Synposis: AU, mainly FFX with FFVII. Be kind to me, this is my first AU fic! In the derelict post-apocalyptic Japan two regions known as Spira and Wutai fight a long-standing conflict. Will the two current leaders Auron and Tseng be able to change things before it is too late? R/R!!!
Diclaimer and notes: ok, yes this *is* going to be complicated, but hopefully worth it! I was inspired to write this mainly be 2 fics: He Sees Her (Which I am *STILL* waiting to see the third chapter of!) by Dark Mousy and Final Fantasy High, by the fabulous That Angel.
If you do get confused with who's in which gang, follow these basic guidelines: Spira is FF's X and VIII, Wutai are FF's VII and IX, and there are FFVI characters dotted around the place, but they should be easy enough to place! As you may know, Final Fantasy is owned by Square *slaps forehead*. There will be songs, but I'll disclaim them when I need to.
I hope you enjoy! This is dedicated to The Great Blade (AKA Matt) who *may* make an appearance!
Chapter One- Born To Lead
Auron inhaled the deep heavy scent of musky darkness as he walked the sodden streets of his home. The air was thick with smoke and sound; the screams of homeless children, the fire of repeated gunshots… this was Spira. This was home.
The people here belonged to him, he knew that. As he walked through the littered streets watching the frightened and revered expressions of the people he felt pride in what he did. He wasn't the gaoler of this ghetto. He was their leader, a man who understood them far more than the President of the city, sitting in his palace in the main city with every luxury known to man. Indeed, Auron doubted if he even knew about the harsh cruel world that existed in the old town, nor of the intense poverty that faced them. He definitely knew nothing of this fierce underworld life which they led, the hidden beings, the lost souls of Tokyo. He didn't even stop to think that his new bride might be one of them…
Auron remembered "Scarlet". She wasn't always graced with the title of "Scarlet Woman". She was the American Ruby Almasy originally, but came to Wutai after a failed marriage to an executive over there. She brought with her two sons, the bratty spoilt Rufus, who had left to take over his father's business, and the cocksure Seifer, who even now was leeching off his mother's new found success in her second marriage. President Laguna was a sentimental fool, and Scarlet knew that. She played on his romantic side, edging in on the loneliness that had haunted him since the death of his beloved Raine. Scarlet was good at picking up on loneliness. Auron knew from first-hand experience…
He grunted and dismissed the thought from his mind. The mistakes he had made (and there had been a few) were now all in the past. He was stronger from them. As he looked up he recognised a face, and smiled gingerly at the man that waited for him at the door.
"Jecht! What are you doing here?"
"Fine question!" roared the drunkard, pulling a young girl Auron had yet to notice from behind him by her wrist. "Found this one wanderin' the streets. She aint one of ours, I can tell you that! I think she's spyin'"
Auron studied her closely. She was young, ridiculously young. Even that damnable Tseng, leader of Wutai, wouldn't have risked sending an inexperienced kid. She averted her eyes from him, not wanting to show her angry, frightened tears.
"Look at me."
The young girl recognised it was a command, not a request. Cautiously she raised her head, but still could not bring herself to open her frightened eyes.
"Open your eyes."
Another command. Shaking, the girl opened her eyes. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" she heard a slurred voice from behind her growl. She could feel his hand wrap round her waist, but she was so paralyzed with fear she could not bring herself to stop him…
"Leave her, Jecht." came the gravely voice of Auron, snatching her away from the other man. "Go see how your son's doing with his battle training. We need him ready to fight by the end of the week."
"But-"
"You heard me. I believe she is innocent. If I need your help, I will ask for it."
With that final remark Jecht left, mumbling obscenities all the way. Auron turned away from him and looked at the young girl. She wasn't from around here, that's for sure.
"No good?" the girl asked shakily, trying to force a smile. Auron smiled back at her, desperate to put the girl at ease. "You're not from round here, are you?"
She shook her head. "I'm from England. Name's Rikku. I came here 'cause someone told me I could find someone called-"
"Auron" he finished for her, drawing a cigarette and sparking it. How come he was always sent the new kids?
"Yea, that's it! So, I asked that guy if he knew Auron, and he just started yellin' at me an' all sorts! So, he brought me here, and told me he lived-"
She paused as Auron opened the door to the building ahead. "Heeeey! You… you're Auron!?"
"I'm afraid so." He sighed, ushering her in. She was going to be tough to deal with, he could tell.
"So, Rikku, why are you here?"
Rikku could hardly hear him. She was still waiting by the door as the man exited into another room. "Well… I erm, came here for work."
