Howdy all you folks out there in cyberspace. I watched my sister beat FFX again and I just have to say... I'm inspired again! (At least for now) And more chapters are soon to follow!
Tidus: So watching the ending really helped?
Veronia: Yes! I watched the ending film and said to myself: "That cannot happen. I will not let it happen!"
T: Alright now that you're inspired again, will you hurry up with the chapter?
V: Okay. Chapter 10 is up! Now Wakka's been found and soon another character too.
T: Who?
V: You'll find out soon enough. Now on with the chapter!
T: Legal writings?
V: Enough with the legal writings. I will never speak of any more legal writings in this fanfic!
T: Fine! Fine! -starts backing away slowly- Forget I said anything.
V: Enjoy everybody!
T: Yeah...enjoy.
Chapter 10: Overtime
"Overtime!" The announcer yelled into the microphone.
The crowds cheered louder as the game was put into overtime. The sound would have been deafening to the players if the water that surrounded them didn't muffle it.
Tidus charged forward as the ball was launched back up. He grabbed it and was just about to dodge out of the way of an expected blow when he saw something swimming past him. Something too fast to be human.
From the corner of his eye he could see what it was. It looked as though it was some type of fish covered with green scales. Its fins protruded farther from its body then and normal fish and almost looked like they were arms and legs. Four razor sharp claws were at the end of each of its webbed hands as well as having spines along the length of the tinted red fins along its back.
Tidus was just able to stop himself before slamming into the flank of the fiend.
Here!? Now!? Tidus had to start swimming away before the monsters sharp teeth found him. I don't even have a sword!
He looked back over his shoulder and saw that there were even more of the creatures and that most of them were surrounding Wakka. He couldn't defend himself without a weapon. He immediately looked down at the blitzball he still held in his hands.
Of course. It's so obvious.
He gathered his courage and started swimming back towards Wakka. One of the fiends charged at him from the side but he was able to turn and kicked it in the face. It cried out in pain as Tidus's heel slammed right into its eye.
Tidus used the force of the kick to push himself close enough for Wakka to notice him. As soon as Wakka did he threw the blitzball.
Wakka caught it and immediately started putting to good use. He threw it back out until it slammed against the head of a fiend. When it ricocheted back he through it out again and the creature cried out as it started to disintegrated into dozens of pyreflies. The pyreflies moved gracefully through the water before leaving the sphere and disappearing in the cloudy sky.
He worked tirelessly trying to defeat all of the fiends that surrounded him.
He can't do this all alone. Tidus thought as he watched Wakka take a minor hit.
Tidus heard a muffled cry in the water and turned in time to see one of the monsters chasing another blitzer. He swam over to them and slammed the fiend's side, distracting it long enough so the blitzer could escape.
There's no way I can fight without a weapon. He thought as he swam away from the stunned creature. I have to get out of here!
He moved to the closest portal that led out of the sphere without running into any of the fiends that were swimming all around. But what would he use as a weapon? There certainly weren't any swords lying around.
"Yuna." He whispered to himself. "I have to find Yuna."
He ran as fast as he could down the halls trying to find her. Looking in every room she could have been in and praying that there weren't any fiends prowling the hallways.
If I don't find her soon Wakka isn't going to be able to keep fighting. As soon as he was about to give up and go back to help Wakka in any way, even if it was just as a diversion, he ran straight into her.
"What's going on?" She asked as she pushed herself back up onto her feet.
"Fiends" Tidus answered, doing the same and breathing heavily. "They're all in the blitzball arena. We have to move quickly or they'll overtake Wakka."
"Wakka?" Yuna couldn't believe that he was actually there.
"Come on." He said while he grabbed her hand. "We have to hurry. Now where could we find anything that could be used as a weapon?"
"Weapons? How would I know? I'm just a nurse here."
Tidus hung his head down. Why did I expect her to know? He looked up to see a smile starting at the corners of her mouth.
"Follow me." She said as she led him away.
She took him to a locked door and pulled a ring of keys out of her pocket. She opened the door quickly to reveal a room filled with shelves and cardboard boxes.
"The storage room?"
Yuna just nodded and entered the room. After a minute of searching through the half open boxes she found what she was looking for.
"Here." She said as she tossed a blue orb over to him.
"What? A blitzball?" He tossed the object from one hand to the other.
"Yeah. If Wakka uses them as weapons why can't we?" She said as she picked up another ball.
"Uh, we?"
"I'm going too." She stated as she left the room. "Three fighting is better then two."
Tidus wanted to argue with her. He didn't want her going into this fight, but he also knew that she was strong enough to take care of herself.
