47: Sea Skirmish
Auron stood on Besaid's understated pier, regarding the ill-fitted warship docked there. It was a magnificent ship – three masts, freshly painted and equipped with the crusaders' best weaponry. Gleaming cannons lined the hull of the ship; the decorative religious embossing on them did little to hide Yevon's blatant hypocrisy on display. Anyone even remotely familiar with the Teachings could see that the canons were machina, plain and simple.
"May I be frank, Captain Hewley?" he said after a moment.
The dark-haired man who stood across from him nodded. "Of course, Sir Auron. Speak your mind."
"This is a terrible idea."
Hewley's expression melted into indignation, presumably at Auron's blunt analysis.
"We can't accept your offer. It would put Lord Braska in too much danger, to say nothing of Luca. Sin has already been spotted off its coast. Twice. You should return to your post and defend the city, especially with the Tournament ongoing."
Hewley worked his jaw. "The crusaders are offering Lord Braska our flagship specifically for his protection. We can't allow another incident like the Pualu to occur. Sir."
Auron shook his head in disbelief. "It doesn't matter if it's a flagship or a fisherman's junker. No vessel can stand alone against Sin."
"We won't be alone. The crew consists of our best warriors, and Lord Braska will be able to support us with his aeons as well," Hewley insisted. "We are to escort him safely to Bevelle. If I may be frank, you don't have a choice in the matter; your summoner will decide."
Auron's expression turned black, and Braska put a hand on his shoulder. "Captain," he said to the crusader. "If we might have a moment alone?"
"We shall wait as long as you require, Lord Braska," Hewley answered, bowing. He straightened, gave them a perfunctory nod, and returned to his vessel.
"What's the problem?" Jecht scratched his head, looking over the ship. "It looks pretty smooth compared to the other boats we rode on. Plus it's free, ain't it? Red carpet service, straight from Bevelle."
"That is exactly what worries me." Auron scowled.
Rikku rolled her eyes. "You think they'd try to assassinate Braska by sending him the crusaders' flagship? That's a stretch, even for me."
"Not an assassination," Auron told them. "I do not doubt that their warship is formidable, nor that its crew is dedicated to anything other than Braska's success."
"But?" she pressed.
"Sin is always drawn to wherever too many people gather in one place, such as Luca during Tournament season. When the crusaders are united, they have a chance of defending the city with their fleet. Splitting their forces this way offers no one adequate protection."
"Does it matter in the end?" Braska asked. "Between Bevelle and Sin, one of them was bound to catch up with us. This is only one ship of many, Auron. Luca will remain safe under the watchful eyes of the crusader fleet, and the offer the good captain makes will ease our own journey towards Zanarkand." He sighed. "Not that it matters anymore; for better or worse, we have no choice. If the crusaders have stepped in publicly, no simple transport will agree to take us anywhere."
"At the cost of Luca's safety," Auron muttered, sour. Then he shook his head. "We'll do as you wish, my lord," he said, turning away. "Are we all prepared to leave Besaid?"
Rikku looked back at the beach. Ginnem and the children stood there, waving and smiling. "I wish we could've stayed a little longer."
Jecht lobbed the last signed blitzball towards his pint-sized fan club. "Remember what I said," he shouted. "Keep practicin' like I told ya and you'll take that Tournament one day!"
Braska returned Ginnem's eager waves with a pained expression. "As beautiful as Besaid is, I believe I am ready to move on. Shall we?" He boarded the ship and Jecht trailed after him.
Reluctantly, Rikku turned to follow – and bumped into Auron. His arms circled around her. "What's up?"
"If I find myself returning here with Yuna… I hope you will join me."
Rikku's mouth dropped open. "You want me to live here in Besaid with you?"
"Yevon, I hope it doesn't come to that," he said, pained. "But being with you might make it slightly more tolerable."
"We'll see," she said with a tiny smile. "Maybe we won't have to, right?" Rising to her tiptoes, she pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "But thank you for asking."
"Hnn," he said, before pulling away and leading them onto the ship.
Captain Hewley bowed in greeting. "I'm happy to see you've changed your mind," he said. "Welcome aboard Mi'ihen's Pride. It will be our honor to escort you to Bevelle, Lord Braska."
