Chapter 3 - Chapter Two-"The Isle of Besaid"

He looked around himself, at the pristine, cool water; there was no sign of Rikku or even the boat they had been on. He looked down and sighed, and then he looked right towards the shore just as a blitzball flew forward and right into his face. He recovered from the hit and looked towards the shore, spotting a team of men; one of them spoke up “Hey, You okay?” Tidus smiled, he was saved. “Hey!” he leaped out of the water, hurling the ball up, spinning in the air, his foot contacted the ball and it flew past the man. He turned and watched the ball fly into the distance. “Whoa-ho…” Tidus swam out of the water, drudging up the shore.

“Yo! Hiya!” Tidus walked up to the man, who was wearing a very strange outfit, yellow over-alls, no shirt, his red hair was up in the front, curving back. “You wanna try that move one more time?” Tidus grinned and nodded, taking the ball, he tossed it up, it fell back down, hitting his head, it bounced back up and Tidus leaped up with it, spinning in the air, he hit back out towards the sea.

“Finally, things were starting to look up.”

The man with the odd hair stepped closer to Tidus, “You’re no amateur, who you play for?” Tidus smiled at the guy and nodded, “The Zanarkand Abes!” The man blinked and cocked a brow “What team you say again?” Tidus frowned and looked around, “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.” The man put a hand on Tidus’ shoulder. “Sin’s toxin got to you. But you’re still alive, Praise be to Yevon.” He looked back to the men, letting go of Tidus “Alright, back to practice!”

He looked back to Tidus, “I’m Wakka, coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda.” Tidus nodded, his stomach growling loudly, he looked down. “What? You hungry?” Tidus nodded again. “Okay! Back to the village! I’ll get you somethin’.” They walked, side by side, through a small valley, the emerged in a large, over grown area. Tidus and Wakka stopped walking as Tidus grabbed Wakkas’ arm.

“I felt like I could trust Wakka, so I just had to ask.”

“Its true Zanarkand was destroyed, right? A thousand years ago? So it’s just a big pile of rubble now, isn’t it?” Wakka sighed and looked at Tidus, then he looked away, not wanting to look into Tidus’ eyes. “Long time ago, there were a whole lot of cities in Spira. Big cities, with machina-machines-to run em’. People played all day long and let the machina do the work, and then, well, take a look.” Wakka waved his arm, Tidus looked around him, noticing many ruined buildings and a lot of rubble. “Yeah, that was a thousand years ago, just like you said. If you ask me, Sin’s our punishment for lettin’ things get outta hand. What gets me, though…is that 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 some times.” Tidus nodded at this and let go of Wakka.

“It’s just like Rikku said. Wakka and Rikku couldn’t both be lying, why would they?”

Wakka grinned and hit Tidus’ shoulder with his fist softly, to get his attention again, putting his arm around Tidus’ shoulder, laughing softly, an almost brother like admiration in his eyes. “But you from the Zanarkand Abes- that was a good one!” Tidus sighed and shook his head. “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?” Wakka let go of Tidus and grinned, Tidus offered a weak smile as Wakka began to walk off, Tidus stood there, watching his new friend walk off.

“I appreciated that fact that Wakka was trying to cheer me up. But at the 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 to not think of home, but I started to feel better already. A little better…maybe.”

Tidus realized Wakka has disappeared and he ran after him, he caught up with him near a cliff, beneath the cliff sat a river. Wakka put his hand behind Tidus’ back, “Hey! Its this way!” Tidus looked to Wakka “Huh?” Wakka shove Tidus down and into the water, Wakka followed, splashing Tidus as he entered the water, his head popped up from the water and he laughed. “What’s the big idea?” Wakka shrugged and began swimming, Tidus shook his head, following him lazily.

