To Love & Lost
Chapter 2: These Things We Weather
(Warnings: T, graphic battle depiction]
Whatever ominous feeling had been welling it Yuna, it was poignant now more than ever. The priestess carefully toed her way into the woods, of the perpetual vale of an amethyst and sapphire twilight, twisting veins of crystal grown to mimic bark ensconcing enormous, spherical vessels of light whilst silvery leaves obfuscated the sun except that which was ushered down below with a lunar filtration. Something didn't feel right, and much of her questioned what had occurred since last she'd ventured in. It must've been about a year ago when she did, when Bayra had informed her that the woods would die within days, if not months, because of the fayth's absence. But walking here, she could see the inverse was true. The crystal spires grew taller than ever, perhaps more so than when she'd last remembered. Spots of sky could be discerned back then, but the leaves grew in clouts so thick no sunlight could trespass any longer through the boughs, the floating fractals giving the canopy the illusion of it being a night sky more than before.
It made her wonder: had the fayth been reawakened, too?
With the woods abandoned by the guado whom had ventured back to reclaim their home of Guadosalam, many of the musician species either incognito or staying away from sight, the woods were eerily silent. But, even Yuna knew better than to think that. She stopped short when an apparition teased from the sidelines, her focus towards finding Barkeep, Brother, and Buddy temporarily halted when she saw what appeared to be a guado woman beckon to her, only to dash away towards Macalania Spring, the wellspring of sphere water that shone pale and stark and blue in her memories.
Why a woman was here, she couldn't say. Even with Tromell's efforts to rejoin the guado with with the rest of Spira, even without being overtly xenophobic they were as reclusive as ever. "Hello?" Yuna ventured when she came to the font proper, the tree fixated as a focal point where a spherical bloom of light was centered, outlining the silhouette of the guado woman even more starkly.
The woman turned, and Yuna balked somewhat, but softened her features. For all the guado had done, Yuna had found it in herself to forgive as much of them as she could, despite being responsible for Home's destruction and the near annihilation of the Ronso. Her elfin face and upturned nose contrasted with the thick locks of aquamarine hair that grew in a shock from her scalp, elongated fingers clasping joyously together. Even though Yuna seemed confused, she supposed it wasn't unheard of for the guado to linger in Macalania.
"M'lady, thou art far from Guadosalam! Thy lord-husband would be most distressed to see thee venture so far," the woman began, confusion knitting her brow as they furrowed together. Smiling encouragingly, she continued, "Aye, Lady Cydia, 'tis only a matter of time 'til you must leave, nay? With thy son to the Isle of Baaj..." Her intonation suddenly became low and quiet, clasping her hands together with her pale face becoming crestfallen.
"Um, excuse me? Lady Cydia?" Yuna repeated, folding her arms in bemusement, growing worried.
"Aye, 'tis thy name, is it not? Mayhap sleep hath escaped thee too much, m'lady. Aye...t'would be understandable. 'Tis such a cruel hand fate hath conspired against thee..." she sighed, Yuna's chest twinging with a creeping realization as to who Cydia was. If it wasn't said frankly enough, Anima's fayth came into remembrance, and there was a dawning sense of shock—with her longer hairstyle and the clothes she wore, blue with the lightened skirt, she could've passed for Cydia, couldn't she? She swallowed down this fact, trying hard not to think of the man it brought inevitable connotations with.
"I'm sorry, but I'm not Cydia. I think there's been a misunderstanding," Yuna apologized, smiling apologetically even as the guado's face fell, shattered as if a stone had been thrown at a pane of glass. Cydia. The words the fayth had spoken to her, the actions she'd seen recorded by the pyreflies in Zanarkand, it all made her chest ache. Above all, all she could really quantify was that they were left with as gaping an unknown as it'd previously been. All she knew was that she was meant to search for Brother and Buddy above all else, before she could scramble together some shreds of a plan. With Wakka and Lulu preoccupied with Besaid, she couldn't think of petitioning them, either.
Three places stood out among her mind as to where she could go for answers, all of them cloying and clawing through her breast. Urgency took a tailspin and she felt as though a fire of guilt and nervousness had been lit.
