Chapter Five
(New to the story? Start at the beginning.)
Chapter 5
More military figures appeared as the group of ten neared the upper reaches of the Mushroom Rock formation. There seemed to be no warrior monks among these outriders; all so far wore the scarlet trappings of Crusaders. No one made any effort to hinder their progress, although quite a few curious eyes were cast in their direction and a sharp buzz of surprise broke out now and again as Nooj limped past. It was only when they attempted to pass through the rocky arch which guarded the inner area of the headquarters that they encountered any obstructions. As soon as they stepped within an unmarked perimeter, two guards sprang out from the sides of the slit and crossed lances to seal the entrance. Both were wearing Crusader uniforms and did not appear inclined to conversation.
Nooj moved forward to confront the guards and a sudden glint of recognition flashed in the eyes of the man on the left. The height alone would have been enough, but there was no mistaking the machina limbs of the man in the faded red clothing. The guard's mouth fell open and his lance automatically came upright, opening a way for passage.
"At ease, soldier. You know me? I will attest to the credentials of this party with me. Let them pass." Nooj looked imperiously at the guard and was rewarded by an awed nod and the withdrawal of both sentries. He motioned to Auron and the others of the pilgrimage contingent. "We will join you later when I have renewed my acquaintance with these good men."
Auron, responding to the pre-arranged cue, serenely shepherded his contingent through the barriers. He turned at the last to cast a meaningful glance back at Nooj, who met his eye with an impassive face and a nearly imperceptible nod.
"So, you're preparing to fight for Yevon, are you?" Nooj began, only to be interrupted and nearly upended when a compact body cannoned into him with surprising force.
"Nooj! I knew it was you!" The red-haired woman with the slightly bowed legs of a chocobo rider gripped him in an suffocating hug. "Nobody's tall as you and ..." She became abruptly aware of what she was doing and what she was embracing.
"What's happened to you? We heard you were wounded but ..."
"You didn't know it was this bad, eh?" He raised a brow at her embarrassed stuttering. "I lost the arm and leg to Sin and owe what mobility I have left to the talents and generosity of the Al Bhed. It's all right. I'm used to it." He racked his memory for her name. "I think the last time I saw you, you were sitting on a chocobo. Lucil." The identity of the woman slid into the appropriate slot in his mind.
"You remembered me!" Her eyes shone with a combination of pleasure and unshed tears. "Have you come to help us fight Sin? We've got a really good plan."
"I'm sure you do and I want to hear all about it. Particularly how the Crusaders came to ally so closely with Yevon. When I was last at headquarters, we seemed to be moving toward independence from them. I'm surprised to see my old unit out in such force here. Lucil, do you think you could round up most of them? I've got some things I'd like to discuss with my old friends. Things you all might want to hear."
The woman stood at careful attention and gave a crisp salute, her arm precisely aligned across her breast. "I can assure you, Major, that Crusaders will always listen to you. You're, well, you're special to us. You're The Undying." She blushed again and dropped her eyes.
Nooj inwardly flinched at the use of the rank he had never embraced, but knew it would carry weight when he began his argument. "Then gather as many as you can. I have something to say that true Crusaders need to hear."
When Lucil had disappeared among the columns of the area, Nooj beckoned the other three of his team a little aside so they could speak without being overheard. "Baralai, I shall want you to repeat what you told Auron and his people. Let me set the stage and then you just tell them the truth. Gippal, you had better stay quiet until we see which way they are tending and, Paine, stay close by me and keep your mouth shut until I tell you it's all right."
The others nodded as Crusaders began to trickle in their direction like a spreading blood stain over the barren ground. To his great delight, Nooj recognized two of his former command among those arriving. Squab had made it and so had Ferata. Perhaps some of the others had survived as well. When he had learned that the decimation of the Crusaders was the putative reason for the development of the Crimson Squad, he had feared most of those he had known well were dead. Seeing two of the nine he had led in the time before he met Sin was not only a relief it brought into even greater question the veracity of those Maesters who had declared the Crusaders largely destroyed. Silently, he cursed every member of the priesthood of Yevon.
The two former members of his team had recognized him and were waving frantically to catch his attention. There was no reaching them through the press of bodies increasing by the moment, so Nooj contented himself with catching their eyes and nodding. He would talk to them later. The Crusaders coming at Lucil's call were a respectable number and he noted several more faces in the crowd which he knew, at least slightly. As soon as the Chocobo Knight reappeared, he would make his presentation and see how well he and Baralai could influence these battle-hardened men and women.
