“Ow. Oww!” Spike groaned as he sat up, looking around. He was in a small, steel room, with a glowing computer monitor set into the wall, and strange symbols all around it. He stood up, examining the room he was in. A sudden creaking made him spin around. The door began to open and he frowned to himself. A strange man came walking into the room. His yellow blonde hair was cut short and was obscured by a pair of goggles. His clothes were predominately yellow and when he spoke he sounded like he’d just walked straight out of a cowboy movie. Spike had a nagging feeling that he recognised him but this thought was overcome by the realisation that the man wasn’t a demon.
The man handed him a glass of water. Spike found himself strangely thirsty. Must be a side affect of being human, he thought.
“I’m sorry about my men. They usually act that way around Yevon spies.”
Spike stopped swallowing his water and breathed it in instead. This led to a fit of coughing. “What?”
“They thought you must be a Yevon spy, what with those weird clothes you’re wearing. They searched through your clothes and you had no Yevon symbols, so, here I am.”
Spike grabbed the man by the throat, pushing him against the wall.
“I’ve had a bad day,” he said. “So talk slowly. Who are you?”
He released the man who proceeded to rub his neck, giving Spike a sideways look.
“I’m Cid, the leader of the Al Behd. Who’re you?”
Spike burst into a short bark of laugh. “You stupid wanker. You expect me to believe that load of bollocks?”
Cid stared at Spike as though he’d grown tentacles.
“So, you’re the Al Behd, this place I’m in would be called Spira, right? And summoners are running around the land trying to defeat Sin?”
Cid nodded his head. “Yeah, that’s right.”
Spike laughed, then shook his head. “And I suppose Little Bit’s a summoner and the slayer grew blue fur and became a Ronso?” He shook his platinum blonde head again. “I can’t believe it.”
Cid regarded Spike, unsure. “Listen, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, kid but...” He was worried about this kid. He seemed to be crazy as a shoopuff rider but with Rikku gone, he could do with the help. He shook his head, finally deciding what to do. “Well, you don’t look to me like a Yevon spy. Tell ya what, if you help out you can stay here with us. We can feed you and give you a place to live, maybe some real clothes.”
“You can bloody well keep away from my clothes,” was Spike’s short response.
“Okay, well, if you can help out, you can stay.”
“Help out with what exactly?” Spike asked, still not believing what the other guy said. He may as well play along for now. He could keep an eye out for Buffy and Dawn and until then...
“Do you know anything about machina?” Cid asked.
Spikes eyes lit up. “Machina?” He drew his packet of cigarettes out of his pocket, realising that he’d left his lighter on the table. “Yeah, I’d say I know a thing or two about them.”
……………………………………………….
Dawn stood in front of her house, staring at her window. It had been easier to climb out of than it would be to get back in. She tried to climb back up the side of the house, failing miserably. In the end she sighed and tried the front door. It was unlocked. She really, really hoped Buffy was still patrolling or in her bedroom or something, but a sinking feeling of dread that wasn’t attributed to the three beers told her otherwise. Nevertheless, she snuck stealthily into the house and up the stairs, wincing as one of them squeaked. She pulled open her bedroom door to find her bedroom askew. She sighed, shaking her head, so Buffy knew she had gone. Now she’d tell Mom and Dawn would be grounded for, like, forever. She squeezed her eyes closed. Why didn’t anybody understand? If they didn’t treat her like a dog on a leash maybe she wouldn’t need to sneak out of the house.
“Buffy, I know that you know. You can come out of hiding now,” she called, resigned. “Buffy, you don’t have to be such a cow. Buffy?”
Dawn opened the door, expecting to find her sister, arms crossed, in front of her door, but she was met with nothing. “Buffy?”
No way Buffy would have gone patrolling now, maybe she was out looking for Dawn. She decided to go to bed and deal with her sister in the morning.
……………………………………………….
In his room the magician went over all his books. Where had he gone wrong and what had he done? He sat back, tired. “We’ll deal with this in the morning,” he decided.