Soon Tidus was ahead of Wakka and he reached the end, he looked around confused, then down into the water, he noticed a cave opening. Wakka burst out of the water, wrapping his arm around Tidus’ neck. “Lemme go!” Tidus struggled against Wakka, “Got a favor to ask ya.” Tidus sighed, “You want me on your team, right?” Wakka let go of Tidus and Tidus drifted off, floating on his back in front of Wakka. “A major blitz tournament’s coming up. All of Spira’ll be there! It’s so huge, I’m sure someone will recognize you! Then you can go back to your old team, right? It’ll be fun! What do ya say, huh? Come on! Come on!” Tidus sighed and nodded “Sure thing.” “Dude, our teams gonna rock, eh?” Wakka and Tidus dove under the water and swam through the cave.

“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.”

Wakka and Tidus emerged from the cave, water dripping from them, Wakka fixed his hair as they waked up the dirt road. They followed it until they got to another cliff, which looked down upon the village of Besaid. Wakka pointed down to it, about six huts littered it on either side, a small hotel was off to the left side and a huge temple was to the very back. “This is where I was born.” Tidus looked over to Wakkas face. “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, the time seemed right.”

They both began walking along the dirt road again, following it down towards the village. “So, after quitting, I got this new job, ya? But every time my mind wandered, I thought about the game.” Tidus grinned, watching his feet, “Ten years without a single win’ll do that.” Wakka nodded and kept walking, “My first match last year was my big chance. But something else was on my mind. I couldn’t focus.” Tidus grinned wider, looking up to Wakka. “Nice excuse.” Wakka looked over to Tidus, “Hey, hey!” Tidus put up both his hands, “So you want to win the next tournament-go out with a bang?” They both stopped walking at this point, Wakka nodded.

“So, what’s our goal?” Tidus asked, crossing his arms. “I don’t care what we do, long as we play our best. If we give it our all, I can walk away happy.” Tidus’ jaw dropped and his shook his head furiously, the water that was left in it quickly came loose, “No, no, no, no, no. If I say ‘What’s our goal?’ you say ‘Victory!’ When you play blitzball, you play to win!” Wakka looked stunned by this, as if it were an alien concept. “Victory? You serious?” Tidus nodded, Wakka smiled, and they continued on.

Just before they reached the village gates, two militant-looking men came marching up behind them. All four stopped walking, Tidus and Wakka turned, the larger one of the men nodded towards Tidus and spoke, “Ah, the one from the sea!” Tidus cocked his head to the side, the small man spoke up next, “Be on guard, there’s fiends on the road today.” The larger one nodded “After surviving your run in with sin, it would be a shame if something happened now.” The larger one began marching onward, the smaller one struggled to keep up and soon they entered the village, leaving Tidus and Wakka behind.

“Who were they?” Tidus looked over to Wakka as they both turned. “Luzzu and Gatta-Crusaders.” Tidus looked confused “Crews of what?” Wakka smiled “What, you forgot that, too?” Tidus nodded and looked down. “Hey, sorry, don’t worry about it, I’ll help you out.” Tidus smiled, looking up “Cool, in return, come tournament time, I’ll make sure we take the cup!” Wakka nodded and smiled wider “Cool! About the Crusaders, you can ask them yourself. They’ve got a lodge in the village.” They started walking again, entering the village. “Besaid Village.” Wakka looked around the small town with pride.

“They got any food here?” Tidus rubbed his stomach as it growled again. “We’ll get you something over there” Wakka pointed over to one of the little huts. “Take a look around first. Let’s see…” Wakka pointed over to the hotel, “The Crusaders Lodge is over yonder. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there. Oh, right, over here!” Wakka pulled Tidus out of the gates and to the side, Tidus stumbled and looked to Wakka, pushed a few pieces of hair from his own face. “Huh? What’s up?” Wakka looked down at Tidus’ face “You do remember the prayer, right?” Tidus shook his head, confusedly.


“Of course I’d never prayed before in my life. Not that he would know that…”

“You…must have forgot or something. Here, I’ll show you.” Wakka stepped back and raised both of his hands over his head, creating a curve in each arm, he brought them down, the right one under the left, slowly, he formed a circle in front of his chest with his hands and bowed to Tidus, he stood up, letting his arms drop. “Go ahead, you try.” Tidus nodded and repeated Wakkas motion flawlessly, “Hey, not bad. Okay, now go present yourself to the temple Summoner.”