"Thank you," Braska returned the bow. "I pray for a safe and quick journey, that you may rejoin your companions in Luca as soon as possible."
The captain nodded, then signaled the nearby sailors. Mere minutes later, the ship pulled away from the pier, inching towards the open sea. Dark sails unfurled and caught the wind; Yevon's symbol was emblazoned in stark white, shining against the crisp blue sky.
Rikku shivered. "Catching a ride on a Yevonite ship to Bevelle? This really isn't how I thought my life would pan out."
"Keep on your guard," Auron said, visibly tense. "Even if this journey proves uneventful, I doubt our reception in Bevelle will be."
Rikku snorted to cover the discomfort his words prompted. "Ya think?"
"The crusaders have shown their hand in this as well," Auron continued. "It can't be a coincidence that Kinoc wants us to sail in on the flagship bearing all the things Bevelle abhors. Blitzball, an Al Bhed, and weapons that look like forbidden machina." He gestured at the ship's impressive array of cannons. "They're hoping to make a statement."
Jecht cracked his neck. "Stop worryin' so much. The question you're supposed to be askin' is if Bevelle can handle Team BARJ!"
She groaned. "Well, since even I can't handle that name – "
"There is no point in worrying now, regardless," Braska said. "This ship is sailing directly from Besaid to Bevelle, so we'll have many days to contemplate the fate that awaits us there. We may as well enjoy our time here while we have it."
"Kinda like a vacation cruise before the execution, huh?" She crossed her arms, unable to shake a steadily-growing feeling of unease. "Enjoy ourselves. Sure. What could go wrong?"
.x.x.x.
In hindsight, Rikku wondered if she'd jinxed it.
They'd made it past Kilika without incident. The route their captain chose followed the inner coastline and took them past Luca along the side nearest the Moonflow. From there, it would take a few days before they'd reach one of Bevelle's grand ports close to the Calm Lands; a much shorter and easier trip than they'd first traversed on foot.
At least, that had been the plan.
Sin tended to change the best laid plans.
The violent sea and her churning stomach indicated that, as Auron had predicted, things were definitely not going according to plan. On the plus side, being attacked by Sin was becoming less and less of a shock each time it happened.
"Are you kidding me?" she groused as she scrambled across the deck, punching her way through the insect-like Sinspawn raining down. "We have to fight this thing on the water again?" She skidded to a stop as four more pods slammed in front of her, holding the Godhand ready. "You're getting in my way," she growled, striking one. It blasted into pieces before it could hatch.
"Rikku!" Auron appeared at her side, focused as ever, and she felt some of her fury subsiding. "Don't waste your time on these. Get to Braska and protect him!" He swung his sword and leapt into the air, driving the weapon into the deck as he landed on one knee. A wave of pressure radiated outwards from the strike, blasting the minor fiends away.
Dragon Fang, she thought as his move cleared the deck.
"Go," he said, rising to his feet. "And don't fall overboard this time," he added with a tight smile. It fell from his face as he joined the other soldiers struggling with the next volley of landing fiends.
"Watch yourself!" she shouted, turning to find Braska before something less friendly did. She sighed in relief as she spotted him, casting an array of protective spells over the crew while Jecht stood near, keeping the fiends away.
"Blondie!" Jecht yelled, grunting as he destroyed another spawn. "You gonna stop slackin' and give us a hand here?"
"You look like you're doing fine on your own, you know." She dodged another crusader who was running past. They really had put their best on the ship; the soldiers were holding their own with minimal help from Braska and Auron. They didn't actually need more offensive power on the deck, at least not against the small fiends. Nodding, she activated her dressphere and felt Lenne stir as she transformed.
"That getup? You gonna sing them a lullaby?" Jecht scoffed when the light faded.
"Not a bad idea," Rikku hummed. "But, I don't need to sing for that." She walked delicately along her summoned pattern, then picked up the pace, ignoring her microphone in favor of stepping into a complicated dance. The spell's power rolled out in waves under her feet.
It took hold rapidly; Sinspawn across the deck collapsed into dozing heaps, much to the surprise of the soldiers. Their confusion didn't last long; soon, there were clouds of pyreflies floating through the air as the crusaders took advantage of the respite.
