Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. I only own my character, Danaya. The following OCs belong to the following people. Any of my plot similar to anyone else's is simply pure coincidence.
Alisa, Taehyr - Xedina Fairlady
Rhys - Teamplaya101
Analise - MemoriesoftheForgottenGuardian
Xanxus - Big K Studios
Iyana - Roseria Sylvester
Sargent - AcidRain14
Ehehehe, hehe, hey guys! It's been a while...hasn't it? I would really like to apologize for my lack of updates. I've been unbelievably busy this year, studying for tests, doing projects, extracurriculars. ^^'' I guess I have no other excuses, so I would like to deeply apologize ^^'' /bows. However, I have been working on this story. I've been doing some writing ahead for the other chapters and further extending the plot. Please understand that I'm busy and rarely have time to update. So, I really hope you guys enjoy this new chapter, and look forward to me hopefully updating again soon! :) I really want this story to go somewhere, so please bare with me ^^ Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter! Read & Review! ^^ Enjoy!
Danaya's POV:
We all gathered up in one area of the destroyed stadium, trying to figure out what to do next. Paine went back to Bevelle to try her best to get it back together. We all knew Bevelle would be in utter chaos right now. Wakka and Lulu went back to Besaid, hitchhiking a ride on Leblanc's airship. They said they would have to relay the information to Besaid and pray in the temple. Vidina refused to go with him, saying he should stay with me. I walked around random places, seeing if there were any survivors or people left that needed to be sent. "Um, excuse me Lady Danaya?" I turned around. There was a young woman standing near me. As I turned to her, she blushed slightly and handed me a sphere. "I-I was told to give this to you, and to wait for your response" she said shyly.
"Who is it from?" I asked as I looked at the sphere. Before she could answer, Sarge walked over and snatched it out of the woman's hands. She blushed deeply and slightly turned away. I raised my eyebrows. By this time, everyone had noticed the woman and gathered around us, staying a distance away from the mysterious woman.
The sphere showed a dark room that was barely lit. Something that stood out in the room was a dark purple throne that somehow seemed to brighten the room with its power. The walls were very interesting; they looked like they were distorted images of space. I found the place a bit disturbing as it just looked so…dark and evil.
A young woman entered the sphere. At least, she looked young. I couldn't really tell because she had long bangs that covered the right side of her face. "My name is Mirage," she said. Her voice sent a small shiver down my back. There was a lot of confidence in that voice, a lot of power being easily contained. Within me, I could feel Analise stirring uneasily. "Lady Danaya, first I must apologize for your loss. I am sincerely sorry for the unnecessary destruction, but at this point, it was unavoidable." Again, her voice made me uncomfortable. It was cool and emotionless, giving an eerie ring to it.
She continued, "This message is for you Rhys, Guardian of Flame, and for you Alisa, Guardian of Life." I felt both of them stiffen behind me, pressing closer to hear what she had to say. "You have forgotten your purpose and refuse to embrace your destiny. Again, I am sorry for the needless devastation around you, but I needed your attention. You need to reclaim your true purpose, and it has fallen to me to educate you. The Elemental Guardians have always been guides, instructing the people of Spira. An Elemental Guardian appears when they are most needed, to help guide Spira away from destruction. You have been neglecting your duty in this." I looked at Alisa and Uncle Rhys, their facial expressions different. Alisa looked confused and angry while Uncle Rhys had an anger that flared out, something rarely seen.
The woman in the sphere continued, "Alisa, you are young, and new to your power, so your actions are allowed. Indeed, they are desired, for they have improved your knowledge and ability of your power." Her voice turned slightly menacing, and a small sneer appeared on her face. "Rhys, you have no such excuse. You have had knowledge and control of your power for a long time now, yet you choose to serve instead of lead. This is unacceptable. Due to your actions, or lack of, I am required to bring you back to your destiny, by force if I need to. The longer you refuse, the more needless destruction I shall be forced to create. Your answer here will decide the fate of innocents. I await your choice." With that, the sphere went dark.
I looked at Alisa and Uncle Rhys, confusion flooding most of our faces. "What in Spira is this? Who is she?" I whispered. "Alisa…" I called out. I realized she had been hiding behind Sargent and Auntie Rikku for a while. Alisa came out and gave me a hug as she had no idea what was going on.
"Let's just find this lady and destroy her! Who is she to tell them this?" Sargent shouted.
Nooj intervened, "We can't just do that. We don't even know how she knows Rhys and Alisa, let alone what she could do." I exchanged glances with Vidina and Xanxus, knowing they knew nothing about this lady either. Taehyr and Iyana were staring at the sphere while Auntie Rikku and Gippal were trying to calm down an angry Uncle Rhys.
Uncle Rhys shouted, "Who does this lady think she is? Lack of actions? I choose to serve instead of lead? Neglecting my duty? Bullshit! I'm doing a damn good job as an Elemental Guardian, and I'd like to see her try! Hah, bring me back to my destiny. I control my own damn destiny." This surprised a lot us because Uncle Rhys was usually never this angry and always liked to crack jokes.
