"What do you mean you don't know?" He asked, anger beginning to rise in his tone. "You're telling me that you left her alone up there?"
Everyone looked at Tidus, wide-eyed, surprised at his sudden change of attitude.
Kimahri stood with his arms crossed in silent meditation, ignoring his fellow guardian's question.
"Answer me!" Tidus yelled.
The Ronso began to growl under his breath. Tidus glared at him, his patience depleting by the second. Kimahri still had his eyes closed, refusing to look at him. The rest of the guardians stood around them in utter silence, waiting for the next remark.
Rikku suddenly stepped forward and looked at Tidus.
"What's the matter with you? Kimahri didn't do anything wrong. No one can get up to that summit, okay?"
Tidus' eyes were still glued to Kimahri.
"It doesn't matter how safe the place is. I'm her guardian, I'm supposed to be by her side at all times! There's no way I'm gonna risk leaving her alone, especially after--"
He silenced himself and kept his eyes on the blue feline. After a moment, he looked around and then dashed out of the cave. Rikku immediately ran after him, fearful that his apparent anger might lead to something rash.
"Tidus, WAIT!" She screamed.
He stopped and caught his breath.
"What's gotten into you?"
"As she gets closer to Zanarkand, it gets more serious."
He lifted his head up and breathed in a puff of cold air. The light chill cooled his senses down. Rikku looked at the figure whose back still faced her. After a moment, he continued.
"I... I don't even know how to save her, now that we're this close to Sin. It's like everything I've said means nothing. I can't even change fate. I have no idea where to start. The only thing I know I can do is to protect her. Even if... even if it means one of us will disappear."
He clenched his fists in bitter realization and turned around to finally face Rikku. She starred at him in thought as a deadening silence began to consume the atmosphere. After a moment, she steered her eyes to the snowy ground. Then she looked back up at him.
"No," she said. "Don't you see? We can't give up, now that we're this close. Yuna needs us. She needs you. I know you love her, Tidus. I love her too. I... I can't lose her. I just can't."
Both stood still, looking at each other contemplatively.
"I need to be with her. Every second of every day. Rikku, I've... fallen for her. To lose her to Sin would be fair to no one."
It was a while before she replied to this remark. Her attention suddenly steered back to what he said earlier.
"What did you mean by one of you disappearing?"
He figured that if there was any time to tell Rikku of what he knew, it was now. There was nothing left to lose, and she deserved to know the truth.
"Auron told me the fayth would disappear once Yuna did the final summoning. And everything they've dreamt will disappear with them, including me. I'm... just a dream, Rikku. I'm not even real."
He looked at her, eyes untouched by fear but filled with a longing sadness. It was a while before either spoke. His words seemed to echo through the airy mountains, leaving Rikku speechless and thoughtful.
"NO!" She yelled in sudden disagreement. "You can't disappear! We're supposed to save Yuna, no one's supposed to disappear!"
He could almost hear traces of anger rise in her voice. For the first time, Rikku was pissed. It was a while before she spoke again.
"We don't even know what will really happen," she said with a sigh. She seemed to cool down just as quickly as she flared up.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"No one can tell the future. I don't believe it. I choose not to. It doesn't matter what happens now. What matters is that we save Yuna. What do you say?"
"Rikku, I--"
"Don't tell me you don't know what to do. It could be right under our fingertips. We need to start thinking fast, before something happens and we live to regret it."
She was right, but he still found himself in apprehension. He looked at her with a questioning stare, still waiting for the rest of her thoughts. She looked back at him and began to urge his spirits.
"If you love her, you'll figure out a way. It doesn't matter how close we are, what matters is that we save her. Don't you think that's important?"
He looked away without an answer. His thoughts strayed off and she decided to continue.
"You know, I thought I was the only one who knew you had a thing for Yunie. Until you didn't know just how obvious it became to the rest of the guardians. I bet you didn't know that, did you?"
He suddenly blinked twice and looked at her. She smiled, knowing well that she brought him back from whatever thought he drifted off into.
"Are you serious?"
"Mmm hmm," she nodded. "It's strange, because they seem to accept it."