……………………………………………….
Buffy groaned, stretching her legs. They’d been walking through the forest for over an hour and after her initial shock over the first fiend, she had proven her skills as a warrior, although according to Lulu, ‘Physical strength alone isn’t enough, you need to develop skills, special abilities.’
She walked next to the giant blue Kimahri. Apparently he was from a race called ‘Ronso’, which were like big blue kitties that stood like humans. Buffy heard a chirping noise. She looked around, curiously and saw nothing. Then her eye caught on a struggle in the bushes. She ran over to investigate.
“Would you like to rest?” Lulu asked in a condescending tone, looking over her bare shoulder. The collar of her dress was off-the-shoulder and lined with fur.
“No, I’ll just be two secs,” Buffy answered, annoyed. She pulled leaves apart to find one of the strange furry creatures from the inn in a tussle with a wasp-shaped fiend. Buffy swung her sword at it, missing it but scaring it away nonetheless. The furry creature, which resembled a kitten and a squirrel combined, ran over to the slayer, up onto her shoulder. Buffy ran to catch up with the group who were stopped at the edge of the path. As Buffy approached, Kimahri made room for her. Before them was the most beautiful lake she had ever seen. The water was reflective and covered in purple lilies. The strange, translucent shining orbs hovered low over the flowers, flying in lazy circles.
“The Moonflow,” Lulu explained. “The pyreflies are attracted to the moon lilies. At night, the whole river glows.”
Yuna stared at it, a strange longing in her eyes.
“Hey, I have an idea…” Tidus began.
“We’re not staying until nightfall,” Auron cut him off gruffly.
Tidus’ face fell like a kicked puppy. Suddenly growing bright again, he waved his arm emphatically. “Alright then. Once Sin is dead we’ll all come back here.”
Buffy thought it sounded really nice. If she hadn’t been so worried about Dawn and her friends she would love nothing more than to stay here, day and night. Maybe Riley could come too. The idea was nice but, she knew, impractical. She had a sacred duty. To save the world, unless all evil decided to retire. She realised that the silence around her had gotten heavy. The look on Yuna’s face reflected that of Buffy’s. Lulu finally broke the silence.
“Yuna, dear, we should...”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
Lulu fell in step beside Yuna in an almost comforting way. Buffy shook her head, confused. She felt like she had missed something. She followed the others along the bank of the Moonflow until they came to a clearing. What Buffy saw there shocked her.
“Whoa oh!” Tidus stared, eyes wide. Then a look came over his face, like a boy with a new toy. In front of them stood what appeared to be an elephant. It had a long, fishlike tail and a rolled-up, skinnier nose as well as very small ears. Beyond that, it was definitely an elephant. It had a large basket-like device on its back, shaped like a gondola and a thick, white scar on its leg.
Auron took Tidus aside to talk to him, pointing at the strange creature as he spoke.
“What-- What is it?” Buffy asked in surprise.
“Ohh, it’s a shoopuf,” Yuna answered, looking awed. “I... I’ve only ever been on one once before”
Buffy stared. “Been on...?”
“The shoopuf will take us across the moonflow, to the north bank,” Lulu explained.
“And from there, we go to Guadosalam,” Yuna smiled.
“Boarding Shoopuf,” a strange voice said. “Shummonner Yuna and her Guardiansh, ze shoopuf ish ready to go.”
They walked up the stairs onto a platform, then boarded a wide, open elevator.
“Hey, if machina are forbidden, why are they using this?” Tidus asked.
“Machina?” Buffy queried.
“Machina are machines,” Wakka answered, “and we only use the machina approved by Yevon. Yevon tells us which machina are good and which are bad.”
Buffy wrinkled her nose. “They sound just like the Watcher’s Counsil.”
“So, what kind of machina can’t you use?” Tidus continued.
