Chapter 23: Painful Truth

When Charlie finally awoke again, she found herself lying facedown in a shallow pool of softly glowing water. "Where am I?" she wondered, standing up and looking around. Beyond the immediate view of the strangely verdant grass and palm trees, there was nothing but sand and heat shimmers as far as the eye could see. "Wonderful. You just HAD to drop my ass off in the middle of a goddamn desert, didn't you, Jecht? I just hope you dropped others somewhere nearby, because I don't want to die while searching for them."

Suddenly, the sound of something hitting the ground snapped her out of her mental ramblings, and she turned around and saw her travel pack lying in the sand. "Gee, aren't you the gracious one?" she muttered, knowing Jecht probably would not hear her. "Well, I guess it makes up for you leaving me in the middle of this god-forsaken place, so whatever."

After determining how much she had left in the way of supplies, Charlie hoisted her pack over her shoulder and hiked out into the desert to search for her friends. She had not gone very far, however, when a huge dark shadow appeared overhead and swooped down on her. She just barely managed to evade the attack by dropping to the sand, and then quickly got up again, drew her sword, and turned to face her assailant. Her attacker looked like a Garuda, only several times bigger, with black and brown feathers and glowing blue-violet veins on the undersides of its wings. "Holy shit, that thing's HUGE!" she yelled, slowly backing away.

The gigantic bird let out an ear-splitting shriek, its beady green eyes glittering coldly, then dove at Charlie and tried to smash her into the sand with its monstrous beak. The young guardian managed to get out of the way of the gaping jaws, and struck it across the face with a one-handed slash while trying to keep from keeling over from the reek of its putrid breath. The horrible fiend let out a cry of pain, but did not stop its attack, instead knocking her down with a great gust of wind from its wings. Sensing a moment of weakness, it snapped at her again, but missed as she rolled out of the way and stabbed it in the eye. Bellowing in pain and gushing dark purple blood out of its ruined socket, the great bird backed off, giving Charlie the time she needed to get up and try to run away.

Suddenly, something tackled her to the sand, and when whatever it was finally let her up, she turned over just in time to see Auron standing there, facing off against the giant fiend despite the nasty slash running across his back. "Are you all right?" he called over his shoulder, keeping his eye on the bird.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but you're not!" Charlie cried, getting to her feet again. "You're bleeding…badly, at that!"

"I'm fine," he replied, slashing at the fiend again when it got too close.

"You sure don't look like it!"

Charlie and Auron continued to hold a stalemate against the giant bird, or "Zu" as the swordsman called it. It did not last long, however, before Auron finally dropped to his knees, overcome by the loss of blood, and the monster moved in to strike. Finally, just when all seemed lost, a bolt of lightning ripped though the dry desert air, driving back the Zu as Lulu entered the fray. "You look like you could use some help," she commented, raising an eyebrow.

The younger girl nodded, and together, the two of them managed to drive off the Zu. "Auron…here, take this," Charlie said, holding a Potion out to him once the battle ended.

"No. I have no need for it," he stubbornly replied, trying to get to his feet and failing.

"Sir Auron…" Lulu began, but then he cut her off.

"I said I'm fine!"

"Shut up and take the goddamn Potion!" Charlie cried. "Don't make me force you to take it!"

Auron opened his mouth to make a retort, but then paled, passed out, and fell face first into the sand. "No, no, NO!" the young woman shrieked, quickly turning him over and pouring the glowing liquid down his throat.

Unfortunately, the unconscious guardian spit out at least half the Potion, but what he did swallow was enough to improve his color and stop the bleeding for the moment. "Lulu, do you have any Potions with you?" Charlie asked, looking back up at the black mage.

"No, mine were all shattered when I woke up earlier."

"Well, I don't have any more, and Auron will die if we don't do something!" Just then, the memory of the softly glowing pool in the oasis ghosted in front of her eyes, so she grabbed her "patient's" arms and started dragging him. "Don't just stand there! Grab one of his arms and help me!" she said when Lulu gave her an incredulous look.

Together, the mage and the swordswoman managed to drag their unconscious friend to the oasis and laid him out in the shade. "Why did we bring him here?" Lulu demanded. "How is being here going to help him?"

