Chapter 10: Aftermath

She screamed.

Well, not instantly. First she yawned, looked around and saw me, blinked a few times . . and then she screamed. I tried to calm her down, without thinking, by placing a hand on her shoulder. She just flew off the bed and hit the floor.

This all happened in under three seconds.

A moment later Paine and Yuna ran into the room, eyes wide, thinking the worst. They found me sitting on the bed, shaking my head, and Rikku cowering on the floor. Yuna was watching us with her mouth on the floor and Paine just rolled her eyes.

I gave the silver-haired woman a pleading look, knowing that Rikku would just freak out again if I tried to get closer to her. Paine nodded and walked over to the cowering blonde.

"Rikku," she leaned down to the younger girl, "Sam isn't dead!"

"But . . but . . I, we, you . . saw her. Stigma killed her. You . . you said that if she wasn't blown to pieces then she was thrown off the ship . ." Paine sighed and covered her mouth with a gloved hand.

Rikku still didn't stop talking.

"Rikku!" Paine snapped. The younger girl stopped talking, "Stigma missed, on purpose. A lot happened that we didn't know about. He's gone now," she turned to me, "right?"

I shrugged, "Most likely. Even if he isn't he told me that he wouldn't hurt any of us."

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" Yuna asked.

"He can't lie." I said. She nodded, remembering what I had said before this all started.

"So Sam really . . isn't dead?" Rikku whimpered. Paine nodded and turned to me.

"I'll let you explain this. Yuna, let's go." she and Yuna left the room, closing the door on their way out. Rikku looked from me to the door and then her eyes lingered in midair. Finally she blinked and literally jumped onto the bed and almost killed me with a hug.

"I'm so glad you're . . I thought that . ." she leaned against my chest and started crying. I wrapped my arms around her and started to whisper to her, saying that it was alright, that everything was fine.

After five minutes she stopped crying but didn't let go.

"Rikku," I whispered.

"Hm?"

"I can't breathe." she immediately let go and smiled.

"Sorry."

"At least I know you were worried."

"So . . what happened?" she asked. I sighed and started explaining. I told her all that I needed to. From what happened in Stigma's head, after the shockwave nearly hit me, and how Stigma had almost possessed her.

"After he left I went to give you a tranquilizer, so that you would calm down. Well, when I tried to steady you . ." I held up my hand, "you bit me." she gasped and grabbed my hand. She studied the bite mark and then looked up at me. She looked as if she might cry. "Please don't." I said with a laugh.

"I didn't mean to . ."

"I know, I know." I smiled. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine." she nodded and let go of my hand. I looked into her eyes and sighed. "There's one other thing that happened while you were out."

She tilted her head to the side, "What is it?"

"Yuna and Paine were outside and the door was closed. Stigma, well, appeared and started talking to me."

"What did he want?" Rikku asked. She looked a little scared, "He wanted to apologize. He said that no human should ever forgive him for what he did. He said that he wanted to find a way to redeem himself. To make up for all that he's done. He said that he also wanted to do something for me." I took Rikku's hand in mine and held it. "He wanted to show me something."

"What you mean?" she asked. I pointed to my neck. She leaned closer and suddenly reached for my neck. I felt her fingers brush my skin and her breath caught. She moved back and stared at me. "He bit you?"

"Yes but . ." she tried to say something and I stopped her. "It was different this time. He said that he saw something that he wanted me to see. Something that he said was beautiful. I have to agree with him. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." I was smiling as I remembered the colors and feeling. The soaring emotions and warmth.

"What did he show you?"

"In a way . . you." I smiled. "He showed me your love for . . me." I said with a short laugh. I leaned forward and hugged her. She didn't expect it and seemed a little nervous. "And Rikku, it was amazing." I let go and looked her in the eyes. "And then I after it ended I found that he'd laid me on the bed next to you. And I realized something. Something I've been hiding and ignoring. I'm not sure why I feel this way, I never have before. Rikku, I love you." I said.

I was shocked to find that a tear was rolling down my cheek. She looked shocked, but slowly she reached a hand out and wiped the tear away. She smiled, it was small but it spoke volumes.

"Sam . . I . . ." she moved closer to me and placed her hand on my cheek. She kissed me. She closed the gap and her mouth met mine. I pulled back slowly, reluctantly, and she leaned leaned into me, her head on my chest.

A knock at the door made us stand up.

I walked slowly to the door and opened it. Paine looked at me and then back at Rikku who was still on the bed. "Something's approaching the airship. Looks like nothing we've ever seen before."

"Well what does it look like?"

"A ship. It's small and it's heading for the deck." Paine said. I nodded and went went down to the elevator. Rikku, Yuna and Paine followed. By the time we reached the deck the small craft had already landed. It was sliver and shaped like a small disc. Basically a tiny flying saucer.

A hatch on the side opened and two people stepped out. One was Zach. The other was Cassidy. They both looked dirty and tired. Zach's orange jumpsuit was open and the top was pulled down to his waist. Cassidy's robes had been replaced by a kind of blanket. Symbols and markings adorned the black material. It was draped over her head like a hood and a chain secured it around her neck. The rest of it was draped over her arms and hung like a cape.

I crossed my arms over my chest and laughed, "Took you two long enough." I said.

Zach shook his head, "Shut up, Sam." he sighed. "We've known where you were but . . we've had some trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" I arched and eyebrow.

