Danse Macabre Undone: The Road

by Gatecrasher12

When an beaten enemy rises, the world's exisitance fades, but victory may not be in the future, but in the past. The hands of time are turned back to when the dream was real and the lovers of 1000 words lived.

7. End of the Saved World pt2

Title: Danse Macabre Undone

Author: Gatecrasher12

Word Count: 5342

Genre: Action/Romance/Drama/General

Game: Final Fantasy 10-2

Published Date: 8-06-10

Author's Note: Sorry for taking so long! Originally I was going to have the fight scene as part of chapter six but I decided to stat it off in seven. Also, let it be known that from here on, will get progressively darker and certain scenes will be a bit graphic in description. I want this story to be as life-like as possible while keeping it relatively T-rated clean.

oO0Oo

Chapter Seven: End of the Saved World

oO0Oo

Lightning flashed through the darkened sky, not a sliver of dawn's light able to pierce the heavy black clouds hanging in the sky as a violently gale whipped through the air. Djose Temple was right a mess, not to say that it was neat after Gippal and his Machine Faction took it over, or totally dust-free and spotless before either, but it was by far more a chaotic disarray than usual. In truth, the whole area a quarter mile around the sacred house of Ixion turned machine research and development warehouse looked like a war zone.

Littered across the ground were bits and pieces of ancient machina, as well as the bloodied bodies and parts, crushed, charred, or otherwise, of their Al-Bhed mechanics and a multitude of severed fiend limbs that had yet to dissipate into Pyreflies. The air was permeated with the scent of burned wires, metal, cooked flesh, and death as black smoke from long burnt out fires billowed into the air from exploded machina. The small building that served as the Machine faction's receptions building and item shop was half collapsed with bodies of dead Al Bhed sprawling half out of it. Blood, oil, and gore lay painted on the rocky ground and walls like morbid drip art. At the moment, however, the temple grounds were almost deathly quiet save for the sound of the roaring wind as Pyreflies floated about lazily as if immune to the blustery weather. This was the scene the Gullwings witnessed when the Celsius arrived during the wee hours of the morning.

Yuna stared at the bloody sight in open shock, he hands fastened tightly over her mouth as if to prevent herself from retching, alongside Rikku. Paine's face was contorted into a scowling grimace as the sight brought back many terrible memories of her time in the Crimson Squad, specifically during its massacre. The silver haired woman hardened herself, face becoming stone cold, and walked slowly over to a fallen man's body, her trusted sword drawn cautiously and glimmering with anticipation for battle. Paine kneeled down next to the body and began to examine it, deftly ignoring the pungent scent of semi-fresh blood. Her leather gloved fingers tentatively brushed the pooled, cooled blood lightly, watching it smear her fingers in a half congealed mess. "…This body has been laying here for a while, four, maybe five hours. The blood is almost dry and this guy's body is cold and stiff. …Fiends did this, obviously, from the claw and teeth marks. I'd say these people have been like this since just after midnight." she informed in a clinically stoic voice.

"…G-Gippal…" Rikku's voice wavered as she stepped tentatively forward before takting off like as shot.

"Rikku wait!" Yuna called.

"GIPPAL!" she yelled as she ran through the temple grounds to the Djose temple itself, Yuna and Paine hot on her heels, dodging corpses and totaled machinery. Lulu and a hung-over Wakka separated from the three earlier to check the perimeter for any signs of life. "GIPPAL, YOU IDIOT, WHERE ARE YOU?" When no reply but the sound of the whistling cold wind called back, tears stung her eyes.

Paine was the one to catch up with the small blond first when the trio were just half way across the courtyard, half way between the large double doors of the temple and the bridge. "Rikku, stop!"

Rikku opened her mouth to yell for Gippal again when black leather clad hands encircled her, one wrapping around her shoulders and the other clamping over her mouth. Rikku gave a muffled squeak in protest as she kicked her legs forward and bucked persistently, trying vainly to twist and muscle her way out of Paine's much stronger vice-like hold.

