I
Chapter 9
- What? Where!!? - the young Al-Bhed was almost screaming in panic.
- At-t the shore, near the dock...
- Oh, damn! I must go there...
- Wait, she was already taken to the village's medical post!
- Then take me to the village. NOW!
- I'm on my way! Calm down!
"Calm down!? How can he say that!?" Rikku was walking and thinking at full speed. Just a few moments ago she had been waken up by Brother, who received an urgent message from Besaid. "It seems that something happened to Yuna" he said. "They said she was found at the beach, unconscious and covered with blood."
"What in this world could have happened? I just hope she is alright"
- Can't this piece of junk go faster?!
- Hey! This airship was rebuilt just a few weeks ago! I'm doing my best!
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Wakka and Lulu were nervously waiting for the door to open.
- Why are they taking so much time? I'm going insane!
- Please, calm down, Wakka. I'm sure they are doing their best there...
- Yah, I know, but... Can't they just say something?... - Wakka stood up and was now walking nervously around the place.
- For Yevon's sake, stop that... You are making me even more nervous!
"Even more nervous? I don't think I can get more nervous than I am right now!..."
Wakka thought about the bizarre events that were taking place in that night. It all started when Lulu said that Yuna was taking too long to arrive at the village...
- Nah! She must be arriving by now... Maybe she just wanted some more time to be alone, yah?; Besides, there is such a nice weather, she should have been enjoying it a bit more today...
Now that he thought about what he said back then, he cursed himself. "Maybe if I had heard Lulu..."
- Hmm... maybe you're right... but still, I don't like the way she stays alone like that...
- Come on, Yuna's a big girl already, she can take care of herself, yah?
- It's not that... Lately she is tends too much to be isolated from everyone, I'm a bit worried about that.
- But, wasn't that you who said she needed sometime for herself?
- Yes, but six months have past, and she still didn't cheer up much... and I think that being alone isn't helping a lot now.
- Is that a "women thing"? Because I'm not sure I understand...
- Just forget it.
But now Wakka was starting to understand what Lulu said. They waited a little longer, but still no signs of Yuna. Wakka then decided to go to the beach to check if everything was alright. When he arrived there, he finally started to panic a bit; Yuna wasn't there. He searched around the beach, the rocks and the dock, but she wasn't anywhere. Back to the village, he called the Aurochs to help him searching for Yuna; this time they searched for her not only at the beach, but also in the trails that connected the beach to the village. It was a hard task since it was already night by the time. But still, not even a clue. Until...
- Heeey! Over here! - One of the Aurochs had finally found something in the beach's shore. When Wakka arrived there, he wasn't sure of what to think. First he didn't understood what was that; with the weak light they had he only saw a strange body lying on the sand.
- We ain't looking for fiends! We're looking for Yuna!
- But, capt'n,...
He gave a close look to that strange body; and then he really panicked. Then it happened all very fast. He called the rest of the team and they took Yuna to the village; there she was taken to the medical post. And there they were.
Those who woke up with the noise (almost the entire village) were now waiting for the the healer to say something.
- Heeeey! Excuse me! Let me pass! - Rikku was trying to get pass through the crowd until she finally found Lulu - Where is Yunie?!
- In the medical post...
- Is she okay?
- We don't know...
- Where's the healer?!
- There, with Yuna - said Wakka as he pointed to the medical post's door.
- Ohh... come on!...
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Half and hour passed between Rikku's arrival and the first news from the healer. He said the summoner was at a really bad state, and he couldn't do much to help.
- Being here is not helping... Besaid's medical post isn't the best in Spira,...
- That's it? Well, then take her to the airship, we can take her to anywhere in a few time! Just tell me where to go!
The healer was a little reluctant in using the airship (he still had Yevon's teachings on his head), but soon Yuna was on her way to Bevelle. Wakka and Lulu also went with Rikku and the rest of the airship's crew.
In Bevelle, Yuna was quickly taken to the hospital, and was now being treated with the best healers and white mages. Only in the next day Wakka, Lulu and Rikku heard some more news about Yuna's state.
- I don't know if I should say she is lucky or unlucky... It's amazing how she survived that. - The healer's face was a mystery. It wasn't happy nor sad, which left them confused.
- Will she be okay? - Rikku enthusiastically asked
- I don't know. Tell me, what happened to her?
