I dont own Yu-Gi-Oh! or Final Fantasy. Beware corse language in certain parts!
Chapter 20: Blitzball Finals! Part 1 - Heart of the Underdogs
It was several minutes after the Tag Team match had finished and Tara and I were now back in the antechamber resting. Tara had been enjoying the cheers of the crowd but I quickly left. Maester Mika announcing me directly as the Dark Warrior had sent Luca into a frenzy, I could actually hear the people outside shouting to be let in the antechambers despite the distance they were away from us. It staggered me how quickly the news had travelled, for since now the tournament had finished, the monitor in our room was displaying Luca and citizen reactions to the tournament with me being the hot topic. It was actually quite unnevering.
However the fact remained people knew now, and I was convinced Sephiroth had something to do with it. It would be against his plans to let this happen for it essentially turned me into a world wide celebrity, and then killing me for my power would clearly be an obstacle no matter how anyone looked at it. So the question remained, why would he let it happen?
Id noticed something too, the marks from Ultimate Dragon had remained on the back of my hands, burned into my flesh like a tatoo. They actually looked really cool to be honest, but after checking a mirror, I'd noticed the one on my forehead had gone. That part wasnt so bad, since a tatoo on my face would be rather hard to disguise... plus it had actually freaked Tara out a bit. Speaking of which...
She was sat in her own thoughts on the chair across the room for me and had not said a single word to me since we left the arena. I could tell she wasnt angry anymore, it was something else. I decided after enough silence to broach the subject.
"Well you did ask me before..." I smile. "Whats the matter?" I ask.
She seemed startled for a moment as I pulled her from her own little world, before she spoke slowly.
"Its nothing" She said simply.
Shaking my head, I realise I have an ace in the hole, as I take a card from my Extra Deck and slide it across the table to her.
"For you" I smile.
As she looked down at the card on the table, her solemn expression was quickly changed with a broad smile of glee as she picked up Neos Wiseman, admiring the card.
"Theres the Tara I know" I smile.
"Dont get clever" she smirked.
Chuckling for a moment I sat back and continued
"So do I get an answer now?"
Still smiling at her new card, she quickly placed it in he Extra Deck as she spoke.
"Its just... you unsealed Super Fusion" She spoke
"What of it?" I ask curious.
"Well... Jaden told me a long time ago he sealed it for it had immense powers... Power to warp even reality together or something. He sealed it after he had used it and gave it to me to pass on... onto the Dark Warrior to unseal"
"Why me?" I ask.
"I dont know" She said shaking her head. "He told me only you could unseal it. He never said it was you by name of course, and as much as I did believe you were the Dark Warrior, there was always a small part of me thinking it was too good to be true"
"Charming" I reply back sarcastically.
"Hey!" She retorted. "Its nothing like that! Its just different from believing in something to actually having it confirmed in every way. Jaden has never lied to me, neither Jesse. So thats how I know for certain who you are... and why we will soon be free of Sin"
"Pressure much?" I smirk.
"Pressure?" She said raising an eyebrow. "You wield Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. You could destroy Sin with a sneeze with something that strong!"
"Yea about that" I say taking Ultimate Dragon out. "Tara... Ultimate Dragon has no effect, yet in that duel it had one, I saw it on the card, yet its gone now" I say sliding the card across the table to her.
For a moment she faultered as she reached forward to look at the card, as if the card itself would reach out and bite her. However she overcame it and picked the card up, reading it.
"Its Super Fusion... it has to be" She said almost in a whisper.
"Whats that?" I ask.
"Like I said, Jaden said this card could warp realitys... maybe it has some power over Duel Monsters... like giving your monster its effect"
"I think your right" I say thinking back to the duel. "I knew summoning Ultimate Dragon would win me the duel, but I didnt even know about its effect until I read it... maybe its some sort of sign?"
"A pretty powerful one" Tara remarked, before smirking. "You did beat them both pretty bad" She sniggered handing back the card.
"They had it coming" I smirk. "And it looks like we are reigning champions now. We gonna defend our titles next year?"
"Absolutely" She smiled.
Just then there was a knock at the door. Standing up I answered it quickly, and was greeted by a young man in a Yevon gown. He looked quite nervous at seeing me.
"Package from Maester Mika for the winners of the tournament!" He said
"What is it?" I say, noticing a box which he handed me.
"Errr... I errrrrrr" He said stammering.
"Well tell him thank you all the same" I say shaking my head
"Yes sir Mr Dark Warrior!" He said before dissappearing almost in a flee like fashion.
Shutting the door I shook my head and moved back to the table setting down the box. Tara was sat giggling to herself.
"You know your gonna get that all the time now" She smirked.
"Its gonna get old really fast" I sigh.
"Well be thankful they all see you in a good way! Anyway, whats in the box?"
Opening it at her request, I see they are Duel Monster cards, seven in total. Quickly turning them over, I see they are all blank as well. Sighing I shake my head yet again.
"And this is getting old even faster" I say.
"Why?" She said looking over at the cards. "Oohhhhh I see"
"What sort of winning gift is this?" I ask frustrated.
"Beats me" Tara said shrugging.
"So how do you want to divide these up? You can take four if you want" I say turning the box round to her.
"No" She said turning them back. "You take them all" She smiled
"Yea like thats fair" I reply.