"I can't use this!" He suddenly blurted out as he held up the blitzball.
Yuna stopped and looked back over to him. "Why not?"
"I've never used one in fighting before." It seemed to him like his answer should have been obvious.
"Well, I've seen you kick them before," She started with a smile moving onto her lips, "and I'm betting that most fiends wouldn't survive getting hit by one of your moves."
Tidus sighed, knowing he was defeated. "Fine. Let's just get going."
The both of them ran back to the arena and took a deep breath before jumping through the portal and into the water.
Tidus quickly scanned over the area for any enemies close by before moving over to Wakka.
He was hurt badly. Several large wounds spread over his arms and torso from claws and teeth. Blood oozed out of the injuries and spread through the water, attracting more fiends.
Tidus cleared a path through the creatures as fast as he could so Yuna could get to Wakka. Using both his and Wakka's blitzball, challenging but possible, he was able to keep the fiends at bay while Yuna tended to their fallen comrade.
She worked quickly to wrap the worst of his wounds and giving him potions she pulled out of her side pack. In a matter of minutes she had him conscious and ready to fight again.
Wakka's eyes opened wide in shock when he saw Yuna floating right next to him. She gave him a slight wave and thrust the blitzball she had into his arms.
First things first. She thought as she swam over to Tidus to relieve him from one of the blitzballs he was using. We have to deal with the fiends.
They fought with vigor, destroying every fiend that dared to attack them. In the midst of the fighting Yuna would alternate between taking shots at monsters, helping dress new wounds on her comrades and give out potions to those who needed them.
Tidus kicked the ball out towards another fiend and preformed the famous Jecht Shot. With one final kick the move was finished and a fiend cried out as the blitzball passed through the group of pyreflies that had created it. Four more of the monsters were gone.
Tidus started moving out to retrieve his lost ball, but two fiends came up in front of him and prevented him from going any farther.
Is there and end to them? Tidus thought as he swam back to his previous position.
He felt something lightly hit his back and he turned around to see another blitzball there floating beside him. Yuna only a few feet away and it was apparently her ball. Before he could get it back to her she was already swimming away to aid Wakka. She knew that she didn't need it, it was enough of a task just giving medical aid to the two blitzers.
Tidus heard the cry of another fish monster and dodged out of the way before the creature's claws found him. He was underneath it and slammed his heels into the creature's soft underside. He threw the ball up right after and it slammed against the base of the monster's jaw. The fiend disappeared in a burst of pyreflies and Tidus left to retrieve his weapon.
Before he could reach it though there was another cry and he turned to face another opponent. This one was too close to dodge away from and he put his guard up to take the blow.
Nothing happened though. Tidus opened his eyes to see a burst of pyreflies where the creature had once been. When enough of them had cleared away he saw another figure there with a blitzball in his hands.
"Zen!" Tidus tried to call out but it only came out came out as a strange gurgling sound.
As Zen came closer Tidus saw the boyish grin spread over his face. He was having fun with this. Tidus nodded his appreciation and moved to get his blitzball back. He felt a little safer now that he had Zen protecting his back.
Four is better then three. He thought as he destroyed another fiend.
After Zen's appearance Tidus noticed that more and more blitzers were entering the sphere. All of them were carrying blitzballs with them.
I guess Yuna forgot to lock the storage room door. Tidus thought as both teams had entered the arena.
With that many players the fiends were quickly eradicated. Some of the blitzers acted serious about this attack but most were treating it like a game. They hurled the balls back and fourth, hitting fiends in the process. It soon came to the point where someone was more likely to get hurt with a blitzball then by a fiend.
With all the monsters dealt with the chaos in the sphere gradually ended and the players slowly left. The crowds still cheered as though the fiend attack was supposed to have happened.
Guess that means that there are no other fiends around here. Tidus thought as he helped lead injured players out of the sphere. It took some time and eventually he was one of the few blitzers that were left.
He slipped back through the portal and took a deep breath of relief.
"You okay?" A voice asked from the side.
Tidus looked over and saw Zen lying down on a bench beside the portal. "Fine," he answered as he sat next to Zen. He took another deep breath and closed his eyes before he leaned back against the wall. "We weren't prepared for this, were we?"
"Not at all." Zen answered as he closed his eyes. "But I think we handled everything well enough."
Tidus opened his eyes again, remembering that he needed to talk with Wakka. "See ya later." He said as he stood back up and started down the hall.
"Hey, where're you goin'?" Zen asked as he pushed himself up onto his forearms and looked over to Tidus.
"There's someone I have to see." Tidus answered as he left.
