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FINAL FANTASY X: The Story
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by
Tsogtsaihan Baatar “SOG”
Tidus’s Story
+-----------+
The people and the friends
that we have lost, or the
dreams that have faded...
Never forget them.
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PROLOGUE
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A group of people sat around a campfire in silence. The
sun rode slowly down the sky, as shadows rose behind them. A
boy stood up, walked beside the girl next to him and gently
touched her right shoulder. The boy walked quietly round the
corner and up the hill. There he stood gazing at the setting
sun.
“Listen to my story,” said the boy in his thought, “This may
be our last chance.”
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CHAPTER I
ZANARKAND: The Beginning of Everything
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Several people stood chatting and waiting for certain
someone. A man came rushing back to inform them of the news.
The fans quickly ran down, behind them a hooded boy figure
appeared and vanished. The star player, a boy of seventeen
years appeared. He wore light-yellow clothes and black
shorts. He had yellow leather shoes and a shaggy head of
blonde hair flecked with black. On a cheerful face, he had a
pair of keen brown eyes, a collar of silver hung from his
neck.
‘Can you sign this?’ asked a boy, raising his bliztball.
‘No prob!’ answered Tidus, the star player of the
Zanarkand Abes, signing on the blitzball.
‘Please?’ cried another boy.
‘Alrighty.’
‘Me, too!’ shrieked another kid.
‘Take it easy,’ answered Tidus, quite annoyed.
‘Can I have your autograph?’ said a short girl.
‘Of course!’ declared Tidus, signing on her blitzball.
‘Good luck tonight!’ exclaimed the other girl.
‘Nothing to worry about!’ said Tidus, giving back their
bliztballs to the girls. ‘Oh, if I score a goal...’ said
Tidus, ‘I’ll do this!’
Tidus raised his two hands up in the air. ‘That will mean it
was for you, okay?’
The girls laughed in embarrassment.
‘What seat?’ asked Tidus.
‘East block, in the front row!’ ‘Fifth from the right!’
answered the two girls.
‘Got it!’ said Tidus, ‘Well, gotta go! Cheer for me!’
‘...two, three! Teach us how to blitz!’ cried the three
small boys beside him.
‘Hey, I got a game to play!’ reasoned Tidus.
‘Then teach us after!’ said one of the boys.
‘Maybe tonight...um...well...’ stammered Tidus.
The ghost boy reappeared. ‘You can’t tonight,’ said the
ghost boy.
‘I mean...tomorrow.’
‘Promise?’ asked the boy.
‘Promise!’ declared Tidus.
The three boys made round circle with their hands and then
bowed down. Leaving the fans, Tidus rushed back to his game.
Along his way, he saw his father’s image on a big screen.
‘Hmph!’ exclaimed Tidus, walking past it.
Commentator: I was in a coffee shop, running away
from home when I heard the news.
Our hero, Jecht, gone.
Vanished into thin air!
My dad must have been his biggest fan.
I knew how sad he’d be.
Heck, we all were that day.
“Zanar,” I says to myself.
“What are you thinking?”
I went running straight back home.
We sat up talking ‘bout Jecht all night.
My dad and I never talked so much.
Whoa... Didn’t mean to reminisce, folks.
Anyway... Ten years later, the
Jecht Memorial Cup tournament is today!
The two teams that have won through
to the finals are...of course, the Abes
from A-East, and the Duggles from C-South.
I know there’s a lot of people out there
today to see the star of the Abes!
In just one year, he’s become
the team’s number one player!
He’s Jecht’s blood, and the new
hope of blitzball! What kind of
super play will he show us today?
Will we see his father’s legendary
shot? I don’t think I’m the only
one excited here, folks!
Tidus came at the entrance of the stadium, only to be
crowded with fans around him. ‘Make way, make way! Coming
through, sorry! Hey, I’m gonna be late! Hey, let go of me!’
With much struggle, he finally made his way through the
excited fans and into his locker room.
Tidus lay with his back to a seat and his feet in the
cool water. His eyes were closed and there was hardly a
sound in the air, only the pounding of his heartbeat. Just
as he opened his eyes, his platform, where he lay, arose in
the middle of the stadium. The crowd roared and thundered in
excitement. Outside the stadium, people swarmed and
staggered to get in. Tidus pulled himself to his feet,
holding his blitzball. With a loud bang, the sphere pool
filled up.
A man with red robe stood on a building, gazing down at
Zanarkand. He had a fair and noble face, grey-haired, proud
and stern of glance. He was cloaked and booted as if for a
journey; and even though his garments were rich, they were
stained with long travel. A long scar ran down his right eye
but he hid it with black shades. In the darkness the man
caught a white glimmer of foam from the nearby ocean. A huge
wave slowly arose. The man slowly went down and walked
through the streets of Zanarkand.
Meanwhile at the game, the Zanarkand Abes scored a goal.
The game begun and the teams battled out with each other
again. The ball shot up and away from the sphere pool. Tidus
jumped up after it, ready to kick the ball. Red beams of
fire shot from the wave like an eagle sweeping down to catch
its prey. The beams pierced and destroyed the city. Tidus
leaped forward and grasped vainly on a ledge with his right
arm. To no avail, his hand slipped and down he fell.
Tidus woke up from the fall. He ran down and saw the man
with the scar. ‘Auron!’ cried Tidus, ‘What are you doing
here?’
‘I was waiting for you.’
‘What are you talking about?’ said Tidus.
Auron stood silent for a moment. Then without any words he
turned away from Tidus and walked down the long path towards
the wave. Too confused to ask him any questions, he followed
Auron as fast as he could. Suddenly a hooded boy figure
appeared in front of Tidus. There was a dead silence in the
air, Tidus looked around in shock and realized that
everything had stopped moving.
‘It begins.’ A queer voice came out from the boy.
‘Wha?’ he said with a muffled voice.
‘Don’t cry.’ Said the boy with a queer voice.
Tidus slowly trotted forward and stood before the boy,
examining him. There was a blinding flash of light and the
boy vanished. Tidus blinked for a second, when he opened his
eyes the boy was nowhere to be seen and time unfroze. ‘What
the...?’ said Tidus, looking around. He saw a glimpse of
Auron out of the darkness heading towards the big wave.
