A Somber Sight, Kilika Temple
(Once again folks. our newly formed team has arrived, and none worse for the wear, at Kilika port. Fresh from Sin's attack, The ship limps into port, the people are move to disembark, but Yuna rushes ahead.)
Link: Yuna?
Yuna: Greetings! I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the temple in Besaid.
Woman: M'lady Summoner!
Yuna: If there is no other summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending.
Man: Thanks be to ye!
Woman: Our loved ones... We feared they would become fiends!
Yuna: Please, take me to them.
[Yuna, Kimahri, Lulu, and the villagers walk out of sight.]
Wakka: We'll go see what we can do to help in town.
[The blitzball players run to help. Link follows, and spots the others down by the water. Yuna stands by floating caskets. Link walks over to Lulu.]
Link: Um... what's going on? What's a 'sending.' Someone going somewhere?
Lulu: You truly are clueless. Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem? The dead need guidance. Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living. Sad, isn't it? The sending takes them to the Farplane,where they may rest in peace.
Link: And the summoner's do this?
[Yuna walks into the water and a spout lifts her into the air as she twirls her wand. The souls emerge from the caskets and rise up around her. She finishes after awhile, and Link turns to Lulu.]
Link: It's tough being a summoner huh...
Lulu: Yuna chose her own path. She knew from the beginning what it meant. All we can do is protect her along the way. Until the end.
Link: ... the end?
[The villagers and Yuna turn their attention to him; Lulu sighs.]
Lulu: Until she defeats Sin.
Yuna: I hope... I hope I did okay.
Lulu: "You did very well! They've reached the Farplane by now. But...
no tears next time, hm?"
Link: (Narration) I wished there would never be a next time. No more people being killed by Sin. No more sendings for Yuna. Everyone stood there watching her. It was strange, and somehow... horrifying. I never wanted to see it again. Still ... there's no doubt about it... that was the Song of Healing...
[The next day, Link walks out of the inn and Datto jogs over.]
Datto: Hey! You awake? Cap'n Wakka's waitin' for you!
Link: Right.
(Link leaves the inn, and finds Wakka back near the boat.)
Wakka: Ah, there you are! Besaid Aurochs! Huddle! On to the temple, where we pray for victory! High Summoner Ohalland used to live in the Kilika temple here. Yep, Lord Ohalland was once a great blitzer, you know?
Link: Wakka...
Wakka: Hm?
Link: Praying for victory is all well and good... but is this even the right time?
Wakka: Something wrong with enjoying blitzball?
Link: Not at all, but with all that's going on... it doesnt seem right.
Wakka: This is the only time! The players fight with all their strength; the fans cheer for their favorite team. They forget
pain, suffering... Only the game matters! That's why blitz has been around for so long. Least that's what I think.
Link: I wish it really was that simple...
Wakka: Let's play...and win! Right?
Link: You got it!
Wakka: Temple's beyond the jungle there. Let's go!
[Link, Wakka, and the team walk to the jungle edge and meet up with everyone.]
Wakka: What's up?
[Lulu looks at Link.]
Lulu: Yuna's saying she wants you with us.
Link: Huh?
Yuna: I want to ask you to be my guardian.
Wakka: Yuna! What? This is no time for jokes, ya? He may be a blitzball whiz kid, but up against fiends, he's a newbie.
Link: (thinking to himself) Wakka, if you only knew.
Yuna: Not a guardian, then... I just want him nearby.
Link: Yuna? What do you mean?
Yuna: It's just that, well...
Lulu: We're all going to the temple anyway. Can't this wait till later?
Yuna: I'm sorry. I shouldn't have...
Link: Hey, dont worry, just a bit confused is all.
Yuna: My apologies.
[The party gets into a battle a ways down the path with a plant.]
Link: Ok... now we got to fight a mutated Deku Scrub.
Lulu: Kimahri, why don't you use 'Lancet' on it?
Link: You lost me at 'Lancet'.
Lulu: Normally, it's a skill that weakens enemies and heals the user. But when a Ronso uses it, that Ronso can sometimes learn fiends' abilities.
Link: I see.
[Kimahri kills the plant, and the party moves down the road; afterwards, they meet Luzzu and Gatta.]
Gatta: Company, halt!
Luzzu: The fiend before us is Ochu, Lord of the Wood! We've had trouble with this one before. Remember, discretion is the
better part of valor.
Link: He doesn't look so tough! (thinking to himself) Wakka doesnt think I can handle myself when it comes to fiends huh. This'll show him!
(Link draws his sword and shield and charges in)
Wakka: Link, get back here!
Yuna: LINK! Wait!
Lulu: It's too late now. Lets see how he does.
(Link charges up Din's fire and sends Ochu flying back a few feet with a minor but direct blast. It jumps back and strikes out at Link, who back-flips out of range just in time.)
