"Come on Chandale!" Tidus called from downstairs.
Tidus was frantically moving through his family's new two-story house that was built by the people of Besaid. It was given to them as a show of gratitude for everything they had done over the years, including their continued efforts of keeping the village safe from fiends.
Tidus was doing everything he could to get the house ready for his and Yuna's daughter. On that day, it was Chandale's sixteenth birthday, and everyone in the village was going to be there to celebrate. There was also a number of people coming from elsewhere to celebrate as well, including Kimahri and all of the Gullwings. Yuna was on her way back to Besaid with the Gullwings, who had accepted a sphere hunting mission near Zanarkand.
"You got one more chance to get up on your own!" Tidus called to his daughter again. "I'm not afraid to get Lulu to shoot another water spell through your window!"
Chandale turned over in her bed and shielded her eyes from the bright sun that shone through her window. After a grumpy groan, she finally sat up and threw her pillow at the door. Tidus heard the thump, and took it as a sign that she was finally awake.
"Hey bruddah, need some help?" Wakka suddenly asked while walking through the front door.
"Hey Wakka, no I think we're good," Tidus responded. "That is if the guest of honor ever decides to crawl out of bed."
Wakka laughed while Tidus returned to hanging a couple of birthday banners. Wakka decided to lend a hand even though Tidus claimed he didn't need it. Soon after, Lulu entered the house as well.
"Lulu, I need you!" Tidus said desperately. "Get that girl out of her room!"
Lulu shook her head with amusement. She walked upstairs and knocked on the door a couple times. She got no response, so she knocked again.
"I'm awake!" Chandale shouted from inside the room.
"It's me honey," Lulu called through the door.
Chandale swung the door open and pulled Lulu into the room. She was still in her pajamas with her medium length hair going off in every possible direction. She had a look of desperation on her face.
"I need your help," Chandale said.
"Seems everyone does today," Lulu responded with a chuckle. "What can I do?"
"Well first, use some kind of spell on Dad. He's way too uptight!"
Lulu let out a laugh, but Chandale didn't share a smile. "He's just trying to get everything ready before your mother gets back so she doesn't have to do any work. Besides, what's a birthday party without the birthday girl?"
Chandale didn't respond, half because she knew Lulu was right, and half because she didn't want to admit it. She finally changed into her regular clothes. She wore a long, flowing skirt with blue flowers on it. Underneath, she wore leggings, which allowed for her to remove the skirt if she wanted to go for a swim, or practice fighting with her daggers. She wore a white, sleeveless top and leather arm-guards. On her feet were basic flat shoes that provided good support for her and her more active lifestyle.
No matter what was going on or where she was going, Chandale always carried her two daggers. They were pretty basic daggers, but they were a gift from Rikku for her thirteenth birthday when Tidus agreed to let her help with fiend extermination. Shortly after that, a woman name Victori, who served as a combat instructor for the Youth League, moved to Besaid for the peace and quiet. Upon arriving, Tidus almost immediately asked her if she'd be willing to train interested people on Besaid for the sake of defending themselves against possible fiend attacks. She accepted, and Chandale became her start pupil.
"You're turning into a beautiful young woman," Lulu told Chandale as she helped with the teenager's hair. "I see so much of your mother's natural beauty in you."
Chandale smiled and blushed a little. "I could never be like Mom. She still looks like she's in her twenties!"
"Where's Vidina?" Tidus asked Wakka.
"He and the Aurochs had a morning practice to do," Wakka answered. "With the Crystal Cup Tournament next week, they're working real hard. Speaking of which, how did you not know about the practice?"
"Huh? Oh, I only practice with the team in the evenings. They don't even bother telling me about morning practices anymore."
Wakka chuckled while shaking his head. "Must be nice to be in your mid thirties and still play blitzball like an ace. If I tried to play now, I'd break my body ya."
"Well, to be honest, with Chandale old enough to join the team now, this is going to be my last year."
Wakka froze in place, in shock from Tidus' statement. Everyone had figured Tidus would play blitzball until he couldn't even pick the ball up anymore. Second only to his family, blitzball was his life.