"I think there's a Life Spring leaking into the pool," Charlie explained, tugging at Auron's coat as she did so. "Do you see how the water's glowing? If I'm right, then it should work like a weak Potion."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we're just as screwed as we were out in the desert!" the younger guardian snapped, still fumbling with the straps on Auron's glove. "Now stop asking me questions and help me strip him."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't mean strip him naked! We just have to get his coat and armor off so we can do something about his injuries!"

Lulu, apparently finally hearing the desperation in Charlie's voice, strode over and helped her pull off their injured friend's bloodstained and torn attire, completely revealing the injuries inflicted on him by the Zu. A long, deep, and now half-healed gash stretched from his right shoulder to just above his waist, threatening to start bleeding again, but not doing so now. "Come on, Charlie…you can't fall apart yet!" she told herself, fighting back a wave of hysteria. "Freaking out won't help him at all!"

Just then, Lulu, who had left to investigate the pool, returned and said, "You were right; there is a Life Spring in there. It's a small one, but the water should be enough to help Sir Auron if we use it on him."

…

Eventually, night fell, and Charlie, after telling Lulu she would take first watch, went back to tending to her friend. "Auron, you're such a big idiot," she whispered, not noticing the tears running down her face. "Why did you have to go and do a stupid thing like that? You're supposed to protect Yuna…not me." "Please don't die on me, Auron! I couldn't bear it if someone else I care about dies in my place!"

"See? You DO care about him," said the tiny voice in the back of her mind.

"Shut up! I don't care about him like that! I can't love him…I can't love anyone…"

"Girl, you need to quit lying to yourself," the voice admonished. "Is it really so difficult to admit that you might care for him more than you think you should?"

Charlie ignored her conscience and continued trickling some of the glowing water across Auron's back. After what seemed like an eternity, the terrible wound finally closed completely, and the injured guardian woke up. "Charlie?" he said, turning over on his back so he could see her.

"Hey, be careful!" she hissed, pushing him back down when he tried to sit up. "Your wound hasn't been closed that long, and it won't take much for you to tear it open again. Hell, you're lucky to be alive! You'd be dead now if you hadn't been wearing your armor when that bird attacked. We managed to get the blood out of your clothes, though."

"We?"

"Lulu's here, remember? She's asleep right now, though, so keep your voice down."

Auron nodded, and then realized that it was not quite as dark as he thought it was, since he could see Charlie's face despite the lack of a campfire. The waxing moon was shining brightly in the clear desert sky, and although it was not as bright as day, there was still enough light to see by, and he could see the tears streaking down her face. "You're crying," he noted, watching the drops with fascination.

"I don't cry," she said flatly, scrubbing away the tears. "You're just imagining things."

"You're a poor liar," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not lying!" she stubbornly replied, retreating behind her walls. "Now go back to sleep and let me take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to take care of me…and you can't keep watch all night," he told her, sitting up again.

Charlie pushed him back down again and shook her head, smiling gently. "Yes, I can. Auron, you took care of me that night when we were stuck in the canyon, so it's only fair that I take care of you now."

…

The next morning, Charlene awoke on Auron's bedroll, with him nowhere in sight. "How did I end up on…" Suddenly, she heard Lulu's throaty chuckle, and turned around. "Lulu, did you make me go to sleep?"

"I wasn't born yesterday, Charlie. I know you thought that I wouldn't notice if you let me sleep the whole night, so I waited until your guard was down and used a Sleep spell on you," the mage replied. "You really shouldn't try to do everything by yourself."

"But it was my fault Auron got hurt to begin with…" "All right, I'm sorry I didn't wake you!" Charlie sighed before looking around. "Where's Auron?"

"Up here," the swordsman called from above.

The two women looked up and spotted Auron sitting on a boulder, finishing the last repairs on his coat. Once he finished the final stitches, he stood up, admired his handiwork, and put it on. "I'll have to get some new armor later…" he muttered to himself as he climbed down from the rock. "The others are still missing…we search!"

"But we're supposed to remain in one place if we get split up!" Lulu protested.

