And we are here! This chapter... I didn't have a chance to properly edit most of this chapter, so I apologize if there are more typos than usual.
Just so you know, next week I'll be releasing a chapter on Monday (July 4) rather than Tuesday (July 5). I'm leaving for summer camp for a week and won't be around to release on Tuesday.
Also remember that I'm releasing a new Fanfic, Final Fantasy XII: A Tale of Hidden Powers. Come check it out!
Enough talking! Go on and read!
Chapter Twenty-Six
The first thing Tidus noticed was that it wasn't cold anymore. It was hot, burning hot. But the water was cool, cool and sweet. Water?
Tidus spluttered, pulling his face out of the water and sucking in a breath. He had been floating face down in some kind of spring, and now he was treading water. The sun above him beat down mercilessly, and all around the small spring he could see endless sand. Some kind of desert?
Sudden panic filled Tidus. Where's everybody else?! For all he could see, Tidus was alone. Again. The past two time he'd been attacked by Sin, Tidus had ended up in a totally different place, all alone. For all he knew, he could be a thousand years in the future again! No, Jecht wouldn't do that, Tidus thought. Like Auron said, he wants me to stop him. What good would it do to send me way into the future?
Tidus paddled his way to the shore and climbed out onto the burning sand. In every direction, all that could be seen were endless dunes of sand, sprinkled with the occasional ancient ruin.
Tidus turned back to the water. Sin was nowhere to be seen.
I forgive you, this time, Tidus thought, as if his father could hear him. Be good for a while, okay?
Tidus headed off over the sand. He had no idea where he was or where he should be going, but he figured he wasn't going to find any of the others by sitting around. The sun quickly dried out his clothes, and soon Tidus felt hopelessly lost. Every sand dune looked just like the others, and he didn't even know how to get back to the spring anymore. He decided to try calling out.
"Yuna?" he called. "Yuna!" No reply. "Auron?! Wakka! Rikku! Anybody!?" The only answer was the whistle of wind over sand. Tidus heaved a sigh. This is hopeless. How do I even know the others are here?
A sound caught Tidus' attention. A distant, shrill sound. A whistle? The sound came again, clearer. It was a bird cawing. Tidus' shoulders drooped in disappointed. Not Yuna. Tidus turned away, but the cry came again. It was awfully loud for a bird, he thought. Tidus turned back and saw why. It was an awfully big bird.
The massive, thickly limbed avian creature, adorned with scraggly black feathers, hovered hungrily over Tidus. Its long purple tongue hung out of the side of its mouth, and its beady black eyes glinted. Tidus leaped backward, pulling out his sword. The blue crystal blade glowed brightly in the desert sun. He was glad he hadn't lost the weapon when Sin attacked. At least that's one good thing in this situation.
The giant carrion bird swooped down, and Tidus shoulder-rolled away from it. Hot, golden sand stuck in his hair, but Tidus didn't have time to worry about it. The bird swooped again, and he dodged backward, this time landing a blow on its neck. Dark blood dripped from the wound, but the scavenger didn't slow its attacks.
"Need some help?"
Tidus looked up at the sound of a very familiar voice. Auron? Tidus broke into a smile.
"About time you showed up!" he called back, swinging his blade at the bird again. The large creature dodged away.
"Hmph." Auron swung his massive katana off his shoulder and rushed forward. He caught the bird's leg with his sword, and it let out a shriek. Not wanting to be shown up by Auron again, Tidus swept his blade through the air, slicing the bird's wing. It cried again and dropped to the ground. Its anger kindled, the creature turned its head towards Tidus, opening its slathering jaws. Tidus' eyes widened. Who gave that bird the right to have teeth?
Before the bird could sink its fangs into Tidus, and bolt of lightning dropped from the cloudless sky and struck it with a sizzling sound.
"Are you alright?" Lulu called out. Tidus heaved a sigh of relief. That's two out of six.
"We're fine!" Tidus shouted back, slashing at the side of the bird's head. He left a long gash in the side of its face, and the bird let out another cry. It began to flap its wings, taking off in a jerk flight. It'd had enough. The creature flew off into the distance, searching for easier prey. Tidus sucked in a breath and leaned over on his knees.
"The others?" he asked, panting.