"Prithee, I beg thee—please, forgive me. I did not mean to mistake thee, child, but thy countenance—" The guado choked on a sob, sinking to her knees as her enormous hands engulfed Yuna's for some scrap of comfort. She coldly realized that these were not the hands of someone living. "Isa is my name, dear. I beseech of thee—please, do not forget it."
A long moment passed and she placed her hand on Isa's shoulder, shuddering with wet sobs. "I won't, I promise. I...hope you find Lady Cydia. And that everything goes alright for you," Yuna consoled, visage visibly gentling in spite of the shock that still lingered in her mismatched eyes.
"Thank thee..." the unsent woman whispered gustily, her sobs quelling before pyreflies began seeping from her body, their iridescent glamour shining as they faded into the stars, her silhouette becoming progressively opaquer before fading away completely, released as pyreflies and drifting away. Yuna sighed as she stood, gaze still fixated on where the woman had been standing. These weren't illusions anymore, were they? Ghosts with physical forms, able to touch and feel and seem as alive as anyone until they were sent or finally released themselves from what had bound them in the first place. The wellspring glittered an an unnatural glow sourced from below the water, trickling waters that burbled and filled the silence in her place.
Buddy, Brother, Barkeep. Those three names were resolutely set in her mind once more, nodding firmly to herself. She had to find them—this mystery would just have to be tucked away until she could find herself able to deal with it again.
Being too unnerved from what she'd witnessed, concluding that Macalania wasn't the place to look for now, it was with brooding steps that she returned to the wreckage. At the very least, she knew Brother and Buddy weren't likely there. The pair tended to be gregarious, and even after the calamity of their crash, there would be at least a fit of passion from Brother. He'd been the very same after Home's destruction, sadness unable to linger long on him. Externally, at least.
The trip back was fairly uneventful, save for a few encounters with churls and even some chimera, the fiends being relatively sparse. Yet, even a few scales from Sin spawn had been decimated, likely the consequence of the other day and with how Sin always shed fiends with it. Thankfully, the years spent fighting unimaginable threats had fostered strength in her, power that existed outside even the aeons; exactly the thing she needed in order to persevere.
The wreckage of the Celsius was outlined in a sheen of bright orange, likely the sunset that was coloring even the cliff walls with a burning tinge. She didn't even need to bother rounding the aircraft before a blast of static spooked her, fumbling through her obi and procuring her CommSphere. "Yuna? Shinra to Yuna, do you read?" came the boy's familiar voice, muffled by spurts of static.
She couldn't help but smile despite their situation, responding, "Yep, this is Yuna, reporting for duty, sir!" with a chipper note.
"We were able to find Barkeep, but...that was it. Did you have luck finding Buddy or Brother?"
Yuna sighed sadly, bowing her head. "...I haven't. I'm sorry, Shinra." The silence that followed was deafening, until a brief spat heard Shinra's CommSphere being snatched up, likely by Rikku.
"Heya, Yunie, don't you worry about it! Buddy and Brother are Al Bhed, see? One little crash won't hurt them, y'hear?" Rikku proclaimed, her spirits enough to lift Yuna's head at least, despite the guilt flowering sickly in her chest. "Anyways, come on down to the agency. Rin and some other guys managed to help find us, so you should skedaddle here, too. There's got those snacks you like~!"
Yuna chuffed a small laugh, rejoining, "Alright, I'm a little tired anyways. I'll see you there, Rikku!"
The trek there seemed long, but the fiends were relatively simple to strike down. The worst of Sin had yet to awaken the worst of them, and the abandonment of the Monster Arena lessened the worst of the outbreaks. When she arrived, warmth washed over her in waves as she'd entered and Rikku waved enthusiastically, palms wrapped around a steaming mug of tea while Shinra spoke amicably with the receptionist. Barkeep was content to simply stand from a corner and observe the rest of them. The hypello looked unfazed despite the accident; that, or he was just better at hiding it than them.
"Hey, you alright? I told you not to worry, 'member?" Rikku prompted as soon as she sat down, Yuna perceptibly weary that even the blonde present could catch easily upon.