Auron ignored her, picked up his things, and walked off into the desert. "Apparently he doesn't care," Charlie commented, picking up her own things and following the swordsman.

Some time later, the three guardians found a ruined machina half-buried in the sand, and Wakka sheltering beneath it. "Hey Wakka!" Charlie shouted, waving at him. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know," the blitzer replied, standing up and brushing sand off his pants. "Isn't Yuna with you?"

Auron and Lulu remained silent, so Charlie answered for them. "No, we haven't seen her either."

"Damn it!" Wakka shouted, kicking the unoffending machina and hurting his foot. "First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambushed by machina! Great day I'm having!"

Although he continued to grumble, the vertical-haired blitzer rejoined the group and took part in their search for the others. Eventually, the four of them ran into Kimahri as he failed in yet another attempt to climb a sand dune. "Yuna gone," he stated sadly once he turned around and noticed them.

"Hey, that isn't your fault, okay?" Charlie reassured him.

The Ronso did not answer, instead walking away and leaving the group to follow him. Apparently, his sensitive nose picked up something theirs did not, because he led them straight to Rikku, who was hiding in a little shelter in the sand. "Hi guys!" she cheered, running up to meet them. "Where's Yunie?"

"Gone…" Lulu sighed dejectedly. "Some guardian I am."

The Al Bhed studied the mage's expression for a moment, and then said, "There's something I wanna tell you, but promise not to say anything, okay?" When Wakka fixed her with a baleful stare, she added, "No glaring, either!" The blitzer backed off, and Rikku continued to speak. "I know where we are. We're on Bikanel Island, and there's a place us Al Bhed call Home near here. Yunie's there, I'm sure of it! Other Al Bhed must've come and rescued her!"

"You mean kidnapped!" Wakka retorted.

"Look, if she's safe, does it really matter?" Charlie demanded, stepping between the two of them.

"That's right!" Rikku cheered. "Anyway, I will take you there if you promise not to tell anyone about it…especially not Yevonites! You know they don't like us Al Bhed, so who knows what they'll do if they found out about it!"

"Gimme a break!" Wakka growled. "What're you accusing Yevon of this time?"

"Yevon did something really bad to us before," she replied in a small voice.

"Hah! You Al Bhed must've deserved it!"

"Both of you stop it!" Charlie shouted. "We've got to find Yuna now, so argue about this later, damn it! Wakka, will you just make the damn promise so we can get the hell out of here already!"

Wakka stared at the young woman as if she had lost her mind, but finally said, "All right, I promise!"

…

Several days and many seemingly endless miles of burning sand later, the six of them arrived in another continuous stretch of the now-irritating stuff. "How much longer can this possibly go on?" Charlie screamed, feeling like she was going mad with the sun burning through her night-dark hair.

Suddenly, an odd but familiar tugging sensation drew the young guardian toward a large pit in the sand. Inside the hollow lay a large, sun-bleached chest that looked like it might shatter in a high wind. Opening it carefully, she found another round metallic disc like the ones she found in Besaid, Luca, and the Mi'ihen Highroad, only this one was colored dark silver, and engraved with the image of waves on a storm-tossed sea. "Kochav Kama…" she read aloud as she examined the tiny script near the edge of the disc. "I wonder what it means."

Just then, a horrible shriek rang out overhead, and Charlie looked up in time to see a Zu swoop down on the others with outstretched talons. Fortunately, they spotted the giant bird before she did, so they were able to evade the attack with relative ease. Rushing to join her comrades in battle, Charlie noticed that the fiend had several fresh injuries, one of which was a sunken-in socket where its right eye used to be. "It's that same bird from the other day! It just has to be!" Then she caught up to it, hacked her way through one of its delicate wing membranes, and shouted, "It's time for Round Two, bitch!"

The Zu dropped to the ground, screeching in pain and anger as it was no longer able to fly. Unfortunately, it was still an extremely dangerous adversary, despite its "handicap", with its superior size, massive jaws, and reeking breath. "This thing's looking pretty ragged-out, ya?" Wakka said, whacking the monster in the head with his blitzball.

"That's because Charlie, Sir Auron, and I fought this fiend several days ago," Lulu explained as she lobbed a Watera spell at it.

