"Rikku…" Tidus said to the Al Behd Psyches, after trying for twenty minutes to attempt to say ‘good game,’ but they just thought he was hitting on them. Apparently, he hadn’t learned enough Al Behd. "Reee-Kuu?"
"(Huh)?" one asked.
"Never mind," Tidus said. He was hungry, he was tired, and he was on standby in case something else happened to Wakka during the game with the Luca Goers. If these blitzball players were meaner than other teams, he didn’t want to be around when a riot broke out.
Tidus dejectedly left, wondering if there was anything to eat and regretting that Lulu had taken all the money—which he could’ve bought food with.
*
*
*
The bells and whistles and horns and other things attempting to imitate musical instruments and failing badly went off, indicating the end of the tournament.
At first, Yuna thought the noises following it were cheers and wailing about who won and who didn’t and the beginning of the usual riot.
No, there was screaming, but this was frantic—pained—panicked—afraid—then there was the word that explained why: ‘Sinspawn!’
Yuna didn’t speak to Kimahri, she didn’t even look at him. He’d follow. He’d rush to help anyway.
She sped off until he caught up to her and grabbed her around the waist and carried her.
*
*
*
"What the heck’s going on?" Tidus asked after finishing off yet another monster. There were at least a dozen more running around in the arena and he was thankful they could neither open, nor fit through doors.
"Who cares?" Wakka yelled. "I told ya, these things are everywhere! We gotta get rid of them ‘fore Sin comes lookin’ for ‘em. Hey! Lulu! Over here!"
"What the—when did Sinspwan get in here?" she yelled, as one of them wondered if they’d be good lunch and they all prepared to defend themselves.
"Since they wanted to!" Wakka yelled.
"Yeah, I don’t think they’re really fans of the sport!" Tidus commented.
Soon, but not soon enough, the monster fell down dead.
Before any of them could find a new target, or even an escape plan, three things happened.
A large, winged, pink summon flew up into the air and swooped around the stadium.
"Your father was right, you can’t keep yourself out of trouble," someone new—sort of—said.
"Kill any who try to get out, first!" someone else yelled and they sounded like they meant business.
"Auron?" Lulu asked.
"Auron?" Tidus asked. "Please don’t be on the side to kill us!"
"No time," Auron yelled, and charged after some monsters that were clumping around the entrance.
‘Somehow that doesn’t make me feel better,’ Tidus thought.
Tidus watched the battle, more interested in if Yuna were alive than what Auron had in store. Auron was in one of his moods and Tidus didn’t want anything to do with it.
He was surprised he couldn’t see the flashy colors Yuna always wore.
He saw the summon up against a monster, and dissipate into the same nothing it came from in the middle of the battle.
None of the others seemed to notice, nor were they interested in anything he was going to say.
"Yuna!" Tidus yelled, rushing towards the battle. He had a good enough view f the empty stadium and there was no sign of her, so she must be beyond the chaos with the sinspawn and… what seemed to be strange looking soldiers.
There was a scream—Yuna’s—and he wasn’t sure of it was in answer, or just a cry for help. Either way, he had to get to her, now that he knew—vaguely—where she was.
As Tidus got closer, looking for a way around—his friends, though slow, seemed to have things under control and another person would just put limbs in the way—he noticed the strange soldiers. They screamed in strange accents, they didn’t look happy to be fighting on the same side as his friends. At least they were.
At even one glance, Tidus noticed the strange ears and colors of the soldiers, and wondered if there was something strange about their hands.
"Yuna!" Tidus yelled again, dodging and ducking through the battle, thought not exactly unscathed.
"Let go of me!" he heard, followed by an angry noise from Kimahri.
Just as he rolled out of the last bit of the battle, he almost hit someone’s feet with his face. But they were familiar feet.
"She said let her go!" the owner of the feet yelled.
"Rikku!" Tidus yelled, backing away weirdly before standing up. In standing up, though, he suddenly got a view of what was happening.
Yuna was trying to fight her way out of the grips of two of the strange soldiers while a third was fighting with Kimahri, neither winning. Two more were looking at him and Rikku.
"We have orders from Lord Jyscal to evacuate this place!" one guard yelled.
"Within a minute, there was only her and her guardians here," another said. "And the Sinspawn appeared so close to Lord Jyscal."
"Who’d wanna kill him?" Tidus asked.
"You can’t arrest her for that!" Rikku shouted.
"We are trying to help, not to incarcerate."
"We are getting the summoner and her guardians out, as well as her guardians. This is a job for warriors, and she must survive for a greater purpose. She refuses to listen, though."
"You don’t listen!" Yuna yelled. "I’m trying to help these people!"
"We have orders from Lord Jyscal!"
Kimahri growled.
"Put her down, they were all doing better without your help!" Rikku said.
"You’re Al Behd…" one of the guards said. "What business do you have with her?"
"I’m her—uh… guardian."
"Huh?" Tidus said.
"An Al Behd guardian?"
"Yeah," Yuna said, trying to fake courage. "I’ll agree to go with you, but only if I can speak with Maester Jyscal."
The soldiers looked at each other.
"Works for me," one whispered to the other.
"Agreed."