Dark Summoner

The first thought that filtered to his waterlogged brain as Tidus once again woke was that if he ever found Sin again he’d beat it within an inch of its life. That was at least before a well aimed something hit him on the top of his head, awakening him to the fact that he was floating face down in the water. He flung himself toward the surface and gasped for air as a blitzball floated past his face. A shout got his attention and he turned around from the endless sea and saw a tropical island rising from the water. On the beach was a group of people and the tallest, a red head, was waving at him.

“Hey! You okay?” Tidus looked from side to side and noticed that he was holding a large piece of black material and it took a moment for him to realise it was Harry’s robe. He was about to curse when the blitzball floated past him once more. Letting go of the robe for a moment he dove beneath it and surged at it, head butting it before flipping and sending it rocketing toward the shore. The blitzers ducked for cover as it soared into their midst, to fast for them to even attempt to catch it.

Hello misdirected aggression!

The red head followed its path back to the teen in the water who had begun to swim toward the shore.

“Whoa-oh!” He breathed out in slight awe, who ever he was he was a very good shot. Tidus swam up to them and dragged himself out of the water, he didn’t know whether he wanted to kick something or cry as he looked at the robe he’d pulled with him. Harry must have slipped out of it when they’d been thrown around.

“Please let him be with Rikku.” He muttered to himself as the blitzers all ran up to him. A few of the other players hung back when they noticed the sword strapped to his back. To tell the truth though Tidus didn’t like it there, the only reason he hadn’t complained about it so far was because he’d either been to tired or to hungry to care about the hilt digging into his back. He finally faced them and took the time to look them over while their leader was occupied. They all wore the same uniform. Baggy yellow pants that where belted to their legs, blue shorts and suspenders. Some wore shirts, others didn’t but in the tropical environment it wouldn’t have really mattered.

Finally the red head turned around and blinked in surprise when he got his first good look at him. His hair, a bright ginger coloured spike that stood right up on his head before it curled back, didn’t even move as he shook his head to clear it.

“Uh, hi?” Tidus stuck the hand holding the robe behind his back and gave them a nervous little wave. Uncharacteristic, especially for him, but he didn’t even know where he was let alone if these people where nice, they where, after all, staring at him like they’d never seen a Blitzballer before. The red head gave a nervous cough and an equally as nervous smile in return.

“Uh…. You wanna… try that move… one more time?” Tidus stared at him recognising a faint accent. Nervous really didn’t look good on him. He struck him as the type who would goof off given a chance.

“Sure.” The blonde said at last, unstrapping the sword from his back so he could get at it better and dropping the robe beside it. One of the others headed a ball to him and Tidus sent it high into the air before leaping after it and kicking it out toward the sea, putting as much of his leftover frustration at loosing Harry and Rikku behind it. It sailed over the horizon and Tidus was certain that they’d probably never see that ball again. He landed lightly on the sand and picked up his sword. The players had looks of pure amazement on their faces while the redhead stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

“You’re no amateur. What team do you play for?” Tidus just shook his head.

“I used to play for a team but I don’t play anymore.” It was after that he remembered Rikku’s warning about Zanarkand and thanked the stars that he hadn’t let something embarrassing slip, like he played for the Zanarkand Abes or something.

“Why?” the man asked, harsher than he’d intended. “You’re good, really good. Why don’t you play?” Tidus just shook his head and backed up a step.

“My team is gone.” He said, waving his hands in a vague warding gesture. “…And I have other thing’s to worry about now, like finding my Summoner.”

“Summoner?” came the incredulous response. Tidus nodded.

“Yeah, when Sin attacked the ship we where on Harry got washed overboard with me and Rikku. He hasn’t washed up here has he?” Tidus asked hopefully. The blitzer shook his head mutely and Tidus sagged slightly. Carefully he knelt and folded the robe into a small bundle and secured it behind the sheath on his back. The man watched him a moment before he let his serious look drop a little.

“Well, you encountered Sin and you’re still alive. Praise be to Yevon.” A he said that the entire group made the Blitzball sign for victory. Tidus just watched them, his face twisted in confusion. Why would they be making that at a time like this? While he thought about it the red head turned back to his team.

“ALL RIGHT! BACK TO PRACTICE!” He gave a small roar and the blitzers nearly jumped out of their skins in shock before they hopped to it. As they stumbled around the beach after balls that went flying left, right and centre Tidus had to suppress the urge to wince, they where just plain bad. Red turned back to him and gripped his hand in greeting.

