Mwahahaha. MSN PLUS! and that latest Yahoo-messenger version rock hardcore like Dir en Grey in THE FINAL.
Hmmm… that was random… but at least it wasn't in French… anywho: here's châpitre 10.
Le disclaimiere: noh, I do not ohwn zhese characcteeerz.
Chapter 10: Just a reason to believe
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The group raced to the temple. "Huh?" Rikku said, noticing what the Yenvoites called a 'forbidden machina' inside. She walked over to it and poked a few buttons, starting a lift to take them down the enormous flight of stairs quickly. At the bottom, they found yet another illegal machine, which Rikku handled with ease, opening the door to the cloister of trials.
Wakka was dumbfounded. "Another machina? Man…"
"So this is Yevon's true face." Auron said. "They betray their own teachings."
Wakka sighed. "They treated us like dirt."
The group then proceeded on to the trials, which turned out to be a gigantic machina maze, complete with lost sphere, hidden pathways, and moving platforms. After being insanely lost and frustrated, they finally managed to make their way into the Chamber of the Fayth.
"Yuna?" Tidus called.
"Inside, maybe?" Wakka offered.
"Then what are we standing here for?" Tidus yelled angrily, attempting to pry open the door to the Fayth, despite Wakka's shock. "You can stuff your taboos!"
Kimahri ambled over to Tidus and helped him lift open the door. Tidus, along with Auron, walked into the chamber to find Yuna praying to the Fayth of a new aeon, Bahamut.
"Wh-What's that?" Tidus wondered aloud.
"A fayth." Auron answered. "They join with the summoner, and together receive the aeon. They are human souls, imprisoned in stone by ancient Yevon rites." He paused briefly. "The dead should be allowed to rest." He added cryptically, walking out of the room, only to be met by a surprise barrage of Yevon soldiers who had made their way into the temple. In a flash, they seized Auron and the rest of the group, throwing them in shackles.
"Wait, don't come out!" Rikku called out to warn Tidus and Yuna. Too late. A pair of soldiers dragged the summoner and Blitzer out of the chamber and threw them with their friends in the middle of the room, surrounded by armed guards.
"There's the last of them." Kinoc stepped forward, now addressing the imprisoned party. "You are to stand trial."
"I expect it will be a fair trial." Auron smirked sarcastically.
Kinoc glared at him. "Of course it will." He grinned spitefully.
Not even thirty minutes later, the group had gone through trial, and, to no ones surprise, had been found guilty of betraying Yevon. Now the summoner and her guardians were all separated in twos and locked in huge cage-like jail cells.
Auron was lucky enough to be caged with a fired-up Tidus, who continued to scream and pound on the metal bars, inanely.
"You waste your breath." Auron told him, massaging his throbbing head, and hoping the boy would stop causing such a ruckus.
Tidus finally gave up and sat down, sighing. He was worried about Yuna.
"Why is it…" He started, "everything in Spira seems to revolve around people dying?"
"Ah, the spiral of death." Auron stated, vaguely. "Summoners challenge the bringer of death, Sin, and die doing so. Guardians give their lives to protect their summoner. The fayth are the souls of the dead. Even the maesters of Yevon are unsent. Spira is full of death. Only Sin is reborn, and then only to bring more death. It is a cycle of death, spiraling endlessly."
Tidus sighed again, content with Auron's response, although it really didn't seem to answer any questions.
"Come out. Your sentence has been decided." Kinoc announced, unlocking Tidus and Auron's jailcell.
Auron scoffed. "Sentence? Don't you mean execution?"
"Really, now, what person would execute a dear friend?" Kinoc smiled.
"You would." Auron sneered in return. He wondered how Kinoc had changed so much since their days as together as warrior monks. Amazing, how power could corrupt…
Two guards grabbed Tidus by either arm and dragged him away to the aquatic side of the Via Purifico; a maze even more trying than the entrance to the Chamber of the Fayth had been. Auron, on the other hand, was shoved into the puzzling underground maze. The Yevonites expected the group to give up and die in the two separate labyrinths.
:underwater:
Where the hell is everyone! Rikku wondered, floating lazily on her back in the murky waters of the Via Purifico. She warily avoided running into any ravenous piranhas and continued to swim, searching for someone… anyone. Finally, she heard the voices of Tidus and Wakka nearby. She quickly made her way over to them, relieved to find at least a few of her friends. She wished Auron had been with them, though, the fact that he wasn't made her feel a bit uneasy.