"Stop yelling," The older woman hissed into Rikku's ear. "If there are any survivors, all your shouting will just attract the fiends that did this back to them. I'd like to remain unnoticed if there are any still hanging around."

Rikku looked at Paine's eyes. Those heated overbearing scarlet orbs glaring down at her said in no uncertain terms that she was just a yell away from knowing just why the older woman was called 'Paine'. Rikku calmed down and nodded submissively, Pain let her go with an affirming nod.

"Um… I think it's a bit late for that…" Yuna announced as she stared back at the way they came, drawing and cocking her Tiny Bee pistols.

Paine and Rikku turned to see a gathering of two slithering serpentine Gucumatz Basilisks, a small garden's worth of overgrown carnivorous Bully Caps and Funguar, a pack of four Coyotes, a Red Elemental, and a small swarm of killer Wasps. The older woman shot the blond a sharp glare. "That's minus fifteen respect points." Paine said through clenched teeth. Rikku winced and inched away like a guilty child being scolded, drawing her Thief's Knives, foregoing the usual flare of twirls and battle pose that she usually performed.

"Let's go!" Yuna shouted as the fiends began to advance on the trio.

Shots exploded from her pistols in rapid fire, Yuna becoming suddenly very Trigger Happy with anger towards the beasts, the bullets flying through the air and finding their marks in the many Wasps. The several of the large flying insets dropped very quickly while others of the swarm circled overhead in an attempt to confuse and disorientate the young gunner. Yuna tracked each of them easily with a sniper's eye. She rolled out of the way when a long stinger stabbed at her from her right flank and again from the snapping jaws of a charging Coyote coming at her from the front. Yuna shot the offending flying Fiend in the back as it missed and tried to circle around for a second try after she put a bullet between the Coyote's eyes when it jumped at her in retaliation.

"Hyaaaaah!" Rikku dashed forward with a sudden burst of speed achievable only by somebody that was as spontaneous and hyper-active as the young Al-Bhed. The Bully Cap she had aimed for spat out a dark cloud of Ebon Powder at her in an effort to stop and blind her, but Rikku saw the attack coming the moment the fungus stated to quiver its umbrellas and jumped high into the air and came down on it, slashing the plant down the middle and killing it. She danced out of the way as a nearby Funguar tried to sneak a bite out of her side, retreating out of the way at the feel of the tell-tale sign of casting fire magic from the lone Red Elemental, an atmospheric charge and a sudden heat, built in the air and exploded where she once stood. Rikku quickly fished out her Garment Grid and activated her Black Mage Dressphere. She crossed her blades and tossed them into the ground and jumped. There was a bright flash of mana and a sprinkle of colored lights, and a moment later Rikku now stood surrounded by magic fire dressed in a short, brightly multi-colored witch's dress, stockings, pointed shoes, and a wide brimmed witch's hat with one of Yuna's old rods, El Dorado, in hand.

Rikku smirked something uncharacteristically shadowy and calmly violent as her personality twisted into something darker and cold while knowledge on the Black Arts came to her. The blond's mana then charged and converted into fire. "Roasted mushrooms anyone? Fira!" she then waved her rod and unleashed a Fira spell that ripped through and killed many of the fungus type fiends, they gave pained death squeals as they fell. The blond then in a show of sadistic aloofness, centered her sights on the Red Elemental. "Don't be stingy, share the mana." Rikku then performed MP Absorb on the elemental, draining it of a third of its magic to replenish her own. The disjointed crystal parts of the fiend jingled and twirled prettily in agitation before a large fireball launched at Rikku. The blond squeaked in panic and ducked, the faming ball shot safely over her head, nailing an unsuspecting Coyote that was about to pounce on Rikku from behind in the face.