"Im serious" She said. "Even though you did piss me off for the first few duels, the fact remains you beat every single duelist we faced by yourself in one turn. You can take them" She smiled. "Anyway... Neos Wiseman is prize enough for me"
Stunned at her generosity, I scoop up the cards and put them in my pocket, since I had no idea what they were to start off with. Just then there was another knock at the door.
"Busy day" I say
Turning round I move to open it and was greeted by the smiling face of Yuna beaming away at the door. The raven haired Lulu was stood behind her along with Kimahri, and as I moved to allow them in, Yuna couldnt contain her excitement.
"You won! Your the new champions!" She smiled.
"Of course" Tara smiled in return, as the sisters embraced.
"A most impressive display" Lulu added before regarding me. "And you Kaiser... summoning not one but three Blue-Eyes White Dragons before fusing them together was most... suprising"
"Suprising to me too... just thank Tara for giving me Super Fusion"
"Is that so?" Lulu said looking at Tara, to which a sly smile was her response.
"So where are the others?" I ask noticing they were absent.
"They went to the match pairings" Yuna said. "Nomi went too, Tidus said he would look after him while you were busy"
"How thoughtful of him" I smirk.
"Thats where we are going next" Yuna adds. "Plus I heard someone say they saw Sir Auron in a cafe that Tidus mentioned. I was going to see if he would come with me to check it out. Want to come?" She asked sweetly. "You have a great many fans that want to see you both"
"Not me" Tara said. "Im tired anyway, think im gonna have a nap before the Blitzball games start and the aftershow."
"Oh ok" Yuna said before looking at me. "Care to join us then Kaiser?"
"Sure why not" I smile.
"Then lets go!" Yuna says extending an arm in the air. "Have a good rest Tara" Yuna said before hugging her sister once again.
Yuna quickly led the group out of the door, while I began to exit last.
"Kaiser" Tara said
Looking around, she beckoned me to come over. As I approached she took my hand and kissed me fondly on the cheek.
"That was a lovely gift... and a great delivery method" She added.
"Yours was far better... it was what won us the duel" I say.
"Have a good time" She smiled before letting me go.
As I walked away, she spoke once more.
"Kaiser... do you like singers?"
"Singers? What do you mean?" I ask
"You know, singers. There is a final end to both tournaments with a Songstress after they are done" She smiled.
"Well..." I say not sure how to respond. "I like good singers... but the singers themselves are usually arrogant and up themselves. Much like the company of Orion and Alessa"
"Oh" She said simply before looking away. "Ill see you later"
Confused as to her line of questioning, I left the room.
Kaiser had already left, but as he had now gone and the door was closed, a single tear fell from Tara's face onto the back of her hand, as she sobbed quietly.
A few minutes later we arrived at the Auroch's locker room. Yuna had managed to avoid us all the crowds through the stadium looking for an audience with the 'Dark Warrior' and I was very grateful. Yuna opened the door to the Auroch's room to find Tidus near a bench.
"There you are!" She said entering the room followed by Lulu. "Someone said they saw Sir Auron in a café!"
"Au-Auron?" Tidus said half stammering.
"Yes, Sir Auron! Let's go find him!" Yuna said standing by the door.
Seeing that Kimahri was waiting vigilant outside, I allowed myself to enter the locker room to a cheer from the Aurochs.
"Our Champion is here!" Wakka exclaimed.
Blushing for a moment, I couldnt look at them and turned away slightly while Yuna giggled.
"Well you know what that means Wakka, you cant let the side down! You gotta win!" I reply back a few moments later.
"Talk about pressure!" He said putting his head in his hands.
It took another half a second before Nomi had flung himself across the room and wrapped his arms around my legs.
"That was so cool! Your Blue-Eyes are great! Can I have one?! Can I Can I?!"
Tussling his hair I managed to push him off and shake my head to which he pouts in response. Tidus had come across to me at this point.
"That was a pretty tight duel" He smiled extending a fist.
A clash of fists followed as I smiled.
"You get the same as Wakka, you best win!" I reply
"Like we could loose now!" He smiled.
"So we going?" I say. "I need some air... you too kid" I smile at Nomi.
Nomi didnt need to be told twice and darted out of the door, while Tidus nodded as we made to leave
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! The game starts like real soon! C-Come back quick, ya?" Wakka said almost shaking
"Hey, I'll be back." Tidus smirked
"Yeah, okay." Wakka said weakley.
"Wakka... you look like your about to have a stroke" I say raising an eyebrow
"Hes right" Tidus said "You're stiff, man." To which Wakka immediately seemed to relax his his facial posture "No, no, not your face. Just breathe out, relax. Like this. Just breathe, yeah!" Tidus said trying to calm him down.
Yuna found this highly amusing as she was giggling to herself, while Lulu shook her head and I facepalmed.
A few moments later we were outside the changing room. Lulu had decided to stay with Wakka to keep him 'calm' while the rest of us headed out to find Auron.
"Maybe now we can find Sir Jecht." Yuna said
"Huh? How?" Tidus asked looking confused
"Along with Tara's father as Duelist, Sir Auron was also my father's Guardian. So, he might know where Sir Jecht is. Let's go now! C'mon Nomi!" She said before grabbing Nomi's hand and running out of the stadium with Kimahri stomping along behind them.
"Well that was strange" I say raising an eyebrow.
"You got me" He added.
"Maybe I can meet the mysterious Auron" I smile
"Yea... come on lets go"
It was then that Tidus noticed the back of my hands.