"So this is your choice. Pity," her voice sounded close by. I felt the pull of magic and turned just in time to see the young woman, who had brought the sphere, warp slightly, before resolving into Mirage. Before any of us could do anything but stare, she conjured a small orb of purple energy. "Now," she said into the orb and released it into the air. It rose up high before disappearing. She gave a short, humorless chuckle before saying to Uncle Rhys, "This is your choice. The consequence is yours to bear." With that, she became enveloped in black-purple energy and disappeared as well.
We all stood in silence. Uncle Rhys' fists were shaking. I placed my hand on his shoulder and asked him to calm down. However, I had no right to calm him down as I was pissed as well. Reality sunk in as I remembered the contents of the sphere. *She did this…she caused all of this…she killed Baralai and my parents.* "She killed everyone…" I unknowingly whispered. This sent anger surging throughout everyone's bodies. Iyana took the sphere away from me and tucked it away before I could crush it.
"I will inform Wakka, Lulu, and Paine once I get on Leblanc's airship." Nooj explained. My hands turned into tight fists as they shook with rage. Alisa held my hands, trying to get me to calm down, though I could see the anger in her face as well. Everyone was angry at this Mirage person. Nobody could speak because we had only one thing on our minds. We had to find Mirage and kill her. She's the enemy.
"Danaya. We have to go." Taehyr mumbled to me as I stared off into space. After everyone got themselves together, we all decided to split off. Leblanc, Ormi, and Logos had arrived in their own airship after hearing the news. They picked up Nooj to bring him back to the Youth League so he can restore any peace that had been destroyed. All who were left were Auntie Rikku, Uncle Rhys, Gippal, Alisa, Taehyr, Iyana, Sargent, Xanxus, Vidina, and me. We didn't know what Auntie Rikku, Uncle Rhys, and Gippal were going to do yet.
I sighed and turned to Alisa and Taehyr with a grim face. Alisa showed a small smile, letting me know that she understood how I was feeling. I put an arm around her shoulder as we walked over the docks, where Iyana's airship and Gippal's airship were parked. Everyone stared at Alisa and me as we walked towards them. With the help of Xanxus, Vidina walked up to me. "Come on, Danaya. We're going to go and check up on the other places to see if everything's okay. Gippal's going to go back Home, along with Rikku and Rhys." I looked at Alisa and gave her a slight nudge in Taehyr's direction, signaling her to go with the others. Alisa nodded and slowly walked over to the others.
"We?" I voiced out. Vidina raised his eyebrow. "Vidina…I'm not letting you come with us. I'm going to ask Gippal to drop you off at Besaid with Wakka and Lulu." Knowing the circumstances, Vidina didn't try to reason with me. He knew that he was injured. I looked into his eyes. "It's not that you're going to burden us." I reasoned, already knowing what he was thinking in his head. "I'm not letting you fight fiends like this. You're going to have a hard time." I muttered as I gave him a hug. Xanxus left us as Vidina used me for support.
"You'll be all right without me?" Vidina whispered. I chuckled and nodded my head.
I defended, "I'm not a little girl anymore. I just…miss my parents." Vidina squeezed me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. I helped him walk towards Gippal, who said goodbye to me as well.
"I'll be watching out for the others. I'm going to Home and checking on everything. Good luck, princess." Gippal explained as he ruffled my hair. I smiled and looked down at my tattered clothes. From a distance away, I watched as Uncle Rhys and Auntie Rikku walked over to us. Everyone began to gather around. I hugged Auntie Rikku goodbye and was about to hug Uncle Rhys, but he placed his hand on my head.
"Why are you saying goodbye to me?" Uncle Rhys asked with a raised eyebrow. We all looked at him in confusion, except for Auntie Rikku. He chuckled and announced, "I'm coming along with you youngsters. No way am I letting you all go along if you think you can defeat whatever is out there. Besides, I have some business to take care of with whomever or whatever has done this. They've taken three of my good friends away." All of us gaped at him. We expected Uncle Rhys to hold Taehyr back, but not tag along with us. Since everyone proclaimed me as the leader years back, they all looked at me. Not feeling well still from the previous events, I managed a small smile as I shrugged.
"The more, the merrier." I explained. Auntie Rikku continued to stare between Alisa and me. Her sorrowful eyes showed that she was thinking of Mom and Dad because there was so much resemblance between us. We all began to say goodbye to Auntie Rikku, Gippal, and Vidina. Vidina and I stood there awkwardly with each other, not sure of what to do. We were a bit far away from the group, and Vidina was leaning on a pillar for support. "You'll be okay without us?" I questioned.
Vidina smirked and countered, "The question is, will you guys be okay without me?" I rolled my eyes at his confidence at the moment. There was a silence between us. He stood over me very well that he had cast a shadow above me. After a while, Vidina finally said, "Just…be careful. I don't want you dying like…your parents and Baralai." The pain of that sentence hit me as I rushed into Vidina, giving him a tight hug. Without a sound, Vidina placed both his arms around me. I looked up into his eyes…well, eye. His other eye had an eye patch over it because Gippal luckily had a spare eye patch with him. I looked back down again as I wondered how Vidina could live with one leg and one eye instead of two. My head lay on his chest as we both stood there in silence.