"Haven't found them yet," Lulu said, shaking her head. Her long, braided hair was messy, and the ends of her dress were covered with sand. "We're supposed to stay in one place it we get split up."
Auron turned from the two of them without a word and began to trudge off.
"Stay here it you want," Tidus said to Lulu, watching Auron. "He's not."
Lulu let out a sigh. "I suppose the most important thing is finding Yuna. Come on, let's go." Lulu started off, and Tidus found himself, as always, taking up the rear.
The group of three carried on through the shifting sand and hot sun. Deserts were yet another thing Tidus had no experience with, and he was starting to wish it had stayed that way. The barren sand forever in every direction, the merciless, scalding sun with no shade anywhere… The sooner we find Yuna and the others and get out of here, the better.
After a short walk, Tidus spotted someone crouched under the remains of a large machina.
"Hey! Over there!" he pointed.
"I think that's Wakka!" Lulu said, raising one hand to shield her eyes from the sun.
"Let's go." Auron started off towards the machina.
"Wakka!" Tidus called out as they arrived. "You alone?"
Wakka looked up and nodded. "Where's Yuna?" he asked.
Tidus glanced over at Lulu, who looked distressed. He couldn't blame her. They were guardians. How could they lose their summoner like that? How could I lose Yuna?
"Arrgh!" Wakka gave the machina he was sitting under a solid kick. "First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambushed by machina. Great day I'm having!"
"Calm down," Lulu said sternly, in that voice she reserved only for scolding Wakka. "We're looking for her. Are you coming?"
"Of course!" Wakka walked out from under his shade, joining the group.
"If we're done here, we should leave," Auron said. He stood a little ways off, already halfway up the next sand dune. Tidus tried not to groan at the thought of climbing more sand under the brutal sun. Oh, I'll never take shade and water for granted again.
After climbing a few more sand dunes, the group stumbled over Kimahri. The Ronso was trying to climb up a steep, crumbling sand dune, and failing miserably. As they approached, Tidus watched him climb up and slide back down several times. Sand caught all over his dense blue fur. Man, and I thought I was hot. I don't have a fur coat.
"Hey, Kimahri!" Tidus called out as they arrived.
Kimahri stopped his hopeless climb and looked over at the others.
"Yuna…" he rumbled. "Gone." Kimahri shook his head, turning his yellow eyes to the ground.
"It's not your fault, Kimahri," Tidus said firmly, and the Ronso raised his head again.
"We search for Yuna," Kimahri said, turning back to his dune.
"Right!" Tidus agreed. "But, maybe we should go around that dune?"
The party continued on, running into a small tent pitched on the burning hot sand. Rikku crouched inside. As the group approached, she jumped up and rushed to meet them.
"Oh! Hey, guys!" she called out. "Where's Yunie?"
Tidus let out a sigh. "Gone."
"Gone…" Lulu shook her head. "Some guardian I am."
Rikku glanced up at the clear desert sky, looking uncomfortable. "Umm…" she fidgeted nervously for a moment before speaking. "There's something I wanna tell you, but promise not to say anything."
Wakka fixed Rikku with a furious scowl scalding enough to rival the desert sun.
"No glaring, either!" She tossed him a glare of her own, then turned back to the others. "I know where we are. We're on Bikanel Island. There's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here." Tidus recalled what she'd said in the travel agency on the Thunder Plains. Home is the secret Al Bhed city.
"Yunie's there, I'm sure of it!" Rikku continued. "Other Al Bhed must've come and rescued her!"
"Rescued?" Wakka scoffed. "You mean kidnapped!"
Tidus let out a sigh. Do they have to fight at a time like this? "What does it matter as long as she's safe?"
"That's right!" Rikku said. "Anyway, I will take you there if you promise…" Rikku took in a sharp breath of dry desert air, "that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed. Who knows what they'd do if they knew?"
"Gimme a break," Wakka said, folding his arms. "What are you accusing Yevon of this time?"
Rikku's face contorted in a troubled expression as she tried not to fight with Wakka again. "Yevon did something really bad to us before."
"Well, you Al Bhed must've done something to deserve it," Wakka said with a huff.
Tidus let out a sigh. I know Wakka can be a kind, cheerful person when he wants to be, so why does he have to keep stirring up trouble with Rikku just because she's an Al Bhed? We should be looking for Yuna now, not squabbling!
"Argh!" Tidus' frustration leaked out of his mouth. "Can't you guys talk about this later?"
Rikku let out a breath and turned to Wakka. "Just promise you won't tell anyone about this island. Promise?"
Wakka was stubbornly silent.
"Wakka, come on!" Tidus all but pleaded. We have to get going and look for Yuna!
"Alright, I promise!" Wakka relented, but he still looked angry. "Lead the way."
"You got it!" The usual smile returned to Rikku's features as she set out to the front of the group.
Tidus let out a sigh. When will Wakka get it through his rock-hard skull that Rikku's the same as she was before he knew she was an Al Bhed?
Rikku led the group over the endless desert for about an hour. Looking up at the sun, Tidus guessed it was sometime in the morning. He didn't want to be out in the desert at noon. Eventually, Rikku ran ahead of the group up to the crest of a large dune.
"Over here!" she announced jubilantly. She reached the top and looked down.
"Aaaaaa!" Rikku let out a scream and leaped over the edge of the dune.
"Rikku!" Tidus shouted, and he and the other rushed to join her. What he saw made Tidus; eyes widen.
A massive city stood in the middle of the desert. The design of the towering city almost reminded him of a flower opening its petals. It looked like a fine city.
But Home was under siege.
Fiends circled it from the air and ground, and people battled people in the streets. Rikku raced down the sandy slopes towards her Home in a panic, all else forgotten.
"What?" Wakka's eyes widened. "Yuna's down there?"
Lulu shook her head. "Of all the places… Let's go!"
Tidus had no objections. He and the others raced after Rikku towards Home.
…
They managed to catch up with Rikku and make it inside the city. The city surrounded one center complex that rose high into the sky above their heads. Tidus wondered how they had managed to build a stable building on such a sand foundation. But here was no time for wondering now.
"Where's Yuna?" Wakka shouted, voicing all the guardian's thoughts. A wounded Al Bhed stumbled by, clutching a gash on his side. He dropped to the ground, and Rikku rushed over and crouched by his side.
"Keyakku!" she shouted. "Who? Who's attacking us?" She switched to Al Bhed. "Fru tet drec du oui?"
The injured man let out a moan before answering. "Yevon… Guado…" He went limb.
"Keyakku?" Rikku sucked in a breath, tears forming in her eyes. "Keyakku!"
"A war?" Lulu's eyes were wide with horror. "Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?"
Another man, unharmed, walked down the pathway towards them. He was bald and held a gun.
"Dryd ec fnuhk!" he shouted in Al Bhed. "Guado ku vun dra summoner!"
Rikku looked up from the fallen man's side and wiped her eyes.
"Vydran…" she said, staring up at the newcomer.
The bald man crouched down and felt Keyakku's pulse. He shook his head and stood back up, turning to the group.
"You Rikku's friends?" he asked in flawless English. "Well, just don't stand there, come on! Let's kick those Guado out of our Home!" he rushed off toward the inner complex at the center of the city.
"Who…?" Tidus started to ask.
Rikku didn't take her gaze off Keyakku's body as she spoke. "Cid. The leader of the Al Bhed. He's my dad."
"Let's go," Tidus said, nodding after Cid.
"Yeah." Rikku sniffed, nodding. "We have to save Yunie."
"Not only, Yuna, right?" Tidus asked, and a smile returned to Rikku's face.
"Right!"
The group rushed inside, following Rikku's lead. The inner complex was falling apart from the constant bombardments, and the party had to be careful of burning debris falling from the ceiling. They were constantly attacked by the Guado and the fiends they summoned up, but they kept on going. They had to. Yuna was all Tidus could think about. With each hurried step, each swing of his blade, Tidus thought of her.
Yuna… We have to save her. Don't worry, Yuna, we're coming! You're not getting hurt, not on my watch.
The group made it deep into the complex under Rikku's guidance. They were rushing down a collapsing corridor when Cid's rough voice sounded over a loudspeaker. He shouted something in Al Bhed, and Rikku's eyes widened.
"Oh, no!" she cried.
"What'd he say?!" Wakka asked, not stopping. They were all still running.
"We have to get underground!" Rikku shouted. Her voice was shaking, her face tense.
"Where's Yuna?" Auron asked, the same as ever.
"The Summoner's Sanctum! This way!" Rikku signaled with her hand and dashed off through a doorway. Everyone followed. Inside, they stopped at the top of a stairway, panting and catching their breath. Yuna… We're almost there!
"This place is done for," Wakka said, glancing back as the corridor behind them caved in.
"You're right." Rikku hung her head, sounding as though she might cry. The red light of harsh flames illuminated her pained face. "You're right, Wakka. We Al Bhed, we… we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new Home. Everyone worked hard, we had our Home back again… But now…" A tear escaped Rikku's eye, and she covered her face with her hands. "Why did things have to turn out this way?"
"Rikku…" Wakka's stern face, hard with long-held prejudice, finally softened. He walked up to the crying Al Bhed girl and wrapped his arms around her. "Those Guado!" Wakka clenched his teeth. "What are they thinking?"
There was a moment of silence, safe for the crackling of flames and the crash of falling debris.
"Rikku, what is the Summoners' Sanctum?" Lulu asked, bringing things back to the urgent matter of finding Yuna.
Rikku stepped back out of Wakka's arms, quickly wiping the few tears from her eyes. "The Summoners' Sanctum is where we keep the summoners," she explained. "We keep them safe there."
"You kidnap them," Wakka said, but not with so much anger as before.
Rikku nodded. "I know it's against the teachings and all that…"
"I get why you did it." Wakka folded his arms. "But…"
"Well, I sure don't get it, Wakka," Tidus jumped in, speaking all his thoughts aloud. "They might get hurt on their pilgrimage, so you kidnap them? I mean, if the summoners don't do their job, then who will beat Sin? You want to protect them, I know. But guardians are there for that. If guardians do their job well, summoners will be safe! Right?"
Tidus' question was met with an eerie silence. Even the flickering of flames seemed to die away as everyone sat in stony silence, staring at the ground. Tidus had a horrible, sinking feeling in his gut, like there was something they weren't telling him.
"Right?!"
"It's quiet. Kimahri goes now." Kimahri brought the conversation to a close and started down the staircase. The others followed, slowly, and Tidus stayed at the top of the stairs. He had a feeling that if he followed, he'd know what they were hiding. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
He followed anyway.
…
"Yuna, please be here!" Rikku shouted as the party shoved through the door at the bottom of the stairs. The room below was in shambles; wreckage from the ceiling covered the floor, along with the bodies of numerous Al Bhed.
"Yuna!" Kimahri shouted, his deep voice carrying over the sounds of fire and falling debris.
"She's not here," a familiar voice said. Tidus' eyes widened as he saw Dona approaching. Isaaru, the summoner from Djose was with her, along with Isaaru's guardians, Pacce and Maroda.
"Hello again," Dona said. Her eyes glittered with sadness she was trying to hide. "Wait there until we preform the sending." Dona began to dance, though she had no staff.
"They died… protecting us," Isaaru said, staring down at the fallen Al Bhed. "It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending." Isaaru joined Dona in the sending dance, and the air was eerily silent. The only sound was Dona and Isaaru's quiet footfalls as they finished the sending.
Pacce left his brother and ran up to Tidus. "Hey, um," the little kid started, "what's 'sacrificed?' The Al Bhed said that summoners were being 'sacrificed,' that summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage…"
Tidus frowned. Something was wrong. Summoners were being sacrificed? Surely that many summoners didn't die before completing their pilgrimage.
"Why couldn't they trust guardians to protect the summoners?" Tidus shouted, venting his frustration. "The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!"
"The pilgrimages have to stop!" Rikku suddenly shouted, quickly moving to stand in front of Tidus. Anguish was painted over her face. "If they don't, and they get to Zanarkand…" Rikku sucked in a shaky breath, she hung her head and closed her eyes tight, clenching her fists. "They might defeat Sin. Yunie could… but then she…" Rikku opened her eyes, and they were bright with tears. She was shouting now.
"Yunie will die, you know?!"
Her words echoed around the room for a moment, and Tidus wasn't sure he'd heard right.
"You know, don't you?" Rikku's voice was shaking uncontrollably. The sounds of fire and destruction were very far away. "Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin. But then… but then…" Rikku let out a few shaky breaths. "If she calls it, the Final Aeon's gonna kill her! Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know?!"
Rikku dropped to her knees, sobbing cutting off her words.
Tidus stood in shock. He couldn't get his thought together enough… to even speak… What…? Yuna…
"Was I the only one who didn't know?" Tidus said slowly, still dazed. He dropped down and started shaking Rikku's shoulders. "Tell me why! Why were you hiding it? Why didn't I know?!"
Rikku didn't answer, only kept crying. Tidus could feel hot tears rising in his own eyes.
"We weren't hiding it…" Wakka's voice reached his ears distantly.
"It was just…" Lulu's voice joined his, shaky, "too hard to say."
Tidus let go of Rikku, closing his eyes against the tears that were about to spill over. He clenched his teeth, closing his fists so tightly his fingernails dug into his palms.
"Lulu! How could you? How could you?! Isn't she like a sister to you?" Tidus shouted. "I thought you were family! Why don't you do something, Wakka?"
"Don't you think we tried to stop her?" Lulu shouted back. "She follows… her heart."
Wakka let out a tired sigh. "Yuna, she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a summoner. To face Sin, ya? Yuna knew!"
"But Wakka, that's just totally wrong!" Rikku shouted, raising her tear-stained face, her voice shrill with anguish. "Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves… just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?"
Tidus still crouched on the ground, trying to think. A sound broke through the chaos in his mind, a low growling. He stood to see a large fiend materializing from the pyreflies. The hairy beast growled, ready to pounce. Tidus and the others stepped back.
"But that is our choice," Isaaru said. He swung in the movements of a summoning dance.
"We all live in fear of Sin. You know that," Dona said. She, too, was summoning.
Isaaru and Dona finished their summoning, and two aeons, the winged Valfor and the fire-beast Ifrit, formed from the pyreflies.
"A world without Sin…" Isaaru's face was set with determination. "That is the dream of all Yevon's children. And we will use that power, even if it means our lives!"
Ifrit leaped quickly into battle with the fiend, defeating it in moments.
Tidus lost control of his emotions. Hot, angry tears streaked down his cheeks, and he leaped forward at Valfor. Yuna had summoned this aeon before. The great, winged creature was the first aeon she'd gotten. He remembered back in Besaid, when Yuna had summoned the aeon for all to see…
Tidus clenched his fists and began to punch Valfor's long body. All his jumbled thoughts tumbled out as words.
"And I've been telling Yuna… Let's go to Zanarkand together! Let's beat Sin! I told her all the things we could… we could… And all along, the whole time, I didn't know anything! But Yuna, she'd… just smile…"
Tidus lost his breath, and he couldn't speak anymore. He stopped punching and sat there, just sobbing. Valfor leaned her long neck over and rested her beak against his hair, trying to provide some measure of comfort. But Tidus could only think of Yuna…
"Hey, watch!"
Not waiting for an answer, Yuna raised her fingers to her lips and blew a long, sharp whistle. Her face was alight with excitement. Tidus thought it was a bit over the top for a simple whistle.
"Hey, you got pretty good," he said, not looking up at Yuna. He instead stared down at Luca, the great Spiran city below.
"You sound sad," Yuna said, cocking her head slightly.
"Yeah, maybe," Tidus replied, no longer caring how dull he sounded.
"Wanna scream?" Yuna asked, a hint of humor in her voice.
"Eh, I really don't think that's going to help this time," Tidus answered with a weak chuckle.
Yuna pulled her gaze away and stared over the landscape before them.
"You know what?" she asked, still looking outward. "It's embarrassing to say this myself, but… summoners and their guardians are kind of like Spira's ray of light. A lot of people in Spira depend on us, you know?"
Yuna turned back to Tidus, her eyes bright, but just a little sad. "I learned to practice smiling, when I'm feeling sad, you know? I know… it's hard."
Tidus let out a long breath. "Yeah… I understand. I think."
"Right!" the bright smile returned to Yuna's face. "Now, let's see what you can do!" Yuna… Always smiling… Even though… When our journey's over…
Tidus remembered. Their laughter, rolling out over Luca that day. Yuna's words.
"I want my journey to be full of laughter."
Tidus stood, no longer dazed. He raised one arm and wiped the tears off his face before turned back to the others, his mind made up.
"I can't let her die! I'll find her!"