"What do you do?"
"I'm a singer. I got a job in the Jidoor Opera house, y'know, the one President Laguna's always going to? Allegedly he fell in love with one of the singer's there."
"Yeah, her name was Julia… why are you standing there?" he cried, seeing she was still in his doorway. The young girl blushed. "Well, erm…you haven't actually invited me in yet, so I-"
Auron laughed loudly at the girl. She had far too much protocol for a girl so young. "Well, then, "Miss Rikku", would you care to come in?" he drawled sarcastically, not noticing her face twist into a scowl. Furiously she marched up to him, desperately trying to look imposing. "Hey! I came here in good faith, Mister! I was told you'd help me out with a place to stay, and that's what I intend to get!"
Auron smiled slightly at the kid's rage. She was certainly determined, he'd give her that. Maybe she could be useful.
"I don't give things away, Rikku" he said suddenly, moving away from the bemused girl and sitting on his couch. "I expect to be rewarded if I invest in someone."
"What do you mean, 'rewarded'?" asked the girl suspiciously, seating herself opposite him. He noticed her worried expression and laughed.
"Don't worry, it's not like that. I wonder… do you even know about the war?"
The girl's blank expression said everything.
"Well, the old town of Tokyo was almost destroyed twenty years ago by a huge Tsunami, right?" The girl nodded. Auron sighed and continued. "Well, rather than rebuild the old town, they built over us. Up there" he indicated to the ceiling, though Rikku knew he meant the great metropolis that towered above them. "They built the three regions of Jidoor, Esthar and Dali on stilts above us." he explained bitterly, thinking back to his childhood life in the sun…
"But I know that!" whined Rikku impatiently. "It's been like that since I was born! I wanna know what happened to this place!"
Auron scowled at her impatience. Was he this impatient when he was young? He thought not. "I was getting to that." He spat, crossing over to the decanter on the other side of the room and pouring himself a large whiskey. "About ten years ago, this girl was killed."
Rikku looked at him in horror. "Was she…?"
"Young? Yes, about twenty. Her name was Aeris."
"Was she… did you know her?"
He laughed slightly. "No," he said quietly, sipping the acidic drink to comfort him. "Not personally, anyway- but it was hard not to notice a girl like Aeris Gainsborough. She was so… loved. So good to both Wutai and Spira, but... anyway, she got killed, and she wasn't alone when she was attacked. She was with three other people; Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart and Tseng Yoshiro."
"What's so important about that?"
"Well, there was nothing remarkable about Cloud and Tifa. They were just kids she'd got to know. But as for Tseng… he was obsessed with her. And he was pretty powerful, too. Rumour has it that back then he was an assassin for the government."
Rikku's eyes widened. "Really? Wow! But how does that affect Spira?"
"I'm getting to it."
"Sorry."
"Tseng tried to stop the attacker from getting to Aeris, and he received an almost mortal wound himself. Later on, he swore the attacker man dressed in flowing robes with long silver hair."
"Well, there are not many people like that around."
"Exactly!"
Rikku looked at him blankly. "But… what… how…?"
"My master, the old leader of Spira –Sanctum- had an old gambling buddy called Setzer. And you guessed it, Setzer had long silver and dressed- shall we say elabourately."
Suddenly the idea dawned on her. "So… Tseng accused Setzer of killing Aeris! And Sanctum wouldn't abandon his friend over an accusation by a man who was barely alive at the time!"
"Exactly." whispered Auron, looking out over his domain. "And besides, Setzer has an alibi for the night and, more importantly, doesn't know how to use a sword. Both Aeris and Tseng were impaled."
Rikku gasped at the thought of what is must be like to be impaled. "Erm… so do people here die a lot?"
He laughed out loud at her. "And then some! Only a week after the death of Aeris, an assassin called Yunalesca was sent after Sanctum. Braska, Jecht, Belgemine and I were all out training with him, and Belgemine got killed. That's when we realised that we had to settle this once and for all."
"And that's when the war happened?"
"Yes. We call it the battle of MiHen because that's where it happened. I believe those stuck-up Wutan's call it the War of Wutai. However, I believe the documented name for it is The War of the Magi."
"The…Magi?"
He nodded. "Both Sanctum and Wutai's leader Godo were incredibly skilled fighters. Modern legends. Some speculated that they knew the secrets of magic, hence the name of their conflict."
Rikku came up beside him and made herself a drink. Auron smiled under his raised collar as she gulped down the liquid adeptly. "So… what happened during this war?"