He wandered the halls until he arrived at the medical ward. He paused when he heard Yuna and Wakka's voices and headed towards them.
"I just don't understand it." He heard Wakka say as he peeked into the room.
Wakka was sitting on a table in the center of the room, looking down towards the ground, while Yuna continued to treat his injuries.
"Neither do I." Yuna said as she unwrapped one of the bandages on his arm. "But somehow we've all known each other for quite a while."
"But it was just a dream, ya?" Wakka flinched slightly when Yuna lightly presses a cloth soaked in a healing tonic against his arm.
Yuna was silent for a moment, not knowing how to answer such a question.
"Hey, how are you guys doing?" Tidus asked as he poked his head through the door, ending Wakka's interrogation.
"Not bad." Yuna answered as she started wrapping another bandage around Wakka's arm.
Wakka flinched again. "No, not bad at all."
He looked up and saw Tidus standing there. All that had happened to him today was too much for him to take. His head was filled with a swirl of confusion, questions, doubt, and a little pain all mixed together.
"I needa drink." He stated as he jumped down from the table before Yuna had the chance to remove another one of the bandages.
She just stood there as he walked out of the room.
"Hey wait up!" Tidus called as he followed him down the hall. "I'll join you."
Wakka just looked over to him for a moment before turning his sights straight ahead again. "You're a little young to be drinking, ya?"
Tidus just smiled and followed beside him. "Doesn't mean that I can't follow along."
Wakka wanted to travel in silence, which was a strange thing for him, but Tidus, feeling that the silence was awkward, kept trying to ask questions. He was getting frustrated when Wakka would just wave the questions away, but it wasn't long before they reached one of the bars.
It was a small, out of the way place; not one Tidus was familiar with seeing. Above the double door entrance was a flickering neon sign showing the bars name.
'The Unsent'
Strange name for a bar. Tidus thought as they entered.
Even though he was only seventeen the guards still allowed him to enter without a fight. He was the star player of the Abes, of course, and people always gave him certain luxuries even when he didn't want them. There was one downside to his fame though...
"Look it's him!" A young woman cried out as he entered the bar
All of the other women in the bar rushed over and swarmed around him. Right now he was glad that Yuna wasn't with him. He wasn't sure how she would react to seeing all of these women swooning over him. He used to love the attention, but ever since he met Yuna all he wanted to do was get away from them.
After several minutes he and Wakka were finally able to fight their way through to the bar. Tidus leaned over the bar and looked around while he listened to Wakka order a hard drink.
His eyes scanned over everyone else in the bar. Some were middle-aged men hunched over their drinks while others were in such drunken stupor that they could barely bring the mugs up to their mouths without spilling nearly half of it everywhere.
Why do they keep giving these people drinks? Tidus thought as he watched the bartender serve another drink to a drunkard.
He looked back over to Wakka and saw that he was already finishing his second drink.
"Hey, slow down." He said as he placed a hand on Wakka's wrist to push his drink away from his mouth. "Don't want you to get drunk so quickly."
Wakka just shrugged his shoulders and brought his drink back up to his lips. Tidus sighed and continued his scan of the bar.
His eyes stopped at a nearly empty table in the corner. Through the crowds of people who surrounded him he thought he could make out a familiar form. Even though he wore dark glasses it was still easy to see the scar that ran over his right eye. His dark red robe blended him in with the bars stained wooden walls. He had camouflaged so well that Tidus almost didn't see him the first time.
He opened his mouth to call out to him but the best he could get was an almost inaudible whisper. "Auron?"
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V: I love suspense!
T: Does Wakka really drink like that?
V: -shrugs shoulders- Don't know... I just needed an excuse to get them into the bar.
T: Why in a bar?
V: Because my sister suggested it.... Oh! I also have to give her credit for the name of the bar. She suggested it while I was writing this chapter and I liked it so much that I put it in and told her I would give her credit.
T: Now it all makes sense!
V: For all of you diehard Wakka fans out there I just have one thing to say to you... I'm so sorry if you take offence at the way I have Wakka act. -drops down to knees- I don't know how he acts so please don't send me threatening messages if you disapprove. Please!
T: Hey, hey! Stop groveling! I don't like seeing you like this. It's so unlike you.
V: -Jumps back up- Oh! You're right! ... Well... as you all should know by now, Auron is going to be in the next chapter. Speaking of that.... -starts feverishly typing again- I haven't even STARTED the next chapter.
T: Better work quickly
V: I know... I work better under pressure. Until next time... Bye-bye! -waves one hand high above head-
T: Yeah... see you all later.
End Transmission