The Plan: Executed
Serenity laughed and then stood in the middle of Kai and Lucine, linking her arms with each of theirs. Looking at them now, they looked like 3 out of the 7 people from Lady Yuna's group. "Yeah, Lucine, you've been quiet lately. Maybe you're coming down with something." Serenity waved at the group with both hands still linked with the other two, and turned around, heading back toward the port. "I think I saw a merchant back there somewhere, under the second story…" Serenity commented as the group walked along the docks.
Kai smiled because it felt like the days from when he and Serenity were young and they had to go to the local market to get things that their parents ordered. He went along with Serenity and Lucine.
…
"Maybe we just scare the guards," Lhinx said, grinning enough to show her teeth. "Ronso howl like fiend howl. Both scary."
…
Silver walked into the jungle along with Lhinx and Tallulah, feeling the fresh shadow of the trees over his head. "Ok, maybe it's better if Lhinx and I stay here and climb up to the temple by the other side. You go up the stairs and start singing. That'll be our chance."
(There's another way into the temple?) Lhinx thought. (How? Elder Kimahri told me only the stairs. Maybe it has to do with the river.)
…
As they neared the local Kilika merchant, several more people had come down to the main level, hearing about the arrival of the famous songstress Tallulah and Lady Yuna's children. Serenity helped Lucine find a place to sit under the shade, for she really did some a bit off. A small group of children then crowded around Kai, all wanting him to sign their assorted blitzball items, along with a fair number of girls. Serenity shook her head and kept in her laugh, and made her way inside the little 'shop' of the Kilika merchant. The lady looked up.
"Oh, thy Lady Yuna has returned!"
Serenity abruptly stopped in her tracks then came closer to her.
"Oh, nay, beg my pardon…though, it can't be, Lady Serenity! I haven't seen you since you were a wee child. And your brother, Kai?"
Serenity laughed and squatted down in front of her crate, which she used as a table. "Oh, Kai's being bombarded by future blitzers and future wives," Serenity joked. The lady laughed as well, and Serenity smiled as she began looking through the items.
…
Kai was taken back by all the people who ran up to him. He gladly stood there signing their stuff. But he thinks to himself, Why is it that I am the only one attacked my all these people? "There you go." He says as he signs his last blitzball for a small boy. As the children leave he notices that a few of the girls didn't leave. "Um yes how can I help you?" He asks them but all he gets is giggles.
…
Serenity felt the lady staring at her, and she knew that she wanted to ask her all sorts of things. Picking up a small case of 24 potions, Serenity decided to break the tension. "Do you…know why there are so many New Yevon guards walking the docks of Kilika?" Serenity asked, looking at another case that had a mix and match of antidotes, eye drops, softs, holy water and echo screens. The woman laughed bitterly, and Serenity turned to see a couple of Yevon guards chasing a group of children as they passed by the shop.
"Darned if I know, Lady Serenity. Those Yevonites, always up to something, I tell ye."
Serenity put on a smile and nodded. A definite Youth League supporter.
"You may want to head off across the sea, to the new Youth League headquarters they built up by there."
Serenity looked back up at the merchant. "Oh, that pink building that looks like a coral?"
The woman nodded and smiled. "Yes, that's the one child. Those two are going at it like always. If Yevon is up to something, the Youth League is bound to know some odd tidbit."
Serenity nodded her thanks, and decided to take the mix-and-match of status aliment cures as well. She would have bought an accessory, too, but didn't have the money. As she pulled out her money to pay, the woman shook her head. "Please, my lady, the price is half." Serenity took the women's hand and paid in full.
"A country cannot live on half a salary, dear merchant." The woman smiled, and as Serenity stood to leave with the items, she called her one last time. "At least accept this as part of my gratitude." Serenity held out her hand as she placed a Twist Headband in her hand. It cost more than double of what she had paid for the items, but Serenity wasn't about to be rude and not accept it. "Thank you," Serenity said simply, and walked out.