"Man the guns!" Auron shouted to the rushing crew. Several coordinated groups of soldiers ensured that the cannons were ready to fire. Unlike the previous attack, there were no milling, terrified passengers to account for. They really were on a warship, and every movement was efficient and calculated.
Rikku shivered. And we're going to battle Sin again. Can I be a terrified passenger instead of a soldier, maybe? Slowing her dance, she watched the enormous fin bobbing through the water towards the ship. We're gonna need a different strategy. What would Auron do?
She sought him out on the deck. He was helping one of the gunner teams, pointing the weapon at Sin and instructing them on where best to direct their fire.
That's it! She changed the magic pattern with a sweep of her foot, slowing down and shifting the spell as she adjusted her dance style.
"Whoa," Jech observed. "That somethin' you come up with for Auron?"
She grit her teeth and kept dancing. Technically, she supposed Auron had just inspired her to use this particular dance, not that it was any of Jecht's business. Thanks for inventing this one, Lenne, she added with a bit of sarcasm. You couldn't have just used a waltz, huh?
Amusement radiated from her resident poltergeist; apparently Lenne had no problems performing the highly suggestive number in front of Braska, Jecht, and a handful of random crew members.
"...Should I even ask what you're casting now?" Braska's eyes were glued to what Rikku hoped were only her legs.
Wait, it's Braska. She heaved a mental sigh and continued dancing. "It's for the gunners," she finally managed, panting. "And stop distracting me! This one is complicated." Sliding across the deck, she released the spell, letting its power wash over the soldiers.
"Hmm," Braska said, enlightenment crossing his expression. He twirled his staff, clearly having grasped the nature of the magic boost. "I wonder if it will affect my spells as well." He settled into a casting stance.
"Oh, I get it!" Jecht said, grinning. He held up a hand, flexing his fingers. "Accuracy, huh? Man, I sure feel like I could hit that!"
Rikku winced at the terrible pun and kept dancing. At least Jecht could still laugh in the face of their impending doom, which was something. "Here it comes," she noted.
Sin's huge body rose from the ocean, its myriad eyes twisting in every direction, like worms writhing across wet soil. It was still several hundred meters away, but close enough for her to realize just how enormous their enemy was. Even from that distance, it dwarfed their ship many times over, blotting out the sun. It would only have to open its gigantic maw to swallow the Pride whole.
"That thing keeps gettin' uglier each time I see it," Jecht muttered, taking a step backwards.
Auron shouted a command, and the roar of the cannons firing in unison split the air. Sin let out an inhuman screech as most of the weapons struck their mark and pyreflies rose from several of its now-destroyed eyestalks.
The crew prepared for another broadside under Auron's orders.
"How long can you maintain your spell, Rikku?" Braska asked as a fissure of light surrounded him.
"Not much longer," she gasped, feeling the sweat soaking through her bandana. "If you're gonna trance, hurry up."
"A pity." He lifted his hand. His brow furrowed in concentration and a tiny, glimmering ball of light descended from the clouds. Another one fell, and then another. It almost looked as though twinkling stars were dropping out of the sky to float around Sin's massive head. The tiny points winked against Sin's armor before exploding into multiple coronas, removing a few more of the eyestalks. Braska dropped his hand, ending the spell with a grunt.
Jecht closed his jaw with a snap. "That… that was all you, B?"
"That was as powerful as I could make it," Braska said, frustration clear in his voice. "Even if we combined all of our skills, we could only hope to temporarily blind it at best."
"Can we outrun it?" Rikku huffed, doggedly continuing to dance as the gunners on the Pride fired again. "We can't face that head on! We don't have enough firepower!"
Braska cast a healing spell over her, allowing Rikku to catch her breath. "You may be right," he said. "But I'm not sure Sin is going to give us a choice." He pointed.
She slowed to a stop. Sin was rising out of the sea. On wings.
Several surprised cries sounded across the deck when Sin hefted its body clumsily into the air, supported by two crystalline wings. They were unevenly developed, only sprouting from one side of its body, and one was much larger than the other.
"I have never seen anything like that," Braska said, paling as Auron rejoined them.