“I’m Wakka, coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs, brudda.” Tidus gripped his hand in return before he let go.

“I’m Tidus.” He didn’t mention anything else and he didn’t really need to as his stomach took that moment to interrupt loudly. The grumbling noise echoed through the air around them. Wakka began to laugh.

“What? You hungry? Okay!” He said enthusiastically, almost as sickeningly bright as Rikku was. “Back to the village!” He proclaimed. “I’ll get you somethin’!” Tidus followed a little behind as Wakka lead him toward a gap in the foliage that started where the sand ended. Tidus resisted the urge to ask about Zanarkand. Harry had told him that where he came from Zanarkand hadn’t even existed so what was to say that this Zanarkand wasn’t even his own? Instead he looked around and took in the sight of the overgrown ruins that littered the island.

“There are so many ruins here.” He said more to himself than anything but Wakka spoke up anyway.

“A long time ago there where a whole lot of cities in Spira yanno? Even on this island all the way out here. They say that people played all day and let the machina do the work. But you know what happened. Sin came along and destroyed all da’ machina cities and Zanarkand along with them a thousand years ago.” Wakka didn’t stop there though, he went on speaking like it was an old rant he’d learnt to repeat over and over again in its entirety. “If you ask me, Sin’s out punishment for letting things get out of 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 sometimes, you know?” He looked at Tidus briefly but went on muttering to himself, letting the subject drop. The blonde was glad he didn’t have to answer. Even though they seemed to accept things at face value Tidus didn’t really feel like showing just how little he knew of this world. Rikku had told him some of the basics but Wakka was painting a very different picture.

‘Who’s right then?’ he thought to himself. The red head chuckled suddenly.

“Ha! I just thought, a team like the Zanarkand Abes! They must have been soft ya, with all that machina.” The words, totally random and completely innocent brought about a pang of hurt. He missed his home already and that comment certainly hadn’t helped. If he hadn’t already seen that Sin had laid waste to Zanarkand with his own eyes he would have probably denied all this. Even so he tried not to think about home. It was hard, very hard, but them his thoughts turned to Harry and Zanarkand faded away. Harry knew what it was like. He’d been thrown out of place and out of time. The blonde began to feel a little better after that…

“Hey it’s this way!” Wakka said from up ahead. Tidus followed, taking in his surroundings and had to stop abruptly when he nearly walked off a cliff. A lagoon lay below them. A beautiful sight really, but Tidus was in no position to enjoy it.

Wakka had just pushed him in.

He let out a shout before he went into automatic and dived. He surfaced quickly and Wakka jumped in after him laughing before he hit the water and came up grinning.

“What’s the big idea!?” Tidus spluttered. Wakka chuckled and dived out of sight. Tidus growled as he looked around, going as still in the water as he could. Unfortunately he sensed the vibrations in the water too late and next thing he knew he had an arm around his throat.

“Hey! Lemme go!” It was the Al Bhed all over again.

“I got a favour to ask ya,” Wakka breathed out by his ear. Tidus felt his arms loosen their grip slightly but they still held tight. It took a moment for him to realise what it was the other blitzer wanted.

“You want me to play on your team, right?” Tidus gasped out and abruptly Wakka let him go. Spinning quickly in the water Tidus backed up and put some distance between them.

‘Way to close for comfort.’ He thought to himself as he regained his breath.

“A major blitz tournament is coming up in Luca. All the teams in Spira’ll be there! It’s so huge, I’m sure your summoner will be there somewhere as well, but until you find him you can play for us!” As he talked they began to swim along the lagoon. Tidus watched the fish dart away from them as they passed before he answered.

“Alright.” He said, closing his eyes and turning on his back to float. “Just until we find Harry.”

“Dude!” Wakka burst out excitedly as he lead him to a place where they could pull themselves up the rocks that lined the lagoon. “Our team is gonna rock, eh?” Tidus didn’t answer. ‘Sin and blitzball are the only things our worlds have in common.’ He thought as they walked up a path toward the hilltop. A makeshift fence made of rope and wood was the only divide between them and a drastic drop. At the bottom of the slope was a small village.

“This is where I was born,” Wakka said proudly, sweeping his arm out toward the circle of buildings amid the trees. “I started blitz when I was five. I joined the Aurochs at thirteen… teen years ago. Ten years... and we never won a game.” Somehow Tidus had no trouble believing that. Especially after the performance he’d seen on the beach. “Well, after last year’s tournament, I quit. Time seemed right.” The red head finished before he turned and began to walk down another path that led down the hill. Tidus had to run to keep up with his long strides on the downward incline.