"Uh…can't we just kill this thing and worry about who did what to it later?" Rikku gasped, looking slightly green from the Zu's disgusting breath.

Suddenly, the great bird crow-hopped forward and pecked at them, but Kimahri gouged out its other eye with his spear, and it quickly backed away again. Now blind as well as flightless, the Zu was unable to effectively defend itself and quickly fell under the assault of the party. "Oh great! We kill the damn thing, only to end up smelling like giant bird funk!" Charlie complained when the awful stench did not dissipate with the vanishing of its progenitor.

"What are we supposed to do about it?" Auron wanted to know.

"Hell, I don't know!" the young woman snapped. "I'd just rather not attract every fiend for twenty miles."

"Zu is big predator," Kimahri rumbled. "Fiends avoid us now."

"So you're saying we should just continue traveling through the burning desert smelling like a giant dead bird."

The big Ronso wrinkled his nose, but nodded and continued trudging through the burning sand in silence. Charlie looked at the others, but since they all just shrugged and decided to go along with Kimahri's idea, she didn't really have a choice in the matter. "I swear my goddamn nose is going to rot off before we get to where we're going!"

…

After what seemed like an eternity of stewing in bird-reek, Rikku finally stopped them at the base of an insanely large sand dune. "It should be just over this hill," she said before scampering up it with the agility of a squirrel.

Just as she disappeared over the top of it, however, she let out a shriek of horror, and everyone quickly clambered up the dune after her. Once they got to the top, they saw a horrible atrocity as it unfolded below them. A huge compound, quite obviously built with machina, was under attack from a huge swarm of fiends of all shapes and sizes, and while the inhabitants were fighting back valiantly, it was quite clear they were losing. "Yuna's down there?" Wakka demanded, staring at the chaos in horror.

"Of all the places…" Lulu sighed, making her way down the hill. "Let's go!"

The guardians sprinted through the remaining stretch of desert, and then fought their way past the marauding fiends as they attacked the defending Al Bhed soldiers. "Son of a…where the hell is Yuna?" Charlie shouted, skidding to a stop when she stepped in a puddle of fiend blood. "This is insane! Who in God's name would be sick enough to pull something like this?"

Suddenly, a wounded soldier crawled toward them on his hand and knees, his other arm wrapped around his stomach. When he reached Rikku, he collapsed, and she quickly turned him over on his back and shouted, "Keyakku, fru tet drec du oui?" (Keyakku, who did this to you?)

"Yevon…Guado…" he managed to croak out before dying.

"Keyakku!" Rikku wailed, tears streaming down her face as she clung to the dead Al Bhed.

"Yevon has declared war with the Al Bhed?" Lulu asked incredulously, looking around at all the carnage.

Just then, a powerfully built, bald man in a sleeveless yellow jumpsuit appeared and said, "Dryd ec fnuhk! Guado ku vun dra summoner." (That is wrong! Guado go for the summoner.)

"Vydran…" Rikku murmured, backing away as the stranger knelt down and held the now-dead Keyakku. (Father…)

"Father? Rikku, this is your father?" Charlie asked, staring at her friend.

"Yes," she replied. "Cid is my dad…and the leader of the Al Bhed."

Before anyone could say anything else, Cid got to his feet and fixed the group with a piercing stare. "You Rikku's friends?" he demanded. When the group, save for Wakka, nodded, he then turned and ran for the door, shouting, "Well don't just stand there, come on! Let's kick those Guado out of our Home!"

"He sure is gung-ho about it, isn't he?" Charlie said to Rikku as they followed him into the building.

"Yeah," the Al Bhed replied. "Now let's go save Yunie!"

"And everyone else we can!" Charlene added.

Together, the party made their way past the flames that were quickly filling the corridors and came to a stop at their first intersection. "Yuna, where are you?" Wakka bellowed, drawing the attention of a nearby Guado minion.

"Thanks for gathering together so I can kill you all!" the elf cackled as he summoned a trio of Bombs.

"I don't think you'll find us easy prey," Auron smirked, hoisting his katana over his shoulder.

