Chapter Text
"What the fuck hit me?" Everything hurt, all up and down Derek's body. There was water running over his legs and screams filling the air. He slowly pushed himself up, taking stock of the situation. "Shit." A huge chunk of rubble had landed less than a foot away to his left, water from a broken pipe spraying down onto it. To his right were the stairs down into the lobby where countless people were running about in abject terror, some of them bruised, some of them bleeding. He was just able to make out a few trampled bodies beneath their feet, blank eyes staring up into nothing. Tremors racked his frame, and he couldn't hold back the vomit. His blitz suit was torn, one sleeve missing, and the lower half of the right leg. Staggering to his feet, Derek managed to stumble his way down the stairs, bare feet getting cut by the rubble and glass. "Really wish I had my clothes."
"That's what I'm here for, kiddo." Wheeling around, Derek was met with a familiar sight. A tall, thin man with short ashy blonde hair that was greying at the temples was leaning against the remains of a pillar. His left arm was hanging loose in his robe, cinched tight with a wide belt covered in little charms and beads with a large two-handed sword sitting in a sheath at his waist. He smirked at Derek, pushing off the pillar and walking over with easy confidence and eerie calm that was utterly discordant with the general atmosphere in the stadium. "One of us has to be prepared, and we both know that's never been your forte."
"Fuck you too, Chris." Derek limped out of the way of the rushing crowds. "What the hell are you doing here? It's been six months, no word from you, and then you show up when this shit happens?"
"You should know after all these years that I only show up when something interesting is going on. Now get dressed; we need to move." Chris tossed a rucksack which Derek recognized as his own as he caught it. He'd bought it a few years before he'd become famous when he used to go on hiking trips with his mom. Their mini walking holidays up the foothills of Frozen Peak to the south of Zanarkand had been one of Derek's favorite things to do. His mother hadn't had a lot of passion for life after his father died and Peter disappeared, but exploring the ruins of the Old Faith with her son put some spring back in her step for a time.
It was just a shame it wasn't enough to keep her going. If only she'd had the energy to keep living. Derek might have decided to become a historian instead of a blitzball player just to bring her some joy. Blitzball was his passion, sure enough, but so was the study of history and languages. It was a love he and his mother had shared. "Pushy bastard." He muttered in Chris's general direction. Pulling open the rucksack, he found it packed with clothes, supplies, lightweight shoulder and leg armor, and some polished steel gauntlets. "You went through my stuff? What gives you the right?"
Even as he griped, he stripped off the remains of his UNAGI suit, ducking behind a piece of rubble. Thankfully the suit had kept him dry where it wasn't torn, so his clothes weren't at risk of getting soaked and sticking. He slipped on his underwear and socks before digging around for a fitted undershirt. He tucked his undershirt into his trousers, cinching them tightly with a belt. He buckled some greaves on before slipping into some heavy-duty boots, grabbing and putting on a tunic with a deep collar that could be laced up tighter as needed. He usually preferred not to, seeing as the laces often caught in his chest hair. Instead, he slipped a leather spaulder over his right shoulder before buckling and strapping the gauntlets into place. He carefully affixed the finger guards before finally pulling his black hooded cloak on over it all. He zipped it up all the way, letting it settle around his thighs.
"Quit your bitching. Would you rather have to deal with this half-naked?" Chris started walking away with a chuckle, leaving Derek to follow him after loading his pack back up and hitching it up over his shoulders. It was a nightmare navigating the panicked crowds, pushing and shoving their way through until they finally made it out of the stadium and onto the main road.
The sight that awaited them was horrifying. Flames burned bright across the skyline, explosions periodically shaking the ground. In the distance, the giant dark sphere of water was slowly carving its way across the city, leaving a wake of destruction. Somehow it was warping the buildings closest to it into impossible shapes. Almost as if they had been superheated and then immediately cooled in a dark parody of new-age sculptures. "What the fuck?" had there been anything in his stomach, Derek probably would have vomited again. "What the hell is that thing?!"
"We called it Sin." was all the answer he got from Chris, not that he had been expecting one. The older man shoved his way past some hysterical women screaming in the street. Derek made to follow him when he noticed an odd shimmer in the air in his peripherals. He skidded to a stop and looked around in confusion.
Everything had fucking stopped!!! Completely, utterly, and totally halted. People were frozen with both feet off the ground mid-run. Droplets of water were hanging in the air. Even the fires in the distance had stopped flickering. Derek was baffled. Even with everything that had happened, this was a bit too much. There was no visible explanation of why time had stopped fucking flowing. Gods above, he was about to explode.
