Writings of an Owlmoose

Summary: A chance meeting between two of Spira’s greatest warriors — Nooj the Undying and Sir Auron, the legendary guardian — will change the course of history.

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Death Shall Have No Dominion

Chapter Six

“And if you want your leader to live, you will let them all go. Now.” Nooj peered down the barrel of his gun at the forehead of the Maester, Kinoc. He could clearly see the beads of sweat blooming on the suet-white expanse of skin. He could hear the breathing of the army of Crusaders at his back like the sound of a fierce wind through trees. The mingled scent of sweat and fear struck his nostrils and he felt the well remembered and joyful rush of adrenaline which always preceded the onset of battle. He trembled with the urge to attack and, only through great control, prevented himself from squeezing the trigger and watching the target explode into a blossom of blood and brains.

He did not dare shift his attention from his prey but whispered comments from Paine, at his side, informed him of the disposition of the pilgrims.

“Auron and the others are all right. The monks have them under the gun but they won’t fire without an order from the Maester. If I’m reading my uncle right, Yuna has decided against Yevon. That’ll help. Keep your gun on Kinoc; I think Auron is about to make his move.” She laid a hand against his back, holding her sword in its ready position in the other. This was a stand-off, and the slightest false move could lead to carnage.

Kinoc stared at the end of Nooj’s rifle, jaw slack, for a few seconds. Then he regained his composure and drew himself up to his full height. Despite his short stature, the move was effective — Kinoc was a man used to holding power, and it showed. “Drop your weapons at once!” he demanded. “That is an order.”

Lucil, on Nooj’s other side, stepped forward. “The Crusaders are finished taking orders from Yevon. We want no part of your lies and betrayal. We are here to regain our independence and to take back Spira. The time of unquestioned obedience to you is over.”

Kinoc’s eyes scanned the group. They briefly fell on Paine, and she was surprised to see a flicker of recognition. Then he moved on to Nooj. “You,” he glowered. “I should have known you would be at the heart of this. We should never–” He choked on his anger, cutting off his next words.

In a flash of comprehension, almost as though he had entered the Maester’s mind and thoughts, Nooj knew what the man had intended to say. So, the Maesters themselves had been behind the move to keep him alive and functional? It was obvious enough when he thought about it. There had surely been enough hints dropped during his endless rehabilitation. Only ones as powerful as Maesters could have forced the acceptance of machina to this degree. That meant he had this man Kinoc and his confederates to hold responsible for frustrating his goal, for condemning him to life. He stored the knowledge away for later use. He would have revenge.

Auron saw the odd interplay between the two men but had no time to wonder at its meaning. He was too busy trying to keep track of everything at once, gauging the mood of the Crusaders, as well as that of the warrior monks who had their guns trained on everyone he was sworn to protect. He wanted to watch the lieutenant with a weapon in Tidus’s face, but he didn’t dare face forward because the Crusaders were on his blind side. Not for the first time, he cursed himself for being so stupid as to go after Yunalesca alone, weakened from protecting Braska during the Final Summoning.

Raising his hands slightly, Kinoc took a very small step forward and appealed to Lucil. “Captain,” he said, “surely we can discuss this. Perhaps we can come to terms, give your officers more autonomy. An uprising cannot succeed; you must realize this. You don’t want to throw away your career and drag the Chocobo Knights down with you. Do you? Come with me to Bevelle; we’ll meet with the generals and the Grand Maester and work all this out.”

Lucil said nothing for a brief time that stretched out over an age, her hand tightly gripping her sword, appearing to consider the suggestion. But then the knight stepped more closely to Nooj and shook her head firmly. “It’s too late for talking; too many people have died. Can the Crimson Squad present their terms? No. It is over, Your Grace.”

Just then, a troop of Crusaders entered the other side of the command center. Before any of the newcomers had time to take in the scene before them and understand the situation, Kinoc swiveled around and barked: “Traitors! Stop them!”

Swords and guns were drawn and the new group rushed the clearing. Tidus ducked and lunged forward, tackling the threatening warrior monk before he could fire and knocking him to the ground. Assured that one charge was taking care of himself, Auron glanced behind him to check on the other. Kimahri, Wakka, and Lulu had formed a protective triangle around Yuna, shepherding her back toward the cliff wall at the back of the command center. Thus freed, Auron jumped into the fighting with a yell, engaging one of the Crusaders in a clash of swords.