‘Hey! Wait!’ he cried, running down the road. ‘Hey, not this
way!’
‘Look!’ said Auron in a commanding voice.
Tidus caught a view of an enormous ball of water hovering
above the city, or so it seemed. Inside the water some kind
of beast dwelled in. At any rate it was too large to be
anything, sucking in everything that it came near to.
‘We called it “Sin.”’ said Auron.
‘“Sin?”’
A great big squidy-like creature known as the ‘Sinspawn’
thrust through a building. From its tail, hundreds of small
crab-like creatures called the ‘Sinscale’ flew up. Small
amount of the queer creatures came down with a crash. They
sprang to their feet and drew near to Auron and Tidus. Tidus
sprang forward, breathing hard, his hands swaying at the
creatures. His legs slipped, and he fell back with a crash.
‘Take it,’ said Auron, handing him a long red sword, ‘A
gift from Jecht.’
‘My old man?’ he said, taking the sword and glancing at
it. Auron brought out his katana, ‘I hope you know how to
use it.’
Tidus nodded.
‘These ones don’t matter. We cut through!’ said Auron,
‘Don’t bother going after all of them. Cut the ones that
matter, and run!’
Auron and Tidus slew many along their path. When the two
slew their sixth Sinscale, the squidy creature known as the
Sinspawn leaped from the building he thrust into earlier and
down in front of Auron and Tidus. ‘Get out of my town!’
exclaimed Tidus in anger.
‘Some can’t wait to die!’ said Auron grimly, feeling the
edge of his katana. Auron leaped forward and stabbed the
creature with all his might. Tidus felt a hot wrath blaze up
in his heart, springing beside Auron, he also stabbed. The
creature fell with a bang on the bridge. The two trotted
past the fallen Sinspawn and hurried toward the enormous
ball of water. Tidus saw his father, Jecht, on the big
screen next to the bridge. ‘What are you laughing at, old
man?’ said Tidus, turning to Auron, ‘Auron! Let’s get out of
here!’
‘We’re expected.’ He said in a queer voice.
‘Huh?’ Tidus gave him a puzzled look. Auron went on
again. ‘Gimme a break, man!’ shrieked Tidus, following after
him. As the two ran toward the huge ball of water, it became
clear that something was inside it. Hundreds of Sinscales
came flying down and crashed on the bridge, surrounding the
two.
‘Hmph. This could be bad.’ Auron looked around, ‘That--
knock it down!’ cried Auron, pointing at a tanker.
‘What?’ asked Tidus, confused look came into his face.
‘Trust me. You’ll see.’
Tidus gave a sturdy thrust with his sword. The tanker
fell down and blew the bottom of the big screen next to the
bridge. The screen fell forward, right at the hundreds of
Sinscales in front of Auron and Tidus. The bridge cracked
and a blinding sheet of red flame rose up from it. ‘Go’ said
Auron and ran off at a surprising pace. Tidus ran through
the flames and the moment he leaped up, the rest of the
bridge cracked with explosion and fell.
Tidus grasped vainly on a broken road. A bright and
fierce fire was beneath him. ‘Auron!’ he shouted. Auron
gazed down at him. ‘Auron!’ he shrieked again desperately.
The enormous ball of water hovered above them, slowly
sucking, at the same time Auron slowly gazed above at the
thing. ‘You are sure?’ he asked.
Tidus knew little of what was happening. Auron looked down
at Tidus, who was struggling to get up. ‘This is it.’
Grabbing Tidus by the shirt, he pulled him up.
‘This is your story.’ He paused, and said slowly in a
deep voice. ‘It all begins here.’
With that, a bright light sucked Auron and him. The
confusion rose and engulfed his mind. He heard and saw
nothing.
‘Hey!’ a voice rang in his head. ‘Hey!’ the voice rang
again, much clear this time.
‘My...old man?’ said Tidus. He opened his eyes and woke, or
thought he had waked. He now found himself floating above
Zanarkand. As if he was dreaming, he slowly drifted down.
“I thought about a lot of things... like where I was what
I’d got myself into. I started to feel light-headed... and
then sleepy. I think I had a dream. A dream of being alone.
I wanted someone-anyone, beside me... so I didn’t have to
feel alone anymore.”
Tidus woke and found himself lying in a ruin surrounded with
water. At first he thought he had been sleeping, a long
unpleasant nightmare that still hovered on the edge of his
memory. His surroundings looked strange; it was surrounded
with water and the ruin was totally destroyed. ‘Anybody
there?’ he said with a loud voice, looking around. ‘Auron!’
he shouted. He lay a little while longer listening. ‘Heeey!’
he screamed loud, waiting for somebody
to answer. He slowly swam and climbed up the stairs to a
temple. He stood on a bridge and saw a glimpse of bubble
gurgling up from the water. Suddenly a black figure swept
past on the water below. The black figure rammed the bottom
wall. The bridge collapsed, right at he’s feet it broke and
with a cry he fell down into the deep water. Tidus came up,
bubbling and struggling. Three creatures known as the
Sahagin leaped over his head. They had fins, claws, and
their body was much like a lizard. Tidus inhaled some air
and swam down. He laid his hand on the hilt of his sword,
ready to draw. Two of them moved in to attack. He drew his
sword, struck the first down, sprang forward and bore down
his sword on the other. Suddenly a huge monster with
greenish scales sprang forward, Tidus leaped away as the
monster missed him by an inch and bit the Sahagin instead.
‘Whoa!’ shrieked Tidus, as he went up, grasping for air. He
went down again and swam for an entrance to another ruin. At
the same moment the monster leaped after him in pursuit, and
from it came a terrible cry. Tidus looked back for a moment
over his shoulder and saw the mouth of the monster coming
closer. Fear filled his mind. He thought no longer of his
sword. No cry came from him. He shut his eyes and raced for
the entrance to nowhere.
Tidus opened his eyes as he went through, followed by the
monster ramming the entrance. Rocks cracked down and buried
the entrance.
