I almost forgot today to post today, with all the other craziness that's interrupted my life. But God is gracious, and I still have time to write amidst all this.
Read and enjoy (and maybe leave a review?)
Chapter Eight
Like the Trials in Besaid, most of the puzzles and traps within Kilika's Cloister of Trials had already been solved. Tidus figured that they must reset when a summoner left the Trials.
Tidus had entertained the hope that he would catch up with Yuna's group, seeing as they had only been a few steps ahead, but that was not the case. Even with most of the puzzles solved, the Cloister of Trials was a maze, frustrating at best, and it took Tidus hours to find the chamber at the end.
The large room was similar to the one at the end of Besaid's Trials, where Tidus had first seen Yuna. Only this room lacked the rising staircase and had a few more torches. The door at the end was much smaller, too, and less ornate. Kimahri stood right beside the door, while Wakka and Lulu stood on either side at a distance. They looked up as Tidus entered, but Kimahri remained motionless.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Wakka shouted, but Tidus spoke up before he could continue.
"It was Dona and that big muscle-head man!" he defended, rubbing the back of his head.
Lulu looked grave. "Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!"
"What consequences?" Tidus asked. Did Dona shove me in here just to get Yuna in trouble?
"She could be excommunicated!" Wakka exclaimed.
Tidus felt rather guilty at theat. "W-what do we do?"
Wakka sighed and folded his arms. "Just wait."
There was a moment of awkward silence. Tidus took a moment to listen to the odd melody rippling through the air. He recalled hearing it briefly at the end of the Besaid Trials, but he couldn't help but think he'd heard it somewhere before then. It had been a long time but…
The sound seemed to be coming from behind the door where he could only guess Yuna was. His curiosity tormented him, so Tidus decided to ask Wakka.
"So, what's in there anyway?" he pointed at the door.
"The Fayth, remember?" Wakka answered, looking expectant.
"Oh, yeah, that thing. Right," Tidus sighed. The only other time he'd heard of this Fayth was when Wakka had mentioned it at the entrance.
Lulu picked up on Tidus' sarcasm but wasn't too annoyed by it. "The Fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin," she explained, a heavy note to her voice. "Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies."
"Huh?" Tidus wasn't sure he comprehended what Lulu meant.
"Now they live forever, trapped in statues," Lulu continued, unfazed by Tidus' shock. "But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the Fayth emerge once again. That is what we call an aeon."
Tidus thought for a moment about the great bird-like aeon, Valfor, fighting alongside them on many occasions. He could barely grasp what the aeons were, but that fragment of knowledge shook him.
"All that in this room?" Tidus stared wide-eyed at the door, which no longer seemed small and uninteresting. "S-so what's Yuna doing in there?"
"She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin," Wakka explained.
"And then she bonds with the Fayth and obtains the new aeon," Lulu finished.
Tidus was about to inquire further when the door to the Fayth swung open and Yuna stumbled out. She walked a few steps then fell to her knees, this time with no triumphant declaration. Kimahri was already there, and Wakka and Lulu were by her side in moments. Tidus hung back, watching the scene as the three guardians crouched around their summoner. Recently, Tidus had been starting to feel like he was part of the party, but this lovely image was just a reminded that he wasn't really a guardian.
Yet. I'm not a guardian yet. Yuna said she wanted me to be, but… Tidus wasn't ready to make that decision yet. This was one choice he wasn't going to rush.
Then it came to him; the place he knew that eerie song from. He hadn't recognized it right away because of the strange voice, but now he could place it. His father had always been humming that melody, and after Jecht's death, Tidus' mother had started humming it off and on, before she died. It was proof that Spira and Zanarkand were connected somehow, at least to Tidus. Maybe it was that song that woke anew his longing for Zanarkand. He just wanted to go home. To the familiar city streets where he had lived his whole life. He wanted to say something to the others, but the words wouldn't come. He couldn't break up his friends' happy moment with his own petty troubles.
I thought I had put my feelings for Zanarkand behind me. But they were there, and they grew inside me, bigger and bigger, till I was just about ready to burst.
