Caught in the Tides of Time
Light. He frantically searched for light & could not find any; just a warm dark without end. Screaming, he thrashed & fought with all the strength of youth dying young, until exhaustion took him into unconsciousness.
This is IT… I am dying…Yuna…Yevon, I don't want to die…SAVE ME….Tidus frantically thought as blackness darker than the dark around him invaded his skull & his body functions ceased to obey him.
There he drifted, weightless, in the dark, his body curling back into the age old fetal position as time & the cosmos discussed his fate.
He came back into consciousness slowly; there were now different sensations – a rhythmic movement of the environment against his body, a cool wetness; he could see a faint glow of red against his closed eyelids; puzzling, since he last remembered nothing but endless, non-moving black all around him. He opened his eyes & startled, he recognized the color blue. His eyes adjusted & he saw beams of light piercing water; then bits of seaweed, plankton & the sparkle of sand illuminated in those beams.
I'm alive!? Yevon, oh Yevon, bless you! He tilted his head up, & through the deep water, he saw a wavering orb of light above the ceiling of wavering blue; he unfolded his body & began to swim up, up, towards it, a stream of bubbles escaping his mouth in a silent scream of joy.
He broke the surface tension easily, exploding out of the water into bright light, greedily sucking in the sweet salt air as if it were nectar; he floated, stretching in a luxury of movement; then flipped upright, starting treading water to look at his surroundings, & wondered: Where AM I? This doesn't look like Spira or Zanarkand – I feel…lighter…the sun's the wrong color! But the ocean is the same - And I think I see a city over there, so there must be people…Wow, there's a machina in the sky! I have GOT to get to land!"
Diving in the surf, he began to swim towards shore, his firmly muscled body moving with ease; as he came closer to shore, he noticed rock-like formations in the water, with creatures darting about; his curiosity overtook him & he dove down; He was enchanted by the colorful life in front of him; minute intense purple & yellow finned creatures turned as one in a small school to avoid a larger finned creature the size of his hand, the flat body vivid with yellow & black stripes, with a pair of long trailing fins top & bottom. He noticed the multicolored rocks were actually a colony of living creatures; and he became momentarily excited; it was like he found a piece of heaven somehow. He dove deeper to follow the creatures, touched the sandy bottom & began to drift upwards, his eyes taking in the delightful picture of life unfolding in the living rock wall.
With a jolt, he felt his foot caught; he kicked harder to free it, & suddenly he was yanked into the rock wall with force; he felt pain as something began to pull backwards in the wall, trying to take his foot with it; he pushed with all his strength against the wall, trying to keep from being sucked into a wall of rock that would shred him to pieces. Frantically he looked around for a weapon, a tool, help, anything to stop it.
A large creature was in the distance, swimming towards him; now dismayed, he assumed that it was a predator, looking for dinner, or worse. The something in the wall yanked harder & his ankle felt like it was being wrenched apart; more bubbles from his mouth floated up, this time in a silent scream of agony. Suddenly, the pain stopped; looking down, the creature he saw in the distance was now at his feet; a razor sharp hand weapon in a humanoid hand flashed in the water finishing the stroke that had cut through his shoe, freeing him. It looked up, and through a haze of bubbles from an attached breathing tube, he made out the glass of a mask framing a face of an angel, with eyes the same color as the ocean around them. Suddenly a large headed creature, cleverly patterned in black & white to match the living rock wall, darted back in a hole with his shoe firmly clamped in its massive jaws. The angel pointed up, & took his arms, gently pushing him to the surface. Shocked, he kept his eyes locked on her ocean-deep eyes, an unfathomable expression in them.
Breaking surface again, he started to talk: "Thank you, my angel! What was that creature? Was it going to eat me? Where am I? I'm not on Spira or Zanarkand, am I? What is the name of this planet?"
Puzzled, he stopped at her silence – was she mute? She had pushed up the face mask, taken out the breathing tube & was sitting there, watching him warily as he chattered away at her. She doesn't speak Spirean. Oh, great. Ok, let's try single words.
"Tidus"He pronounced his name clearly, & pointed at himself. He raised his eyebrows & pointed at her.
"Christina!"She proudly pronounced – then broke into the most awesome, blinding smile, showing even white teeth against a golden skin.
He couldn't help but grin back, suddenly aware of the fellow feeling of absolute relief at escaping death he felt being reflected back in her blue green eyes.
"Zanarkand?" He asked.A shake of the head, sideways, no recognition in the eyes – Hmm..must mean no, or I don't know.
"Death?"He pointed down & mimicked the creature's jaws clamping down She went into alert, eyes registering recognition, rapidly moving her head up & down – Ah! – must mean yes.
She pointed to shore, & mimed swimming arm movements, pointed at his foot, raising eyebrows. Tidus nodded rapidly up & down, like she did, & started to swim, showing her he was not badly hurt. She kept up with him stroke for stroke until they reached shore. Wading out, he saw many more people on the sandy beach, all dressed or undressed in the most unusual costumes…and…barefoot. He stripped off the remaining shoe & followed her across the sand, trying to ignore the stares & vocalizations that sounded puzzled, joking & mocking all at the same time.