"It begins." Derek whipped around at the voice, and what should he find? The same little boy who had surprised him before the game, tattered clothes, hooded face, and barefooted. There he was, in the flesh, somehow moving even when nothing else could.
"It begins? What begins?! The damn apocalypse?!" He was just able to make out the boy's frown beneath the shadow of his hood.
"Don't be mad, please. I didn't want it to happen this way, but..." He kicked at the ground, abashed. Derek felt bad for shouting at him. He was just a kid; he wasn't totally heartless. But all of this insanity needed answers, and this boy was his best chance. He let out a big sigh, shrugging his shoulders to relieve the stiffness that had set in.
"Look, just tell me what-" but his question was not meant to be asked, apparently. With a whoosh and another ripple in the air, the boy disappeared, and time picked back up, the sounds of screams deafening after the prior silence. "Shit!" Looking around, he managed to spot Chris just as he was going over a hill in the road. With a curse, Derek ran after him, swearing under his breath the entire way. "Dammit, Chris, slow down!"
"Better keep up, kiddo." Before Derek could reply, a giant tentacled thing slammed into the side of the building bordering the skyway they were crossing. The most prominent tentacle started writhing, shaking-loose innumerable scales that flew into their path. Even worse was when the scales unfolded, revealing giant bug-like creatures with four-pointed legs and spines all over their bodies. "I hope you're ready to fight for your life." With that helpful little tidbit, Chris pulled out a short sword with a hook at the end and held it out for Derek to take (where the hell had he been hiding that?). "A gift from Peter. He wanted you to have this."
"Peter?! Oh, how sweet of him. Couldn't be bothered to deliver it himself?" That brought a full belly laugh from Chris, startling the bugs. Gods above, the way they skittered around was disgusting. Derek yanked the sword out of Chris's hand, adjusting his grip until he held it somewhat loosely in his right hand. He hunched over slightly with his feet wide apart, ready to move at a moment's notice.
"I'm afraid he's a little...occupied at the moment." He kept chuckling as if that was some kind of inside joke. "Regardless, you'd better use it if you want to make it out of here. You know how?" He asked as he drew his own massive greatsword, shrugging off his robe as he dropped into a ready stance.
"I know the basics." Derek didn't need protecting. His uncle had shown him the basics of swordplay once when he was in a generous mood. It wasn't Derek's preferred method of fighting, but he could get by. "Think you can keep up with me, old man?"
"Watch your mouth, or I'll leave you behind." the bugs were clearly tired of waiting around as one of them hissed before lunging forward. Chris didn't miss a beat, bringing his sword down in a wide arc that cut the damn thing in two. The bug let out a pitiful squeal with what remained of its vocal cords before dispersing into dozens of little lights of all colors that gently floated up into the sky. It wasn't Derek's first time seeing Pyreflies, but they were a rare sight in Zanarkand. Although, with the sheer number of dead this attack had caused, he wouldn't be surprised if they clouded the sky with their gentle light for days. "Don't worry about killing all of them, kiddo. Just cut down the ones that get in our way and run!"
"Got it." Derek nodded before springing forward and bringing his own sword down with his momentum. The bug squealed as it was cut down by his blade. The cloud of Pyreflies it released gave him enough cover to twist around its vanishing corpse to strike down another one in the way. He didn't bother paying attention to Chris. He knew the warrior could handle himself. These things might have the advantage of numbers, but they were clearly mindless drones, too dumb to even realize they should avoid the sharp things being swung at them. He didn't even bother cutting the last one, simply jumping over it, being careful to avoid the spikes on its wings.
They continued on in this fashion for a while, cutting down any scales that got in their way. They crossed through several skyways, at one point jumping down from one onto another. It took some time for Derek to realize where they were headed, given he was focused on not dying, but as they crossed through a ruined park into the center of town, it hit him.
"Are you leading us towards that thing?" Chris just smirked at him over the collar of his robe.
"Took you long enough to figure it out."
"You motherfu-" With a huge bang that knocked Derek off his feet, another of the tentacle monsters/ scale hives crashed down onto the road in front of them. A pit started forming in the ace's stomach as he realized they were surrounded. "You've got to be shitting me!"
"Focus on the big one, Derek. I'll keep the little bastards off your back!" Chris took no time at all to start batting the scales away with his sword, crushing as many of them as he cut to pieces.
