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batsutousaiTitle: Crooked Wings
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: T
Pairings: Tidus/Seymour
Warnings: AU, major canon-fuckery
Summary: On that fateful day when Yunalesca faced Sin, only part of her died, and the part that stayed alive finds itself in Spira a thousand years later.
Disclaim Her: Ugh. Translating of Al Bhed. *stare* If it's bold, it's Al Bhed.
Heaven Sent a Hurricane
-0-
"Rikku?" a voice called as the girl in question snatched up a roll from the table of breakfast food.
Rikku turned and grinned at the man standing in the doorway of the travel agency. "Rin! How are you? I haven't seen you in months!"
The man, Rin, smiled back and stepped forward to greet the girl. A couple of other travellers in the room eyed the two Al Bhed like one might a fiend, but Tidus, Gina, and Lulu, who were in the room, just ignored them, returning to sorting out their provisions.
Really, Gina and Lulu were the ones sorting provisions while Tidus stood by and snacked on an apple. Wakka and Kimahri were both outside with Yuna, and Auron had yet to show.
"You may wish to warn Rikku about speaking Al Bhed where Wakka can hear," Lulu commented in an off-handed manner when Rikku and Rin had continued catching up in their language. "He hates them, and we will be travelling together for a few days."
Tidus sighed and dropped his apple core in a conveniently placed bin. "Yeah, okay. Might as well do it now." He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked over to the two Al Bhed. "Hey, Rikku?"
Rikku glanced up, eyes bright. "Tidus! Hi!"
Tidus couldn't help but smile in return. "Hey, Lulu wanted me to warn you to stick to common while we're on the road with Yuna's guardians. Wakka might have a violent fit if he finds out you're Al Bhed."
Rikku grimaced. "Yunie told me the same thing," she admitted, then glanced around the shop. "He's not in here, is he?"
"No, he's outside with Yuna. But he could always come back in."
Rikku sighed and looked back at Rin, who was watching them with a curious look. "Sorry, Rin."
Rin smiled and shrugged. "I understand," he said. "I am always having to watch how I speak, even in my own shop."
Tidus huffed. "It's not fair that you have to be careful," he muttered.
Rikku smiled at him. "Thanks, Tidus. Oh! Rin, this is Tidus. Tidus, Rin." The girl bounced on the balls of her feet a bit. "Tidus and I are travelling with Gina over there. And Yunie, at least until Djose."
Rin eyed the summoner still inside. "Interesting," he allowed.
Tidus shrugged. "I can't speak for Yuna, but Gina doesn't want to call the Final Aeon. So far as we know, it can't defeat Sin. Not for good."
Both Al Bhed looked surprised at that. "The Final Aeon can't defeat Sin?" Rikku asked. "You're certain?"
Tidus grimaced and silently cursed his own trust in Rikku that had him spilling even that little bit of truth. "Uhm, yeah. Pretty certain. I mean, we'll know for sure when we reach Zanarkand, but all the evidence supports that."
Rikku nodded. "Okay!" she said, ever trusting of her two companions. She was too happy to be overly concerned about whatever Tidus and Gina whispered to one another when they thought she wasn't paying attention. She trusted that, when it became important, they'd tell her what they knew. For the moment, she enjoyed travelling with them. Tidus was a way better older brother than her own siblings, and Gina reminded her of what little she remembered of her mother. Occasionally meeting up with Yuna was nice, but she preferred Gina and Tidus to Yuna and her guardians.
Rin, on the other hand, looked a bit suspicious about Tidus' secret evidence, but he, like other Al Bhed, disliked how summoners sacrificed themselves. If Gina intended to find another way, he didn't much care what evidence it was based on.
Auron finally came out from the back room. "Is everyone ready?" he asked Lulu, ignoring Gina entirely.
The summoner huffed and finished shoving everything in her pack as Lulu answered in the affirmative.
"Better he ignore you than glare at you," Tidus offered as Gina caught up with her two guardians by the door.
"What's up with that, anyway?" Rikku wondered. "He's kind of rude."