“Any blitzball player would know that ‘prayer’. It was the blitzball sign for victory.”

“I think I’m gonna go check out the Crusaders first, okay?” Wakka nodded, “Sure Brudda.” Tidus waved and walked over to the hotel, pushing back the curtain that was the door. Tidus looked around the entirely blue room, which was small, it had a counter and a table, in the back there were three beds, the curtain to them was open slightly. Gatta was standing in front of the table; Luzzu was sitting across from him. Gatta turned and looked to Tidus. “Hey, you! You were attacked by Sin…right? Recently was it?” Tidus nodded, “I think so.” Gatta crossed his arms “So, Sin can’t be far, right? You’re not hiding anything, are you?” his tone was harsh and serious. “Why would I?” Tidus crossed his arms.

Luzzu nodded towards Tidus, “If Sins nearby, it’ll attack the island for sure. But it hasn’t. I wonder why?” Tidus shook his head, shrugging his shoulders and holding up his hands. “I’m sorry…I really don’t know anything. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know what the Crusaders are-” Gatta spoke up, cutting Tidus off, “You’re kidding! Right…?” Luzzu shook his head, “Sin, the toxin. Gatta, tell him who we are!” This was a command, obviously Luzzu was in charge of this duo. Gatta nodded with pride, his voice swelling with it “Yes, Sir! The Crusaders are sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira, accepting all who wish to join our struggle!”

“The hero Mi’ Hien 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!” Tidus stifled a laugh, grinning, “What, you’ve been fighting eight hundred years and you still haven’t beat it?” Gatta looked offended, Luzzu stood up slowly. “Well, we’ve steered Sin away from towns many times! And that’s all we can do. Nobody’s been able to defeat it. Our mission as Crusaders is to protect the temples, towns, villages, and people of Spira.” Tidus looked somewhat confused, “So then whose job is it to defeat Sin?” Gatta blinked and looked to Luzzu “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.”

Tidus nodded and turned, exiting the hotel, he quickly walked up the small stair way to the temples’ entrance way, walking towards the door. He stepped through, entering a round chamber, statues lined the ring of the room, he stepped into the center, looking around. He noticed several large statues towards the back of the temple, a stair way, and two halls on either side of the stair way, he turned around the dimly lighted room, the scent of incense filled the room, musking the air.

“It was then, standing in that place, that I began to realize how different this world was from my own.”

Tidus walked up to one of the large statues, a man, holding a staff, dressed in a floor length coat which buttoned in the front. An old priest approached Tidus, smiling softly, “Ten years have passed since Lord Braska became High Summoner, and finally we receive a statue for our temple.” Tidus turned and looked to the Priest, feeling a sense of serenity from him, yet, there seemed to be corruption in his eyes, Tidus shook his head slightly, “Its my imagination” he thought to himself. “What’s a High Summoner?” all around the temple, gasps sounded out, Tidus looked around himself, looking back to the Priest. “I…I got too close to Sin’s…uh…toxin.”

“It was funny hearing my self make the same excuse over and over…funny…and a little sad.”

Tidus looked down, then back up, smiling as the Priest prayed before him. “Praise be to Yevon that you survived Sins touch.” Tidus nodded, smiling wider, “Uh…thanks…I guess.” The Priest nodded slowly again, “Now, allow me to refresh your memory. 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.”

“So what he meant…was that we should respect some kind of great man or something like that…I figured.”

“Perhaps you should pray my son.” Tidus nodded and turned, walking to one of the smaller statues, he got on his knees and preformed the prayer, feeling quite silly. Once he had finished, he stood, bowed to the Priest and turned, exiting the temple. Tidus walked over to the hut where Wakka had pointed out before, he entered it, and there was a single bed, a small, round table, where food was laid out. Wakka was sitting next to the table; he was still chopping up food. “Sorry man, no time for food yet. Take a nap! You looked bushed!” Tidus yawned and stretched, “Thanks! I think I will!” Tidus walked over to the small bed and sat down, he nodded to Wakka then laid down, stretching out, soon he was asleep.