"You need to cool off." A spike of ice suddenly grew around and encased the elemental, killing it in one shot. Rikku looked up after the Blizzara spell froze the fiend in a small pillar of ice. Lulu looked down at her with a raised eyebrow as her Blizzara spelled shattered, taking the fiend with it. "Are you okay?"

Rikku nodded and stood up, dusting her skirt as she went. "Yeah, no stinking fiend is gonna take me down."

"Then let us continue the fight." Lulu raised he hands, her Onion Knight voodoo doll mimicking her movement, fire gathering. "Burn" she ordered darkly to a Bully Cap and brought her hands down, unleashing her spell.

Paine dodged to the side as the Gucumatz swung its scythe-like arms down, destroying the stone ground where she stood seconds before, and struck back by cleaving the scaly appendage off the monstrous serpent. The basilisk gave a hissing shriek of pain, the severed stump gushed cooled dark viridian colored blood, and the second Gucumatz responded with an angry hiss at its mate's pain and snapped forward, jaws open, foot long fangs dripping clear venom, and ready to eat Paine whole in one swallow. Paine focused her mana into her dark blade, frost growing fast and overtook the sword. The silver haired woman dodged as the Basilisk and jumped over the creature's head as it bit down on empty air. The warrior then came down on the serpent's neck, her Ice Branded sword connected with the fiend. Hard scales instantly froze, becoming brittle, and broke while the sharp edge of Paine's sword cut through hide, flesh, and bone. As the head of the second Gucumatz fell on the ground with a load rumble, along with its body, the first was finally oriented enough to push its pain aside. With hatred flashing in its eyes, the Fiend raised its tail a shook it. The rattler sounded with a sonic pitch of Heaven's Contract, causing all around the Basilisk to momentarily stop fighting, crying out in pain as the sound assaulted their senses.

The Gucumatz looked at a kneeling Paine in hunger as she clutched her ears, thin rivers of blood trickled from the damaged drums. It wasted no time as it reared back and snapped forward, intent on devouring her body slowly and painfully to avenge its fallen mate.

Suddenly, a red, black, and yellow bladed Blitzball covered in ice flew in from the fiends right flank and hit its head with a sickening crack of scale, bone, and ice and a wet sound of blades slashing soft flesh. The Gucumatz gave a pained screeching hiss as its head snapped to the side, the path of its strike diverted, and fell several feet away from Paine. The silver haired woman took the opening to back away on shaky legs

"BOYAAH!" Wakka shouted, carefully and expertly catching World Champion as it bounced back to his waiting hand. "You like my Ice Element Reel, ya?" he asked the Basilisk as it weakly rose up again. "Here! Have some more!"

Mana swirled around the former Blitzer, pushing it to the limit again, as he preformed another Slots Overdrive, this time calling up his Attack Reel. His mana flashed repetitively in several different colors, fluctuating chaotically, while his mind's eye pictured a mana reel rolling through numbers and stars. His mana suddenly become calm and flashed blue as the reel settled on two ones and a two. While the numbers he won were low, the damage to the weakened fiend would boarder on overkill. All the same, Wakka lined his sights up on the beast before spinning, quickly gaining momentum, and loosing his ball. World Champion flew at the Gucumatz and repeatedly beat fatal on its hide, breaking hard scales, slicing soft tissue, and pulverizing bone four times before the giant serpent fell dead.

"Stay down!" Wakka commanded the dissipating corpse, panting hard. It was hard and intensely straining using two Overdrives consecutively that way without a break in between, that was why it wasn't done very often without a special mana replenishing item equipped. He then walked over to Paine, noticing how she was using her sword to lean on and steady her kneeled form.

Yuna cleared out the remaining fiends with little difficulty, the battle exhausting three of the ten ammo clips she always carried. "Is everyone okay?"

"Ya, jus' gimme a Turbo Either, an' ah be fine." Wakka said as he walked with Paine, holding her up by her elbow. "But Paine here looks a bit roughed up. She was close to tha' Basilisk so ah think her ears're shot, ya?"

Nodding, Yuna fished a small corked blue bottle out from her hip pack and passed the Turbo Ether to Wakka, which he swallowed with a grimace (it had a nasty herbal yet metallic taste), before turning her attention to Paine. Cupping the older woman's ears, the High Summoner closed her eyes in concentration and muttered, "…Cura."

Paine, since the Basilisk used its Heaven's Contract, could barely see strait, let alone walk strait. She had caught the full brunt of that fiend's attack and now her eardrums were damaged, she was seeing everything in doubles and triples which was making her nauseous, and had little in the way of coordination. It was then she felt Yuna's hands covering her ears and a cool-warm, breezy feeling of white magic enveloping her head. Her stomach settled instantly and the damage had been reversed, though her ears were ringing. Paine shook her head as it cleared and her eyes refocused.

"Are you okay, Paine?" Yuna asked in concern.

The silver haired woman gave an unlady-like grunt. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Let's just go see Ixion already." she said as she pushed pass the others towards the temple. The remaining four walked after her.

"What about Gippal and the Machine Faction?"

Paine kept a cool expression. "If the survivors aren't in the temple, then they are either at the Youth League HQ or escaped to the Moonflow." she offered as she came to the temple doors. "Since we didn't see anyone on the road on the way here, their either still here or at the Moonflow." with that said, Paine pulled one of the large doors open.

The inside of the temple seemed completely abandoned and just as wrecked as the outside. Several bodies lay dead on the floor surrounded by mangled machina parts as Pyreflies drifted around. The far left wall of the temple looked blasted in, likely the fiends' work when the doors proved too well protected. The statues of the previous High Summoners were broken and toppled over, Yuna's anger and sadness flared on a more personal level when she noticed her father's statue lay in quite a few pieces on top of some poor man's crushed corpse; it had fallen on him when it had been knock over. Even the large overhead statues of Yunalesca and Lord Zaon were not undamaged as they had been carved into and peppered with holes and scorch marks from many stay bullets and magic spells.

"Everyone, be careful," Lulu warned, "There may still be fiends hidden in the temple."

The other members of the group nodded in agreement, though Rikku seemed to grow more and more distressed by the moment. "After I receive Ixion, I will Send these people." Yuna informed.

The Gullwings picked their way carefully through the rubble, attempting to not step on any of the felled bodies of the brave Faction members as they made their way to the Cloister of Trials. The group cautiously went in on silent feet, vigilant of fiends that may have managed to get it. The inside of the Cloister was not nearly as bad as the antechamber. With the exception of a few bullet holes here and there and a scorch mark or two from magic fire, it was absent of dead bodies and full of Pyreflies. Apparently the majority of the fighting happened outside or in the antechamber and what fiends had managed to get into the Trials were dead if the fiend blood decorating the walls and floor meant anything. Since the departure of Ixion and his lighting magic, machine generators had been built to power the Thunder Temple. Luckily they were still running, despite the lack of people to using it, if only barely. The lights kept flickering in a way that made the temple seem more foreboding and eerie than welcoming. That also meant the elevator was still operational… hopefully.

The group warily progressed through the puzzle hall, checking every turn with ready weapons until they reached the small elevator platform. Since the platform was only big enough to raise two, maybe three people, at a time so that how they ascended; Yuna, Rikku, and Paine went first with Wakka and Lulu bringing up the rear. They encountered a bit of trouble on the second floor's power room as a couple of fiends, Thunder Flans, were oozing all over the generators, greedily sucking them dry of power. Dispatching them didn't take very long; Yuna shot them from behind to distract them from their meal while Rikku, who was still wearing her Black Mage Dressphere, and Lulu started casting water spells at the goopy yellow monstrosities, mindful to not hit the generators lest the cause an explosion they would not escape in the cramped room. When the fiends slumped dead the five continued the trek up the stairs to the Chamber of The Fayth.

Yuna had just barely put a foot through the room's threshold when she threw herself back into the others behind her to dodge a short hail of bullets flying at the doorway.

"Come on, you bastard fiends! You want some of me," yelled a familiar angry voice along with the sound of a cocking gun. "come get some! I'll fucking kill ya all!" he shot at the door again.

"GIPPAL! You dumb jackass stop shooting!" Rikku yelled back.

The man inside started violently into stopping, his personally customized gun lowering, blinking at Rikku's frantic voice. "Rikku…?"

The Gullwings slowly entered the room, half afraid they'd be shot at again. Rikku practically charged at the older man when she saw him and hugged him. He looked like death warmed over; his cloths were torn, burned, and bloodied, his hair in disarray, bloodstains, sweat, and dirt painted his face, and his eye patch was missing, revealing an old jagged battle scar that rendered his left eye useless. He looked like a walking bruise, and felt that way too, with all the patches of visible black and blue skin and red cuts and burns. Their was a sad number of six others in the room behind him, two of which lay too still and pale to be alive, one looked to already have a foot in the grave, the other three were barely conscious, and not a single one looked ready to fight even though they desperately clutched at whatever weapon the had with them.

"Y-you idiot!" she weeped into his chest, hugging his tightly and uncaring of the grime rubbing off on her. "I couldn't fi-find you! I-I t-thought you were-were dead!"

"…Rikku," Gippal said. "Can't breathe… squeezing, rib… broken…" The small girl blinked through tears and looked up. His paled face was twisted in agony and slowly turning blue. The second youngest Gullwing yelped and let go, Gippal gasped and pitched forward in relief as his free arm cradled his injured ribs with a pained groan.

"E'S CUNNO!" Rikku shouted hysterically before fishing out her Garment Grid. "I'll heal you! Just give me a sec to change into a White Mage!" A small white sphere on her Grid flashed as Rikku's body was overtaken by light and a flurry of white feathers. She reappeared in a mostly white hooded robe and an orange staff called Healing Rod. A sudden rush of knowledge on all of Spira's multi-racial anatomies, white magic spells, non-magical healing techniques, anti-poisons/infections, and different healing herbs flooded into her mind. Rikku's usually hyper personality and current distress mellowed into something more calm and maternal. She then sat him down next to the other survivors with all the combined righteousness of a worried mother and authoritative, gentle healer as she began assessing their injures and looking for infections.

"I'm going in now." Yuna informed as the stone door to Ixion lair opened, the shining Fayth's light that had been absent for the last few years illuminated the room. She stepped through and the door closed behind her. Less than a minute later a deep, powerful voice, the voice of Ixion, reverberated throughout the room, singing the Hymn of the Fayth.

The room's occupants, save for the Gullwings, started at the sudden familiar sound before relaxing, the tranquil magic in the Fayth's Hymn lulling them into comfort like a parent's lullaby.

"What's going on?" Gippal asked.

"Dat's what we'd like to know, ya?" Wakka countered. "What happened to da temple? Where'd all da fiends come from?"

Gippal looked at the Besaidian and answered, "I don't know. I was minding my own business, taking a walk outside because I was getting too stiff and tired to keep working, when all the sudden I see all these damned monsters showing up and attacking." the Faction leader sighed in relief as Rikku started casting Esuna and different Curing spells. "They just kept coming. We managed to defend the temple… but we suffered heavy casualties." he pointedly looked over at the two dead bodies on the opposite side of the room somberly. "Now, tell me what the fuck is going on! Why are we listening to Ixion's Hymn?" he demanded, his one eye narrowing. "Have the Aeons returned or something?"

It was Paine who stepped forward and answered bluntly, "Spira's self-destructing."

Gippal looked at Paine with a crossed frown. "…I know you've got this fun impediment thing, Paine, but that's the worst joke ever. Now tell me the truth."

"That is the truth, Gip," Rikku spoke softly, her back to him and her hand glowing as she healed the wounded man next to him. "Seymour Guado is back and he's trying to summon SIN back into the world."

"Impossible! That Guado bastard is dead and Sent, he-"

"Even the Sent can return from the Farplane, if they posses the will and power." Lulu cut the younger man off. "Lord Jyscal Guado proved it was possible back during Yuna's original Pilgrimage."

Wakka nodded grimly and crossed his arms. "Da Fayth are try'en to hold 'em off, but they won't last long. They're giving Yuna their Aeons to fight him off… But Seymour's using da Core of Spira to give him power, he became da Final Fayth, and found a way to summon SIN."

"Luca is already half under the sea, Mt. Gagazet is sinking in on itself, and we saw on our way here a giant tornado ripping up the countryside between the Highroad and Mushroom Rock." Paine listed. " We've been getting calls from all over. Their's been a slew of earthquakes, mile wide fissures and cave-ins, and dangerous storms popping up in all sorts of odd places."

"We think this is why all the fiends and animals are acting up so badly." Lulu added. "They feel Spira dying and are running scared, looking for any safe haven they can find."

Gippal looked at each Gullwing face, finding no uncertainty among them. He leaned against the wall behind him heavily with a wide green eye, the Hymn's subtle pacifying magic could do nothing to sooth his troubled and discontent mind now. "…I don't understand why?" he asked as he stared up through one of the windows. Rain was beginning to fall in intense sheets outside. Gippal was never one for superstitions, but he couldn't help the cold shiver that raced up his spine. Death during a heavy nighttime rain were always seen as a bad omen for miserable and dark days ahead among the Al-Bhed people. He gripped his hair roughly in growing frustrated anger. "Why now when everything is going so good? Why can't he just stay in his grave and let us be?" Gippal questioned loudly.

Wakka snorted bitterly himself. "Why? Dis is Seymour Guado we talk'en 'bout. He's crazy as hell and wants to 'save' everyone by killing dem because he had just as much of a messed up childhood as everyone else."

Save for the Hymn, quiet reign over the room now as everyone settled into their own thoughts, though Rikku was almost finished healing the now unconscious survivors.

A few moments later the door to the Fayth's inner chamber scraped opened as Ixion's song faded. Yuna stepped out into the room, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on her skin. "Ixion is now with me." she said calmly.

"Den we almost done here, ya?" Wakka said before walking over to the felled bodies where he kneeled and gently maneuvered one onto his shoulder. 'Wake da others, we're getting these people out of here."

"If we can get to the Moonflow, there's a new harbor with boats my Faction built that ferries people and supplies between there to Bikanel Island."

Yuna nodded as she started waking what was left of Djose's the Machine Faction members. "I will Send the dead and we'll take the living to the Moonflow. Gippal, is the Save Sphere here operational? We have one on the Celsius and can use to teleport everyone onboard."

"Tch, sorry Superstar." the blond shook his head as he stood with Rikku's help. Healed as he was, magic didn't relieve a sore body. "It got blasted to scrap by a fiend's attack when we fought them outside, but," he dug into on of his pockets and pulled out a small CommSphere, "I did manage to save this. I was gonna use it to call for help before you guys showed up first."

Paine looked up from where she was waking and helping one of the survivors on his feet. "Then hail the Celsius already. More fiends might show up soon"

oO0Oo

Brother paced the Bridge of the Celsius while gnawing at his nails, turmoil roiling around inside as he worried about his beautiful cousin Yuna and the Gullwings, they had been gone too long in his opinion. Buddy was barely hanging onto a fine thread of his usually ironclad patience while sipping at a mug of Kilikan caramel coffee brought to him earlier by Barkeep. Shinra was sitting at his station monitoring the radio waves, trying to stay updated as one worldly disaster piled onto another. Darling was in the Cabin with her mate keeping little Vidina distracted while his parents were away on the mission. The Celsius itself sat on the only place that was flat, open, and wide enough to land on, an overhanging plateau about five minutes away by hover flight (a good three and a half miles away by foot) from the temple.