"We're not sure. All he'd tell Tidus was that I reminded him of someone who betrayed him or some such." Gina huffed and flipped her hair in a manner than had probably looked better with her long hair. "He'd best get over it soon, or I'll give him a reason to dislike me."
Rikku and Tidus traded grins as they all made their way out of the agency, joining up with all the others by the chocobo corrals. "We ready, den?" Wakka asked, rubbing his hands together.
"Sounds like," Gina agreed, deciding to ignore Auron as the oldest guardian and Lulu joined them. "Tidus, Rikku, and I were going to take chocobos for the rest of the Highroad. You can join us, or walk; your choice."
Yuna glanced at Auron who shrugged and nodded, then at Lulu who offered her a faint smile. "We'll ride with you, I think," she decided.
"Excellent." Gina collected some gil from Lulu, then walked over to the attendant to gather their mounts while the rest of the party situated their bags.
The trip through the last of the Highroad was much quicker with the addition of the large yellow birds, and they made it to the gate of Mushroom Rock Road just before they would have stopped for dinner. Of course, it turned out that their speed really hadn't been to their advantage, as the Crusaders had closed the pass off for some sort of operation that was to happen the next morning.
"We can't even pass tonight?" Tidus demanded as the party backed off from the gate to discuss their plans. "It's not like we'd be in their way or anything."
"We'd have to stop before we got to Djose Temple," Lulu replied, shaking her head. "It would make sense to clear off both sides of the road facing the sea, to lessen the chance of accidental deaths."
"Fighting Sin like dat..." Wakka muttered, eyeing the gate where some Al Bhed with machina were being shown through. "It's wrong."
"Are you suggesting that everyone in the world should just sit back and let their lives and homes be destroyed without a say?" Tidus demanded of the other blitzballer. "That if you're not a summoner or know someone willing to become a summoner, you should just sit back on your hands and do nothing?"
Wakka scowled and looked away. "Dat's not what I'm saying..."
"Enlighten me, then."
"Tidus..." Gina sighed, shaking her head. Admittedly, she was a little irritated with the red-head's comment as well, but she wasn't about to start a fight over it.
Wakka looked for a long minute like he wasn't going to speak again, but then he looked up, eyes dark. "Using machina, dat'll never work. They're just going to get themselves killed, and for what? Yevon's teachings say only when we repent for our sins will Sin be gone, ya? And using machina is a sin. So fighting it with machina is only going to make things worse!"
Gina reached forward and covered Tidus' mouth with one hand before the guardian could snap out a reply to that. "Perhaps the use of machina does only anger Sin," she commented neutrally, "but that doesn't mean it's wrong."
"Of course it's wrong!"
"It's wrong to want to protect your families and friends?" Gina replied evenly, cocking an eyebrow.
Wakka deflated. "No, but–"
"I'm not saying the means are right, but you cannot condemn them for doing what you yourself have set out to do. Perhaps they're wrong to use machina, but they're not wrong to want to fight."
Wakka turned away, looking defeated, and Gina finally removed her hand from Tidus' mouth. The blond huffed a bit, then glanced at his summoner. "Sorry."
Gina smiled. "Nothing to be sorry for, Tidus."
They shared a moment of silent understanding, which was broken by Yuna's cry of, "Maester Seymour!"
Gina immediately tensed as they turned to watch the caravan approach, the maester in question in the lead. Rikku came to stand behind Tidus and Gina, while Yuna's guardians all moved forward as the girl dashed up the road a bit to greet the maester. Only Auron remained behind, watching the entire part with a frown.
Seymour smiled pleasantly as he came to a stop before Yuna. "So, we meet again, Lady Yuna," he said in his soft voice.
"Y–Yes?" Yuna glanced up at the man with wide eyes.
"You look troubled. Is there something I can do?" the maester inquired. When Yuna glanced briefly at the barred gate, Seymour nodded. "I see," he murmured and walked over to the gate to request that the party be allowed to pass.
"Interesting," Auron murmured as the maester turned back to Yuna and her guardians to allow them through.
"What should we do?" Rikku whispered as Seymour went ahead.
"I think I should like to see what these people are up to," Gina decided, glancing at Tidus, who set his jaw and nodded.