The battle was a melee, a free-for-all. Because there were Crusaders on both sides, it was sometimes difficult to tell friend from foe. After disarming that first Crusader, who yielded almost as soon as she realized whom she was fighting, Auron paused to survey the battlefield and reflexively ducked when he heard gunfire. On much of the walk to Mushroom Rock, he had worried that he had no idea how to use a sword to fight an enemy armed with machina, a weapon that could be used from a distance and that could not be dodged. He had not come up with a solution. The Crusaders like Nooj who were similarly armed had a much better time of it than those who were not — he’d noticed that even Paine had sheathed her blade and drawn her rifle instead, dropping to one knee at Nooj’s side and firing at her chosen targets.

So Auron took a different tack, searching out the Crusaders who had blundered into the wrong side of this battle and engaging them individually. Almost every one started to fight, then cast his or her weapon aside with a look of awe when it registered that a legend stood before them. He hated to exploit his reputation like this, but Nooj would need every able bodied soldier; better if these men and women could surrender and then be brought to the cause.

As in all battles, time passed slowly as Auron moved from opponent to opponent, but in reality it was all over in a matter of minutes. Those Crusaders who did not surrender to Auron were all too willing to surrender to Lucil or Nooj, and before long all the warrior monks were dead or down. One of those had fallen to Auron’s own blade, the last enemy he had fought. The monk had dropped the gun as Auron moved in close and pulled his own sword, but he had been clearly overmatched. Surprisingly few of Nooj’s companions were down and no leaders were lost, although Lucil had taken a bullet in her sword arm. The command center was theirs.

Suddenly, Auron noticed that one particular person was not among the dead or captured. “Where is Kinoc?” he asked, striding over to Nooj.

“Escaped, sir,” Nooj said grimly. “He turned and fled immediately after giving the attack order. I tried to fire on him, but he was too fast.”

Auron shook his head. Kinoc was cunning and ruthless and too smart for his own good, but he had never been a coward. What had donning Maester’s robes done to his former friend?

He dismissed the thought and looked up at his young comrade. “So. Now what?”

“We need to gather the remaining Crusaders together, sir, along with the Al Bhed, let them all know what has happened and give them the opportunity to throw in with us. I already sent Baralai and Gippal to start spreading the word to those people on the beach with– Ixion! The Sinspawn!” Horror spread over Nooj’s face.

“Sinspawn?” Auron furrowed his brow, and then his single eye widened with memory and comprehension. They had seen the Crusaders escorting cages full of Sinspawn down the Highroad, bringing them here.

“Lucil explained the Crusaders’ plan to us while we marched for the command center,” Paine said. “They’ve collected hundreds of Sinspawn in order to lure Sin to this shore.”

Auron caught Nooj’s eye and saw that the younger man shared his thoughts. “We have to destroy them, and quickly! We’re in no shape to take on Sin right now.”

“Agreed, sir. I shall lead the bulk of these Crusaders down to the beach to take them out, leaving a group here with you to defend the command center in case any get through.” With Auron’s confirming nod, Nooj pivoted on his heel and made his way to the remaining able-bodied Crusaders, barking orders, Paine just behind him. Meanwhile, the guardian scanned the crowd to find Yuna. As he expected, he spied her moving among the wounded and fallen, administering potions and healing spells with the assistance of Lulu and Tidus, and he hastened to her.

“Yuna,” he said as he strode up to her. “We must prepare for another battle — we are surrounded by Sinspawn. They are caged now, but the Crusaders will need to release them in order to kill them. So it is possible that some may make their way up here.”

Lulu looked up from the Crusader that lay at her feet as she bound a gunshot wound in the soldier’s shoulder. “Most of these are in no shape to fight,” she pointed out.

“Then we will have to protect them,” Auron responded. “Yuna, can you fight?”

The summoner nodded. “I was well defended earlier. My Aeons are fresh and ready if we need them.”

“Good.” Auron looked around at the small grouping of wounded soldiers. “If none of these are in immediate danger, we should go now, set up a perimeter.”

Yuna bowed lightly. “Of course, Sir Auron.” She looked around the clearing and, finding Wakka and Kimahri, beckoned them to her side. As soon as they had gathered, Auron led them all to the edge of the bluff where a group of ten Crusaders waited. Luzzu was among them.

“Sir Auron,” he said, saluting. “Major Nooj has ordered us to stay with you and protect the command center. He placed us under your command, sir.”

