In the time it took for Tidus to compose himself, Lulu kept an eye on their surroundings. Her ears were open to any suspicious sound that assailed them, and her scarlet eyes never rested on the same location for too long. Still, she was mindful of the young man's suffering, and allowed him his time to weep while keeping a comforting hand busy stroking his hair.
When at last her companion's sobs quieted, she watched as he shakily rose to his feet. Wiping his nose and rubbing his eyes dry, Tidus took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," he told her, his voice still thick with tears. "I didn't mean to break down like that."
She nodded understandingly and tightened his cloak around his broad shoulders. "We should leave. That falcon has been circling us for quite sometime."
Alarm quickly replaced the despondent look on his face. His eyes shot upward to the sky, where, sure enough, the dark silhouette of a watchful bird of prey steadily wheeled overhead. In the dying light, it was hardly discernable among the clouds.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he demanded of her, instinctively glancing over his shoulder as if expecting to see the crimson clad ranks standing in wait behind him.
She shrugged fluidly, tossing her black braids over her shoulder. "You needed a moment to grieve. I had to make sure you got it out of your system in time to think clearly when the danger comes."
Tidus couldn't decide if he wanted to throttle or thank her for her insight. "I'll tie up the assassin. The army can deal with him."
Moving to grab some rope from one of Kyrida's saddlebags, he began calculating an escape route. They were in a tight, shallow chasm with only one exit that led away from the approaching army. Fortunately, they would be hampered by the narrowness of the passageway, and they would only be able to move at least five or six abreast. The path steeped upwards sharply not too far ahead, and beyond that, Tidus could only speculate what he and Lulu would find.
Securing the assassin's limp body against a rock, sheltered from any wind that might spring up, Tidus then made sure to remove the man's weapons. The curved daggers felt unpleasant in his hands. Hesitating, he toyed with the idea of simply burying them out of sight somewhere. But they were good blades, and Lulu could probably find a much better use for them.
"Here," he said, handing them to her. She regarded them critically. "You might need more than magic to defend yourself in the future."
"Doubtful," she sniffed, though she tucked them into her belt anyway. "But I'm certain they'll come in handy."
Checking the bounty hunter one last time to make sure he was clean of any other hidden weapons, Tidus mounted Kyrida and pulled the mage up behind him. They set off up the path without another word, though Tidus was acutely aware of the fact that Lulu was still watching the sky. The falcon had disappeared, most likely gone off to alert its master of their position.
00000000000000000000000000000000000
Yuna was amazed to find the Ronso village already half gone by the time she was done packing the group's belongings. The clan milled around grimly, silent and focused on the task at hand. She caught up with Kimahri and Auron, who were busy dismantling one of the huts. Although the Ronso lived mainly in the caves dotting the mountain, many huts and tents had to be erected in order to accommodate everyone comfortably.
"What can I do to help?" she questioned, hastily rushing to help Auron as he struggled with one of the long wooden poles.
"We haven't got much time," her guardian grunted, though he looked distinctly grateful for her aid. "Just go and meet the others where I told you. Kimahri and I will be there shortly."
Reluctantly she left them and went to the northwest corner of the village, where Wakka and Rikku were already waiting. Rikku was admiring a beautifully crafted bow that the tribe's weapon maker had fashioned for her after she won a shooting match against some of the younger warriors. A quiver of arrows was already strapped to her back. Wakka was standing nervously in front of five massive Ronso horses, the reins held tightly in his hand and looking quite unsure of himself in their presence. The horses stood passively, occasionally dipping their heads to lip at some brittle patches of grass, seemingly indifferent to the bags packed along their saddles. Yuna stroked one on the neck absently, watching the village slowly begin to disappear. The Ronso were extremely efficient at covering their tracks. No wonder their existence was virtually a myth nowadays.
Minutes later, Kimahri and Auron came into sight with identical grim expressions.