“I had made it out of the frying pan... and into the
freezer. I thought I was going to die in this place.”
He stood up and climbed up the stairs. There he found a big
round room, broken stones lay everywhere and water streamed
down from the top. The air was cold and he’s legs ached. He
was chilled to the bone and hungry; and his head was dizzy.
‘Cold...’ he said, shivering, ‘Need...fire.
A flint and firewood stack lay in the middle of the room.
Tidus had trouble striking a flame, but at last a great
sprout of flame sprang out, and the wood flared and
sputtered. His heart was rejoiced to see the light of the
fire in this dense darkness. The wood burned sweetly; and
though all round him were broken and shattered stones, and
pools of water streamed down, he warmed his hands gladly at
the blaze without noticing. He lay down on the floor with
his feet towards the hearth. ‘I need food!’ he said. A great
sleepiness came over Tidus; he felt himself sinking fast
into a warm and hazy dream.
He then saw himself in a room.
“What do you want?” he said grimly. Out of the shadows
from the door, he heard Auron’s voice speaking. “It was a
bad call. Your team lost because of you.”
“You came to say THAT?” he said with an effort.
“It’s been...ten years. I thought you’d be crying.”
“Who, me?” he answered.
The hooded ghost boy appeared in front him. “You cried.”
Said the boy.
Tidus woke up painfully. He lay motionless, listening. He
had remembered this event few months ago but why the dream
he thought. The fire burned low. He pulled himself up and
sat down hugging his legs beside the fire. A red light was
on his tired and confused face. Slowly the fire died till
nothing was left but falling ashes and sparks. ‘Hey, wait!
Wait! Don’t go out on me!’ he shouted, standing up. ‘Just
hold on, I’ll get more wood!’ He turned around, looking for
more wood. In the dim darkness, a wolf-shape could be seen
halted, gazing at him with two shining eyes. The creature
sprang towards him with a great leap. In red flash, Tidus
drew the sword given to him from Auron and swung at it.
There was a hideous yell, and the leaping shape thudded to
the ground. Tidus’s sword pierced him a little. As the
creature sprang up to his feet, a bloom of blinding flame
and roar came, as the wall beside them burst open. Tidus saw
five vague figures difficult to make out away in the smoke
and shadow. One of the figures, it was now clear that she
was a girl, sprang lightly forward and stood beside Tidus.
‘You on my side? Cool!’ said Tidus at last, feeling his
heart moved with a joy that he did not understand.
The girl loosed a grenade. The grenade flew in the air and
plunged a burning fire into the heart of the creature,
killing it. A bitter smoke curled everywhere from the blast
on the wall to the dazzling flame on the creature. The girl
took off her goggle.
‘Whew! That was close,’ said Tidus, relieved.
Four men stood before him. Two had guns in their hands, the
other two had knifes. All were clad in yellowish clothes and
one of them was masked. At once one of the figures grabbed
Tidus by the hair. ‘Hey, lemme go!’ said Tidus with a shout.
The others drew their guns and pointed.
‘Fryd ec drec?’ said the old man who grabbed Tidus’s
hair.
‘Y fiend! Eh risyh teckieca!’ The guy pointing his gun at
Tidus answered.
‘Oac! Ed ec cu!’ said the old man.
‘Fa gemm ed?’ the masked man said in a harsh tone. With
that he grabbed Tidus and drew his knife around his neck.
‘Fyed! Fryd ev ed ec risyh?’ said the girl, who were also
clad in yellow swimming suit.
‘Drao yna dra cysa eh taydr,’ answered the masked man in
a commanding voice.
‘E vunpet ed! Fa pnehk ed fedric,’ said the girl, and
walked forward to Tidus, ‘Cunno.’
Tidus felt a hard punch on his stomach, and everything
seemed blurry to him. He fell down with a bang.
Later, he woke up and found himself lying on a ship at
night. There he saw the two strangers that captured him. He
got up.
‘Ced, lybdeja!’ said the stranger, thrusting Tidus with
his gun. He fell backward on the ground, grabbing his
shoulder. ‘Hey, that hurts!’ shrieked Tidus, eyeing him. The
other guy drew his gun. ‘Hu sujehk, rayn?’ the guy said.
‘Whoa... Okay.’
At that moment, the nearby door opened up. The girl, who
assisted Tidus earlier, came out along with a man. ‘Caynir
res!’ said the man who just showed up. The girl sprang
forward to Tidus and helped him get up. The man waved his
hands around as if to tell him something.
‘Right. Whatever.’
‘Tu oui hud cbayg?’ said the man, drawing out a goggle.
‘I said I don’t understand!’ reasoned Tidus, ignoring
him.
‘Ehcumahla!’ shouted the guy beside him, preparing to
fire.
‘Fyed!’ said the girl, stopping them, ‘He said you can
stay if you make yourself useful.’
‘You...You understand me?’ said Tidus in disbelief.
The masked guy passed his elbow with a thrust to Tidus.
‘All right, I’ll work!’
‘We found some ancient ruins right beneath us. It’s not
active now, but there should still be some power left. We’re
gonna go down there and activate it... and then we should be
able to salvage the big prize!’ said the girl.
‘Uh-huh.’
‘Okay! Let’s get to work!’ said the girl, cheerfully.
‘Roger.’
The two dived into the deep sea, and marveled as they saw
huge ancient ruin far down below. After activating the
power, the two came back up on the ship.
‘Fa vuiht dra airship!’ said one of the four strangers.
‘Dra naluntcfana nekrd.’ The guy beside him replied,
‘Huf, ruf du tnyk cd ib?’
The strangers walked inside the ship, Tidus following them
behind. One of them pushed Tidus away from the door saying,
‘Oui, uidceta!’
‘Hey! Hey, I helped out, didn’t I?’ he said, as the door
shut down in front him.
The clouds lifted as morning slowly dawned, but it was still
dark. Tidus lay there looking up at the sky. Sleepiness and
hunger came over him all at once. ‘Uhh...hungry.’ As he
yawned, he felt a kick on his side. He looked up and saw the
girl. The girl slowly sat a plate in front of Tidus.