Lowering her voice, Rikku leaned in, understanding her want for confidentiality. "When I went into Macalania Woods, I didn't see any sign of them, but I met an unsent guado. A woman named Isa, and I think she knew Seymour's mother. She said her name was Cydia and that…I looked like her," Yuna confided, mismatched eyes flickering over to Rikku's green whorls, waiting for her reaction.
And it was strong, her hands clapping over her mouth as the energetic girl gasped loudly, drawing brief stares from the rest. "Really?! She mistook you for Seymour's mother?!" Rikku whispered loudly—a bit too loud, but one she silenced with a squeak when she caught on to the others' staring. Then, she sat up a bit, glancing back at Yuna. A few digits came to curl around Yuna's considerably longer hair, devoid of the long queue, then a bit lower at her sleeveless kimono. Even though she didn't don detachable sleeves like Cydia did, the dark-hued arm wrappings were close enough. "I mean...if you don't, and I mean really, really look, you can pass for her. Man, maybe we oughtta stay out of Guadosalam anytime soon. That, or we give you a make-over," she amended brightly. Anything to get rid of her Yevonite trappings, right?
Yuna smiled, but shook her head. "It doesn't really matter. I'm pretty sure she must have passed on awhile ago. I doubt she's the first to be brought back and think no time has passed at all," Yuna theorized instead, patting Rikku's forearm. Still, that made her wonder: maybe the younger guado wouldn't make the connection, but older guado like Tromell probably would. But in the grand scheme of things, did it really matter? Did one little resemblance really take precedence over what had to be done?
Out of everyone of her old Pilgrimage entourage, of everyone who wasn't bound by office, Rikku was one of the few people she could include on this quest. Tidus and Auron were gone, maybe for good; Kimahri, Lulu and Wakka were obligated to the people they governed, and that only left Rikku. Maybe Paine, but with the Spiran Council was still in its fledgling stages and the original members of the Crimson Squad needed each other now more than ever. Part of her wondered if that was such a bad thing. Dona had set out with only Barthello, and her father had embarked on his pilgrimage originally with only Auron before they'd picked up Jecht along the way. She couldn't risk taking Shinra, for though the boy was a technological prodigy and dear friend, she refused to allow the welfare of a child to be put at risk over something so dangerous.
"Yunie?"
Yuna covered one of Rikku's hands with her own, smile grave and expression serious that elicited pinpricks of worry highly readable on the Al Bhed's face. "Rikku, this...it's going to be a lot bigger than just looking for Brother and Buddy. I have to fight Sin, but I can't do it alone. Would you...come with me? You're the only person in the world I can depend on for this." Her voice was solemn, but something oddly serene lingered. Something she was said to have inherited from her father.
Instead of letting the mood dampen her, Rikku grinned and shot up, nearly upsetting the table and her drunk, liquid sploshing messily over the sides. Legs akimbo and arms firmly planted on her hips, she crowed, "You can depend on the ol' Rikkunator, Yunie! Legendary Guardian Rikku at your service!" This earned a few rounds of laughter from the other Al Bhed, gossiping of Cid's daughter to themselves. "Hey, I heard that!" She spun around and pouted indignantly at them which earned even more gregarious laughter. Still, Rikku managed to turn even the teasing on its head, adding, "You hear that, Yunie? That's just a preview of what our, uh, not-really-Pilgrimage is gonna sound like! All laughter and smiles, like you wanted way back when. Hey, you're smiling, too!"
It was true. Giggling into her hand, modestly hiding her own smile, Rikku's high spirits were infectious. Maybe it was too soon to let go of the Gullwing side of her just yet. Oh, forget all those old fights! Rikku was family, and sometimes differences might set you apart, but in times like these, they couldn't become divisive. That would be lethal to their spirits.