"Rikku! Good to see you survived too!" Tidus said. "How do we get out of this thing?"
Wakka shrugged. "I guess we find an exit? Let's look."
And so their search began.
They ended up swimming pointlessly in circles for a while, until Rikku noticed a path that they hadn't tried yet.
Once they had almost reached the end, a huge swarm of pyreflies zoomed past them and recreated Evrae; even more powerful than before. Escaping was impossible, and the group had no choice but to fight the gigantic aquatic fiend. It struck hard and often. A blur of green scales whizzed by Tidus' left ear, coming down on him hard, sharp claws piercing his side. The water around him turned darker, crimson, and Tidus cried out in pain. Wakka fumbled around for a Hi-Potion to cure his badly injured friend. Once he had it in his hand, Evrae snapped at him, causing him to accidentally apply the restorative medicine to the fiend. Tidus glared angrily at Wakka, but to everyone's surprise the fiend howled in pain and became considerably weaker. Soon, the three of them were scrambling to find more medicine to throw at the Evrae zombie. Attempting to restore the zombie's health was actually worked a lot better than trying to defeat it, and it was soon dispelled as a massive throng of pyreflies.
Once Evrae Atlantica was gone, the way to the exit was much clearer and the trio soon found their way out. They clamored out of what was supposed to be their watery grave, and shook the water out of their hair and clothes in a vain attempt to get dry. They were joined by the second half their group; Yuna, Kimahri, Auron, and Lulu, shortly. Everyone was glad to see that they had all made it out of the Via Purifico alive.
"Yunie!" Rikku cried, throwing her arms around her cousin. "You're all right? What happened? We were so worried!"
"We wandered around in the depths of the Via Purifico, and I had to battle the summoner Isaaru and his aeons in order to make it out alive." Yuna told her, sounding tired.
"Um… I…uh…" Tidus seemed to have the same problem around Yuna as Auron did around Rikku, he forgot what he was going to say and couldn't come up with the words to express himself. But his sentence was cut off anyway by Seymour, Kinoc and four accompanying soldiers approaching the drained group. Suddenly, Kinoc dropped dead.
"Kinoc!" Auron shouted, seeing his ex-friend fall right in front of his eyes.
Seymour smiled. "I have saved him. He was a man who craved power. And great power he had, but he feared losing it. Trembling at unseen enemies, he spent his days scheming petty schemes. You see… Now he has no worries. He has been granted sleep eternal. All the pain of life is gently swept away. If all life were to end in Spira, all suffering would end. That, Yuna, is why I need you. Come with me to Zanarkand, the lost city of the dead. With death on our side, we will save Spira, and for this… I will take from you your strength, Yuna, your life, and become the next Sin. I will destroy Spira! I will save it!"
"You're totally nuts!" Tidus declared as Kimahri ran up to Seymour, jabbing his spear into his heart.
"Unpleasant." Seymour sneered. "Very well. I will give you your death. You seem to want it so."
He then scattered the pyreflies of the soldiers and Maester Kinoc before morphing into a gigantic floating machina-type version of himself.
"Run! Protect Yuna!" Kimahri shouted, ready to sacrifice himself for her.
"Go!" Auron repeated.
"No way! I'm fighting!" Tidus yelled, filled with a passionate desire to annihilate Seymour.
Auron pulled his katana out and held it inches from Tidus's throat. "I said go." He growled darkly. He didn't want the boy's ego interfering with his job as a guardian.
Tidus obliged and grabbed Yuna's hand, running down the long hallway out of Bevelle. The rest followed closely behind, leaving Kimahri alone to face off against the Maester.
Yuna stopped, breaking free of Tidus's hold. "I won't leave Kimahri behind!"
"He is a guardian. Protecting you is everything." Auron said, eager to get the hell out of Bevelle with at least the majority of their lives intact. Although he deeply respected Kimahri as both a friend and guardian, he had no desire to put anyone else's life in danger, especially that of his summoner.
Yuna was distressed, caught between two decisions; Tidus helped her out. "That's right! We're all guardians! And you know what that means? Yuna… Anywhere you go, I'll follow!" He said, nodding to Yuna mischievously.
She smiled. "Well, then!"
"Let's go!" They shouted together and ran off to fight Seymour. The other guardians shrugged and followed, leaving Auron with no choice but to smile through his teeth and go along with his gang of restless youths.