"Are you coming?" Yuna asked Gina, Tidus, and Rikku, clearly having stopped to wait for them, as Lulu and Wakka started towards the gate.
"Yeah, sorry," Tidus replied, smiling at the young woman as they all started towards the gate.
The Crusaders at the gate looked a little confused when the second summoner party joined Yuna's group, but since the two parties had arrived together and seemed to be friendly, nothing was said. While it was unusual to see two summoners travelling together, it wasn't unheard of, and considering Gina's use of a spear, who was to say they were two separate parties?
On the other side of the gate, Seymour was greeted with smiles by the Crusaders that were standing there and he offered them all his blessing, confusing Wakka something terrible. When the Crusaders had moved on, Seymour walked back to the group, smiling. The smile, however, wavered when he caught sight of Gina for the first time, making the summoner tense. "How unusual," the maester murmured, eyeing Gina like she was some sort of curio.
Gina slipped behind Tidus a bit even as Yuna inquired, "Sorry, Your Grace, but what's unusual?"
Seymour glanced back at Yuna. "Seeing two summoners together, of course," he replied.
"Is it really so unusual for summoners to make friends with each other?" Tidus wondered, frowning.
"And chance that another summoner will manage to defeat Sin before yourself?" Auron offered drily.
"That's just stupid."
Seymour glanced between Auron and the young man that Gina was hiding behind. "Sir Auron, it is an honour," the maester said, focusing on the older guardian and making Gina breathe in relief. "I would be most interested in hearing what you've been up to the past ten years."
"I've got nothing to say about it," Auron retorted coolly, looking away.
"Excuse me... Maester Seymour? Why is your Lordship...presently... present here...sir?" Wakka asked, shifting nervously.
"Please, speak as you normally would," the maester requested.
Wakka took a deep breath, then hurried to say, "Isn't this operation against the teachings of Yevon? Aren't you gonna stop them?"
"It's true... I should. However... Both the Crusaders and the Al Bhed truly wish peace for Spira. This Operation Mi'ihen was born from that wish they share." The maester glanced behind him at where a few Crusaders and Al Bhed were working together with some machina. "Although it may be sacrilege to Yevon, their intentions are pure. And I, Seymour Guado – the person, not the maester of Yevon... As a denizen of Spira, I wish them well in their endeavour."
"But, using machina... That's bad, isn't it?" Wakka needed to know.
Seymour smiled rather like one would at a small child. "Pretend you didn't see them."
"Beg your pardon, but that's not something a maester should say!" Wakka exclaimed.
"Then, pretend I didn't say it."
"You're kidding!"
Tidus huffed a bit in amusement as the maester turned away, leaving Wakka to gape like a fish out of water. "You heard the man," he told the red-head, clapping him on the shoulder, "become blind and deaf for the next day or so and everything will be fine."
Wakka shot him a wounded look, but before he could come up with a retort, Gina stepped forward with a thunderous expression, grabbed Tidus by the ear and marched him out of the hearing range of the rest of the party. "Ow! Ow ow ow!! Gina!" Tidus complained.
Gina turned on her guardian. "That Guado is bad news," she hissed, "and there you are, enjoying having him around."
"He's got a point," Tidus offered. "The same point you and I were trying to make to Wakka earlier, in fact."
Gina stared at him for a moment in surprise, then muttered, "You actually like that man, don't you?"
Tidus frowned. "What do you mean by that?"
"Hey, what's wrong?" Rikku asked, joining them. "The others are going to leave without us."
Gina closed her eyes tiredly. "Thanks, Rikku. We should go."
Rikku and Tidus fell in next to one another behind their summoner as she started after Yuna's party. "What was that all about?" the Al Bhed asked the blitzer.
Tidus shrugged, still frowning a bit. "I'm not sure. All I know is that Gina really doesn't like Seymour."
"I don't like him either," Rikku offered. "Maesters are bad news."
Tidus grunted and kept his eyes on the summoner. "But he's okay with this operation, right?"
Rikku gave him a sad smile. "Are you suggesting a maester is actually good?"
"It has to happen sometimes," Tidus grumbled. "They can't all be stuck up bastards who hate the Al Bhed on sight and talk about Yevon like he's some sort of god. Can they?"