As she neared Kai and Lucine, she still found him surrounded by some girls, and she looked around noticing that some more Yevon guards were approaching them. She stood close to him and whispered so they would not overhear. "A Youth League HQ is on the other side. They might know something." She glanced back around at the Yevon people. "And we might need to do something about these guards, too, especially if they're heading back to the temple."
…
"Ok, will do," Tallulah said, for the moment forgetting about her problems with Silver and Serenity and climbing upstairs. Once she got to the balcony she was stopped by one of Yevon guards.
"Fool!" Another guard yelled, "She is Lady Tallulah! At ease, men."
Tallulah looked at them and faked a smile as they gathered around her. She walked to the center of the round-shaped area and took out her mic from a small bag under her purple sarong.
"Wishing on a dream that seems far off,
Hoping it will come today.
Into the starlit night,
Foolish dreamers turn their gaze,
Waiting on a shooting star.
But...
What if that star is not to come?
Will their dreams fade to nothing?
When the horizon darkens most,
We all need to believe there is hope!
Is an Angel watching closely over me?
Can there be a guiding light I've yet to see?
I know my heart should guide me but...
There's a hole within my soul!
What will fill this emptiness inside of me?
Am I to be satisfied without knowing?
I wish then for a chance to see,
Now all I need desperately...
... Is my star to come..."
Tallulah collapsed on her knees, as the song was her favorite one but at the same time the one that made her cry a river. Her mic was a powerful one, and helped by the echoes she was sure that at least Kilika Port heard her singing the song Silver wrote for her before they took different roads.
Silver was at the edge of tears when he heard Tallulah singing the very last song he wrote for her. Taking his mask out of his bag he put it on not to show his weakness to the Ronso. "That's our cue," said Silver and began climbing the rocky path up to the temple. That way they would avoid the Yevon guards. What was a small hill for a Ronso and a Tiger Demon? Jump after jump, cliff from cliff and in a minute they were there, hiding behind a rock for as Tallulah had prevented there were four guards watching over the temple's entrance.
"We try knocking them out cold or do we scare the Hell out of them?" He asked Lhinx, getting his blitzball ready to strike if she decided it was better to put them to sleep.
…
Serenity looked up at the sound of a song, and instantly knew it was Tallulah distracting the guards. Serenity looked back down at eye level, and noticed that most, if not all, of Kilika had stood at a standstill, listening to the music. Serenity bowed her head and listened carefully as well. The song seemed to be filled with much more meaning than the one she had sung back on Besaid, for by the end of it the resonance of her crying came over distantly through the sound waves.
Serenity closed her eyes softly and turned her head away from Kai and Lucine. She knew this had to be another one of those things that bound Tallulah and Silver tightly together. He's just your guardian, Serenity. Don't think anything else. Serenity opened her eyes as the sound of running footsteps, and found that some of the people were running towards the way that led to the Temple. The Yevon supervisors yelled at some of the Yevon Guards that her begun running as well.
"Guard your posts, men!" They bellowed, and though most stayed to obey, the younger guards pretended they didn't hear and kept on running.
…I'm sure Tallulah will be able to stop them all from getting into the temple. Serenity thought. She looked back at Kai and Lucine and smiled, brushing some of her hair that had fallen onto her face. "I guess they're doing just fine. Come on, let's get going." Serenity headed for the nearest stairs and began climbing up.
…
Impressed guards that were trying to help her up soon surrounded Tallulah. She did so after a few moments, tears still rolling down her cheeks. She sobbed and tried wiping her tears off her face with her left hand. When she stood up each and every one around began clapping and cheering, some even whistling and Tallulah bowed, as a good songstress should. She then looked up at the Temple and waited, hoping Silver and the Ronso were now inside.
Tallulah tried to think of another song to buy Silver some more times but in that very moment some Yevon guards just climbed up to the balcony. "Lady Tallulah you are to be taken out of this jungle. The temple is not safe," said the one who seemed to be the leader. "I'm not going anywhere, not only this men but all of Kilika can hear me only from here and I'm in the middle of my concert."
