upon the upper level, the seven companions moved along the trail toward the command center. Lining the ledge of the level were about ten or more Al Bhed cannons which Wakka proceed to go over to and kick one of them, stubbing his toe. After that they continued on until they came upon the command post with Gatta stationed outside.
"Just doing what they say? It just won't be enough." He muttered as the group arrives at the command center.
"Guarding the command center is important too, you know? Besides, it was an order from a superior officer and it will keep you out of harms way." Lauren tried to reassure Gatta as he continued to look depressed.
"I gotta show Luzzu what I can do. So I'll stay here and do as I was told. It's the right thing to do." Lauren smiled happily at the young crusader as he dove deep into thought.
"Well, let's head in." Lauren led everyone into the command center that was blocked off by a wall of tent like material.
Inside they met up with another Maester of Yevon. "I'd heard from Seymour, but I didn't know if we'd actually meet." Maester Kinoc greeted his quests. "Good to see you, Auron! Ten years, isn't it?" The guardian nodded.
"That's Wen Kinoc, one of the Four Maesters of Yevon. He leads the warrior monks and also commands the Crusaders." Lulu explained to the two dumbfounded blonde teens.
Gatta came through the part in the tent like material to speak with Maester Kinoc. "All troops ready to move at your command, sir!" He gave a salute to the leader of the crusaders.
"Good, dismissed." Kinoc waved Gatta away, the young man giving another salute before running off back to his post.
Kinoc turned to where Auron was resting up against a post on the wall. "Tell me, Auron. Where have you been to last ten years?" Everyone seemed to be wondering about Auron's past ten years and it struck Lauren as odd, very odd.
"We don't have time for this now, do we?" Auron said bluntly, skillfully eluding the question at hand.
"This plan won't work, you know that. We'll just let them dream a little longer." Kinoc sounded as if he wanted the crusaders and Al Bhed alike to die.
"What!" Lauren exclaimed but what cut off when Seymour entered the command center.
"Lord Kinoc..." Seymour's eerie voice didn't seem to have any effect on the Maester.
"Oh, yes. Proceed." The two Maesters began to walk off toward the cliff to gaze out over the whole scene.
"That Kinoc, a maester?" Auron wondered aloud.
"I heard that, Auron. A lot has happened the last ten years. What were you doing, and where?" Kinoc questioned Auron once again about his past ten years.
"Fulfilling a promise I made to a friend. I still am." Auron simply replied.
"Just tell me one thing: Have you seen Zanarkand?" Auron disregarded Maester Kinoc's question.
"I kinda...think we don't belong here." Yuna admitted while staring around at the entire scene. After a while, Yuna questioned one of the guards standing around, "Will Sin come?"
"Sin always returns for its spawn. To make sure, we're going to encourage them to call out to it." The guard replied.
"You won't have to. It'll come." Auron said bluntly.
A load noise erupted to the left of the group from a massive cage that was hoisted off the ground by a massive crane, its gate wide open. A massive tremor shook the ground that Lauren and her friends, along with the two Maesters were on. An immense fiend landed on the ground causing that tremor. It had a head and neck like a millipede that stretched down to a lager part that had two colossal legs attached to it. Two gigantic arms jutted out from the fiend's torso and acted as a shield from all physical attacks with the large had plated claws at the end of the arms. It crept over to Lauren and the rest of the group as they all drew out each of their weapons and prepared to battle the fiend.