Rikku shuddered. I have. The thought provided little comfort. "Tell me you have a plan," she begged Auron.
"Run," he said. "And be prepared to swim." He turned and looked at Sin, which was now circling over the sea in an unsteady wobble. "But I don't think Captain Hewley agrees with my assessment."
"Oh, so that's why we're sailing towards it. Good."
"Indeed."
She put a hand over her mouth and tried not to gag as the toxin grew stronger. On the plus side, it's harder to panic when you're busy trying not to toss your cookies.
"Where'd it get them glowy wings from?" Jecht asked as pods of spawn bombarded the deck once again. "It's impressive as hell, but ain't that some pretty bad design, havin' 'em only on one side like that?"
Sin faltered and wavered before righting itself, as if to prove Jecht's point.
"That is no natural evolution of Sin." Auron squinted. "We did that." That brought him a round of surprised stares, which he ignored. "Those wings emerge from an area that should have been a foreleg." He gestured with his sword. "They aren't wings. They're wounds." His voice was calm, but there was surprise – and maybe even something like hope – on his face as he made the observation. "When we killed Sin's child at Mushroom Rock, we wounded it greatly enough to force it to change forms. Without the Final Aeon."
Rikku narrowed her eyes. He's right! She studied Sin, trying to pinpoint the locations of its crystalline scars. Auron had guessed the biggest wing was the result of their explosive battle at Mushroom Rock; the smaller one was most likely the fin they'd destroyed in Macalania Forest. She even saw traces of crystalline growth near the top of Sin's massive head; either Auron must have been angrier than he let on when he unleashed his Tornado, or the crusaders stationed at Luca were better at fighting Sin than she'd suspected.
We brought it to this point without the airship! Even Yuna and Tidus didn't manage that! Renewed determination filled her.
"Think we can do it again?" she asked as their ship came closer. The guns fired once more, but this time, they seemed only to garner Sin's attention, puncturing her burgeoning hope. It turned to face them, and wind whipped violently over the ship.
"Holy shit. I know that one," Jecht muttered, eyes wide. "We gotta get off this boat! That's the spell that trashed the Pualu!"
"And go where?" Auron said, even as his expression grew grim. "There's no escaping this."
A tight knot of fear grew in Rikku's belly as her eyes sought out Auron, expanding further when she met his gaze and saw his grim resignation register.
It was that, more than anything, that chilled her to the bone. Auron was many things: determined, deeply convicted in his beliefs, both thoughtful and passionate. Someone like him didn't just give up.
The truth of the upcoming attack closed her throat, filling her with an entirely new, different sort of panic than the fear for her own life. No. I just found him, the real him! It can't end like this, not yet –
She lost her balance from the sudden lurch of the deck. The Pride was already spinning in a tightening circle, sucked in by Sin's massive gravity spell. The sails lifted, and wood snapped violently around them as the masts broke off.
Screaming crusaders were hurled into the air along with the debris, and the pull of the gravity spell latched onto her next. Auron flung himself towards her, grabbing onto her hand and pulling her into his arms. His grip was crushing and she clutched onto his waist like a lifeline. If this is it, neither of us is going to the Farplane alone this time, she thought vehemently.
He returned her squeeze, and in that moment she surrendered to her desire to forget about the Pilgrimage, her friends, even the future. All that mattered was Auron, and she tried to stretch every moment she had left with him.
The hull of the boat started to unravel, like pieces of thread being picked apart from their stitches. It was as though time had slowed down, almost like when the Fayth had choked her during her attempts to gatecrash their inner sanctums. But it wasn't painful or beyond her control this time; she measured every breath they took, soaked in the hypersensitized feel of Auron's skin against her own.
I thought your life was supposed to flash before your eyes, but I can't stop looking at him. It's all I want to see.
Auron's gaze was fixed on her, and his expression softened even as their bodies began to lift away from the deck. "Ri – "
The magic collapsed in an explosion of light, knocking them off their feet. The damaged ship rocked but held together, whirling in the wake of Sin's spell. Sin's earth-shattering roar thundered through the sky as it dropped back down into the sea, crystalline wings flexing.