Rikku looked at her fellow guardian oddly. "Sometimes, Tidus, you say the strangest things."
Tidus blinked in confusion, but was saved having to answer when they were attacked by a group of fiends. After dispatching them, Rikku skipped forward to talk to Yuna while Tidus stayed back with Gina.
After another couple fights with fiends, Gina glanced over at Tidus' troubled expression and said, "I just want you to be careful. Don't stop looking at the surface."
"I know he can't be all good," Tidus replied, fidgeting with his sword. "I mean, he's a maester, right? You can't get that high in the order without becoming at least a little twisted. But..." He trailed off.
Gina sighed and shook her head. "Live for your moment, Tidus," she offered, "just don't forget what you're fighting for."
Tidus glanced over at his summoner and the woman offered him a tired smile, which he returned, asking, "Does that mean I can go gay on you and you won't care?"
Gina grimaced. "Did you have to put it like that?"
"It was the least offensive response," Tidus agreed.
The summoner let out a quiet laugh. "Why him, anyway?"
Tidus shrugged. "I dunno. Why not him?"
"I refuse to respond to that."
They glanced at each other, then burst out laughing, making the rest of the party jump.
Next to Yuna, Rikku grinned. "Took them long enough," she said and her cousin gave her a curious look, which she just shrugged off.
-0-
The rest of the trip up to the command centre was relatively dull, with only the occasional attack from a fiend to liven things up. Once they reached their destination, a couple of Crusaders showed them to where some bedrolls had been set up for them for the night.
"Do we want to set a watch?" Gina asked as they all sat down to eat a quick supper before sleeping.
"Only thing to worry about here are the Al Bhed, and the Crusaders should keep them away," Wakka replied with a shrug. Across the fire, Rikku clenched her fists, glaring down at her bowl.
"Better safe than sorry," Auron offered, ignoring the impending row. "I'll take first watch."
"I can take second," Lulu offered.
"I'll take third," Tidus decided, stretching a bit. When Gina shot him an amused glance, he stuck his tongue out at her. So what if he wanted to stalk the maester while the others were all asleep? Maybe he'd be lucky and Seymour would be an early riser.
"Well, good night, then," Yuna offered, standing and handing her bowl over to Gina, who had agreed to do the washing up when they were serving themselves.
Everyone said their good nights and made for bed while Gina and a scowling Rikku worked together to clean their dishware before turning in themselves.
Auron spent most of his watch in silence next to their fire. Lulu's watch was just as quiet and she woke Tidus with a faint smile at his tired groan. "It's been quiet all night," she offered in a whisper.
Tidus nodded. "Okay. You go on back to bed," he whispered back.
Lulu nodded and returned to her bedroll as Tidus got out of his and stretched. He paced by the fire for a bit, trying to wake himself up. Once he was certain Lulu had fallen back asleep, he snuck away from the fire towards the part of the command centre he knew the maester was in. Before he could get very far, a couple of Guado stepped in his way, looking displeased. "Oh, er, sorry..." Tidus offered, taking a nervous step back.
Seymour appeared behind the two Guado, smiling. "One of Lady Yuna's guardians."
"Oh, I'm not Yuna's guardian," Tidus replied, shaking his head.
"The other summoner, then," Seymour allowed, inclining his head. "Perhaps your might enlighten me as to her name? I seemed to have missed it."
"Gina," Tidus offered, managing a faint smile. "And I'm Tidus."
Seymour considered Tidus for a long moment, then turned away. "Please, come in, Tidus," he offered and the two Guado guards stepped out of the way. Tidus followed the maester over to his own camp fire. "Please, sit. Some fruit?"
"Oh, uhm, thanks." Tidus took the offered fruit and took a careful bite, smiling when he found it to be delicious. "Thank you," he said more sincerely.
Seymour inclined his head and took delicate bites of his own fruit. "Your Lady Gina is very familiar to me," he commented in an off-handed manner. "Has she perhaps travelled to Guadosalam before?"