-X-
Leaving the task of persuading the Crusaders to their cause in Nooj and Baralai's capable hands, Auron had gathered up Yuna's original party and led them onward. Even after several minutes of walking, he could still hear the other group, and he resisted the urge to look back again and see how Nooj was doing -- the young leader would fare better in the long run if he felt Auron trusted in his abilities. So he faced resolutely forward, and soon they were out of earshot.
The group walked in relative silence, eventually reaching a machina lift that would take them to the top of the bluff. The contraption slowly worked its way down the cliff wall, an Al Bhed attendant at the controls. It landed with a thud, and two Crusaders stepped off. Auron immediately recognized one of them as Luzzu, another resident of Besaid. They had crossed paths with him and his young subordinate, Gatta, several times during their trek down the Mi'ihen Highroad.
"Hello," Luzzu said as he approached the group. "Your travels going well?"
"They have been... interesting," Lulu replied, cautiously.
Luzzu indicated his companion. "Everyone, this is my friend Beclem. We went through training together and fought side-by-side in several operations. Beclem, meet Wakka, Lulu, Kimahri Ronso, and the Lady Yuna."
The other Crusader, a man with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a severe expression, stepped forward, face lightening with pleasure. "It's so good to finally meet you all. Chappu talked about you all the time, especially his big brother Wakka and his best girl Lulu."
Lulu crossed her arms tightly around her waist and went a slightly paler shade as Wakka laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You knew Chappu?" she asked.
Beclem nodded. "We were quite close actually. Served together for several months. I was there when... well." He broke off and looked at the ground. "Maybe you don't want to hear about that."
Wakka and Lulu exchanged a look. "Maybe later, ya?" Wakka finally said. "After this is over."
Beclem's smile held a tinge of remembered sadness. "Of course. I look forward to speaking with you more." Bringing his hands before himself in the traditional prayer gesture, he bowed to the group, and Yuna and Lulu bowed in return.
Once his friend had straightened, Luzzu turned to Yuna. "So, they let you through then. Are you here to observe the operation?"
Yuna glanced at Lulu. "Actually," the young summoner responded, "we're hoping to talk with the Maesters. Is the command center up ahead?"
"Yes." Luzzu nodded at the lift. "On top of the bluffs. And I believe Maester Seymour and Maester Kinoc are both there, overseeing the final preparations for the Operation."
"I see." Yuna took a deep breath. "Luzzu, don't go out there. Don't be a part of this."
"Yuna," he said softly. "I know it's dangerous, but don't worry. The machina weapons are powerful; we'll make it."
She shook her head. "It's not about that. We've... learned some things, recently. Some things you should know. Do you see that group of Crusaders down the path a bit?"
Beclem turned in the direction that Yuna was pointing and squinted. "Yes, I-- in the name of Yevon! Is that Nooj?!"
Luzzu spun around and peered down the hillside. "It's the Undying, all right. I'd heard of his injuries, and about the machina, but I didn't really believe... but it's got to be Nooj. Who else could it be?"
"It is Nooj," Yuna confirmed. "We met him and his companions on the trip here. Please, I want you to hear what he has to say. I think it's important that you have the information he gave us before you decide to proceed with this mission."
The two soldiers looked at each other for a time, some silent communication passing between them. "Well," said Beclem slowly, "I suppose it can't hurt to go listen if Nooj the Undying has something to tell us."
"Not to mention heeding the request of the High Summoner's daughter," Luzzu added. "All right, Yuna, we'll go talk to him."
"Thank you," said Yuna with another bow. The two men passed through the group, exchanging handshakes and back-slaps, and then they went their separate ways, Luzzu and Beclem heading down the hillside and Yuna's party piling onto the lift. Auron allowed himself a small smile -- Yuna had done well. Now to see how she would handle a more difficult audience: the Maesters of Yevon.
-X-
Kinoc rested in a camp chair on his impromptu dais overlooking the Mushroom Rock shore. Shouts, grunts, and the clanking of weapons and armor surrounded him as the Crusaders and Al Bhed set everything in place for today's operation. But his mind was not on these preparations; instead, he wondered what was going on in the caves beneath his feet. They had put off the Crimson Squad's final task as long as they could, in hopes of recapturing the errant Squadron Five -- it was widely thought that those three men were the only survivors strong enough to withstand the ordeal. But it could wait no longer. If they were to discover the secrets of Vegnagun in time to use the colossal weapon in Operation Mi'ihen, it had to be now.
