Chapter VII: Who the White Mage Meets

Yuna's heartbeat went twice as violently as thoughts of horrible conclusions invaded her mind. She wrapped her cloak tightly around her for it somehow helped pacify her fear. She was trying to refrain from shaking all over by her anxiety especially her hands holding Choco's reins. Driven by emotional mindlessness, she mercilessly kicked Choco's sides with her heels, forcing the disoriented Chocobo to stride faster.

Father… Please be alright.

The Chocobo had no choice but to obey his mistress. Yuna was normally nice to Choco but now that she was quite near the state of paranoia, he just had to run at his fastest pace to avoid being kicked behind his wings.

Yuna rode on until it was the end of sundown. Her quandary and Choco's fatigue were slightly alleviated when they reached the parameter of the forest where Yuna assumed her father was lost. The first few stars were beginning to glow in the lightly purple night sky yet the crimson and orange frescoes painted by the sun's rays could still be seen in the west horizon. Somehow Choco was less frightened than the other night when he and Braska were attacked due to the soothing brightness offered by nature above.

"Choco! We can't linger for long. We have to find Father!" Yuna frantically said as she held Choco's reins, urging him to forward.

"Kweeeeh! Kweh kweh kweh! Kweeeeh!!" screeched Choco as he was awakened from his reverie. He began to step farther backwards from the trees that symbolized entrance to the forest as if a pack of Dingoes was waiting to ambush them from within the forest. The bird threw tantrums as to convince his owner that he never wanted to set foot into that forest. Yuna had to hold not only onto Choco's reins but also with both legs on Choco's mid-body to keep herself from falling off Choco's back.

"Choco! Please calm down. Choco!" Yuna had to shout her for voice to conquer Choco's ear-wrenching avian screeches. She threw both arms around Choco's feathery neck for a safer grip.

"Stop this at once Choco! Choco!!"

Yuna's final shouted word was enough to stun Choco. "I've had enough of your being over-reactive! Maybe this is why father was lost in the forest."

Yuna mounted off Choco's back to reciprocate for Choco's being ballistic. Choco regretfully bowed his head and looked at the ground to his large talons, unable to look at his mistress in the eyes. He made slow, high-pitched "Kweh's" as a sign of apology to Yuna for his impulsive disobedience.

Yuna took a deep breath as to gather patience. "I'm sorry I yelled at you Choco. It's just that you won't listen." She walked towards Choco whose head was still bowed down. She bent down so that she was at level with Choco and reached out her hand to caress his beak. "If you just do what I say, I promise I'll never yell at you again. Alright?"

Choco gave one more high-pitched "Kweh" and nodded his head in response.

"Good Chocobo…" Yuna smiled as she gave Choco a few more pats on his head. "Of course I was frightened too."

The juvenile Chocobo made a Chocobo-ish response by leaping slightly upwards and giving a cheerful hoot. Yuna now mounted back on Choco's saddle. Together, they set off into the forest with Yuna much calmer and more focused and Choco much braver and more disciplined.

Night has finally veiled itself all over the land hindering Yuna's navigation across the forest. Slowly they made their way into the woods which seemed to have no significant direction yet Choco managed to remember his way due to his avian senses. Yuna gripped Choco's reins very tightly as she tried to summon as much courage as she could and to set aside the anxiety that's beginning to come back as quickly as it left.

I hope you're alright, Father. I don't want to travel to this horrific place only to find that something terrible has happened to you.

The wind seemed to be not blowing at their favor. A strong zephyr swooshed past by and gave both of them a grave chill. So strong the wind that Yuna's hood was thrown backwards off her head and Choco lost a few feathers from his wings to the erratic breeze.

The Chocobo's fear of Dingoes was slowly creeping back. Without warning he'd suddenly gain speed and run off leaving Yuna grabbing for his neck. Twice he did this but he never had a third time for he was afraid that his owner might give him another scolding.

"Kweh! Kweh!"

Choco hopped uncontrollably at the spot where they stopped. He couldn't control his excitement that Yuna had to hold onto his feathery neck again.

"Choco! Calm down! There's nothing to be afraid of!"

But Choco wasn't afraid. In fact his Kweh's sounded more of eager than fearful. Yuna noticed that he was pointing his beak on the ground. She looked at the direction and saw a torn piece of cloth which was slightly saturated in blood.

Yuna's heart stopped.

She mounted off Choco's saddle and bent down to pick the torn cloth up and examined it.

