A.N: Moonflow, baby, here we come! Oh wait, that's Tidus' line. Whoops. Well, it's not like I could have said any better myself, anyway. Before we get to that, however, I believe I owe you readers an apology for being gone for so long. Life... has not been exactly fair in terms of leaving me time with which to update this story. And then some mixture of laziness, too; could have updated earlier, but no, I chose to game instead. At least the gaming part is partly spent on Castlevania, so I can at least get a better idea of the series' timeline. But you probably won't listen to me babble on even if I tried to anyway... will you?
EDIT: Oh, shoot! You know, it's a good thing I can pick up right after the fact, but still, I gotta check it better than that! There ya go!
Disclaimer: The elements used in this fanfiction-
Alucard: Father...
Count Dracula: Well met, my son! It's been a long time.
Alucard: I was hoping we would not write to each other again. I can't allow you to leave here, father.
Count Dracula: You have ever been the ally of humans! Have you forgotten what they did to your Mother?!
Alucard: Think you I would revise such a thing? No! But neither do I seek revenge against them.
Count Dracula: Still uttering the same nonsense... no matter. Now is the time to put aside your weak human side, and join me, in remaking this story!
Alucard: Dracula, in the name of my Mother, I will rewrite you again!
Jonathan Morris: Hey, aren't you starting to get annoyed by these interruptions? I know I am.
DarkDiablo: Not really. At least, not yet, anyways. But, since you're here, care to enlighten the audience?
Jonathan Morris: No problem! As DarkDiablo was saying, only the O.C belongs to him. Everything else belongs to their respective owners.
Final Fantasy: Aria of Ruin
Chapter Twelve: Sinking Old Sanctuary
Jack Morris and the group began to retrace their steps, and didn't travel for long before they ran into Lucil and Elma. "Off so early? Lady Yuna, you must be exhausted after working so hard last night. Will you be ok?", Lucil asked, bowing. "I feel that I have... rested enough. But thank you for your kindness", Yuna replied after giggling nervously. "Will you be leaving, too?", the summoner finished. "Yes. First, we cross the Moonflow, and then we head north in search of chocobos to replace those we have lost", the captain answered. "Once we find chocobos, our mounted forces will ride again!", Elma added. Jack smiled at this, but he looked around. Clasko, strangely, was nowhere to be found. "Hold on a moment. Wasn't there a young man among your number?", the hunter asked.
"Captain! Wait for me!", a familiar voice cried out. Everyone looked behind them to see Clasko running towards his compatriots. After reaching them, he stopped to catch his breath. "Well, what timing", Jack mused. "What took you so long?! We're leaving!", Elma said to the young man. "You... expect me... to keep up with a chocobo?!", Clasko managed to gasp out between breaths. The Chocobo Knights then turned to salute the group. "Lady Yuna, I wish you good fortune. Elma, Clasko, let's go!", the captain added. "Ma'am!", Elma replied as she saluted, before the captain began rushing off on the chocobo. "Eh?! C-can't I just rest a sec...?!", Clasko complained. "No complaints!", Elma replied as the chocobo sped off. The young man groaned before running ahead in attempts to keep up. "Poor guy", Jack mused silently.
It wasn't too much longer before the group reached the mountain trail they were on yesterday. "Where to next?", Tidus asked. "We cross the Moonflow", Lulu reminded him. "Got'cha. Moonflow, baby, here we come!", the star player replied, before he took off running. "The Moonflow, huh?", Jack said, before following Tidus, followed by everyone else. Various people were on the road to the Moonflow, the priestess Shelinda being one of those people. She looked horrible, however. No one needed three guesses as to why. "Good day everyone. We can all learn a lesson from what has happened to the Crusaders. Only the truly faithful have a hope of defeating Sin", she said. Silence followed as the group continued onwards, leaving the disciple alone.