Also on his mind were the tidings from Seymour, who had arrived from Luca late last night. The Guado Maester had run into a summoner's party along the way, that of High Summoner Braska's daughter. Kinoc was curious to meet the girl, but he was even more eager to see Auron, who according to Seymour served as one of her guardians. The news that Auron still lived had surprised him -- after ten years with no word, he had assumed that the guardian was either dead or as good as, living on only as Sin. Kinoc and Auron had been friendly competitors since their very first days as warrior monks, green recruits stationed together in Kilika, the two best of their cohort challenging each other and jockeying for position. They had not always been on good terms over the years, but they had parted amicably, and Kinoc found himself hoping to catch up with his old friend.
His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a warrior monk who served in his personal guard. Kinoc had left them at the cave, along with a senior priest, in order to track the results of the operation. The lean, lanky soldier walked briskly up to the Maester and raised his arm. "Your Grace," he said.
"Lieutenant Logos." Kinoc returned the salute. "Please report."
"I am sorry to inform you that the mission was a failure, sir," Logos replied. "The men grabbed the weapons provided and immediately turned on one another. Not a single one was strong enough to resist whatever spirit possesses that cave. They're all dead." He shook his head. "Unfortunate, but not unexpected, given how weakened they all were. Pity we never found the group that went missing -- I always thought the failed priest was a good candidate, or perhaps that machina fellow."
Kinoc hid his disappointment with a swift nod. Sending the teams into the desert to weed out the weak had been his idea, and it had worked, almost too well. The strongest had all ended up on a single team, and that team had first attempted to organize the others into a revolt, then fled. But no use crying over it. Now Operation Mi'ihen's secondary purpose, bringing the Crusaders to heel and destroying the Al Bhed's growing stature among their ranks, could become its primary one.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. Please return to your unit -- once we are finished here, I intended to sail back to Bevelle, and you will accompany me. I expect to leave today, so please make preparations to break camp."
"Sir." Logos saluted again, then loped off. Once he was gone, Kinoc allowed himself a bitter sigh. Yet another opportunity to subdue Vegnagun, lost! Anyone who could control that machina would hold an unspeakably huge advantage. Well, someday it would be his. He was determined to master it. There had to be a way, and he had to be the one to find it. If Seymour got there first... Kinoc shuddered and mentally shied away from the thought. It did not bear contemplation.
"Maester Kinoc?" A Crusader appeared at his arm.
Kinoc turned to look at the youth. "Yes Gatta, what is it?"
The boy saluted. "The Lady Yuna and her companions have arrived, Your Grace."
"Ah, good. Please see that they are escorted here."
"Aye, sir." Gatta slipped away, and Kinoc leaned back in his chair once again, smiling with anticipation.
-X-
There was a nervous shuffling and a drone of conversation emanating from the Crusaders gathering before Nooj and his teammates. Necks were craned as everyone tried to get a look at the Undying, who had apparently earned his soubriquet once again. To his relief, he finally saw the sturdy figure of Lucil hastening along the path with the air of a mission accomplished. As he watched, she was intercepted by a young man who spoke directly into her ear. The woman's eyes widened with shock and she turned to the messenger. By her body language, she was demanding more information. The scene was too far away for Nooj to hear the words over the nearer tumult but he was immediately aware something was wrong.
Followed by his three companions, he moved as hastily as he could to where she stood, transfixed, listening to the report of her underling. "What's the trouble, Lucil? Has something happened?"
The red-head looked at him, her eyes still blank with horror. "I have just learned that the Maesters tried an incursion into a mysterious cave structure and have lost a great many people. Have you heard of a plan called the Crimson Squad?"
Raising his hand to silence the others, Nooj answered, "Yes. Were they involved in this mission?"
"So my agent tells me. They were sent into this place we call the Den of Woe for some reason and it seems they went crazy and killed each other."
"All of them?" Paine could hold her tongue no longer. "All of them? They were too weak to fight. Are they all dead?" Her face was distorted in anguish. "Why were they treated like this? The Maesters must have known they weren't able to fight."
Nooj grasped her arm, as much to steady her as to hold her back from rushing at Lucil. "Shhh! Lucil will tell us as much as she knows. Be still and listen." He did not release her but lightened his grip until it was more of a caress. Behind him, he could hear the horrified words of Baralai and Gippal.
"That bastard did it anyway. He knew they were used up." Gippal's sense of outrage was palpable.
"I should have gotten them moving. Some might have made it." Baralai was mourning under his breath.