"What happened?" Braska shouted, even as the surviving crusaders scrambled to bring the remains of the ship back under control. "Did we attack it?"
"No," Rikku said, her eyes wide as another beam of energy hit Sin. "Not us."
"Vun Bikanel! Vun Rusa!"
A gigantic catamaran raced past them. It dwarfed the Pride and moved too quickly to be any sail-driven vessel. Two very familiar-looking wave-powered fins allowed the ship to skim over the water at high speeds. And on its deck, a gigantic double-barreled machina was still crackling with energy from the last shot it had fired.
I know that ship. "It's Dra Muja Puyd!" She struggled to her feet.
"The what?" Jecht yelled, then shook his head. "Screw it! I don't care what they call themselves, long as they're here to rescue us!"
Auron also stood, tracking the foreign ship. "The Al Bhed. That is one of their deep sea salvagers. You recognize it, Rikku?"
She nodded, watching as the ship turned away from an enraged Sin. "The Love Boat. It's Cid's ship," she repeated, feeling faint.
Her father had taken great pride in naming it that, despite everyone else's objections. "It's a name that promises something for everyone!" he'd declared. And it wasn't just any deep sea salvage class vessel. No. This, too, was a flagship.
And she knew who was sailing it.
"Then, it's your family?" Braska asked, also scrambling to his feet. "We must help them!"
"Looks like they're the ones helpin' us," Jecht pointed out as the boat pulled up next to them.
The Al Bhed tossed rope ladders down towards their deck, along with a bevy of colorful commands in their native tongue. The remaining crusaders needed no urging; they abandoned their sinking Pride as quickly as they could climb over.
Auron grimaced. "Let's hope Cid doesn't consider consigning you to death at sea a fitting repayment for Raenn's loss," he said to Braska as they ran for safety.
"Rinno! Rinno!"
"We are hurrying!" Rikku shot back, rushing up the ladder amidst the other soldiers. She pulled herself onto the deck and made a cursory check around herself; Team BARJ had made it across, and in the chaos it looked like none of the Al Bhed had identified Braska.
"We ain't outta hot water yet!" Jecht said, gesturing towards the huge machina mounted on the deck of the ship.
The Al Bhed were preparing to fire their laser once more. But, even as they activated the weapon, Sin's hide shimmered and flexed, firing its own dark beam of energy across the sea towards them. The twin blasts, light and dark, intercepted each other over the water.
A deafening explosion shattered the air, and the incredible pressure flattened her against the deck of the ship a second time. When it cleared, sound echoed dully through her pounding eardrums. Ignoring the strange, tinny buzz, she craned her neck and felt her stomach drop.
The explosion had damaged the Al Bhed's laser cannon. It was powering down despite the desperate efforts of the engineers working around it. More importantly, the catamaran had been rocked off-course from the blast; some of the crusaders who hadn't been lucky enough to make it over screamed and cried as they dropped into the water, caught midway between the two ships.
Auron cursed. "Sin just disabled our only chance at victory. We must retreat while it's distracted," he ordered, scanning the blonde heads that surrounded them for any sort of leader.
"Braska's got other ideas," Jecht said.
She turned to find Braska surrounded by a rotating ring of shining symbols, falling into Rapture.
Auron bit out an oath and leapt over to hold Braska steady as the sky overhead parted. "You fool," he growled.
Well, I guess they know Braska's here now. Then she paused, blinking. What is he doing? "Wait," Rikku said, watching as Valefor tumbled out of the sky and shot past them. "He's not trying to attack Sin!"
The aeon dipped rapidly over the water, fishing out men from the sea with her clawed feet and throwing them carelessly onto the deck of their ship. There were going to be more than a few broken bones and concussions to heal if they made it out alive, but she was fairly certain the crusaders who'd been grabbed wouldn't be complaining about it.
"We need to buy Braska more time!" she shouted.
"With no weapon, we can't," Auron told her. "We have to leave. Now."
Lenne, she thought. Can we do this? "Let me try something. It won't hurt whether we flee or stand our ground," she said.
Despite his fierce look of chagrin, he gave her a curt nod.
Even before he'd finished the motion, she was running toward the broken gun. She skidded to a stop next to the two Al Bhed working on the laser.
