Disclaimer: me no ownies!
Warnings: Seymour(obviously) Blitzball! Attack on the Stadium.
A/N:... Yeah okay, so it's been a while and I'M SO SORRY! but y'know the black, and boring, hole that is college swallowed me up and I got stuck doing work, then christmas came. (sighs) Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, reviews are always welcome, even if they are to moan at for taking so long :)
Enjoy!
=LUCA=
"Oh, wow. Nix come and look at this!"
Nix rolled her eyes, trying not to throttle her sister and walked over, gazing at all the different toys the stall had. They oddly reminded her of the moogle teddy Lulu carried around with her. In fact, they looked just like they were used in battles. Of course, Eva found a Cait Sith toy and had to have it, so after spending a few hundred Gil, Nix took the Gil pouch and refused to let Eva buy anything else.
They were lucky they didn't have to pay for Blitzball tickets, Yuna had just told the security guard that they were her guardians, which they weren't but they got in for free so Nix kept her mouth shut while Eva grinned happily. They had gone their seperate ways after that, wanting to look round Luca before following Yuna along the Mii-hen Highroad.
Eva had decided to continue going from Temple to Temple, gaining more Aeons. She wanted to help Yuna with her pilgramidge and learn about her own powers. She was determind to become Yuna's Guardian but Wakka had protested about it, saying that they would fail because of Nix wielding a Machina weapon. Eva had never seen anyone summon such a large Fire spell like Lulu had.
So, Yuna had given them until they leave Luca to decided if they would like to journey with her. Nix knew the decision had been made the moment they had saved Yuna and her friends from Geneaux, besides she wasn't going to let Eva travel an unknown world without her. Walking into a cafe, she sent Eva to get the drinks while she found a free table. The place was crowded, all different races were crammed in and it was hard to find a free table.
She gasped when someone grabbed her wrist and glanced down, looking into one brown eye that watched her closely. The man offered for her to sit at his table as he was nearly finished. Not one to be impolite she sat down, trying tune out the loud noise of everyone chattering loudly that irritated the migraine that had been banging against her skull since they docked.
This is why she never travelled on boats, they gave Nix the most skull breaking migraines possible which made her easily irritated and she could remember the times she had sent grown men running off, crying their eyes out. She was just someone you didn't mess with when she had a migraine. Rubbing her temples, she hummed an old Nihrote lullaby that often helped calm her down.
"Are you alright?" Nix glanced up, wanting nothing more then to bash her head against the table.
"Yeah, boat travels give me migraines. Thanks for asking." The man smirked, taking a sip of his drink, watching the crowds closely. Nix was doing the same, her hearing trained on where Eva was just in case she needed help, though she twitched when she overheard some Al-Bhed talking about Eva, understanding every word they said. Every now and then, an Al-Bhed would pass through Macalania and Nix used to follow them all through the forest but the people often got hurt so Nix would help them and they taught her how to speak their language in a show of gratitude, which was apparently coming in handy as she sat up straight and grabbed the shirt strap of a passing Al-Bhed and pulled him down to her level, hissing sharply in their language to get her point across without causing a scene.
"You go near her and I'll make you regret even breathing near her, got it?" The Al-Bhed nodded his head, a bead of sweat sliding down his neck as he quickly scrambled out the cafe, just as Eva arrived with their drinks. She watched curiously as the group followed after their friend, muttering between themselves. Looking at Nix, she sent her sister a questioning gaze.
"What were you talking about?" Nix took her drink and placed the cool glass to her temple, trying to sooth her migraine away.
"Blitzball." Her tone suggested the conversation was over and Eva left it alone, knowing how violent Nix got when she had a migraine, turning to the other person at the table she spoke warmly and got caught up in a serious topic with the stranger.
Nix groaned, closing her eyes and tuning Eva out while trying to forcively will the pounding out of her skull. A few minutes passed before the announcer on the sphere screen told everybody listening that the first match between the Guado Glories and the Kilika Beasts.