That night, Yuna and Rikku shared a room and a bed. It was warm between them, both girls huddled together and sharing in their communal body warmth in spite of the thin sheets and even cooler air. Rikku slept quietly, snoring softly even as Yuna had stroked through her hair, that being what allowed her to drift off so soundlessly. Even if they were only cousins, being so close to Rikku over the past three years made her see the younger Al Bhed as being more akin to a sister than anything. The thought caused a wave of warm tenderness to wash over her, easing her into a deeper state of relaxation. The girls had often bunked together like this in her first pilgrimage, and she'd cherished it then as she did now. To think, she'd gone ten years without realizing she had other family outside of Wakka and Lulu, and there she was, washed up like a miracle after trying to save her. The fact that Tidus had befriended her first admittedly made her throat close, but it was different now.
Whatever happened, Tidus never really had left her behind. He was always there—she was sure of it.
Even if, deeper down, she longed to have him back again.
After awakening in a congested fog of Rikku's blonde hair, both girls had showered and felt more human than they had since crashing the day before. Over breakfast, her cousin had distractedly braided small ringlets in Yuna's hair, letting them fall free between bites of their food. Until, she heaved a sigh. "Yunie, do we even know where we're going?" Rikku suddenly asked, pausing in her efforts as Yuna looked blank for a moment.
That's right.
"I have some ideas," Yuna supplied, placing her spoon down again. Suddenly, the warm bream of her soup seemed unappetizing, stomach twisting in knots. For one of the first times in her life, she wouldn't have a set itinerary. On her first Pilgrimage, it wasn't until near the very end that everything became thrown from its set path, but she'd almost always had a helping hand to usher her along the way. With the Gullwings, Buddy and Brother had helped in directing her course, and even Rikku's spontaneity had more logic to it than Yuna's own path. Or, at least than the one she was attempting to forge. "You might not like it, but right now it's a toss up between Guadosalam or Zanarkand."
Rikku set her own spoon down with a clatter, gazing sidelong. Maybe once she would've objected to the idea of either, but with how the wild horse of Spira's unknown had been effectively wrangled within the past few years, neither seemed as daunting as they used to be. Even if Guadosalam had been effectively depleted of sphere hunters, Tromell had assured the girls the xenophobia from before seemed to be greatly diminishing.
"Right now, I think Guadosalam might be the better choice. I dunno, if a lot of people are coming back, I don't wanna think what Zanarkand might be like. Especially if Yunalesca is back, too," Rikku figured while making a face, nose wrinkling. Yuna could hardly blame her. The first and last time they'd encountered the first vanquisher of Sin had been to effectively kill her once and for all—well, as permanent as the Eternal Calm was supposed to be. "Although...that must mean the Farplane is just bursting at the seams."
Yuna sighed, propping her chin on her palm, joining Rikku in her oblivious, daydreaming stare. "There is...one other place." Rikku's head snapped back to attention, leaning in intently. "Baaj Island. Now, before you get too jumpy, that's...it's where Tidus first appeared, remember? I remember, Cydia was meant to be made into a Final Aeon for Seymour. Maybe one of the only ones that was. If she's back, too, maybe she'll have some answers."
There was something more to it, too. Even though Seymour was despicable in every meaning of the word, his mother was not. Like her own, they'd married people they weren't supposed to, and Yuna supposed she felt a strange affinity to the fayth. Back or not, playing this journey by ear meant a guess was as good a lead as any. And right now, her hunches seemed to be the only form of guidance they had.
"I might have to ask Pops for help then. The Celsius might be totaled, but the Fahrenheit is still running pretty well. Besides, we'll need a strong rig for what's out there now. And Sin was bad enough in the water!" Kilika was one of the strongest examples of this.
Within the hour, the silhouette of the Fahrenheit appeared on the horizon, Yuna and Rikku standing in the yard of the travel agency as the hulking behemoth lowered itself enough just for them to climb a rope ladder, the airship itself still too old fashioned to navigate as lithely as the Celsius. The crimson airship looked even more pitiful from aloft, Yuna's heart lurching when she saw the extent of the damage. Cid, himself, would likely be devastated when he saw it if he didn't already. From the heavy drafts of the air, Yuna was unburdened when a hand clutched manfully around her forearm and assisted in hauling her up, Yuna smiling gratefully as she spied the enormous distance covered between them and the ground.
Both girls were greeted rather joyously, Yuna having missed the natural radiance of her people. It seemed strange to say that since, over ten years ago, that wouldn't have been the case. Her being as accepted as she was. But a lot had changed since then, and even through the suffering and loss, she wouldn't trade the happier byproducts for anything.