Link: Heh.. this is going to be fun.
Kimahri: It comes!
Link: HAAAH!
(Link charges again with Din's Fire and combines it with Farore's Wind, creating a completely new combination, Din's Inferno. Ocho is engulfed in flames and turns to ash, defeated.)
Yuna: Link, that was impressive!
Wakka: Link, you crazy? You coulda been killed, ya?! But, Yuna is right though, that was cool.
Lulu: Link, don't do that again.
Link: eheh ... sorry.
Link:(Narration) I may have overdid it a bit there. If I'm ever to re-obtain the Triforce of Courage... I better start acting more level headed. But hopefully, Wakka can see I'm not a newbie fighter.
(Luzzu and Gatta walk over)
Luzzu: A summoner and her guardians. Very impressive!
Gatta: Sir, we should fight, too!
Luzzu: We'll get our chance soon enough.
Gatta: Young Crusaders gather round! We'll beat Sin into the ground!
[Gatta runs off singing and the party heads to the temple's stairway.]
Wakka: These stone steps have a history, you know? Yep, Lord Ohalland trained here at his peak.
[Link looks at two Aurochs, who are stretching nearby.]
Link: A race, huh? Think you can beat me?
Wakka: Yuna, if you would.
Yuna: Ready?
[She runs off ahead of everyone.]
Wakka: Hey! Hey!
Link: No fair!
[Link races up after everyone. He soon sees the Aurochs racing back down, but this time they're fleeing.]
Datto: L-Look out!
Wakka: Everyone, quick! Sinspawn!
[A large beast breaks out of some stone paving, it is a huge plant type sinspawn with grass tentacles separating each team member. Link charges up another Din's Inferno, Lulu prepares her Firaga. All the while Wakka and Auron take care of the tentacles that are keeping the body safe. Link charges in with his close range Din's Inferno and Lulu unleashes her Firaga and incenerate the Sinspawn. It takes some doing but it is finally defeated.]
Link: (out of breath) Damn! I swear to Din that was close.
Wakka: Sorry about that! Hoped to break you in a little slower.
Link: Being a guardian's harder that I thought but nothing I can't handle.
Wakka: You do handle yourself pretty well. You got talent.
Link: Nah, just plenty of practice... So, what are these 'sinspawn' anyway?
Lulu: Fiends. They fall from Sin's body, and are left in its wake.
Wakka: Leave 'em alone, and Sin comes back for 'em. You gotta be quick!
Link:(Narration) That moment when Wakka told me I had talent in battle... I think that was when I started seriously considering becoming a guardian. Maybe just maybe, it will return.
[After a quick breather, they finish the short trek up to the temple. They stop for just a moment in the courtyard to Kilika Temple.]
Wakka: So, uh...they got fiends in Hyrule, too?
Link: Yeah, they're plentiful in the areas around Castle Town, Kakariko, Lake Hylia, and the like... hold that thought. When did you start suddenly believing me about where I'm from?
Wakka: I been thinking. Maybe people Sin gets to don't die. Maybe Sin carries 'em through time. Like a thousand years through time. And then, one day, maybe they just pop back, see?
Lulu: Amazing. Simply amazing. You make up one theory after another, refusing to face the simple truth. Sin didn't take Chappu anywhere. Sin crushed him and left him on the Djose shore! Your brother won't just pop back. Oh, and one more thing. No matter how much you want it, no one can take Chappu's place. No one can replace Sir Jecht, for that matter. And there's no replacement for Lord Braska, either. It's pointless to think about it, and sad.
Link: ... yeah.
[Lulu and Yuna walk off.]
Wakka: I...I could never be what Chappu was. Well, stuff happens. Best not to worry.
Link:(Narration) Wakka, Lulu, and Wakka's brother Chappu. Something had happened between them a long time ago. I was sure of it. Well, whatever it was, it was none of my business, that's for sure. Best not to go there.
[The party walks up to the temple and sees a group walking to them.]
Wakka: You here to pray for victory, too?
Man: Us? Pray? Who needs to pray? The Luca Goers always win!
Wakka: Oh, yeah? Then why are you here?
Man 2: We've been praying for some competition this year!
Man: So, what's your goal this time? You gonna 'do your best' again? Ha! It's too bad your best isn't good enough! Why even bother showing up?
Link: Big talk, coming from this years losers. This time we play to win.
Man: Oooh! Play away! Just remember even kids can play, boys.
Wakka: See you in the finals!
Link: We'll beat them. We have to!
Yuna: You know that team?
Link: ... meh. Putting people down, their just as bad as Ganondorf... and my old man.
Yuna: But, Sir Jecht was a kind and gentle man!
Link: Yeah, well, not the Jecht i know.