"I can't believe you're gonna retire bruddah," Wakka said. "What are you going to do with yourself?"
"Spend more time with Yuna, maybe go on a few missions with the Gullwings," Tidus answered. "I might help coach the Aurochs training when they're here on Besaid. I'm just ready to finally relax for a change."
Chandale finally joined Tidus and Wakka downstairs, Lulu following closely behind. Tidus gave her a scolding look, which was received with an eye roll. Wakka chuckled and gave Chandale a hug and kiss on the forehead.
"How's my beautiful niece today?" Wakka asked.
"Tired," Chandale said half-grumpily.
"Maybe if you went to bed at a decent hour," Tidus chimed in.
Chandale crossed her arms in frustration. "I'm trying to make the Aurochs team before next week. I don't have time to sleep."
Tidus walked by Chandale and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He was carrying four chairs to the door to set them up outside. Wakka jumped to help him when he ran into the doorway with one of the chairs.
"You're gonna be fine," Tidus continued from outside. "You've already been accepted as a member of the team by everyone. And with Deato hurt right now, we might have to start you."
The Aurochs had completely changed over the years. All of the original players from Wakka's team had retired. Datto got married to a woman on Besaid, and they had a son, who they named Deato. Deato was one of the offensive players on the current Aurochs team, serving as the only connection to the original players. Beclem also retired when he was offered a position as a blitzball administrator in Luca. Tidus ended up taking over as both captain and coach at that point, and continued as such from then on.
"I can't start!" Chandale shouted nervously. "I've never even played a real game outside of practice!"
"Then you'll have to adjust quick," Tidus called back. "The Luca Goers are going to be extremely tough this year, just like last year. We're gonna need that fast swimming of yours."
Chandale almost immediately showed promise as an offensive player when she first started practicing. She wasn't anywhere near as powerful as Tidus was, but she could swim faster than anyone else on the team by a large portion. She also had excellent aim while shooting, which allowed for her to get the ball into the goal when others may have had a harder time.
"Maybe we should just give the ball to you the whole game," Chandale suggested. She was normally confident to the point of over-confidence, but she hadn't expected to play her first professional game in the Crystal Cup Tournament.
"Don't even think about it," Tidus responded. "You try that, then I'll fake an injury just to force you to step up."
Wakka and Lulu looked at each other with amusement. Tidus was a great father in every sense, but he and Chandale also argued a lot. Tidus was just as outspoken as he always was, but Chandale equaled that with her own stubbornness. She was always convinced that she was right, no matter what kind of proof someone would give her.
"Hey!" Vidina suddenly called from the entrance of the village. The Aurochs were all returning from their practice, still soaked from the water.
Chandale smiled and waved happily. She ran to meet Vidina where he was. "Hey, how was practice?"
"Well Deato decided to be stupid and practice, and ended up hurting himself even more," Vidina said with a hint of annoyance. "Now he's definitely out for next week's tournament."
Chandale rolled her eyes. "Not what I wanted to hear. Dad told me he's putting me on the team, and starting me in Deato's place."
"That's awesome though! Come on, I'm the best goalie in the league and you can get shots past me. You'll do great! Besides, look at who your dad is."
Chandale smiled and thanked him. Vidina began to walk toward his family's hut so he could change. Chandale followed as they continued to talk, first about blitzball, and eventually it strayed to other topics.
"Oh, I think we got a crush," Wakka said while nudging Tidus.
Tidus shook his head. "She's not having any crushes until she's at least eighteen."
Wakka laughed at Tidus, who didn't share the amusement. Tidus had turned into the traditional overprotective father when it came to his little girl. He refused to look at her growing up, and still saw the child that used to demand a kiss every time she fell over.
A few more hours passed before people started to show up for the festivities. Chandale had changed into her party dress, which was a full-body dress with no sleeves. It was ocean blue and flowed with the wind. She happily interacted with different people of the village while Tidus, Wakka, and Lulu helped people find their way to the food and drinks.
