A minute later, Gippal, Lulu, and Kimarhi appeared in the doorway, Gippal rushing over to Yuna and Tidus.
“Run, Forest. Run,” Yuna said.
“Why’s everybody standing around cracking stupid jokes? Haven’t you heard the news?” Gippal asked.
“What news?” Tidus asked.
“At 9:15 AM local time, the Maester’s daughter disappeared from her room at Macalania Temple. Forty-five minutes later, the Guado claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, and a statement was issued by Seymour, leader of the anti-human cult,” reported Shelinda on the sphere screen.
The screen switched to Seymour holding a glass of champagne in his hand, sitting in a chair. He was centered in the screen and Barthello was standing next to him.
“One hundred and thirteen Guado have been murdered by Yevon in an effort to halt the healing of Spira. But their next Guado kill shall be followed by the execution of his foul-mouthed female calf. This is my one and only warning. I have nothing more to say,” Seymour finished.
Then the screen switched back to Shelinda.
“God, this is terrible. What are we supposed to do now?” Tidus asked putting his hand on his hip.
“Rescue her, of course. What other course of action would you recommend, Tidus?” Cid asked rhetorically.
“But rescuing the Grand Maester’s daughter means Yevon soldiers are going to be out there forever, Cid,” Lulu pointed out. “I don’t like Seymour any more than you do, but at least he’s stopped Yevon from killing pointlessly.”
“The only lasting solution to the tension between mankind and the Guado population is a peaceful one, Lulu. Turn your back on this girl now and you might as well sign up with Seymour,” Cid explained.
“Tidus?” Wakka asked looking towards Tidus for guidance.
“I hate to say it, but he’s right. We all want to see the Yevon soldiers taken out of the picture, but we can’t let the Guado use this girl as a bargaining chip,” Tidus explained. “I just hope you know what you’re doing, Cid.”
“What about you, Auron? You tagging along for our first real fight with the Guado?” Yuna asked.
“Well, I kinda had my heart set on playin’ Backgammon with Cid here, but why the heck not? Sounds like it could be a laugh,” Auron answered.
In about four and a half hours, the team was in Guadosalam. It was very dark because no lights were lit. Plus it was the dead of night outside, so there was no light from that either.
“Kimarhi no like this. Kimarhi feel like he betraying friends,” Kimarhi said, standing in the shadows, next to a door.
“I know what you, Kimarhi, but Cid thinks this is our best chance yet of showing the public, that the Guado, Al Bhed, and Summoners aren’t all people-eating monsters,” Tidus explained, hiding in a corner playing with his Caladbolg.
“Beautiful sentiment, Tidus, but I’m not counting any chickens. Is anyone even sure we’ve tracked this girl down to the correct town?” Lulu asked through the radio.
“Oh, she’s here, Lulu. The airships computer was able to pinpoint the kidnappers down to the brand of toilet paper they’ve been using,” Yuna explained into the radio, while piloting the Celsius.
She had been flying circles around Guadosalam ever since the others had been dropped off.
“Their boat back to Bikanel Island won’t be here for another eighteen minutes, but I want everyone out of this creepy, little town with five giant-sized minutes to spare,” Yuna ordered.
Meanwhile, Brother, Barthello, Baralai, Dona, and Buddy were sitting in a house with nothing but a candle lit waiting for the Guado to arrive. The Maester’s daughter, sat in a chair, tied up and blindfolded.
“What happened to my sodding cigarettes? There were fifteen in the pack before I went for my lighter,” Brother said.
“I can smoke fifteen before the match goes out, Brother. Thirty if I’m really trying,” Barthello said.
Baralai was sitting at a table with Dona and Buddy, eating a sandwich.
“Really? What a wonderful ability, Barthello,” Buddy retorted. “Praise be to Yevon we’ve got each other for intelligent conversation, Dona.”
“Actually, the only intelligent conversation I get around here…” Dona said picking up a book, from the table. “…is when I talk to myself, Buddy.”
Meanwhile, in an abandoned building just across the street from that house was Wakka looking through binoculars.
“Ready when you are, Kimarhi,” Wakka whispered into the radio.
“What the heck…?” Barthello muttered as the ground began to shake. “Earthquake…?”
Kimarhi was slicing away at a pole that held up the first floor under the hardwood floors.
“They’re all yours, Wakka,” Kimarhi said.
“Hit the floor, Tidus!” shouted Wakka chucking his blitzball through an open window hitting Brother square in the face.
“Let’s hope you’ve been doing that homework we’ve been giving you, Gippal,” Tidus said flooring the gas pedal on the hover. “Gippal?”
Wakka dove into the house through the broken window, slung the Grand Maester’s daughter over his shoulder and charged up the stairs, to the second floor. Before anyone could stop him, he shoved an upstairs window open, and dropped the Grand Maester’s daughter.
Gippal dove, and slid ten feet, just barely catching the Grand Maester’s daughter.
“Sorry I missed my cue, folks, but I think I just saw Auron relieving himself against a wall back there,” Gippal said trying to cover up his mistake.
Tidus pulled up next to Gippal and the Grand Maester’s daughter hopped onto the hover.
“Who are you people?” the Grand Maester’s daughter asked.
“The good guys, of course,” Tidus said. “Now hold on and close your eyes, miss. You’re going home.”
Soon, Brother, Baralai, Barthello, Dona, and Buddy poured out of the house, with Wakka, Kimarhi, and Lulu to meet them.
“Oh no she isn’t. She’s coming back to Bikanel Island to be house trained, you treacherous piece of filth,” Barthello shouted, charging through Wakka and Kimarhi. “I already promised a Guado boy he could keep the hairless monkey as a pet.”