- We are not sure... - Lulu closed her eyes, trying to remember everything exactly as it happened - She was found at the beach's shore; we have no idea about how she got there or what happened...
- Maybe she was attacked by some fiend... Besaid at night can become dangerous, yah?
- That's unlikely... She has some broken bones and several bruises all around her body. And she has a very deep wound on her left shoulder; in fact, the blood she lost came from that single wound. If it was a fiend she should have more wounds... My guess would be that her shoulder was smashed against something, a rock maybe.
- But then why the other broken bones and the bruises?
- The most credible theory is that she was smashed against a rock or something hard, and she must have been turned to the left when she did it; that would cause impact all over her body, with the most affected being the left shoulder.
- Bah! We have time to discuss that later, yah?! How is she?
- Not very good. As I said, she is lucky to have survived to whatever happened to her, but now the only thing we can do is to wait and see what happens. Me and my team made our best, but she is still at a very bad state... - The healer couldn't help to look to the floor when he said that - I'm sorry to say this, but she may not survive.
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- Hey! Check this out!
Marckus and Celia directed their attention to Josh as he entered with the Luca Times on his hand.
- "The High Summoner Yuna is at Bevelle's Hospital recovering from a severe accident that almost cost her life."
- What are you saying?...
- It's right here! In the front page of the Times!
- Let me see it! - Celia took the newspaper out of Josh's hand and read the big lines. - What the?...
- Now, that's a bad timing for getting sick! - Marckus joked.
- How come?...
- I was planning to do her a visit in Besaid...
- To visit her? It was because of that you wanted to talk to us?...
In the past six months the three continued their lives normally, never mentioning their skepticism to anyone: that could cause people to ask them things that they didn't want to tell them to anyone. But yesterday Marckus said he wanted to talk to them. So they met at Marckus' house, the same way as they did when they were younger...
- Yeah. I was planning to visit the Summoner... I thought you might want to come too.
- Why should you do that? - Celia gave Marckus a confused look - I thought that you didn't believe in her.
- I don't. And I thought that would be fun to go to Basaid and tell her that. - he was with a slightly evil smile on his face - Tell her that I don't believe in her bullshit and... why.
- What? And tell her everything we know?! - Josh thought that Marckus was going insane for good.
- That... makes no sense. I mean, we tried to hide it for all these years, and now you want to tell it to her, just like that?
- Calm down... Look, yes, I would tell her everything; but then, what? She couldn't tell it to anyone else, or the people would discover that this Eternal Calm wasn't eternal...
- But still, what's the point?...
- I just thought that it would be fun... to see her reaction.
- But wouldn't that be dangerous for us? I mean, we would become a threatto her, and she could try to hunt us down... - Celia was wondering if Marckus was going crazy
- Yes! Come on! Do you remember how it was before? Before we know what we know now! We used to travel around Spira, fighting beasts, being heroes! - Marckus got up from his chair and was now talking loudly - And look at us now! Sitting in a chair, doing nothing! I'm tired of this! I don't care if there is nothing I can do to stop the Summoner or Sin or Yunalesca or anything else that causes this big spiral of death, but I don't like being here sitting on my ass all day, living like I'm like everyone else! I want action again... - he slowly sat back to his chair, and was now speaking with a normal voice again - If you don't want to come, that's okay with me. But I'll go...
Josh and Celia looked at each other. "He definitely went insane!"
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Wakka entered the in one of the hotel rooms that they had rented in Bevelle. Everyone looked at him, waiting for some news; but Wakka's empty face erased all the hope about any more news.
- Still nothing?... - Lulu tried
- Nothing... - Wakka sighted and sited heavily on a chair.
This scene was repeated every day at morning and at the evening during the past week. In the first days, Kimahri (who had come to Bevelle as soon as he found out about what happened to Yuna) refused to get out of Yuna's room at the hospital, but now he realized that there was nothing he could do, and joined the rest of the guardians at the hotel.
- Just... give her some more time... - Rikku tried think positive - she'll get better, you'll see...
- You don't know that... - Wakka was now sitting and looking to the floor
- Hey,... if the healer says that nothing changed... it means that she isn't worse...
- But she isn't better either...
- Don't be pessimistic! She will get better; you'll see! She will...
- Kimahri hopes Rikku is right. But Rikku doesn't know.
- You'll see...
End of Chapter 9