Out on the Moonflow: Part 2
“What in Yevon…” said Wakka, catching himself before finishing his familiar question. “What is going on? I must be dreaming, ya?” shaking his head as if to destroy the image in front of him. Lulu just stared at the couple in front of her, trying to work out in her mind a logical reason for what she was seeing. Kimahri just smiled, or at least as much of a smile a Ronso can give. Rikku started towards them, hands by her side, a slight smile on her face.
Tidus and Yuna finally broke apart, still holding hands. “Uhh…hi guys.” Tidus giving the group a small wave. “Miss me?”
“Woohoo!” yelled Rikku, running up to Tidus and giving him a big choke hold hug. “I knew you would come back!”
Kimahri and Wakka just slowly walked forwards; Kimahri gave a good, hard slap on Tidus’s back that made him wince, Wakka looked at Tidus from head to toe, and then grabbed Tidus in a sleeper hold and rubbed the top of his head, “Good to see ya, brudda. Had to deal with Lu’s temper by myself.”
This got a growl and a huff from the smiling black mage and a chuckle from the rest of the guardians standing around. “How is it that you are here with us, Tidus? We all saw you jump off the airship, and, well, disappear. Please explain,” said Lulu in her ‘I-questions-and-you-better-answer-them voice’, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
“Well, it’s kind of hard to explain and even I don’t understand it all…here’s what I can tell you.” Tidus with a look of deep thought on his face, “I am from the dream Zanarkand, and when I came in contact with Sin, I became real in the Spira. I became beyond the dream of the faith, and yet still connected to that dream. When we defeated Yu Yevon and set the faith free, the small part of me that was still a dream started to fade away, taking the rest of me with it. It took me a while to regain enough strength to come back, that and Yuna’s constant dreaming and love for me and mine for her. And that, as they say, is that.” Giving the group a mischievous smile.
A silence filled the air as the group thought over the words, until a loud yawn from Tidus broke it. “Can we go to bed now and think about all this stuff later?”
“Sure brudda. Let’s get some sleep; the camp is this way, follow me.” Wakka walking down stream, with Lulu, Kimahri, Rikku following behind.
“You’re back.” Said Yuna, touching the side of Tidus’s face.
“I’ll never leave you again Yuna. I love you.” Tidus kissing her hand, her brow, her cheek, her mouth…until a blitz ball came suddenly whistling through the air, hitting Tidus square in the back of the head.
“Bed time kiddos!” yelled Wakka, holding his blitz ball with a wicked smile on his face.
“Ugg, Wakka” Tidus rubbing the back of his head, “I’m going to have a lump in the morning. We’re coming. We’re coming.”
And the two walked towards the campsite hand in hand.
A man with long, midnight black hair paced around in an abandoned temple of Yevon, the statues of the high summoners long sense destroyed, the faith of the temple, cold, lifeless stone. Fixing his loose tunic of fine silk, dyed blood red, he did not notice the man coming into the temple. “All is ready for your departure Lord Mosul. Do you wish to depart now, my lord?” the man bowing low to the ground.
Mosul turned to the man, staring at him with his deep purple eyes flecked with gold and then at the ruins lying before him. “Yes, let us leave this crumbling wasteland.” Walking out of the temple in slow, smooth steps.
“If I may my lord, were are we headed?”
“To Bevelle.”
The sound of swords clanging woke Yuna from her sleep. Looking around, she spied Wakka and Tidus drilling near the Moonflow’s edge. Rubbing her eyes, she whispered to herself, “It’s not a dream. He’s really here.”
Tidus, spotting Yuna awake, walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning Yuna, or should I say good afternoon?”
“Afternoon?! Have I been asleep for so long? Why didn’t anyone wake me?” she said with a huff.
“We didn’t want to disturb you, you looked so peaceful.”
“And now that Yuna is awake, we can head out to Djose.” said Lulu, emerging from the woods. “We have to meet Lord Saber there before night falls.”
The group reached the bridges leading to Djose just as the sun was beginning to set. As they arrived at what was once a Temple of Yevon, they saw how much Djose had changed. “Wow. How long have I been gone?” Tidus gawking at the small bustling town before them.
“You’ve been gone a little over eight months. Once Sin was defeated, the Al Bhed began to help rebuild the towns destroyed by Sin and introduced some helpful machine, like communicators and airships, to many of the villages.” said Rikku, “It has made life a little easier and some of the villages have grown and new ones have popped up.”
“Most of the temples have been torn down, but the one here in Djose remains, mainly because of the Lightning Mushroom Rock protecting it. It is now the home of the maester of Djose, Lord Saber.” said Lulu.
“Talking about me?” A man with dark brown hair and forest green eyes walked up to the group.
“Oh, Lord Saber!” Yuna quickly bowing, “You surprised us.”
Giving them a warm smile, “It is good to see all of you again. I hope your journey went well.” Looking at Tidus, “Are you Sir Tidus?”
Tidus stood there for a second with a surprised look on his face from being referred to as Sir Tidus. “Just call me Tidus. Nice to meet you Saber.” holding out his hand.
Saber grasped Tidus’s hand with a hearty handshake. “Please come into my home.” beckoning them all towards the old temple. “Yuna, we have a problem that we need to discuss.”
The once peaceful streets of Bevelle were now filled with confusion, pain, and fear. People running away from flying men and women, raining down arrows at the scattering people. A great black dragon flew over a large group of people, breathing out poisonous vapors over them, killing them once they breathed in the vapor. The dragon landed and, in a flash of light, transformed into a man with midnight black hair.