"Surprisingly little" he said honestly, filing up her glass again. "Many Wutans were killed, which did not help matters, and Godo himself was blinded. Sanctum fled and left me in charge, and we haven't seen him since."
Riku scowled. "Hey! That's pretty mean!"
"No, I don't think so. He needed to get away from this, and I believe I was ready. Besides, all's been quiet for the last five years. Tseng took over leadership of Wutai and then… disappeared."
"Hmm" mused Rikku, joining Auron in looking out over the crowded buildings. "I don't trust it. Why would Tseng just leave like that? Surely he must be planning something?"
Auron considered her words. She gave sound advice for someone so young. "Maybe. But I have other things to worry about now."
"Such as…?"
They were interrupted by a large gunshot reverberating in the distance. All was silent for a few seconds that seemed like hours, and then Auron voiced his fears.
"It's S.I.N."
He dragged Rikku from the window, hiding her behind the couch. "What's Sin?" she asked, her eyes wide from confusion. Auron continued preparing for attack, but tried to explain as best he could. "The Social Inadequacies Neutraliser was set up by General Beatrix after MiHen." he explained, pulling out his blade and fastening his armour. "After the war, the two Generals Beatrix and Careaway were assigned to deal with Spira and Wutai respectively. Because we won, we got the bigger punishment. Every few months our streets get purged."
"By… by what?" she asked, quickly scouring the room for useful objects to defend herself with. "You'll see." was all he said back to her. Rapidly he fastened his belt and turned to her. "Now you can prove you're going to be useful, Rikku. I want you to come with me to try and ward off S.I.N. Don't try and injure it; it has deadly counter-attacks. Just try to scare it off, ok?"
"Understood!" she chirped, trying to ignore the sickly feeling that was building in her stomach. She'd never really fought something before, nothing more than small animals, anyway. Nervously she followed him into the street, only to be greeted with the sight of a small child writing in agony from burns. Its mother was desperately trying to calm it down, and bathe its sore wounds…
"Rikku! I need you!"
Her head snapped up and she was ready. But nothing could have prepared her for what she saw…
The "creature" expanded, drawing itself to its full height. It was large grey and dank; almost looking as if it's skin was made of lead. It roared angrily at Auron and herself, coming towards them in an effort of attack.
"Do all you can to distract it whilst the others move out." He ordered her, slowly unsheathing his Katana. "I'll attack, but I'll need healing."
"Got it!" she replied excitedly. The adrenaline had started racing around her body, making the terrifying beast look slightly less unnerving. Rikku watched closely as Auron charged at the beast, slicing it deeply with his massive blade. She smiled broadly at his success, but soon the smile was wiped away.
"Auron! Watch out!"
He didn't hear. The beast came charging at him, striking him profoundly with one clawed hand. Auron flew across the now deserted streets, landing heavily on the cracked road. Rikku managed to dodge the monster's next blow, but she realised something had to be done fast.
Delving into her knapsack she pulled out two random items. Hastily and haphazardly she meshed them together and threw them at the beast. There was a split second of a cacophony of light and sound, and when Rikku looked back up, the thing was gone.
She breathed a sigh of relief and ran over to the older man. He could barely open his eyes from the pain.
"Rikku… that was…"
"Brilliant? Staggering? Dazzling? I know." She laughed, pulling out two more items and adding them together. "Here, drink this. You'll feel better."
Auron eyed her and cautiously drunk the liquid. He shouldn't trust her, he knew that. She could be anyone; a spy from Beatrix, a Wutan recruit… but when he looked at her he felt compelled to believe what she said. The liquid tasted foul, but as she had alleged it was merely minutes before he was on his feet again and staggering back towards his home.
"Rikku, I've never seen fighting like that before! What… was it?"
"Mixing!" she giggled, skipping on ahead of him. "I think I'm one of the only peeps that do it! It's pretty neat, right?"
He smiled at her relentless optimism. "It is. What was that bomb you made?"
"Aw, that? That was just a calamity mine. You can make bombs with all sorts of stupid things! And that potion I fed you? That was just a combination of a few things I got from your home…"
She clamped her hand over her mouth as Auron laughed heartily. "So, I take it you're a thief then!" he cried as she blushed. "It could be good to have another thief around. Spira hasn't seen one since Sanctum himself."
He pondered further as he looked at the hopeful girl. Her inexperience and naivety was far outbalanced by her boundless enthusiasm and obvious natural talent…
"I can offer you my spare room. You'll have to train twice a week and your rent will be a third of your wages."
"RIGHT ON!" cried Rikku, punching the air with her fist. Auron could tell his first analysis was right. She was going to be the cause of a lot of problems.