Drake House, Zanarkand
Auron had a perfect view of Raine's wedding from the roof of the garage, but his sunglasses were level with the ocean, scanning white-capped shores. The air's substantial gravity was oppressive and charged, like an approaching storm, minus the visual cues of thunder clouds and distant flares of lightning, and he was feeling a little like a human wind vane, the erratic ocean wind flapping the red banner of his sleeve in all directions.
When the weather got like this, Sin was not far. It was also the only time in Zanarkand when the Pyreflies in Auron got restless, when they knew Sin was close, but how close he would get was yet to be determined. Auron anticipated Tidus would not want to miss his little sister's wedding, whether he approved of it or not. Auron had the impression Tidus wasn't easily impressed when it came to Raine's suitors, but whatever the case, Sin wasn't in the habit of arriving to events unobtrusively.
Vaguely aware of some mild disorder in the narrow gully between the garage and house, Auron sidestepped down the shingles to investigate. There was a problem with the dress, apparently, although from this angle Auron saw nothing wrong, and when the father of the groom sauntered over to take his post next to Raine, Auron glowered as Mr. Drake lecherously partook in the same view. Auron hoped she might do something to stop him, say something sarcastic to put him in his place or, even better, slap him like he knew she could, but Raine was too polite. Looking startled and embarrassed, she held her tongue and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. To resist jumping down and ripping the elder Drake's throat out, Auron stalked over to the opposite roof to resume his watch of the ocean.
The music had started, playing over the white noise of the surf, the procession in motion as the first couple bridesmaids paced with agonizing deliberacy. Another one of Raine's milestones played out before him, but instead of getting choked up, he watched with a staid glare. Even without Sin lurking behind the horizon, it felt all wrong: a horde of sphere-cams hovering over the jury of reporters, strangers in Raine's VIP section and a groom who was only now stumbling up to the wedding arch. Admittedly, Auron didn't know what kind of wedding she wanted, but this couldn't be what she had in mind.
Auron stiffened when the first black Sinspawn bobbed up from the shoal, the first of many, it turned out. Auron counted twelve in all. At first they resembled thorny clamshells until they, one by one, began to part like the jaws of a carnivorous plant, their armor flapping like wet laundry before settling on their backs as two mint-green wings. Looking very ancient and prehistoric, the only way Sinspawn could, a small army of black Sinscales invaded the beach with precise formation, stalking in unison.
At the expectation of combat, Auron felt a cord of excitement tingle through him, and with an easy roll of his shoulder, liberated his arm from his cloak.
*
Raine held her breath at the look of horror on Darwin's face as his flawless wedding march dissolved.
The first scream was the loudest, to alert the rest, and the screams that came after were out of terror, followed by the first wave of frightened guests as they stampeded across the yard. There was a collective clatter of collapsing chairs as the wedding guests who couldn't run down the aisles climbed over the seats or tossed them out of the way. Raine couldn't see what was prompting the chaos and attempted to move up against the garage to get a better look, but she was halted by Mr. Drake, who pinned her hand against him with his elbow. She wasn't sure if he was doing it out of alarm, or to keep her from escaping his son's wedding.
Darwin, the wedding planner, moved into the open and the look on his face made his earlier conniption about the torn wedding dress seem like a simple eye roll. It made Raine want to piss herself. He gestured with an urgent shepherding motion. "Run!"
Some of the faster, more ruthless wedding guests jostled Raine as they ran passed her and she hardly noticed when Mr. Drake released her hand and followed them.
Darwin grabbed Raine's shoulders, staring wide into her eyes. "Fiends. Come on, in the house!"
Raine wrestled out of his hands. She had to see.
Through gaps in the turmoil, Raine could see the insect legs scuttling out of the water and sinking into the white sand. As the creatures shook salt-water off their grotesque bodies, the membrane of their foam-green wings flickered ominously.
Woozy with relief, Raine fell on her knees, hypnotized by her reprieve, which had come in the form of Sinscales. Sinspawn meant Sin was close.
A smattering of guests came running through the strip of space between the garage and the house and one of Jory's groomsmen stopped to help Raine to her feet.
"Raine, what are you doing? Get up!"
The groomsman yanked her up by her armpits and dragged her by the hand, away from the beautiful sight of her wedding being destroyed, and that's when she remembered her great-aunt Naya had been sitting in the VIP seats.
*
Auron searched for Raine in the current of the crowd, spotted her in the grasp of one of the groomsmen as he ushered her around the front of the house.
The former warrior monk paced the roof like a tiger stalking a trout from the riverside, but there was no good place to jump down to. His reflective glasses lifted to the roof of the house, across the eight-foot gap, and he internally hmphed. He hadn't made a jump like that in years, but he backed up to the apex of the garage's gable roof anyway and took a running start. His boots smashed a few of the terra cotta shingles when he landed, but he paid no attention and ran around to the veranda at the back of the house at an awkward slant, like one leg was longer than the other. Free-falling down to the support beam on the wooden trellis, his arm shot sideways for balance only to compensate for the weight of his katana, and jogged across the narrow board with short, calculated strides. Dropping down to the soft grass, Auron landed in a crouch, ignoring the shock prickling up his shins.
It was unusual for Sin to send Sinspawn on his behalf, but here they were, scrabbling into the backyard, squawking like angry seagulls. Swiping an insect leg, one of them shattered the wedding altar like it was made of Popsicle sticks and paste. Another scurried up to its brother, smashing the chairs in its path, chasing away the remaining guests. Rising from his stoop, Auron ducked as a sphere-cam zipped over his head, suspending in various positions like a hummingbird for the best angle. Auron scowled, but didn't waste swings.
Digging the side of his foot in the sand, Auron dropped his katana off his shoulder and the razor-sharp edge swiped upwards at a charging Sinscale, splitting a twitching maw in half. With a satisfying whump, the exoskeleton broke like a brittle eggshell and shards of black casing peppered the sand. Staggering, its segmented, saltatorial legs stabbed at the beach until it tipped on its side. Its wings faded grey as it died.
Eleven left. There were too many to keep track of. Auron could only cut through the ones that were closest.
Another Sinscale skittered toward the house and Auron scuttled sideways to block it. The Sinscale reared, backed up and its wings flickered pistachio-green. It made an unpleasant sound, an eerie sigh, and Auron just managed to dodge three spiny projectiles as they shot off its thorax. They landed in the sand with muted thumps and Auron swung sideways, rending through its dense wings like an old scroll ream. Auron didn't swing unless he had a mark to kill, and as he hacked through another two, blood splattered on the grass like ink.
Eight left. Except...
...Auron only saw 7.
*
In the front yard, Raine was able to break away from the groomsman. Scuffling in sandals to the edge of the drive, Raine skimmed the lilac shaded street for a flash of red before it filled with shrieking wedding guests.