The fight began when the Guado tossed a small, dark sphere at Lulu, which she deftly avoided before launching a Blizzara spell at one of the flaming fiends. In response to the flunky's attack, Rikku and Charlie rushed forward, the former swiping the elf's belt, and the latter chopping off his arm as he raised it to cast a spell. As the Guado stepped back, gripping his now-bleeding stump and howling like a kicked dog, the swordswoman continued her charge, turned her blade around, and nearly ripped him in half with her backswing. "That's for blindly following that sick handlebar-headed bastard, you stupid son of a bitch!" she yelled as the light faded from the Guado's eyes.

As the dead minion dropped to the floor, Charlene turned around just in time to see Auron shear one of the Bombs in half, while Kimahri, Wakka, and Lulu finished the other two. "What in Yevon's name are those Guado thinking?" the blitzer wondered aloud.

"This is terrible!" Rikku wailed, her jade eyes brimming with tears.

"Yes…it is," Charlie thought to herself as they continued down the corridor in their search for Yuna.

A few minutes later, Rikku stopped the gang to listen to some orders Cid barked out over the intercom. Due to the roar of the flames, and the crackling of sporadic interference, Charlene did not catch all of what was said, and listened intently as Wakka asked, "What did he say?"

"We have to get underground!" Rikku told everyone, not answering the blitzer's question.

"Where's Yuna?" Auron demanded, clearly refusing to move another step until he knew where she was.

"She's in the Summoner's Sanctum!" the Al Bhed replied, dashing away down a different path from before. "That's this way!"

…

After yet another battle in which a foolish Guado and his fiends died, everyone stopped and looked around the slowly burning room. "This place done for," Wakka commented solemnly.

"You're right, Wakka," Rikku sadly replied. "We Al Bhed…we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live, and after that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira, but then my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard, and we had our Home back again. But now…why did things have to turn out this way?"

It would have taken a man with a harder heart than Wakka's to ignore the pain in the young Al Bhed's voice, so he pulled her close and let her cry into his chest, since she wasn't tall enough to reach his shoulder. "Damn those Guado!" the blitzer yelled. "What are they thinking?"

Just then, yet another Guado appeared, along with a pair of Chimeras, apparently itching for a fight. This time, Wakka and Rikku handled the lackey, while everyone else quickly dispatched his fiends and hurried down the stairs. Suddenly, Lulu stopped Rikku and asked, "What is the Summoner's Sanctum?"

"The Summoner's Sanctum is where we keep the summoners," she explained. "We keep them safe there."

"You kidnapped them," Wakka said flatly.

Rikku nodded, then replied, "I know it's against the teachings and all that…"

"I get why you did it, but…" Wakka interrupted, but then Charlie cut him off.

"I don't understand. Why do you kidnap the summoners, Rikku? Who's supposed to face Sin, then? Aren't the guardians supposed to be the ones to protect them?" When no one answered her, she then asked, "You guys…did I say something wrong?"

"It's quiet. Kimahri goes now," the Ronso said, striding down the rest of the stairs.

Everyone else followed him, leaving Charlie to wonder what was wrong. "Why did they all go quiet like that? It IS a guardian's job to protect the summoner…isn't it? What the hell haven't they told me?"

…

The Summoner's Sanctum looked like it was once a well-appointed room, but now it was burning and crumbling, and the bloody corpses of several Al Bhed lay everywhere. "Yuna!" Kimahri roared, his amber eyes glowing in the firelight.

For a brief moment, there was no answer, and then Dona's voice rang out over the roar of the flames, an uncharacteristic note of sadness coloring it. "She's not here. Please wait over there until we have performed the sending."

Charlie peered through the smoke, and then she saw Isaaru, Maroda, and Pacce standing there next to the Kilikan summoner. "They died…protecting us," Isaaru explained. "It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending."

As the two summoners performed their rites, Pacce bounced up to Charlie and asked, "Hey, what's 'sacrificed'?" When she gave the little boy a confused look, he added, "The Al Bhed said summoners were being sacrificed…that summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage."

"But…why? Can't they just let the guardians do their job?" she asked, looking up at the others.