They turned to face her. "What are you doing here? Who are you?"
"I'm here to help!" Rikku shouted, pointing at the darkened weapon. "I can fix it!"
"Impossible!" the female technician yelled. "The power generator was completely fried by Sin, not to mention the rigging! There's nothing left to fix!"
Rather than bothering to answer, Rikku lifted her arms and brought a Thundaga spell crashing onto the machina. The Al Bhed leapt backwards with cries of dismay; she ignored them and sent two more spells onto her target before she began to dance. Whorls of light spread from her feet; she tried to picture the machina in her mind.
Work, she coaxed, imagining the steps she followed ran along a path of unbroken circuits. Please, work, she prayed, hoping her magic would channel the electricity she supplied.
The laser sparked to life as she danced, and one of the technicians sprang into action, not bothering to question how she was restoring it.
"That… is not possible," the other said, watching as the cannon tilted upwards and tracked Sin's movements across the water. "It isn't even designed to move that quickly!"
"Shut up and help me fire this thing!" Rikku heard the smarter of the two technicians shout.
A humming sound flooded the ship, and then with a low whine, the laser fired again, bright and dangerous. It struck Sin directly at close range; once again, the ship rocked back through the water. More shouts arose.
The remaining foreleg of Sin was dangling from its torso by a few scraps of flesh, and thousands of pyreflies screamed in release. Sin's outer hide began to writhe, attempting to catch the nearly-severed limb and re-weld it to its body.
Another high-pitched scream rang through the air.
Valefor banked to a stop; it was almost ridiculous how tiny the mighty aeon looked next to Sin. It didn't slow her down, however; flapping her wings, she puffed out her chest and opened her mouth, blasting a sharp line of energy across the dangling limb that severed it cleanly.
Roaring, Sin whirled its massive body around, slicing its huge tail through the aeon and dissolving Valefor into pyreflies.
With a hiss and loud crackle, more white crystals formed a protective layer against the hole they'd punched into Sin's outer shell. A tiny white wing extended from the wound, unfurling to join the others on Sin's back.
"We got it!" The cheers rising from the members of the crew cut off as Sin flexed its skin; the sky abruptly darkened with a thick hail of pods, speeding towards them.
Rikku's steps faltered as she stared at the incoming missiles. She raised her arms to cast anything that might slow them down, but blinked as a several of them exploded into balls of fire.
What?
She cringed as Ifrit landed with a thud next to her, then immediately leapt off of the deck, high into the air overhead.
The aeon drew his arms back and punched, sending flaming balls of rock into the sky. Although he couldn't contain Sin's attack, most of the fiends went up in smoke well before they hit the deck of the ship. He landed with a snort on the edge of the transom, huffing and growling streams of fire.
Taking advantage of the brief moment of respite Ifrit's attack afforded her, Rikku ran back towards her companions. Jecht was keeping Braska steady, but she didn't see Auron. Scanning the ship, she finally spotted the red flash of his coat.
He'd found the leader of the Al Bhed and was trying to organize a retreat, arguing with the captain even as she approached.
Spotting her, Auron gestured her over. "Rikku! You need to translate!"
"What did you say?" The Al Bhed turned to face her, ignoring the thunderous expression on Auron's face as he spoke in the common tongue.
His goggles were still pulled down, but even that couldn't change what she saw. The same eyes, the same nose, the same chin that had been burned into her memory.
"Who are you? Raenn?" he called out in Al Bhed, his voice thick with suspicion and disbelief.
Despite the battle raging around them, despite Auron's urgent demands, she couldn't bring her feet to move any closer. "It can't be," she muttered.
His head tilted in confusion. "No… you aren't Raenn. What happened?" The captain's hand lifted towards her, but Auron cut him off.
"We don't have time for a touching reunion! Move this ship or we die!" He pointed his sword at Sin.
It was now drifting above the water, charging for some sort of attack that created a ring of light around its entire body.
The captain immediately began bellowing orders to the crew. "Retreat! Full throttle, we need to get out of range!"
The ship jumped to life as the Al Bhed reacted to his command; it was a responsive vessel that flew over the water, carrying them away from Sin more quickly than even her last joyride on the back of the remora. Still, she knew they weren't going to be fast enough to outrun Sin's attack.