Lucil went on with her news. "Maester Kinoc thinks there's something in that cave he can use. He's been trying to form a team to investigate all along but none of us are dumb enough to have any part of it. We've heard things ..." Her voice dropped off to a hesitant growl.
"Are you sure the ones sent in were from the Crimson Squad? And that they're all dead?" He asked, feeling Paine trembling against his side.
"Yes. They said they were from the Crimson Squad before they went in and none came out alive."
"Tell us what happened."
"The servants of the Maesters, you know -- the ones in the robes -- threw some weapons down and told them to pick them up and get in the cave." Lucil asked a low question of her agent. "He says they were a pitiful lot, limping and slow. Anyway, they went on into the cave and sounds of shooting and screams started almost at once. Some came crawling back with their eyes all crazy and blood all over them, yelling that everybody was dead and they were going to die, too. And they did." She stopped abruptly as though she could bear to speak no more.
"Nooj, we tried so hard." Paine gulped back nascent tears. "We did try."
He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. "We tried and we knew they weren't likely to make it. Better they die now than live as cripples for the rest of their lives." The faint touch of bitterness in his words was covered by the compassion he felt for Paine. "Our job is to revenge them. We can't resurrect the entire crew; we don't have the resources for that. But we can make their deaths an expensive luxury for the ones responsible." He looked deeply into her eyes and saw a responsive spark of anger there.
"Yes, they will pay. I will make them pay if I'm the only one left standing." She squared her shoulders and blinked her vision clear of the lens of moisture distorting it. "I'm all right. Let's do it."
"First, we need to tell the Crusaders the truth. There have been too many lies spread about. We've seen how easy it is for half-truths and outright lies to get a hold in the mind. That must end now. Come." He swept them in his wake back to the assembled crowd. He drew himself up to his full imperious height, threw his head back and raised his voice. "Crusaders, do you know me?"
The answer came at once, a ragged cry of assent gradually becoming the rhythmic shout of "Undying. Undying. Undying."
"Yes, I still live. Will you hear me?"
This time there was no doubt. The affirmative response sounded as one voice from the throat of a giant.
"I have met Sin and fought him. I still live and walk among you due to the good services of the Al Bhed." Nooj placed a hand on Gippal's shoulder and urged him forward a step. "And I have met and made common cause with others not of our ranks. I have learned much during my journey from death back to life and I would share that knowledge with you. But first, Crusaders, you know you are the finest fighting force this world of Spira has ever known; you know you have suffered great losses in the struggle against Sin; just today, a squadron of good men and women whose only desire was to join your ranks has been destroyed to the last soul by the evil plotting of your hidden enemy. You have been betrayed and used shamefully. So that you may redeem your honour, you must learn the truth. Will you hear it?" He paused; this was the point at which things could easily go amiss.
After only a moment of quiet, the crowd of Warriors began stamping their feet and chanting "Speak! Speak!"
"I will tell my tale later. How I was forced from your company and drafted into the formation of the Crimson Squad. I will tell you what I learned there from those who were around me and the treachery I discovered in high places. I will hide nothing from you but first, will you hear this man Baralai who was once a priest of Yevon and who now begs your attention?" Nooj pulled Baralai to his side and embraced him before the sight of the gathered throng. "Good Warrior Baralai, tell these heroes the truth about their masters."
Baralai, as pale as the summoner's sleeves, came forward and began. He spoke simply and clearly, his face as open and honest as the moon, and the assembled throng listened with rapt attention.
When the priestling had finished his story of deceit and betrayal, there was an ominous silence for long enough to make Nooj wonder if he had misjudged his audience, then the sound of snarling angry beasts roused to a fury and ready to attack their prey. Lucil ran to kneel at the feet of her hero, placing her sword on the ground and bowing her forehead until it rested on the scuffed earth.
"Undying One, I pledge my sword and my honor at your service. Lead me to avenge the deaths of my brave comrades."
Then there was a clash as weapons were piled before the Major and a cacophony as voices of all timbres swore their allegiance to the cause Nooj advocated.
He stretched out his arms as if to gather the entire horde to him and shouted the war cry of the corps. It echoed back to him like the crash of an ocean of vengeance breaking on the rocky shore.
"To the heights!" He gestured grandly toward the cliffs and his army moved at his command, a scarlet flood of humanity surging with barely controlled menace, ready to sweep away the evil which was its target.