Not long into the journey, the group saw two familiar, intimidating humanoid figures up ahead. Upon approaching, it was Yenke and Biran Ronso, who were bullying a male traveler. Jack gave a growl of anger at the sight of this, even as he was held back by Kimahri. The traveler ran down the path the first chance he had when the two Ronso glanced towards the new arrivals. "Look! One of Kimahri's friends! Looks just like him!", Biran taunted. This insult was aimed at Jack, adding more fuel to his anger. "Excuse me?", he asked bitterly. "Both follow summoners on all fours! Hornless goatlings", Biran continued. "Hornless! Hornless!", Yenke added before both of them cackled in laughter. Jack just glared in their direction. "You come to insult Kimahri?", Kimahri said suddenly, his voice dangerously soft.
That surprised the hunter enough to glance in the Ronso's direction. Both of the Ronsos glanced at each other before Biran answered. "Wrong. We come to warn little Kimahri", was his reply. "Summoners disappear. Never return", Yenke added. "Next... will be Kimahri's summoner", Biran finished, looking at Yuna. "You will not", Jack threatened as he brought a hand near the Undead Killer, just daring the two to even try it. To his irritation, they just ignored him. "Poor Kimahri! Lost his horn, next lose his summoner!", Yenke taunted. "Pitiful Kimahri! Howl alone! Howl alone!", Biran joined in, before the two cackled once more. They ran off, not even bothering to spare Jack a glance.
'If I see those two one more time...', he thought bitterly. Not even that long into the day, and already his rage was beginning to be overpowering on his will. This didn't bode well. "Do those two have something against you?", Tidus asked. Kimahri simply shook his head. "What, they were just picking on you?", the star player continued. The Ronso looked away at those words. "Kimahri will deal with them", he replied. "And I'll help", Tidus added. "Kimahri alone", Kimahri suddenly said. "Alone? And for what ridiculous reason?", Jack asked, though he slightly winced when he realized he was probably sounding harsher than he meant to. "It's Kimahri's problem. You can't interfere. It's a rule", Wakka answered.
The hunter was intrigued at this. "I'm worried...", Lulu said. "Let the Ronso deal with Ronso problems, ya? That's how its always been", Wakka replied. "I mean I'm worried about these summoners disappearing", the black mage responded. "They aren't just disappearing into thin air", Auron added. "Hey, if we Guardians do our job, no problem, right?", Tidus offered. "Ooh, confident", Lulu replied, smirking. Wakka smirked at this as well. "Yeah!", the star player replied. "Confidence for Tidus, experience in my case, Lulu", Jack mused silently as everyone continued onwards. It wasn't long before they came to a large, grey river with water lilies and several pyreflies above it. "Whoa!", Tidus said. He ran towards the river, with Jack in tow.
"Wow...", the hunter said silently, his building up rage momentarily forgotten. The sight of this river left him breathless. To say that his world didn't have interesting sights would be nothing but a lie, but this was something he would never see on that world either. "This is the Moonflow", Lulu explained to the amazed blondes, who both whistled in appreciation. Yuna walked up to them. "These are moon lilies. They say that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls", the summoner added. "The entire river glows at night", the black mage replied. "Really?", Tidus asked, seemingly amazed. The group nodded at this. "Hey! I got an idea!", he added suddenly. "We're not waiting 'til nightfall", Auron simply said, crushing the star player's spirit. "Aww...", he managed to reply. A second passed before another idea formed itself in his mind. "Once we beat Sin, we're coming back!", Tidus added.
Under normal circumstances, Jack would have smiled at the idea. However, he doubted he would be around long enough after Sin's destruction to see this sight again, so he fell silent. Everyone else followed suit, however, which caught him off guard. The silence lasted for what felt like an eternity, though in reality, it couldn't have been more than a few seconds. "Hey, we better hurry, or we'll miss the shoopuf!", Wakka said, breaking the silence. "Shoopuf? That some kind of boat?", Tidus asked. Jack looked confused as well. "A shoopuf, huh...?", he wondered out loud. The blitzer merely shrugged and pointed down the path before the group continued onwards, though the hunter made a mental note to question his companions about the silence the first chance he got.