Oh my God, where the hell do these guys come from every year? Christina wondered… Zanarkand? Is that near Uzbeckistan or something? Well, I'll get the idiot to his hotel room; after all he is a guest in my country. I hope that ankle isn't broken. She saw Tidus begin to hobble across the sand to her car, & as he came closer, his sheer male beauty hit her like nothing else she'd seen in her 35 years on this planet. Deep golden brown skin flowed smoothly over firm muscles that were knit over a slim hipped, high lateralled frame; his legs also rippled with muscle, but not to an extreme; a glimpse of a well molded core with visible ab muscles and the push of high sculpted pectorals filled out his cropped yellow hooded shirt. He shook his head, & drops of water shot from spiky hair that was beginning to glow golden, thick & shining with a luster that seemed…well..unworldly. His eyes were blue, but you don't see a blue like that here; they were set in a finely boned face, subtly alien in its contours; almost as delicate as an Asian's, but somehow set with a firm aura of masculinity that brought a mindless swell of unnamed emotion to her soul; she wanted to cry, laugh, & orgasm at the same time. Disgusted with herself for the sense of primal attraction, she put on her aviator sunglasses to filter her view.
Speaking of unworldly! She thought as she took in the outlandish clothing, a near-costume of asymmetrical length shorts, semi armored shoulder, heavy gauntlet & glittering silver chain. The local boys in the next car were starting to drift over, curious. Christina smelled a fight coming on, & somehow, she just knew, this guy would call too much attention to himself if she let it happen.
She strode forward, calling out "Tidus!", motioning to come to her. She brought over her biggest beach towel & draped it over his shoulders to hide the costume. She loudly commented: "Man, Tidus, I am sorry that last wave was too much for you – you guys from Uzbeckistan are a little short on beaches, huh? Let me get you back to the modeling agency, ok? " She looked over casually at the local boys & shrugged "–I tell ya, they keep sending me guys that can't speak English - I'll never get this costume catalog done for Frightfest! You guys coming this year?"
Some nod, commenting on the awesomeness of the last Frightfest, they liked the costumes from the latest game, Final Fantasy something or other. Some were grinning at a chance to see a non-local that got hammered by the waves they got hammered by when they were just kids; they quickly drifted off, losing interest, a reasonable explanation put in their heads about a gorgeous guy in a strange outfit who couldn't speak a word of English on a California beach.
Tidus started to talk, walking around the car, touching it hesitantly & through the nonsensical sounds she made out a familiar word; Machina. She nodded & repeated the word, pointing at the car. She opened the passenger door, then hers, & got in with a flourish, waving him in. He sat in the seat, crouching, curious as a cat. For the next 15 minutes she tried to get a hotel name out of him, then gave it up. She debated what to do, and decided to take him home. Maybe she could figure out how to make him understand with her PC. She couldn't decide if he was a simpleton, an extra in a film, an illegal immigrant, or a tourist with extreme fashion tastes, but in any case, she simply was not afraid of him.
When they arrived at her home, he continued his indecipherable commentary, occasionally grimacing at the pain in his ankle as they walked through the driveway & entryway. He sat down heavily on the couch & she went in search of the first aid kit. She came back to the scene of Tidus passed out cold on her couch, head tilted back, damp clothes soaking into the soft canvas cover. Sighing, she bent down, did her CNA's lift & carry of a senior nursing home resident, & put him in her bed. Stoically, she removed the outlandish costume from his near perfect body, placing a tee shirt & surf shorts on the table by him. She hung the damp clothing to dry in the shower door, dialed delivery of groceries for a 3 day weekend, called into work for time off on Monday, then sat down to examine the silvery necklace he was wearing. It was an unusual alloy, nothing she'd seen before; a pale frosty finish, unlike silver or white gold; more like platinum or palladium, with a glinting refraction. She took it to her office, equipped with a few things from her medical student days, turned on her microscope, & started to look at it under magnification.
She made jewelry when she wasn't a med tech LPN at a nursing home, & she knew a fair amount about metalworking, but she'd never seen a chain made like the one in her 50x view. The chain seemed to be made up of several, no, hundreds of miniscule links, intricately fitted together into a larger, repeating pattern. It was like looking at an M.C. Escher drawing of impossible spaces, clever, detailed & playing with one's sense of perspective. The pretty glittering finish on the metal intrigued her very much. It was a puzzle; it wasn't bonded, like powder coating, or sprayed on, like a lacquer. It was more of a baked on finish, like enamel, but infinitely harder. She couldn't scratch it with her tweezers; in an extreme fit of curiosity, she tried her gold pendant; then the sapphire in the pendant; then got a diamond out of her jewelry safe & then, only then, could she scratch the surface. Hmm…only diamonds can scratch diamonds...Oh, my! there's nothing like this on earth I've seen, & I KNOW it's not new technology from China or India! Wait a sec there, Christy girl- If this chain is NOT from Earth, then where is Tidus from?
It then dawned on her that Zanarkand was somewhere…else.
She was now afraid, but firmly, put aside her fear. He seem evil, just lost. He didn't deserve to be handed over to a herd of scientists or the government. Her life would never be the same peaceful existence she had tried so hard to build, if it were discovered she found an alien species here on Earth.