-X-
Yuna stepped through the cloth doorway marking the entrance to the command center, Kimahri by her side and the other guardians behind. The walk from the lift to this place had been brief and uneventful -- Al Bhed gathered into place, showing a few Crusaders how to work the large machina weapons that lined the cliffs edge. Auron had seen no warrior monks among the soldiers of Yevon, and he'd wondered at their absence. Now he hung back slightly, both to observe the reactions of his party and because of his reluctance to face Kinoc. Once they had been friends, and they had been on good terms when last they'd met, but the passage of time had not left him thinking kindly of his former brother-in-arms. Ten years ago, Auron had turned down a promotion because it came with a marriage that he would not accept. When Kinoc had been offered the same position without being forced to marry, it had driven a wedge between the two men, and eventually Auron had come to see Kinoc for the shallow schemer he had always been. Now Kinoc had risen to the pinnacle, his ambitions realized, and yet he was still plotting, allowing dozens, possibly even hundreds of people to lose their lives to his efforts to take back control of the Crusaders. And for what? A little more power, or the Grand Maester's throne? Whatever the reason, Auron suspected it had more to do with Kinoc's personal glory than with the protection of Spira and its people.
And then the time for brooding was over -- he had stepped through the archway, and a Maester sat before him, lounging in a camp chair. Older, balder, heavier, but still unmistakably Kinoc, he pulled himself out of the chair with a smile, heading straight for Auron. "I'd heard from Seymour, but I didn't know if we'd actually meet," he said, throwing his arms around the guardian in a quick embrace. "Good to see you, Auron! Ten years, is it?"
Auron stepped away, pulling back from the unwelcome contact, and said nothing.
Kinoc looked like he wanted to continue, but he was interrupted by the arrival of Gatta, who ran up to the Maester and saluted, a puzzled look on his face. "Your Grace, the Al Bhed troops are in place, but many of the Crusaders are missing from their posts. Shall I investigate, sir?"
"Hold a moment." Kinoc looked over his shoulder at Seymour, who had just slipped into the command center from the other side. "Do you know anything about this?"
The half-Guado Maester shook his head. "I have heard nothing."
Frowning, Kinoc turned back to the boy. "Send runners to Mushroom Rock Road and the beach to look into the situation; have them report back within the hour."
"Aye sir." Gatta saluted again, then stepped out. Seymour also left, after a quick bow to Yuna, disappearing in the direction from which he had come.
Kinoc moved back to the center of the clearing surrounded by canvas walls that had been staked out as the command center for Operation Mi'ihen. "My apologies for the delay, my Lady," he said with a bow to Yuna, expression slipping back into the polite blandness of a leader with something to hide. "I trust your journey here was a pleasant one?"
"It was fine, Your Grace," said Yuna, bowing politely in return. "May I present my guardians."
"A pleasure to meet you all." Kinoc nodded to each in turn, stopping at Tidus. "Young sir, you seem the observant type. On your walk here, did you hear any talk amongst the Crusaders? Something that might explain why they are not currently at their posts?"
"Um... ahhh...." Tidus looked helplessly over to Auron, who narrowed his single eye and gave the tiniest shake of his head. They all knew the reason for this development, of course, and Auron was pleased to hear of it -- Nooj must have found some way to call them to his side. Perhaps he was persuading them all to take up arms against Yevon at this very moment. But of course they couldn't tell Kinoc that. It was far too soon to tip their hand. "Ah, no. No, not really." Tidus's denial fell flat to his comrades' ears, but Kinoc seemed to accept it and walked back over to Auron.
"Well, in that case it looks like we have some time on our hands. Same old military, eh Auron? Always hurry up and wait. Being in charge doesn't even help." He laughed. "So, any chance I can find out where you were these last ten years, what you were doing?"
Explaining the circumstances of his death and the events that followed was the last thing Auron wanted to do. But before he had to think of a satisfactory non-answer, he was interrupted by Yuna.
"Your Grace, I would like the opportunity to speak with you, if I may," she said as she approached the Maester.
"Of course," said Kinoc with another bow. "What would you like to know?"
"This operation. Do you believe it has a chance to succeed?"
Kinoc chuckled. "A few machina weapons against Sin? Of course it won't work. Surely you realize that. But the Crusaders have cherished this dream for so long, it can't hurt to let them hold onto it for a little while longer."
"It can't hurt?!" Wakka burst out. "But, Maester Kinoc, sir, all the people in the Crusaders! You know how many of them will die?"
With a shrug, Kinoc spread out his hands. "We tried to tell them. They knew the risks when they decided to undertake this effort. This operation was never sanctioned by Yevon."
"Wasn't it?" Auron spoke up for the first time. "Is not your presence here as much a stamp of approval as any official proclamation from Bevelle, Maester Kinoc?" He scarred the official title with as much sarcasm as he could muster.