He reflected on what Rikku said for a brief moment, and then looked up at her.
"Then I guess it doesn't matter now. I've gotta come up with a plan to save her."
"Huh?" She looked at him, puzzled.
She was caught by surprise, thinking Tidus would flip at the thought of Lulu and Kimahri knowing of his feelings for Yuna. Instead, he almost seemed liberated by it. He looked at her, waiting for a better response than the one she had just uttered. She looked back at him, shaking the surprise out of herself and smiled.
"Right. Let's go back and start planning!"
He let out a faint smile and complied with the idea.
As both guardians walked back to the cave in a new light of hope, they had completely forgotten their summoner was still atop the summit in the Gagazet springs.
"Wait on my cue before you jump in. But if something goes wrong, you'd better jump in ahead of me, or you'll be sorry. Is that clear?"
The Bevelle guard nodded in command and remained silent, standing alongside Kinoc, awaiting their target. No distinct sound was to be heard in the Gagazet mountains, save the howling wind. After a moment, they sharpened their senses as they heard the sudden sound of movement progress in their direction.
As he rounded the corner, he came into the view of his perpetrators. The Bevelle guard leaped out of the overshadowed crevice and barred Seymour's path. The Guado maester might have been surprised to get attacked this far into the mountain trail, but he did not come unprepared. He readied himself for battle in an instant.
Although the guard was covered in black, Seymour noticed the symbols of Yevon sealed across the boots of the attacker. Before he had the time to conspire theories, the guard thrashed toward him with his sword. Seymour moved within seconds from the sharp blade and casted a speedy firaga spell on his opponent, slowing down any chances of escape. The spell hit the opponent's lower leg, which burst open in crimson blood and ripped veins. However strong the spell was for a first blow, it was not enough.
Just as the blazing flames shut out, the snowy ground was covered in blood and ripped flesh, but the guard was no longer in sight. For one who had lost a lower portion of his leg, this was no ordinary fighter. Seymour looked all around him and before he knew it, his acute sense of perception picked up the sound of movement in the knick of time. He turned around just as the guard dived in with another quick attack, dodging the shining blade by a couple of centimeters.
"He's not slowing down," said Kinoc in observation of his fellow maester. "But he will soon. You're not fighting a one-on-one battle, my boy."
As the guard managed to sustain many of Seymour's spells, Kinoc rummaged through his stock of magic and combined three elements to successfully create what he wanted. Pearl Warp was the spell, and the effect of it would distort the immediate surrounding, displacing the opponent's entire sense of perception, leaving him dangerously vulnerable to outside attacks.
Seymour was sure to have finished his opponent after the casting of his powerful meteora spell, but the area suddenly became dense with a thick fog, and he was unable to see or hear anything. Kinoc quickly casted his spell right when Seymour came into view, but before Seymour had the time to grasp the situation, a shimmering metal blade suddenly pierced into his abdomen. He caught his breath and let out a forced gasp, quickly pulling the blade out of his skin, now plastered with a slew of dark blood.
As he looked at the reddened palm of his hand, his senses returned and he noticed the silent surrounding. Within an instant, the atmosphere suddenly cleared and no trace of the attacker was to be found. He looked around frantically, but no trace of blood was left on the snowy ground either. Whoever it was that attacked Seymour had disappeared, and left no evidence of there ever being a battle.
After a moment of scrutinizing the scene, he realized whoever was there before was gone from the summit at this point. He decided that it was best to seek refuge elsewhere, so he struggled up the path that led into the hot springs, hoping to find any means to survive the penetrating wound.
Author's Note: And now we know what happened to Seymour. Tidus seems to be caught up in saving Yuna, so I hope he doesn't do anything rash. Rikku's rarely ever the voice of reason, so this was a good chance for her to prove you wrong. And that damned Kinoc. I never liked him.
The last chapter was rather short, but it's definitely a start to the plot. And I had to include some physical attraction bit in there, because Seymour's got a great physique.
A reviewer mentioned that there's no coherent plot to this story, but I'm working towards it and it'll piece together in time. Trust me, will ya? In the meantime, continuing thanks to your reviews.