"The pilgrimages have to stop!" Rikku shouted. Charlie turned to stare at her, and she continued to speak. "If they don't, and they get to Zanarkand…they might defeat Sin. Yunie could…but then she…Yunie will die, you know?"

Charlene blinked, thunderstruck at this grave announcement. "What?"

"You know, don't you?" Rikku continued hysterically. "Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon…Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin…but then…if she calls it, then the Final Aeon's gonna kill her. Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know!"

Seemingly spent, the Al Bhed dropped to her knees, leaving Charlie to stare at her as if someone smacked her in the face with a board. "Why didn't…why didn't anyone tell me about this?" she whispered. "Were you all hoping to hide it from me, waiting to spring it on me at the last possible moment? WHY IN BLOODY HELL DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME?"

"We weren't hiding it…" Wakka began.

"It was just…too hard to say," Lulu finished.

Charlie stared at all of them, her eyes wide with horror. "How could you people do this?" she screamed. "I thought she was like family! Why didn't you try to stop her? You're all monsters, every single one of you!" Then her eyes fell on Auron, who watched her in silence, and she quickly rounded on him. "And you! You're worse than they are! You watched her old man go through this, you watched him die, and you've been spending all this time rushing Yuna along at breakneck speed, just so she could join him? DAMN YOU! I can't believe I ever gave a damn about a soulless monster like you!"

Everyone else froze, probably in disbelief that anyone would speak to the "Legendary Guardian" in such a manner. Auron, on the other hand, closed his eye and turned away from her. "She is lashing out in anger. She thinks she means what she says now, but really doesn't. It might make it easier to let her go on hating me, but…why does it hurt so much to hear this from her?"

After yelling at Auron, all the rage seemed to drain out of Charlie, and she fell silent. "Charlie, don't you think we tried to stop her?" Lulu asked. "She follows her heart."

"Yuna…she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a summoner!" Wakka said. "To face Sin, ya? Yuna knew!"

"But Wakka, that's just totally wrong!" Rikku cried. "Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?"

Just then, Dona and Isaaru walked up, as a swarm of pyreflies took on the form of a white Sasquatch. "But that is our choice…" Isaaru said as he began his summoning.

"We all live in fear of Sin, you know that," Dona included, adding her own call to his.

"A world without Sin…that is the dream of all Yevon's children, and we will use that power, even if it means our lives!"

Brilliant lights flared throughout the room, and Ifrit interposed himself between the group and the Sasquatch, while Valefor alighted on the floor next to Charlie, who dropped to her hands and knees, fighting the storm of tears that threatened to overwhelm her. "I call them monsters…" she said aloud, not caring who heard, "But I'm the biggest monster of all! I told Yuna all those things about going to Zanarkand without even knowing, and she'd just sit there and smile at me…" "Oh God what the hell have I done!" She wanted to hate them, she DID hate them, but mostly, she just hated herself. "I've done it again…I've caused more pain and suffering to people I care about…"

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the grief-stricken young woman, and she looked up to see Valefor standing overhead, using her wings to shelter her. As Charlie stared up at the bird aeon, flashes of memory overtook her.

…Flash…

Marcus and Charlie stood side-by-side on the dock, amazed at the size of the fish she had caught. "Hey, Charlie, you're really pretty when you smile," Marcus told her as she threw her fish in the bucket. "You should do it more often…"

…Flash…

Charlie and Yuna stood on the balcony in Luca. "I learned to practice smiling when I'm feeling sad, you know?" Yuna said, her two-colored eyes filled with kindness.

…Flash…

Charlie sat in her bed at the hospital, staring at the wall in bleak despair. Marcus, her oldest and dearest friend, was dead, and no matter what anyone said, deep down, she knew it was her fault. "Marcus…oh God, what have I done? It's all my fault, and…I never told you how I really felt…and now it's too late…"

…Flash…

Yuna and Charlie laughed hysterically as everyone else watched them warily. When they finished, the summoner wiped the tears out of her eyes and said, "Thank you. I want my journey to be full of laughter…"

…Flash…

"No…I won't let another friend die because of me." Charlie got up, turned around, and fixed the staring group with a piercing, determined gaze. "I'm not letting Yuna die!" she said, daring anyone to tell her otherwise.