“So after quitting I got this new job, ya, actually it was as a guardian, ya, but every time I tried to do it my mind wondered to the game.”

“Ten years without a win’ll do that.” Tidus knew that all to well. While he was younger and still in his father’s shadow it had frustrated him to no end that he never seemed to become better at blitzball. It had become his obsession to prove his father wrong. That he really could be the best. Wakka didn’t know that though and just grunted.

“My first match last year was my big chance. But something else was on my mind. I couldn’t focus.” Tidus couldn’t help it when he let slip with his next comment.

“Nice excuse.” He muttered, however low it had been Wakka still heard it.

“Hey, Hey!” He shrugged back. An uncomfortable silence fell and Tidus felt the need to break it.

“So you want to win the next tournament – go out with a bang?” Wakka stopped and turned to face him, nodding. Tidus worked up his enthusiasm. If he was going to help them win this thing, it was going to take a hell of a lot of work on his part.

“So what’s our goal?” He asked brightly.

“I don’t care how we do, long as we do our best. If we give it out all, I can walk away happy.” Tidus mentally gagged and resited the urge to roll his eyes. The islander’s intentions might have been all good and pure but if he kept thinking that way they’d never win! Like come on! This was Blitzball they where talking about!

“No, no, no, no, no. If I say, ‘What’s our goal?’ you say, ‘Victory!’ When you play in a Blitzball tournament, you play to win!” The look on Wakka’s face could only have been called stupid.

“Victory? You serious?” Tidus nodded quickly as they resumed walking down the slope. They hadn’t gone far when they came across someone new.

“Ah, the one from the sea.” The man said knowledgeably as he looked at Tidus. The blonde took a good look at who he was speaking to. The man had red hair and purple pants with gold linings. Leather sandals and armour covered his feet and chest respectively. Not a moment later a second man stepped out from behind him. He was much shorter with a darker complexion than his friend.

“Be on guard,” The short one said loudly. “There’s fiends on the road today!” If Tidus didn’t know any better he’d say he was excited about it.

“After surviving your run in with Sin, ‘twould be a shame if something happened now.” Tidus didn’t even get to ask how they already knew about that before they turned and marched away.

“Who where they?” Tidus asked almost dumbly.

“Luzzu and Gatta – They’re Crusaders, couldn’t you tell?”

“Crews of what?” Tidus asked again. Wakka gave him a look.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” He asked, poking him. “How can you be a guardian and not know about the crusaders? Sin must have messed with your head after all, but don’t worry, I’ll help you out.”

“Cool.” Tidus muttered, but didn’t really mean it. Wakka, who was already distracted didn’t notice.

“Oh and about the Crusaders, you can ask them yourself, they’ve got a lodge in the village.” Wakka nearly dragged him the last few feet to the gates that stood at the end of the path.

“Besaid Village!” Wakka announced as they entered, waving an arm over the encampment of cloth tents that surrounded a relatively large building that stood opposite the gate. The blonde’s stomach rumbled again.

“You got any food it there?” He asked not in the least embarrassed. Wakka chuckled and pointed to a tent off to one side.

“That’s my place, we can get you something from there later but first… just so we can be sure you haven’t forgotten everything… You remember the prayer, right?” He was making little circles with his hands and Tidus thought back to the beach where they’d all made the Blitzball sign for victory.

“Oh you mean this?” He fluidly went through the moves. It had been a thing for the fan’s really but after a while the blitzers had used it as a kind of unofficial greeting, although, used under extreme protest most of the time. Wakka let out a faint sigh of relief.

“That’s good, ya. I though for a moment there I’d have to teach you, yanno?” Tidus gave him a faintly irritated look that the other blitzer missed completely as he clapped him on the shoulder. “Now go and see the temple summoner, if anyone will know about your summoner it will be him.” Tidus nodded mutely as the Aurochs Captain swaggered off into the village leaving him to fend for himself.

So much for helping.

Tidus wondered into the village, careful not to get to close to those who wondered from tent to tent. He made his way along the path toward what he guessed was the temple. The main hall rang with a chant from some invisible singer and the walls where shrouded in shadows by the statues that stood around the edge of the floor. The ceiling vanished into darkness and a set of stairs lead up to a door that was sealed by a symbol. Villagers stood or knelt, praying to the statues around the hall and the blonde could feel the cold eyes of the statues following him. Tidus watched them all for some time before a monk approached him from behind.