Kimahri helped Yuna scale the giant horse, while Wakka assisted Rikku, and Auron climbed up swiftly on his own. When everyone was ready to go, Auron kicked his mount into an immediate sprint without a word, and the others followed. Kimahri threw one last look at his village, pensive and unsure, before following behind.
Thundering down the narrow path that led away from the village and down the other side of the mountain, Yuna sucked in a quick breath and glanced over her shoulder at the mist-shrouded peaks of the Gagazet Range.
"Don't worry, Yunie!" Rikku called back to her, breathless from the fast-paced charge down the trail. "They'll be all right. If anyone can handle the Yevonites, it's those two."
Reassured but still worried, Yuna smiled back.
Bring him back, Lulu, she pleaded silently. Be safe, and bring him back to me.
00000000000000000000000000000000
Tidus considered himself to be a spry, alert kind of man, and very little managed to startle or surprise him. But while his thoughts were deeply immersed with planning how to avoid the Yevonite Army, which was surely already in the Range, and flickering images of Yuna, he was completely unprepared for the explosion of talons and feathers in his face.
Crying out with shock, he brought his arms up impulsively to shield his eyes from the falcon that had darted from the sky aimed right for his head. Lulu gasped and nearly fell backwards off Kyrida, who balked at the sensation of her master's sudden distress.
The temple had banned the army's use attack falcons for several years, as they were seen as unnecessary and primitive means of slowing down an enemy target. Yet, Tidus numbly registered that he was indeed fending off such a bird, and did not have time to ponder it. An attack falcon meant that troops were very, very close by.
"Get away!" he grunted, swatting at the falcon when he felt it safe to move his arms away from his head.
Lulu's fingertips hummed with a fire spell, ready and willing to use it to send the bird away, but it was too close to Tidus and the risk of hitting him instead was too great. Instead, the mage leaned forward and aided her friend in batting it away.
It was futile. Attack falcons were rarely diverted from the task of distracting their targets.
Guarding his face with one arm, Tidus used his free hand to pick up Kyrida's reins yet again and urged the horse into a gallop. Knowing he would not be likely to outdistance a falcon, known for speed, he could at least hope to put a gap between them and the oncoming soldiers.
"Behind us!" Lulu shouted, struggling to be heard above the fluttering wings and piercing shriek of the raptor bird. "The army is coming!"
Chancing a quick look over his shoulder, Tidus could have sworn he heard more horses somewhere at their back. The hoof beats sounded fast and frantic; no doubt the soldiers followed the falcon's shrill cries echoing throughout the passage.
Panic gripped his heart. Without thinking, he reached back and unsheathed the assassin's dagger from Lulu's belt and swiped at the bird, effectively slashing a wound across its breast. The falcon released a screech of pain and swooped away, blood darkening its tawny plumage. Knowing that it was useless to try and be silent, Tidus rammed his heels into Kyrida's sides and forced her into an all out gallop up the trail.
"Lulu, can you see them?" he panted, realizing only then that there was blood all over his face. The cold wind seemed to burn the multitude of scratches and cuts in his flesh, and he could barely see out of his left eye, where the blood was thick and slow.
"Not yet, but they are getting closer," his companion replied through gritted teeth. "Let me see if I can slow them down.
She thought about setting up a wall of fire, but there was nothing in the stony pass to ignite, and the flames would sizzle out almost immediately. A patch of ice would certainly delay them, but not long enough to make a difference. She narrowed her eyes. A real diversion was needed, and quickly.
Her gaze lifted sharply to the rock walls around them, scanning them for any kind of inspiration. Abruptly she smirked with triumph; the loose shale and rubble collected above the canyon would do nicely.
A quick and powerful thunder spell shot out of her palm and squarely hit one of the support boulders that was holding back a giant mound of dirt and stone from spilling down. It shuddered at the impact and then slowly groaned out of place, pitching forward into the shallow ravine right behind them. The debris quickly followed, cascading down like a tidal wave crashing on the shore. Kyrida whinnied fearfully at the roar of the avalanche behind her and managed to increase her pace until she was positively soaring.