"Where did they come from?" He asked.
"Did you not notice me gasping in agony in that duel at one point?" I said sarcastically.
"Well yea... but I couldnt really see them from in the stands"
"Well it seems like rather a interesting gift from my Ultimate Dragon" I reply looking at my hands
"Strange gift more like" He said raising an eyebrow
"And painful too... I think ill consider them lucky charms. Anyway, lets find this Auron of yours" I said as we both went after Yuna
"It didn't even occur to me to thnk that the Auron Yuna was talking about... and the one that I knew from Zanarkand could be two different people. I don't know why, but I knew it was the same guy. I knew it was the same Auron... The same person I finally realised despite all his changes... was the same Kaiser after all"
"I knew before I even heard about Yuna's rumour that Auron was here... even if we wouldnt see him for a while. If there was an ally I would need in the coming fight against Sephiroth it was Auron. But I did feel some concern. Auron was an unsent, and could see through a great many things, plus the fact he was quite clever in his deductions... could he see through my charade?"
As we were walking out of the locker room area, two Al Bhed Psyches were talking next to a wall.
"Y myto summoner!" One said
"Fa sicd nabund." The other said.
Tidus immediately took an interest and wandered over.
"Hey! Al Bhed Psyches, right? Some Al Bhed saved me and my friend the other day, and... This girl Rikku gave us food and..." He said trailing off.
"Tidus" I sigh.
"Uh... You don't understand me, do you?" He added.
"I think thats clear now" I add shaking my head
"Uh, anyway... If you meet Rikku, tell her thanks for us. Oh, and as for the first game? May the best team win!"
Rolling my eyes we both walk away from the mute pair, we failed to hear one of them speak as we walked away
"Dark Warrior"
A few minutes later we leave the stadium to see Yuna crowded by a large group of people with Kimahri watching over her. As we walk up to them, the crowd seems to quickly change thier interests as they see me and immediately I am swamped with screaming people with all sorts of various requests and questions. Shielding myself to protect them from poking and prodding me, I gasp for a moment as a large shape appeared in my vision to see... Kimahri. He had positioned himself infront of me and was standing menacing the crowd to avoid entering my personal space
"I'm sorry, please let me through." I heard Yuna say pushing through the crowd and grabbing my arm "Hey, let's go." She said pulling me away.
The crowd seemed to follow for a few minutes but Kimahri giving them looks seemed to dispel thier courage as they dispersed shortly after
"You're both really famous!" Tidus said
"Can you tell how much I love it?" I sigh.
"Well it comes with the territory" Yuna giggles.
"Maybe they can take my picture with you all!" Nomi says giggling.
"Where did you come from?" I say noticing him again.
"I hid from the crowd" He smiled.
Yuna giggles in response and begins to walk away, then looks troubled
"I hope we don't get seperated." She said
"Yuna!" Tidus said before whistling. "Just remember our call sign!"
"Yes sir!" She says again before we move on.
We walked through Luca for quite a while heading towards the cafe that Yuna had mentioned. However along the way something caught my eye.
"Guys, give me a few minutes?" I ask.
"Whats the matter Kaiser?" Tidus asked.
"Oh just a shop I want to check out. I wont be long"
"We will have a look in a few shops here" Yuna smiles before I head off.
A doorbell chimed as I entered the shop and I took a look around. It was a weapons shop, filled with various antique armors as well as weapons of all shapes and sizes. However what had caught my eye was in the window. Scabbards for swords. Walking towards the counter a middle aged man sees me approach and goes white at seeing my approach.
"Dark Warrior!" He gasped.
"Yea yea" I say shaking my head. "Listen, I need a good scabbard for my sword here to fit on my back" I say pointing at my back. "As you can see the belts arent exactly practical"
"Yes sir! Anything! Have what you want!" He said almost exploding.
"Look" I say sighing. "Just can you help me or not?" I ask getting annoyed.
"Why of course!" He said in a fluster of movement. "Please remove your coat and and sword and I shall measure immediately!"
Rolling my eyes I proceed with his request and spend the next few minutes watching him working like a man possessed. He took measurements from my body as well as my coat and sword. A second later however he gathered various cutting knives and started to slice into my coat!
"Whoa whoa!" I say moving forward.
"Please Dark Warrior! This will be to your uttmost satisfaction!" He added without stopping.
Shrugging I allowed him to continue, and not thirty minutes later he had finished everything after a few dashes into the back of the shop with my coat and sword. The end results actually left me quite suprised.
My sword was now encased in a shining blue and silver scabbard with brown straps that would fit around my shoulders and waist, allowing swift movements without being constricting. Further, he had created a hole in the back of my coat just below my neck line to allow me to draw my sword directly without having to remove it. He also seemed to have modified the blade to carry various enhancements that I could see were charged with power. I had to admit I was impressed.
"You clearly know I like Blade" I smirk.
"Pardon?" He asked confused.
"Nothing" I smile back. "Anway how much is..." I say trailing off.
I could have mentally slapped myself across the face at my own stupidity. I didnt have a single gil on me, and hadnt even bothered to ask if any of the others had some before I even walked in, and the man had clearly gone to a lot of trouble, however he answered my question first and prevented my embarrasment.
"I could not charge the Dark Warrior a single Gil!" He gushed with pride. "Ridding the world of Sin will be payment enough!"