Kinoc quickly pivoted to glare at Auron, the swift movement giving proof that a warrior's reflexes remained beneath his rotund exterior. "What are you suggesting?" His voice was low and dangerous.
Good, we've caught him off guard. But rather than showing his triumph, Auron instead redirected the conversation with a completely different question. "Can you tell us of the fate of the Crimson Squad?"
"The Crimson Squad?" Kinoc repeated, alarm spreading over his features. "How in Yevon's name do you know about that?"
"It doesn't matter how we know, only that we do," said Yuna. "What has happened to the survivors?"
Kinoc looked from Yuna to Auron and back again. "There were no survivors," he said, shocked into simple honesty. "None of them lived through the final training exercise. Unfortunate, but unavoidable."
Yuna's eyes widened, and she took a step away. "None..." she whispered. "No, oh no." She shook her head, despairing. Kimahri rested a comforting hand on her shoulder as he slipped up to her side.
"All dead?" Lulu stepped forward, crimson eyes sparking with anger. "But why?"
Kinoc glanced at her, eyes narrowing. "They found you, didn't they. Those traitors, the recruits who tried to raise the others against me. What lies have they been telling you?"
With a single fluid motion, Auron loosed his left arm from its place in his coat and pulled his sword from the scabbard on his back. "Think very carefully before you call my niece a liar or a traitor," he said, tone casual but full of menace, holding the blade's tip mere inches from Kinoc's face.
"Your niece? You mean, that recorder girl... she's Johar's daughter? I didn't realize... but of course. She looks just like him." Kinoc held up his hands in supplication. "Peace, friend. I didn't mean to insult your family."
Auron lowered the sword but did not sheathe it. "Not only one of my family, but a loyal priest, one of the greatest warriors the Crusaders has ever known, and an Al Bhed boy whose only crime was wanting to serve the people of Spira. Yet now you hunt them like fiends after murdering their companions. All we ask is a reason. Give us one my Lady can accept, and we will be on our way."
The immediate threat removed, Kinoc's confidence returned as he stared down Auron. "Why does it matter? These deaths are all regrettable, but we are a world at war, doing what we must to fight Sin. If the deaths of a few can lead to life for the many, should we scruple at paying that cost? Surely my Lady Summoner understands this." He glanced back to Yuna, who blushed scarlet at his words.
Auron shook his head. "That is different and you know it. The summoner's path is freely chosen; can you say the same for those you lured to the Crimson Squad?"
"Every soldier knows the risks--"
"But these are not the risks that every soldier faces!" Lulu folded her arms in front of her, fury written plainly on her face, her voice rising with emotion. "These are not honorable battles against fiends or Sinspawn. You ran the Crimson Squad through a gauntlet of death, purposefully designed to kill as many people as possible. Can you deny that? Can you deny that Operation Mi'ihen is a trap into which you have lured the Crusaders and the Al Bhed?"
Kinoc shrugged. "I could, but you would not believe me. Your mind is made up, it seems."
Yuna's color had returned to normal, and now she advanced, gripping her staff. "Yes, my mind is made up. You have decided it for me. All my life I have believed in Yevon, the Maesters, and the teachings. But this indifference to life, this casual insult to the Crusaders and the Crimson Squad and everything they work for, this I cannot believe in. I will defeat Sin, but I will find another way. And I will defeat Yevon first."
Auron's heart leapt into his throat at these words. Yuna was with him, and more completely than he had dreamed possible. His mission -- both his missions -- had a chance to succeed. And maybe then he could finally rest.
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Kinoc with a shake of his head. He raised his hands in the air and shouted. "Guards! Take them!"
An entire squadron of warrior monks burst out of nowhere, each one carrying a gun. As one, the guardians crowded around Yuna, protecting her from the machina weapons that pointed in their direction. Auron and Tidus took the front, facing down an unusually tall, thin monk who leveled his weapon at the boy's forehead.
"I wouldn't," the warrior monk said in his nasal drawl as the guardian lifted his sword to attack. "Not if you want him to live."
And then suddenly a shouting and crashing noise came from behind, and Auron turned just enough to see possibly the most welcome sight that could have appeared -- Nooj and Paine leading dozens of Crusaders, every single one bristling with weapons and outrage.
Nooj raised his rifle and trained it directly on Kinoc, then met the eyes of the monk who held Tidus at gunpoint. "And if you want your leader to live, you will let them all go. Now."
( Next chapter)