Lulu repeated the same spell on the other side of the rift, causing one more landslide to add onto the previous one. Then, for extra measure, she cast a long sheet of ice onto the rocky floor beyond the rubble that would certainly do its part to slow down the soldiers. She wished the two of them could have made a stand, even for a moment. The desire to kill was still pounding in her veins, making her feel dangerous and powerful. She wanted to destroy the army one man at a time, even if she had to go down in a bloody death to accomplish it.
But the time and chance for such a thing would come later.
She was shaken out of her musings when a deafening rumble sounded behind her. Her whipped around just as Tidus turned the horse to see what was happening.
"SHIT," he cried, his eyes widening.
A massive water spell was currently washing the collapsed shale right towards them.
The army also had a mage handy.
"Tidus, MOVE!" Lulu ordered sharply, slapping Kyrida's flank. The horse bolted, reacting purely on instinct. She went out at a full gallop, trying to outrun the wall of water and rubble rushing behind them.
Tidus knew it was too late even before the waves crashed into them, swallowing them and throwing them apart. Kyrida neighed stridently before being sucked under the water, and he felt Lulu being wrenched away from him. He reached out blindly, mechanically, but his hand did not find her.
Confusion, and a strange quiet evaded his senses, a quiet that should not have existed in such a tumultuous element. He felt the water spell suddenly go in reverse, or at least he thought he did (he really couldn't tell which direction he was going in), and had the distinct impression that he was being pulled backwards; back towards the soldiers who were no doubt waiting somewhere around the corner.
Desperation then, sudden and overwhelming. No. It was not going to end this way.
Somehow he manoeuvred himself upright, for he had been drifting upside down, and fought wildly to find some kind of handhold, something to grab onto.
His heels struck solid ground and he furiously dug them in, battling a strong current and rolling debris.
He needed to breathe. But not yet. Not yet.
Lulu, where was she? Did the soldiers grab her? What would they do to her, if he wasn't there to stop them?
She would want him to escape, wouldn't she? She would want him to find his way back to Yuna and continue the pilgrimage to Bevelle. He was most certain of that.
But could he do that to her? Abandon her? Could he do that to Sir Auron?
Furiously he kept his balance, barely managing to dodge the rubble assailing him. He couldn't see anything.
He didn't see Kyrida's struggling body until it slammed into him, ripping him from his foothold and sending him flying through the water with the current. Intuitively he gripped the horse's mane and held on, and he sensed her reeling around trying to find him in the chaos. He wished numbly that she would be calm, but he really could not blame her for her panic.
Her hoofs struck the stone floor and she kicked upwards towards the roiling surface of the magic river, carrying her master with her. He sucked in a quick breath as a icy wind struck his head, and he draped his arm across Kyrida's back. He needed to climb on top of her again, needed something solid. His sword felt very heavy.
No point in playing it quiet. "LULU!" he yelled, blinking muddy water from his eyes. His cuts were searing. "LULU!"
Where the hell was she? She probably would not even be able to hear him above the crash and hiss of the water. The soldiers must have grabbed her.
Abruptly the fear was gone, replaced by hot, sickening rage that wanted only to kill and hurt and destroy. Tidus drew his azure blade and let the current carry him on Kyrida's back towards the awaiting army and their mage.
He was not going to let another friend die. Not for him, not for Sin, not for any damn reason ever again. If he was going to die rescuing Lulu, then so be it. He had come this far, sacrificed everything, learned more than he ever thought he would, and if it came to this final showdown, he was ready for it.
Sometimes, in the heat of anger and purpose, life seems very inconsequential next to the task that needs to be done. Tidus was a warrior. He understood it in a moment of such clarity that he was nearly blindsided by it.