"Thanks" I said quite touched by his generosity. "But I cant just take this after the work you put in" I offer.
"Well if you insist Mr Dark Warrior Sir! How about some publicity photos for my shop?! I will have people flocking all the way from Bevelle knowing the Dark Warrior shopped here!"
I'd never had a lot of money in my life and I was damn sure that I wasnt gonna at least do something for this man for his services so reluctantly I agreed. The next thirty minutes served me posing in various ways with my sword as well as my Duel Disk. The man was extatic at the pictures he was taking, and I could almost see them in my mind being blown up to be put up outside his shop for the world to see. But I didnt really care, it was more than a good deal for me. After he was finished I bid him fare well before departing.
Realising how much time had passed, I found the others quickly, who clearly noticed my change.
"Someone's been busy" Tidus said moving behind me. "New styles to your clothes and now that scabbard you wanted. You know thats actually really cool... When did you find time to alter your clothes anyway?" He added as he looked.
"Dont ask..." I say before continuing on. "Functionality and a good addition to my already good style though." I smirk.
"How much did it cost?" Yuna added
"Publicity photos" I said looking at the floor
"Really?" She said giggling, along with Nomi stood near her.
"Dont even go there" I said glaring at Tidus who was ready to jump in with a comment
Shaking his head and holding his hands up, we all laughed before continuing on. Shortly after we were near the fountain square that looked like a sword where the cafe was Yuna mentioned. Yuna seemed to have taken quite a shine to Nomi and was holding his hand as they walked through the town.
"Why does that fountain sword remind me of Alexandria?" I think with a smile, recalling the Gaian city.
"Whoa! This is a pretty big town!" Tidus said suddenly.
"Luca is the second largest city in Spira." Yuna said admiring the buildings.
"I thought every town was little-you know, like Besaid and Kilika."
"Towns don't usually get bigger than that." Yuna says
"Sadly" I add
"Because when a lot of people start to gather..." She continues
"Sin...?" Tidus finishes.
Yuna merely nodded and gave a 'hmm' noise in response.
"What about Luca? It's safe here?" Tidus asks looking at us both.
"It's not any different, but the stadium is here. The Crusaders fight to protect it with all their strength." Yuna says looking back to where the stadium was
"They protect the stadium?" Tidus asks confused.
"Is it that much of a suprise?" I say
"Blitzball and Duel Monster are really the only entertainment that we have. Spira's a little short on fun these days." Yuna sighed.
"Whoa! Talk about pressure!" Tidus exclaimed.
"Well just do what Tara and I did and kick their arses" I smirk
"That's right!" Yuna agreed grinning at me before looking back to Tidus. "Is Zanarkand like this, too?"
"Zanarkand?" Nomi asks speaking up.
"Its where Tidus is from" Yuna smiles. "Isnt that right?"
"Yea" He spoke. "And, there are more buildings. All tall ones and cramped together." Tidus said recalling.
"Sounds like where im from" I think to myself, resisting the urge to speak.
"They must be so tall! Don't you ever get dizzy?" Yuna says almost looking dizzy herself.
"You get dizzy looking at tall buildings?" I ask raising an eyebrow, to which Tidus laughs.
"Hey!" she exclaimed looking annoyed at me. "Anyway, let's go find Sir Auron!"
With a spring in her step we followed after her and entered the cafe. Inside actually looked more like a bar, since there was a cicular bar in the centre, surrounded by standing tables with various people drinking and talking paying us no notice fortunately. The roof was completely covered in various flags depicting the various logos' of the Blitzball teams.
"Auron's not here." Tidus says suddenly with a sigh.
Giving a 'hmm' once again, Yuna moves across the bar to question people for Auron taking Nomi with her, while Kimahri enters pushing past us to walk towards a corner of the bar, and I realise why, two other Ronso are there who is making a bee line for.
"I think we best get over there Tye" I say before dragging him off.
As we walk across, one of the Ronso was already talking to Kimahri who was standing ridgid on the spot
"Why not talk, Kimahri? Not see Yenke for ten years! Say something!" The first one said.
I knew the speaking one to be Biran Ronso, while the other was Yenke. Both were a lot bigger than Kimahri which was hard to believe in person. The both wore similiar to Kimahri but with a different colour scheme, with Biran having bright yellow hair and fur on, sporting various other red and yellow colour, while Yenke had brown hair and sported a brown and blue colour. Plus it was easy to notice that unlike Kimahri, they both have fully pointed horns, unlike Kimahri's broken horn
"Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?" Yenke added
"Leave Kimahri, Yenke. Kimahri is small Ronso. Kimahri so small can't see Yenke and Biran's faces." Biran said trying to provoke Kimahri.
"Kimahri forget Ronso friends? We taught you much at time of horn-molt! Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso." Yenke added.
With much suprise, it was then that Biran noticed me stood behind Kimahri.
"Biran sees Kimahri found strong friend! Dark Warrior of Yevon!" Biran says in my direction.
"Yenke approve! Great honour to travel with Dark Warrior!" Yenke adds.
"Or maybe Kimahri weakling who hide behind Dark Warrior" Biran says giving Kimahri a shove.
"Take 'em on!" Tidus says suddenly.
"Here we go" I say sadly.
Yenke gives a mocking laugh to which Kimahri responds with an uppercut knocking the larger Ronso clean out, while the rest of the cafe gasps in suprise
"Take it outside! The tournament's starting, you hear?" The owner says.