"I'm sorry, Lady Tallulah, but it's direct orders from our Great Priest." The guard grabbed Tallulah's arm and she hit him with her staff. "Don't touch me!" The guard hit the ground hard. "I'm performing my concert with or without your so called Priest's authorization. I have no bonds with New Yevon so I don't have to follow any of your orders!" She walked to the center once again and took her mic once again.
…
"If confrontation can not be avoided, we fight," Lhinx said, pulling out her poleaxe. "Sounds like we have to fight thought." (Is he alright? His voice sounded a bit shaky…awe well.)
"You got it." Silver stood up all of sudden and threw his blitzball hard against one of the guards who were knocked out cold. As the ball returned to Silver he kicks it in the air and it knocks a second one, and before the other two could even move Silver had jumped on both of their heads and kicked them, putting them to sleep as well. "Ok, let's go in!"
Silver ran inside the temple. Not a priest inside for all of them was listening to the famous Lady Tallulah. He opened the door that led to the Cloister and waited for Lhinx at the elevator.
…
As the trio walked the decks of Kilika towards the East Side of the second port area, Serenity walked in silence, thinking. It was another one of her mother's traits that she had developed. As they walked up to the boat and the few people who stood there, looking out at the water and the Youth League, Serenity hesitated and stopped, turning to look at Kai and Lucine.
"You know…we haven't had a peaceful boat ride in all the times we've been taking it lately…and mum and dad and the others…they disappeared on a boat in the middle of the ocean, didn't they? Or something…maybe it's some kind of connection…" Serenity crossed her arms and looked towards the boat that was heading for the island Youth League headquarters. "I hope this ride's a bit tamer."
…
"Where Calix and Zephyr? Should be here by now." Lhinx said.
(Uh oh...they can't be lost...crud, we did rush through the jungle, but why didn't I find any sign of the two?)
"What's going on in here?" A voice asked from near the entrance.
The Ronso then heard footsteps behind her.
(Uh oh...)
The Ronso ran as quickly and quietly as she could to the elevator chamber.
As the elevator went down, Silver took off his scarf. "I've lived here for a long time and still never been in here," he said. "I didn't know it would be so hot inside." Silver sighed and smiled, sweating already from the humid inside the Cloister.
Lhinx wiped her forehead with her large paw like hand.
(I knew it would be warm, but this is really stretching it...)
Lhinx hated extreme heat. A lot of Ronso did as well, but the few who didn't, had trained themselves by living in Bikanel or by fight fire enemies a lot.
(If it weren't for this fire ring I'd be in trouble.) Lhinx said, remembering her accessory in her pocket. A familiar scent then caught the Ronso's nose, partially triggered by animal given instinct.
"Fiends here." Lhinx said.
"Yes... smell like ash doesn't it?" Silver sniffed the air. "Darn it, so there's another here. I haven't told the others, but on Besaid we, Serenity and I, ran into one very rare fiend inside the Chamber of the Fayth. Better be careful." He drew his gunblade as the elevator reached the bottom and to the short corridor that led into the Cloister of Trials. Nothing there yet. "Ok, here we go."
The Ronso youth looked around, her ears twitching in all directions. She sniffed the air, finding the strong odor of a fire fiend. "It's nearby, watching for us," Lhinx said, looking around.
"There are many…better be careful," Silver said, walking inside the Cloister. A sudden rush of heat got to them and Silver was almost taken aback by it. "Darn…it's so hot in here!"
…
Serenity leaned against the walls of one of the buildings. Apparently, no ship was sailing over to the island headquarters, hearing of some of the mishaps that other ships had undergone on Spira's waters. Serenity brushed her hair out of her face, and looked at Kai and Lucine. They were just as bored as she was. Without having access to the Youth League, and having already collected all the necessary items, they were stranded until the others came back from their mission.