Eva squealed and turned to watch the game with a keen eye, booing whenever one of Guado got the ball. Nix closed her eyes, shutting down most of her senses except hearing, she listened the sounds of people talking, the shuffled footsteps of the bartender. The sound of the fans cheering in the Blitzball stadium through the sphere screen. She could hear the people walking past the bar outside, the giggles of children. She focused harder when something pulsed, it was a low beat that could barely be heard over the noise, but years of being in the Nihrote Guard had taught her to listen past the normal noises.
The beat pulsed again and Nix recognized it, she had heard it in Kilika while Yuna and friends had been fighting Lord Ochu.
It was the sound of someone summoning.
Jerking back in her seat, all the noise she had tuned out came rushing back but she hardly cared, someone was summoning and it sounded bad. Standing from her chair, she drank her cool water in one gulp before grabbing hold of Eva's shoulder. Eva jumped and looked up, a questioning gaze in her eyes.
"Nix, what-"
"Someone is summoning, and it's big. We have to find it... Now!" Eva's eyes widened and she quickly followed after Nix, saying a quick goodbye to the stranger at the table.
Auron sipped the last of his drink, glancing at the sphere screen when Kilika Beasts fans cheered. Obviously they had scored a goal. He stood from his seat, knowing the word had reached Yuna's ears of his presence by now. Walking from the bar, he glanced round the monument when he saw Nix and Eva run up towards the stadium. Those two were unusual, Eva because of her untrained ability to summon and vast knowledge of all types of magic. Nix was more intresting, the fact that she could hear a summoning was somewhat alarming and unheard of.
He would definitely have to keep a close eye on those two.
Eva panted for breath, resting her hands on her knee's. Nix sure knew how to run, she now knew why the men in the Guard never wanted to be partnered with her. Nix was fast and graceful, she even made pushing past people look like a long forgotten dance. Nix was standing just a little further in front, he head tilted downwards as she listened for the same beating noise that had alerted her attention in the bar.
Eva was curious as what the person was summoning but something else caught her intrest. There were several Al-Bhed mummering to themselves, they looked between each other, nodding their head in what was quite suspicious. Her eyes widened when she saw Yuna's skirt, suddenly feeling apprehensive she turned to warn Nix that some roudy Al-Bhed had Yuna when she saw that her 'sister' was gone, vanished into thin air.
She looked back at the group, noticing how they were moving towards pier four, she felt torn between Yuna and Nix, should she go to Yuna's rescue and be found as a summoner herself, or follow Nix and likely save Luca? Such a hard choice, which was made for her when Nix grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the back of the stands.
"Someone is summoning underneath the stadium.." Eva nodded, a magic spell already waiting on her tongue, though they were surprised when they bumped into the most unlikeliest character. Eva did the prayer in a heartbeat, not wanting to be rude to someone so special while Nix just gave the man a leveled stare that clearly said they were busy, and he should find it in his best intrest to move out of her way..
"Maester Seymour!" The maester smiled, returning the prayer, gazing calmly into Nix's stare. The blond stiffened minutely, seeming to already know what was going on.
"What were you summoning?" Seymour blinked, his cold eyes flaring with an unknown emotion that looked a lot like intrest, and murderous intent.
"How did you know I was summoning?" Nix snorted, stepping a little closer in front. She did not like the man's insane gaze what-so-ever.
"I have good hearing..." This seemed to confuse Seymour for a moment and he frowned, Eva nudged Nix with her elbow, not wanting to bring attention to themselves. If Seymour found out about her being a summoner and Nix using a machina weapon. She would be sent on a pilgramidge to her death and Nix would be exiled or locked up somewhere. Seymour scowled and pushed past them without another word.
Nix glared death at his back before she huffed in anger and began bitching about authoritive figures. Eva had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from bursting out laughing. It was well known that Nix and political figures were natural enemies and it seemed it was going to stay that way for a long time.
Nix walked up to the door Seymour had just vacated and ran her hand over the smooth wood, frowning at how it was warm to the touch. Her hand slipped to the handle of her gun as she warily pushed the door open. As soon as she had, the room lit up with the symbols of a summoning and the duo found themselves staring a horde of Sahagins.