Barthello sure was fast! He was managing to keep pace with the hover, and when Tidus slowed down at a corner, that gave Barthello enough time to catch up with them. Barthello’s fist dove into the front of the hover and wrenched out the engine.
“Missing and engine, Tidus?” Barthello asked with a smirk on his face.
“Missing a sword, moron?” Tidus asked pulling out his Caladbolg.
He quickly slashed with his sword, but Barthello narrowly missed it. Then Tidus grabbed hold of the Grand Maester’s daughter’s hand and they both took off running.
“I can’t believe you’re trying to outrun me, you idiots. I could have you both pinned on the ground in a minute,” Bathello boasted.
“Man, that had to be just about the longest pee in history,” Auron said making a long cut along Barthello’s back.
That was definitely gonna leave a mark. It was a thick cut, going in a diagnol direction on his back. Blood started to come out, all along the cut, as if someone was slowly pouring ketchup out of Barthello’s back.
“Auron!” Barthello exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Auron said tauntingly kicking his head.
WAM! Brother’s fist, made solid contact with Tidus’s chin.
“You know, whoever said that Zanarkand Abes uniform doesn’t make you look like a loser was lying, Tidus,” Brother said. “You’re next, by the way you stupid-looking slut.”
“What?” Lulu exclaimed enraged.
WAM! Brother’s elbow made a bulls-eye on Lulu’s back, right where her spine was. Then, Auron took the Grand Maester’s daughter, and they took off on their own.
“Wakka to all Gullwings: Kimarhi and I just disabled Buddy and Baralai, but Dona’s giving us a hard time with her Aeons. Anyone fit to lend a hand?” Wakka asked through the radio.
“Sorry, Wakka. Problems of our own right now,” Tidus said as Gippal helped him to his feet.
Then Gippal used his cannon to fire a small amount of napalm at Brother. It just skimmed his arm, but it was enough to stun him for a moment.
“Nice, work, Gippal. Now give Lulu room to finish him off with a lightning bolt or something,” Tidus ordered.
“Who needs lightning when I’ve got my trusty old size eights strapped on, Tidus?” Lulu said jogging towards Brother. “This is for calling me a slut, you skinny, Al Bhed jerk!”
Lulu dove her foot into Brother’s cheek leaving a very large bruise there.
“Wait! Where’s the girl?” Gippal asked.
“Oh my God!” Tidus exclaimed.
“Don’t burst into tears just yet, Tidus. She’s alive and well and only hours away from worrying about boys, zits and trigonometry again, unless, of course, Ifrit fries me with one of his Meteor Strikes,” Auron said riding a chocobo with the Grand Maester’s daughter holding on to him.
He was just barely avoiding Ifrit’s Meteor Strikes, courtesy of Dona of course.
“Jeez, Seymour’s gonna kill me for this,” Auron muttered.
“Auron to Yuna: Can you fly the Celsius low enough so I can jump onto the deck with this Chocobo?” Auron asked.
“Yep, but only if you can get that Chocobo up to a hundred and twenty miles an hour, Auron,” Yuna answered.
POOM! POOM! POOM! Three more Meteor Strikes landed on the roof of a house in Guadosalam, causing the roof to collapse.
“Get the coffee on, Yuna. I’ll be with you in a second,” Auron said, gritting his teeth, and urging the Chocobo on as fast as it could.
“Auron, this is Tidus: What are you doing?” Tidus asked through the radio.
“GIT!” shouted Auron, while kicking the Chocobo hard.
“KWEEEE!” it shouted speeding up.
“Around a hundred and freakin’ twenty, I hope,” Auron said.
The Grand Maester’s daughter closed her eyes tightly.
The Chocobo jumped up on top of a high hill, just outside Guadosalam. The Celsius tipped to the side in Auron’s direction. The Chocobo was going, and going and going…
Auron realized it wasn’t going to make it.
He slung the Grand Maester’s daughter over his shoulders, and pushed off of the Chocobo, causing it to fall in the middle of it’s jump.
“KHWEEEEEEE!” it shouted.
Auron slid his sword out of it’s hilt, in mid-air, and just as he was going to fall with the Grand Maester’s daughter, he dove his sword into the metal of the deck of the Celsius. Then the Celsius, tipped back to it’s normal position, and continued to circle around Guadosalam.
“You’d do anything to impress a seventeen-year-old in a tight sweater, wouldn’t you?” Tidus asked through the radio as the Grand Maester’s daughter climbed up Auron, and onto the deck.
“Actually, I’ve kinda got my eye on a nineteen-year-old summoner, but I’m worried she’s gonna waste her life waiting on a loser who brushes his teeth six times a day,” Auron answered, pulling himself up onto the deck.
“Don’t give up hope Auron,” Yuna said through the radio. “You never know your luck.”
“Tidus to Yuna: Give yourself a pat on the back and rendezvous at the Moonflow as planned. Oh, and Auron,” Tidus said. “Nice work.”
“Bad news, people: the Guado’s carriage just arrived for the Bikanel Island trip with a guy in blue garb who looks disturbingly familiar,” Kimarhi said.
“Seymour?” Tidus said. “This just gets worse by the second. Drop who you’re hitting and start running, boys and girls. We did what we were asked to do. Now let’s get out of here while we’re all still packing a pulse.”
“We’re too late, Tidus,” Lulu said.
“What are you talking about?” Tidus asked through the radio.
“I think Wakka’s dead,” Lulu answered.
Sure enough, Wakka lay on the ground, partially covered in blood with his eyes closed.
Thanx for reading
Sephistrife15
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