The distraction as he turned his head was enough that Biran punches Kimahri in the side of the face, who faulters for a moment but doesnt fall down
"The game!" Tidus says in a panic.
Back in the stadium, Measter Mika was addressing the crowd once again that were cheering wildly as the Blitz Sphere had already been put up after the Duel tournament. Sephiroth was sat by his side, looking rather bored at the whole spectacle.
"After such a gripping Duel Monsters tournament, let our second event commence! Dexterity, power and skill, let all our assembled teams show thier valour to us and give us a fine closing tournament on the day that has brought the Dark Warrior into our midst! On behalf of Spira, we dedicate this fine tournament to him! So Contestants! Show Spira your might in his name! May Yevon be with you!"
As the sphere begins to fill with water, the crowd goes wild as in just a few moments it is filled completely as the teams begin to enter quickly. Wakka and the Aurochs are on one side while the Al Bhed Psyches are on the other. Meeting in the middle Wakka and an Al Bhed wait as the ball is ejected into the air before they both swim up for it.
Back in the cafe I was face palming like there was no tomorrow.
"Oh for fucks sake" I say almost in a spit. "Will everyone stop using me as some sort of status symbol?!"
I had completely forgot about the Ronso face up until Tidus spoke up.
"Kimahri! Kaiser! Yuna and Nomi are gone!"
Kimahri once again looks in suprise at Tidus and Biran gets another sucker punch in staggering Kimahri, but without retaliation we all run from the cafe, while I was mentally cursing myself I had let this happen being wrapped up in Mika's speech. As we exited, Lulu was quickly approaching, looking more than slightly annoyed
"Where in Spira have you been!?" She said to us all
"Huh?" Tidus asks, clearly having a brain fart moment.
"Yuna's been kidnapped by the Al Bhed Psyches, and it appears they have taken Nomi too." Lulu hissed "In exchange for thier safe return, they want the Aurochs to lose."
"What!?" Tidus exclaimed.
"Are you sure you didnt get punched instead of Kimahri?!" I added at his stupidity.
"If they're only blitzball players" Lulu interrupted "I doubt they'd do anything drastic. But we shouldn't take chances. Let's go get them. Kaiser, Kimahri, with me, I will lead the way." She said
"I'm going too! This will be no problem!" He said already drawing his own sword. "They're telling the Aurochs to throw the game, as if they needed to! I mean, how good a team can they be?"
"Wakka said the same thing." Lulu said "He'll take care of the game. We should go get Yuna and Nomi. The Al Bhed boat is in dock four. Let's go."
Charging through Luca, the four of us head back towards the docks while I had drawn my sword from my new scabbard quickly already feeling its enhancements as it hummed with power. As we moved towards the docks, I could see several shapes heading our way
"Combat time!" I yell out with a grin.
The shapes in question were robots, a total of four of the and they were blue in colour with short stumpy legs and glowing red eyes. Despite having only one arm, the remaining arm was quite long for its size and sported a rather nasty looking blade on the end.
"Pitiful" Lulu hissed as with a wave of her arm she cast a Thunder spell on one of them which discharged across its body as it convulsed and dropped to pieces quickly.
The second one moved to enact vengance on Lulu as it charged her with its blade. The Mage did not move fast enough as the blade approached her, but it was stopped by Kimahri's lance, who sheared the Machina in two. Tidus and I were squaring off against the last two, as Tidus was dodging around trying to get round its blade arm, and after a failed lunge he doged to the left and sliced its arm clean off before following up with a decapitating strike. I had actually been toying with mine, its speed was poor, and I was getting to grips with the modifications to my sword. After seeing the others finish theirs, I entered striking range and slashed down at it cleaving it in two. Stepping back I look at my blade impressed, as clearly a Piercing ability had been added.
"The Al Bhed were expecting us" Lulu mused.
Seeing a TV screen on the dock, we could see the game was tied 2-2 as the announcers were calling the match.
"The Aurochs are keeping the score tied with some excellent defense, folks!" Bobba says
Inside the sphere, Wakka catches the ball just as three Al Bhed converge on him from all side. The centre one smashes straight into him making Wakka drop the ball in pain as the Al Bhed capitalise.
"Ow! He'll feel that one in the morning!" Bobba adds.
"But the referee doesn't call the foul! Wakka's taking a real beating out there." Jimma continues.
"Still in there!" Tidus says punching the air.
"But that really didnt look pleasant" I say wincing for Wakka.
"He won't last. Wakka's always like that." Lulu says shaking her head.
"Ouch." Tidus utters while I simply shake my head.
"Let's go" Lulu adds.
Lulu beckoned for us to continue as we moved around the docks quickly. More machina kept baring our path each time we destroyed them, slowing us down considerabley. In the end as we just reached dock 4, a total of fifteen Machina bared our path. Looking onward, I could see the Al Bhed ship was beginning to depart. Realising we had little time, I quickly sheathed my blade before activing my Duel Disk. Drawing a card, I quickly play it.
"Now appear Monster of my Soul! I summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" I declare.
My marks on my hands immediately glowed as in a shower of pyreflies the massive Dragon roared into existence once more above the Luca docks.
"Wipe them all out Blue-Eyes! Horibo No Burst Stream!"
With a roar Blue-Eyes charged up its energy ball with with a mighty blast shot it into the crowd of machina were it exploded with massive force, outright incinerating half the machina while splitting apart the rest of the machina to fly in all directions.