Nix instantly fired several rounds that were strengthened with Fire magic while Eva summoned Fire after Fire spells while also healing Nix of any wounds. The fiends didn't give up so easily but Nix refused to be killed by some slimey lizards and she found herself using her Overdrive. Her machina weapon glowed ominiously as it pulsed with ancient magic. Eva watched, awed, as symbols surrounded the gun as Nix pulled the trigger once and it amazingly fired hundreds of rounds instead of just one at a time. The symbols died down and Nix smirked with triumph as the last Sahagin fell to the floor, bursting into pyreflies. After they made sure no more Fiends were going to appear they looked round the room, looking for anything that would give them a clue to what the Maester had been summoning but nothing was found.
What the hell was he summoning? Nix thought as she sighed, reholstering her weapon and leaning against the wall. She was extremely suspicious of the whole thing. Why would a Maester be down here anyway? Why was the Al-Bhed talking of kidnapping Summoners? She could feel her migraine throb angrily, showing that all this thinking was making it irritable.
Eva was staring at the floor, tempted to move the carpet just in case there was some old chalk drawin of a pentagram hidden underneath. She stared, boring holes into the poor carpet that refused to turn transparent just so she could see what was underneath it.
"Hey, Nix. There's something under this carpet." Nix was over in an instant, lifting the one edge before giving it a hard yank, revealing what was underneath...which was nothing. It was just a dark wood floor. Nix glanced at Eva who looked extremely confused and she fell to her knee's tracing her fingers over the wood.
Nix left her to it, if anyone could sense magic, it was Eva. She was still suspicous of the whole thing, and if she had her way, Seymour would be tied a chair, being interrigated beyond belief. But this wasn't Nihrote, and it definitely wasn't Bevelle either. After a few more minutes, Eva sighed, pulling away and looking annoyed.
"Whatever he was summoning, it's gone. I can't feel any trace of magic-" Eva looks up sharply when screams are heard from above, both her and Nix hurried out the room, finding themselves swamped up in crowds of panicking people. They glanced round, unsure on what to do until one thing came to mind.
"Yuna!"
It was total havoc in the stands and more than once Nix had to hold herself back from shooting the poor, terrified folk as they pushed her around like a ragdoll. Eva had gone to another entrance to help people escape but she didn't doubt that her sister was having the same trouble. After a particular hard shove from a bulky Kilikan man, Nix was glad to see a group lupine fiends heading her way, chasing a young woman. Nix pulled out her A7, loading it in record time and firing. The woman screamed in terror, obviously thinking Nix was shooting at her, though she gasped in surprise as Pyre-flies exploded around her.
"Get out of here!" Nix ordered, falling back on her old ways. She continued down the aisles, killing any fiends that were in her way. She half-heartedly glanced at the large floating ball of water, noticing Sahagins attacking Tidus and Wakka, though they were holding their own. Nix pulled out a few more armour piercing rounds, loading her gun with them as a dragon came hurtling towards her. She was not afraid of battles, and she definitely wasn't afraid of fiends but something in her froze, and instead of simply cocking her gun and firing, she found herself staring into the eyes of a malicious beast..
Which burst into pyre-flies that curled round her form before floating off towards the Farplane. She blinked a few times, her mind screaming at her for even thinking of hesitating. It wasn't like her to choke, she had fought far scarier things in her life and not once had she ever froze. Tightening her grip on the A7, Nix turned towards her savior, finding the man from the cafe standing behind her, a smirk tilting his lips. She took and deep breath and said her thanks before set off towards Eva who had been surrounded by a few Sahagins.
The battles continued and Nix was now back to back with Eva, drawing the fiends towards them instead of the fleeing mass of people. She knew this day had a bad feeling about it.
Ba-bump
Nix's fingers loosened momentarily on her the hilt of her gun as she heard the familiar sound of someone summoning, though this wasn't the same as Yuna's summoning. This was darker, deeper, more eviler then any she had heard before. It was almost the same sound she heard coming from that room Seymour had been in. And she wasn't wrong on who was summoning.