‘Whoa! Right on!’ he said happily, gobbling the food as
fast as he can. He coughed and choked as the chunk of food
slipped down his throat. ‘Hey!’ cried the girl, handing him
a bottle of water. Tidus quickly grabbed the water and drank
with a sigh of relief.
‘It’s ‘cause you eat too fast!’ said the girl. Tidus
rose, laughed and stretched.
‘Hey!’ the girl said. Tidus turned around.
‘Hello there. What is your name?’ he asked.
‘Rikku’ answered the girl.
‘Whoa! You really do understand!’ cried Tidus, holding up
her hands in excitement. ‘Hahahahaha!’ he laughed with joy.
‘Why didn’t you say so earlier?’
‘I didn’t get a chance to! Everyone thought oui were a
fiend.’
‘Uh...”we”?’ he asked.
‘Oh, “oui” means “you”.’
‘Um... Who are you guys, anyway?’ he asked again, driven
by his curiosity.
‘We’re Al Bhed. Can’t you tell? Wait. You’re not an Al
Bhed-hater, are you?’ asked Rikku.
‘I don’t even know what an Al Bhed is.’
‘Where are you from?’
‘Zanarkand.’ Tidus answered, ‘I’m a blitzball player.
Star player of the Zanarkand Abes!’
‘Did you hit your head or something?’
‘Um, you guys hit me.’ Tidus replied.
‘Oh, right... Do you remember anything before that?’
“So I told her everything there was to tell about
Zanarkand... About life there, blitzball, and Sin’s
attack... and about how Auron and I were engulfed in this
light. I just said things as they came to mind. But then I
started to wonder.”
‘Did I say something funny?’ he asked.
‘You were near Sin.’
‘Mmm-hmm.’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll be better in no time. They say your
head gets funny when Sin is near. Maybe you just had some
kind of dream?’ she said, trying to comfort him.
‘You mean I’m sick?’ said Tidus, feeling down.
‘Because of Sin’s toxin, yeah.’
‘You sure?’
‘Yeah, there is no Zanarkand anymore. Sin destroyed it a
thousand years ago. So...no one plays blitzball there,’
Rikku explained.
‘Huh? What do you mean, a thousand years ago? But I saw
Sin attack Zanarkand! You’re saying that happened a thousand
years ago? No way!’
‘You said...’ said Rikku, taking a long pause, ‘You play
blitzball?’
‘Uh-huh.’
‘You know, you should go to Luca. Someone might know who
you are, or you might find someone you recognize.’
‘Luca?’ asked Tidus.
‘Agh.’ Rikku trotted back and forth, thinking. After some
time, she gave a soft pat to him on the back. ‘Okay, leave
it to me! I’ll get you to Luca, promise!’ she said. Tidus
gave her a strange look. ‘Agh. You’d rather stay here?’
asked Rikku. He quickly shook his head. ‘Okay, I’ll go tell
the others. Wait here. Oh, and one thing. Don’t tell anyone
you’re from Zanarkand, okay? Yevon says it’s a holy place.
You might upset someone.’
‘Oh. Uh-huh.’ Tidus replied. Rikku trotted off.
“My Zanarkand, some kind of holy place? Yeah right, I
thought. Since when? Yevon? Sin? Luca? I thought Sin just
took me to a faraway place, that I could go back in a day or
two.”
‘But a thousand years into the future? No way!’ he
shouted in anger. Tidus drawing his strength, back kicked
the ship’s wall. The ship quivered and rumbled, as Tidus
fell down. A great noise of splash came from the nearby sea.
The crew came out in horror. ‘Sin!’ shrieked one of them.
‘Sin ec lusa!’ cried the other. ‘Ihtan ic! Ihtan ic!’
shouted all, panicking.
Great rippling formed on the surface of the water and
with great speed it traveled at the ship. It slammed the
ship and all hope was lost. ‘Whoa! Aaaah!!!’ screamed Tidus,
as he fell off from the ship and down into the water. Even
as he swooned he caught, as through a swirling water, a
glimpse of Rikku and the crew staring at him on top of the
ship. The sea engulfed him without a mercy. Many memories
rang around his mind for he was at lost.
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CHAPTER II
The Girl and Her Pilgrimage
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Tidus lay in a dark dream; it seemed that he could hear the
sound of the ocean, gurgling and bubbling all around him.
Where was he? He woke and opened his eyes. Cold water blew
on his face, as he saw nothing but water. He jerked up with
a struggle and a shout. ‘Rikku!’
Morning had came, brighter than ever and seagulls flew
high above in the sky. His eyes were dazzled by the sunlight
glittering on the water. He felt a sudden knock on his head.
He turned round and saw with an effort, for his eyes hurt.
Tidus could only make out some blurry shape forms of several
people. The object that hit him fell in front of him.
‘Blitzball!’ he cried with sudden surprise.
‘Hey! You okay?’ said a voice, coming from the shore.
‘Heeey!’ Tidus yelled back at them. The blurry shapes
slowly became clear to him and from their clothes, he
guessed they were blitzball players.
Tidus jumped up along with the ball in full speed. He spun
two times in air. The double spin worked. It gave Tidus a
split-second opening, and he took advantage of it by
pounding a hard double-legged slap kick. The ball flew in
the air with a swoosh. The players on the beach marveled as
they saw the ball spin past them.
‘Whoa-ho!’ cried one of the players, in amazement.
Tidus quietly came on the land. ‘Yo! Hiya!’ said Tidus,
greeting them. A man with bandanna round his forehead, his
hair sticking up, trotted forward to greet the guest.
‘You wanna try that move one more time?’ he asked softly.
“Finally, things were starting to look up.”
He thought. Grabbing another ball, he threw it up. With
burst of speed, he dived in with a somersault and knocked it
hard with his right leg. The people watched in amazement as
the ball traveled with great speed along the water forming
great rippling on the surface. ‘Sphere Shot,’ cried Tidus.
‘You’re no amateur. Who you play for?’ asked the man with
bandanna, still amazed.