She silently went back to the bedroom, placed the chain on the clothes, & sat there on the edge of the bed watching him sleep until the sun began to set, thinking. When she decided on her course of action, she sighed, & went back to the phone, calling the bookstore for a copy of Rosetta Stone in English. And called in to work again, this time, for the entire week. She would stay involved, but only enough to get him out of harm's way.
Tidus slept through sunset, but woke when the cool evening beach breeze began to flow through the windows & patio doors of the second floor condo Christina inhabited. She had a nice place, 2 blocks off the shore, with a peekaboo view of the ocean from the lanai. It was furnished simply, but with a certain elegance; the colors were muted naturals, with a few superb pieces of Asian art juxtaposed against the earthy colors of the walls & furniture. She kept her bike & surfboard in the hall, like a teenager; her aikido weapons hung neatly in the office, next to old medical school equipment & jeweler's bench. The scent of fine Japanese incense or handmade scented candles filled the air to make the space welcoming haven against the world of a million tasks & sick people that filled Christina's work life. The time off was spent making jewelry, or surfing. Surfing usually won.
Tidus padded out in the tee & surf shorts, necklace hidden under the shirt & smiled when he saw her sitting on the lanai, enjoying the evening with a bit of music issuing from the Ipod. She noted he wasn't favoring the ankle, & the deep scratches from the coral were now a fading pick weal on the bronzed skin. She pointed, tilted a head to the side & clearly said: "No hurt?"
"No hurt."Tidus mimicked. He rubbed his stomach & brought hand to mouth several times, in a plea for food. He was ready to eat anything- even Al Bhed food, spicy hot as the sun. Christina hesitated, thinking: What if our food is incompatible with his digestive system? Will it poison him? She decided on rice, the most easily digested starch on the planet, hoping it would be a good first try. She brought him rice in a bowl, with various utensils in the hope he'd recognize something. He picked chopsticks & handled them well. He politely smiled & said something that had the mood of a thank you, but she could tell the rice didn't satisfy him. Ok, Christy girl, wait a few minutes & see if he's OK…..oh never mind, he'd be puking his guts out by now if it were incompatible…let's have some fun exploring Earth food, LOL!
So, the evening was spent in an odd feast for both of them – Christina simply brought out just about everything in refrigerator, set it on the table, & they began to eat, as she watched him intently, occasionally spearing a piece of something herself, using her PC to show him pictures of the plants or animals that it came from. At some point Tidus had the wit to fake a choking fit after trying broccoli, only to see her jump up, fear on her face. He began to laugh, a normal human laugh like anyone else here; then she finally got the idea he was enjoying the taste of Earth's food with no ill effects.
As the hours passed, they became much more at ease with each other, laughing at the faces & sounds they made at trying to describe the taste of various things: the sweetness of strawberries; the rich fatty taste of fresh coconut meat; the delicate crispness of iceberg lettuce; the clean, yet meaty taste of raw tuna; then she slyly let him bite into a raw jalapeno, at which she laughed merrily. Tidus' face turned red & he began to curse in Spirean - she then ran to the fridge & shoved a glass of a white beverage at him, which tasted creamy & mild, clearly not of plant origin – for a moment he was in shock, as he recalled the taste of his mother's milk, rich & satisfying as this; he couldn't help but look down at her breasts, wondering did she just feed me from her own breast?…Holy Yevon! How weird is that? But she pointed to a picture of a placid beast on the PC screen.
Blushing, he drank it off, cooling the heat on his tongue & berated himself for thinking such a stupid primitive thought of this angelic creature who rescued him from the ocean creature. Back down, you Zanarkand Zero, he reminded himself. You're no longer on your home playing field. It's her rules, her world. She might not even be a compatible race, even though she looks like me. And what about Yuna, your lost love? Where is Christina's mate? Does she even like men? How do I ask her these questions?
Later, after he eaten his fill of food, Christina turned the PC to him & he stared at the machina as she demonstrated how to scroll through the pages of the Rosetta stone language program. He eagerly began to look at the pictures & try to reproduce the sounds. She mimed to him she was going to sleep on the couch & pointed him to the bedroom. He nodded, smiled & pointed at the PC machine, then turned back to it. Christina fell asleep to the gentle clacking of the PC keys & vocalizations of the Rosetta Stone program.
Dawn brought a pleasant awakening to Christina; it was another lovely California summer day, rose wings unfolding into a soft light against the sky & ocean. She turned & saw the PC open, but on screen save, & then quietly walked to her bedroom door to see if Tidus was sleeping. He was stretching lazily; he turned & smiled sweetly at her, then rolled out of bed, shaking his golden flag of spiky hair until it settled into a halo around his keenly cut face. "Good morning, Cristina! How are you today?"
Shocked, Christina stared & stumbled a reply:"You can speak my language? So soon?"
Tidus replied: "Well.. not all of it, yet. But I think I can communicate better today. SO…what is this place called? I am from Zanarkand, but was in Spirea before I came here…I need to return home, do you know the way back?"
Seeing her silent before him, he had a sinking feeling he had made a mistake in protocol; perhaps he was supposed to do something before asking a question about himself. He hastily tried to remember the etiquette of thanking someone here- there were so many ways, so he decided on three ways that would cover as much of the land masses as he could, there was no way he was going to offend this lovely creature who saved him:"Christina, that is your name, correct? I, Tidus, humbly & sincerely thank you for saving me from that creature in the living wall in the water – I thought I was going to die. Praise Yevon for your intervention, I am forever in your debt!"