Dark chains fell from the sky, piercing the ground easily, causing the ground rumble and shake as it hauled something from the other world. Nix stared in shock at the Aeon before her, while Eva gasped in horror. Everything seemed to slow down as the Aeon attacked, hitting the fiends easily and killing them quickly. Nix watched as its one free eye lit with magic before the magic burst free, killing a lupine in one hit. She felt her heart near enough break as blood seeped from the eye and she had to hold herself back from running over and cutting those chain and freeing the obviously tortured Aeon.
It continued to kill the fiends, magic gathering and pulsing free of the Aeon. People stood in awe at the power it radiated, even Nix could sense it, but there was pain and a lot of it. The Aeon sat still after all the fiends had been killed, barely breathing hard. The Aeon seemed to stare right at them and Nix couldn't help but stare back, feeling that one-eyed stare looking right into her soul, and she felt helpless and vulnerable under that gaze.
In the end she had to look away and heard as everyone gasped as the Aeon disappeared, the pulsing of a summoning disappearing with it. She holstered her weapon and glanced at Eva who was as pale as ghost as her eyes glittered with unshed tears. Nix took the initiative and quietly whispered to Eva. "We should regroup with the others, make sure Yuna is okay." Eva nodded dully and followed after Nix who stopped every now and then to help an injured person or a lost child, until they finally reached Tidus and Wakka, as well as the stranger from the cafe. Nix passed Tidus a potion, which he tried refuse but under Nix's stern, unwielding stare, he soon gave in and drank the potion. Nix glanced round at the stands, trying to see if she could spot the others...
"Right, where's Yuna?"
Nix stared at Auron, trying to figure then man out, Lulu had updated her on who he was. A former Guardian of Lord Braska, Yuna's father. Eva was in town, restocking the potion supply. A lot of people were grateful towards them for protecting them and gave them a discount on any items they needed. It helped to have a summoner too, people would bend over backwards if Yuna asked them too.
They were standing outside the entrance to the Mi'hen Highroad, which they would walk along to the Mushroom Rock. Still, Nix was curious about this Auron character, something about him seemed off and she couldn't stick her finger on it. It was as if the man had no prescence at all, like a ghost. Nix shuddered minutely, and shook her head, she was being silly...But she had gotten the same feeling from Maester Mika, maybe they were both ghosts?
Huffing under her breath for thinking something so absurd, she went back to staring at the side of Auron's head while everyone waited for Yuna and Tidus to stop talking.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Looking towards the two standing on the balcony, Nix blinked as Yuna and Tidus continued to laugh out loud until the fell into childish giggles. She glanced round and noticed how everyone was looking at the two as if they had gone crazy. Rolling her eyes, she checked her weapon and muttered that she was going to find Eva before she spent too much money. She walked past the giggling duo and lightly cleared her throat.
"Everyone is looking at you." Walking off, she heard Yuna's and Tidus's giggles die down abruptly as they obviously turned round to see that she was right. Walking down the steps towards the town centre, looking over the banister at the people gathering round a stalls. She 'oofed' when someone going the oppisite way bumped into her. She shamefully stumbled from the bump, feeling two hands steady her.
Glancing up, Nix found herself staring into amber eyes that twinkled with hidden mischief. They stared at each other for a few moments until Nix realised what she was doing and abruptly pulled herself away from the gentle grip of the strangers hands.
"Thanks." The stranger shook his head, running a hand through dark locks.
"What for? I was the-" The stranger was cut off by two Crusaders appearing at the bottom of the stairs, shouting 'thief!' loudly. The stranger grinned and gave a mock salute before running for it, leaving Nix staring after him as the two crusaders gave chase.
What the..? Nix continued to stare for a minute longer, her usually clear mind muddled and refusing to comprehend on what just happened. Shaking her head, she turned on her heels and continued down the steps, glad to see Eva heading her way. She was ready to get on with the journey and put this day behind her.
You're losing your touch Nix.
"Hey, we leaving Nix?" Looking at Eva, Nix nodded. Heading back the way she came, she pushed all thoughts of herself turning soft to the back of her mind, as well as the thoughts of dark hair and amber eyes..