"This is Father's…"

Her hands began to tremble as she began to hold the torn piece of cloth. It looked like it was once a part of Braska's robes when he left. She held it close to her heart, tears unknowingly escaping from her eyes.

"Father! We have to find Father!" Yuna shrieked as she grabbed Choco's reins and shook him involuntarily. "Choco! Tell me Father's alright! Tell me you never came here! Tell me you were never attacked! Tell me he's not dead! Tell me…"

She broke off. She released Choco's reins and weakly got to her knees and wept. For the first time that night she was possessed by insanity. She never knew what to do after she saw that bloody piece of torn cloth. Just what drove her to ask a mundane Chocobo for answers and relief? All they can do is screech and say "Kweh!"

Yuna continued to weep and refused to stand up. She was far too enveloped by anguish that she gave no heed to anything. Choco in some way could feel her grief. He empathized with her by lowering his head towards her and caressed her shoulder. His slow assonating "Kweh" could reach to Yuna's heart and grant her comfort. She smiled and patted his head lovingly.

With the help of Choco's reins, Yuna got herself to her feet and regained composure. "Father's not dead," she assured herself. "If he was then his body could have been found nearby. He's alright somewhere. He just has to be."

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she got back on Choco's saddle. She was now hopeful that she'd find Braska somewhere… They journeyed further and Yuna was relieved that Choco seemed to know where he was going. In fact Choco runs as if it was their own vicinity by their cottage.

Despite the darkness of the night, Yuna somehow made out a colossal silhouette of a fortress from a distance. She urged Choco to stride faster as to find out what a gigantic place was doing in the middle of a somnolent forest.

They slowly came nearer to a soaring gate made out of steel and iron. Yuna could feel an aura of mystery surrounding the bastion. It was condescending that the full moon can hide itself behind the towers that stood upright at the very top of the bastion. Yuna thought it dwelled a very powerful man.

The gate was open just wide enough for a Chocobo to fit through. Yuna knew she had to go alone. She got off Choco for the final time and led him to a corner of the vicinity where he can find shelter and some stray greens. She walked fearfully yet determined towards the massive oak doors of the bastion

She wore her cloak trimmed with red triangles at the corners very tightly around her and put her hood back on. She took a deep breath and pushed one of the doors open and gave off a loud creak. It was time to search for her father.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Yuna called out as she lowered her hood and made her way across the antechamber. A fireplace was burning peacefully in a corner. Beside it on a wall was a set of swords of different designs and purposes. One had hilts embedded with jewels, one was double-edged. Among the collection were also a Bastard Sword, a Zweihander, a Claymore, a Fencing Saber and a rare sword that was made far north which was called Save the Queen.

This intrigued Yuna. "It must belong not only to a duke but also to a wealthy swordsman." As she looked around the guest hall, it really looked like the house of a duke. The ceiling was as high as half a sycamore tree. Every corner was made of high quality wood. The seats were made cozy with cushions. The windows reached almost as high as the ceiling.

By the hearth was a table made of genteel wood surrounded by five chairs made of the same material as the table. On it were cups of unfinished tea, a near-empty teapot and a plate with a few half-eaten biscuits and crumbs. "Someone must have been here…"

At the other end of the antechamber was a marvelous staircase. Halfway up it separated to two opposite directions. She walked up the staircase and took the path that led to the left. Each stepped echoed. She was afraid that someone might come out of nowhere after every step.

Yuna made her way past the staircase. In front of her was a dark corridor lit by a row of flames, each was held in the mouth of a statue of a Zu.

"If somebody is here, please." She said. "I'm looking for a man named Braska. Did he happen to be in this fortress?"

Yet silence was the only response. She followed the torches that lit the corridor and walked. She held her hands close to her chest as she walked slowly. She continued walking for a few more minutes until she heard a sound that was like a lullaby to an infant. The sound of someone coughing.

"F-Father?! Is that you?" Yuna said disbelievingly.

The sound of weak coughing continued to be heard. Yuna quickly sprinted towards the direction where it came from.

"Father! It's me, Yuna." She called out as she searched towards the corridor. "If you're here, please answer. I've been looking for you."

Yuna ran without stopping searching frantically for her father. She ran until she found an old wooden door on one side of the dark corridor. At the bottom of the door were steel railings used for the prisoner to see from the other side of the door. And from behind the railings was Braska gasping for air and warmth.

"Father!" Yuna cried as she bent down to touch Braska's cold and pale hands. "Father! What happened to you? Why are you here? Who did this to you?" She took out a Hi-Potion from her robes, opened it and handed it to Braska which he refused.