"Well, this is a spirit world." Zach said. "There are some creatures around here spawned by lingering souls. Stigma took control of every single creature, called fiends, and went on a rampage with them. We managed to stop any cities or villages from being destroyed, but we've been pretty caught up. All of a sudden they just stopped attacking."

I nodded, "We're not gonna have any more problems with red-eye." I said.

The two of them gaped at me. Cassidy spoke first, "You mean that you finally . . you killed . ."

"No. We beat him. He told me himself. We've won and he's, well, changed."

"But . . how?" Zach asked.

"I'll have to give you an account of what happened. It's procedure." I finally remembered something. "Oh yeah," I gestured behind me, "this is Yuna, Rikku and Paine." I turned to the three behind me. "These two are friends of mine, Zach and Cassidy." I turned back to the two soldiers. "These three helped me stop Stigma for good."

Cassidy nodded, "Then we owe them thanks."

"Sam," Zach motioned for me to come closer, I moved to where the other two stood, "anytime you're ready to get off this rock just tell me."

"Right." I drawled. I knew what he really meant.

"Yunie?" I heard Rikku say behind us. I turned and saw her whispering something to Yuna. She stopped and looked at Yuna hopefully. Yuna looked around, I could tell she was thinking something over. Finally she looked back at Rikku and nodded. The blonde motioned for me to come back to them.

Why did I have keep moving?

I sighed and walked back to them. "If it's all possible," Yuna started, "we'd be more than happy if you stayed here." my jaw dropped. I looked from her to Rikku and then back at Yuna. I held up a finger and went back to Zach.

"Zach." I sighed. "I'm staying." I said quickly. He blinked.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yes. The biggest threat to Earth is going to stop attacking humans, the rest of the Fallen should be fairly easy to get rid of. You don't need me anymore. Consider this my recognition. It seems to me like a good way to end my military career anyway. I finally beat my biggest obsession." I said. Zach said nothing.

"Well, that's your decision." Cassidy said. "We'll still need your account of what happened, but that's really all. Zach and I will return to the ship to rest, but then we'll come back for the report. I'll bring some of your clothes and things. That should be it."

"Sam, think about this. You're an Earthling. You were born to a much more advanced society. Are you sure you want to do this?" Zach asked.

"I'm sure." I said.

He sighed, "Fine. We'll come back . . tomorrow, I guess." he said. He and Cassidy got back into the small ship and took off.

"You're staying?" a voice beside me asked. I hadn't noticed that Rikku had come up behind me. I turned to her and nodded. A huge grin appeared on her face and she started jumping up and down wildly. I grabbed her shoulders and stopped her.

"Don't get so excited." I said. I walked over to Yuna and explained what was going to happen to her. We went back down to the cabin after and agreed that we just needed to relax for the rest of the day.

Rikku was too excited to do that.

She just talked and talked for the rest of the day. At least she was back to her old, bubbly self. Just as long as she didn't start using that annoying nickname she gave me.

After a well-deserved dinner we all went to our rooms. Rikku had told Yuna that she didn't mind me staying in hers. We both took a shower and she gave me some clothes to sleep in.

I took a shower after her and just seemed to melt at the water's touch. I think I just stood there for a good ten minutes before bathing. I nearly fell asleep under the spray. Finally I got out and dried. I put on the clothes Rikku had given me. It was similar to what she wore, just a really long shirt.

I came out of the bathroom and turned the light off. Instantly I was plunged into darkness. The lamp was off and very little light seemed to be coming from the window. I tried to wait for my eyes to adjust but got lazy and decided not to.

I walked cautiously to the bed, thankful that we moved all the cases and such earlier. I finally felt the bed and climbed in slowly, careful not to make too much movement in case Rikku was asleep. I relaxed under the covers and slowly closed my eyes. I felt her move beside me and opened my eyes.

I turned my head and found her wide awake and watching me.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, seeing something in her eyes.

"Just how happy I am that you're staying." she said.

"I'm glad I decided to stay too." I said. She moved closer to me and smiled.

"And now we don't have to worry about Stigma." she said.

"You mean I don't." I said with a laugh. She nodded and I noticed that she had been looking into my eyes.

"Your eyes . . they're so pretty." she said. She gently placed a hand on my neck and for a moment did nothing. Then she leaned down and kissed my neck. She moved up to my jaw and then my lips. We stayed like that for a minute until I felt her lips part. My heart suddenly started beating faster and seemed to speed up when I felt her tongue against my lips. I slowly opened my mouth and we both jumped when our tongues met.

She pressed herself against me and moved her body to where it seemed to fit perfectly against my own. Her right hand gripped my shoulder and she placed her left hand on my side. I was nervous, shaking. I felt her left hand slowly move from my side to my stomach and then slowly upwards.

I quickly grabbed her hand and broke away from the kiss. I hung my head and she waited. I took a deep breath and looked up and into her green eyes.

"Not yet." I said. "Not yet." I looked up and she nodded slowly. I let go of her hand. She kissed me once and then laid down. I laid back down and curled up against her. She wrapped her arms around me and I smiled.

My life was looking a whole lot better.

Author's Note: I said it wouldn't be long. I've really enjoyed writing this story. I have a idea for a sequel, but I don't know if I'll write it or not. If I do it will be more about the Fallen and the other race that I mentioned: the Risen. Well, I thank all of you for reading and especially to those who reviewed. Until my next story!

- Thank-you for reading.