Bikanel Island: Attack On Home, And Truth Revealed
[Well, hey there readers, and welcome back to another chapter of Shadows Over Spira! Today we return to find Link waking up face-down in some water. No folks, our hero is not drunk. He wakes to find that it's an oasis, and he's in the desert.]
Link: Where am I? I forgive you, this time. Be good for a while, okay?
[Link walks off out of the oasis, After a few minutes of walking the desert sands he gets into a solo fight with a Zuu, a large black bird right out of the twilight realm]
Link: What the hell! Nothing i do to this freak works! (after a few minutes of struggling) Whew! This thing will not drop...
Auron: Need some help?
Lulu: Are you alright?
Link: ?! The Calvary has arrived!
[Lulu and Auron join the battle , and they defeat it together. After battle:]
Link: Where are the others?
Lulu: Haven't found them yet. We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up.
Link: Try telling that to Auron, He's not waiting
[ Lulu and Link catch up to Auron, and the trio begins their search for the others. They first find Wakka, who is nearby, sheltered under a piece of machine.]
Link: Wakka! You alone?
Wakka: Where's Yuna? Dammit! First I lose Yuna, then I'm ambushed by machina! Great day I'm having.
[With Wakka in the ranks, the team finds Kimahri ank Rikku a little ways ahead, by some dunes.]
Kimahri: Yuna...gone.
Link: It's not your fault, Kimahri!
Rikku: Oh! Hey, guys! Where's Yunie?
Link: M.I.A
Lulu: Gone... Some guardian I am.
Rikku: Umm... There's something I wanna tell you, but promise not to say anything. [Wakka glares at her.] No glaring either! I know where we are. We're on Bikanel Island. 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!
Wakka: Rescued? You mean kidnapped!
Link: Does it really matter? Just as long as she is safe?!
Rikku: That's right! Anyway, I will take you there if you promise...that you won't tell anyone about it. Especially not Yevonites, okay? You know they don't like us Al Bhed. Who knows what they'll do if they knew?
Wakka: Gimme a break. What are you accusing Yevon of this time?
Rikku: Yevon did something really bad to us before.
Wakka: Well, you Al Bhed must've deserved it.
Link: Can't you guys...talk about this later?
Rikku: Just promise you won't tell anyone about this island. Promise?
Link: Give it a rest! I swear to Din...
Wakka: All right, I promise! Lead the way.
Rikku: You got it! [Rikku starts giving directions. After awhile, the party finally makes it towards Home.]
Link: I...hate...deserts... Are we there yet?
Rikku: Over here! [They walk to a hill and see Home...] Aaaaaaa!
Link: Rikku!
[...burning. Gunfire is audible.]
Wakka: What? Yuna's down there?
Lulu: Of all the places... Let's go!
[The party runs into the Al Bhed firefight and looks around.]
Wakka: Where's Yuna?
[An Al Bhed nearby gets shot and collapses. Rikku runs to him.]
Rikku: Keyakku! Who? Who's attacking us? Fru tet drec du oui? [Who did this to you?]
Keyakku: Yevon... Guado... [He dies.]
Rikku: Keyakku? Keyakku!
Link: ... It's Ganondorf's takeover all over again...
Lulu: A war? Between Yevon and the Al Bhed?
Voice: Dryd ec fnuhk! Guado ku vun dra summoner. ["That is wrong! Guado go for the summoner."]
Rikku: Vydran... ["Father..."]
[A man walks over and kneels down by Keyakku.]
Man: You Rikku's friends? Well, just don't stand there, come on! Let's go kick those Guado out of our Home!
[Everyone runs off except for Rikku and Link.]
Link: ... Who was that?
Rikku: Cid. Leader of the Al Bhed... He's my dad.
Link: ... Let's go
Rikku: Yeah. We have to save Yunie.
Link: Not just Yuna. Right?
Rikku: Right!
[ Link and Rikku catch up with the others, and they run into the next room.]
Wakka: Yuna! Where are you?
[A Stalfos and Guado drop down and attacks the team, but are quickly dispatched]
Link: Stalfos! Now this is a surprise
Wakka: What in Yevon's name are those Guado thinking?
Rikku: This is terrible!
[Everyone heads into a corridor. Cid is on a loudspeaker somewhere.]
Cid: Drec pedac! Rikku! Oui nayt sa? Oui ku ihtan, duu! E ys majamehk Home! Yht dra fiend fedr ed! ["This bites! Rikku! You read me? You go under, too! I am leveling Home! And the fiends with it!"]