Every battle along the journey had seemed to lead up to a more difficult one, this was no exception. Being both physically and mentally drained from the already long and bellicose day didn't help much, either. Seymour Natus attempted to petrify the group, but Rikku's constant supply of Al Bhed Potions and Soft barred his intentions. With a bit of good luck, lots of Nul-All spells, and carefully planned techniques, they fended off Seymour's ruthless attacks once again and deter his malicious plans. His form dissipated into a cloud of thick black smoke and pyreflies.
"What now?" Rikku asked after their victory.
"Let's get outta here, ya?" Wakka said, fleeing the scene before anything else could happen. They all chased after him, Auron bringing up the rear to make sure no one attacked them from behind.
The party didn't stop running, or even look back, until they were deep into the Macalania Woods. Auron made sure they covered their tracks and could not be followed while the others rested in a small clearing.
"Well?" Wakka asked him.
"We're all clear. We will have to avoid Bevelle in the future." Auron looked around for his summoner. "Yuna?"
Rikku looked up from the dirt she was idly drawing in. "She said she wanted to be alone."
Auron scoffed. "Of course."
Tidus, took 'wanted to be alone' as a sign for him to go talk to Yuna, whose faith in Yevon had severely been shaken and betrayed. Lulu shook her head, but understood the young teenagers' situation. While Tidus and Yuna were off doing... whatever they were doing… Kimahri stood guard and Rikku, Lulu, Wakka, and Auron set up a small campsite. Rikku found herself constantly staring across at Auron, but immediately shifting her gaze whenever he caught her. Oddly enough, he felt himself doing the same… only a bit more discreetly, thanks to his cowl and glasses.
Rikku gave up trying to 'check him out' and laid down, taking in the beauty of the shimmering forest around her. There is so much mystery here… She pondered. It's so nice to just have time like this to relax in such a beautiful place… She let her mind wander off onto other things she could be doing in the secluded forest…
She had almost fallen asleep when she heard the footsteps of her cousin and Tidus. Awww… how cute! They're holding hands! She noticed and stood up; hoping Tidus had convinced her to stop her pilgrimage. He shook his head, no luck, Yuna was still determined to continue.
"Umm…" Yuna started, looking a little timid. "Sir Auron? Wakka? Lulu? Kimahri? Rikku? Everyone, we leave at dawn. And… I'm sorry for putting you through all of this. And…um…"
Auron cut her off before she could extend her apology any longer. "Enough. You need your rest."
Yuna nodded. "Yes. Good night." She said, curling up in a bed roll next to Tidus. Rikku smiled, thinking about how cute they were together, as she laid back down and made herself comfortable. Lulu and Wakka, too, seemed to be sleeping closer together than they had previously. It made Rikku secretly wonder if the woods held some sort of magic.
Once everyone but Auron and Kimahri were asleep, Kimahri sat down on a fallen log and Auron stood up.
"I'm going to take a walk." Auron whispered gruffly to his comrade, who nodded and took over watch duties. As Auron walked off, Rikku's eyes fluttered open. She had the sudden urge to follow him, but she didn't want to leave the comfort of her sleeping bag. She groaned, knowing that she would be probably better off just sleeping, but she couldn't control her random impulse to pursue him. No matter how comfortable laying here is, Auron is still comfortable-er. She quietly got up and snuck past Kimahri, who pretended not to see her, into the woods, after the object of her affection.
Auron had wandered off to a small shimmering lake. He removed his glasses, coat, and black shirt, draping them over a low tree branch while he removed his boots. Rikku, who had been tracking him down, froze as she saw him basically stripping before her eyes. Well, at least half way… his pants stayed on; much to Rikku's discontent… she slapped her forehead for thinking such things.
Auron looked around, thinking that he had heard a noise, but found nothing; Rikku had crouched behind a crystal bush. He waded halfway into the pond, while Rikku watched with prying eyes. She knew it was rude to stare, and even worse to be spying… but she just couldn't help it. Biting her lower lip, she decided she wasn't going to remain hidden. She stood up and sauntered over to the edge of the pool.
She laughed timidly… amazed at her own foolishness. "Heh heh, nice night, isn't it? Errr… lovely whether… heh heh."
"Perfect for spying." Auron quipped. He had a feeling that she had been observing him, and now that it was confirmed, he felt a bit… well, naked… not like she had minded any. He watched, almost lovingly, as she sat down at the edge and peeled off her boots, allowing her toes to play in the water.
"I wasn't spying, you know." She said, not making eye contact.
"Hmph. Call it what you want."
"Like I would really spy on someone who's taking a bath."