“It’s been ten years since Lord Braska became high summoner and we’ve only just received a statue for our temple.” Tidus stared at the statue the monk was looking at.

“I am a guardian to a summoner.” He let slip, more by accident than anything else. The monk looked faintly surprised.

“You’re a guardian?” Tidus scowled and nodded, why did everyone seem so surprised by that? “Where is your summoner?” The monk asked eagerly. “There’s another currently in the cloister of trials but they will be able to enter soon.” The blonde shook his head.

“No, Harry isn’t here and that’s why I am.” He said, returning his gaze to the statue. “Sin caught up with us in some ruins and washed us into the sea. I woke up this morning face down in the water near the beach, alone.” The Monk looked at him, understanding dawning in his face.

“I’m sorry to say that there have been no other summoners visiting the temple for weeks.” Tidus found his face falling in spite of himself. He remembered what Wakka had said about the Blitzball tournament in Luca, Harry knew he was a player in Zanarkand and so did Rikku, hopefully they would have begun to make their way there.

“When’s the next boat that goes toward Luca?” He asked, hoping he could get there quickly. The monk frowned briefly while he thought.

“The next boat goes tomorrow morning. The Lady Summoner Yuna will also be going by Luca. You will have to change boats at Kilika but you should have no problem. May you have luck in finding your friend, Summoners are all the hope our people have left.” Tidus nodded and turned to leave, the monk made the prayer at his back and the blonde left the temple to go in search of Wakka. His stomach protesting even more for not going with the red head earlier. It wasn’t hard to find him. He was sitting at a low table with a fire pit to one side of him.

The red head gave him a semi-sympathetic look at he entered. He jerked his head toward the bed behind him.

“Sorry, man. No time for lunch yet, take a nap, you look bushed.” Tidus nodded tiredly. He really couldn’t refute that, after all the only kind of rest he’d gotten was while he was unconscious and that didn’t really count as sleep.

“Thanks.” He said as he shrugged off his sword once more and set it upright next to the bed before he grabbed the folded robe and flopped onto it, rolling to his side, his back facing the room. Not the best way to sleep for someone who was steadily becoming more paranoid, but it had to do. He was drifting on the edges of sleep when someone else entered the tent. Wakka got up from the table to meet them and Tidus snapped back to a more alert state.

"You could at least go see how they are doing," the monk was saying in a low voice.

"We can't interfere," Wakka protested. "It's a rule."

"But, it's been nearly..." Their voices faded away as sleep reached out to grab his mind and dragged it away from the waking world. Instead he found himself standing in another dream. Another memory.

_________________________________________________

"It's been nearly a day already," the man said wearily.

"Perhaps you could go look for us?” The brown haired woman before him pleaded.

"People are searching for him now," the man replied, and turned to go.

"Thank you." the woman Tidus now recognized as his mother said quietly as they left the boat. Tidus turned to see himself approach. The child that walked in his dream came as a slight shock, had he really looked so much like his father before he’d changed everything he had?

"Who cares whether he comes back or not?" he said in a voice that trembled. Even though he recalled everything, the cause of that tremble was beyond him. His mother knelt down to look him in the eye.
"But he might die!"

"Fine, let him!" Tidus retorted.

"Do you...do you hate him so?"

The boy nodded fervently.

"But if he dies, you'll never be able to tell him how much you hate him." Every word was costing her, and tears sprang into her eyes. It was as his child self turned away that the dream began to fade…

_________________________________________________

Tidus woke late in the evening and nearly cursed himself for missing lunch. He wondered where Wakka was for a moment before he recognised the Blitzball captain’s loud laugh. Rubbing his eyes tiredly he got out of the bed and grabbed his sword. Even if he was in the village he didn’t just want to leave it lying around. Everything secured he pushed aside the tent flap and looked out at the roaring bonfire that had been lit in the centre of the courtyard outside the temple. Children where running around it laughing, and the entire Blitzball team was huddled around Wakka off to one side. A large lion like creature that stood in it’s hind legs was looming protectively behind a group of people and a much darker looking woman with a very revealing dress sat stoically to one side.

As he approached the villagers Wakka looked over and grinned.

“Hey! Over here ya!” The shout had gotten the attention of quite a few of the villagers who all looked at him as if he where some strange curio. Wakka slung an arm around his shoulders and dragging him closer to the team.

“This guy here, want’s into the tournament so bad, I let him on the team.” Wakka said, fooling around before Tidus unobtrusively distanced himself from the nearly hyper man. Tidus looked at the red head and shook his head. The prospect that they might actually win a match was just too much for him. “Although, whatever he might say his head’s still a little fuzzy from Sin.” Tidus really did give him a dirty look then but it just bounced right off Wakka’s thick skull as the team looked to him.