Yuna had told Rikku the story of Operation Mi'ihen. Sin's charge had obliterated the warriors fighting there, and driven the tamed chocobo population to near-extinction. Rikku was one of the few Al Bhed who had been lucky enough to avoid witnessing the slaughter first-hand.
That didn't mean she couldn't recognize the signs of Sin's penultimate attack when she saw it.
Not if I can help it!
She began dancing again, trying the same spell she'd used on the laser. It isn't even designed to move that quickly, one of the technicians had said. She only hoped the spell would work on the ship, too.
Ifrit roared; the huge aeon drew his arms together and hunkered down, shaking. A wall of fire rose around the aft of the ship, weaving into a pattern familiar to what she'd remembered seeing in Kilika's Cloister of Trials. This, however, was on a scale much grander than the doorway that had blocked Jecht's progress. Ifrit's fiery shield engulfed the entire breadth of the boat.
And then, the air itself seemed to compress, and Sin released its attack.
Water droplets rose upwards in defiance of gravity, before exploding into fine mist. The attack missed the ship, but the resulting waves still threw them across the water.
Rikku's legs threatened to buckle but Lenne took over, forcing her to continue dancing to one beat – go, go, go!
The boat rose and they sliced through the water like a low-flying airship. Even at their speed, the reactionary shock wave still caught them.
Ifrit snarled as his shield disintegrated under the force of the blast; a moment later, it tore the aeon's body apart. Their shield gone, the back of the catamaran began to twist and warp, bending under the strain.
Connected as she was to the ship with her dance, Rikku felt when both of the rudders broke off. Her feet moved, pulling them back in, the magic holding together fractured steel and bent plates of metal just enough to keep them moving.
She stumbled more than once, as though the force attempting to pull the ship apart was a physical weight dragging her feet off rhythm, but Lenne pushed her back into place.
The pressure lightened as another shield formed around them; this time it was a cocoon of ice. Shiva dropped out of the sky to kneel on the ruined transom, her arms crossed before her and baring her teeth. The rapidly cooling metal of the ravaged ship stopped bending like self-folding origami.
Rikku's moment of relief was short lived, however. They were still trapped in the wake, and Shiva's power was no greater than Ifrit's. The aeon trembled and then splintered apart as the pressure tore through her shield as well.
The loss of protection lifted the ship out of the water, sending it spinning, and Rikku's feet slipped, breaking Lenne's spell. Groans of bending metal rocked the catamaran as the pieces that she had held together with little more than magic fell away, leaving their vessel crippled.
The boat hit the water with a shudder but remained upright. A honeycomb of protective light formed around them.
It seemed that this time, Braska hadn't even bothered to call an aeon, simply casting a weaker spell by himself in favor of speed.
Rikku sat up as the shaking deck came to a gradual stop; sirens were blaring and panicked shouts split the air, but somehow, they were still alive. She looked out across the ocean towards Sin, surprised by the distance they'd managed to put between themselves and the giant beast. No wonder, it feels like I danced holes into the soles of my boots, she thought dazedly, dismissing her dressphere.
Sin's glowing wings glinted against the sun. Then, it turned away from them and dove into the ocean, disappearing from sight.
"Is it over?" she heard someone ask tremulously. It was a good question; one someone else could answer, she decided, falling back and closing her eyes.
"Lord Braska!" The shout of a crusader in the common tongue snapped her eyes open again.
"Back off, he'll be fine," Jecht yelled. She turned her head and saw Jecht standing over her, hefting an unconscious Braska over one shoulder. "B took himself out castin' that last spell," he greeted her. "How 'bout you? I don't got enough arms left to carry the both of ya."
"My feet hurt," she complained, though she did make an effort to stand up and join him.
"No kiddin'," Jecht replied. "Thank your dead friend for dancin' us outta that tough spot." Despite their apparent victory, he looked grim. "We're gonna have to fight that again all by ourselves, huh?"
"If what Auron told us is right, at least it's a little bit smaller now," she said, trying to find a bright side. "... and airborne." Maybe there is no bright side.
