"Well, they aren't going to starve to death any time soon."
Quistis blinked and looked to Irvine. That was what he had taken from the conversation with the Guardian Forces?
"How do you know?" Ellone asked, relief in her voice.
"You know Squall—he's always got a million of every kind of potion on him. That'll last them a while."
"A prepared one, is he?" Quistis was startled by the new voice. She turned to see Laguna Loire, President of the distant city of Esthar, walking up to them.
"Sir Laguna!" Selphie exclaimed.
Zell was clearly as surprised as Quistis when he asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh, just came, to, uh, you know, make sure you guys were okay."
That was strange—Laguna was a nice guy, and through Ellone they had shared a connection, but it still seemed odd that he would be so concerned about a handful of mercenaries. Didn't he have more important things to do?
"I invited him," Ellone offered. Then she lowered her voice and leaned into Laguna. "It's okay, Uncle. You can tell them."
Laguna shook his head to Ellone. Then he looked around at the others. "Squall—he's...still missing?"
Quistis nodded. "Yes, but we finally have a lead."
Laguna brightened. "Good!" He scratched the back of his head. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Take care of Ellone. We might be leaving for a while," Quistis replied.
"If you're leaving, I'm going with you," Ellone said.
"No. It's too dangerous." Quistis used her instructor tone, hoping to halt any further objection before it began.
"I don't care. I might be able to help. I can contact Squall again."
Irvine tipped his hat back and cocked his head to the side. "You're not a fighter, Ellone. And I think we got all the information we need from Squall."
Ellone's shoulders dropped and she looked to Laguna. He scratched the back of his head again and looked around uncertainly. "Maybe you should stay with me."
Seemingly resigned, Ellone turned back to the others. "Diablos—that's another Guardian Force? You're going to summon it now?"
Quistis nodded.
"Does it have to be Diablos?" Selphie asked. "He's scary!"
Irvine laughed. "More scary than the fire demon and humongous dragon that were just here?"
"Yes! He's…creepy. I don't like him."
"Well, no sense in delaying," Quistis said. "Zell, you've got Diablos, don't you?"
"Yeah!" Zell began summoning.
"You guys should probably stay back," Quistis told Laguna and Ellone. Laguna lead a reluctant Ellone a little ways away. Angelo watched them go, but remained beside Quistis.
From all directions black bats appeared and swarmed together. Soon there was so many, and they packed themselves so densely, that they formed an enormous black ball that transformed into liquid. The ball rose toward the sky and from the bottom emerged Diablos. A winged humanoid with crimson skin partially covered by thick black plates, his face was all edges and spikes, almost entirely without expression, so when he turned to face his summoner it was difficult to tell if he was angry.
He hovered above the ground without flapping his wings, the blue tip of his long tail twitching back and forth. He said nothing as he stared at Zell.
"Hey, so, um, we were hoping you could take us to Spira," Zell said.
Diablos continued to stare and say nothing.
Zell looked to Quistis and she nodded at him, encouraging him to continue. "So…will you? You know where Spira is, right? You can get there?"
"Of course I know of Spira. I am a Guardian Force, I am aware of all worlds."
"Then you'll take us there?" Selphie asked hopefully.
"No," Diablos said.
"Why not?" Zell asked.
"It is forbidden." Diablos bounced in the air, which Quistis feared was an indication that he was bored and about to leave.
Quistis swallowed hard, not sure that taunting a Guardian Force was a good idea, but at a loss for what else to do. "Afraid the others would disapprove?" Diablos stopped his bouncing and swept his gaze toward her. "I didn't realize the other Guardian Forces told you what to do."
"No one controls Diablos!" he declared, diving toward Quistis and stopping with his face inches from hers. Selphie was right, Diablos's beady eyes and exposed, sharply pointed teeth were rather creepy. She took a step back from him, her mind racing to come up with a retort that would get him to help them. She had nothing. Fortunately, Irvine was never at a loss for words.
The cowboy gave an exasperated sigh and made a show of crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, drawing Diablos's attention to him. "I don't know why we're even bothering with this joker. Can't damage a boss to save his life, can't get to Spira. Shoulda left him in his lamp."
Diablos turned toward Irvine. "You really want to go to Spira? Very well. I hope you don't intend to come back." Diablos fell backward, rolling himself into a tight circle. He'd flipped himself through two complete rotations before Quistis could even think about reacting. As he completed the third rotation his body burst into a swarm of bats and Quistis found herself without ground beneath her feet. The bats dispersed as Quistis fell, and she splashed into waist deep water.
Irvine, Zell, and Selphie splashed down around her. As the others regained their footing, Quistis took in their surroundings. They seemed to be in the middle of a small cove, the shallow water lapping at a sandy beach. Quistis sloshed through the water to get to the dry sand. Angelo beat her there, and sent a spray of water in all directions as she shook herself dry.
"Ugh," Irvine moaned as he trudged onto the beach. "I'm soaked." He stripped off his now-saturated duster and dropped it the sand, leaving only his purple vest covering his torso. Selphie came up behind him and deposited his thoroughly-soaked hat on his head, causing streams of water to pour down his face.
"Did he really have to drop us in the water?" Selphie wondered out loud.
"We're probably lucky he didn't drop us in the middle of the ocean," Quistis replied.
"I just hope this is Spira," Zell said. He shook his head and body as he spoke, but was not as successful as Angelo in removing the water that clung to him.
"Whoa, where did you come from?" Quistis turned toward the chipper new voice. A young teenager with blonde hair and a pink top was looking curiously at them, her hands on her hips. Quistis hadn't seen her approach, but she noticed a path off the beach leading into the green jungle behind the girl.
"Is this Spira?" Selphie asked.
The girl tilted her head to the side. "Where else would it be?"
"Oh, good!" Selphie jumped up and down. "I'm Selphie, and this is Irvine, Zell, and Quistis." She gestured to each in turn. "What's your name?"
"Rikku," the girl replied. "Where did you come from? You're not gonna tell me you're from Zanarkand, are you?"
"No, not Zanarkand," Quistis answered. "But far away. We're looking for someone named Yuna. Do you know where we can find her?"
Rikku narrowed her eyes and held her chin with one hand. "What do you want with Yunie?"
"We think she might be able to help us," Quistis explained.
"Hasn't she done enough? She brought the Calm, what more do you want?"
"Well, it's not just a matter of her helping us," Irvine offered. "We can help her too. We know where Tidus is."
"Tidus?" Rikku shook her head. "Tidus is gone."
Quistis took a step toward Rikku. "Please, if we could just talk to Yuna, we'll explain everything."
"I don't know. You'll have to talk to Wakka and Lulu first. But if you want to see Yuna, I wouldn't mention Tidus anymore." Rikku gestured for the others to follow and began to walk up the beach.
Exchanging looks with the others, Quistis shrugged and followed Rikku.
"Is that what was supposed to happen?" Laguna asked Ellone. They both stared blankly at the patch of ground from which four humans, a dog, and one tall black and red monster had just disappeared.
"I don't know. I don't think they had much idea what would happen," Ellone replied, feeling both guilty and somewhat relieved that she hadn't vanished with the others.
"So…what do we do now?" her adopted father asked.
Ellone shook her head uncertainly. "Wait, I guess. And hope for the best."