Chapter 1: Omega Blitz
Searching the horizon of land from Celsius' bridge, a young blonde-haired person flinched at the knowledge that welled in his brain. Somehow, he had never expected it to happen. He, the son of Jecht and Lucia, had an older brother. When Bahamut had originally contacted them, he had thought everything would be fine. Faythe had sent him back to be with her, his apparent ties to the real world stronger then believed possible. Tidus blinked as he heard the mass of giggles coming from the raised platform behind him, noting the excitement that flooded the bridge.
Yuna, Rikku, and their new friend Paine were certainly making his life interesting, to say the least. However, he was sure Brother and Buddy were not originally accepting of him, they seemed to have let it rest. The gaggle of girls had certainly taught him a thing or two since. Tidus rubbed a hand across the back of his neck, wondering for the tenth time why they were up there laughing. Sure, he had been gone for two years, came back to find his girlfriend had saved the world, again. That was not what he was upset about, no, it was the news of another continent of spheres to be hunted.
Sphere hunting with the Gullwings. His first trial by mission had been easy enough. Retrieve a sphere from Baaj temple and turn it over to Shinra for testing. Within it, they would find the information to create more Aeons. It did not take long for Bahamut to appear before his two favored people and tell them of other ways to summon Aeons, of the mysterious stones made up from the magical waters that flowed through the Farplane. Even that had not been what sent them along this course, rather, it was the darker omen of a returning foe that drove them.
Seymour had found a way back. Tidus tightened his hands into fists at the remembered enemy, the day that he had felt his heart ripped out. If there was nothing else he could do, it was to put Seymour back in the grave where he belonged.
"Tidus?"
His name whispered so softly in his ear, Tidus looked down to find a concerned Yuna staring up at him. "You alright?"
"Yeah, but..." he could not voice his concern about the unknown brother and Seymour.
Nor did he have too.
Placing a hand on his arm, she smiled. "If he's anything like you, he can handle himself." Her dual colored eyes brightened with warmth, her hand giving a gentle squeeze before letting him go. "Try to get some rest; we'll call you when we get there."
"I'll be fine, Yuna." he said gently. "I just have a lot of information to absorb."
Nodding, the High Summoner turned to look at the land quickly coming into their sites.
"We'll be there soon."
"Not soon enough." he answered, voice tight with impatient need.
(Break)
The roar of turbine engines thrummed through the small space provided within the Shera. Cloud, Tifa, and the kids had finally decided on that 'tour' Cid had been insisting on since Sephiroth's second defeat... Cloud rolled over, groaning at the time of morning as they sped through the night heading for Edge. "Tifa, when we get home, remind me to introduce Cid to Fenrir."
"Will do," she yawned back. "Denzel and Marlene fell asleep." Burying her face deeper into her pillow, the martial artist breathed in its scent. "Gah, I'm tired. Has really only been a month?"
Cloud laughed, his eyes gleaming in the night. "Yeah, only a month since we first met the Shera." His hand reached up behind his head as he thought about all the worries, past fights, and losses they had suffered. It all seemed almost like a dream to him, though, one he was glad to leave behind. "Think Barret and the others are alright?"
"Mmhmm." Tifa answered, her mind finally giving up the battle of annoyance and drifting into sleep. Cloud, pausing in thought, looked at her from his own bunk. Above him, he heard the soft snores that Denzel and Marlene exhibited. Rolling to the side, Cloud attempted once more the futile exercise known as sleep.
Drifting into a deep sleep, he would swear he heard Aerith's voice in his ear. Brow furrowing at the interruption, Cloud dug deeper into his reserves to try to hear out the message. 'Cloud, something bad is coming.' Before he could breathe word one of his questions, she was gone. Blinking, Cloud looked around the pale illumination of his cabin, his heart beating in his throat as he caught sight of a small boy looking at him.
"Who are you?" he asked, his hand clenching tightly around his sheet.
The child shook his head, his hooded face betraying nothing more than determination. Cloud slowly began to slip from his bunk, his hand moving for his blade as the boy raised a hand in his direction. Mako eyes narrowed as the child paused in his movement. Again, he shook his head and acted as if he was trying to relay some message.
"Why are you here?" his voice rose a notch, the determination to protect his family rising in his heart. The boy waved his hands at him, almost as if trying to diffuse the fiery temper before him. In an unconscious image, the boy tossed his hands into the air and proceeded to stomp his foot. Another form took shape beside him, of a dark man, shimmering more than the other. Cloud's Ultima Sword came up quickly, his growl of impatience lost beneath the roar in his ears. The bare-chested man took a long look at him before crossing his arms. The child looked from one to the other, and again tried to force the man to pay attention.