Whatever the blitzer pointed to, it certainly surprised Tidus when they reached the area. "Whoa! What the- whoa!", were his words, catching Jack by surprise. Turning to look, he too was surprised. "Wow...", was his reply. Before them stood a rather large elephant with a weird looking snout, a tail with a bit of a fin, and a cabin on its backside for people to rest in. On its right hind leg was what appeared to be a scar, though. "This is a shoopuf", Wakka answered as the being moved onwards. Jack smiled at those words. "Whoa... let's ride! Come on, let's go!", the star player replied. The hunter did little more than nod in agreement. "All right! We board soon as we're ready, ya?", the blitzer replied as the blondes took off.
Both blondes stopped when they saw Yuna with Kimahri. The former seemed to be happy about something. "You look happy to be here. Do you have fond memories of this place?", Jack asked. "I haven't ridden a shoopuf in so long", Yuna replied. "What? You've been on one of these?", Tidus asked. "Well, just once. Ten years ago, with Kimahri", the summoner answered. "Wow... had a fun time, did you?", the hunter added. Yuna nodded before she turned to face Kimahri. "Remember?", she said. "Shoopuf shook. Yuna fall in water. Shoopuf scoop up Yuna with long nose. Yuna jump in three more times for fun", the Ronso answered. That prompted a look of embarrassment from the summoner as silence filled the area for a few seconds. "Kimahri worried", he added. "Whoops!", Yuna replied. "Yuna had fun. Kimahri happy", Kimahri said. Jack smiled at those words before the blondes continued onwards towards the river crossing.
By the time the blondes had arrived, it seemed that the shoopuf was ready to escort people across the river. Several people were in line, while Auron stood near the steps. "Ten years ago...", he began. Jack looked towards the red-robed man at those words, while Tidus just groaned, rolling his eyes as he did so. "A history lesson?", the latter asked. "Jecht saw his first shoopuf here. Surprised, he drew his blade and struck it", Auron continued. The blondes blinked at those words. "Why?", Tidus asked. "He was drunk... thought it was a fiend", the red-robed man answered.
"He did what? To something as peaceful looking as this?", Jack asked, completely taken by surprise. Tidus merely rolled his eyes. It did, however, explain the scar that the blondes had noticed on the shoopuf. "Oh, brother...", he muttered. "We offered all the money we had as an apology. Jecht never drank again. But, it would seem that shoopuf still works here", Auron finished. "It seems so. Where was Alucard in all this?", the hunter asked as Tidus walked up the steps. "After that incident, Alucard didn't want to be near Jecht for the time being. He turned into a bat and flew across the Moonflow, keeping watch from above", the red-robed man answered, pausing only to give a slight chuckle.
Jack raised an eyebrow at this. Alucard, turning into a bat just to stay away from a drunk person? Granted, he knew the dhampir wasn't one for drinking, but he also had some tolerance towards those who partook in that activity. But this was unexpected to the hunter. "Was Jecht really that dangerous when he was drunk?", he asked. Auron's only answer was a chuckle. "I'll take that as a yes, then...", were Jack's words on the matter as he walked up the nearby steps.
The sight that greeted him at the top of the steps was quite weird. Close to what appeared to be the mechanism that allowed passengers onto the shoopuf for the ride across the Moonflow was a blue humanoid figure with frog-like eyes, wearing orange overalls. Sure, he was used to seeing strange things, given that he had already dealt with Castlevania. Even so, it was still a weird thing. "You seem confused...", a familiar voice spoke, catching Jack off guard. Glancing to the right, he saw Yuna with Kimahri not far behind her. "Yeah... kind of. What is that thing?", the hunter asked the summoner. "Oh, that's a Hypello. They're the people who live on the bay of the Moonflow. They're also the caretakers of the shoopuf. Hypello are pretty much the only ones that can control them", Yuna replied. The hunter nodded at this information. Everyone else in the group had walked up the steps by this point.
