Chapter 11: Cheerios!

I was alone when I woke up the next morning. I wandered downstairs and spotted a little kid running around the lobby. "Hey kid, did you see a big guy with stabby orange hair leave here?" I asked him.

"They went to the pier." He said jumping excitedly.

"Thanks." I turned to leave, but the little kid called out to me again, "Hey guess what!"
"What?"

"I'm gonna be a blitzball when I grow up." He said proudly.

Huh? "Reach for the stars kid. Reach for the stars." I walked outside and found Wakka and Tidus working hard on replacing the pier. I looked around for a sign of Gippal but unfortunately, no dice. "All right, we're going to temple to pray. Lord Ohalland use to live at Kilika Temple. So we go there to pray for victory."
"Uhh Wakka…" Tidus said catching up with him.

"Yeah?"

"Praying for victory is all well and good. But is this right?" He asked shaking his head.

"Something wrong with enjoying blitzball?"

"Is this really the time?"

"Now's the only time. During the game, people forget their problems and suffering. Only the game and their favorite team matters." He patted us both on the back gently, "Now come on. Yuna's waiting." He led us into Kilika Woods, where Yuna was waiting with an announcement.

"Yuna says she wants to make Tidus a guardian." Lulu explained.

"Him?" I said pointing to Tidus, "What about me?"

Yuna looked at me, "I don't know you."
"You don't know him either. You met him like last night and then you talked all of five minutes. But I bet you two are ready to get married now aren't you?" I finished, sarcastically.

"Look, we're all going to the temple anyway. Can't this wait till later?" Lulu asked.

We began walking through the woods, and ran into Luzzu and Gatta once again. He looked down at my hands and smiled. He seemed to be very happy that I was wearing the gloves. "Thanks for the gloves, Luzzu." I said, "They fit like a dream."
He nodded, "Be careful, this is Ochu, lord of the woods. Discretion is the better part of valor." He said pointing to the monstrosity standing behind him.

"Let's get him." I said smirking at the plant beast thingamabob.

"Siry, didn't you just hear what Luzzu said?" Lulu asked.

"Of course and now I'm choosing to ignore him. Come on. Tidy and I need the experience. Or are you guys scared?" I turned back to them to gage their reaction. Tidus stepped forward, "I'm not." he said, taking out his sword.

"Neither am I." Yuna said, nodding toward me.

"Count me in." Wakka said.

Lulu shook her head, "Don't come crying to me when you've got poison oozing out of your ears." She said, holding her moogle out.

I smiled, "You wanted to fight it, Lulu." I said.

After we had taken the Ochu out, I stretched and turned, "See Lulu. Told you it would be fun."

She simply smirked at me. "Whoa!" Gatta gawked at us.

"Very impressive." Luzzu said nodding, "Here this should prove useful." He handed over an Elixir.

"Thanks." Tidus said accepting the bottle. He placed it in his travel bag and we continued toward the temple. Just ahead of us, we could hear Gatta sing, "Young Crusaders gather round. We'll beat Sin into the ground…"

I ran up to him and joined him in the song. Hey I always sing this song when I play the game. We reached the temple in just a few short hours and Wakka proceeded to give us a history lesson, "High Summoner Ohalland use to train on these very steps."

Tidus turned to the rest of Aurochs. They were laughing and grinning wickedly. Actually it sounded as if they had something stuck in their throats. Stand back, I know the Heimlich! "So it's gonna be a race?" he asked, taking his position in front of the steps.

"Yuna, if you will do the honors." Wakka said.

She ran up beside an Auroch and raised her arm, "Ready…" Then like a giggling school girl, she took off running.

"Hey!" the guys shouted running after her. Not long after though, they all came running back down the stairs screaming like little girls. "Sinspawn!" Wakka called from the top of the stairs.

"Man these bloody things pop up everywhere!" I groaned running after Kimahri and Lulu. When we reached the summit, we found Wakka and Tidus fighting the two tentacles and Yuna had summoned Valefor to fight the big bowl thing. "I'll help Yuna. You two help Wakka and Tidus." Lulu said quickly.