They found Auron gathering the crusaders. Hewley had gone down with his ship, leaving the soldiers in chaos. Auron was establishing command over the remaining confused and disheartened warriors.
Seeing them approach, he offered a few more words of advice to the young soldier trailing him. "Keep the men calm; sort out those fit for duty and administer what aid you can to the injured. I'm leaving you in charge until I return."
The crusader he addressed gulped, then gave him a firm salute. "Yes, sir!"
Auron nodded in approval and faced them. "They're suffering, but not as much as they would be if it wasn't for Braska," he said. "He nearly killed us all just to rescue a few more of their men." There wasn't any anger in his voice as he spoke, though; he lifted a hand and placed it on Braska's forehead. "Thank you, my friend."
"You! Over there! Bring the summoner and the other Guardians inside!"
She jumped at the words in her native tongue. Turning, she saw a handful of Al Bhed waiting for them, guns pointed. Some of the less injured crusaders behind them jumped to their feet, but Auron held up a hand and shook his head.
"What do they want?" he asked her.
"No discussion! You come now, or we will bring you!" one of the Al Bhed shouted, waving his gun to support the clear command.
"They want to see the summoner and his Guardians," Rikku translated. "I think we better go before this gets uglier," she muttered, eying the seething crusaders behind them. "We're coming. Chill out, our summoner's been injured. Protecting your ship, remember?" She added the last with bite.
"Only because we rescued you Yevonite fools," the Al Bhed answered as he led them into the hanger. "Look at what you did to our ship! And the laser is destroyed! Cid is going to have our heads. The price was too high!"
"You'd rather have even more people dying just to save your stupid laser?" she shot back, growing angry.
"What're you arguin' about?" Jecht grumbled in a low undertone. "Don't think it's a real smart idea to make 'em mad right now, Blondie."
Rikku ground her teeth. "Some people don't have their priorities straight," she answered.
"You're right. You can't put a value on human life. Maqui, put your gun down. They are our guests, not our prisoners." The young man turned towards her and lifted his goggles. "I see uncle Braska. But is it really you, Rikku?"
She thought about saying something else, but seeing him standing there before her – so vibrant, so alive – Rikku found her lies unravelling. She couldn't, she just couldn't pretend, not in front of him. "Kei-kei," she said, her voice thick, reverting to the only name her five-year-old self had been able to call him before he'd left on his disasterrific maiden voyage. Cid had grounded her poor brother for an entire year after he totaled both their flagship and the laser. She hadn't realized she'd been part of that disaster.
Keyakku took one step forward, then another, still utterly confused, but clearly recognizing her all the same. "Rie-Rie." His hands came to her shoulders; they were nearly the same height. He didn't question her as she collapsed into his arms, sobbing while she hugged him. Instead, he just stroked her back, his voice laced with confusion and wonder. "What happened to you, little sister?"
A catamaran is a boat with parallel twin hulls. A transom the aft (tail end) area of a catamaran.
The Love Boat is very loosely inspired by the Suntory Mermaid II, the world's only wave-powered passenger vessel. The canon unnamed Al Bhed carrier has two (erroneously shaped for wave power) fins, which you can spot when you go diving with Tidus at the start of FFX. I say loosely because the Love Boat is bolstered with a machina engine for more speed.
And yes, Cid's name for the Love Boat was inspired by the late 70's TV show of the same name! Real fans may even recognize Cid's line about "something for everyone" from the theme song. *evil cackle*
Al Bhed translations:
Dra Muja Puyd - The Love Boat
"Vun Bikanel! Vun Rusa!" - "For Bikanel! For Home!"
"Rinno! Rinno!" - "Hurry! Hurry!"
Abilities used this battle:
Auron [Bushido]: Dragon Fang: Damage all enemies; delays enemy turn
Rikku [Songstress]: Sleepy Shuffle: inflict Sleep on all enemies while dancing
Rikku [Songstress]: Dirty Dancing: the party inflicts critical hits while you dance (LOL)
Braska [Valefor]: Energy Ray
Braska [Ifrit]: Meteor Strike, Shield
Braska [Shiva]: Shield
Sin's attack and the aftermath was very much inspired by the Baker atomic test, which you can find videos of on YouTube.