As the group exited the temple, Tidus felt about as forlorn as he ever had. Suddenly everything reminded him of Zanarkand, even in this strange world; the Aurochs' enthusiastic chatter reminded Tidus of the Abes' locker before a match, and the excited crowd that met Yuna as they walked back into the open seemed just like the crowds that used to intercept Tidus on his way to a game.
The crowd of onlookers quickly dispersed as Yuna and her party continued on towards the steps back down to the forest. Tidus trailed behind while Wakka and Lulu discussed something.
"Are you okay?" Tidus was surprised to hear Yuna's voice. He looked over at the young summoner for a moment before answering.
"I… I don't know."
Yuna was silent for a moment. She let her gaze drift over the forests below, then back to Tidus. "What do you want to do?" she asked.
Tidus considered that seriously before answering. "To scream real loud."
Yuna let out a soft chuckle. Tidus had meant it as a joke, but screaming his lungs out actually sounded pretty nice.
He screamed real loud.
…
Tidus sighed as he lay stretched out on a cot in the passenger room below decks on their boat, the S. . All around this end of the room, the Aurochs were either sleeping or training. Two other blitzball teams, the Luca Goers and the Kilika Beasts were also resting in the same cabin. Brief spats between the Goers and the other teams were the only breaks in the silence. Tidus remembered Wakka's words on the dock; Off to Luca at last! The matches start as soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?
Tidus had laid on his bench for hours and never once gotten close to sleeping. His thoughts kept wandering to Zanarkand. He could see in his mind so clearly the rising city streets, his house floating above the water, and Sin floating in the sky, destroying the city he so loved. He could still hear his mother crying out in the living room, remember crawling out of his room to see what was wrong. He remembered that was the night she told him his father wasn't coming back. Tidus had laid awake in his bed, crying for hours, telling himself over and over that he hated his father, so it shouldn't matter that he was gone…
Tidus sighed and sat up. Lying around wouldn't help. The blitzers sat all around the room, either sleeping, chatting quietly, or going over drills. With Zanarkand so heavily on his mind, Tidus didn't feel much like blitzball. Instead, he decided to go have a look around the ship. Tidus also noticed that Wakka wasn't in the room, so he made a mental note to keep an eye out for him, too.
Tidus made his way down the hallway and stopped at a door labeled Power Room.
Power? Now that he thought about it, Tidus couldn't remember seeing any sails up on the deck. But Wakka said it's against their teachings to use machina. So what do they use to power this ship?
Tidus couldn't contain his curiosity, so he pushed inside.
Inside the room were two massive wheels, and inside of each wheel was a large yellow bird whose constant running kept the wheel in motion.
"W-what is that?" Tidus gasped in surprise. He'd never seen anything quite like these strange creatures.
"What is what?" a voice answered Tidus' exclamation. He turned to see a woman in a blue uniform staring at him, looking as confused as he felt.
"What is this place?" Tidus rephrased his question.
"The power room, like it says on the door!" the woman answered, sounding quite annoyed.
"Yeah, but why the big birds?" Tidus clarified further.
"What's so strange about chocobo power?" the woman scoffed.
"Chocobos? Those are chocobos?" Tidus gawked at the great yellow birds. They stood upright, and their wings seemed useless as far as flight went. Their feet were large with long claws and were doing a fine job of turning the giant wheels that Tidus guess kept the engine moving.
"What?" the woman seemed more astonished then annoyed, now. "You've never seen a chocobo? What kind of backwater island did you come from, anyway?"
Tidus sighed. I really shouldn't be surprised. Miracles and oddities are starting to become daily routine on this trip.
After his run-in with the chocobos, Tidus decided to go up on deck and look for Wakka. He was making his way towards the door out when he spotted Luzzu and Gatta, the Crusaders, guarding a large door. Well, Luzzu was. Gatta was sound asleep, snoring away.
"This may not mean much, but good luck in the tournament," Luzzu said to Tidus.
"Thanks," Tidus answered. "The Goers seem like a tough team to beat."
"That they are," Luzzu said, holding his nonchalant smile all the while. "I won't be able to be at the game, but if I were, I'd be cheering."