"So, we're ready then?", Jack asked. A nod from his allies was his answer. With little hesitation, he turned to face the Hypello. "Ride ze shoopuf?", it asked. "Yeah", the hunter replied. "All aboards!", the strange being called out. As if on cue, the boarding mechanism lowered to allow the group on. Jack took this moment to glance in the direction they were headed. The other bank looked pretty far off from where they were now. No wonder the shoopuf was here. Even the hunter himself did not have the stamina to swim the entirety of the Moonflow, and that was saying something, considering his degree of vitality. "Shoopuf launchin'!", the Hypello called out, giving the shoopuf the cue to start moving.
At first, silence filled the air, until something caught Wakka's eye. "Hey. Take a look", he said, nudging Tidus and the hunter. "What?", the former asked. The sight that awaited brought amazement to the blondes. Below the river, the ruins of a large city was dotted across the bottom. "Well, color me surprised...", Jack added. "A machina city... over a thousand years old. They built the city on top of bridges across the river", the blitzer answered. "But the weight of the city caused the bridges to collapse, and it all sank to the bottom", Lulu added. "Right. It's a good lesson", Wakka replied. "A lesson?", Tidus asked. "Yeah. Why build a city over a river, ya?", the blitzer replied.
Jack looked intrigued in the least. "Uh, well, it would be convenient with all that water there", the star player replied. Wakka shook his head. "No, that's not why. They just wanted to prove they could defy the laws of nature", the blitzer replied. "Hmm... I'm not so sure about that", Tidus commented. "Yevon has taught us: When humans have power, they seek to use it. If you don't stop them, they go too far, ya?", the blitzer added. "Undoubtedly", the hunter replied, thinking of the recent wars over the last century or so back on his world. "Yeah, but don't you use machina too? Like the stadium and stuff, right?", Tidus asked. Lulu nodded at this, though slowly. "Yevon, it decides... which machina we may use, and which we may not", she said. "So what kind of machina may we not use, then?", the star player replied, seemingly frustrated. "Remember Operation Mi'ihen? That kind", Wakka answered.
"Or war will rage again", the black mage added. "War?", both of the blondes asked out loud. Yuna looked in their direction. "More than a thousand years ago... mankind waged a war using machina to kill", she started explaining. "They kept building more and more powerful machina", Wakka added. "They made weapons so powerful... it was thought they could destroy the world", Lulu said, picking a hair off her doll. "The people feared that Spira would be destroyed", Yuna added. "But the war did not stop", Wakka continued. Silence fell for a few moments as the blondes took this information in.
"Wh-what happened then?", Tidus asked. "Sin came, and it destroyed the cities and their machina", was the summoner's answer. "The war ended... and our reward... was Sin", Lulu added. Wakka nodded in reply. "So, Sin's our punishment for lettin' things get out of hand, eh?", he asked. "Man, that's rough", Tidus said, trying to offer sympathy. "Yeah, it is", was the blitzer's reply. "But, it's not like the machina are bad", the star player added. Lulu nodded in agreement. "Only as bad as their users", she commented in reply. "It's because of people like the Al Bhed, screwing everything up!", Wakka added harshly.
As if he had just tempted fate itself, the cabin shook violently, surprising everyone. "Whatsh could thatsh be?", the Hypello driver wondered out loud. Auron looked to Yuna, who was now standing. "Sit down", he requested calmly. The summoner was surprised, but she did as she was requested. That, however, turned out to be a bad idea. For when she did, a man in a diving suit grabbed her and dived into the water. "The Al Bhed!", Wakka shouted as the two blitzers gave chase, diving into the depths. Jack would have followed suit, if other Al Bhed divers didn't appear to give the rest of the guardians a fight. Some were armed with guns, while the rest looked capable of casting magic.