"Yuna…" Braska weakly replied as he held his daughter's hands with all his strength. "You…you have to get out of here… He…he's a madman… A very wicked man…"

"Don't say another word. I'm going to get you out of here." Yuna said as she tried to look for a keyhole.

Braska coughed harder as he continued to speak in between coughs. "Yuna… Forget about…your worthless father… Please get out of this bastion… It's too dangerous…"

Yet Yuna appeared she wasn't listening to Braska's words. "Hold on, Father. I think I've found the keyhole. I'll just try to pick it open and-"

"What are you doing here?!"

An unknown figure grabbed Yuna by her shoulder and ruthlessly turned her around to face him. All but one of the torches violently flickered then gone. The one left burning was a few meters away leaving the prisoner, the White Mage and this enigmatic warrior in semi-darkness.

"N-No! Please!" Yuna cried, helpless under the clutches of this mysterious man. "I-I was just looking for my Father. P-Please let him go. H-He's-"

"He was trespassing!" The man shouted as he pushed her against the wall and trapped her there. "He deserves to be locked in a rotting dungeon. Now leave my bastion at once if you don't want the same to happen to you."

Yuna moaned as his hold around her shoulders became more compact. "Please don't hurt me. Just let my father go. He's wounded and ill and…- Ugh!" she moaned harder as his hold compressed.

"Don't…hurt…my daughter…you beast..." interrupted Braska from behind the bars. "Do…what you want…with me… Just leave…my daughter…alone…"

The cold-blooded man made a malicious grin. "Interesting." he said as he held Yuna by her wrist and harshly pulled her to his side, causing her to cry in pain. "So this wench is your daughter. And she came all the way here to my bastion to save you, infidel. How touching."

With his other hand, he unsheathed a sword of cobalt steel. With one powerful swing he broke open the keyhole and kicked the door open. He stepped inside clutching Yuna by her wrist. He then mercilessly threw her beside her father and left her disheveled on the dusty and moldy floor.

"Since you came all the way here," the man said as he sheathed his sword back, "You might as well make the most out of my hospitality." He then turned towards the door and made his exit.

"Wait!"

The weakened White Mage still managed to stand up and ran beside him.

"Take me instead…"

"What?" Braska and the steel-hearted man replied in chorus. Braska couldn't believe what his daughter was saying. He'd rather die on the spot than hear her offering her freedom for his.

"Yuna! Stop this at once. I won't let you live with that horrendous fiend. He-"

The man grabbed the hilt of his cobalt steel and pointed its lethal tip towards Braska's face. "Quiet, weakling." He threatened. He then lowered his sword and turned his hollow blue eyes towards the frightened White Mage. "Keep talking."

Yuna still hesitated but in the end she finally made her fateful decision. "I'm offering to take my father's place."

Braska couldn't speak. Yuna stood frozen by the man's side yet she did not regret her decision. The man's expression was turned from apathy to surprised disbelief. His hand holding the cobalt steel was slightly shaking yet he still had a firm grip on it.

"If you wish to stay…" the man replied, "You must promise to stay forever."

Yuna took a deep breath and bravely replied, "I swear by my life."

"Done." then the man sheathed his sword and walked towards the wounded Braska. Yuna's emotions finally overflowed through tears as she slowly went down on her knees and wept.

"Yuna!" Braska crept towards his weeping daughter and embraced her. "How can you do this? I've already lived my life. You shouldn't offer your unfinished life for mine."

"Back off, old man," the man said as he grabbed Braska by his tunic and dragged him out the filthy prison room.

"Father! No!" Yuna screamed as she ran after the man and his father but the man slammed the wooden rusty door right at her face and a new lock magically appeared and sealed it leaving Yuna locked inside the dungeon.

He turned to face the White Mage heartlessly, "He is no longer your concern."

Yuna just wanted to sit inside the sepulcher and weep forever. She has now lost her father and her freedom at once. Nothing in the world mattered anymore. All was left to do is to fall onto the floor and cry her misery away. She loved her father so much that she'd choose misery over a broken heart for the loss of her father.

The door swung open and there stood the enigmatic warrior by the stone door frame.

"You didn't even let me say goodbye…" Yuna cried, not wanting to meet his eyes. "That was the last time I'll see him. And you never even let me say goodbye!"

He was the only man untouched by a woman's tears yet his cold-bloodedness somehow alleviated.

"Come with me."

Yuna looked up at the man, not being able to make anything out due to the semi-darkness. She clutched her hands close to her heart, voice shaking, and she asked, "Why?"