As the sun started to set, Lulu used a weaker fire spell to light the candles for paper lanterns. The entire village was lined with the lanterns, creating a beautiful setting for the night. Tidus' only concern was the lack of the Yuna and the Gullwings, who was supposed to arrive in the afternoon.
"I wonder if they got caught up," Wakka guessed.
"Normally she would have contacted me on the commsphere if that were the case," Tidus replied with a worried tone.
"Don't let Chandale see your worried," Lulu chimed in. "She's having a good time, and we don't need to spoil it with scary speculations."
Tidus nodded and agreed. He got up and walked into the house. He flipped the commsphere panel on and tried to call the Celsius, but it didn't even connect.
"There's only two reasons it wouldn't connect," Tidus said. "They've either got it disconnected, which I don't see why they'd do that, or something happened to the airship."
"They could just be over the Thunder Plains," Wakka guessed. "We can't assume something happened to them."
"We can't assume that they're fine either," Lulu suggested suddenly. "If we do that, and they're not, then we put them at more risk."
Tidus left the house and turned for the temple. The New Yevon organization had upgraded the inside of the temple for communication purposes, and it had a direct link to Bevelle. Tidus' hope was that Bevelle may have heard something on the Gullwings' whereabouts.
"Where's your dad headed to?" Vidina asked Chandale.
Chandale turned her head to Tidus, who was already walking into the temple. "I don't know why he's going in there. He never goes to the temple."
Chandale got to her feet to follow, but Wakka suddenly jumped in front of her. "Hey Chandale, how about a speech for your adoring fans!"
"What's Dad doing?" Chandale tried looking around Wakka to see if Tidus had walked back out.
"He just had a little bit of work to do real quick," Lulu chimed in. "He'll be right back."
Chandale had gotten very good at reading people, and knew Lulu was lying. Something was wrong, and she was guessing it had something to do with the fact that the Gullwings had not gotten back yet.
"Sir, Tidus wants to speak with you," Baralai's assistant said.
Baralai sat alone in his office while finishing a small bit of paperwork. His curiosity was peaked when he heard that Tidus was calling. They never spoke unless it was related to business, but at that point, they hadn't spoken in over six months.
"Patch it through to my sphere in here," Baralai said. "Thank you."
A couple minutes later, Tidus' face appeared on Baralai's commsphere. The link was a tad fuzzy, but the sound quality seemed to be decent enough.
"Tidus, it's been a while," Baralai began. "What can I do for you?"
"The Gullwings haven't come back from their mission yet, and their commsphere is disconnected," Tidus said, jumping right into the issue. "They were scheduled back earlier today for our daughter's birthday. You haven't heard anything, have you?"
Baralai's concerns began to grow. "I'm sorry, but I haven't. If something happened and someone witnessed it, word would have spread by now. Where was their mission?"
"Near Zanarkand."
"I will contact the Ronso to see if they possibly saw something from the mountain. Please stand by for a few minutes."
Tidus nodded and switched the commsphere off. He was quickly moving into a panic as he continued to worry about Yuna. It was hard to believe something successfully attacked the Gullwings, but it wasn't impossible.
"Daddy, what's wrong?" Chandale suddenly said from the door to the room Tidus sat in.
Tidus was startled and jumped a few inches before swinging around to see Chandale. She had a curious look on her face, but it was also worried. Tidus got up from his chair and put his arm around Chandale.
"Nothing's wrong," Tidus said. "I'm just checking on the status of your mother's return."
"What'd they say?" Chandale asked. "They were supposed to be back this afternoon, right?"
Suddenly the commsphere switched back on and Baralai jumped right into talking. "Tidus, I spoke with Garik Ronso. He says a few Ronso cubs claimed to have seen an airship under attack over the Zanarkand Ruins, but no one believed them. He offered to send a few Ronso to check it out."
Tidus' worries turned to fear with Baralai's statement. He was about to reply until he realized that Chandale had heard the whole thing as well. She stood still, trembling in terror.
"Shit," Tidus thought to himself. He saw Wakka enter the temple. "Hey Wakka, take Chandale out of here."