"I'm not taking a bath, I'm rinsing." Hmph… I do not take 'baths.'
"'Call it what you want.'" She mocked, grinning playfully. He chuckled; she seemed to be very good at doing impressions.
Auron untied his hair, letting it fall loosely just below his shoulders, and splashed himself lightly with the cool water. Rikku felt her mouth drop open, gawking as the water on his flexing muscles reflected the glistening moonlight. The man is a god…an absolute GOD… the absolute god of hottness…
It took her a few minutes to regain her composure to speak again. It was very rare Rikku was ever left speechless…
"So, Auron, what do you think about Yunie's pilgrimage?" She said, trying to change her mental subject..
Auron sighed, knowing he was going to have to answer a few questions tonight. "What about it?"
"She's not going to stop, huh?"
"No. Her will is strong, even in the face of hardship. She knows what she must do, and she will accomplish her goals."
"But… she will… the end… in Zanarkand..." Rikku trailed off and starred into the water around her feet.
Auron sensed her sorrow and swan quietly to her. Rikku's tear-filled eyes were drawn to Auron's. She noticed that it was probably the first time she had gotten a real good look at his uncovered face. The scarred side of his face, that he kept hidden from everyone, wasn't all that bad to look at… she wondered why he was so cautious of it.
"Rikku," Auron began, taking her hands and guiding her into the water with him, "Yuna will be fine. Don't worry; with her guardians by her side, she has the strength to defeat Sin. And live. Trust me."
Rikku allowed Auron to lead her into the deeper part of the pond. She could still touch the bottom, the water reaching her shoulders, or Auron's mid-chest. She hugged him tightly, putting every last once of faith into his every word, grateful that he had finally been able to open up to someone; and that someone had been her. They silently stood in each other's embrace until Rikku asked him a question that had been on her mind the entire day. She couldn't stand it any more.
"Umm Auron…" She paused, wondering how to word it the right way. "Can I call you my boyfriend? I mean, you're not exactly a boy, but I don't know what else to say… and man-friend just doesn't sound right… so you're my boyfriend, yes?"
Auron laughed at her childlike innocence and lifted her upper body slightly out of the water, so her legs could wrap around his submerged waist. "As long as I can hold you like this… I don't think it matters." He replied, grinning uncharacteristically.
Rikku's nose crinkled as she smiled. She leaned in to steal a kiss, her tongue lapping at his lips lightly before he parted them to allow them both what they wanted. As they kissed, Rikku ran her fingers through Auron's surprisingly long, wet hair to rest her arms on his shoulders.
Auron leaned back in the water, so he was floating on his back with Rikku on top. Rikku smirked inwardly, taking another kiss from her … boy…friend… before resting her head on his bare chest. She stared out onto the perfect lake, the moon's reflection rippling quietly in the clear water. She reached her hand out to touch a moonlily, dusted with water droplets. Soft. Eloquent. After all she'd been through today, it was a more than welcome change. "This place is really pretty. I wanna come back here after we defeat sin, okay?"
After we defeat sin… My mission will be complete… and I will go on to the Farplane… Auron's muscles tightened as he thought of the pain he would cause to the only person whom he had ever loved, and the only one who reciprocated those feelings. He simply grunted in response and allowed them to drift back to the shore… I shouldn't hide the truth from her… I can't…
Rikku sighed as she left Auron's embrace and stood up. She attempted to wring the corners of her shirt dry, wondering what she was going to do with her wet clothes. Auron put his black shirt back on as Rikku continued to dry her clothes and hair. A little drizzle began to fall from the half clouded sky. Rikku sighed but smiled at the irony… it was just her luck. Oh well, at least now she didn't have to keep wringing her clothes.
Auron smiled at the wet girl getting even wetter from the rain. He strode casually over to her and wrapped his crimson coat around her body. She grinned, loving the way it smelled and felt around her. She leaned into him as her pulled her close for a firm hug. He wanted to keep her like this, in his arms, forever… he didn't want to leave anymore. He winced, knowing that he couldn't, and accompanied Rikku back to the campsite, where Kimahri again pretended not to see anything as the pair snuggled up together under the protection of a glowing crystal tree.
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end chapter 10:
I have mixed feelings about this chapter… constructive criticism is always appreciated…
Yeah…I skipped over a bit and shortened the battles… screw fighting/action scenes, on with the :fluff: heh. sad. :head+tree:
I'll be outta town for a while, so don't expect any updates for a few weeks… E ys cunno.