"Oh, this is pointless. We're useless here," Serenity said, and stood up. They already took several tours around Kilika, and been followed around by a fair number of Kilika residents and Yevon guards alike. "Let's just go over to the temple and see if they need any help. Zephyr and Calix are still MIA as far as we know." And if Kilika Temple is anything like the one back at Besaid, they're going to need all the help they can get. Serenity thought, but chose not to say that aloud. With that, Serenity led the way into the forest.
…
Silver walked slowly inside of the Cloister, the heat almost unbearable. He looked around and sniffed the air. He could smell the fiends around, but he couldn't see or hear any, not even with his beyond-human senses. Step by step both of them moved deeper inside, not a sound but the smell was more intense as they approached to the Chamber of the Fayth. Finally they reached the end of the corridor and some short stone steps. By what he'd heard there used to be a firewall there.
"Ok, if this is supposed to be the fire temple why isn't there any fire?" he asked almost to himself but he was sure the Ronso could hear it. "Maybe it's a trap, though I don't think any fiend is that smart. But on the other hand that fiend Serenity and I met in Besaid wasn't as anything I've ever seen. What you think, Lhinx?" Silver turned to his friend, hoping she would tell him what she was thinking.
…
The group had stopped at one of the many crossroads. Serenity took a look down each of the three ways they could have gone. They knew the first turn to the right was a complete dead end, so that only left two. "They should really have maps for these…" Serenity mumbled. "No wonder Zephyr and Calix got lost in here…" Serenity turned and looked back at Kai and Lucine as a group of Yevon guards rushed past them, taking the road that led straight ahead. Serenity perked up and clapped her hands together then pointed straight ahead. "Well, that was easy enough! Forward march!"
…
"Yeah," Calix stated as he eyed the surroundings. "This does seem oddly familiar," he finished, constantly making sure to catch a glimpse of the Guado as he checked the surroundings.
…
Lucine followed Serenity and Kai down the forest path. So much had been going on, it felt like she had just dazed through it all. But now they were headed towards the Kilika Temple. Maybe it would help clear her mind and calm her down, although, she wasn't so sure as they got closer to the temple. She remembered hearing from her mother that this was the temple of the great fire beast, Ifrit. "Great.." She mumbled. "I hate fire."
Serenity turned to Lucine and smiled. "Really? I guess thunder's your thing, then," Serenity commented. She remembered her mother telling her about Lucine's mom, Rikku, and her fear of thunder, and how she eventually got over it. "Hey, maybe you'll get over it! You may just have to camp out in the temple for a week." Serenity giggled. The Yevon Guards they had been following took a sudden right, and Serenity had stopped again. There were, again, two other paths to follow. "Um…which way, guys? Should we continue to follow? Or maybe Zephyr and Calix are somewhere around here."…
Zephyr was getting progressively more annoyed with Calix. Why did he even come in here in the first place? What possessed him to run off alone? She didn't take the time to ask him, or to consider the fact that he was never an official part of the group in the first place. While he was turned around, trying to get his bearings, she dashed through the undergrowth towards the temple.
And about bloody time, too. She noticed that the guards were all out from some rather nasty blunt traumas. . . Silver's doing, she had little doubt. Zephyr stepped over their prone bodies without a care, shouldering her gun as she walked into the temple.
She'd been there before. It seemed different now, which didn't surprise her very much. The heat was humid, a heat one would associate with decaying flesh, not the dry feeling of flame-purged air.
The halfling smirked. Something very interesting had been at work here. With that, she stepped into the cloister. In spite of her relatively heavy clothing, the heat didn't seem to bother her.
The fires had gone out. It was about time.
…
Serenity was right. Fire was definitely not her thing. "Well," Lucine said, walking casually down the path. "I would recommend we split up and check the paths, but I think we're already split up enough. From the others, that is." She walked towards the beginning of the path that the guards had taken. Carefully she examined it, checking the leaves and dirt around the area. Then she walked over to the other path, examining it just as closely. Finally she came up with her conclusion. "Yep. I have no idea which way we should take." She gave Kai and Serenity a wide smile.