"Wait, where's Mom!" Chandale almost yelled as Wakka pulled her along. "Dad, what's going on?"
Once Chandale was out of sight, Tidus turned back to Baralai. "Tell Garik I really appreciate it. I'm going to find some transportation to get myself there as well."
"I thought you might say that," Baralai replied. "I already contacted Gippal over in Djose. He is sending his personal airship to transport you."
"Thank you Baralai. Send Gippal my thanks as well."
"You can thank him yourself. He's going to be your pilot."
"Why is that?"
"Yuna helped me, him, and Nooj an awful lot in the past. We owe her more than we could ever repay, so we're willing to do anything to help her."
"Then again, thank you very much."
Tidus switched the commsphere off and left the temple. The entire village was in silence and staring Tidus' way. They must have heard Chandale and grew curious and worried. Kimahri stepped forward from the crowd and approached him.
"Where is Yuna?" Kimahri asked with his deep voice.
"I-I don't know yet," Tidus answered. "Apparently a few Ronso cubs saw an airship under attack over Zanarkand, and that's where they were supposed to be. An airship is on its way to pick me up to search for her."
"Kimahri come too. Need more power with you."
Tidus didn't argue. If the Gullwings really were attacked, he could use all the strength and help he could get. Wakka stepped up next to volunteer himself.
"Wakka, you need to stay here," Tidus said. "You're needed to keep things going here on the island, and I need you and Lulu to look after Chandale until we get back."
"Anything for you bruddah," Wakka replied.
Chandale approached the small group. Tidus could tell that she was fighting back tears. As headstrong as she was, she still worried about her mother. Tidus walked to her and gave her a hug.
"Chandale honey," Tidus said softly. "I need you to stay here, but I'll be back and your mother will be fine. They all will be, I promise."
"I want to come," Chandale responded with a cracked voice. "I can help."
"No, Zanarkand is no place for someone your age." Tidus started to remember the more powerful fiends that occupied the ruins. They all made Besaid fiends look like a child's toy. "Stay here with Wakka and Lulu, and we'll be back in time for the blitzball tournament next week."
"But I don't want to be away from you. What if something happens to you too?"
Tidus pulled away from his daughter and smiled. "I'll be fine, and so will your mother. Remember, we're the ones who killed Sin. It would take a lot to bring us down."
Tidus gave Chandale a wink, and she gave him a weak smile. Tidus wiped a tear from under her eye and gave her a kiss on the forehead. All she could do was believe in her father. She felt that should have been an easy task, but she either wasn't around, or was too young, to see him back in his fighting days.
A couple of hours later, Gippal arrived with a small airship, which he had named the Rusa. The name was in honor of the Al Bhed's late home from Bikanel Desert. Tidus and Kimahri wasted no time in boarding the airship, and it only took a few minutes for Gippal to have it back in the air.
Chandale stood at the edge of the village, staring out at the sky in the direction the airship left. Even though she knew everyone on the island, she felt completely alone with both of her parents gone. A few more minutes passed before Vidina joined her. He noticed her shivering in the chilled breeze, so he took his jacket off and put it on her shoulders.
"They'll be back," Vidina ensured. "Dad's told me stories from their journey together. I don't think anything could beat them."
"My dad never would tell me stories," Chandale said back. "He said I didn't need to know them."
"That's because your parents suffered a lot during those times," Lulu suddenly said. "When they think back on those days, they're reminded of all the death and suffering that was around them. When they had you, they promised to never look back again."
Chandale understood, and didn't argue when her parents refused to tell stories. The gist of what she knew was through listening to a few of Wakka's stories. His stories weren't in deep detail, though.
"Let's go for a walk," Vidina suggested.
Chandale didn't say anything, but merely nodded. Before Vidina could do anything else, she started to walk toward the path that led to the beach without him. He gave a quick look to his mother, who motioned for him to hurry and catch up, then turned toward the path.
"I don't know about this," Wakka said nervously as he arrived next to Lulu. "Something don't feel right."
"Well you know I'm not one to go by feelings," Lulu replied. "But I think you may be right."