Tidus shrugged. "She might have, I don't know. I've only been her guardian for about two weeks." He looked away, troubled. "We both had... Well, we both happened across Sin and all we really had left was each other, so we've stuck together since." He glanced up at the half-Guado, spinning the fruit in his hands nervously. "She and Rikku, Gina's other guardian, are my only real friends. I mean, there's Auron, but he's a jerk anyway."
Seymour smiled. "You are acquainted with Sir Auron, then?"
Tidus nodded, then shrugged. "Sure. He helped raise me." He glanced back towards where he knew his camp lay. "That's where he's been for the past ten years, by the way. Since you asked." He looked back at the maester, who had raised his eyebrows in surprise. Tidus bit his lower lip, then admitted, "Jecht was my old man."
Understanding bloomed in the pale eyes. "I wasn't aware that Sir Jecht had a son."
"I'm not surprised," Tidus replied bitterly. "He was always more interested in himself than Mom or me. Stuck-up bastard. I hope he's miserable." He took an angry bite of his fruit and had swallowed it before he remembered his host and flushed, looking towards the half-Guado apologetically. "Sorry. Didn't mean to rant. It's just, you know... Everyone's always got something good to say about him, but he was a really shitty dad."
Seymour nodded and glanced down into the fire, an expression in his eyes that Tidus couldn't quite decipher, yet thought for sure he'd seen before. After a long silence, during which Tidus got more and more nervous, the maester finally murmured, "My father..." and then snapped his mouth shut and stood. "Forgive me. Your companions will likely be awakening soon, and I have preparations to make."
Tidus considered the other as he stood himself and dusted off his shorts. "Okay. Well..." He rubbed at his chin. "Good luck, I guess." Then he turned and hurried from the maester's section, feeling vaguely confused.
"Where have you been?" Auron asked once Tidus got back to their fire.
"Taking a leak," Tidus retorted. He had stopped on the way to relieve himself. "What are you, my parent? Back off."
Auron just gave him a look and Tidus flushed and sat down next to their fire. Neither of them said anything as the rest of the larger camp slowly woke, setting about getting their breakfasts and checking that their equipment was secure.
Kimahri was the next to wake in their small camp, followed by Lulu and Gina. While the others set about preparing breakfast, Gina ushered Tidus away from the fire, curious about his troubled frown. "Well? Not what you expected?"
Tidus considered his summoner for a long moment, then shook his head. "No, he wasn't. But... I dunno. It seemed like he wanted to say something, after I ranted about my old man, but he stopped himself." He ran a hand through his hair. "I dunno," he said again.
Gina watched him with a worried frown. "Will you be okay?"
Tidus sighed, then straightened himself and pasted on a cocky smirk. "Always."
Gina sighed and shook her head. "You going to give up, then?"
"I never give up. Can't win if you give up," Tidus replied, sounding just like any and all of the well-known blizters that Gina had known.
The summoner shook her head and reached over to tug on Tidus' ear, making him shout. "Come on, then. Breakfast."
"Would you stop pulling my ear?" Tidus complained, falling in next to her. "I mean, really. It kind of hurts."
Gina smiled a bit. "But you behave so much better when I bring your ear into the mix. It's like magic."
"I hate you."
"Don't worry, I enjoy your company too."
-0-
After breakfast, they met up with Maesters Kinoc and Seymour. Kinoc seemed just as interested as to Auron's disappearance as Seymour had been, but Auron was just as slippery about avoiding the subject as he'd been with Seymour.
Kinoc was also looser with his thoughts, drily commenting that he didn't think the operation would work. While his thoughts seemed to please Wakka, who took it as his being vindicated, the rest of the party frowned. Seymour stepped in before Kinoc could damn himself any further, reminding him to ensure everyone was ready.
"Will Sin really come?" Yuna wondered as Kinoc called for the start of the operation.
"Sin always returns for its spawn," a guard nearby replied, smiling grimly. "To make sure, we're going to encourage them to call out to it."
"You won't have to," Auron murmured. "It'll come."
Behind the older guardian, Gina and Tidus traded looks. With both of them there, Sin most probably would come.