The Priest from the temple entered the hut, “You could at least go see how they are doing.” Wakka stood up, looking to him. “We can’t interfere, it’s a rule.” The Priest sighed, his voice concerned “But its been nearly…” The room whitens as Tidus enters his dream world, His old boat house floats, drenched by the sun; a man stands on it, talking to a woman. “But it’s been nearly a day already.” The woman looked down, then back up, “Perhaps you could go look for us.” The man nodded, crossing his arms. “People are searching for him now.” The woman sighed, “Thank you…”

A young child comes up, Tidus’ six year old self. “Who cares whether he comes back or not?” The woman looked shocked, “But, he might die!” The young Tidus nodded, “Fine! Let him!” The woman kneeled down, putting her hand on his shoulder, looking into his eyes. “Do you…do you hate him so?” young Tidus nods yes, looking away from the woman’s eyes. “If he dies, you’ll never be able to tell him how much you hate him.” The little boy let a few tears escape his eyes. Tidus sat bolt up in the bed, looking around. Wakka was no where to be seen, he sighed and stood up, stretching.

“Wakka?” Tidus walked out of the hut, glancing around, shading his eyes from the setting sun. Tidus remembered the Priest and Wakka leaving, so he made his way back into the temple, greeted by the sickly sweet scent. He spotted Wakka and the Priest, he walked over to them slowly. “Is there something wrong?” Wakka nodded, “The Summoner hasn’t returned from the trial.” Tidus cocked his head to the side “Eh?” “Well, Apprentice Summoner, really.” Tidus nodded, “Ah…” Wakka pointed to the door that’s at the top of the stair well. “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?”

“So someone is in there somewhere and they haven’t come back out. Right, I got it.” Tidus smiled at Wakka, patting his arm. “A day’s already gone by.” Tidus frowned, looking towards the door. “Is it particularly dangerous in there?” Wakka nodded solemnly, “Sometimes, yes.” Tidus looked back to Wakka, “Why don’t you go in and help?” Wakka grinned at Tidus’ concern. “There’s already Guardians in there, besides, it’s forbidden.” Tidus shook his head and run up the stairs, reaching for the door, the Priest called to him “The precepts must be obeyed!” Tidus shook his head and opened the door, “Like I care!”

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all…”

Tidus entered a small grey room, looking around, spotting a glyph on the wall, he touched it gently and a chime rang out, the wall to the right of him slide up and he turned, walking down a flight of stairs slowly. He noticed a blue sphere in the wall, he grabbed it out and turned, studying the sphere as he walked, soon, however, he walked straight into two doors, the sphere went flying out of his hand, and, as if pulled by some magnetic bond, was inserted into a socket in the door, it swung open. Tidus slowly entered an “U” shaped hall, he crept up the first part of the hall, noticing another place for a sphere, he quickly turned and walked back to the doors, taking the sphere from the socket, as soon as he did it flew to the other one, the wall flew up.

Tidus walked to the small opening, another sphere, a green one, sat in the hole, Tidus picked it up and it flew from his hand, he ran after it, barreling down the hall way, the only light coming from the sphere. It sunk into a small, stone pedestal, the wall behind it seemed to dissolve into nothing. “Whoa…this place…” he stepped into the room, walking slowly forward, as soon as he did, the pedestal flew forward, slamming into a hole in the ground; Tidus had to jump to the side to not be hit by it. “…Is defiantly dangerous.”

The floor began to glow as Wakka walked up behind Tidus, “What’s gotten into you?!” Tidus turned and looked down, shrugging. “Hey…its okay, only Summoners and their guardians can enter here. It’s a tradition, very important.” Tidus looked back up, “So, what about you?” Wakka smiled proudly, standing up straight and puffing out his chest, “Me? I’m a Guardian.” Tidus grinned, shaking his head, they both stepped onto the place where the floor had changed, it started to lower, and Tidus looked around a bit worriedly. “Guardian?” Tidus looked intrigued, “Summoners go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in Spira. Guardians protect them. The guardians in there now…one of thems got short fuse, and who knows what the others thinking.” The elevator reached its destination and they stepped off.