"That's nice," Maroda nervously replied, as a piece of the ceiling barely missed hitting him. "Now can we get out of here before the roof caves in on us all?"

…

After running up a shadow-shrouded flight of stairs into a large vehicle that looked vaguely familiar, Charlie found herself standing in some sort of control room while Cid barked orders to the tattooed boy. "Hey, where's Yuna at?" the young guardian demanded. When the bald Al Bhed ignored her, she grabbed his shoulder, and shouted, "Frana ec Yuna? Damm sa, tysh ed!" (Where is Yuna? Tell me, damn it!)

"What'll you do when you find her, eh?" Cid wanted to know.

"I'm going to set things right!"

"And then what? You're gonna drag her to Zanarkand and make her fight Sin?"

"NO! I won't let another friend die because of me!" Charlie yelled.

"Hah…words!" Cid scoffed, glaring at her. "Show me action!"

"I already told you; Yuna's one of the closest friends I've had in a long time, and I refuse to let her die!" she replied, biting off the words as she spoke.

"Girl, don't forget those words, 'cause if you do…" he growled, sounding like a massive bulldog. "I'm gonna make you regret it."

"I swear that I won't." Then she paused for a moment, before asking, "Well, do you know where she is?"

"Course not, that's why we're gonna look!" He gestured grandly, before adding, "Using this airship!"

"A-airship?" Wakka gulped.

Just then, Brother shouted something from the pilot's seat as the airship's engines roared to life, and Cid shouted something in response, that, while Charlie did not understand completely, knew it meant something along the lines of "Yeehaa!" Then a rather large amount of sand rained past as the ship left the underground docking bay, and sailed skyward. "Holy hell, we're actually FLYING!" Charlie thought, amazed that they were airborne.

"Fruy! Ed vmeac!" Brother exclaimed, working hard to keep the massive vehicle steady. (Whoa, it flies!)

Then Cid made another command that Charlie did not understand, and after some muttering, the tattooed Al Bhed began to sing the Hymn. His father and the normally silent copilot joined him in a mournful chorus, and then Wakka asked, "What's goin' on?"

"We're…we're going to blow up our Home," Rikku sorrowfully replied, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh no…"

"How?" Lulu wanted to know, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"With one of the forbidden machina," Cid explained, before turning his attention to the copilot. "Nayto? Vena!" (Ready? Fire!)

The nameless copilot nodded and pushed a button, and then a few moments later, the ship shuddered violently as a wave of fire washed over it, threatening to destroy them all. Fortunately, Brother did something right, because the airship's speed increased, and it quickly outstripped the oncoming wave of destruction. Then he broke down in tears and Cid tried to comfort him, while Wakka tried to do the same for Rikku. "Hey look, don't get so down," he told her cheerily, a friendly smile plastered across his face. "Boom! Like happy festival fireworks, ya?"

Rikku blinked for a moment, and then shouted, "You can cram your happy festival, you big meanie!"

As the Al Bhed stormed off, Charlie walked up to Wakka and punched him in the mouth as hard as she could. As he staggered backwards, she screamed, "You sorry son of a bitch! How DARE you say something like that! You oughta be ashamed of yourself! You know what? The next time you get the urge to speak, why don't you do the universe a favor and just chew on your hair instead, you pineapple-headed dingbat!"

She seriously considered hitting him again, but before she could act on that impulse, she turned around and stalked off down the hallway, not even glancing at Auron. When she got out the door, however, Kimahri grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Charlie must stop," he said, staring down at her.

"Let me go!" she growled, amazingly keeping her voice below a sonic boom.

"No. Kimahri worried."

"Since when? It won't matter if anything happens to me…not as long as Yuna is safe, and even then, she's only safe until she gets the Final Aeon and dies!"

"Charlie important too. Kimahri knows this."

She stared up at the Ronso in stunned silence for a moment, all the fight gone out of her, and then whispered, "Kimahri, I'm not important…what could a nobody like me possibly do that has any importance."

"Make Yuna smile," he simply replied. "Charlie make Yuna happy."

"But…I said all those things…" Finally, Kimahri released her, and she said, "I'm sorry. I just need to be alone for a while."