“Remember ‘Operation Mi’ihen’? That kind,” Wakka answered. To clarify, he added, “This machina is used for peace and to help the people of Yevon. Machina that kill, they’re all bad news.” Wakka waved his hand in front of his nose as if warding away a bad smell.
Buffy thought about it. If people really banned all machines used to kill, there wouldn’t be so many problems. Sure, there would be vampires and people would have knives ‘n stuff, but if there were no guns, no nukes. She was startled as the Machi-- elevator, she mentally corrected herself--came to a halt.
Boarding the shoopuf was fairly simple, like boarding a boat. She settled into one of the seats, it was a lot like a gondola. The seats were covered in thick cushions and there were curtains at the sides. As they sat there, most of them talked amongst themselves. Buffy was mildly interested in the conversations about some old city that had fallen into the river. She and Kimahri sat in silence as the small creature she had named Kirrel- kitten squirrel- slept soundly on her lap.
Yuna stood up, staring over the edge of the shoopuf into the water, Buffy looked out across the Moonflow, then everything went chaotic.
Two men in swimsuits and goggles dove out of the water, snatching Yuna and diving back under with her. Before Buffy knew it, Wakka and Tidus jumped in after her. The shoopuf continued its slow swim through the water. Buffy bit her lip for a second before taking Kirrel off her lap and removing her jacket, preparing to dive in too. Auron grabbed her arm. “They can manage,” he said.
Buffy stared at the offending hand. “Listen,” she tossed her hair, hands on her hips. “I don’t know who you think you are but I’ve never been good at taking orders, not from my watcher and certainly not from you.” She grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly as she removed it from her arm. “A girl is in trouble. Don’t you understand that? I need to help her.”
As she said this Tidus came gasping to the surface, Yunas’ limp body in his arms. She coughed, opening her eyes, and he helped her back up onto the shoopuf. Wakka and Tidus then climbed up onto the shoopuf where Tidus proceeded to shake like a dog.
Auron looked at Buffy as though she were a child throwing a tantrum. He suddenly broke into a small smile, disarming her. “It would seem I am not in control of everything, but I would like you to know that I am personally glad to have you protecting Yuna,” Auron said quietly to her, as everyone fussed over the summoner in question. Buffy was left feeling confused. She shook her head and moved Kirrel out of her chair as the blue-finned driver called up to them.
“Ish everyshing okay?”
……………………………………………….
Spike stood in the engine room of their newest find. He tightened the screw on the fan when, to his surprise, it came on. He jumped back, shocked.
“Bloody hell!” he yelled, furious. To his horror, his face shifted, reflecting his mood. He froze. “What? But-- I’m human. But, Buffy…”
He felt a wave of sorrow wash over him, threatening to drive him into the ground and leave him destroyed and defeated. He shook his head, his vamp face melting away, and he replaced the sorrow with anger, ascending the ladder into the control room.
The Al Behd known as Brother sat at the controls, flicking buttons. He looked up when Spike came in.
“Un, Rammu oui, ruf yna oui tuehk?”
Spike was picking up the basic gist of the language with surprising speed. It had only been a day and he could mostly make out what people were saying.
“How am I doing? I was doing fine,” he answered, sucking in his cheeks. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m testing the engine,” Brother answered in Al Behd.
“Really. Now tell me, where was I working.”
“Weren’t you…? Fixing the engine fan,” Brother remembered, smiling.
“You bloody stupid ponce! If I was in the engine and you were working the engine, what the bloody hell did you think was going to happen to me?”
The best thing about Al Behd was that the developers of the actual game, Final Fantasy, had based Al Behd on the English language. It was more a cipher than a language so if you knew a word, it also existed in Al Behd.
Brother was contemplating what Spike said, a deep and thoughtful look on his face. He contemplated for about a minute, almost seeming to count in his head. “Oh!” he said suddenly. “The engine could hurt you. You shouldn’t be down there while I’m working it.”
Spike opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. The kid made Xander look like Einstein. He shook his head.
“I need to find Cid.”