“Well, now that we’ve come this far…might as well go all the way!” Tidus and Wakka entered yet another circular room, this one was heavily decorated with religious paraphernalia, and the far end had a stair way which lead up to an oval shaped door, which had hangings around it. A chesty woman, wearing a beautiful black dress with tan fur trim, and a front composed completely of belt (which exposed a bit of her upper thigh.) Her long, black braided hair swayed as she walked up to Wakka and Tidus, her right eye covered with woven hair. A fury in her exposed eye was obvious; it was red, her lips full and the color of rotten grapes. Three necklaces adorn her slender neck.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t think we’d be able to handle it?” Wakka looked a bit frightened, but Tidus noticed something else in both of their eyes, a longing of sorts; a passion for each other that could not, no, must not be expressed. “No, its uh…just…” he looked to Tidus and sighed. “See, I told you she gets mad easy.” Tidus looked over to the large, fury man, who had a broken horn sticking out of his forehead, his fur was completely blue and his face came into a muzzle. His yellow eyes just stared at Tidus, making him uneasy. The female Guardian stepped up to Tidus, gasping a bit. “Who…are you?” But before Tidus could answer, the door slid open and everyone turned, looking.

A light seemed to outline a slim, small figure, she stepped out slowly, her blue dress flowing gently around her slender legs, it led up to a yellow guarder, with a pink pentagonal shape on it, several strands of pink rope fell from it. Her breasts were covered with a cross of white cotton; a sapphire jewel adorned her breast on a sterling silver chain. She was stunning, an innocence about her. She slowly stumbled as she exited, leaning against the side, her eyes closed, her face pale from the hard time she just had, her brown hair flowing around her head.

She stumbled forward once more, tumbling down the stair. The blue Guardian rushed forward, catching her before she could fall just one stair, everyone watched her as he helped her stand. She tossed back her hair and opened her eyes, one green and one blue, those deep pools showed so much wisdom, Tidus felt something stir inside his stomach as her pink, rosebud lips moved, her beautiful voice coming out softly, “I’ve done it…I have become…a Summoner.” The Guardians and Tidus slowly exited the Cloister, Tidus’ knees had already gone weak from his experience with the young, beautiful summoner. As they reached the main temple area, the Summoner and Guardians exited, Tidus just stood there, watching the door.

“Man, was I surprised, and here I was thinking Summoners were all old geezers.”

Tidus slowly walked out of the temple, “Hey! Over here!” Wakka quickly grabbed Tidus around the neck, pulling him towards a bunch of people, gathering around a circle. “What? Ow!” Wakka laughed, “Wait till you see this!” Tidus whined, struggling, “I can’t see anything!” Wakka let go of Tidus and Tidus stepped up to the circle, the Summoner was standing in the center, smiling towards Wakka. Wakka nods, “Ready!” the Summoner grins, “Okay!” she turned her back to them, holding out her arms, in her right hand a blue staff with a yellow circle that had intricate designs on it. She twirled it around and soon a brilliant flash of light appeared at her feet and spread out.

Glyphs appeared all over the ground as four white orbs flew up into the sky coming together at some unknown point, Tidus watched in wonder as a bird like creature flew down, landing next to the Summoner. Its neck was adorned with red feathers, its face pinched into a sharp beak, its eyes fierce, yet loving, its wings spread out, flesh colored, turning down in gently curves, three on each; all had several jewels on it. The Summoner put her hand on its beak and nuzzled against its neck, smiling. Her blue hair wrap jingling lightly against its neck. She stepped back and sent it back to its resting place, she turned, Wakka and the female Guardian walked to her, both patting her shoulders.

“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.”