“So what’s our goal?” He asked the team at large.

“To do our best!” Tidus found himself blinking in disbelief, the whole team had the same problem as Wakka. The captain however spoke up.

“Nope, we got a new goal now! Our new goal… is victory! To win every match, defeat every opposing team! To bring back the crystal Cup back to our island! That’s all we need to do to win! Easy, ya?” Tidus couldn’t help but give a little laugh as the whole team took up the cry of,

“Victory! Victory! Victory!” Giving the enthusiastic team a wave he moved out of their midst and took a look around the bonfire before settling on a stack of bundled fire wood of to one side, not far from where the dark haired woman sat. He leaned back slightly and was about to drift off again when she spoke.

“So you are the guardian who encountered sin.” Her voice had a mocking sort of quality to it as she looked at him like some kind of fiend eyeing dinner. “Wakka has had much to say about you.” Tidus gave her a confused look.

“He has?” Now that sounded more like himself.

“Oh yes, he and the crusaders are all itching to speak with you, after all, not many have lived through an encounter with Sin. Although I’m afraid you have caught Yuna’s attention as well.” The blonde’s head tipped to one side in a questioning look.

“Eh? Yuna?” She nodded her head toward a group of people on the ground before them. A girl with ashen coloured hair sat there with a group of children and a few older villagers.

“Yuna, she’s the summoner I guard. She summoned her first Aeon today but Wakka told me you where still sleeping and no one wanted to wake you.” Tidus watched her for a moment before looking back at the other guardian to see her watching him again.

“Don’t go getting any idea’s.” She warned ominously and Tidus nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Hey! I don’t even know her and besides I don’t even like girls!” He said in a rush to placate her and it wasn’t until he saw her faintly shocked look that he registered what he’d blurted out.

“Meep!” His hand’s shot to cover his own mouth and the woman actually chuckled.

“Don’t let Wakka hear you say that.” She warned, a smirk still lingering on her face as she turned away. Tidus let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. He sat there for a long while just staring into the fire, thinking. Harry had been on his mind a lot; he’d never really questioned the presence of the dark haired boy that had literally fallen into his lap. The last few days had just rushed by and for a good part of that time Harry had been with him. It had felt right in some twisted way, but he hadn’t realised that until they’d been separated again. But the feeling in his guts was telling him he was heading in the right direction. If he just kept going with these people it wouldn’t be long before they met up again.

He was broken from his thoughts by yet another voice.

“Uh, hello?” He looked up to see the summoner standing over him.

“Hello.” He returned the greeting and the girl, probably only about a year younger than Harry and himself, plonked herself down on the stack of wood next to his. He could feel the eyes of her guardians on him as she tried to start a conversation.

“I heard you lost your summoner in an encounter with Sin.” She began almost sadly. Tidus gave a half smile.

“I didn’t ‘loose’ him.” He answered, looking her in the eye and making her blush. “He’s still alive.” Yuna was staring at him now.

“How do you know?” She asked, curious. Just out of sight he heard the female guardian shift her interest peaked. Tidus leaned back and his smile grew wider.

“I just know.” He answered in a rather whimsical tone. ”I hadn’t known him all that long but he has the kind of presence you can feel, even when he’s not there.” Yuna looked slightly awed.

“He must be a very powerful summoner then.” Tidus shrugged. Harry had never really done any summoning before they where separated but he was powerful, he knew that much. At last he nodded.

“He’s good at magic, too.” Although he had acted like he hadn’t noticed when Harry had conjured things out of thin air he had in fact seen everything. There had been such a thing as magic in Zanarkand, it was just that with everything they already needed, they had no real drive to use it. A child ran up to Yuna, giving him a shifty look before bouncing up to the Summoner.

“Lady Yuna, Play with me some more!” Yuna smiled back and nodded before she got to her feet brushing bark off her skirts.

“So, tomorrow then?” She asked.

“Tomorrow?”

“We’re going on the same boat, aren’t we?” Tidus remembered his plans and wondered who had told her… probably Wakka.

“Oh, well sure then, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Yuna blushed when he flashed her a grin and wondered off. Once again Tidus slumped back, this time slapping his forehead. He’d seen enough screaming fan girls in his life time to realize when someone had a crush on him and apparently Lulu, as Wakka had let slip her name earlier, had noticed as well. The people around her scattered slightly as she burst out laughing.