Tidus stepped forward & brought his arms around her, then bent down & touched her feet in reverence, then her head. Christina's eyes widened when she saw him stepping forward again, this time taking her face in his warm brown hands & kissing both cheeks, in the florid French style.
"Did I get the protocol right, or wrong?" He asked.
Christina's eyes crinkled in good humor & replied: "Of course, if you were my friend, then from India, then a Frenchman! One form of a thank you is usually enough here. I do understand you very well, Tidus – How could I not succor anyone in such distress?"
She gently continued, speaking simply as she would to a child: "Tidus, I know you are not from here – In fact, Tidus, NO ONE from another planet has officially visited this planet yet. It is called Earth. We don't travel the galaxy yet – we have only been able to travel to this planet, the moon" –She gestured at the dawn sky where a crescent moon was fading. "And Tidus, I am sorry, I do not know the way home, to Zanarkand. But I'll help you try to find it."
Tidus was dejected at first, but his naturally sunny disposition didn't let him stay down for long; after another meal of his favorite foods from last night, he was ready to go explore this Earth. He asked to go back to the beach & swim in the ocean to see the living rock wall again. Christina agreed, but brought up some uncomfortable facts: This city required identification cards; a background had to be built for him; he must never expose his origins, because he would be jailed & deported, or worse, given over to the government, who could dissect him a molecule at a time. Worse, she would be jailed for harboring an illegal immigrant & also be 'debriefed' by the government for however long they pleased – neither sounded pleasant to Tidus. He began to realize that Christina had really taken a huge risk on his behalf by rescuing him & bringing him to her home. The early afternoon was spent finding a person Christina knew who would do things just on the outside of the fence of the law here; she paid a rather large chunk of her savings buying him a background, a passport, a driver's license & a birth certificate. She bought him more clothing to make him fit in, more food, LOTS more food, as he demolished most of her supply already with just two meals.
She felt comfortable enough with him to take him down to the boardwalk that sunset & walk around, to get the feel of the city & all variety of humans that lived there. Tidus took an enormous delight in the colorful, neon lit boardwalk, exclaiming at everything like a big kid, yet kept his cool like a seasoned warrior. His handsome face & superb body attracted some attention, but no more than a bodybuilder from Venice Beach on parade. He heard music from a dance club & was entranced by the amplified sounds; he explained he never heard music like that, music from his city was more like chanting in rhythm, telling stories; when a rap piece came up in rotation, he grinned, nodding at the familiar beat-speak sound issuing from the speaker cabinets. He started to move in rhythm, much to the delight of the crowd. Christina got sucked into the dance floor as he kept moving; before they knew it, they were moving in sync, Tidus moving effortlessly around her. Dazed, Christina realized he was different as she attempted to dance with him; humans don't move so effortlessly, or adapt so quickly to the environment. There much more subtlety to his movement than the moves most clubbers did; there were more isolations of muscle groups, & the combinations had a smooth flow to them that made the hip hop dancers appear almost spastic. I wonder what the sex is like? She thought, & the thought of beautiful Tidus, clasping her pale gold body close to his warm sunbrowned satin skin, kissing her, teasing her, fucking her in a haze of heat that began to cauterize her mind. She wanted to stop, but the music & his body moving in rhythm so close to hers made her a helpless slave to her sensory overloaded mind. The air seemed to shimmer around them, his eyes took on a faraway glitter & an invisible throb of power began to slowly build with the music. She managed to tear her eyes off his, & glimpsed over his shoulder, seeing everyone hanging there, in ecstasy at feeling that invisible force hang in the air. At the last notes hung in the air, she felt oddly unreal, like almost sick to her stomach; it was like reality began to skew off track somehow. Tidus pulled her close, swinging her up lightly into his arms. He walked out of the bar with her ignoring the stares & whistles. He set her down outside and asked: "Are you OK?"
Taking deep breaths of ocean air, she finally said "Yes – what was that, Tidus?"
"What was what? I was having fun in there with you! But it was kind of smoky – I saw your eyes dilate; were you going to faint or something? C'mon, lets walk some more down this boardwalk –can we listen to more music? Do you move to the music on your machina, sorry, machine, at home?"
Shrewdly, Christina realized he must have had extraordinary reflexes to notice her eyes dilating while moving like a hip hop star; she kept her mouth shut & instead, carefully asked Tidus what he did back home in Zanarkand. She was then treated to a solid hour's discourse on a sport named Blitzball, his team, the Zanarkand Abes, his position, their record and a multitude of sports statistics she could barely absorb in one sitting. But it actually explained a lot about him to her mind's eye. It certainly explained the ultrafit body & reflexes.
"…and there has to be a doorway, a gate of some kind to take me back, because I got here through one, Christina…"
Christina snapped back into full attention at the sound of her name, wishing she could find a way back home for this young being & wondered what waited for him there. She cleared her throat & asked: "So, Tidus, you must miss your home a lot – I am sure a lot of people miss you there – your family, your friends, your girlfriend….want to talk about it?"