"I come here on my own a lot of nights," Chandale told Vidina as they sat on top of a large piece of ruins that sat about fifty feet out from the beach. "I'll sit against this big rock, that way no one can see me from the beach. It's not like I hate being around other people, but I can think out here."
Vidina listened closely, but didn't say anything. He could tell it was helping Chandale just to listen to her while she talked. The whole time she talked, she had her two dagger out of the sheaths and held them in a combat ready position.
"Some nights I even fall asleep here," Chandale continued. "Mom and Dad get real mad when I don't come home at night, but they know I'm not doing anything so they don't argue too much. But hey, I've been doing all the talking. You're the one who wanted to go for a walk, so what's up?"
Vidina froze suddenly. He hadn't really considered what they could talk about. His plan was to go for a walk, but it didn't progress any from there. After a few more seconds of silence, he grabbed his longsword from its sheath.
"You been training?" Vidina finally asked.
"Yeah, I have," Chandale answered, but she was a little disappointed that was all Vidina said. "Victori would kill me if I didn't. That and Mom has been teaching me white magic the past few months, but I barely know how to heal someone, let alone some of the more powerful spells that she knows."
"That's ok, though. I only know the basic black magic spells from my Mom. I'm a lot better with just my sword."
Vidina held his sword like it was a prized possession. It was very long and narrow, and had two sharp edges rather than one, which allowed him to cut from any direction. He preferred it that way because it made up for his lesser agility in battle.
Chandale stood up and pointed one of her daggers at Vidina. "Wanna spar?"
"What?" Vidina said, confused. "Spar now? Isn't it a little dark out here?"
Chandale gave away a smirk. "You scared?"
Vidina smiled, partly because he was amused, but more because he could tell Chandale was finally starting to feel better. He got to his feet and held his hand out. Chandale slapped it to signify their acceptance of their dual.
Vidina jumped down from the stone and into the water. Chandale got ready to jump in as well, but suddenly the entire are shook violently. Chandale fell back and into the water, almost on top of Vidina. Once she resurfaced, she spun around to try and find the source of the mini earthquake.
"Are you ok?" Vidina asked urgently.
"Uh, yeah I'm fine," Chandale answered while still searching the area.
"What was that? A fiend?"
"I've never seen a fiend that could cause an earthquake like that."
Chandale continued to look around until she noticed the water further out began to form into a whirlpool. She focused her eyes to try and see better, and horror struck her. Suddenly a massive fin rose up from out of the water, slowly nearing them.
"Get out of the water!" Vidina said frantically.
They both sprung into action and swam as fast as they could. They could see the fin continue to come closer to the beach as they did the same. Wakka and Lulu suddenly appeared from the path with their weapons.
"That can't be," Wakka said in shock.
"It's impossible," Lulu said.
Vidina and Chandale reached the sand and approached Wakka and Lulu. They both noticed the complete fear in Wakka's eyes, and the confusion in Lulu's. They seemed to know whatever it was in the water.
"What's going on?" Vidina asked. "What is that?"
"Go back to the village and get everyone underground," Wakka ordered.
"Wait, what's wrong?"
"Do what I tell you!"
Wakka's voice was harsh and strict. Lulu didn't say anything, but kept her eyes on the water. The fin had gone underwater and out of sight, but the water was growing more and more violent.
"I'm not going anywhere," Chandale said. "If you're planning on fighting whatever this is, then I'm helping."
"I can't let you do that," Lulu said.
Suddenly the water shot straight up like a geyser. Everyone watched the geyser get higher and higher until it just dropped back to the water. A few seconds later, a large creature dropped onto the sound. It deeply resembled a shark, but had four legs to walk on. It also had two tails rather just one, and its entire body was substantially larger than a traditional shark. It was at least twenty feet long, and stood almost five feet tall.
"What is that?" Vidina asked in shock.
"They call it Isonade," Lulu responded. "An ancient Aeon that summoners used until about five-hundred years ago."
"Why only until then, and how is it here now?" Chandale asked.
