Hello everyone. Sorry to tell you that Tidus will not be joining us today. I let him go back home for a little while I study for tests.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Huh? Who there?!
Zen: Hey it's me! Let me in!
V: Oh, fine. –unlocks and opens door- Now, what are you doing here Zen?
Z: I came to see if Tidus was here.
V: He's not here. I told you that yesterday. Didn't you check his home first?
Z: Yeah, but all I found there was this note. –hands piece of paper to Veronia-
V: What?! Give me that! –snatches note and starts reading-
Z: Hey! Grabby, aren't you?
V: Oh-no! He's been kidnapped! –starts running around in hysterics- What am I going do!? What am I going to do!? What am I going to do!?
Z: Calm down. Please. I'm sure he'll come back eventually. Beside, you have me here.
V: -pauses for a moment- What am I going to do!? What am I going to do!? What am I going to do!? –starts running around again-
Z: -sighs- might as well get started with the Chapter 18. I haven't read it yet but I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 18: Rikku to the RescueIt was just passed dawn when the group woke up to learn that Tidus was gone from the cell.
"Where do you think he is?" Zen asked as he looked out through the metal gate that closed off the opening of the small cave. From the tone of his voice it was clear to the other two that he was truly concerned for his friend.
"I'm sure he'll be alright." Wakka said as he moved beside the fellow blitzball player.
"He's probably been taken off to be interrogated." Auron suggested. "There isn't anything we can do right now."
Zen moved away from the metal bars and started pacing all around the small area.
"Hey, he'll be alright." Wakka said to try and calm Zen down.
"You can't predict something like that." Zen argued. "Especially with a person like Tidus. You haven't known him for as long as I have. How can you know something like that?"
"I've seen him get through stuff tougher then this." Wakka said. "He'll be alright."
"And I've known him longer then you." Auron said to Zen. "Believe us when we tell you that he'll be alright."
Zen just sighed loudly and dropped down heavily into one of the few piles of dead grasses.
Barely a moment later the gate slowly started lifting up and a Ronso slipped in and tossed Tidus down to the ground. Zen rushed up and started running towards his best friend but the point of a lance prevented him from getting over to him. The Ronso slowly moved backwards until he was out of the cell and the gate was dropped back down again.
"Hey, Tidus! Are you alright." Zen asked as he knelt down beside his teammate.
"Yeah, I think so." Tidus whispered as he pushed himself up onto his knees and brought a hand up to his head.
"You don't look so good." Zen said as he helped support Tidus on his feet. "Maybe you should lie down."
Tidus slowly nodded his head and walked as well as he could as his friend directed him in the direction of the nearest place to sleep.
"I'll be fine." Tidus said as he tried to assure his friend. "I just need a little sleep."
Zen forced a slight smile on his face even though he doubted that what Tidus said was true. It looked like the blitzball player would need a little more then just sleep. His left eye was blackened and swollen mostly shut. There were several cuts along his arms and legs; most of which seemed to have just stopped bleeding.
"What happened to you?" Zen asked as he helped lay Tidus down on the bed of dead grass.
"Let's just say that I learned the not so subtle arts of Ronso questioning." Tidus answered as he settled down to try and get some rest. "Next time they want to question someone, I nominate Auron."
"Why? What happened?" Wakka asked as he sat crossed legged on the ground beside Tidus.
"After keeping me up all night, they asked me all these questions that were impossible for me to answer."
"Is that why you're in such lousy condition?"
"Yeah." Tidus said as he closed his eyes. "It appears that Garik gets angry when his questions aren't answered."
"I can believe that." Auron stated as he wandered over to the metal gate.
"Hey, Auron," Tidus started as he lifted his head and looked over at the silent warrior, "How did you know about those paths through the mountains?"
Auron turned around to look at the injured blitzer. "Why?" It was clear from his tone that he didn't want to answer the question.
"That's what they asked me about mostly during the questioning. 'How did you know about the hidden paths?' They wouldn't shut up about them. I told them I didn't know what they were talking about but they didn't believe me."
Auron walked over to the rest of the group and looked down at Tidus. "You should get some rest."
"But you haven't answered my question." Tidus argued.
"I'll tell you about it later." Auron stated. "Right now you need to get some sleep."
"Alright, alright." Tidus mumbled as he dropped his head back down.
Auron was right; he did need sleep. He had been forcing his eyelids to stay open but now started relaxing a bit and slowly allowed his eyes to close. He wanted to rest but he wasn't going to leave himself unprotected by relaxing too much. His weariness caught up to him though and, before he even realized it, he drifted off to sleep.
"What are we going to do? What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" Rikku repeated over and over as she paced the perimeter of the cell.
"Just relax." Yuna said as she watched the drifting snow through the metal gate. "There isn't anything we can do right now. Just sit down and try to save your strengths."