"We'll make sure to win for you!" Tidus promised. He glanced down at where Gatta sat slumped against the wall. He looked like he'd been out for a while.
"Let him sleep," Luzzu said with a slight chuckle. "Gatta may be the most devoted Crusader I've got, but he's still little more than a boy."
Tidus chuckled back. "Right. You seen Wakka around?"
"I believe he went up on deck," Luzzu answered, motioning towards the door at the far end of the corridor. "But don't go looking too long. It's gotten late, and you'll need your strength for the game tomorrow."
"Right," Tidus nodded. "See you around."
Leaving Luzzu and the sleeping Gatta, Tidus headed for the door at the end of the hall.
A rush of cool sea breeze rushed over Tidus as he opened the door and strolled out onto the moonlit deck. The Winno had two decks up here; the main one and a small one overlooking the rest of the ship. The stairs to the upper deck were just to Tidus' left, and he could hear voices coming down from there. He couldn't make out the words, but recognized one of the voices clearly.
Wakka! So here's where you got to!
Tidus started to climb the stairs, but stopped when Lulu's voice reached his ears.
"Well? Say something. You'll take responsibility?" Tidus couldn't see her face, but Lulu's tone was harsh.
"Relax!" Wakka sounded exasperated. "He's bound to know someone in Luca."
Are they talking about me? Tidus thought. He decided to stay on the stairs and just listen for the time being.
"And if not?" Lulu asked sharply.
"He could always join a blitz team," Wakka suggested, starting to sound desperate. "Anyhow, it's better than just leaving him in Besaid!"
"What? Just leaving him in Luca?" Lulu scoffed. She was quickly growing agitated.
Tidus inched his way up the stairs until he could see the two guardians. Lulu stood beside the mast, and Wakka sat on the ground near her. Tidus was vaguely aware he was eavesdropping but was too interested in the conversation to care.
"What do you want me to do?" Wakka sighed, staring out over the sea.
"Yuna wants to make him a guardian," Lulu said gravely.
"Oh, yeah, geez…" Wakka hung his head. "There's that, too, eh?"
"And whose fault is that?" Lulu said sharply, her voice carrying an accusative note.
"Not mine!" Wakka defended quickly. Lulu cast him a withering glare.
Wakka let out gusty sigh and slumped his shoulders. "It is mine, huh?"
Tidus considered slipping away while he still had the chance, but in the end, he decided against it.
"Why do you think she wants to make Tidus a guardian, anyway?" Wakka asked, still looking out across the sea. Tidus hoped he wouldn't see the eavesdropper crouching on the staircase.
"Because he's Sir Jecht's son," Lulu answered plainly.
"Oh, right," Wakka nodded. "Wait, you sure 'bout that? He's really Sir Jecht's son?"
Tidus clenched his jaw at that.
Could this Sir Jecht really be the same man as my father? It seems more and more likely…
"It's hard to say," Lulu considered, "but Yuna seems to think so."
"Okay," Wakka said with a shrug.
"'Okay?'" Lulu echoed. "'Okay?!' That's all you have to say?"
"Well, yeah, I mean…" Wakka sighed. "He's got to decide for himself, ya? Well, his and Yuna, I guess."
Lulu looked like she was about to burst out again, but spook quietly. "You're right, for once."
"Ahem!" Wakka glared at the mage. Lulu didn't seem to notice.
"I wonder which is best…" she said, pondering out loud. Again, Tidus considered leaving before he was found.
I'll think I'll just listen for a little longer.
"Why don't you tell Tidus he should?" Lulu spoke up suddenly, swinging her face to Wakka.
"Should what?" Wakka asked dully.
"Become Yuna's guardian," Lulu clarified, sounding a little annoyed.
"Why me?" Wakka asked, sounding tired of the conversation.
"Because Yuna can't," Lulu stated firmly.
"Why not?" Wakka seemed even more distant, like he wasn't really listening.
"Tidus hates his father," Lulu sighed. "What he was, what he did. Do you really think she can possibly say to him, 'I want you to be my guardian, like your father was to mine?'"