"Oh Christina, she's not my girlfriend, she's…she's…Yuna…I'm her guardian, I know she's missing me, I love her…I'd do anything to get back to her…so I've just GOT to find a way back, see?"
Christina smiled a sad smile in the dark, thankful he couldn't see it. She pitched her voice from leaking any sadness or disappointment with a soft neutral: "Yeah, Tidus. I'll help you as best I can."
Christina the good Samaritan, she bitterly thought as she laid on the couch in the dark, trying to relax & sleep. Of course Tidus would have a girl. Oh well. Give it up, Christy girl. You and love were never meant to meet. You're only a roadstop along the way, the nice girl from Earth who helped him out, and utterly forgettable.
The next morning, she spent a few hours on the internet, idly typing in phrases from his involved tale of Zanarkand, gates in time, Spirea, anything she could remember, hoping to find some clue where to start a search for a gate to another world. Then it caught on something – she had typed blitzball & games, & there it was – a hit…some virtual reality game – Final Fantasy...Hey, wasn't that what the local motion boys called Tidus' costume? It fits, doesn't it? Now…how would a human know all about the worlds of Spirea & Zanarkand? She looked for the games creator, found a bio, & began to read it slowly, but with a growing sense of excitement. The gaming website proudly displayed detailed sketches an artist, Morimoto Honsu, had created for the gaming company. He had to have been there, or knew someone who had. He was Japanese but kept a home in Northern California. It was too much of a coincidence for Christina. She called the publisher's office, faked a magazine editor, & was granted an interview in 3 days time.
Mori will know what to do with him. Then I can go back to my calm, ordered life & forget there's life anywhere in the universe but here.
Then her God smacked her in the head, because Tidus was leaning over her shoulder, saying: "WOW! You found a gatekeeper! You are really clever, Christina! I'll never, ever forget this!"He snatched her up out of the kitchen chair & spun around the room with her, laughing in pure happiness.
Oh great, she thought. I want to forget him, & he says he'll never forget me. What a pair we make.
Tidus drew back, puzzled at the expression on her face that she flashed & swiftly hid again. Suddenly, he was thrown into doubt about her, what he was doing here, why he trusted her so. Was she a demon in disguise? A fayth? Another evil being with a fair face? He so badly wanted it to be untrue. He remembered there was a way; Yuna had showed him once the moves of a minor summoning, which any child in Spirea could do.
Christina spent another hour at the PC, arranging travel & accommodations near Mori Honsu's house in San Francisco. A pounding on the door occurred with a local motion boy's voice screaming 'Surf's UP!' as he ran by with his board. Christina jumped up like a teenager, ran for the bedroom, tore off her clothes & pulled on a swimsuit with a surf shirt, then scuttled out the door, leaving Tidus, trips, everything behind in anticipation of some much needed stress relief. Waves were always good for that.
The surf was up nicely, a good set of six foot easy rollers coming in from the southwest; she ran in, dove under a wave & paddled out to her favorite spot, then rode waves for a good hour. It felt so good to just enjoy sun & surf, no worries out in the water. Surfing was a meditation in movement, one old surfing hack told her over drinks at the pier one night.
Tidus was there, sitting on the beach, when she came striding out of the water, carrying her board. She suddenly felt stifled by him, & suddenly tired of feeling like she had to pretend, she simply turned around, & dove back in the water than face him in all his gorgeousness. Her senses were overloaded with being on full hormone alert every time he was near & for the millionth time in 2 days, she wondered why on earth why humans were such a mess, lesser clay than the rest of the universe.
I envy him, She thought. …it seems to be the life we all are dying to have, yet here we humans are, stuck in aging, smelly, imperfect bodies, no quests, no pilgrimages, no heroes, no heroines lovelier than dawn. Man, I hope he can't smell the hormones.
A dark shadow was below her in the water, & she became wary; hoping it was just a seal, she jumped up on her board & took the drop early; she screamed as a light thump made the board shudder, & she was clasped suddenly by two warm bronze hands, as the board dropped into the rolling tube of wave; as always, the moment of being in the zone half awed her; she forgot about Tidus riding behind her, reached out & trailed her fingers in the wall of the wave; Tidus' hand rose & placed itself besides hers, & they rode the tube out. He kept his balance perfectly with hers, adjusting to every little balancing move she made. It was like he was made for her, a perfect being to match her on the board.
Once they splashed ashore, she became suddenly shy, realizing she'd just opened herself totally up to a stranger, an alien, no less; she honestly didn't know what he was thinking, or felt. She steeled herself & met his eyes square, drawing breath to ask if he liked the perfect ride, then let it go, as she saw the steady warmth of his deep blue eyes, the understanding of her written on his face at last. He reached forward, took her board from her hands, then gently took her hand, leading her back up the beach to her condo.
Tidus understood her better, after that surf ride. She was not in the least evil; a passionate, yet logical nature drove the body. She was a matured mind, fearlessly using it to keep him alive. She was just hiding the fact she was attracted to him as a man. He was sublimely attracted, too, in a way that was far different than when he thought of Yuna. The shadow of Yuna & her pure, undying, near-holy love became a pale, ungraspable thing compared to the reality of this strange, clever creature who handled weapons & machines with aplomb. Christina's body made his body hungry in a way Yuna's did not; the pale gold skin set off the amazing ocean blue green eyes; her physique was beautifully athletic, yet soft with curves; her face was considered a near regal one by his world's standards: a long oval, high cheekbones, a brow softly curved as a butterfly's feeler that could turn sardonic in the blink of an eye with a smile fresh & clear as an amused water goddess, marred by the faintest of scars on the upper lip, which somehow made her smile all the more impossibly endearing to him.