"Talk about an Overkill!" Tidus says with a smile.
"We dont have the time to fight them!" I shout. "The boat is going! Lets go!"
Running across the dock, the boat was starting to move away. Tidus and Kimahri lept from the dock to land nimbly on the deck easily. I was following behind but saw Lulu lagging. The problem was not her speed, but rather running in that dress she wore. In the end I ran back for her and grabbed her, and with a mighty leap, threw us both in the air to the deck to land right on the end. Pushing herself away, she looked slightly annoyed.
"There was no need" She said with a glare. "But thank you all the same"
"Thank me in a minute" I say seeing the end of the deck opening. "Look over there!"
Appearing from inside the hold of the Al Bhed ship was a massive Machina. It walked on a tri-pod set of legs with a large spherical body and massive armor covered arms that it held infront of it for protection. A massive set of turbines were on its shoulders which safely nessled a small head that cast its gaze upon us all as it moved to attack. However I already knew there was an ace in the hole here, casting my gaze to the right hand side of the ship, I could see a crane the Al Bhed used to excavate from the sea floor, and I knew we could use it to our advantage.
"Tidus! Kimahri! Keep that thing busy! Lulu and I got this one!"
"Got it!" Tidus shouted back charging the robot while Kimahri followed suit.
Lulu had raised an eyebrow at me for a moment before quickly joining me over at the crane. Looking at it, she looks towards the Oblitzerator and understands my plan immediately. I give it a kick quickly before speaking.
"Its not working. Looks like its out of power, wanna help me give it a kickstart with my sword?"
Nodding with a wicked grin, she quickly lifted her arm in the air and bringing it down a loud clap of thunder exploded in the air as a lightning bolt hit my sword, almost jarring me in the process. But the spell had done what it needed to, as my sword was not charged with electricity. I quickly jammed it into the machine that sparked violently in process but power had been restored. Quickly jumping into the chair, Lulu had already rejoined the fight and was charging and firing off Thunder Spells at the Machina while I piloted the controls.
The battle had not been going well for Tidus and Kimahri while Lulu and I were busy, as each time the pair tried to get in close to the robot, it was firing Blitzballs through shoots in its arms while the pair were throwing themselves across the deck to avoid being hit. Normally a Blitzball hit wouldnt be too much past a headache, but at the speed and force it was shooting them it could be deadly. Kimahri had been using his Lance to try and close the distance but the robot was making it difficult. However as it was focused on Kimahri, Tidus managed to slip under its vision and slice into the metal on its exposed mid section, making it make wierd noises as if it was in pain. Flailing its arms around it forced Tidus back as its turbines began to whirr faster. Then almost faster than light, it pelted the duo with Blitzballs mercilessly. The pair dodged as many as they can, but Tidus took one to the shoulder sending him spinning to the deck, while Kimahri took a couple in the chest. Roaring in rage, the Ronso quickly retaliated with a Seed Cannon attack, rocking the Oblitzerator back towards the hold of the deck.
Lulu joined the fray at this point rocking it further with a lightning strike, sending some of its systems out in the process. But the pain had only just arrived as a second later the crane arm had lowered down that I was piloting to grab the turbines on the Oblitzerators head, and with a mighty heave, it had pulled them from the Robot's body. Showers of sparks flew everywhere as it fell to its knees after a devestating attack, while Lulu had strolled up casually towards the Robot and raised her arm in the air. Bringing it down a second later a more powerful Thundara spell struck the robot, sending the life from it where it fell backwards on the deck. Kimahri ran foward quickly and heaved the massive machine into the water as if it were nothing before it sank in the harbour without a trace. I quickly jumped from the crane as Tidus and I cheered in triumph. Our joy was short lived as the door of the hold began to open.
But casually an Al Bhed fell down forwards unconscious as Yuna and Nomi strolled out. Lulu met Yuna with a hug as Nomi quickly ran forward and wrapped his arms around my legs
"I hope you hurt them." Lulu said to Yuna coldly.
"A little." Yuna said softly
"I kicked him in the shins!" Nomi said beaming.
"Good lad" I smirk tussling his hair.
At this point Tidus was examining the ship, as if he was looking for something
"What is it?" Yuna asked
"There were these Al Bhed that saved Kaiser and me when we first came to Spira. They took us on their ship, even gave us food. I was kinda hoping this was the same ship. But it's not. I wonder if they're all gone."
"Unlikely" I say looking towards him. "They were resilient, and I doubt they would have subcummed to that beast so easily"
"What happened?" Yuna enquired
"Sin came up near us. We got swallowed up in this whirlpool before we got to Besaid, but I don't know what happened to their ship." Tidus explained
"Um" Yuna said unsure. "Was there anyone called Cid on that ship?"
"I don't know. They were all speaking that Al Bhed language." He replied
"I see..." Yuna said looking deflated
"So who's Cid?" Tidus quickly enquired.
"He's my uncle, but I've never actually met him." She replied
"Wait." Tidus said putting the pieces together "That means you're Al Bhed, too, Yuna?"
"You clearly dont pay attention to ladies eyes Tye" I said with a smirk while Yuna smiled too.
"On my mother's side, yes." She continued "Cid is my mother's brother. He became distant after my mother married. But she told me to seek him out if I ever needed help."