"All right Gloves…don't fail me now." I whispered, rushing over to help Wakka deal with the tentacle.

"Fire!" Lulu shouted but the attack was absorbed by one of the tentacles. "Oh crap!" Tidus said.

"Wait Lulu! We gotta take the tentacles out first!" I shouted. Suddenly I felt a surge of energy. I looked down at my hands. They began to glow a faint blue color. I felt the second move in my overdrive, Smack Down, take over. I punched the ground and several blue shockwaves ripped through the concrete toward the tentacle. The monster screeched in pain as the appendage dissolved into the pyreflies. "Lulu now!" Tidus shouted, as the other tentacle dissolved.

"Fire!" the magic shot from her hand and engulfed the Sinspawn in flames. "Valefor, Sonic Wings now!" Yuna said directing her Aeon. Valefor obeyed and the shell fell away from the monster. Spewing venom into our party, it fell defeated. "Everyone okay?" Yuna asked as she dismissed Valefor.

I looked down at my arm and noticed something green and sticky. "What the heck is this?" I whispered.

Then I suddenly felt so sick. "Um…I'm not." I said before falling over.

…Siry…

I opened my eyes and discovered I was surrounded by a white light. "Hello." Said a voice.

"Fayth?" I said looking around

"Told you it wasn't a game." He said, appearing before me.

"When can I go home?" I asked.

"You are home, silly." He said simply, "It's time for you to wake up now." He disappeared from my sight, but his voice still echoed all around me, "One word of advice: Don't fall in love with him."

Fall in love with whom? Tidus…Wakka…Kimahri? Tidus: that's just nasty. Wakka: I'm a fan girl so it's a little late for a warning. Kimahri: don't even go there.

"Siry…hey wake up." I heard a voice that sounded a lot like Tidus's say.

My eyes fluttered open, "What happened? It feels like someone smacked me with a train." I asked.

"Some of the fiend's poison got on you." Lulu explained, "Yuna had to cast Esuna on you three different times."

"Yeah you had us worried, ya." Wakka said shaking his head.

I looked up and saw I was lying back in Tidus's arms. "Eww let me go, spaz!" I said jerking from his grasp.

"Don't do that. You're in no condition to bicker with him right now." Lulu scolded, "Here drink this." She pulled the cork from a bottle of greenish liquid and had me down it.

I gagged, "What the heck is that? Sour milk and fish oil?" I asked wiping my mouth.

"It's an antidote. I want to be sure we got all of the poison out. Wakka, why don't carry her, until we reach the temple. She can rest and regain her strength while we go into the cloisters."

Wakka hoisted me onto his back. Did I mention that he was really muscular and that he smelled like he bathed in that Tag body spray? I let out a dreamy sigh and rested my head on his shoulder. "Do they have fiends in Zanarkand too?" he asked Tidus, as we continued on.

"Just a few. And it's a big deal when one shows up…hey since when do you believe me about Zanarkand anyway?" he said.

"I was thinking…maybe people that come into contact with Sin don't die. Maybe they just get sent through time…like a thousand years. Then poof they just pop up again just like that." Wakka stopped walking to explain his theory.

Lulu shook her head, "Amazing. Simply Amazing. You refuse to accept the simple truth. Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. It crushed him and left him on the Djose shore. He's not just going to pop back." She turned around. Their faces were just inches apart. "He's gone, Wakka. And there is no replacement for him." She looked on at the rest of us, "For that matter, there is no replacement for Sir Jecht, Lord Braska," Her eyes fell to me, "Or Leila. It's pointless to think about it and rather sad." She then turned curtly on her heels and disappeared up the rest of the steps. "Dude…who peed in her Cheerios?" I said shaking my head.

"Better get use to it, ya. She's always like that." Wakka said.

He continued up the steps, with Tidus by his side. "By the way, Siry…what are Cheerios?"

Author's note: Ahh just some random banter. I won't do this often so please read it. I really hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm trying really hard to keep it close to the game and all. And I know the dialogue isn't exact but for some points, I need it to be the way that it's written so I can add Siry's dialogue. Plus it gives the story a unique flavor. But anyway, I enjoy hearing from my readers so please drop me a line at: