BlueEyedRikku and ChloKes and IridescentFlight, thanks for the comments!
The past few chapters may have not been that exciting, but that is because i'm not too fond of this part in the story. As Tidus travels into Besaid, trust me, things will get a lot more lively.
Please RnR!
Chapter Four
Besaid
The cool water felt good on his face. Thinking about it made him burst back to conciousness. He opened him eyes and pulled up his head. "Rikku?" He called out. Neither she, nor the boat were in sight. As his vision came into clear, he saw a bright, sandy beach in front of him, several yards away. The beach was surrounded by thick, lush, green trees and large, jagged boulders.
He looked down at the water, which was a crisp, clear blue, like the cloudless sky, not at all like the dank cloudy, dark water at the ruins. He could see all the way down the the sandy floor.
Suddenly BAM! Something hit him hard on the back of the head, making him slam back underwater. He surfaced and found what had hit him. It brought a smile to his face. He scooped up the familiar blue and white ball. "Blitzball!" He cheered, excited by the find.
"Hey! You okay?" A voice from the beach called. He saw six or so men, all wearing identical yellow uniforms standing on the beach. One of them was waving to him.
"Hey!" Tidus called back, relieved that he wouldn't be alone here. He decided to return the ball in a true blitzer way.
Swimming deep into the water, he shot straight up, hitting the ball with his head and sending it up into the air. He flipped out of the water and kicked the ball back as hard as he could. As he descended into the water, he watched the ball fly to the beach at an extensive speed. The man who had called to him had to duck out of the way so the ball didn't hit him in the face. "Woah!" He said with a smile.
They met Tidus as he swam to the shore. The men were in awe. "Yo...hiya." Tidus said, hoping they were friendly.
The man who had called to him was talking to two other men at the far end of the beach, but when he turned and saw Tidus, he opened his mouth in shock and ran over. "You wanna...try that move...one more time?" He asked eagerly. Tidus beamed. Finally, things were starting to look up.
Tidus bounced the ball on his head up into the air and did an identical kick. The ball soared out to sea, skimming the water as it went. The other men gasped in amazement.
"You no amateur. Who you play for?" The man asked.
Tidus smirked proudly. "The Zanarkand Abes!" The other men looked at him strangely and muttered amongst themselves.
"What team you say again?" The man asked, looking concerned.
Rikku's warning about Zanarkand flooded back to him. "I meant...forget that. I got too close to Sin, and my head's all foggy-like. I don't know where this place is. Or even where I came from."
The man shook his head. "Sin's toxin got to you. But, you're still alive. Praise be to Yevon." Tidus recognized the word "Yevon" from Rikku, but was still unsure what it meant. But then all the men did the blitzball sign for victory. They raised their arms in the air, then swooped them down into a circular shape in front of their chests, followed by a bow.
"All right, back to practice boys!" The man shouted to the others. They walked off to the beach and began to chat amonst themselves. "I'm Wakka. Coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda." He said. He was tall, taller than Tidus, He had tanned skin and orange hair. His uniform was slightly different than the rest, and he had a blue headband.
Tidus introduced himself. But felt embarrassment as his stomach grumbled. How long had it been since he was on Rikku's ship?
Wakka heard the grumble. "What? You hungry? Okay! Back to the village! I'll get you somethin'."
He followed Wakka to a small path on the corner of the beach which led into a woodsy area. He felt he could trust Wakka, so he had to ask.
"It's true, right? That Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago? It's just a pile of rubble now, right?"
Wakka stopped. "Long time ago, there were a whole lot of cities in Spira. Big cities with machina--machines--to run 'em. People played all day and let the machina do the work. And then, well, take a look." He pointed to a cliff overlooking the ocean. Atop the cliff were old ruins, tilted and crumbling. "Sin came, and destroyed the machina cities, Zanarkand along with 'em. Yeah, that was about a thousand years ago.
"If you ask me, Sin's our punishment for letting things get outta hand. What gets me, though, is the fact that we have to suffer because of what some goofballs did way back when. Course, we must always repent for our sins! That's important! It's just that, it's hard to keep at it sometimes, you know?" Wakka suddenly burst out laughing.
"But you from the Zanarkand Abes, that was a good one!" Tidus laughed a little too, but his mind was focused on what Wakka said. Wakka and Rikku couldn't both be lying, could they? "I'm not saying the team never exsisted, ya? But you gotta figure, a team living in luxury like that'd be pretty soft, eh?
Tidus gave a soft smile. He appreciated that Wakka was trying to cheer him up, but all he could think about was that everything that had happened to him, it all began with Sin. Maybe if he found Sin one more time, he could go home. Until then, he'd just live life until that time came. No more worrying about where, or when, he was. It was hard not to think of his home, but he started to feel better, just a little, but still, better.
There were more ruins in the trees along the path. Some had small creatures who's made homes in them, others had full grown trees growing through them, sprouting out through the roofs.
Eventually, he and Wakka reached a large lagoon surrounded by cliffs, blue and clear as the ocean. They crossed a set of bridges leading across to the other side. "Got a favor to ask ya." Wakka said.
Tidus had been expecting it. "Lemme guess, you want me on your team, right?"
"There's a huge blitz tournament coming up. It's so huge, I'm sure someone there will recognize you. Then, you could go back to your old team, right? It'll be fun, what do you say?"
"Sure thing!" Tidus said. He was glad to be included, but he really hoped he would find someone he recognized.
"Dude! Our team is gonna rock!" Wakka cheered, then he headed down a downhill dirt path. Tidus wondered if Sina and blitzball were the only things Zanarkand and this world, "Spira" Wakka had called it, had in common. He wasn't too far off either.
When they reached a cliffside, Wakka pointed to a small village below. "This is where I was born, Besaid Village. Started blitz when I was five. I joined the Aurochs at thirteen, ten years ago." Wakka sighed. "Ten years, and we never won a game. So, after last years tournament, I quit. Time seemed right. And after quitting, I got this new job, ya? But everytime my mind wandered, I thought about the game."
Tidus nodded. "Ten years without a win'll do that to you."
My first match last year was my big chance. But something else was on my mind. I couldn't focus."
Tidus laughed. "Nice excuse! So, you wanna win the next tournament? Go out with a bang, huh?" Wakka smiled and nodded. "What's our goal?" Tidus asked enthusiastically.
"I don't care who we do. Long as we play our best. If we give it our all, I can walk away happy."
Tidus couldn't believe his ears. "No, no, no, no, no. If I say, 'What's our goal?', you say, 'Victory!'"
Wakka's eyes were wide. "Victory? You serious?" Tidus nodded, and they continued their way down the path to the village.
Eventually, they encountered the two men that Wakka had been speaking with earlier. One, who appeared older than both Tidus and Wakka with bright red hair and a purple uniform smiled. "Ah, yes, the one from the sea."
The other, who was younger with black hair and had a long scar on his face spoke, too. "Be on guard, we've seen fiends on the road today."
"After surviving your run-in with Sin, 'twould be a shame if something happened now." The older one added. Then they both bowed, and headed towards the village.
"Who were they?" Tidus questioned.
"Ah! Luzzu and Gatta, Crusaders."
"Crews of what?"
"What! You forgot that, too?" When Tidus hung his head, he apologized, "Hey, sorry. Don't worry about it, I'll help you out."
"Cool. In return, come tournament time, I'll make sure we take the cup!"
Wakka smiled. "About the crusaders, you can ask them yourself. They've got a lodge in the village."
Finally, they came upon the gates of the village. It was made up of several tiny huts, with a large, intricately built building at the far end. "The Crusader's lodge is over yonder," Wakka pointed to one of the huts, slightly bigger than the rest. "Luzzu and Gatta are usually there." Then he pointed to another, smaller hut. "We'll get you some food there later. Oh!" He suddenly grabbed Tidus's arm and yanked him away from the gate, where the villagers couldn't see him. "You remember the prayer, right?"
"I...uh, don't remember?" Tidus said. He was getting worried about making up so many excuses.
"Man, that's like the basics of the basics." Wakka said. "All right. I'll show ya." He did the "prayer," which, as Tidus knew it, wasn't a prayer at all. Wakka raised his arms in the air, then swooped them down into an arc in front of him with a bow. Any blitzball player would know that "prayer." In Zanarkand, it was the blitzball sign for victory. Tidus was in disbelief.
"First, go talk with the Crusaders, then go present yourself to the temple summoner, and see if you get your memory back."
Tidus did as he was told and strolled over to the Crusaders lodge. It was a small place, with two rooms, the first had a table and chairs, where he could see Luzzu and Gatta sitting, conversing. The second room, hidden by a curtain contained several beds, for travellers and the Crusaders.
The younger one, Gatta, called out when he saw him. "Hey, you, you were near Sin, right? Recently was it?"
Tidus nodded, and joined the Crusaders at the table. "If Sin is nearby, it'll attack the island for sure. But it hasn't. I wonder why." Luzza said, puzzled.