“Very well,” said Auron with a brisk nod. The habits of military command returned to him almost without his even noticing, slipping into place like a comfortable pair of old shoes. “Your orders for now are to take up this defensive position. If anything gets to the bluff, you have permission to attack immediately. Understood?”

“Understood, sir!” Luzzu dropped the salute and turned out to face the beach. Auron stepped up to the cliff, a sheer drop at his feet, and a battle began below.

-X-

As Nooj directed the majority of those Crusaders who had chosen to follow him back down to the beaches where the crates of Sinspawn lay heaped with their hideous contents, his mind was busily replaying the recent conference with Auron. The great guardian had actually asked his opinion and he had dared to give it. It just might be that Auron was serious when he said he considered them to be equals in the battle against Yevon. This was not the time to entertain lingering doubts about the intentions of the older man; there was far too much of immediate importance to be handled.

When the contingent emerged onto the road leading to the shore, Nooj was relieved to see fresh troops moving in his direction. There was a group in red uniforms, walking with practiced cadence, headed by Baralai, who bore his usual earnest expression oddly blended with an air of triumph which made him look both younger and more competent. Just to the side of that body was an exceedingly non-uniform crowd of men and mobile machina headed by Gippal, sporting a grin which nearly dislocated his jaw. The human among those following him were loudly singing bawdy songs, marking them unmistakably as Al Bhed. So, the two evangelists had succeeded in their tasks! And more completely than there had been any reason to expect.

“You’ve got a real army now, Nooj.” Paine shouted over the noise of men and beasts. “Let’s do it!” She would have rushed forward had not he held her back.

“We have time to organize this. None must escape. Stay near me and be ready to carry orders where I say.” In truth, he had no intention of using her as a courier. His purpose was to keep her as safe as he could without her noticing it. With Crusader hand signals, he assembled the enlarged force into a coherent whole, the Al Bhed, after a brief argument, blending into the larger scarlet element with astonishing ease. Nooj reminded himself that the desert dwellers had learned to fight from necessity. They had always been a minority and, being fiercely competitive, had developed an unorthodox but effective means of not only defending themselves but carrying the war to the enemy. Their discipline might seem casual but their behavior in battle displayed a hard center of lethal skills which could rival even the Crusaders. And they had the war machina as well, a potent back-up to the talents of their human masters.

As a unit, the force advanced on the Sinspawn and began the grim job of extinction. There was cacophony throughout the area. Crusaders rushed among the cages holding the Sinspawn, shouting their battle-cry and striking at the enclosures, breaking them apart and letting the captured horrors loose to be slaughtered. The howls, shrieks and hisses made communication on a human scale impossible so the Warriors spoke in gestures. The swirling pupil contingent added their own wild calls to the medley, joyously stabbing, beheading and eviscerating.

Paine had planted herself on a slight rise from which she could slash down with her blade on most of the monsters which approached her. Nooj, seeing her choose her field, had positioned himself at her back, using his dagger and his gun to fend off attacks from that direction. He could feel her narrow shoulders against his back and it reassured him to know he could still protect her, even to this degree. After a short while, he found his gun more of a hindrance than a help in fighting at such close quarters and let it fall, relying on the edge of his knife and the strength of the machina hand to kill with greater ease than he had dared to hope. It became a rhythm, the two of them working together to dispatch whatever launched itself at them. There was a connection between them which made them function as a unit, as though they were truly a single being sharing thoughts and all with no conscious effort.

In the grip of this satisfying exercise, Nooj had not bothered to keep an eye on how the battle was faring. He knew he could repose his confidence in the individual Crusaders as well as the Al Bhed under the leadership of Gippal and so permitted himself to revel in the spirit of the fight. When a short hiatus came – all the nearby spawn having been destroyed – and he looked up, he was astonished to recognize the figure of Aquelev near the rocky walls behind the front line. The Al Bhed healer was casting protective spells; Nooj could tell that from his gestures and expression. But what was he doing here in this dangerous place? He belonged back at the research center with the other scholars, not here among the blood and violence. Nooj squinted through his splattered spectacles, trying to make out more details. Just then, another wave of Sinspawn were released by the rampaging army and the killing resumed. He made a mental note to hunt out his old friend after the slaughter was done.