The man lost a tinge of patience, drew out his cobalt steel, and pointed it towards the helpless White Mage. "So you'd rather stay in this prison?"

"No…" Yuna quietly replied.

"Then come with me." He replied, withdrawing his sword, ending the conversation.

They walked towards the end of the corridor where Yuna had come from. The one remaining flame kept by a Zu Statue's mouth was all that provided the measly light.

Yuna took this as her only chance. "Come into the light."

"You wouldn't want me to." He replied vaguely. Why wasn't he resorting to violence now?

Yuna continued, "Then what is it if I never knew the face of the one who powers this bastion? Why make me a prisoner here if I never even have a glimpse of my captor?"

For the first time that fateful night, the White Mage's audacity won over the Slasher's reproach. He was stepping away from the short circumference of light that was emitted by the one flame. He slowly stepped towards the light to reveal himself to the White Mage.

Slowly Yuna looked at his physique. He was strong and muscular, his cobalt blue sword illuminating from the amber luster. He slowly revealed himself towards the light from his feet up to his face. He became quite hesitant to show his face but he had no choice.

Yuna gasped as he stepped wholly into the light. He had sleek blonde hair kept in a sophisticated style. His cold blue eyes which matched the color of his cobalt steel felt as though he was piercing through her vulnerable mismatched ones. But there was one thing about him that made Yuna look away in fear.

A scar settled itself on his impassive face. It traced from above one of his eyes, cutting diagonally across the bridge of his nose and it ended towards his cheek just an inch or so from his lips.

She clasped her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes, trying to stop another wave of tears.

"I told you you wouldn't want to see me." He said as he turned. "But you insisted. And I was taught by my godfather to be forbearing with women."

They continued walking down the corridor. The flames kept in Zus' mouths were once again resuscitated, giving generous brightness to the gloomy corridor.

"I might as well put the lights back on." He said, "Now that you know of my appearance."

Yuna remained silent the whole time they walked. She was now being overwhelmed by mixed feelings; grief over the loss of her father and her freedom, anxiety for she didn't know what life would be like from now on living in this bastion, fear of her captor's cold-bloodedness and scarred face, and curiosity for her captor's identity.

"As my prisoner, consider yourself now a dweller in this bastion." He said without looking at her.

Yuna never responded but she listened to what he was saying. She didn't want to speak. She was far too overwhelmed by her emotions.

"This bastion is your home now. You're free to go wherever you want, except the western tower."

"What's in the western tower?"

"It's forbidden!" he replied with almost a shout.

Yuna stood petrified. The man now shifted back from impulsiveness to apathy.

"Come. I'll show you to your room."

Yuna followed her captor a few steps behind him. Now her misery was being overcome by curiosity of this man's identity. She doesn't even know his name. For so long she has been fighting the courage to talk to him but she can't seem to do so. Yet miraculously, although afraid, she summoned up all the courage she could.

"Excuse me…" she stopped, hesitating whether she should ask or not, "…who are you?"

He stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around to face her.

"I am now a forgotten rumor."

It rung a bell.

"You mean," Yuna replied. "You're who the village peoples call the cold-blooded Slasher?"

"Yes. But that was then. Hardly anyone knows my name now."

"Then what is your name?" Yuna continued, putting fear and hesitation behind.

He remained silent for a while then coolly responded, "My name is of no importance."

"But I insist," Yuna said politely. "I've heard of the so called cold-blooded Slasher but I never knew his name. I never bothered to since I thought he was a mere rumor then. But here he is now right before my eyes. So I ask of you. What is your name?"

There was no response.

"Please," Yuna said submissively as she held her hands together and bowed her head down.

Once again, he had no choice but to yield to her.

"My name…" he finally began, then turned to face her and their eyes met, "…is Tidus."

Author's Notes: Once again, I've lied. I did promise at the last chapter that I will update much sooner. Yes, such the infidel I am. But due to a mountains of problems and reasons which will take a novel to explain, the least I can do to make up is write a chapter. And wishes come true. Yuna did meet Tidus in this chapter.

I never really want to make the characters go Out-of-Character (OOC) but Tidus obviously is the Beast in this story so I have to make him as harsh and cruel as possible, opposite from his original personality. This story's plot will also be loosely based on the movie by Walt Disney so don't be surprised if certain scenes (and dialogues) are similar to that of the movie's. x

And flame me if you want to but please not in the form of reviews. E-mail will do. And this time I'm not gonna promise anything about sooner updates as to not keep your hopes too high.