He shook his head in bemusement, thinking: No, we're not lovers; a lover would be blind to all the little details I note about her, like that scar on her lip, or the bruises on her left knee from dragging it on the surfboard. I am blind to anything about Yuna but the thought of Yuna's love. I can't remember if Yuna has any scars. Oh Yevon, I want this woman with eyes of ocean.
An afterthought occurred: Hell, I forgot to ask! I hope she doesn't have a lover already. Tidus, you are an A-number-one-idiot!
The evening took an uncomfortable turn for Tidus, who was now keenly aware of Christina in ways he'd never felt before. His blood was boiling over, yet he had to keep a tight rein on himself, hold back, so she'd not be frightened of him. He debated the many forms of approach, and decided direct with a mature compliment would at least get her to think about him. She had changed from her suit into a piece of wrapped fabric she called a sarong, subtly emphasizing the flare of her hips with a primitive batik pattern dyed into the silk. Her skin seemed to have turned into a deeper gold today, & he softly caught her hand in passing, asking her:"Did your skin change color? ….your skin is beautiful…it flows over your body like the fabric you are wearing, Christina."
He saw her blush, sudden warmth filling her as the words dropped into her like soft hot drops of fire. But she didn't remove her hand from his. He had her attention. He continued, gently pressing his advantage: "I am surprised you do not have a long line of lovers atyour door, beautiful Christina; are they all blind to your beauty here? Or are they all immature boys with crushes on dream girls?"
"I don't have a lover right now, Tidus. And men here judge beauty differently than your people. I am considered somewhat ordinary, & too old. Men judge beauty & desirability with youth here." She shrugged.
He responded with a shrug himself, saying; "Age is no matter in Spirea, or Zanarkand. I could be your lover, you could be a 150 year old matriarch and no one would bat an eye. You would be well filled with love & happiness if you were there instead of here, eking out a bare existence, with no love here day after day, until you wither away. I…I'd like that, Christina. To be your lover."
Tidus kissed the palm of the hand he had kept hold of, then slowly, turned it palm down, led it down, forcing her fingers to touch the skin of his face, neck, & chest to finally rest upon his heart, to feel the solid beat there. " I am real. I am here, now, & I am ready to be your lover."He looks up under his dark lashes with a devastatingly flirtatious look of sapphire- not a child's pretty colorbox hue, but that color at the base of the flame, where the fire burns hottest."What do you say, Christina?"
She trembled, her knees were weak & her mouth could not speak; it was suddenly filled with juices in anticipation of joining with Tidus; At the same time she wanted to escape, hide from the sheer intensity of physical sensation; she was suddenly sick at the pit of her stomach. He was an alien, she was afraid she would not survive this night, remembering the strange throb of power in the club & the mindless ecstasy of the crowd surrounding Tidus –she saw herself also mindless, then in agony, face contorted in a rictus, dying in a prolonged spasm of overwhelming pleasure & it shook her deeply.
Run, Christy girl. She whirled & sprinted for the door. Startled, Tidus unwound himself from the couch & jumped over the back in an uncanny flowing move, but saw her reach the door before he could catch her.
In desperation, he yanked on the chain around his neck & lashed out at her with it; singing, it expands in a glittering arc several feet long, like a primitive set of Thai warrior beads and meets her golden skin; the superstrong alloy wraps itself around her wrist, stinging her with a slash of the last links. Obedient, the other end of the chain had wrapped itself around his wrist, binding the two of them together in an elegant hand cuff; he slowly steps closer, the chain-maille mindlessly coiling the excess around their wrists until they stand face to face. The chain would loosen & coil back into itself with a quick movement to the pendant; it was an old weapon his father gave him, which he now employed in the war of love for the evening.
Recklessly, with the complete abandon of youth, he kisses her, fiercely demonstrating his desire to bring her pleasure until his knees begin to buckle; it is Christina who now reacts, throwing her free arm around his slim waist to prevent him from falling on the floor. The contact of flesh to flesh sizzles & takes fire as they both realize they both have the same desire.
In the silence of the room, Tidus speaks the only words he can remember of the joining ritual of Zanarkand:"You are mine, and I…I am yours…"
Christina woke up with a dry taste in her mouth & tried to get up out of bed to get water. She was still bound to Tidus, which was a physical reminder of last night's events. She sat stock still, wondering: What the hell happened to me last night? .God. I fucked an alien, & I liked it. Wryly, she remembered an old film from the 1980's : Earth Girls Are Easy. The odd title was exactly how she felt, & she began to giggle inside, a soft internal jolt of humor shaking her sore abs.
"What are you laughing at?" Tidus asked, one eye open. She told him; at that point, he burst out laughing, then threw a pillow at her. "Well, you survived! The question is today: How much did you like it?"