The cage that held the spawn was shocked with electricity, making the creatures inside scream in pain. One of them managed to snap the door open and jumped to the ledge where the party was standing. As soon as the monster hit the ground, Tidus and Kimahri both jumped forward, weapons out. Auron and Wakka weren't far behind them while Gina and Lulu both readied spells and Yuna and Rikku prepared to help with any required healing.
Over by where the maesters had stood, Kinoc was hiding behind Seymour and his Guado guards, who were dealing with another spawn. Well, the guards were doing most of the work; Seymour was watching Yuna and Gina's party as they worked together to bring down their enemy.
The Sinspawn was pretty much out for the count when Auron shouted, "Look out!" and most of the party jumped back away from the cliff. Tidus, Wakka and Kimahri, who had all been too near to the edge, fell over the ridge as Sin's attack hit.
"TIDUS!" Gina screamed, making to run forward, but Rikku slammed into her side and pushed her out of the way as a falling boulder hit where she'd been standing moments before.
"We have bigger things to worry about," Auron growled as he got to his feet near the two females. He nodded to where the Sinspawn they'd been fighting had returned to its feet and was bearing down on Yuna and a wounded Lulu.
Gina glanced past the Sinspawn to where her guardian had fallen, but she knew Auron was right; they'd have time to find the lost guardians later, for now, others needed her help. "Yojimbo!" she shouted, swinging her spear around and calling out the samurai aeon. As he passed her from the realm he came from, she held out some gil, which he slipped into a pocket. Without needing to be directed, Yojimbo dashed forward and held off the Sinspawn while Rikku and Gina helped Yuna with Lulu.
As soon as the humes were safe, Yojimbo let loose one devastating attack, then turned and left the creature to Auron, who finished it in one hit.
Once Yuna was sure Lulu was stable, she dashed forward to the edge, looking out over the devastation. "The others–!"
The large machina the Al Bhed had brought was powered up and slammed into the shield surrounding Sin. When it seemed it would work and the shield was buckling, the shield slammed outwards, destroying the gun and everyone beneath it.
They shared a moment of horrified silence, then Yuna put her staff out in front of herself, declaring, "Stand back! I'll summon!"
Rikku ran forward and grabbed her cousin in a hug, eyes streaming with tears. "Yunie, please," she whispered.
"If you try attacking it, as weak as you are, you'll only bring Sin's attention back towards us," Gina said sternly, "and then there will be no chance of any of us surviving. Pick your battles, Lady Yuna."
Yuna's staff dropped from her fingers as she wrapped her arms around Rikku and sobbed into the younger girl's hair.
-0-
Tidus woke with a mouth full of copper-tinged sand. He spat it out as he sat up and looked around at the devastation. No matter where he looked, bodies of Crusaders and Al Bhed alike were strewn among the fallen boulders and shredded flags. Out in the mouth of the bay, Sin was turning away, shield fading away as it submerged.
"Don't you run away from me!" Tidus screamed, running for the water, but a solid body stepped into his way, grabbing him by his shoulders. "No, let me go!"
"And what would running after him accomplish?" Seymour demanded, shaking Tidus by the shoulders. "You would run straight to your own death!"
Tidus gasped and slumped against the maester, anger draining away. "Nothing," he whispered against the older man's chest. "I would have accomplished nothing."
Seymour's grip on the teen's shoulders loosened and he seemed uncertain for a moment before he wrapped his arms around Tidus. "The Lady Gina was worried about you," he commented.
Tidus nodded and pulled away, eyes tracking over the devastation again. The sight of bright red hair had him cursing quietly and starting off across the beach. Indeed, it turned out to be Wakka, who was sporting quite the bump on the head from some nearby rubble.
"Told you it wouldn't work," the red-head mumbled.
"Shut up, you idiot. If you weren't already wounded, I'd beat you," Tidus grumbled, pulling out his pack for a potion or two. For all that Rikku insisted they didn't need potions, she liked to filch things off of monsters, and often enough they were potions, which she handed off to Tidus or Gina. "Here," he helped Wakka sit up enough to drink the potion, then sat back to see how much it helped. Head wounds were funny things, he knew from his childhood.
There was a grunt and Kimahri stumbled over to them, Seymour silently following him. The ronso still had the faint glow of a cure spell, so Tidus figured the maester must have already seen to his wounds.