"Of course, you get the easy job!" He jumped over a scale that was in the way, using a chunk of rubble behind it as a kickstand to launch himself into the air. He flipped and twisted to build his momentum before kicking off of the wall to push himself right at the mass of writhing tentacles. He spun as he passed through them, whipping the blade around to cut as many of them as he could at once. Every limb he cut loose dispersed into Pyreflies as the beast somehow screamed despite the lack of a mouth. He landed in a crouch behind it before running at it full tilt. Launching into a set of cartwheels before pushing off and bringing down his sword with all of his weight, Derek cut a huge gash into its side. "Take that, you ugly son of a bitch!"
"Nice moves. A little flashy, though." Chris had somehow managed to clear out nearly all of the scales while Derek was flipping around. "Let me show you how it's done." He brought the blade up, pressing his forehead against it for a moment as if in prayer. The length of the sword started glowing with a dark red aura as he jumped high into the air, turning the sword point-down as he dropped, driving it almost halfway to the hilt into the ground. The energy built up within the sword was released into the environment, shooting out in a ring that caused explosions. It impacted the scales before shooting up in a pillar of flame beneath the hive. When the fire cleared, there was nothing left of the beast but a swarm of Pyreflies. "That's how it's done, kiddo. Take some notes."
Derek let out a breath of relief at the moment of peace they'd just earned. "Show off. Whatever happened to 'you focus on the big one'?"
"You took too long. Now catch your breath. We need to keep moving." Chris re-sheathed his sword before walking off. As relieved as he might have been, Derek was still bewildered by the elder's choice of direction.
"Towards the giant water monster destroying the city? What the hell are you playing at?" Chris looked back at him with a solemn expression.
"Do you trust me?" Derek was surprised. Did he trust Chris? Derek had known him for nine years off and on. He'd been there to support Derek and his mother on occasion, but he rarely stayed long. The warrior helped Derek finish school, tutoring him in math. Derek heard about Chris's exploits fighting off monsters that got too close to the city more often than he saw him. Much of the foreign man's past was still a mystery to him, which didn't exactly lend itself well to trust. And yet, despite everything, he couldn't help but believe in the warrior. With a short nod, he answered in the positive. "Then trust that there's a good reason we're heading towards Sin."
"If we die, I'm haunting your ass." That, again, drew a full belly laugh from Chris. Rolling his eyes, Derek hoisted his sword over his shoulders. They left the park, heading back into the wreckage of the burning city. As they reached downtown, they were forced to travel through more back alleys to avoid the collapsed buildings and half-melted skyscrapers. When they ducked into a wrecked restaurant, something occurred to Derek that he probably should have realized sooner.
"Chris..." The warrior looked up from where he was eating a chunk of bread. "How did you know to pack my bag tonight? I know it wasn't packed before; it was still hanging up from my last trip. Did you know this was going to happen?" He wouldn't meet Derek's eyes. That was answer enough. "You son of a BITCH!!!" The ace surged across the space between them, slugging Chris across the face. Anger, unlike anything he had ever felt before, consumed him, burning through his body like an inferno with no hope of being extinguished. "Do you even care how many people just died?! Zanarkand is done! We'll be lucky to even make it out of here alive! Where is everyone going to go?! Over the mountain?! Frozen Peak is dangerous enough when you're prepared, and nobody's ever made it over the summit and lived to tell about it! What are we supposed to do, huh?" He didn't get an answer, but Chris did tense up, looking around warily. "ANSWER ME!!"
"Quiet!" Chris hissed to him, putting his hand over Derek's mouth. Even though his anger, Derek knew to trust the warrior's instincts. It took him a few seconds, but he finally noticed what the older man had heard long before him: Thumping. Giant, thumping footsteps that everyone in Zanarkand had been raised to fear. They were almost as bad as the body-shaking growl that followed. Behind Chris's hand, Derek couldn't help but let out a whimper. A Behemoth. Massive, solitary leonine monsters with huge horns pointed forward built for goring their prey, claws as long as a grown man's leg, and a whip-like tail strong enough to cut a tree in half. They lived in the caves that ran through Frozen Peak, rarely venturing out into the open air. However, when they did, they had a nasty habit of wandering down to the outskirts of the city.
Moving slowly, Derek looked over the edge of the counter they had hidden behind. Just on the other side of the windows, he could see the beast's legs. It was tall enough even on all fours that Derek could only see the bottom of its stomach. He ducked back down, trying not to breathe too hard. The Behemoth's senses were legendary. Even though the outer walls, the ace didn't want to risk alerting it to their presence. It passed their hiding place slowly, but when Chris looked out, he swore under his breath.