"I can't relax." Rikku stated as she moved up to the gate and took a hold of the bars. "Thieves don't do well trapped in cells."
"Calm down." Yuna said again when Rikku almost stepped on her. "If you just stopped to think, you would have a better chance at finding a way to escape."
Rikku just sighed and crouched down in front of the gate, her fingers still clutching at the cold metal bars. Rikku wasn't really the type to think up escape plans so her mind started to wander as she looked out over the snow covered lands. Her attention was grabbed, however, when she noticed something that could barely bee seen in the coming sunlight. It was mostly covered by drifting snow so only Rikku's keen thief-like eyes were able to spot it. As she looked harder at it she was able to figure out that it was a precious stone.
"Ooo, treasure." Rikku said as she reached through the bars to try and grab a hold of it.
It was too far out of her reach. That wouldn't stop Rikku from grabbing her treasure though. She stretched her arm out as far as she could but she still couldn't reach. With a little bit of effort, she managed to slip her head, and then he shoulders through.
"Ah-ha! Got it!" Rikku said when she had the illusive gem in her hand.
"Rikku!" Yuna cried out when she saw that her companion was over halfway out of the cell.
"What?" Rikku asked with a little panic in her voice.
She seemed to be more concerned that there may be a Ronso hidden somewhere close by then by the discovery that was made. She started trying to squeeze back into the cell when Yuna told her to stop.
"Rikku, you can get out of the cell and try to find a way to get me out." Yuna explained.
Rikku caught on quickly and slipped the rest of the way out of her prison.
"Don't worry Yunie." Rikku said as she looked back into the cell. "I'll get you out of there faster then you can imagine. I promise."
Rikku slipped away from the gate and started examining the design of the gates mechanics. It was pretty simple. The gate was attached to a chain which moved up and over a pulley system. If she could find a way to pull the chain then she would be able to free Yuna.
She walked over to the chain, which was thicker then her arm, and took a hold of it. She pulled at it with all of her strength but only managed to lift herself up off the ground.
"Well that didn't work." Rikku whispered as she dropped back down.
It wasn't much of a surprise to her though. It had taken over five Ronsos to lift the gate up. There was no possible way she would be able to do it by herself. Maybe there was something around that was heavy enough to lift the gate.
After scanning around the area she looked up to the cliff that the cave cell was in. Maybe there was something up there that she could use. All it meant was that she would have to carry the enormous chain up the side of the cliff.
Rikku groaned at the prospect but was determined to help Yuna. She draped the end of the chain over her shoulder and started the long climb up.
Even with the heavy chain over her shoulder, she was able to climb up the steep cliff side with amazing speed. The only times she had to stop were when a handhold above her was out of her reach and she had to change her course up the side of the cliff.
She collapsed onto the cold stone after finishing her climb and scanned over the flatter landscape for anything that could help.
She spotted it almost immediately. Just a few feet away there was an enormous boulder that could be used. She stood back up and wandered over to the rock. It stood nearly a foot over her height and almost the same width. If she somehow managed to push this boulder off the ledge with the chain wrapped around then she would be able to open the gate below.
Rikku moved around the rock with the chain in her hands, making sure that it was tied around securely. After she was sure that everything was prepared she moved behind the boulder and started pushing. Even though it was over five times her weight the slick snow helped her move it. The ice and snow was also a hindrance to her though. Her feet slipped on the slippery stone and she seemed to spend the same amount of time facedown on the ground as she did pushing.
Her persistence paid off though when the boulder finally fell over the cliff edge. As the rock fell the gate shot up until it slammed into the pulley. Rikku cringed slightly, fearing that the force of the blow would destroy the mechanism and send the gate plummeting back down to the ground. She knew that she was lucky when that didn't happen and the metal gate remained up.
A wide smile spread across her face when she realized that Yuna was now free. She jumped off the edge of the cliff and took a tight hold of the thick chain she had just dropped down. She scampered down as quickly as she could and when landed on the boulder she jumped the rest of the way down to the ground and landed in front of Yuna.
"I did it Yunie!" Rikku's voice was filled with enthusiasm and pride. "Didn't I tell you I could do it?"
Yuna just smiled and nodded her head. "Come on Rikku," She said as she stared walking away, "we've got to go find the others."
Z: Oh. You finished reading faster then I though you would. Sorry, but Veronia is still hysteric.
V: –running around in hysterics- What am I going to do!? What am I going to do?! I can't write without Tidus.
Z: Why not? He's just another blitzball player.
V: But he's my muse! –breaks down crying-
Z: Get a hold of yourself! You can use me for your muse until he comes back.
V: -continues crying- No one can ever replace him!
Z: Ouch, my pride.
V: -sniff- Well, there isn't much I can do right now so I guess I should just say bye for now.
Z: Yeah, see you all later.
V: Stop trying to take Tidus's place!!
Bonk!
End Transmission