"Curse it all...", the hunter cursed bitterly as he equipped the gloves given to him by Auron back in Luca. The sight of them seemed to instill hesitation inside the hearts of the divers, as some held a look of shock that was beyond all belief. Even so, none fled the scene. "Druca kmujac...", one began in their native tongue. "Ra ec hu tuvvamahd vmus druca pivvuuhs!", another added, pointing at Jack. None of the Al Bhed expected him to deliver a strong uppercut to the one pointing at him, though, and they could do little more than watch helplessly as he got sent flying off the shoopuf into the river. "Cilr bufan!", one of the divers said afterwards, sounding completely shocked beyond belief. That one didn't expect the load of thunder he got from Lulu, while the hunter delivered a roundhouse kick that sent one of his companions overboard.
One of those who had looked capable of casting magic proved himself quite able to, as when he threw his left arm to the side, a series of rocks circled Jack. "Dimh du cduha!", he chanted. And with this, the rocks collided on Jack. The Al Bhed divers managed a smirk, seemingly as if they knew what had happened. Or, well, they thought they did. For when the rocks faded away, there the hunter was, more confused by what was supposed to happen than anything else. "Esbuccepma!", the caster cried out, completely in disbelief. Though they were certainly confused as well, the guardians took the initiative to finish off the battle with their own counterattack. Before long, all that was left was what they assumed was the leader, a tall man with a blonde mohawk, who wore funny looking overalls, which revealed a series of tattoos on his upper body. "Drec ec hud ujan...", he threatened before diving into the water, barely missing an attempted punch from Jack.
"Get back here, I'm not done with you yet!", he called out. That was to no avail, however, as the person in question had already hit the water by that point. "Ish it safe?", the Hypello dared ask a few seconds afterwards, prompting Jack to look in his direction. Sure enough, being a poor defenseless being, the Hypello's hands were over his face, most likely in an attempt to shield himself from harm. "It's safe enough, they're all gone", the hunter responded. "Thank yoo", was his reply. "How are you...?", Lulu began asking. "Huh?", Jack asked, confused. "That spell... how are you not petrified?", the black mage finished. "Oh, that's...", the hunter began, though he trailed off when the word petrified registered in his mind. "... wait, did I hear that right?", Jack finished, changing his train of thought. A nod from Lulu served as the answer. That only prompted him to groan in discomfort. So that's what the caster was doing.
On a more positive note, the person in question was now knocked out, and thrown overboard. Thus, he was no longer a threat to the group, so in a way, at least he wouldn't be coming back to try again. "Yeah, that would be the work of my necklace. With some help from my mother, Alucard enchanted it with protection against petrification shortly before he gave it to me. He knew my family hated getting petrified, me more so than the rest", the hunter explained. Lulu seemed to accept that answer, simply nodding in reply. "Either way, now's not the time for small talk. I'm going to help Tidus and Wakka", Jack added as he turned around to get off the shoopuf.
Of course, fate had a completely different idea, as the moment he did so, he saw Wakka and Tidus climbing back onto the cabin, along with an obviously distraught Yuna. Had they not had as much trouble as was first thought? "Or they could just surprise me like that, that works too", the hunter mused as the summoner quickly took her seat on the cabin, allowing everyone else to walk to her.
"Are you hurt?", Lulu asked in a concerned manner. "No, I'm fine", Yuna answered. A sigh of relief was heard from both of the blondes. "Grrah! Those Al Bhed!", Wakka yelled out of frustration. "Ish ebullibody ok?", the Hypello asked, worried. "I'm sorry! We're all okay now!", Yuna replied. "Yuna!", Auron yelled at the summoner, scowling. She quickly blushed and sat back down. "Shoopuf full shpeed aheads!", the Hypello announced, and the shoopuf continued on its journey. "Damn the Al Bhed! What do they want from us?! Could it have something to do with Luca?! What are they after Yuna for-", Wakka cursed bitterly, though he paused. His eyes lit up, as if he just realized something.
"- Wait! They're mad they lost the tournament! Or wait! They're mad about Operation Mi'ihen!", he continued. "I wonder... Didn't Kimahri's clansmen say something about summoners... disappearing?", Lulu wondered out loud. The blitzer looked to her before he caught on. "Ah! So the Al Bhed are behind that! Those sand-blasted grease monkeys!", Wakka cursed again. No one dared to say anything for the next few moments. "Hey Wakka. It's no use complaining about the Al Bhed now, right? We'll protect Yuna from anyone, anywhere. It's that easy. That's all I need to know", Tidus replied. "Well... I guess so", the blitzer said, finally relenting. "You're right", Lulu added. Yuna giggled at this before she mouthed a thank you towards the star player.