He sat up & quietly worked the chain loose, micro links clicking back into place, then mindlessly obedient, the threadlike chain began self–looping & weaving back into the beautiful heavy white frosted metal necklace that sat on his neck in a neat loop. Tidus rolled out of the bed, stretching limbs until they cracked, then started a warm up routine that would make a 5th dan martial arts master go pale. Christina quietly left the bedroom, & quietly pursued her own morning ritual on the lanai, moving in a tai chi/yoga combination, meditating on the gentle aspect of the morning unfolding in front of her.
"You move beautifully, when you think no one's looking." Tidus's voice gently chimed in on her last Namaste. He was sitting crosslegged on the kitchen counter, very relaxed, the mass of spiky hair gleaming in the early morning light like spun gilt threads. " I could train you for Blitzball, with no problem. They'd love you back home. You could have anything you wanted, practically. I had it all, except I lost it all, when I went to Spirea; then…I learned what I wanted was something else."
"Yuna?"
"I…I thought she was what I wanted…I love her…I am her guardian…she is pure, but I…I am just Tidus, a blitzball player turned guardian, warrior, protector. Maybe she was a teacher for me, you know, on how to be better, how to love with your heart & soul. I was a shallow, sniveling, spoiled snot before Yuna's pilgrimage."
"Christina? …So…what's your answer? Despite being from different worlds, how did you like me?"
"I…I liked, Tidus." Shyly: "Surfing feltgood with you. You understood. Want to surf again today? You can have your own board if you want!"
Tidus grins, shakes his gilt spikes out & and runs for the surfboard. The surfing that day was one that each tried to commit to the deepest part of their respective memories; Tidus planned on surfing back home & starting a new sport; Christina had never surfed in tandem, & she simply knew she'd never have a better partner than in Tidus – he didn't understand not everyone is so attuned to another body's movement. The sheer pleasure of moving as one through the roll of ocean waves was an experience that suited their souls well; they believed in living the experience, not creating it.For Tidus, the combined state of euphoria, presence and excitement was something familiar - his blitzball- He always wanted to return to this mental zone over and over again. He laughingly commented to Christina, "Once you realize that, to live any other way would seem completely insane!"
It was a good day for both of them; tired from the day of water play, they quietly shuffled up the beach with the board, past the tourists, past the local motion boys, whom made primal sounds in praise of the near incredible display of tandem surf riding earlier in the day. Tidus showed a certain degree of respectful, yet intimate treatment of Christina, starting the outdoor shower for her, smoothing her hair under the water flow, offering her the dry beach towel and so forth. It felt..different to Christina, who had become so very used to ignoring & being ignored by men. Tidus treated her like she was…valuable.
Back at the apartment, she checked messages on her PC, then went back to the artist's website to look at the pictures he had drawn of Tidus, softly sentimental for a moment. She had debated taking his photograph, but thought it might be dangerous to have; plus, a sketch looked much more elegant & refined, catching his character. She idly glanced at the images on the site & curious, she started reading the description of the game final fantasy….then slowly horrified, she realized that Tidus & Yuna's story ends with Tidus disappearing; a dying dream by the fayth. She was disconsolate at the thought of this young man, who so badly wanted to be real, just live, and love his Yuna. Her heart skipped a beat & began to crack – Oh,no,nononono….I will be sending him back just to die; he deserves to live; he's so young….But a flash of inspiration occurred. She realized Mori Honsu could change Tidus' fate…so she planned to ask, to beg or bribe if need be…she glanced around & stuffed her prize jade bowl in the travel backpack as a gift to sway his opinion. Then loaded her Sig Sauer semi-automatic with a high capacity magazine full of .45 ACP Match with an extra hot load of powder, just in case he wasn't swayed.
The evening took on a more somber mood as Christina became aware this could be Tidus' last night on Earth, or even his last night alive.
In a long forgotten act of femininity, she donned a skirt from her closet that evening for dinner; it was made from a sari, with a full skirt that touched the ground, sitting low on her hips, the brocaded & gemmed fabric winking in the candlelight of the living room. It enhanced her natural beauty no small amount & brought a youthful softness to her face that had been long missing; before she seemed as a keen sword blade, lean & elegant, yet so spare & dangerous. The soft folds of fabric swept over her, giving her step a seductive sway; she added jewelry, & with brushing, her hair began to take on a soft shimmer similar to Tidus' lambent mane.
Shrugging, she said: "Well, it may be your last night in this part of the universe. I thought we may as well make it a good one, Tidus- What do you want to do? "
Tidus' first thought was undress her & do last night all over again right then & there, but since they had not eaten yet, he asked: "I'd like to walk on the boardwalk path once more & eat where they cook the ocean creatures. The tuna fish tasted good to me."
The evening's dinner progressed at a leisurely rate, neither in a hurry, pleasantly stimulated by each other's company; the expectation of a sensual end to the night was already in the air, and Tidus chose to slow the pace from last night's explosion. He now knew his lover's body, his honed reflexes knew just where to touch, to stroke, to kiss the golden skin until she bloomed deep inside, giving him a deep sensual pleasure he craved, over & over again. In a newfound maturity, he wanted to savor her for as long as he could tonight –he might never see her again after tomorrow.