…
As Zephyr walked, she became increasingly aware of the fact that she was soon going to come upon whatever fraction of the group had come with Silver. They were such a nosy lot, really. Blaming things on Yevon immediately without the slightest consideration of other causes.
The half-Guado waited until she could hear Silver and his comrades up ahead before continuing into the chamber where the wall of fire had once burned.
…
Silver sniffed the air once again and a familiar scent came to his nose. The Guado girl, or so he thought. "Someone's coming," he told Lhinx as he turned around with his hand on his gunblade's hilt, ready. He stood quiet and steady, waiting for whomever was coming after them to appear.
Please let it be Zephyr, that will save us some time on looking for them...
…
Serenity nodded. "Yes, I believe any further splitting up is a bad idea…And rather pointless. Even if one of us found the way out, we'd be too far away from each other to even call attention to it." She watched as Lucine began studying the different paths, clasping her hands behind her and swaying to the side gently. She understood why her mother had a knack for doing it. It was quite relaxing.
"Yep. I have no idea which way we should take," Lucine said finally, giving Kai and her a huge smile.
Serenity giggled, then studied the path herself. "Well, this path here that we're on seems to be the largest one, indicating that it's a main road." Serenity moved forward a bit, motioning the other two to follow. "So I think if we shall follow it," Serenity continued as they came upon yet other crossroad, Honestly, who built this forest? She thought, and pointed to another road that led to the right, "We should end up at the steps leading to the temple!" Serenity smiled at them, and went off down the road that went to the right. "I think I can spot the stairs through the bushes!"
…
Aha, and there we have it. Motion. He was tense, probably because of her. Good lad. Maybe you're finally catching wind of how paranoid you've really got to be, in this world.
Zephyr stepped into the chamber, face glistening with beads of sweat. Still, in spite of the sweltering heat, she didn't appear at all uncomfortable.
"The fires are out," she observed, one hand on her hip, the other supporting the massive weapon on her shoulder. "It'd take more than just a fiend or two to manage that, don't you think, Silver?" The fact that the comment was directed to silver was a bit disconcerting. Zephyr's steely gray eyes seemed more intense in the dim, red light of the cloister.
…
Lucine followed Serenity, trusting she was right. As they walked forward, though, she knew Serenity had been right, because she spotted the steps of the Temple also. "Alrighty! We're finally here!" She approached the steps, looking up. There were so many! "Hey! What's up with this?" She asked, frustrated. "The Besaid Temple had, like...five steps. This one has a bazillion!"
Serenity approached the steps after Lucine, and stopped at the base of the flight of stairs, sheltering her eyes from the sun and looked up at the height of the stairs. Lucine was right. It seemed to reach up to the clouds from where she stood. "Wow…you're right. It's going to take us forever to climb these steps," Serenity sighed, and hoped that steps didn't get higher as they went from Temple to Temple. Well, suck it in, Serenity. Can't be half of what your mother and her friends are if you can't even climb the steps. "We better get started up or it'll take us all day."
…
Silver let out a sigh of relief and let go of the hilt of his gunblade. "Where were you? We were worried." Silver was almost laughing, feeling much better that he knew where everyone was. "Well, I can smell fiends around, you're a Guado, I bet you can feel their presence."
…
(I'm just glad there is as little fire as possible.) Lhinx thought in relief.
The Ronso couldn't help but feel a little uneasy with the presence of Zephyr and how intense the half-Guado's eyes were. It almost reminded her of their battle.
Lhinx looked around the room, her animal-like yellow eyes focused all around the chamber, looking for anything remotely like what she had found in Besaid.
(There!)
Lhinx looked to the ground, kneeling down and inspecting the ground near the middle of the room close to the door. There were scuffs all in one area of the once smooth flooring.
(There was a struggle. It seems to have occurred recently. And here.)
The Ronso youth noted a dried brown spot near the scuffs. It was large, speckled with similar colored dots all around it. The larger spot looked uneven and smeared, the amount of it being less generous as it approached the door to the chamber. It was not cracked or decayed, showing it was not entirely old, but not entirely fresh either.