Turning to the man who just landed next to him, he gave him a slight smile. “Alegrad, gather up the rest of them. Kill any who resist. Report back to me when you have rounded them all up.”
Alegrad unfurled his deep green wings, one of the feathers falling to the ground. “All shall be done as you command, my lord.” taking out his sword, he gave a war-cry and shot into the air with a hundred others following close behind, echoing his cry.
Looking out across the carnage spread out in front of him, Mosul smiled. “Spira shall finally be ruled by its true masters, the Vampiles. Let the war begin.”
As the sun began to set, a bloody glow washed over the bodies of hundreds, over the now empty streets, only the sounds of screams and swords filling the dead air.
A blue sphere began to glow and emit a loud buzzing sound, just as the group entered into Saber’s chambers. Touching the sphere, a scream echoed throughout the chambers of the maester of Djose, followed by a man speaking quickly, fear saturating his words. “Lord Saber! It’s horrible! Winged people began attacking in Bevelle! It’s like they’re fighting a battle with us! A man with black wings and hair seems to be the leader of the people. They’ve…they’ve slaughtered so many people…so few of us are left…they’re rounding…” The voice was suddenly cut off by a war cry and the sound of swords clanging, and then silence.
A deafening silence filled the chamber, everyone still staring at the sphere, now gone dull. “Monster”, said Tidus, shaking with rage, “killing all those people, for what? I say we go and kick this guy’s ass!”
The rest of the group just looked at him until Saber broke the silence. “It looks like the Vampiles have finally emerged.”
“Who and what are the Vampiles, where do they come from, and what do they want?” asked Lulu.
“So much death…it’s like Sin, no, this man is worse that Sin. All this death, for what?” said Yuna in a loud whisper.
“The Vampiles come from the Forest of Silence, located on a large island far beyond the ruins of Zanarkand. They are an ancient race, proud and strong.” Saber began walking around the chamber, “Very little is know of them; they are a reclusive people, very rarely venturing far from their island. They have large feathered wings on their backs, but otherwise look the same as the rest of us. They are fierce warriors and powerful mages. As to why they are attacking us, I do not know.”
“We must go and help fight these people. We must save Bevelle.” said Yuna, a look of determination and fear in her eyes. “Everyone?”
“Let’s go!” said both Rikku and Tidus.
“Here we go again.” said Wakka, shaking his head; “I’m getting to old to save the world.”
“Let’s call Cid and have him send down the airship.” said Lulu, “We need to get to Bevelle, fast.”
As Tidus and the rest of the group entered the bridge of the airship, Cid walked up to them. He gave a hug to each of the girls, a strong handshake to Kimahri and Wakka, and a hard punch to the top of Tidus’s head. “Owwww!” rubbing his head, “What was that for?!”
Cid smiled and said, “For making my niece cry. Good to see ya boy.”
“How long will it take to reach Bevelle?” asked Yuna.
“About twenty minutes.” Cid turned away from the group and turned on the locator. A moment later an image of Bevelle appeared in the sphere. Bodies were laying everywhere, men and women with wings walking around, observing the carnage, and in front of the palace of St. Bevelle, 300 men, women, and children were huddled inside of cages surrounded by more of the winged people. “Damn you Mosul.” Cid, slamming his fists on the control panel.
“Is that…is that Bevelle, pops?” asked Rikku, quietly.
Cid slowly turned back to the now sickened group, “Yeah, it is.” a small tear ran down his well-worn face. Quickly wiping the tear away, he began to sing the Hymn of the Fayth. The rest of the Al Bhed and the guardians joined in.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” said Rikku, running out of the bridge, holding her hand to her mouth, looking green.
“Me too.” said Yuna, as she too ran off, with Lulu following close behind.
Wakka slid down against the wall, just shaking his head and speaking softly to himself.
Tidus just thought to himself, “We’ll get him. We’ll get him. We’ll get him.”
Cid landed the airship a few feet away from the entrance to Bevelle. “Okay then, kiddos. Here we are; you make that bastard pay.” He walked the group to the exit in silence. “One more thing. This man’s name is Mosul; he’s a damn good swordsman and an even better mage. Be on your guard.” As the group walked out of the airship, Cid grabbed the back of Tidus’s shirt, “Don’t you go dying out there, kid. Would want to see my niece and daughter cry again.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” a look of determination and anger flashing in his eyes, he stepped off of the airship. He brought out his favorite sword, Brotherhood and did a couple of practice moves. Yuna opened a box and took out Nirvana, delicately running a cloth over its smooth surface. Wakka brought out his World Champ and pushed a button at the top and released the spikes hidden around the ball. Lulu said a few words and, walking out of a puff of smoke came Onion Knight, armor clanking. Kimahri reached behind his back and brought out the Spirit Lance and stood there like a sentinel. Rikku placed Godhand on her arm and did a couple of punches in the air.
They walked silently through the streets, looking in sadness and anger at what was once a bustling city, filled with people. “Why? Why would anyone do this?” cried Yuna.
“Well because Lord Mosul wished it so.”
Landing before them, four Vampiles held swords at the ready, while a fifth walked forward towards them. “I am Alegrad. Drop your weapons and come with me. Any resistance, and you will be killed. Now, move!” he barked.
“I think we should do what this…man says, for the time being. We can use this time to come up with a plan and find out what these people want.” said Lulu in a soft whisper.
And the guardians handed over their weapons and followed them to the Palace of St. Bevelle.