Tidus and Wakka returned to Wakkas hut, sitting down at the table, Tidus studied Wakkas face. “So, does stuff like that happen often around here?” Wakka smiled, passing Tidus a sandwich and a few crackers. “Only every time a Summoner passes through to get that Aeon, which hasn’t been much Brudda” Tidus nodded, taking a few bites of his food. “Do Aeons have separate names or are they just all called Aeons?” Wakka shrugged, “It really depends on the Summoner, they can choose to name it something, like Valefor, which you just saw, or they can call it somethin’ else, ya? It’s a personal journey and choice.” Tidus nodded, finishing his food. “We’re having a party as soon as the sun sets, you’re coming to meet the team, ya?” Tidus nodded, noticing the fading of light outside.

“I remember…that night, we talked for the first time. I didn’t know it then, everything changed, for everyone…for me…”

Tidus and Wakka emerged from his hut, Wakka walked off to join his team by the camp fire and Tidus followed. Wakka looked over to Tidus “Let me introduce you to the team” Wakka put his arm around Tidus’ shoulder, nodding to the men. “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!” He looked to Tidus. “Come on, say ‘Hi’” He nudged Tidus forward. “Uh…Hey, guys…”

In perfect unison, the men say “Hello” back, all nodding at the same time. Tidus blinked several times, “So…what’s our goal?” the Aurochs all, once again, spoke in perfect unison, “To do our best!” Wakka grinned, talking to his team in a firm, yet caring voice, “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, ya?” The men looked around at each other, their mouths all dropped. “Victory…?” they said in unison, more of a question really, “Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Yeah!” they all jumped and hollered. The Summoner who was sitting with an old woman, an old man, and their grand daughter, looked over, catching Tidus’ eyes, she smiled and looked back to the little girl.

Tidus slowly walked over to her, Wakka watched with a suspicious eye. The old man spoke up first, “You heathen!” the old woman pointed at Tidus, “Stay away from the Summoner!” the little girl joined in too, stepping in front of the Summoner as she stood up, the little girls small fists on her hips, “You’re a bad man!” The Summoner smiled and stepped aside, walking towards Tidus, the old man spoke yet again, “Lady Yuna, be careful!” Yuna stopped and turned, looking to the group. “But it was really my fault to begin with.” She turned back to Tidus and smiled.

“I’m Yuna, thank you so much for your help earlier.” Tidus blinked several times, he stepped forward slightly, “I’m sorry about that. Wasn’t that…wasn’t I not supposed to…guess I kinda over reacted.” He smiled sheepishly and looked down. “Oh, no. I was…over confident.” Tidus looked up and nodded, “Um, I saw that aeon thing. Tha-that’s amazing!” Yuna smiled proudly, giggling slightly, “Really? Do you think I can become high Summoner?” Tidus nodded, but before he could speak, the little girl was tugging on Yunas’ dress, Yuna looked down and smiled. “Lady Yuna, come play with me some more!” Yuna nodded and the girl went back to her grand parents, Yuna looked back up to Tidus. “So, tomorrow, then?” “Tomorrow?” Yuna nodded, “We’re going on the same boat, aren’t we?” Tidus smiled “Oh, really?” “We can talk more. You can tell me all about Zanarkand!” She turned and walked back to her friends, sitting down.

Wakka walked up behind Tidus, looking to him. “She’s cute, ya?” Tidus grinned and nodded, “Yeah!” Wakka frowned, resulting in Tidus’ frown. “Don’t get any ideas.” Tidus blinked and grinned again, “No promises there, big guy. Hey, but what if she, like, comes on to me?” Wakka shook his head, still frowning, “That’s not going to happen.” Tidus sighed and looked down, then back up to Wakka. “If you get tired, let me know. I have a bed made for you.” Tidus yawned and nodded, “Not such a bad idea.” Wakka grinned, “Hm, ready for bed?” Tidus nodded “Yeah,” Wakka pointed to the hotel, “Good, sleep tight.” Tidus walked into the hotel, walking past the front desk, he found his bed and laid down, quickly falling asleep.