"The legend says that there were four Fayth that were corrupted by evil spirits, turning them dark. After that happened, the summoners who summoned them would lose control, and the Aeon would kill them."
"I don't know how it's here now," Wakka said urgently.
The Isonade roared loudly, revealing its massive, sharp teeth. Everyone took a defensive stance with their weapons.
"Vidina, you and Chandale need to get back to the village right now," Wakka demanded.
"Yeah, I'm going to argue with that anymore," Vidina replied. He grabbed Chandale's hand and began to lead her to the path.
The Isonade roared again, then jumped high into the air. Before they knew what was happening, the beast landed right in front of the path entrance. The beast clearly wanted all of them, and wasn't letting them get away.
"Looks like we're fighting after all," Vidina said with his sword up.
"This isn't just another fiend," Lulu reminded. "We have fought dark Aeons before, and there is a very real chance you could get seriously hurt. Stay close to us and do exactly as we say."
Wakka and Lulu moved forward to get between the Isonade and the kids. The dark Aeon roared once again, then jumped toward them. Wakka was the first to react by throwing his blitzball weapon straight at the beast's face. His blitzball of choice that day was made of solid steel with hundreds of tiny spikes all around it. Once the ball made contact, Isonade stumbled back, prompting Lulu to take action. With a flick of her wrist, she summoned up a massive bolt of lightning from the sky, filling the beast's entire body with powerful electricity.
"Vidina, I want you to get behind it while we keep it occupied," Lulu said. "Those tails are used to summon magic spells, so we need them gone. Chandale, you're the fastest one out here, so try and hurt its legs so it can't move as well."
Vidina and Chandale looked at each other nervously. They had fought plenty of fiends in the past, but never an Aeon. They grew up hearing the legends of the Aeons and their unmatched power and size. The idea of trying to kill one seemed impossible.
"Go!" Wakka shouted as he stumbled back from dodging the Isonade's claws.
Vidina was the first to act as he started to move far back, hoping the Aeon wouldn't see what he was doing. Chandale quickly moved afterward and ran straight for the Isonade. She held her daggers tight as she moved in and struck one of the back legs. The Isonade reacted by swinging its tails violently, knocking Chandale almost ten feet away.
"Chandale!" Vidina shouted.
"Get rid of those tails or it will happen again!" Wakka ordered. "Chandale, stay back until Vidina takes them out."
Chandale was still on the ground. The pain from the strike was more than anything she had ever felt. Her breathing was temporarily labored, and her arms were covered in scratches. At that point, her fears only grew, almost to a small panic.
Vidina got close to the Isonade and dove underneath its body feet first. He gripped his sword and swung it with all his might and managed to slice clean through both tails. The Isonade roared loudly, then began to stop its feet. Vidina quickly rolled away, but his left arm was stomped on by the beast's powerful stomps. He kept rolling until he was safe, grabbing his arm in pain. Chandale ran to him to see if he was ok.
"Chandale, we can check him later," Wakka called. "Do your job!"
Chandale didn't know what to do. The sight of her friend laying on the ground with a damaged arm put her over the limit. She suddenly screamed loudly with sheer terror. Lulu ran to her and grabbed onto her tightly.
"I'll keep it occupied," Wakka told Lulu as he threw his blitzball into the Isonade's face.
Lulu continued to hold onto Chandale until she appeared to have calmed down. "Chandale, you need to calm down and think. I know it's scary, it always is. We have to fight, though. If we don't, then the entire village could be destroyed, and the people killed."
Chandale nodded slowly. She was still terrified, but she heard Lulu's words. She closed her eyes and tried to picture her parents in a battle. She imagined Tidus with his sword, slicing through enemies like they weren't moving. Yuna, in the background using her spells to support him the whole way. They wouldn't hesitate or stumble. They would do whatever it took to keep their loved ones and friends safe.
"Anytime now!" Wakka called as he narrowly dodged another attack from the Isonade.