‘The Zanarkand Abes!’ answered Tidus, proudly. The
strangers stared at him curiously.
‘What team you say again?’ he asked in a low voice.
‘Uh, I meant... Forget that. I got too, uh...close to Sin
and my head’s all foggy-like. So I don’t know where this
place is. Or even where I came from,’ explained Tidus.
‘Sin’s toxin got to you. But, you’re still alive. Praise
be to Yevon!’ the man said. The people around him made
circles with their hands and then slightly bowed their head.
‘All right, back to practice!’ said the man, commanding
to his other mates. He turned around. ‘I’m Wakka, coach and
captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda.’
The two gave a hard but friendly shake. Tidus’s stomach
ached for food.
‘What? You hungry?’ asked Wakka, ‘Okay! Back to the
village. I’ll get you somethin’!’
“I felt like I could trust this Wakka, so I just had to
ask.” Tidus thought.
‘It’s true Zanarkand was destroyed, right? A thousand
years ago? So it’s just a big pile of rubble now, isn’t it?’
he asked.
‘Long time ago, there were a whole lot of cities in
Spira. Big cities with machina--machines--to run ‘em. People
played all day and let the machina do the work. And then,
well, take a look. Sin came, and destroyed the machina
cities. And Zanarkand along with ‘em. Yeah, that was about a
thousand years ago, just like you said. If you ask me, Sin’s
our punishment for letting things get out of hand. What gets
me, though...’ replied Wakka, ‘is we gotta suffer, ‘cause of
what some goofballs did way back when! ‘Course, we must
always repent for our sins! That’s important! It’s just
that, it’s hard to keep at it sometimes, you know?’
“It was just as Rikku said. Wakka and Rikku couldn’t both be
lying. Why would they?” he said to himself.
Wakka laughed. ‘But you from the Zanarkand Abes--that was a
good one! Hey, I’m not saying the team never existed, ya?
But you gotta figure a team livin’ in luxury like that’d be
pretty soft, eh?’
“I appreciated the fact that Wakka was trying to cheer me
up. But at that time, all I could think about was...
everything that happened to me--all this--started with Sin.
Maybe if I could find Sin one more time, I could go home!
For now, I’d just live life until that time came. No more
worrying about where, or when, I was. Sure it was hard not
to think of home. But I started to feel better already. A
little better...maybe.”
‘Hey! It’s this way!’ said Wakka, guiding him through the
forest. Wakka and Tidus went little into the forest when
they came upon an edge. ‘Huh?’ said Tidus as if to ask why
the dead-end. Before them lay a wide stream of water flowing
down swiftly on the bottom. Wakka quietly stepped beside
Tidus and pushed him down. Tidus gave a cry and splashed
into the water. Wakka came down also with a splash. ‘What’s
the big idea?’ cried Tidus, as he came up bubbling and
struggling. The water was cold but its touch was clean, and
as they swam on, he felt that the stain of travel and all
washed from him.
They could only hear the music of water running sweetly.
Tidus caught his breath as they swam on. To his right and
left stood great colorful trees and sward of grass on the
bottom. At the feet of the trees, and all about the green
hillsides the grass was studded with small golden flowers in
many shapes. Over them, the sky was clear and blue, and the
morning sun shone upon them. Wakka suddenly grasped Tidus by
the neck firm but gently.
‘Lemme go!’ he cried.
‘Got a favor to ask ya,’ said Wakka.
‘You want me on your team, right?’ said Tidus.
‘A major blitz tournament’s coming up. All the teams in
Spira’ll be there! It’s so huge, I’m sure someone there will
recognize you! Than you can go back to your old team, right?
It’ll be fun! What do you say, huh? Come on, come on!’
begged Wakka.
‘Sure thing,’ replied Tidus.
‘Dude! Our team is gonna rock, eh?’ said Wakka, as light
lit in his eyes.
“I thought then that blitzball and Sin were the only two
things that Spira and Zanarkand had in common. I wasn’t too
far off, either.”
Half mile they swam until they came on shore again. Wakka
and Tidus now stood on a hill.
‘This is where I was born. I started blitz when I was
five. I joined the Aurochs at thirteen...ten years ago. Ten
years...and we never won a game. Well, after last year’s
tournament, I quit. Time seemed right. So, after quitting, I
got this new job, ya? But every time my mind wandered, I
thought about the game,’ he said sadly, shaking his head.
Tidus looked and saw, some distance, a small but pleasant
village.
‘Ten years without a single win’ll do that,’ said Tidus.
‘My first match last year was my big chance. But
something else was on my mind. I couldn’t focus.’
‘Nice excuse,’ he replied.
‘Hey, hey!’ muttered Wakka.
‘So you want to win the next tournament--go out with a
bang. So, what’s our goal?’ asked Tidus.
‘I don’t care how we do. Long as we play our best. If we
give it our all, I can walk away happy,’ said Wakka.
‘No, no, no, no, no. If I say, “What’s our goal?” you
say, “Victory!” When you play in a blitzball tournament, you
play to win!’ he commanded.
‘Victory? You serious?’ said Wakka in a low voice, he’s
heart filling with excitement.
They slowly marched on down the hill, following the road
down to the village. Two men came running from behind from
another road. ‘Ah, the one from the sea!’ said the taller
men.
‘Be on guard. There’re fiends on the road today!’ warned
the other men.
‘After surviving your run-in with Sin, ‘twould be a shame
if something happened now,’ said the tall men, and went
swiftly down the road.
‘Who were they?’ asked Tidus.
‘Luzzu and Gatta--Crusaders’ answered Wakka.
‘Crews of what?’ said Tidus, as strange look came into
his eyes.
‘What, you forgot that, too? Hey, sorry. Don’t worry
about it, I’ll help you out,’ said Wakka.
‘Cool,’ replied Tidus, ‘In return, come tournament time,
I’ll make sure we take the cup!’
‘Cool,’ said Wakka, ‘About the Crusaders, you can ask
them yourself. They’ve got a lodge in the village.’
The two came at last to the village.
‘Besaid Village,’ said Wakka.
‘They got any food there?’ he asked.