He found himself walking along the pier in Besaid, he spotted Yuna and jogged over to her. “Where’s that boat?” Yuna shrugged and looked worried, “Everyone will find us if it doesn’t come soon.” Tidus looked at her face, “You really sure this is okay?” She smiled reassuringly, “Will you take me to Zanarkand?” Tidus smiled, which quickly melted into a frown as he heard foot steps running towards them and a familiar voice, “Hey! You said you’d go with me!” Rikku stopped running, putting her hands on her hips. Tidus quickly turned from both of them; he pretended to jog in place. “Oh, hey, I…uh” Rikku pointed a finger at Tidus, “I thought Wakka told you not to get any ideas!”

Yuna gasped, “Hey did?” Rikku nodded to Yuna, “Yeah!” she looked back to Tidus, “So you’re coming with me!” A rugged voice sounded out, eerily familiar, “Hey! Stop dreaming!” Tidus had become his younger self, his father, Jecht had appeared; Rikku and Yuna stood at either side of him. “You with a woman? You can’t even catch a ball! Oh, what’s the matter?” Young Tidus was crouching down, hiding his face. “Gonna cry again? Cry, cry. That’s the only thing you’re good for!” The young Tidus looked up, his voice quiet and soft, “I…hate you…” Jecht looked at him, “Huh? What’d you say?” Yuna smiled warmly, “You have to speak loudly.” “I hate you!” The young Tidus cried out, “Eh?” Jecht blinked, “That’s the spirit!” Rikku pumped her fists into the air. “You can do it!”

Tidus sat up straight in his bed, crying out “I hate you!” He looked around slowly, breathing deeply, he ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “He’s dead, okay? Dead!” the voice of the female Guardian came to Tidus’ ears, he stood up, walking groggily to the door of the lodge, he looked out of it, seeing Wakka and the female Guardian standing face to face. The female Guardian had her arms crossed over her chest again. “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!”

“Yeah, but…he needed our help!” Lulu shook her head, putting her hand to her forehead, letting it drop back down, “Excuses again?” Wakka sighed, he looked down, his voice weak, “Yeah, but…” Lulu growled, waving both her hands out at him. “That’s it. No more. Enough, Wakka!” her voice was harsh and cold, she turned and walked from him and to her hut, closing the sash hard behind herself. Wakka looked down and whispered softly “Lulu…please…”, Tidus thought “Sooo, Lulu’s her name, hmm…” He closed the door. Wakka entered it quickly, Tidus looked to him, “Scary! So, whose Chappu?”

Wakka looked down, “My little brother Chappu, he looked like you.” Tidus looked down with him, “He’s dead?” Wakka sighed heavily, “He was with the Crusaders, when they fought Sin last year. He didn’t make it, I first heard on the day of the tournament.” Tidus looked up, nodding “Oh…so that’s why…” Wakka looked up also, his eyes glassy from tears that had not yet spilled over, “I became a Guardian to fight Sin, ya?” Tidus nodded, getting it, “Revenge, then?” Wakka nodded back, frowning, “That was the idea. I’m more worried about a stupid game now then avenging my brother. Well, after next tournament, I’ll be a Guardian full time. I know it kinda looks like I’m using you, but I’m not.”

Tidus nodded understandingly, “Don’t worry, I mean, I owe you a lot. You really helped me out, you know? What I mean is…thanks, Wakka.” Wakka smiled sheepishly and blushed slightly, “Stop! You’re embarrassing me!” They shambled off to bed, laughing, and both fell asleep, accompanied by each others snores. When the sun rose and the rooster, or at least Spiras’ equivalent to a rooster, crowed, Tidus sat up in his bed, rubbing his sleep filled eyes; he crawled out of bed and stumbled out of the lodge. Wakka and Lulu were already waiting.