"Yuna, well, as I'll live and breathe! It's been a year hasn't it? Commere!" Cis greeted them with thundering volume, heartily embracing his niece as Yuna laughed rather joyously, before withdrawing and drawing in Rikku as he draped his arms over their shoulders. "Hard to believe you two are back at it again! It's a good thing I kept this old girl in mint condition. Her firearms won't fail us like last time. We'll fell that bastard from the sky just like before!" His conviction earned a sunny grin from his daughter.
"Yeah, yeah, Pops, but maybe Yunie and I will deal with that big stinky poop monster first.~" Yuna couldn't help but laugh at the descriptor, and though it was childish, it really was accurate. Yevon knows what the Kinderguardians could've come up with.
As the airship lifted off, the quiet thrum of its machinery lulled her. Taking a seat on the considerably smaller bridge, Yuna was content to watch the scenery race by while Rikku pompously showed off the prowess of the garment grid, bragging on Shinra's behalf. The small bevy of other Al Bhed gathered around her pridefully beamed at the technology, glad knowing it had come from one of them, something she and Yuna utilized with pride. Only Paine was the other one with a garment grid left, the trio having split even on them and the dresspheres in their personal possessions. Rikku was probably the best off for wear, as continued interaction with Shinra had her swimming in other dresspheres to her ears, practically.
Peaceful thoughts never seemed to last.
The quiet was naturally never destined to last long. Shouts in Al Bhed and a sudden lurch of the airship, followed by a hollow thunder and metallic groan that sounded atmospherically, Yuna felt her heart climb into her throat once more. Sin? In the radial focus of the enormous projection of the world outside, tentacles were beginning to obscure the view, but what was most frightening of all was the familiar apparition.
Evrae's brightened and pastel hide glanced sunlight sharply off its scales, pearlescent as its wings furled and the creature began clawing at the Fahrenheit's flanks, digging into the torpedo silos and utilizing such leverage to forcefully raise the tiered deck that kept them contained. The screeching intensified as the beast of Bevelle tore it cleanly off, Yuna gasping as she and Rikku stood up sharply.
"That old beast again?! How th' hell—"
The Fahrenheit sharply pivoted before jettisons of flame tore through those tubes, melting many into congealed hole puckered too tightly for salvos to be launched. "We have to stop it! Uncle, any more and it'll tear the whole airship apart!" Yuna bewared, her gaze meeting Rikku's who understood without another word needing to be spoken.
It was strange how the most unexpected of things felt familiar to them. As Evrae tore and seared shut the salvo launching points, both women hastily outfitted themselves with as many concoctions they could carry, their Celestial Weapons being the weapons of choice; namely, Rikku's Godhand and Yuna's Nirvana. Standing upon the platform as it ascended with a speedy whir, Yuna smiled at Rikku. "Ready for this? It'll be just like old times."
"You bet! Just don't get too discouraged if I take it down first, Yunie~" the Al Bhed smirked haughtily, posing dramatically before the hatch lifted open and the Evrae was the first sight they saw. Not just its imposing and serpentine form cinched around the girth of the Fahrenheit, but an enormous maw that unleashed a spray of photons that lambasted the narrow container with searing, incinerating heat Yuna and Rikku just barely escaped. Leaping and recovering with a swift dodge roll, she noted with dismay that their means back down appeared destroyed. First, it was Sin. Now this? Her mind rationalized that it seemed to be the Evrae she'd heard about before when her guardians had rescued her. Unthinkable to think this beast, that had learned from its last experience, had resurrected as a tactician.
Using her Mix ability, the Super Mighty G was concocted and Rikku tossed a philter of it at Yuna, the priestess downing the potion quickly and feeling its effects instantly. Her speed hastened and her mind raced with clarity, health being continuously bolstered from the Regen and others effects it guarded them with. Rikku then took the moment to hastily build mana to cast Demi, just as its Photon Spray was unleashed upon them, dealing ample damage even before the dark miasma could afflict the wyrm. Yuna cried out as it hit her, even though the worst of it had been avoided. Charred points of impact stung her soles as she realized her default form simply wouldn't cut it.