Wakka sighed, swinging his attention back to the conversation. "Aren't you being oversensitive?"
Lulu threw Wakka another of her scalding glares.
"Alright, alright," Wakka sighed again. "I'll talk to him after the tournament."
"Be discreet," Lulu said urgently.
"I know," Wakka sighed yet again. "It's his decision."
Tidus tried to take in everything he was hearing. Be Yuna's guardian? I guess. If I'm not going to get back to Zanarkand, then… I can't think of anything else I'd want.
"He doesn't like his father?" Wakka's voice pulled Tidus from his contemplation.
"Apparently," Lulu answered. "He told Yuna as much."
"Hating your own father, huh?" Wakka stared away towards the horizon, looking lost in thought. "Sounds like a luxury to me. I don't even remember my parents. Can't say how I feel about them."
"I…" Lulu stared down at the deck as if recalling a painful memory. "I was five then, so I remember mine a little."
Wakka suddenly slammed his fist into the deck, spilling out all the anger he must have been feeling. "Sin just takes everything away from us!"
Tidus didn't hear what they said next because he was focused on slipped down the steps quietly. He'd listened long enough.
A guardian… Maybe.
Tidus walked out onto the main deck, breathing in the cool night air. The sun had set a while ago, and the moon hung low in the sky, just short of being full. Some of the Aurochs had come up on deck and were doing basic blitzball drills. Tidus watched as Wakka came over to join them. He considered joining them but decided against. It.
Out of the corner of his eye Tidus saw something blue lying on the Winno's deck. It was a blitzball. The round blue-and-white ball sat there reflecting the moonlight, and Tidus wondered who'd left it there. He walked up to the ball and put one foot on it, memories bubbling up to the surface.
Tidus swung his foot at the blitzball as hard as he could, watching in his mind's eyes as he bounced the ball off the wall again and again, finally flipping and launching it sail away into the distance.
But instead of making contact with the ball like he'd planned, little six-year-old Tidus' foot sailed over the blitzball and he flipped over, landing hard on the pier.
No! he thought, gritting his teeth at the tears that tried to form in his eyes. Why can't I do that shot? Why can't I even get close?
"Well, well, trying to fallow in my footsteps, are you?" Tidus jerked at the sound of his father's voice. Failing at the Jecht Shot was bad enough, but knowing Jecht had seen him made it even worse.
Tidus scrambled up to his feet, not saying anything. He didn't look up to meet his father's eyes.
"I usually charge for lessons, you know…" Jecht said with a chuckle, walking over to the blitzball lying on the dock. "That shot is done like this!"
Tidus stood and watched as Jecht bounced the ball again and again, ending with a spin and finally kicking the ball away over the waters. Tidus had seen the shot enough times, at every one of his father's games. He'd tried himself so many times…
"You can't do it, kid," Jecht said, looking down at the little boy on the pier. "But don't worry, my boy. You're not the only one. One else can do it." A grin flashed over Jecht's face. "I'm the best!"
Tidus still didn't say anything. He'd heard that enough times. One day, I'll be the best player Zanarkand's ever seen, he thought. I will. You'll see, Dad!
Why can't I do the Jecht Shot?
Since that day, Tidus hadn't even tried to do his father's impossible shot. He'd worked on improving his own blitz stills. But now, thinking back over his life to that day, the Jecht Shot didn't seem so impossible.
With everything I've been through since I got to Spira, well… this shot should be easy compared to all that.
A grin spread over Tidus' face. What better time than the present?
Tidus flipped the ball into the air with his foot, keeping his eyes on the projectile all the while. As it came down, he bounced it off his head, and it hit the mast and flew back towards him. Tidus repeated the maneuver again and again, always keeping track of where the ball was flying. He could almost hear Jecht's voice inside his head, drawing off his focus.
"No one else can do it."
"I'm the best!"
"You're out of your league!"
"You can't do it, kid!"
Tidus had to stay focused. A single slip-up, a single miss, and he'd fail yet again.
There! Tidus saw it; the ball flying just for the center. Time to shoot!