"I'm sorry." Tidus told them. "I really don't know anything. To tell you the truth, I
don't even know what the Crusaders are."
"Sin! The toxin! Gatta, tell him who we are!" Luzzu ordered.
"Yessir!" Gatta stood up and saluted. "The Crusaders are sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira, accepting all who wish to join our struggle! The hero Mi'ihen formed the Crusaders eight hundred years ago as the Crimson Blades. Later, our ranks grew and we called ourselves the Crusaders. We've been fighting Sin ever since!"
"You've been fighting eight hundred years and you've never been able to defeat it?" Tidus wondered.
"Well, we've steered Sin away from towns many times! And that's all we can do. Nobody's ever been able to defeat it. Our mission as Crusaders is to protect the temples, towns, villages, and people of Spira." Luzzu answered. "Now, go pray at the temple. Perhaps Yevon will help you regain your memory."
Tidus took the advice and headed over to the temple. And it was then, standing in that place, he began to realize how different this world was from his own. The temple was a circlular room, lined with many statues of various men and women. At the far end of the room was a staircase, leading up to a stone door. A statue caught his eye nearby the staircase of a man wearing long hooded robes and carrying a staff. He walked over to it.
"Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became High Summoner. And finally we received a statue for our temple." A voice said from behind him. He turned around and saw an old man wearing colorful robes gazing at the statue with him.
"What's a...High Summoner?" Tidus asked the man.
Everyone in the temple gasped. The man stared at him, stunned. "I...I got too close to Sin's, uh, toxin." Tidus explained, causing everyone in the temple to sigh with relief. They all did the prayer gesture then continued looking at the statues and praying. It was funny hearing himself make the same excuse over and over. Funny, and a little sad.
"The summoners are practitioners of a sacred art, sworn to protect the people of Yevon. Only a chosen few become summoners, who call forth entities of great power: the aeons. The aeons hear our prayers and come down to us. They are the blessing of Yevon." The man explained. So what he meant was that they should respect some kind of great men or something like that.
Tidus thanked the man and made his way to the hut that Wakka pointed out. He found Wakka seated inside. "Sorry, man. No time for lunch yet." Wakka said. But then he frowned. "Take a nap! You look bushed." He told Tidus, pointing to a nearby bed. Tidus thanked him and lay down, grateful to get some rest. He was exhausted from the rough day so far.
Shortly after, the man who had explained the art of summoning to Tidus showed up at the hut and began to speak with Wakka.
"You could at least go see how they're doing." He said.
"We can't interfere, it's a rule!" Wakka responded.
"But...it's been nearly a day all ready..."
Those words made a memory jog up into Tidus's mind He remembered it clearly now. The day his father disappeared.
"It's been nearly a day all ready." One of the men had told his mother.
His mother was trying very hard to remain calm. "Perhaps...perhaps you could go look for us?"
"People are searching for him now. But we are trying." The man had told her, as he walked away.
"Thank you." His mother had whispered.
He hated himself for speaking that way towards his mother. "Who cares whether he comes back or not!" He had shouted at her, causing her eyes to well with tears.
"But...but he might die!"
"Fine!" He screamed. "Let him!"
His mother's face was in disbelief. "Do you...do you hate him so?"
A tear rolled down her cheek as Tidus had nodded. "But if he dies, you'll never be able to tell him how much you hate him!"
Tidus snapped back to conciousness, alone in the hut. "Wakka?" He called. His intuition told him to go to the temple.
"Is something wrong?" He asked Wakka and the man, both of whom stood at the bottom of the tall staircase in the temple.
"The summoner hasn't returned from the trial." Wakka said, a touch of worry in his voice. "Well," he corrected himself, "Apprentice summoner, really..." He explained it all to Tidus. "There's a room in there called the Chamber of the Fayth. That is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner, remember?"
"Right. So someone is in there somewhere and they haven't come back out. Right, I got it."
Wakka looked up at the staircase. "A day's all ready gone by."
"Is it particularly dangerous in there?"
"Sometimes." Wakka said. "Yes."
"Why don't you go in and help?"
"There's already guardians in there. Besides, it's forbidden." Wakka informed him.
Tidus suddenly felt overcome. These people seemed so stupid. He ran to stairs. "What if something happens?" He argued. "What if this summoner...dies?"
The man raised his hand. "The precepts must be obeyed!" He said firmly.
"Like I care!" Tidus called back to him, running up to the door and entering. The people in the temple gasped.
Maybe, it wasn't such a good idea after all.