“Hey! Sleepy head!” he waved Tidus over, Tidus obeyed, stretching as he got there. “I want to give you something.” Wakka held out a blue sword, it seemed to be made of liquid; the handle was a dragon’s mouth which eventually turned into the blade, which had a jutting hook at the end. Tidus twirled it; his eyes wide, the red ribbons blew in the wind gently. “Whoa! You’re giving this…to me?” Wakka smiled, beaming, “Yeah! Use it well!” Lulu sighed and looked to Wakka, “That’s the sword you gave Chappu.” Tidus felt an uneasiness now, “Well, he never used it. Where’s Yuna?” Tidus looked around, then back to Wakka, “We’re taking the same boat as Yuna, right? Why do we gotta wait here?”

Wakka looked to him, “Yuna came to this village ten years ago, when the last calm started.” Tidus nodded, and then cocked his head to the side, “The calm?” Wakka nodded, “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.” Lulu nodded, looking to Tidus, “This is our journey…we should leave together.” Just then, a thump is heard near the temple and everyone looked over, Yuna is standing there, two large luggage trunks are on either side of her.

Lulu nodded to her, calling out, “You really don’t need all that luggage.” Yuna looked down to the trunks, then back to Lulu, “They’re not really my things…they’re gifts for the temples we’re to visit…” Wakka spoke up, calling Yunas attention to him, “This isn’t a vacation, Yuna.” Yuna looked down and sighed, “I guess…I guess you’re right.” She steps towards them, leaving her trunks behind. “Okay! We’re off!” The group turned and left the village slowly, walking up the dirt trail. Once they reached the top of the hill, Lulu, Wakka, and Yuna stepped off towards a small statue on the cliff.

Wakka kneeled down, Yuna kneeled down behind him and Lulu stood beside both of them. Wakka and Yuna prayed slowly. Wakka stands up and steps back, watching Yuna. “What’s going on?” Wakka looked to Tidus, “It’s an ancient custom. People leaving the Island pray here for a safe trip. Chappu didn’t pray that day…” Tidus nodded and walked to the statue, kneeling next to Yuna, he prayed silently and stood up with Yuna. “That should do it.” Wakka began walking, Yuna and Lulu followed slowly. After they disappeared behind a bend, Tidus followed, walking along the mountain side, rust-red ruins extend from it, several columns adorn it.




As Tidus stepped forward, a flash of blue appeared on one of the columns, Tidus began spinning as more flashes appeared, and growls reverberate around him as the blue guardian slammed down in front of him. His sharp claws turned into a fist as he pounded the ground, a few cracks appearing in the earthen floor. The Guardian roared, his blood-stained teeth showing, all sharp. The Guardian stood up, whipping out his spear, Tidus quickly pulled out his sword, stepping back. The Guardian began glowing and he leaped up into the air, barreling down towards Tidus, the spear about to puncture his chest, he slammed his sword into and sent the Guardian off to the side, Tidus stumbled back.

“That’s enough!” Wakka quickly walked to them, grabbing the Guardians arm. Tidus, breathing heavily, looked to Lulu, “What’s with that guy?” Lulu grinned and nodded towards him “Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe. He’s learned the fiend’s way of fighting.” Tidus blinked and waved his arm, “That’s not what I meant!” Yuna stepped forward, smiling warmly at Tidus; Wakka spoke up “He’s another one of Yunas’ guardians.” Yuna giggled slightly, “Sometimes we don’t understand him either, Kimahri doesn’t talk much anyway.” Wakka rolled his eyes “Hmph…” Yunas jaw dropped and she looked at Wakka, “But he’s protected me since I was a child!” Lulu and Wakka laugh.

They all eventually made it to the sunny beach, passing a water fall, and the over grown area again. As soon as they made it to the dock, people were crying and hugging Yuna; she just smiled at them and spoke words of soft encouragement. When the S.S. Liki pulled up, she slowly stepped on board, the huge boat was shaped like a giant cross-bow, the sail was colorfully decorated with different symbols, and it was a beautiful ship, wooden, a sense of nostalgia about it. As soon as Lulu, Wakka, Kimahri, and Tidus boarded the boat, they turned and waved, Yuna lifted her voice, “Good bye, all of you, I will…miss you…” A silent tear rolled down her face as the boat took off.

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