‘We’ll get you something over there later. Take a look
around first. Let’s see... The Crusader Lodge is over
yonder. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there,’ said Wakka,
pointing at the nearby shack.
‘Oh, right. Over here!’ said Wakka, barring his way and
leading him back out the village.
‘Huh? What’s up?’ said Tidus, his eyes filled with
wonder.
‘You do remember the prayer, right?’ asked Wakka.
“Of course I’d never prayed before in my life. Not that he
would know that... I didn’t know it in the first place to
tell the truth.”
‘You...must have forgot or something. Man, that’s like
the basics of the basics. Here, I’ll show you,’ said Wakka.
He stepped back and made round circles with his hands. ‘Go
ahead, you try.’
Tidus did the same.
‘Hey, not bad,’ said Wakka, ‘Okay, now go present
yourself to the temple summoner.’
“Any blitzball player would know that prayer. It was the
blitzball sign for victory.”
Tidus quietly made his way inside the lodge Wakka pointed.
‘Hey, you! You were attacked by Sin...right? Recently was
it?’ asked Gatta.
‘I think so,’ answered Tidus.
‘So, Sin can’t be far, right? You’re not hiding anything,
are you?’ asked Gatta again, looking at him with renewed
wonder, but his eyes hardened.
‘Why would I?’ he said.
‘If Sin’s nearby, it’ll attack the island for sure. But
it hasn’t. I wonder why?’ said Gatta, talking to himself.
‘I’m sorry. I really don’t know anything. To tell you the
truth, I don’t even know what the Crusaders are,’ explained
Tidus.
‘You’re kidding, right?’ said Gatta, his clear bright
eyes bent again upon Tidus.
‘Sin! The toxin! Gatta, tell him who we are!’ said the
tall men, Luzzu, joining in on the conversation.
‘Yes, sir!’ said Gatta immediately, ‘The Crusaders are
sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira,
accepting all who wish to join our struggle! The hero
Mi’ihen formed the Crusaders eight hundred years ago as the
Crimson Blades. Later, our ranks grew and we called
ourselves the Crusaders. We’ve been fighting Sin ever
since!’
‘What, you’ve been fighting eight hundred years and you
still haven’t beat it?’ said Tidus.
‘Well, we’ve steered Sin away from towns many times! And
that’s all we can do. Nobody’s ever been able to defeat it.
Our mission as Crusaders is to protect the temples, towns,
villages, and people of Spira,’ said Luzzu.
‘So then whose job is it to defeat Sin?’ asked Tidus.
‘Is Sin’s toxin really this bad, sir?’ asked Gatta.
‘It does seem rather bad... We could just tell you, but I
think it’s better for you to try and remember. Go pray at
the temple. Perhaps Yevon will help you regain your memory,’
said Luzzu.
Taking their advice, Tidus went forward and came at the far
end of the village where the temple is. He entered and
halted. A huge dome room stretched before him and for a
second he saw four mighty pillars of men hewn of stone. Two
other pillars of man and woman, larger than the four, were
on both sides at the far end. Its ground was polished and
smooth as glass, in the firelight it flashed and glittered.
Tidus saw three entrances; one to his left, one to his right
and the other lay straight before him with many steps
leading up to it.
“It was then, standing in that place. I began to realize how
different this world was from my own.”
As Tidus stood watching one of the four pillars, he saw that
it was indeed shaped and fashioned incredibly.
‘Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became high
summoner,’ said a priest from beside him, ‘And finally we
receive a statue for our temple.
‘What’s a high summoner?’ asked Tidus. Suddenly the
people beside him stepped back and a look of wonder came
into their face.
‘I...I got too close to Sin’s, uh, toxin,’ he said.
“It was funny hearing myself make the same excuse over and
over. Funny, and a little sad.”
‘The summoners are practitioners of a sacred art, sworn
to protect the people of Yevon. Only a chosen few become
summoners, who call forth entities of great power: the
aeons. The aeons hear our prayers and come down to us. They
are the blessing of Yevon,’ said the priest.
“So what he meant... was that we should respect some kinda
great men or something like that... I figured.”
Only ten or twenty minutes had passed after departing with
Wakka, and it was barely noon. He soon appeared at Wakka’s
hut.
‘Sorry, man. No time for lunch yet. Take a nap! You look
bushed,’ said Wakka. ‘Thanks!’ said Tidus, as he nodded and
lay on the bed beside Wakka. Sleepiness soon crept over him
but dimly he became aware of voices. ‘You could at least go
see how they are doing.’ He heard the priest. ‘We can’t
interfere. It’s a rule,’ reasoned Wakka’s voice. ‘But, it’s
been nearly...’ Suddenly he sank fast into a warm and hazy
dream. Many voices rang in his head.
‘But, it’s been nearly...’
‘It’s been nearly a day already.’
‘Perhaps you could go look for us.’
There now came into his mind unbidden visions of a shore. He
saw many people and his mother.
‘People are searching for him now,’ said a man.
‘Thank you,’ replied his mother in a low voice.
Another vision came into his eyes. He saw himself when he
was about seven.
‘Who cares whether he comes back or not?’ He heard a dim
voice of himself.
‘But he might die!’ said his mom.
‘Fine, let him!’ said the young Tidus harshly.
‘Do you... Do you hate him so?’ asked his mother. Tidus
nodded.
‘If he dies, you’ll never be able to tell him how much
you hate him,’ said his mother.
Tidus woke up with a cry. He came back to the waking world
and found that it was still noon. He stood up and looked
about. ‘Wakka’ he called out. At that moment, he remembered
about the conversation between Wakka and the priest. Leaping
up, he rushed back to the temple and found Wakka.
‘Is something wrong?’ he asked.
‘The summoner hasn’t returned from the trial,’ answered
Wakka.
‘Eh?’ said Tidus.
‘Well, apprentice summoner, really...’ said Wakka.
‘Ah?’ Tidus said in a low voice. Confused look came about
his face.
‘There’s a room in there called the Cloister of Trials.
Beyond is where the apprentice summoner prays. If the prayer
is heard, the apprentice becomes a fully-fledged summoner,
remember?’ said Wakka.