Gippal and Baralai had formed a sort of Gemini of Warriors. The priestling wielded his staff with devastating effect, mowing down Sinspawn like a harvester reaping wheat, while Gippal took the ones who managed to get through and destroyed them with either the pistol in his right hand or the knife in his left. His single eye glittered and he hummed tonelessly to himself as he killed. They were both smeared and dappled with blood, heedless of their surroundings and caught in the excitement of the battle.

The battle robots moved through the masses of the fiends crushing and grinding the remains into the increasingly blood-soaked ground. Al Bhed ran beside the robots, directing and herding the stragglers among the enemy into the deadly paths of the machines. A kind of orderly chaos reigned as the battle wore on.

As the shore became clearer of the Sinspawn, those fighting were able to choose their quarry more precisely since it was no longer a case of masses of monsters appearing to be dispatched like the targets in a shooting gallery. They were beginning to see what they thought might be the end of their task when a shout rang out from near the cliffs.

“Look! Look! They’re going up!”

In an effort to escape the deadly assault on the shore, some of the more evolved of the Sinspawn had begun to scale the cliffs, heading for the Headquarters on the heights, the point now defended by only a small contingent of Crusaders protecting Yuna and her fellow Pilgrims.

Nooj sprang forth, gesturing to the others to follow. “Quick, get up there! Don’t let them take the high ground.” He would have led the charge had not Paine held him back.

“You’re needed here to see to the clean up. Gippal is taking a squadron of Al Bhed. There’ll be enough with the ones already there and Auron. He’s a squadron in himself.”

Nooj felt the now familiar stab of jealousy. So Auron was worth a squadron. He wondered what value she would assign him — if any.

-X-

Fighting raged on the beach, but Auron trusted Nooj and the Crusaders to keep it under control, and the guardians on his right and warriors on his left to watch for any incursions. Instead, he scanned the sky and the sea, keeping watch for Sin. Destroying the Sinspawn would help, but those monsters were not the only spawn of Sin about. He glanced at Tidus, who stood next to Yuna, sword ready in his hands. Jecht was out there somewhere, and he would want to demonstrate Sin’s killing power to his son eventually. And Auron worried that his old companion would consider this the perfect opportunity.

“‘Ware!” a voice called out from behind. Auron turned quickly in the direction of the shout to see a small herd of Sinspawn making their way up the bluff. A squadron of Al Bhed were giving chase, but they would not reach the pack before it gained the hilltop. Most of them were quickly taken down with gunfire and magic, but the large creature at the front seemed heavily armored — bullets were bouncing off, and so would the lighter swords that Tidus and the Crusaders wielded. It would take a heavier weapon to break through, and Auron thought his own blade would suit nicely.

He glanced over his shoulder and caught Wakka’s eye. The blitzer nodded, then hefted his ball and threw it with a grunt. The ball caught the monster in the face, leaving a magical cloud of blinding dust behind, and Auron took the opportunity to rush the creature, bringing his weapon down hard and slashing off one of its arms. The monster howled and swung its other arm around, knocking Auron to the ground. He scrambled out of the way, saved when the Sinspawn’s pace was slowed by a blast of water cast by Lulu.

“Stand back!” Yuna’s high, clear voice rang out over the cacophony of battle. Auron regained his feet and stepped behind her as she pulled out her staff and twirled it, drawing a circle of fire in the air. The ground glowed red beneath her feet, and then a massive being burst out from the earth, roaring loudly enough to shake the entire world: Ifrit, the Fire Aeon. Another roar and the Aeon sprang forward to grapple with the Sinspawn, which suddenly seemed less fearsome in comparison. After being attacked by claws and fire spells, the enemy was subdued, lying on the ground and twitching. Weakened and with its soft underbelly exposed, Luzzu and his team mobbed it, finishing it off in a matter of moments. Ifrit looked at his summoner and, at nod from her, crouched down and then sprang into the sky, disappearing in a shower of pyreflies.

Confident that the breach was mended with minimal losses, Auron returned his attention to the beach. Looking down, he saw the tall figure of Nooj directing clean-up and recovery efforts, Paine standing with him. Sensing that he was being watched, the young man turned around and met Auron’s gaze, raising his hand in a triumphant fist. The Sinspawn were all dead; the day was won. The guardian cleaned and sheathed his sword, then headed down to the beach to congratulate the triumphant warriors and put in an appearance at their celebration. Then tomorrow they would begin to plan the next step in their campaign against Yevon.

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