…

Sometime later, Charlene finished exploring nearly every nook and cranny of the ship. Along the way, she ran into Isaaru, who was not quitting his pilgrimage, and Dona, who was. She had tried to convince the former otherwise, but he was adamant in his decision, so she left him alone. On her way back to the bridge, however, she ran into Rin, who seemed quite happy to see her. "Well, well. It appears you, too, have escaped harm," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, but how did you get here? I thought you were taking care of your Travel Agencies?"

The merchant nodded. "I came to Home to pick up some goods and found myself here. Quite the escape, is it not?" Then he let out a sigh of relief and said, "Thankfully, my goods were spared, so please let me know if you need any of my wares."

Charlie started to say no, but then remembered that she had no Potions left, so she bought several from him. Once their transaction was complete, he thanked her, then asked, "How is your progress with our language, by the way?"

"Quite well, actually," she replied, smiling for the first time in a while. "Hela du saad oui."

"Just repeating what I've said is not talking, now," Rin said, still smiling.

"Yna oui cu cina ypuid dryd, Sycdan Rin?" Charlie impishly replied, drawing a startled look from the entrepreneur. (Are you so sure about that, Master Rin?)

"Very good!" he applauded. "You've been studying, I see."

"Yes, I have, and Rikku's been helping me practice. Well, I hate to rush, but God knows what kind of trouble everyone's getting into on the bridge."

After bidding Rin farewell, Charlene headed back to the bridge, and walked in just in time to catch a big fight between Cid and Auron. "After rescuing Yuna, then what?" Auron demanded, glaring at the Al Bhed leader. "You want to keep her safe, correct? Would you seek to stop her pilgrimage?"

"Oh dear Lord, please tell me this idiot's not fighting with the captain of the ship on his own bridge!" she prayed in vain.

"Of course!" Cid yelled, returning the glare. "If she continues this fool pilgrimage, she will die, sure as if you killed her yourself! No hare-brained law or teaching can send my little niece to her death! When I save her, I'll make her give up being a summoner quicker than a desert melts ice!"

Auron and Cid continued to glare at each other, looking like a couple of big dogs that have not decided to fight…yet. Seeing this, Charlie decided to break it up before it could escalate to "yet". "I hate to break up your lovely little testosterone festival," she said in the most obnoxious tone possible, "But don't you two think you should stop drowning everyone in your overpowering 'manliness' and figure out where the hell Yuna is?"

Everyone, including the two arguing men, stopped and stared at her as if she had just spoken Martian. The dumbfounded silence continued for a long moment, until Brother shouted, "Vydran! Fa vuiht Yuna!" (Father! We found Yuna!)

"Frana?" (Where?)

"E femm cruf oui!" (I will show you!)

The tattooed Al Bhed then pushed a button on the console, and a large overhead screen lit up, showing a huge temple with several platoons of soldiers. An image of Yuna appeared, but she was wearing an odd-looking white dress, with a sad expression on her face. Standing next to her, in an even crazier looking outfit of gray, white, and black, was Seymour. "HOLY FLAMING HELL!" Charlie shrieked when she saw the maester. "Where are they?"

"The Palace of St. Bevelle, heart of Yevon," Lulu explained, looking surprisingly calm.

"Well what are we waiting for?" the swordswoman cried. "Let's go get her!"

"Easy, kiddo," Cid replied. "Bevelle's defenses are top-notch."

"What, are you scared or something? Let's just go down there, get her, and then get the hell out of there!"

"You've got guts, kid," the Al Bhed leader chuckled. Then, he turned to Brother and barked, "Cad luinca du Bevelle! Vimm cbaat yrayt!" (Set course to Bevelle! Full speed ahead!)

Brother shouted a response and increased the ship's speed, nearly throwing everyone to the floor in the process. "It'll take a while to get to Bevelle, so in the meantime, get ready for battle."

Charlie nodded, but remained silent as her thoughts tumbled over one another restlessly. "How the hell is Seymour still alive? I watched that bastard die, so there's no way he could have come back…unless he's some kind of weird zombie. Oh great, that's just one more screwed-up thing we have to deal with!"