"It's in our way. It'll take too long to go around...alright, kiddo, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to go ahead-no don't argue! I'm going to go first and draw it away. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. After I leave, wait for five minutes. If it's clear, keep heading east towards the Domian Greatbridge. I will meet you there." Before Derek could object, Chris was already gone. After a few seconds, he could hear a great roar and several diminishing footsteps as the Behemoth was lead away. Derek kept crouched behind the counter, wide-eyed and breathing hard as he waited. There were occasional screams and skitterings from the Sin scales hunting down groups of people. Still, he buried the instinct to go help them. Even if he tried, the screams suddenly cutting off were a dark enough reminder that there wasn't anything he could have done.
Five minutes felt like hours, but at last, he moved out from behind the counter, jumping through the broken window they'd climbed in, making his way to the Greatbridge. Upon its construction, there had been some debate as to what it should be called. Many wanted to name it after Mayor Graeme, the woman who had commissioned the bridge in the first place. However, she declined the honor, stating that people had been clamoring for it for years before being elected. Others wanted to name it after his uncle since it had been completed the year he disappeared. Derek vehemently denied their requests, stating that if they were going to dedicate anything to Peter, it should be Blitzball related. Of course, that was a flimsy excuse. Honestly, he just didn't want any more reminders of his asshole uncle than necessary. There were several other suggestions of varying worth. Eventually, it was decided it would be named for Yu Domian. Yu was the one who had brought together the various peoples living on the Zadar Peninsula to build a great city three thousand years before.
It would come to be named Zanarkand, which was how the followers of the Old Faith would say "Keep of Zanar." The city had initially been a fortress meant to shield their people from monster threats and potential invaders from over the mountain. But as time had passed, the mountain had risen and become more and more treacherous, preventing potential invaders from crossing. Their isolation had allowed for rapid expansion and advancement. They turned the primarily barren peninsula into a massive, sprawling metropolis, several times larger than any other city in living memory. But despite their progress, the peoples of Zanarkand remained humble, practicing the Old Faith with unmatched devotion.
It wasn't until the attempted invasion from Belias one thousand years ago that their faith had faded. For one hundred years, they had been besieged by their enemy. Not from the mountain as they had once feared, but from the sea to the east. They'd been forced to destroy their own ports to prevent the Belians from landing. Their only natural defenses left were the tall rocky cliffs on the eastern coastline. Rather than being discouraged, the Belgians had simply sailed around to the smoother western coast, sacking and burning as they went, starting with the cornerstone of the Old Faith, the Grand Temple. The Belgians had eventually been routed, but not before the leaders of the church had been massacred. With the temple half destroyed and the infrastructure annihilated, the Old Faith had suffered a fatal blow. After two thousand years, the inhabitants of the Zadar Peninsula were left without direction.
But hope hadn't been totally extinguished. Many who had fought saw that as the Belians fled, a massive storm sank their fleet. Such storms often plagued the eastern seas, causing fear amongst the people. However, after seeing the deadly waves destroy their enemies, the soldiers decided to praise the sea and the sky for bringing them vengeance. The soldiers spread this belief to their families, who passed it on to their friends and neighbors. Within two years of the end of the siege, the New Faith had been born, worshipping a new God called Beagirn, Lord of Storms. The Grand Temple had been repaired for posterity's sake. However, where the great docks had once stood, a monument had been constructed. Shaped like a hurricane cloud and made from the twisted metal of the salvaged Belian ships, the statue was dedicated to those lost in the war. No new temples had been built for the New Faith: Nobody wanted to risk losing their new religion due to an easily accessible center. Instead, small altars were installed in the homes of the believers and all along the coastline.
Derek passed one such altar as he left the alleyway next to the restaurant. He wasn't very faithful, but even he had an altar to Beagirn in his floating home. Despite not being a true believer, Derek was just suspicious enough to not risk pissing off a god. He crossed through several squares and alleyways, doing his best to avoid the main roads. The few scattered Sin Scales he ran into were swiftly cut down. But as he kept going, he felt the pain of his fall more and more acutely. Every step was more challenging to take than the last, and every battle left him wearier than he'd ever been before. The final struggle he had before coming out onto the main thoroughfare the led to the Greatbridge would have cost him his left hand if he hadn't been wearing his gauntlets.
There were signs of the Behemoth trampling through the thoroughfare: gouges in the street and trucks ripped in half. However, he still hadn't found Chris, only more scales and scale hives. Ironically enough, as he drew closer to Sin's floating water sphere, there were fewer and fewer monsters. As Sin shot them out from his body, they seemed more like to shoot outward than downward. It didn't stop the scales from wandering across the city into his path, but it did give him a sense of security. A false one, as it turned out because just as he climbed over a crashed car onto the base of the bridge, he froze in terror as another growl sounded out behind him.