"You're worried he was...?" Tidus realised.
"Of course she would be" I added quickly.
"Don't tell Wakka about Yuna's lineage." Lulu said quickly butting in. "The thing about Wakka, he never had much love for the Al Bhed."
"Whoa!" Tidus said practically jumping in the air "I gotta tell Wakka!"
"I thought I told you not to tell Wakka!" Lulu snapped back
"The game!" Yuna said realising.
"Wakka is waiting for the signal!" I cry out
"Oh!" Lulu said realising.
Moving quickly to the middle of the deck, Lulu raised her arm and casts a Fire spell in the air shining high above the docks above the stadium grounds...
In the Spherepool, Wakka still practically out of it after his tackle, looks up weakley at the light in the sky, and feeling a second wind pulls himself together as the Aurochs move into action.
"Thirty seconds left..." Bobba announces.
The Aurochs surge forward at the Al Bhed covering on all sides.
"The Aurochs are launching an all-out offensive!"
Wakka quickly swins through the centre defense as the ball is on thier side of the field
"A long pass from Letty!"
Wakka quickly pushes an Al Bhed out of the way to grab the ball
"It goes through!"
Meeting a final defender head on, Wakka almost uses the Al Bhed as a stepping stone to leap up over his head before firing the ball at the net
"He shoots!"
The keeper was completely unprepared and had no chance to try and save it
"Gooooooal! "Unbelievable! The Aurochs win the match, 3-2!"
The final seconds of the match click by as the Aurochs win thier first match!
"You came through Wakka" I smile. "Just as I knew you would" My words holding hidden meaning.
"We won!" Tidus followed up
"Yay!" Nomi added
"We did it! We're in the finals!" Yuna said clapping
"Not the most...graceful win." Lulu said folding her arms and shaking her head "If it was Chappu, he'd still be standing."
"Hey, aren't you being just a little unfair?" Tidus said defending Wakka
"Errr Tye" I said realising the look on Lulu's face
"Excuse me?" She said piercing him with a glare
"I know I could never take Chappu's place. You're the one who told Wakka that, right, Lulu? And I don't think Wakka would ever try to take Chappu's pl-"
"You don't want to finish that sentence." She said making the blitzer shrink back in fear.
"I did try to warn you" I said facepalming.
"Shes scary" Nomi says shrinking back behind me
Half an hour later Wakka is laid out on the bench in the Aurochs locker room, still feeling of the effect of his rough tackle while the Aurochs watch over thier fallen Captain.
"Sure you're all right, Cap'n?" Datta speaks up
"The game starts in a few minutes. You sure you okay?" Letty adds
"We're playing the Goers, too." Jassu sighs.
Wakka tries to get up picking up the ball, but he quickly falls back to the floor and drops it as rolls along the floor, but it is quickly stopped by Tidus who kicks it into his hands at the door
"Miss me?" He says smirking before throwing it to Datto. The rest of the group quickly walks in.
"Lady Yuna!" Datta exclaims.
"Are you okay?" Letty asks concerned.
"All this because of me." Yuna says looking down. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"How can you let some Al Bhed kidnap you?" Wakka said piping up
"Hey, let it go, all right?" Tidus says back to him
"Don't go near Al Bhed any more, okay? They're trouble." Wakka said laying back down.
"They arent all as you say Wakka" I add sternly, earning a simply 'hmmmm' in response.
A few minutes later, we are all outside the locker room, Tidus and Yuna converse briefly as I stand by the wall writing something discretley and shortly after the rest of the group heads to the stands while Tidus and Wakka remain with the rest of the Aurochs in the locker room
"The game starts soon. No time for warm-ups." Wakka says "Ready?"
"Lemme at 'em." Tidus says punching the air
"All right!" Wakka says standing up "I got something to tell you boys. After this game... I'm retiring. I promised myself this would be my last tournament. Win or lose, I'm quitting blitzball. But you know... Kaiser and Tara did thier part, so lets do ours and win!"
"Yeah!" Came a collective cry from the Aurochs
"A-Am I on the bench?" Datta asks noticing thier is one too many players
"I'm warming the bench. He's taking my place." Wakka says putting a hand on Tidus's shoulder "All right, boys, let's win this one! Let's make the Goers goners!"
"Let's blitz!" Tidus adds
Outside the locker room, Wakka is approaching Lulu
"I saw you floating there, on the sphere." Lulu says suddenly
"Hey, you weren't suppoed to see that." Wakka says shaking his head, before falling forward and landing on Lulu's shoulder who catches him.
"You really gave it your all, didn't you?" She says with a small smile.
In the antechamber, Tidus has hussled the Aurochs together in a group firing them up.
"All right, boys, what're we gonna do?" He asks
"Win!" They reply. "For Cap'n Wakka!"
Back with Lulu and Wakka the announcers have already begun talking once more as the game was getting ready.
"This is it, folks!" Bobba says "In just a few minutes, the championship game!"
Lulu and Wakka are looking at the wall where various inscriptions are laid out. They are looking at one in particular
My best memories are here. Wakka, Captain of the Aurochs.
Lulu quickly notices something else, and points it out to Wakka who notices it too.
My soul's evolution first came to your wonderful people here in this very stadium. I will always remember this day. Kaiser, The Dark Warrior
In the stadium the crowd is going wild, with me and the others in the stands cheering like madmen. I was actually quite suprised how exciting this was, since this would be the first Blitz game I would see first hand in this manner.