Rikku: Oh, no!
Wakka: What'd he say!?
Link: I have a bad feeling about this.
Rikku: We have to get underground!
Auron: Where's Yuna?
Rikku: The Summoners' Sanctum! This way!
[A Guado and some Iron Knuckles attack, but they get beaten back.]
Link: Now what?
Rikku: Over here!
[Everyone runs to the room nearby.]
Wakka: This place done for.
Rikku: You're right. You're right, Wakka. We Al Bhed, we...we weren't always like this. Sin destroyed the island where we all used to live. After that, we were scattered to every corner of Spira. But then, my dad brought the Al Bhed together again. If we few put our minds to it and worked together, then we could make a new home. Everyone worked hard, we had our Home back again... But now... Why did things have to turn out this way?
Wakka: Rikku... Damn those Guado! What are they thinking?
Lulu: Rikku, what is the Summoners' Sanctum?
Rikku: The Summoners' Sanctum is where we keep the summoners. We keep them safe there.
Wakka: You kidnapped them.
Rikku: I know it's against the teachings and all that...
Wakka: I get why you did it, but...
Link: By Din, I sure don't. They might get hurt on their pilgrimage so you kidnap them? I mean, if the summoners don't do their job, then who will beat Sin? I know you want to protect them, but that's the guardians job. If guardians do their job well, summoners will be safe! Right? Right!?
Kimahri: It's quiet. Kimahri goes now.
[The party goes to the Sanctum.]
Rikku: Yuna, please be here!
Kimahri: Yuna!
[A Barthello-less Dona walks over.]
Dona: She's not here. Hello again. Wait there until we have performed the sending.
Isaaru: They died...protecting us. It's not much, but the least we can do is give them a proper sending.
Link: ...
[Isaaru and Dona begin a sending and Pacce runs over to Link.]
Pacce: Hey, what's "sacrificed"? The Al Bhed said summoners were being 'sacrificed.' That summoners shouldn't have to do a pilgrimage...
Link: Why couldn't they trust guardians to protect the summoners? The Al Bhed had no right stopping their pilgrimage!
Rikku: The pilgrimages have to stop! If they don't, and they get to Hyrule... They might defeat Sin. Yunie could...but then she... Yunie will die, you know? You know, don't you? Summoners journey to get the Final Aeon. Yuna told you, didn't she? With the Final Aeon, she can beat Sin. But then...but then... If she calls it, the Final Aeon's going to kill her! Even if she defeats Sin, it will kill Yunie too, you know!
Link: So... was I... the only one who didn't know? Was it hidden on purpose?
Wakka: We weren't hiding it...
Lulu: It was just...too hard to say.
Link: Lulu! How could you? How could you? Isn't she like a sister to you? I thought you were family! Why don't you do something, Wakka?
Lulu: Don't you think we tried to stop her? She follows...her heart.
Wakka: Yuna, she knew what she was doing when she chose to become a summoner. To face Sin, ya? Yuna knew!
Rikku: But Wakka, that's just totally wrong! Summoners shouldn't have to sacrifice themselves...just so the rest of Spira can be happy, right?
[A large ape-monster appears. Issaru and Dona walk over.]
Isaaru: But that is our choice...
Dona: We all live in fear of Sin. You know that.
Isaaru: 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!
[Summoned aeons start to appear. Link runs to Valefor, punching its stomach.]
Link: And I've been telling Yuna... Let's go to Hyrule together! Let's beat Sin! I told her all the things we could... and i didn't know a damn thing! But Yuna, she'd...just smile.
[Flashback to Luca, after Auron's joined.]
Yuna: Hey, watch!
[She blows into the grass whistle.]
Link: You've gotten good at that...
Yuna: You sound sad.
Link: ... I guess so.
Yuna: Wanna scream?
Link: ... I don't think that's going to help this time around.
Yuna: You know what? It's embarrassing to say this myself... But summoners and their guardians are kind of like Spira's ray of light. A lot of people in Spira depend on us. I learned to practice smiling when I'm sad, you know? I know it's hard.
Link: Yeah... I get it.
Yuna: Right. Now, let's see what you can do! I want my journey to be full of laughter.
[The flashback ends.]
Link: No more! I swear to Nayru I won't let her die! I will find her!
(Well, that was a tear-jerker folks. I sure hope Yuna can be found safe and sound It looks like Link might be back on track as the Hero the Goddesses of Hyrule intended. Join us next time and lets see if our hero's can escape Home and be able to track down Yuna!)