Not even fifty feet away, the Behemoth came from around another corner, blood dripping from its maw. It had easily spotted him and had lowered itself into a crouch like a cat, ready to leap forward. He was terrified of moving, every instinct in his body telling him that as soon as he did, the chase would be on. He swallowed down the bile that had started crawling up his throat, gripping his sword tighter in preparation for the flight of his life. The Behemoth growled one more time as it kneaded at the ground.
"Oh fuck me." He turned and sprinted as fast as he could, the ground shaking as the beast started chasing him, roaring in delight at the thrill of the hunt. He had seconds before it would be upon him, and he needed every one of them. He looked around desperately for something he could use. Turned over cars, broken light posts, a gas tankard separated from the truck that hauled it, a damaged section of the bridge leaving a dead drop to a burning building below. He chanced a look behind him only to try to run faster as he saw the beast had halved the distance between them. He had an idea, but he wasn't nearly strong enough to make it work, unless...
He tore off to the right, the Behemoth skidding to a stop and running into a car as it tried to change directions to follow him. He sprinted towards the gas tank, turning around and sliding his sword into a strap on his bag to hold it in place as the beast clambered back to its feet. They locked eyes. "Come and get me, asshole." He had no idea if it could understand him, but it roared again, shaking him in his boots before charging, lowering its head to gore him. He'd have one chance to get it right, and there was no guarantee he'd survive either way, but it was the only chance he had. He waited as it drew closer. Thirty feet. Twenty feet. Ten feet. Now! He threw his body to the side just as the Behemoth ran headfirst into the tankard, its horns piercing the side. Just as he had hoped, the weight of the Behemoth was enough to shove the tank right over the broken side of the bridge, dragging the beast with it as it failed to pull its horns out. It roared one last time as it slid over the edge, missing him with its claws, and he almost fell to the ground in relief.
There was only one thing wrong with his plan, which he had failed to consider in his panic. The hole in the bridge he had tricked the Behemoth into falling into was right above the burning building. And the tankard that had caught the beast was full of gas. With an explosion that left his ears ringing, the tank exploded, blowing out the support beam holding up the bridge. Bits of steel and stone went flying, and the bridge started to drop out from beneath him.
"Oh FUCK ME!!!" He ran, praying to any god that would listen to save him. His best hope was to make it to the next section of the bridge still held up by another support beam. He could see it growing higher and higher as the section he was on dropped. Another explosion rocked the ground as bits of the bridge started falling away. A small piece of debris rushed past his head, sinking into the edge of the road. He was almost to the end when the bridge fell even further. So he jumped, getting a boost from one last explosion, and barely managed to grab onto the piece of debris that had nearly speared his head. He chuckled with relief at the irony when he realized it was the broken tip of the Behemoth's horn, gripping it tighter as he started to pull himself up. "Thank fucking g-"
The bridge gave a sudden lurch upward, bits of rubble and debris floating up around him as gravity seemed to shift. He looked up and gasped in horror. Sin was directly above him, the water encasing it parting enough for him to see some kind of opening, glowing from within with a blinding light. Everything not fastened to the ground was being pulled inside Sin. He gripped the broken horn tighter, desperate not to be pulled in. A set of footsteps drew his attention, looking up to see Chris standing on the bridge in front of him, calm as could be, looking up into the light. "It's not too late to change your mind, you know... you're sure?" Derek was equal parts confused and scared when he realized that Chris wasn't talking to him but to the ginormous sphere above them.
"Chris..?" A part of him almost hoped the older warrior wouldn't hear him, but he did, looking down to him with a complex look on his face. He reached down and grabbed Derek by the collar hoisting him up and over his own head. Derek was clutching the horn so tightly that he brought it with him. "Chris, what the hell are you doing?!" He gripped at Chris's arm with his free hand, a part of him unwilling to let the horn go.
"Sorry, kiddo. But it's time for your story to begin. I didn't want it to happen this way, but it's the only way for it to work. It's out of my hands. Don't worry too much when you get there, okay? I'll find you." Without giving Derek a chance to ask what the fuck that was about, he threw him up into the air, Sin pulling him up and up and up into the light as he screamed. He squeezed his eyes shut to try to block out the light. A deafening rushing sound was the last thing he remembered hearing before the sensation of being pulled through a tube made everything go dark.