19. Attack of the Cactuars (1/2)

auron stepped out into the late afternoon sun, ears still ringing from wakka's marching orders. in the shade of the trees, isaaru and maroda were waiting, the one meditating, the other pacing.

maroda tensed at the scrape of the door. "oh. it's you." he kept both hands on his spear as auron walked towards them. "what's going on?"

"sir auron," said isaaru. "i had faith we would meet again. what is this place? we seem to have flustered the natives."

"bikanel island," auron said. "former home of the al bhed."

"ah! that would explain their alarm," said isaaru. "sir auron, have you seen pacce or the rest of our party?"

"elma's inside. no sign of the others."

"elma!" maroda said. "i thought we'd lost her. that's something, at least."

isaaru exchanged an apprehensive look with his

other. "may we come inside? the man we met at the oasis seemed uneasy, but he invited us to follow. he told us to wait while he spoke to his wife of our arrival."

"and you don't look like the wife," maroda said. "say, am i crazy, or wasn't that sir wakka? he shooed off the kids and bolted before we had a chance to talk."

"correct," auron said. "isaaru, listen. wakka has renounced yevon. his wife is yuna's cousin rikku, an al bhed. they blame yuna's death on yevon...and on me."

"that is unfortunate," isaaru said. "i had hoped we might solicit the aid of the al bhed. maester baralai has been working towards an alliance with them for months. our need is now imperative. without aeons, we must look to other powers."

"first things first," maroda said. "are they going to let us in? i want to start searching for pacce, but we need information and supplies before we tackle this desert."

"you may enter," auron said, "as long as you promise not to mention summoners, guardians, or anything to do with the pilgrimage in front of the children. after losing lulu and yuna, wakka is determined not to let his children follow in their footsteps."

"lulu?" said maroda. "isn't that the gal—"

"another of yuna's guardians," auron said. "it would be best not to mention her, either."

"so, basically, we should take a vow of silence," maroda said.

"nay, we need merely follow sir auron's lead," isaaru said, eyes twinkling. "say little and offer more questions than answers. maroda, please set your weapon aside. perhaps our conduct will ease their fears."

maroda left his spear propped against the entryway. as they filed into the living room, there was a burst of giggling from several pieces of furniture. only one person was visible: etta, standing stiffly in the hallway with his back to the door. his arms were spread, bent at the elbow with one hand up, one down. he spun around as they entered. "muug uid! e's y cactuar!"

two beanbag chairs and a pile of pillows tittered. isaaru stepped forward, smiling. "oh? well, i'm very pleased to meet—"

"zap-zap-zap-zap-zap!" etta crowed, leaning towards them and pointing with outstretched fingers. "oui suja, oui muca!"

"you move, you lose!" echoed the mound of pillows.

isaaru was caught off-balance only for a moment. then he clutched his chest and staggered sideways, gasping, "my

other, help! the needles, they burn!"

"what the—?" maroda grabbed his elbow to keep him from crashing into a rack of goggles and sand-jackets hanging by the front door.

shrieks of laughter erupted, and the other children popped out from their hiding places. stepping into the doorway behind etta, rikku set her hands on his shoulders. "great job, etta! welcome, guests! it's isaaru, right? sorry for the sticky reception."

wakka appeared behind her in the hallway, frowning. he had exchanged his towel for baggy blue trousers. old battle scars on his bare chest were a silent warning as he folded his arms.

"lady rikku. sir wakka." isaaru bowed deeply, offering yevon's sign. "it is an honor to meet you. my

other maroda and i are grateful for your hospitality...and your tolerance. we will not speak of sad memories, but please tell your people that the maesters offer a formal apology. yevon wishes to atone for the injuries it has done your people in the past."

"oh, yeah?" wakka said. "kinda late to be sayin' that now, eh?"

"weeeeell, actually, they've said it a few times lately," rikku said. "that baralai guy's been kissing up to pops for months. i think he wants something." she shook her head and walked into the room, steering etta towards his siblings. "wakka and i aren't really into politics, but thanks for the thought."

"he's a yevon?" vidina demanded, crawling out from the nest of pillows.

"yeah, but don't worry," wakka said. "he's not the really bad kind. otherwise i woulda zapped his butt when he first showed up."

"zap-zap-zap-zap!" said mbela, launching herself at etta as he hopped up on the sofa. a tickle war erupted. squeals, thumps, and more giggles provided a surreal distraction for those lately come from the devastation of djose.

"are they auron's friends?" yuna asked, edging away from the free-for-all as vidina flung himself onto the other two with a shout.

"yes," auron said.

"hm." wakka massaged the back of his neck. "well, uh, have a seat. dining room's safer until the cactuars run out o' juice. i'll get some drinks, ya? you gotta be dyin' in those robes."

"thank you," isaaru said.

maroda cleared his throat. "excuse me, but have you some way to scan the area? we had two more people with us before we got dragged here, and we haven't seen either of them. one's our baby

other."

"aw, shoot." wakka's face fell. "rikku, can we

eak out the hover?"

"hang on!" rikku bounced towards the commsphere, rescuing it from flailing limbs. "we can't scan the whole desert, but i can check the spherecams at all the emergency shelters. this won't take long. in the meantime, shouldn't you be checking on chocobo lady? she's off at the end of the hallway, recuperating. i bet she's itchin' to say hello."

"recuperating?" isaaru said.

"ya, you new maesters should take better care of your crusaders," wakka said. he waved towards the hall. "through there. last door on the right by the baby crib."

etta and mbela came tumbling off the sofa to try their luck on their sister, since vidina had climbed into the windowsill and was keeping them at bay with his feet. "safe zone!" yuna squeaked, diving under auron's coat. "no noogies!"

"awww," etta and mbela said in unison, staring up at the imposing figure.

auron looked down and dropped a hand to the girl's hair, recalling another tousled blond head. "i'll wait here," he told isaaru.

"you'll have to introduce us later," isaaru said with a smile.

sitting cross-legged on the floor with the sphere between her knees, rikku fussed over static and dead channels while the tickle-war rolled around her. about the time the "cactuars" were reduced to limp, giggling heaps on the floor, emitting an occasional "ow" or "meanie," isaaru and maroda returned to the main room with elma. wrapped in a bathrobe, the woman was moving tentatively but under her own power.

"hey," wakka said, setting a tray of tumblers and an iced tea pitcher on the dining table. "guess magic's still better for some things, eh? you look pretty good."

"her face is green," etta said, peering at her upside-down from the floor. "is she a cactuar?"

elma laughed. "green is good, sir?" she said to wakka. "i suppose it's better than being chopped steak. i should thank rikku for putting all my parts back in the right order."