"But who could have imagined..." Bobba continues on "A championship game between these two teams? Our legendary Luca Goers going against... "the horrendously ill-fated Besaid Aurochs!"
Across the stadium, Auron walks up the stairs to take a seat in the stands, observing the stadium
"This looks like history in the making, Bobba." Jimma adds.
Inside the sphere pool the teams meet in the center of the bowl, while Bickson and Tidus meet on the front lines. Bickson laughs at Tidus while he is returned with a serious glare. Changing tack, Bickson offeres him a handshake to which Tidus goes to return, but Bickson quickly pulled it back to try and punch him to which Tidus dodges with ease.
"They're already going at it, folks!" Bobba says "The Goers are taunting the Aurochs!"
"Bastards" I sneer, with my eyes turning feral.
"And it's halftime!" Bobba suddenly says.
"The Goers are just playing great, Bobba. Really great." Jimma adds.
I sit back down in the stands and shake my head in frustration, simply because its true. Neither side had scored yet, but it was clear the Goers had been in control the entire first half keeping the Aurochs on the defensive. Even with Tidus he couldnt be everywhere at once, and was doing his best to just keep up with so many players as the rest of the Aurochs were easily being outclassed.
As the second half quickly got underway, the atmosphere had changed. The score was tied at 1-1 after Tidus equalised in a stunning Jecht shot shortly after the Goers had first scored to keep the Aurochs in high spirits, but he could only do so much. But the rest of the stadium despite such a thrilling play were turning...
"The fans are getting impatient! They're calling for some action!" Bobba calls out "The Aurochs' spirits are fading quickly! Are they going down without a fight?"
It seemed to be the trigger as the crowd began to chant for Wakka in unison
"Everyone seems to be calling for Wakka, folks!" Bobba says
Tidus seemed to notice in the pool as he suddenly starts to swin towards the exit near the bottom.
"Say... Where is that player going?" Bobba continues "He's leaving the sphere pool! He may be injured!"
In the locker room, Tidus is speaking with Wakka, and a few moments later Wakka leaves while Tidus waves to him.
"To be honest, I did kind of feel left out, but... It really was the Aurochs' and Wakka's show, after all." Tidus narrates.
"I did wonder the first time why you would miss out on the glory Tye..." I narrate "But I realise why... its just your a damn good friend to Wakka... and me"
Back in the stadium, the crowd suddenly errupted in cheers
"I wonder what's happening? The crowd is going wild!" Bobba says
However his question didnt go unanswered long as Wakka began to swim into the center of the pool
"Ah! It's Wakka! He's back on the field and ready to go! The Aurochs seem glad to have him back."
In the final few minutes of the game the Aurochs launched a surging counterstrike with Wakka back in the game, the spirits of the Aurochs were fired up to the maximum as with a massive final minute blitz, Wakka managed to slip past thier defensive line and score the match winning goal!
"Unbelievable!" Bobba exclaimed as the game finished "The Aurochs win, folks! This is one for the record books!"
The crowd was going absolutely wild at the Auroch's win while the rest of us were extatic too. I couldnt really contain myself, the last time I had seen them win was when I was in control, but to see them win for themselves truly was a sight to see.
Wakka in the sphere pool was floating and not moving, clearly tapped out from his exertion and his injury. Tidus quickly comes into his view, swimming towards him with a smile on his face while Wakka gives him a weak thumbs up.
Suddenly the stadium begins to scream in panic, as seemingley everywhere Fiends start pouring in and attacking anything that moves. In the sphere pool, Sahagin Chiefs quickly surround Tidus and Wakka who move to do battle with them.
"What's happening?" Lulu says suddenly.
"Its time" I think standing up and drawing my sword. "Combat time!" I yell out.
Around the stadium, many people are running away from a huge beast casually stalking forward while a figure in red stands defiant with a huge sword over his shoulder. The figure is Auron, and as it seems him standing there it roars in rage. Auron smirks and charges foward and decapitates the beast in one strike. Casually he continues forward as the fighting continues all around.
"Auron!" Tidus suddenly says appearing
"Sir Auron!" Wakka echoes
"So, you do know him." Tidus adds
"Yeah. Best guardian there ever was." Wakka says focusing on the attacking fiend.
However all of a sudden the trio were surrounded by a massive group of fiends.
"Hey, gimme a break!" Tidus said as they moved to battle the beasts.
Across the Stadium I was slashing away at any Fiend unlucky enough to cross my path. I was moving towards the Maesters stand where I knew Sephiroth was. The smug bastard was casually watching the mayhem I knew he had created in glee. However all of a sudden I notice his eyes staring at me, and he then quickly pointed in the sky above the sphere pool. Looking up I see a Machina is there, at least three times my size, but wearing a duel disk!
Snarling I feel my rage building and as the marks on my hands begin to glow, my eyes turn bright blue as I lept from the stadium into the air, my wings quickly appearing as I flew in the air towards the machina. As I approached both our duel disks activated in reponse.
"Enemy." The machina said in a squeaky voice. "Kaiser. Dark Warrior.. Soul Monstrer, Blue-Eyes White Dragon... Defeat at all costs" It said drawing its opening hand
"Try it!" I declare doing the same.
"DUEL!"
A sky duel follows in the next chapter as Kaiser goes up against the Duel Bot while the others fight to keep control in the stadium!