"Mirage…" I whispered. Vidina heard it and squeezed me tighter.
Vidina assured, "You'll find and kill her. I know you will. We got through Malfonse, remember?"
"But Malfonse didn't kill my parents and the leader of New Yevon." I countered as I buried my head further into Vidina's chest. There was a deafening silence as Vidina soothed my hair, trying to get me to calm down. We heard footsteps, looked up, and saw Gippal's cheerless face.
"Come on, Vidina. We have to go." Gippal explained. I let go of Vidina and faced Gippal. He let out a sigh and placed his hand on my shoulder. "Take care. Find that woman, and if I'm not there, kick her ass for me." It was the first time I had seen Gippal's face so…lifeless, yet his eyes filled with anger and thirst for revenge. He was always the cheery one, along with my father. I nodded my head and watched as Gippal helped Vidina over to the airship. Gippal, Vidina, and Auntie Rikku boarded the airship with quiet goodbyes. All that was left was Alisa, Taehyr, Iyana, Xanxus, Sargent, Uncle Rhys, and me. I could tell everyone, including me, was trying to get over what happened, but the scene wouldn't go away. *Danaya…* Analise called. *You guys should get onto the airship now. I sense something is wrong.* I nodded and placed a hand on Alisa's shoulder.
Uncle Rhys said, "Let's go, everyone." We all boarded the Cascade, but something was holding me back. I grabbed onto Iyana and asked her to give me the sphere. She reluctantly handed it to me and walked inside with the others. Alisa walked ahead, but then turned back and looked at me.
"Danaya. Where are you going?" Alisa whispered, the sad tone in her voice making me want to cry. I flashed her a small smile.
"Give me a few minutes. I'll be on board soon. Let Iyana know so she doesn't leave me." I explained as I rushed over to the stadium, or rather, what's left of it. There weren't that many survivors. The ones that survived had gathered up and tried to help repair what was left. Xanxus had even cooked for the survivors and made sure everyone had something to eat. Everyone steered clear of the stadium, so I was alone when I got there. Holding the sphere in my hands, I looked around and glared at the sky. I searched around, seeing if I could find anything left from Mirage. However, I found nothing. "I will find you, Mirage. When I do, I will take you down." I declared as I turned around and headed back for the airship. When I walked out of the stadium, I swore I could feel someone's eyes on me. I hurried back to the airship and got inside. Once I got in, I met everyone at the Bridge as Iyana pulled the ramp up. "What's happening?" I asked as the red alarm went off in the entire airship.
Iyana shouted, "Someone's calling an emergency from Moonflow! Check the Commspheres!" Taehyr was already at the Commsphere Network, so she pressed some buttons and an image of Moonflow appeared. We all gasped as an injured Hypello held its side with its left hand and the Commsphere with his right.
"Lady Danaya! You musht hurry! Moonflow ish being attacked by fiends! Imposshiibable!" The signal was cut off. I was about to scream at Iyana to go to Moonflow, but she already stepped on it.
Uncle Rhys ordered, "Everyone! Get changed, equipped, and get ready to fight again!" He didn't have to tell me twice as I crammed into the elevator with Alisa and Taehyr to get to the Cabin. I rushed to the Storage Room and restocked myself with Hi-Potions, Mega Potions, Remedies, and Grenades. I went over to a small closet in the Storage Room and looked at myself in the mirror on the door. My skirt was tattered, and I contemplated on changing my skirt. *Eh, I'm going to fight again anyways.* I shut the door closed and went over to Pello.
"Pello! Whatever happens, do not leave this airship. We don't want you getting hurt." I said to Pello as I gave him a hug.
"Ish okay, Mish Danaya. Don't hurt yourshelves." Pello advised as he gave me a pat on the back. I squeezed my eyes tightly as I let go of him and hurried back onto the Bridge with Taehyr and Alisa. When we got back onto the Bridge, I saw everyone getting ready for battle: one which we were prepared for.
Sargent spoke up, "From the looks of the sphere, the fiends had just started to attack. We have to get there soon! Iyana, how much longer?"
"We're almost there! I'm going to do a rough landing in the forest, and we're going to have to hurry out of the airship and fight! I contacted my Al Bhed friend in Moonflow, and he says they're trying to hold them off as much as they can. Mom and Gippal are coming soon since they're coming back from dropping Vidina off!" Iyana exclaimed hurriedly as she tried to drive as fast as she can. *Danaya, be careful. It's going to be harder to fight since it's getting darker…I'm still thinking about that Mirage woman…* Analise told me. In a matter of minutes, Iyana shouted, "LET'S GO!" She opened the ramp and turned off the engine as we all hurried out of the airship.
We all gasped. Moonflow was in chaos.