Everyone on the ship flinched as a roar of thunder shook the land the red airship was landed on as rain pelted down heavily. There was hardly any visibility beyond a few feet outside the window and that worried Brother a bit. It almost seemed worse than the Thunder Planes out there, and that was saying something. As a pilot, Brother knew in no uncertain terms that such heinous weather was dangerous to fly in. The smart thing to do would be to hunker down and wait the storm out until it disperse itself, or at least until the lighting and thunder passed. But the mission, however, was of such great importance that he didn't have much of a choice. He would have to risk flying blind around the treacherous crags of Mushroom Rock and then up through dark clouds of thunder and lightning into calmer skies. The only consolation was that the Celsius, despite being a ship of leisure and the lack of weapons, was built tough with thick armor and could take a beating so if struck by lightning there would barely be a scorch mark… the front and rear thrusters, however, were a little too naked for his liking. Brother prayed to the Fayth and whatever deity listening to give the strength he'd need to navigate the airship through it all safely.

Brother jumped and Buddy looked up in alert when a sudden beeping echoed through the Bridge, letting them know someone was trying to contact them.

"It's from the temple." Shinra said, immediately answer the call as Buddy and Brother were suddenly crowding both sides of his personal space.

KerShhhh!

"Shhhs-is Gippal, Leader of t-ssshhhh-chine Faction, come shhh Celsius! Do shhhh copy? Over!"

ShhKer!

"This is Buddy of the Celsius. We read you Gippal." the dark skinned Al-Bhed leaned closer to the comm.

"Thank good-shhh, I can ba-shhh -ear you! Shhh-The stor-shhh really interfering with th-shhhh-nal."

"Hold on, I'm gonna adjust the frequency to block out the static." Shinra said as he typed in several codes, lessening the interference caused by the storm. "Okay, can you hear us now?"

"Yeah, perfectly! Listen up, fiends attacked and we got hit hard… only five of us made it out. The Gullwings are with us, Yuna's received Ixion, and we need an airlift out of here now before more fiends come."

"Roger that!" Buddy confirmed before going back to his station.

"Gippal, fa yna uh uih fyo!" Brother notified. "Pa nayto!" The tattooed man ran over the pilot's seat and prepared for lift off.

"Fe'mm pa fyedehk. Just hurry up!"

KerShhhhh!

The line then went dead as Gippal hung up. Brother revved the engines out of their idle standby with clammy hand. "Gullwings, prepare for lift off!" he shouted, then muttered in a lower voice, "Please let me get us out of here safely." the Celsius lifted off the plateau easily with a short burst of fire from its thrusters and slowly made its way to the temple. It took longer than usual to reach Djose, if only because he stayed close to the ground to avoid lightning strikes, moved slowly, and had to dodge several cliffs. Brother and the rest of the crew could see the Gullwings and the few survivors quickly coming out of the old shrine to Ixion as he set the red motorcycle-like airship hovered several dozen feet over the temple's courtyard and lower the lift. He could also see three lines of raised dirt and stone, hasty makeshift graves, all doubtlessly Al-Bhed bodies, both men and women and at least two child sized, purposely lied out in the courtyard and no Pyreflies.

The bridge was utterly silent fow several long as Al-Bhedian priers were offered for the peace to the departed souls of what would soon be called the Djose Massacre. The three looked up when the intercom pinged on, "We're all onboard, Brother. Please take us to the Moonflow Harbor. We're dropping some passengers off there if possible."

"At once, Yuna. Be there in hour!" Brother nodded to both Yuna's voice and himself with a bit more confidence while adjusting himself in his seat. "GULLWINGS, HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" The Celsius rose higher and tilted its bow skyward, the ship suddenly took off with a burst of blue flames, its pilot hoping to break through the clouds without taking a hit.