‘So someone is in there somewhere and they haven’t come
back out. Right, I got it,’ said Tidus.
‘A day’s already gone by,’ he said in a soft voice.
‘Is it particularly dangerous in there?’ asked Tidus.
‘Sometimes, yes,’ answered Wakka.
‘Why don’t you go in and help?’ he asked.
‘There’s already guardians in there. Besides, it’s
forbidden,’ said Wakka.
‘Hey, but what if somethin’ happens? What if the summoner
dies!?’ cried Tidus, leaping up the steps.
‘The precepts must be obeyed!’ yelled the priest behind
him.
‘Like I care!’ said Tidus, disobeying the priest and
entered.
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.” Thought
Tidus.
The passage twisted round a few turns, and then began to
descend. It was then, that Wakka came running from behind.
‘Hey! What’s gotten into you?’ said Wakka, taking a breath.
‘Hey, it’s okay. Only summoners, apprentice summoners, and
their guardians can enter here. It’s a tradition. Very
important’
‘So what about you?’ asked Tidus.
‘Me? I’m a guardian,’ answered Wakka proudly.
‘A guardian?’ said Tidus, gazing towards at Wakka.
Wakka led Tidus to a round platform and slowly descended
down.
‘Summoners go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in
Spira. Guardians protect them. The guardians are in there
now... One of them’s got a short fuse, and who knows what
the other’s thinking. Well, now that we’ve come this
far...might as well go all the way!’ said Wakka just as the
platform hit the bottom floor. The two took the door in
front of them. Just as they entered, Tidus heard the voice
of a woman.
‘What are you doing here? Didn’t think we’d be able to
handle it?’ A woman clad in black stepped up.
‘No, it’s uh...it’s just...’ stammered Wakka, and turned to
Tidus, ‘See, I told you she gets mad easy.’
Up in the front, went a stair of stone, a red rug was lain
on the stairs. Guarding the stairs stood a huge beast. His
blue hair whisked in the soft breeze, and a broken horn was
on its forehead. The beast seemed like a great standing
stone possessing both power and terror to Tidus.
‘Is the summoner all right?’ said Tidus, unnoticing the
woman beside him.
‘Who are you?’ asked the woman in black, with wonder in her
eyes. Tidus was now aware of her, as he saw her ghostly gaze
upon him.
Suddenly the door at the far north opened as Tidus gazed in
silence at the girl who came out from it and wondered if he
had strayed off into a dream. Beautiful was her face and
slender she was, clad in white and blue. Thus Tidus saw her
for the first time and thought of her ever since. And she
was also aware of him but made no sign of it. Sweat trickled
down from her forehead as she slowly made her way down the
stairs.
The beast caught her just as she collapsed down. ‘I’ve done
it. I have become a summoner!’ said the girl. Wiping her
sweat, the girl ran outside to the village with the others.
“Man was I surprised. And here I was thinking summoners were
old geezers.”
‘Hey, over here!’ cried Wakka, disturbing Tidus’s thought
and grabbing him by the neck.
‘What? Ow!’ shouted Tidus.
‘Wait till you see this!’ said Wakka, dragging him near the
crowd of people.
‘I can’t see anything!’ said Tidus, finally breaking away
from Wakka’s grasp.
‘Ready!’ cried Wakka to the girl.
‘Okay!’ said the summoner.
The summoner slowly meditated and turned her staff around,
as if in a deep thought. Tidus looked up, and saw that the
sky above the girl had grown gray, as if a vast smoke hung
above it. Suddenly a light came through it and there was a
flash of searing lightning. A great black shape came flying
down with great speed, a beast like an eagle with wings. It
stood menacingly before the summoner and the villagers.
Tidus heard some of the villagers whispering, ‘Valefor’.
The summoner walked towards the huge beast with no fear. The
beast bending its neck allowed the summoner pet him. The
villagers cheered and shouted. Tidus did not move.
“I had never seen anything like it in my life. Sure, it was
a little scary, but still...I could feel a strange kind of
gentleness coming from it.”
The beast flew away afterwards as dusk drew near.
“I remember... That night, we talked for the first time. I
didn’t know it then, but after that night, everything
changed. For everyone... For me...”
Later that night, a great sprouting campfire was started.
The night was clear and cool. Tidus halted as Wakka came
near. ‘Let me introduce you to the team,’ he said, putting
his arm around Tidus’s shoulder.
‘This guy wants into the tournament so bad, I let him on the
team. His memory’s a little fuzzy, so don’t mind him if he
says anything odd!’ introduced Wakka, and turned to Tidus,
‘Come on, say hi.’
‘Uh... Hi, guys.’
His teammate welcomes him.
‘So, what’s our goal?’ said Tidus, feeling energetic and
welcomed.
‘To do our best!’ shouted his teammates.
‘Nope, we got a new goal now! Our new goal...is victory! To
win every match, defeat every opposing team! To bring the
Crystal Cup back to our island! That’s all we need to do to
win! Easy, yea?’ cried Wakka, encouraging his teammates.
‘Victory... Victory! Victory! Victory! Yeah!’ chanted his
teammates.
Tidus was in good spirit and as he slowly turned right he
saw her. He longed to step up and meet her.
‘You heathen!’ cried an old man beside the summoner.
‘Stay away from the summoner!’ shouted an old woman.
‘You’re a bad man!’ shrieked a small girl.
‘Lady Yuna! Be careful!’ warned the old man.
Tidus had remembered getting the old folks pretty angry by
entering the sacred chamber where the summoner was praying.
He felt little embarrassed hearing those things about him.
‘But it was really my fault to begin with,’ argued the
summoner, and standing up she stepped forward to meet Tidus,
‘I’m Yuna. Thank you so much for your help earlier.’
‘I’m sorry about that. Wasn’t that... Wasn’t I not supposed
to... Guess I...kind of overreacted.’ Tidus blamed himself.
‘Oh, no. I was...overconfident,’ said Yuna.
As they talked, the sky cleared above them and was slowly
filled with twinkling stars.