Light embroiled her, small rays of it emitting whilst her body became enveloped in a cocoon of shimmery iridescence that gave way to her Black Mage class, Yuna unable to help the faint smile at how ridiculous she felt in such a wide-brimmed, conical hat again. "Alright, time to put you down again!" Yuna called over the whiplash of the wind, readying her Nirvana as she built up energy to cast, to what would culminate to be Ultima.
However, just as she came to the culmination of her split-second casting, the Evrae dislodged itself from the airship with a screech, just in the nick of time when Ultima gathered power and was unleashed. Though the scintillating wyrm managed to extricate itself with a furious buffet of its wings, by the hind legs did it severely capture the fiend and induce a catastrophic amount of damage, Rikku whooping victoriously as it careened away. The consuming ring of static violet hadn't been enough to blast it from the very sky.
"Be careful, you two! I don't think it's down for the count yet!" Cid bellowed over the intercom, Yuna and Rikku taking sharp notice and readying for whatever assault would come.
He was right. From below the enormous Bevellan beast rammed into the underside of the Continental Circus, throttling their balance and causing the mighty airship to nearly capsize on its side. Rikku yelped as she dug her Godhand into the metal for purchase while Yuna caught herself on a beam of corrugated metal, watching helplessly as the impact caused one of two enormous firearms was forcibly evicted from the impact, metal showering and splintering screeches painfully resonant as the beast tore haphazardly into the ship like a predator goring open its latest prey. Port holes in the flanks of the ship were opened as manual mortar fire blasted from the openings, Al Bhed stationed at them firing in time with Cid's ragged and hoarse commands.
"Fire!"
Pummeling thunder erupted from the ingresses in the wake of smoke too quickly whisked away to plume. Projectiles were launched and embed deeply into the Evrae's hide, the beast now clutching to its holds gouged into the airship whilst pyreflies helplessly swept away from catastrophic wounds that wept from them. Yuna had remembered tale of just how difficult the Evrae had been to defeat and now it was apparent why. An elemental fury of the likes Lulu could use in their earlier days was cast when the aircraft righted itself, a furious succession of Gravija that cracked the air and electrified the very strands of their hair with its corrosive, indomitable energy. A consuming pith of raw energy erupted at an epicenter where the beast was, shrieking with each crackle and whorl of energy, knowing that its end was near.
Rikku really did keep true to her promise.
The blonde sprinted towards the Evrae when it attempted to weakly arise over the buffet of retorting mortar fire, hapless as Rikku shouted a battlecry, ramming the heavy Godhand in succession between its skull plating and eyes, beating through the plate and collapsing the skull, Yuna agape as she watched the raw power, catching glimpses of tears shining in her eyes. And the priestess knew why. Slowly reverting back to her default garb, Rikku shouted out in Al Bhed with every blow, the limpid Evrae dead and trickling away with pyreflies from its corpse. It wasn't until a final blow socked into the metal of the airship that the finality of its death was apparent in a final burst of whirling pyreflies.
Rikku crumpled to her knees and her shoulders shook with unexpected sobs, sobbing profusely. In less than a week she'd already nearly lost her cousin, her brother whose fate was uncertain, and just now her Father to an unprecedented attack. For the weight of so many years could only weigh so much.
"Rikku— Rikku!" Yuna called above the wind tunnel that practically sucked away the volume of her voice, dashing over to the girl. Rikku continued to cry and Yuna felt herself feeling more stricken with every passing moment. Engulfing her in an embrace, the girl reactively clutched at Yuna's arms and curled around, burying herself in her cousin's embrace and weeping even harder even if her cries became more muffled. She understood how it felt, the reawakened hardship that came with Sin's return.
And unfortunate for them both, it was only the beginning.
Last thoughts: Interesting as it was for me to learn, apparently Yuna shares a voice actress with Seymour's mother in the English version, and Nomura's sketch of her for FFX: Will just has an uncanny resemblance to her that I just had to toss it in as a plotbunny.
It's significance will probably be more apparent later!
Peace, G