Link:(Narration) Even ten years after he left...just thinking about him ticks me off. But maybe that was just my way of keeping him... Nah.
[The party walks inside and again the layout is similar to that of Besaid. Wakka walks over and prays at Ohalland's statue.]
Wakka: Lord Ohalland, guide our feet.
Link: (to himself) What is it about that prayer, that makes it so ... familiar? I could swear it was Zelda's Lulliby
[A moment later after 'praying', a woman and a large man exit the Cloister and approaches Yuna.]
Woman: A summoner, are you?
Yuna: My name is Yuna - I come from the Isle of Besaid.
Dona: Dona. So, you're High Summoner Braska's daughter. That's quite a name to live up to. My, my, my... And all these people are your guardians? My, what a rabble! As I recall, Lord Braska had only two guardians. Quality over quantity, my dear. Whatever were you thinking? I have need of only one guardian. Right, Barthello?
Yuna: I only have as many guardians as there are people I can trust. I trust them all with my life! To have so many guardians is a joy, and an honor! Even more so than being my father's daughter. Of course, I would never think of questioning your ways, either. So, Lady Dona, I ask of you: please leave us in peace.
Dona: You do what you want. Barthello, we're leaving.
Link:(Narration) A guardian is someone a summoner can rely on. Someone she can trust with her life. I wondered, did Yuna feel that way about me? (notices Yuna staring at him) What's she smiling about?
[Everyone walks to the elevator that leads to the Cloister.]
Wakka: The fayth is below. Let's do it!
Link: What's the 'fayth'?
Lulu: But first, the Cloister of Trials. Kimahri? Wakka? Ready?
Yuna: Strength, everyone!
[Kimahri pushes Link off the elevator.]
Link: What the?
Lulu: You're not a guardian yet.
Yuna: We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?
[They go down.]
Link: Right... Soon like 'tomorrow' soon, I bet!
[The elevator returns. Dona and Barthello return, too.]
Dona: Where's Yuna?
Link: (he points to the elevator) down there.
Dona: Then why are you here?
Link: I'm not supposed to enter if i'm not a guardian, right?
Dona: Not a guardian, you say?
[Barthello picks him up.]
Link: Put ... me ... down! What's the big idea!
Dona: Just a little game.
[The elevator starts to go down.]
Link: Great... this is gonna be a problem.
[Link comes to a door at the bottom.]
Link: Only guardians allowed, and I'm no guardian. Well, I guess it's too late now.
[Link goes through the trials alone and comes to the fayth chamber.]
Wakka: Whoa, whoa, whoa!
Link: It was that bitch Dona and that big son of a Deku, Barthello, or whatever his name was!
Lulu: Yuna will be the one to suffer the consequences!
Link: What do you mean?
Wakka: She could be excommunicated!
[Link talks to Lulu and Wakka.]
Lulu: The chamber beyond is a sacred place. Only summoners may enter.
Link: What, even guardians can't go in?
Wakka: It's taboo! Now, Just wait.
Link: So, what's in there anyway?
Wakka: The fayth, remember?
Link: Right... that thing.
Lulu: The fayth are people who gave their lives to battle Sin. Yevon took their souls, willingly given from their still-living bodies.
Link: Come again?
Lulu: Now they live forever, trapped in statues. But when a summoner beckons, the souls of the fayth emerge once again. That's what we call an aeon.
Link: All that in this room? S-So what's Yuna doing in there?
Wakka: She prays with all her heart for a way to defeat Sin.
[Yuna stumbles out soon after.]
Link: (Narration) There was something i kept from them that day. That song we heard there, in the temple... I knew it from my childhood. It was proof that Spira and Hyrule were connected somehow. Maybe, just maybe thats why, suddenly, I felt like...I just wanted to go home. I tried to say something, to tell them. But the words wouldn't come.
[Yuna names her new aeon and the party leaves and finds a crowd waiting at the mount for Braska's daughter.]
Link: (Narration) I thought I had buried all my feelings for Hyrule away deep down. But they were there, and they grew inside me, bigger and bigger, till I was just about ready to burst.
[The party starts to leave the temple and Link stops. Yuna, too.]
Yuna: Are...are you okay?
Link... I don't really know anymore.
Yuna: What do you want to do?
Link: Just to scream as loud as I can...
[And he does so, startling his others. Back in town they head for the ship.]
Wakka: Off to Luca at last! The matches start as soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?
Link: Yeah... rest.
[Everyone returns to the boat and prepare for the journey to Luca, and the boat leaves port with the Kilika Beasts and Goers onboard, too. Be sure to read the next chapter to find out what happens as our heroes prepare for the Blitzball tourney in Luca. Next Chapter: Luca Bound, Jecht Shot Remastered!]