‘Um, I saw that aeon thing. That’s amazing!’ said Tidus.
‘Really? Do you think I can become high summoner?’ she
asked, her eyes upon him.
‘Lady Yuna, come play with me some more!’ cried a small
girl. The summoner nodded to the girl and turned round to
Tidus once more.
‘So, tomorrow, then,’ she said.
‘Tomorrow?’ asked Tidus.
‘We’re going on the same boat, aren’t we?’ said Yuna.
‘Oh, really?’ stammered Tidus, feeling excited in heart.
‘We can talk more. You can tell me all about Zanarkand!’
said the summoner and walked off.
Tidus stood there for a while his eyes ever upon her. Wakka
came beside him. ‘She’s cute, ya?’ he asked.
‘Yeah!’ answered Tidus.
‘Don’t get no ideas,’ said Wakka.
‘No promises there, big guy. Hey, but what if she, like,
comes on to me?’ asked Tidus.
‘That’s not going to happen. If you get tired, let me know.
I had a bed made for you,’ said Wakka, and as he examined
him, he saw his weary face, ‘Hm? Ready for bed?’
‘Yeah,’ said Tidus, feeling tired.
‘Good. Sleep tight,’ said Wakka, leading him to his bed.
Tidus lay for a while in his bed thinking of the girl and
soon fell into a deep sleep. Soft breeze blew chill in the
room, as Tidus lay in a troubled dream.
Tidus saw himself running to the dock. ‘Where’s that boat?’
he wondered. He ran a little and found Yuna standing, gazing
at the ocean. ‘Everyone will find us if it doesn’t come
soon,’ said Yuna, worried.
‘You really sure this is okay?’ he asked.
‘Would you take me to Zanarkand?’ said Yuna.
‘Hey! You’d said you’d go with me!’ cried a voice, as Rikku
came running.
‘Oh, hey...I, uh...’ stammered Tidus.
‘I thought Wakka told you not to get any ideas?’ blamed
Rikku.
‘He did?’ asked Yuna.
‘Yeah, so you’re coming with me!’ said Rikku.
‘Hey! Stop dreaming!’ shouted a voice from behind. Tidus
remembered this voice. This voice he had hated and dreaded
for so long. Tidus turned around and saw his father on the
beach.
‘You with a woman? You can’t even catch a ball! Oh, what’s
the matter? Gonna cry again? Cry, cry. That’s the only thing
you’re good for!’ said Jecht mockingly.
‘I hate you,’ said young Tidus softly, despising his father.
‘Huh? What’d you say?’ said Jecht.
‘You have to speak loudly,’ advised Yuna.
‘I hate you!’ cried young Tidus.
‘Eh?’ stammered Jecht.
‘That’s the spirit!’ said Rikku, encouraging Tidus.
‘You can do it!’ cried Yuna.
‘I hate you!’ screamed Tidus, waking up in hatred. Calming
himself, he sat up and looked about. Dimly he heard a
quarrel outside.
‘He’s dead, okay? Dead!’ said a soft voice outside the
lodge. He slowly stooped over and looked outside.
‘He does look a lot like Chappu. I was surprised, too, the
first time I saw him. But no matter what he looks like, he
isn’t Chappu. You shouldn’t have brought him here in the
first place!’ said the woman in black. Tidus remembered her,
he remembered her ghostly gaze upon him in the chamber.
‘Yeah, but...he needed our help!’ said Wakka.
‘Excuses again?’
‘Yeah, but...’
‘That’s it. No more. Enough, Wakka!’ said the woman angrily
and walked off. Wakka with cast down head, slowly came back
to the lodge.
‘Scary! So, who’s Chappu?’ asked Tidus.
‘My little brother Chappu. He looked like you,’ explained
Wakka.
‘He’s dead?’ asked Tidus.
‘He was with the Crusaders when they fought Sin last year.
He didn’t make it. I first heard it on the day of the
tournament,’ said Wakka with grief.
‘Oh, so that’s why,’ said Tidus.
‘I became a guardian to fight Sin, ya?’ said Wakka.
‘Revenge, then?’ asked Tidus.
‘That was the idea. I’m more worried about a stupid game now
than avenging my brother. Well, after the next tournament,
I’ll be a guardian full-time. I know it kinda looks like I’m
using you, but I’m not.’
‘Don’t worry. I mean, I owe you a lot. You really helped me
out, you know? What I mean is...thanks, Wakka,’ he thanked.
‘Stop, you’re embarrassing me!’ said Wakka blushing.
Tidus lay for a while in his bed. Trying not to sleep.
Trying not to remember the dreams. But soon a great
sleepiness came over him and he felt himself unable to
resist it anymore and fell into a deep, deep sleep. A sleep
he hasn’t slept for years.
===========================================================
CHAPTER III
The Journey
===========================================================
Tidus woke early in his bed, feeling well and refreshed. The
first red light of day was in the room as the fresh scent of
morning air came swirling through the open window.
Getting up quietly, Tidus left the lodge and stepped out
into the morning sunlight. Both Wakka and the woman in black
stood outside. ‘Hey! Sleepyhead! Something I want to give
you,’ called Wakka, breaking the silence in the air. It
seemed to Tidus as the sword Brotherhood shone with bright
blue flame for a split second as Wakka brought it out.
‘Whoa! You’re giving this...to me?’ asked Tidus, with wonder
and light in his eyes.
‘Yeah, use it well!’ said Wakka.
‘That’s the sword you gave Chappu,’ said the woman.
‘Well, he never used it. Where’s Yuna?’ said Wakka.
‘We’re taking the same boat as Yuna, right? Why do we gotta
wait here?’ asked Tidus.
‘Yuna came to this village ten years ago, when the last Calm
started,’ replied Wakka.
‘The Calm?’ said Tidus, confused as usual.
‘Since then, she’s been like a little sister to me and Lulu.
But she had the talent... She became an apprentice. Now,
today, she leaves as a summoner,’ said Wakka, sounding both
happy and sad.
‘This is our journey... We should leave together,’ said
Lulu.
Lulu? So Lulu is her name thought Tidus staring at the woman
in black.
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