Jecht was amused, his smile coming across his lips at the boy's actions. Hell, the kid even managed to lift a sword that weighed ten times the amount of Auron's. Had he known where his Lucia came from, he would have been more encouraged to seek the boy out before he died. He might not have been blondie's father, but you could not dismiss the connection he had with Tidus.
They both had those blue eyes that screamed helpless.
"Listen Bahamut, the kid obviously can't hear you or me. Only one way to get to him now. Find Tidus, then we can get this mess over with." Jecht advised, his brow rising up as he watched the young man glare at them. "Is he even aware he's still asleep?"
"No, but that's how the dream works. That's how the dreams always worked." Bahamut answered, his hands flexing slightly at the irritation he suddenly felt.
"Ah, don't let it get to ya. Besides, you still haven't mastered the Jecht Shot." The former Sin reminded the small boy, who answered him with a punch to the leg.
Cloud stepped back when the boy suddenly hit his companion, fury plain in the set of his shoulders. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Confusion pestered his brain as the boy suddenly vanished, the man seconds behind him. Even as he was about to examine the area, his entire world moved under him, throwing him to the floor.
It only took a second for Cloud to push himself upright, looking at the ceiling as he did so. A small foot landed on his head as Marlene slipped from her bunk and to the floor.
"Cloud?" she asked, plainly confused about his position.
"Yes?" he asked, lifting himself up.
"Why are you on the floor?"
"I woke up suddenly and I..." he stumbled over his words, unsure of what he could say to her.
"Oh." the little girl gave him a smile before darting out the door and heading to the other half of the crew quarters. Cloud's head met the floor after she departed, not sure, he wanted to even think about the very real dream that had just occurred.
Time was a thing that Seymour did not have. The strangeness that had consumed him on the Farplane had been momentarily relieved when he spotted a dark cloud forming in the water. Unlike many of the other Sent souls here, Seymour Guado was not ready to be defeated yet. That is when he had met Professor Hojo and learned of another world. Of a being that would rival none other than the Sin in all its dark power and that was something he craved to taste.
True power, such as Sin or even this Jenova's would be best sampled by one such as he.
"Ah, Lady Jenova, how fortuitous we should meet." he whispered, the former Maestor greeted, giving a slight bow to the fell creature before him. Jenova turned her face to look at the foreign entity before her, a slow smile touching her human-like face.
"And that's what happened." Yuna finished, her hands folding themselves in her lap as she awaited Tidus' reaction. The Blitzer blinked at her for a second before he gave her a wide grin.
"So, you joined the league of Blitzers. Never knew you had it in you, Yuna," he said, pulling his love into his arms for a quick hug. "You know something; I'd love to see how you play sometime." A blush jumped across Yuna's cheeks. Laughing, the younger teen got to his feet. "We should see if Brother got us to that landmass we spotted."
Yuna nodded, taking the blonde's hand as they left the crew cabin behind. Walking silently behind him, the High Summoner gave him a long look. Tidus was not one for vocalizing when he did not feel like it, unless it was of course to scream. Ever since that day he would come back, she knew something was not quite sitting right with him. "Tidus," she whispered.
"Yeah?" he asked, stopping to look down at her.
"I love you." Her head dropped a beat before she gave into impulse and planted a kiss on his tanned cheek. "Don't forget that, alright?"
"Ooooh, you two are so cute!" a peppy voice penetrated their peace; getting Tidus to jump back a foot. Smacking his head into the steel wall behind him, the former Guardian shot his friend a sharp look.
"Rikku!"
"Well, what'd you expect, going at each other in the hall? Sheesh, even I know better then that. Oh, and Brother says we got another airship on radar." The blonde Al-Bhed answered, her eyes gleaming with delight at the prospect. "It's flying in the same direction we're headed too."
Yuna barely paused before she was rushing down the hall to the lift. Tidus groaned, his feet picking up the pace to keep up with her. Rikku yelped as the other two rushed past her. Joining the duo in the lift, the three of them rode it to the bridge, each locked in their own thoughts.
Brother looked up from his post on the bridge, his eyes locking firmly on Tidus before shifting ever so much to Yuna. The Al-Bhed captain muttered to himself for a moment before he shouted at Rikku to take the Co-pilot.
"Yeah, yeah. Hold your chocobos, Brother," she answered. Paine had already taken the seat that belonged to the former Gullwing Shinra. "So, is it Pops or something new?"
"It's not Cid, Rikku." Buddy answered.
Tidus took a step forward as he looked out the main window. Not more than a stadium length away was indeed another airship. The design was not familiar, lacking the outrageous decor of Celsius' own. Looking up at him, Yuna followed his eyes to the other vessel. "I'm going up top," he said suddenly, catching the rest of them by surprise. "Just in case."
Yuna spun around to look at him. "I'm coming with you. Just in case." she added, before Tidus could even think of arguing. Nodding, the Blitzer took the lead as they headed up top. If they were going to meet these other people, he wanted to be prepared.