Chandale looked up at the Isonade. It was vicious and large, but didn't have many attacks. She gripped her dagger tightly, then burst into a full sprint. Within seconds, she was behind the Isonade using both daggers to strike its two back legs at the same time. Before the Aeon could react, she already got three strikes on each leg. Lulu followed by using another thundaga spell, which caused a small explosion on the monster's back as the electricity flowed. After that, Chandale had reached one of its front legs and struck it another three times. With that, the Isonade could no longer move well enough to fight.
"We've got it, so let's finish it, ya," Wakka called to everyone.
Chandale continued to bury her fears and made her move for the last leg. Suddenly the Isonade began to disappear into a cloud of pyrflies. Everyone looked in confusion as their opponent completely vanished. They knew they hadn't killed it.
"Was it just dismissed?" Lulu asked.
"Looks like it, but by who?" Wakka responded.
"Dismissed?" Chandale asked as she helped Vidina to his feet.
"Aeons are summoned by their summoner, and when the summoner doesn't need it anymore, they are dismissed," Lulu explained. "But the dark Aeons didn't have summoners. We killed them and that was the end of it."
Chandale listened to Wakka and Lulu discuss the possibilities, but most of it didn't make much sense to her. Her main focus was bandaging Vidina's arm. Miraculously, nothing seemed to be broken, but it was severely bruised.
"Looks like I'm a one-handed goalie next week," Vidina said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Chandale didn't share his amusement. She couldn't shake the feeling that the attack was somehow connected to what was going on with her parents.
"What's that?" Lulu asked while pointing toward a large stone on the beach.
Everyone turned their attention to where she was pointing. A sphere sat on top of it, glowing brightly as if it were turned on. Wakka approached it and looked into it.
"There's someone talking, but they have their face covered up," Wakka said. He grabbed the sphere and brought it to everyone else.
"Sir Wakka, one of the famous guardians of High Summoner Yuna," the voice said. It was a man's voice, deep and stern. "I do hope you enjoyed the Isonade. I left this sphere behind for you because I figured my Aeon wouldn't be able to handle you and your wife, who happens to be another one of the High Summoner's guardians. I just wanted to give you a taste of things to come. First, let me tell you that your High Summoner is safe and alive. However, she will not be returning to you. She must face the penalty of her many crimes, and I am her judge. Not to worry, though. All of her guardians will join her soon enough. You are all accessories to her crimes, after all. That is all for now. I will see you all in Luca."
The sphere switched off suddenly. Everyone stood around in silence for a couple of minutes. There wasn't much to go off of from that sphere, aside from what appeared to be a deranged man who wanted unjust revenge on Yuna and her guardians.
"So Yuna is in trouble," Lulu said. She glanced at Chandale, who looked more worried than anyone.
"Ya, but Tidus and Kimahri are on it," Wakka said. "I think those two can handle it."
"I'm sure they can, but maybe we should go too."
Chandale looked up and stepped forward. "I don't think we should. Whoever that man is, he said he'll see us in Luca. Maybe if we go to Luca, then we'll find him."
"Or maybe it's all a big trap," Wakka replied.
"I'm sure it is a trap," Lulu agreed. "But we should go anyway. If we find and stop this man, then we find and rescue Yuna. Wakka, I think you should stay here."
"You're kidding?" Wakka didn't make any sense with Lulu's suggestion.
"No, you're the leader of Besaid. We need someone here to keep people from panicking, and even keep them safe from more possible attacks. Chandale and Vidina have the blitzball tournament next week, so the three of us will go."
"Ok, but don't do anything reckless. If anything too dangerous happens, then get away."
"What's going on?" a woman suddenly asked from the path. "Is everyone alright?"
Everyone turned to the woman and noticed it was Chandale's combat instructor, Victori. She was a rather short person, standing no taller than five feet, and was incredibly thin for someone in such good shape. Prior to moving to Besaid Island, she was a high-ranking member of the Youth League. After she sustained an accidental injury while doing a training mission, she chose to give the life up and live somewhere peaceful. Everyone in Besaid welcomed her happily, and Tidus offered her a free home in exchange for training Chandale.