(Blood. Someone was hurt in here, but the blood does not lead out toward the door, so they did not leave here. That means then that they went into the chamber of the Fayth.)
"Strong fiend was here. Scent is putrid with fear." Lhinx said. "Someone dragged into chamber."
(But there weren't any missing person reports around town. But that could just be a coincidence. It could be a priest or something.)
…
"Alright, let's get going then.." Lucine said as she started climbing up the steps. As she was climbing, she noticed most of the flames around the steps had either burned out or were very weak. "Wow, that's kind of strange.."
…
"Half-Guado," Zephyr corrected promptly. In her mind, this was a very important difference. "Calix is still wandering around in the woods," she added nonchalantly, smoothing her hair back with one gloved hand. "But everyone is still breathing, to the best of my knowledge. Shouldn't we be going into the Chamber?" she asked, eyebrow raised. "Everything seems to originate there, fairly consistently. . . and there are no fiends out here."
Zephyr didn't smell fiends. On the contrary, she smelled more half-fiends than she had in quite a while. Half-fiends weren't an official category of being as most people were concerned, but a few Guado believed in their existence.
They were an interesting case because they were basically human, with all of the intelligence, but with all of the malice and anger of fiends. Demons were sometimes considered half-fiends, as were Ronso and Guado, although to a lesser extent. Zephyr was amused by the theory, especially given her own background and the source of the theory itself. They really hated him. They'd never stop hating him, either. They created an excuse for him, for halflings everywhere. Half-fiends. It was so easy to read. So damn typical.
"Need to be careful. Enemy is hungry for blood shed," Lhinx said, stepping towards the door. "Fiend will expect door to open loudly and be ready to attack."
…
Serenity decided to keep her eyes on the scenery than focus on the number of stairs. It was like being back on Besaid, up on the mountains…Serenity shook her head. She was going to make herself homesick if she kept comparing the rest of Spira to Besaid.
"Wow, that's kind of strange…"
Serenity ripped her gaze off the sights and looked to Lucine. "What's strange?" she asked, and looked around to see what she was talking about.
After Lucine's comment, Serenity whipped her head around so fast she thought it would fall off. "Um, well, the fire in these torches have gone out," Lucine said, pointing to the side of the steps. "I just thought it was odd, since Ifrit is supposed to keep them lit."
Serenity rested her gaze on the torches, and realized she was right. She never noticed it. "Ifrit…" An aeon. "Yes…" Serenity fanned herself. It was still hot even though no fires were going. "This is weird. It's still blazing hot out here, and the torches aren't even lit…" She looked back at Lucine. "Maybe the priests in the temple know something."
…
"This definitely has something to do with that weird fiend back in Besaid. And I bet my tail these two aren't the only temples with this playful creatures running lose." Silver kept walking deeper into the chamber, his tiger-eyes adjusting to the lack of light "Darn it, there is no fire but it still is so damn hot in here."
As he cleaned some sweat forming on his forehead with his glove he thought about Tallulah. He was sure she and Serenity were together along with the others, and the idea of having to deal with two raging girls fighting each other was just... too frightening, almost made him wish those fiends would eat him before he got outside. "Ok, we're almost there, ready?"
Lhinx nodded and went to the door.
"I will lift the door," Lhinx said as she edged her fingers under the crack of the pointed door. "Then hold it and let you two in and follow after, guard back."
(Hope this works.) Lhinx thought.
"Say when ready," the Ronso youth said, looking back at the two.
Silver crouched next to Lhinx and edged his fingers just like her under the door and looked at the Ronso with a grin across his face. "You thought I was letting a lady do all the hard job? Two strong non-humans are better than one. Ok, on the count of three. One... two... three!"
Lhinx let out a grunt as the two lifted the door. (Wow, that was way easier then last time.) The Ronso thought. "We all go in at same time," Lhinx said, looking to Zephyr.