Jack, on the other hand, was gazing at his necklace, being held in his right hand. 'Alucard did mention that I would find components for this necklace when he gave it to me... could it be that he left these components here in Spira, ten years ago?', he thought, remembering the secret room back in Kilika Temple, where he found the small green orb ornament that was now part of the necklace. He sensed that inside the chains that held the lightning bolt and green orb, there was more power than it offered now, seemingly waiting to be unlocked.
Some time later, the shoopuf arrived at the other bank of the Moonflow. Everyone disembarked, with silence being all that accompanied them as they walked onwards, the sun beginning to set on the Moonflow. Before long, though, most of the group stopped to gather up some supplies. Jack was no exception in that, since the battle with the Al Bhed did impose consuming a couple potions to restore wounds that he and his companions had suffered. To go unprepared would be, if Alucard was to put it into words, a bad ending to what would have been a successful hunter's career otherwise. So it came to Jack as a surprise when he, upon meeting up with his allies on the path towards the nearby woods, noticed that Tidus was not present with them. This caused him to feel uneasy.
"Guys? Where's Tidus?", he asked, a little on the concerned side. "We were hoping that you'd know", was Yuna's answer, sharing her own concerns. "We were beginning to think he wandered off. Your arrival just now confirmed those suspicions", Lulu added. The hunter did little more than shake his head in reply. "Seeing as fiends are undoubtedly around, I would've strongly suggested staying together. Let's go find him, before he gets eaten by a man-eating plant", Jack said before he began rushing towards the nearby woods, joined by his companions.
Funnily enough, no man-eating plants got in their way. Nor did, well, much of anything. But then again, the group didn't need to travel far to find Tidus, seemingly in an argument with a young blonde girl who wore an orange tanktop with a pair of blue ribbons hanging on the back, a pair of flared green shorts with a small pouch visible, a protective arm guard over the entirety of her right arm that ended in a gauntlet with a pair of claws, a protective mitt over her left hand, and a pair of boots. "Somehow, I doubt this is going to end well", Jack mused silently. "Yo!", Wakka called out, undoubtedly getting the blondes' attention. The hunter fervently hoped that this new blonde wasn't about to make things worse.
A.N: Poor Clasko. I think he would keep up with a chocobo easily if he had some Godspeed Boots. Maybe a Leap Stone, too, for the big chasms. Before anyone asks, though, the dormant enchantment that the O.C is sensing is going to be trivial. I have a couple good ideas as to what it could be. But no, it won't be something like Death-proof or immunity against any of the other more problematic status ailments (geez, Stone-proof is enough, don't you think? Might do Zombie-proof, though, since IIRC, unlike earlier FF's, Zombie doesn't outright get rid of control like Berserk/Confuse does, and can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the situation)
Anyhow, since *spoiler alert! Oh, who am I kidding, this is fanfiction, you're probably gonna get spoiled anyway!* Rikku is about to be added to the group's number, I think now's a good time to begin offering Al Bhed translations. Here ya go, readers. This is according to the wikia for Final Fantasy. If there are any mistakes, point them out, and I'll do what I can to ensure it's correct.
"Druca kmujac...": "Those gloves..."
"Ra ec hu tuvvamahd vmus druca pivvuuhc!": "He is no different from those buffoons!"
"Cilr bufam!": "Such power!"
"Dimh du cduha!": "Turn to stone!" (big hint for experienced FF players!)
"Esbuccepma!": "Impossible!"
"Drec ec hud ujan...": "This is not over..."
And there ya go. As always, feel free to drop a review if you've the time. *stands up menacingly* But enough talk... See you in the next chapter! *teleports into the background, cackling evilly*