Victori didn't fit the common description of a woman in her twenties. She wore a plain yellow, short-sleeve shirt and yellow pants. Her hair was long, but she always kept it tied up to avoid it getting in her eyes. Attached to her belt was two gloves, each with spikes on the knuckles. They were her weapon of choice due to her exceptional hand-to-hand combat skills.
"Everything's ok, Victori," Lulu responded to Victori's question.
"Oh, so that giant, walking shark was just a pet of yours?" Victori asked with annoyance.
Chandale knew better than to lie to Victori. It seemed to be an impossible task that only caused more trouble. To make life easier for everyone, telling the truth was ideal.
"We don't know much," Chandale chimed in. "It was a dark Aeon, from what Lulu and Wakka say. We don't know who or what summoned it, though."
Wakka rolled his eyes. He was hoping to keep the incident unknown to the rest of the villagers. The less people knew, the better.
"So you're going after the culprit?" Victori asked. "Just three of you?"
"Lulu can hold her own," Wakka responded. "And Vidina and Chandale are skilled too."
Victori crossed her arms and closed her eyes. Chandale knew that pose to be her "thinking" position. Traditionally, when she was in her thinking mode, it never ended in others' favor.
"If you're taking my student into battle, then I will have to come as well," Victori finally said.
"That's not possible," Wakka replied. "We can't risk being liable for other people."
"You're not liable for me." Victori's tone grew more harsh. "Lulu, you may be a highly skilled black magic user, but those two kids there are still novices. Do you expect to fight your best when you're looking after them at the same time?"
Lulu turned to Wakka. "She has a good point. She has experience battling high level fiends, and she is Chandale's instructor. She can give the best instruction to both her and Vidina."
Wakka still didn't like the idea, but he didn't bother trying to argue. If Lulu agreed, then it was already decided no matter what someone else thought. Instead, he just waved his hand in surrender.
"How's your arm?" Chandale asked Vidina.
They both sat on a rock near the water. Vidina did a good job at hiding any pain, but he couldn't lift his arm any higher than his chest. If it didn't recover much before the tournament, then he wouldn't even be able to swim in the sphere.
"I'm still alive," Vidina answered with a wink. "I wish I could have been more help, though."
"It's not your fault," Chandale said. She started to think back on the battle and how she froze. "I didn't do much better. We couldn't have known it was that powerful."
"We'll just have to make sure we're even more powerful the next time."
Chandale smiled and nodded. Vidina had an uncanny ability to cheer her up no matter the situation. He had an impossible level of optimism and loved to share it with others. He especially found joy in sharing that optimism with people who always acted negative.
"Vidina, Chandale, come here," Lulu suddenly called.
Chandale jumped to her feet and Vidina followed after her. They both knew what was coming by the look on Victori's face.
"Victoria will accompany you two to Luca," Lulu said. "I am going to stay here with Wakka instead, that way we can act if anything happens again. Victori will be in charge, which means you need to do as she says. She has the experience and knowledge, so remember that and you will be fine."
Chandale nodded, but hated the idea of Victori coming along. She was actually a nice person, but when it came to business, there was no one more strict. The slightest mistake would result in a long lecture that would never seem to end.
"What is the mission?" Victori asked for clarity.
"We're not entirely sure yet," Wakka answered. "Whoever summoned the Isonade left a sphere behind for us. He claims that he is out to punish Yuna and her guardians for their crimes. He ended the message by saying he will see us in Luca."
"What makes you think he'll show his face if you two don't show?"
"We don't know," Lulu replied. "But if Wakka and I go to Luca just to act as bait, we will be risking way more lives than if we stay here. At least here, we can quickly draw an enemy away from any people."
Victori could tell they thought it through. She understood that there was a chance nothing would happen in Luca, which would be a good thing. The only disappointment would be not finding out the identity of the culprit.
Lulu approached Vidina and gave him a hug. "You be careful now. Watch after your friends and keep them safe."
"I will, Ma," Vidina replied while hugging her back.
"Alright, we have a plan," Wakka said. "Keep each other safe and don't do anything reckless. Contact us when you're in Luca to let us know if you find anything."