Calmer now that her master was on her and that she could breathe, Kyrida swam with the raging current and kept her head above the surface, kicking powerfully to stay upright. She could sense his anger, his determination, and memories of old battles and blood on her hooves fuelled her onward. This was the old days all over again, the days of fire and corpse covered fields, nights burning with drumbeats and screams. She was a warhorse, and suddenly nothing else mattered but to go where her master was guiding her.
As rapidly as the flood started, it suddenly slowed and then seemed to evaporate from underneath them. Tidus saw with strange serenity the row of scarlet jackets getting closer as the last flow of water brought him forward before bringing him to a full stop no more than ten feet away from them. Two of the men held Lulu by the arms between them; she looked seconds away from unleashing her magical fury on the lot of them. Taking in a quick head count, Tidus guessed that there were only about twenty men present, a small platoon sent out to follow the falcon that had been circling above them not long ago. He smirked inwardly. Twenty men were about to die.
"Sir Tidus, at last we meet," a warm, disturbingly pleasant voice said from behind the front rank. A man dressed in a flamboyant green, purple, and white robe stepped forward. His shoulder length brown hair was tied back in a horsetail. He had deep blue eyes that were even darker than Tidus'. "It is an honour to meet Lady Yuna's now famous accomplice. My name is Isaaru."
"I don't keep a tally on the men I've killed," Tidus snarled, urging Kyrida forward at a slow, threatening pace. Her ears were flat against her head, sensing the tension building in the pass.
Isaaru looked far too kind for a man working with the army, although in retrospect he was probably unaware of the temple's true nature. Perhaps he thought Tidus was the real criminal.
The mage bowed his head as if acknowledging the possibility of being killed right then and there. "Fair enough," he said politely. "I suppose I should turn command over to General Watis. I've done my part already."
A wide, stocky man stepped forward, eyeing Tidus as if he were nothing more than a bread-stealing thief in the streets. "Where's the Summoner's daughter?" he barked, his meaty hand resting on the hilt of his sword. The rest of the men began to fan out obviously intending to surround Tidus. He knew he should back up and keep them all in his sights, but he did not fear them like he was supposed to. He let them close in. Kyrida would warn him if one got too close.
"We both know that I'm not going to answer that, General," he replied coolly, catching Lulu's eyes. "And I suggest you let my friend go."
Watis rumbled with laughter, swaggering over to Lulu. She regarded him disdainfully as he eyed her up and down appreciatively. "But she's such a pretty thing. I'm thinking my boys could have some fun with her before we slit her heathen throat," he said in an oily voice. Isaaru looked somewhat disapprovingly at the General, but held his tongue.
Tidus was glad to see that Lulu looked more revolted at the insinuation rather than afraid. He doubted he would have been able to handle her fear.
"Have fun trying," he snorted, careful to keep his voice nonchalant. "She's only one of the most powerful black mages in the land."
"Not in our hands, she isn't," Watis contradicted, wagging a finger at Tidus as if he were a mere child. "You see those chains?" he asked, pointing at her wrists. "Those are anti-magic bonds. They block any spell she has a mind to use against us, and the only way to get them off is with this here key."
He pulled a bronze key dangling from a leather thong out from his coat pocket and dangled it mockingly in Lulu's face. She maintained a bored look, but Tidus saw a flicker of something unplanned and nameless pass through her eyes.
His sword was halfway out of its scabbard when he felt an arrow suddenly embed itself in his shoulder. He dropped from Kyrida's saddle, too shocked even to grunt, and landed with a dull thud on the wet ground littered with rubble. As the Yevonite soldiers rushed forward to grab him, he could have laughed at his sheer idiocy. For all his years as a warrior in training, he had forgotten to simply look up and make sure there were no archers lining the walls of the ravine.
He was hauled back up to his feet, amazed at how subtle the ache from the arrow wound was in his flesh, and watched with a sort of detached feeling as Watis approached him.
"Now," the general said in a much more business-like voice, "you are going to tell us exactly where to find Lady Yuna."