Somehow, it was damn fun sitting in a small bar, elbow to elbow with a strange crowd of humans in weird, limp, unprotective clothing, eating sea creatures with a lovely woman & laughing at the multitude of similar drinking behaviors & table manners, despite being from a world a universe away. The unknowns of tomorrow's trip to Mori Honsu were of little consequence at the moment; he would find a way off this water filled rock one way or the other. He came through a gate; therefore, a gate had to exist offworld. All it took was the right gatemaster – and clever Christina had found him a gatemaster in one day with her machina – no, machine. He wanted her; he wanted to take her back to Zanarkand with him, and be damned to what Yuna thought. He & Christina would make the ultimate team blitzball players…once he taught her how the stadia worked. She could teach surfing – Wow, how well would THAT go over back home! Contentedly, he leaned back, tilted his thimble of sake and shouted Kumpai with all the other patrons, for once not scared of the future, just rolling with it: Whatever life had to offer, he'd hang in there, & win, just like his old man, Jecht.
The next morning, Christina carefully packed a pair of backpacks, hiding a small armory in hers along with a 3 day bug out bag of survival gear for both of them, just in case. She stuck a memento of the planet Earth into Tidus' bag; it was a surfboard on a stylized wave, cunningly wrought in gold, inlaid with blue sapphires, white diamonds & opal to mimic the colors of the ocean; it was her own design she had kept stored in the bench from her long lost hobby of jewelry design.
Tidus was bemused by the change in clothing Christina donned that morning – it looked more like something off his world, long cargo pocket pants, a wide belt, simple tee, a pair of military eyeshades, her hair braided back, and some boots that looked like she could do some serious ass kicking in them. He was also bemused at the backpack of Earth gear for a world of magic, but was touched by her concern for him.
She turned on the PC & read thru the directions to Mori's house & plugged them into a Garmin map guide for the car. Somberly, she drove up the coast with Tidus, until 4 hours later, San Francisco bridge appeared over the bay. The house was on a hillside on the outskirts of town. She announced herself in the camera eye at the gate & slowly drove into the fortress Honsu.
Honsu was a younger man than expected, & true to Japanese stereotypes about inscrutability, he simply bowed & observed the living Tidus with a flat, calm face in his living area.
He began to speak with Tidus in Spirean, & after about an hours' discourse, they bowed & rose. Mori said gently to Christina: "Your friend is going home. I will give you time to say farewell."
"Honsu-san, may I please speak with you in private for a moment?"
Once they stepped into his office, Christina spilled it out: how she saw Tidus was returning to certain death; could Mori consider sending him elsewhere? Or in a different time?
Sadly, Mori looked at her in silence, eventually replying: " I cannot choose the place or time. The gate chooses. The traveller's desire guides, not I."
As they made their way down the slopes of the garden to the door of the gate, Christina became oddly suspicious of Mori; - That ticket off-planet was waaaay too easy, Christy girl – He must have known we were coming; maybe he has one of those nasty things Tidus called Fayths as a buddy; whatever it is, I bet Mori will try to do something to Tidus. She felt for the reassuring mass of her Sig Sauer semiautomatic tucked in her waistband & shook her leg a little to feel the diver's knife tucked into the boot & wondered for the 999th time why Tidus didn't immediately try to get any Earth-style weapons when he got here. She didn't understand the magic of Spirea at all. Or trust that it would work here.
The ozone charged air crackled around Tidus as he started to confidently stride forward into the gate, swinging his backpack in his hand, welcoming the blackness that would take him home. He never saw Mori coming, scuttling forward, pulling an oddly shaped massive sword that seemed to float light as air in Mori's hands; he ran forward sword raised, sweeping in an arc, attempting a decapitating stroke to the exposed neck of Tidus; suddenly Mori stumbled as Christina drew & fired the Sig Sauer, slamming a .45 caliber round into his shoulder, leaving Mori's sword to travel in a wavering arc down Tidus' bronzed back, unprotected by his blitzballer's uniform.
The searing agony hit him hard, & Tidus pitched forward on his knees into the blackness of the gate; he would arrive alive, but would die if he didn't get help as soon as he got through. Desperately, he yanked on the warrior chain at his neck & blindly threw it backwards with a scream of agony as cut muscle tried to engage. Obedient, the chain met flesh, wrapped itself around a limb & recoiled, snapping the body against his, and he thought the chain had done as he willed, it had reached the gatekeeper, garroting his traitorous neck. The summoners could take care of the rest of Mori's undead self.
A pair of arms flopped around him & a head dropped heavily on his shoulder. He opened his eyes & saw a slim pale gold wrist wrapped in chain pinned to his chest. Horrified, he screamed as went through the gate –a long, never-ending, raw, primal, rage-filled note of despair at knowing the true fruit of the tree of knowledge. Knowing the chain picked Christina for the killing stroke because it was already attuned to her.
He awoke to searing sunlight, burning white through his eyelids. He remembers the final fateful moments at the gate & begins to weep, tears trickling in the sandy beach of Besaid.
A hand moves on his chest. A muffled Earth accented voice rasps: "Tidhusss…Moob, dabbit."
His heart leaps, suddenly lifting clear up, as open as the bright blue sky above him. He is home. Christina is here, alive & kicking. He is home.
Ecstasy.