"Wakka should be okay," Tidus offered. "Other than his usual issues."
"Not issues," Wakka grunted, pushing himself into a sitting position and holding his head. "Religion."
"Same thing," Tidus muttered, shoving his things back into his pack, since it looked like the older blitzball player wouldn't need another potion.
"Where's Yuna?" Wakka wondered, looking up. When he caught sight of Seymour, he blinked, then said, "Er, Your Grace. Sorry, didn't see you there."
"The girls were all far enough back that they should still be up near the command centre," Tidus commented while Seymour smiled faintly at the flustered red-head. "If you're okay to stand, we can head up there and check on them."
Wakka nodded, then groaned and clutched at his head. "Give me a mo'."
Kimahri grunted and picked Wakka up bridal-style, causing the red-head to flail a bit in surprise while Tidus snickered. "No wait. Go to Yuna now," the ronso insisted, then turned and started up the path towards the command centre.
Tidus and Seymour fell in behind the ronso, both keeping their eyes out for any survivors, but it seemed that the only people to survive the attack where those who had been up at the command centre. "Dammit," Tidus whispered as he checked another corpse. "Dammit."
Seymour cleared his throat. "At least they are free of their suffering," he offered.
Tidus sighed and shook his head. "Are they?" he wondered. "Maybe they're free of their physical suffering, but what about after? What do we really know about life after death? Maybe they stick around and just keep suffering because everyone they've known is suffering. And, what about those who don't get sent and turn into fiends? Are they free from suffering?"
Seymour blinked and considered the teen with a blank expression. "How unusual."
Tidus grimaced. "I live to confuse people," he muttered, shaking his head.
"Tidus!" Gina shouted and the teen found himself with an armful of summoner and Al Bhed.
"Hey, hey. I'm okay," he told them, wrapping his arms around both girls. "It was just a little tumble. I've had worse. Are you two okay?"
Gina gave him a quick explanation about what had happened while they'd been down on the beach and Tidus glanced over at Yuna, who was worrying over Wakka and Lulu, a smile pasted on her face.
"She says she wants everyone to keep smiling," Rikku offered, noticing where her fellow guardian was looking. "She wants her journey to be full of smiles, so her last memories are happy ones."
Tidus nodded, completely understanding the sentiment, then looked down at the Al Bhed at his side. "You haven't tried talking her out of the Final Summoning yet?"
Rikku shrugged. "Once, but she didn't really listen." She glanced between Tidus and Gina. "Maybe one of you two could try. Tell her that the Final Summoning will never work."
Tidus and Gina traded looks. "Perhaps," the summoner agreed, pulling out her spear. "For now, though, there are souls to send. Excuse me."
The various guardians stood back and watched in silence as Gina and Yuna moved together in their heart-breaking dance. Behind Tidus and Rikku, Seymour stood in silent thought, having heard everything Tidus and his friends had said since they'd caught up.
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A/N: Seymour has a lot of thinking to do. And I'm sorry if he seemed a bit OoC, but he got a minor shock in seeing someone who looks to be a young Yunalesca. And one of the guardians of this young Yunalesca searched him out, had a father that is not only famous, but reminds Seymour of his own. And, yeah, Tidus has some very different views of the world. So Tidus and Gina are just one big mystery and Seymour's a bit thrown. (He was going to marry Yuna and have her use him as the Final Summoning, but then this Yunalesca-look-alike comes along, but she's not going to use the Final Summoning, and it sounds like she's going to try talking Yuna out of it, too....)
Anyway. Just an idea of what all is going through Seymour's mind. *shifty eyes* I am trying to make him IC.
~Bats ^.^x
1 - Otherworld ||| 2 - Neither Friend Nor Foe ||| 3 - Sometimes Good-Bye is a Second Chance
7 - Throw Your World Away (For Love) ||| 8 - Poisonous Drugs of Hate ||| 9 - Wisdom, Justice, & Love
10 - Turning on a Dime ||| 11 - Kings and Queens of Promise ||| 12 - Stepped Into a Cruel World
13 - ???
Incomplete
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