Tidus sprang upward, spinning around, flipping over, and finally landing the kick that set the blitzball sailing away over the still sea waves.
Tidus landed on the ground wearing a grin. He could barely believe what had just happened.
"The best? Yeah, right."
"Whoa! What's that called?" Tidus jerked from his surprise to see Wakka and the Aurochs crowding around him, amazement written on their faces.
"Doesn't have a name," Tidus answered quickly, waving a hand dismissively. "Anyone can do it if they try."
"Show us one more time, ya?" Wakka asked, grinning widely. Tidus smiled back. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yuna leaning against the railing. The young summoner was watching, and smile on her face.
"Sure thing!" he answered, still grinning. After trying and failing for so many years, he was happy to do that shot as many times as Wakka wanted.
Leaving Wakka and the Aurochs, Tidus walked over to join Yuna at the railing. As he approached, she looked up at him and smiled.
"That was the Jecht Shot, wasn't it?" she asked.
"How do you know that?" Tidus responded quickly, thoroughly stunned.
"Sir Jecht showed me when I was a child," Yuna replied. She let out a small giggle. "He called it the 'Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III.'"
Tidus clenched his teeth. This Sir Jecht, the guardian of Yuna's father, could he really be Tidus' father?
"Stupid name, huh?" Tidus commented, trying to distract himself from his thoughts. "You know what? There is no Mark I or Mark II. My old man said the name Mark III was just something to hook the crowd. He said they'd come back every night expecting to see Mark I and Mark II. And," Tidus sighed, "they really did come back. I used to get so mad."
Yuna let out a small chuckle, and Tidus couldn't hold back his questions any longer.
"Is he alive, you think?" he asked quietly.
"I don't know," Yuna leaned on the railing, staring distantly over the sea. The moonlight touched the waves, making them glow like gemstone. Yuna turned back to Tidus, her eyes firm. "But, Sir Jecht was my father's guardian."
Tidus sighed. "So, he's famous here, too?"
"Yes," Yuna nodded. "So if anything happened to him, I should think word would get around fast."
"Uh-huh," Tidus replied absently.
"What would you do, if you found him?" Yuna's genuine question startled Tidus. The possibility of Jecht being alive was shocking enough. Tidus hadn't considered what he'd do if he actually found his father.
"Who knows?" Tidus sighed. "I thought he died ten years ago." Tidus took a moment to consider. "Well… I'd probably just smack him once, after everything he put mom and me through. Because he was famous, I was always…" Tidus trailed off, feeling the frown tightening his face. "You should know, Yuna," Tidus turned to face the summoner. "Your father's famous too. Everyone in Spira knows him, right?"
Yuna nodded, but was silent.
"Ain't it tough?" Tidus asked. He'd expected some kind of response.
"It is hard to follow in his footsteps, as a summoner," Yuna replied gently.
"Sure." That still wasn't the response Tidus had expected.
Yuna looked over at him. "But the honor of having a father like him surpasses all that, I think."
"Well, there wasn't much to honor about my old man, that's for sure," Tidus scoffed, speaking before he could think out his words.
"You shouldn't say that about you father!" Yuna sounded astonished and a little offended. The horror in her face nearly made Tidus cringe.
"I got the right!" he snapped back, letting out all the anger that had built up inside of him.
Yuna was silent. She refused to meet his gaze, staring down at the deck. She looked hurt and blossoms of guilt started to bloom in Tidus' heart. When she spoke at last, her voice was small and distant.
"I guess… you do," she said weakly.
Tidus didn't know what to say. He knew he was wrong to lash out like that but wasn't sure how to apologize.
Tidus' thoughts were interrupted as a blitzball hit him in the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"Hey! Show me that move again!" Wakka's voice sounded from over the deck. In the conversation about his father, Tidus had nearly forgotten performing the Jecht shot for the Aurochs.
"Right!" he called back. Tidus felt sorry about leaving Yuna like that, but it did save him from figuring out what to say next.
I don't think my old man'll come to Luca. He never did like watching other people play. Sure, I told Wakka I'd help him win the tournament, but I'm not sure I've got it in me to play at all anymore.
