Lady of Fortune

Chapter Twenty-Four

Leila carried a large trunk full of items through Baaj temple. Fortunately the hall was short. "Why am I here again?" She asked.

"Because, you're a mage." Rikku told her. She carried her own box. And there were still more at the opening of the temple.

"A black mage. Wouldn't Yuna be better for this?" Leila blew hair out of her face.

"Yes, let me think," Rikku said and made a face. "Probably not!" Yuna wouldn't understand the scientific method.

"I don't understand why we're all the way out here anyways." Leila looked around. "This place is creepy."

"It's where I met Tidus the first time." Rikku said. "And it is part of what is considered Al Bhed territory."

"Still, Rikku, creepy." Leila shuddered.

"We've been in worse." Rikku said. "No one is here. If we hurt the place, no one will care."

"Oh, that fills me with such dread. I'd still like to know what we're doing." Leila grunted.

They entered the fayth chamber and set their trunks down. Rikku reached into her pouch and set the meter down away from the edge of the hole. "There, we'll let that run while we get the rest of the supplies and get a base reading."

"Really, Rikku. What are we doing?"

"Experimenting." Rikku said. "Science. Al Bhed stuff."

"That's very vague." Leila stretched.

They headed back towards the entrance.

"I don't like the Yevonite method of 'let's just throw magic at it.'" Rikku said. "I have theories. I'd like some definitive proof that I'm right or wrong before." She stopped talking.

Leila turned. "Before what, Rikku?"

"Before I reveal all I've been working on to New Yevon, the Youth League and everyone else." Rikku grimaced.

"And what have you been working on?" Leila's eyes narrowed.

"The solution to our Farplane problem. What else is there to work on?" Rikku asked. She picked up another trunk. "This is the place where Seymour Guado hid the fayth of his mother, Anima or Pain."

Leila tapped her foot. "You're mixing me up in this. I think I should know what is going on."

"She allowed herself to be tortured for him. So that a small part of them would never be apart once she became a Summon and he opened his heart to her. He became obsessed with power. He became obsessed with becoming Sin." Rikku's voice twisted. "He was going to turn himself into an Aeon. Sacrifice his soul in order to become Yevon's next armor. He thought perhaps, that he could control Yevon."

"Twisted family dynamic." Leila murmured.

Rikku picked up a box and walked back through the small corridor of statues to the fayth chamber. "He used death magic to tie his mother to the Farplane. Every Aeon was tied to the Farplane through death magic. It created portals to it, links between the plane of the dead and the plane of the living. Links that Vegnagun exploited and ripped open in order to capture the fayth and twist them to its own purposes."

Leila crossed her arms. "And?"

"We're going to close them. We have to close them or Spira perishes." Rikku said.

"You can't know that."

"I'm an Alchemist, Leila. If there is something I understand, it's chain reactions and power drainage." Rikku snapped. "The Farplane is linked to Macalania Woods. The magic of the woods is draining into the plane of the dead. Life magic, water magic, wood magic. Once the magic of Macalania Woods is gone, the rest of the magic will begin to fade. Places like the Thunder Plains, Mt. Gagazet. They're already fading, not as rapidly as Macalania, but it is noticeable."

"And when the magic is gone." Leila watched Rikku walk back to the trunks.

"So are we, life will cease to exist. That is, if the Farplane doesn't explode or implode or whatever it will do when it is filled with too much life magic rather than death magic."

"Grim." Leila said. "Very grim."

"Are you going to help me? Or would you rather head back to the Celsius?"

"I'll help." Leila started towards the pile of trunks. "Even if I'm still not sure exactly what it is we're doing other than it involves meter readings and life magic."

Rikku put down the trunk in her hands. "Well, it depends on how you define life magic." She said. "Is life magic literally bringing people back to life with the say, a life spell or a phoenix down? Or, does life magic include other healing spells like Cure or Esuna?"

"Right," Leila said slowly.

"Or are we looking purely at life magic at all? Or do we need a combination of life and elemental magic, like a phoenix down is supposedly the downy feather of a phoenix." Rikku said and brandished one from her pouch.

"When it's really regular feathers imbued with life magic properties. Since, we don't know of any Phoenix still alive." Leila crossed her arms.

"And part of the process is to use fire magic to simulate the fire of the Phoenix." Rikku said. "See, tricky. Or is it time magic, turning back the clock in order to revive a person before they were knocked out."

Leila put a hand to her head. "This is getting complicated."

"Welcome to the world of the Alchemist." Rikku said. "Our job is to find out before we have to find a next to impossible way to use enough magic, whatever type of magic it ends up being, to close these portals." Rikku gestured at the hole.

"Is this going to be anything like you did with the egg?" Leila asked. She had to admit. She was a bit curious.

"Some." Rikku said. "Basic items are a dime a dozen." Rikku gestured at the trunks. "Thus, all the trunks."

"You know, you've had way too much time on your hands all alone." Leila said looking at them.

"Then this is a great time to clean house. I'll be using alchemy to amplify the items' powers as they mix and combine in the circle. Which I'll be drawing around that," Rikku pointed at the hole. "But obviously, to be able to do that. We're going to have to level off around this hole first."

Leila sighed. "When I was Leblanc, I had goons to do this."

"And you know how effective they were?" Rikku asked. "In the grand scheme of things?"

Leila laughed. "Not very. But that wasn't the point."

Rikku dusted off her hands and held up a grenade. "This is why we've invented budget grenades."

"I heard about the Guardian Beast," Leila looked down. "The sounds might attract something."

"And if it does, we can handle it." Rikku said. "Toss the blue trunk at it."

"What's in the blue trunk?"

Rikku gave her a dead pan look. "Nothing."

Leila raised an eyebrow. "Then why toss the blue trunk."

"It will give it something to chew on instead of us." Rikku primed and tossed the grenade across the hole. "Fire in the hole!" She shouted.

Leila swore and ran for the door.

A few days later

Lucil looked around at Bikanel Port. Sand blew everywhere. In fact, there weren't even any streets laid out other than blank spaces of sand between buildings. The buildings were a hodge podge of metal and molded rock thick enough and rounded enough to withstand the heat and the wind.

Rikku had offered her and her people specific protective gear. Now she knew why. They got the edge of the port and the town just stopped and open desert began. Long bare stretches of rock with pebbles and drifts of sand dotted with cacti. It stretched on and on in front of them.

Rikku herself was wearing a weapon sphere with a face mask. Compared to her lancer and warrior weapon spheres, Rikku considered the knight weapon sphere rather plain. The weapon sphere was based more on some of the generic outfits of the male Al Bhed. (The generic outfits they wore around Spira and other places helped camouflage how many Al Bhed there really were to Yevonites who claimed they couldn't tell the Al Bhed apart.) It had a chest piece of stiffened leather that connected to a tunic. The sides and back of the tunic were longer than the front piece and from the hips down had been cut into strips edged with metal strips and ended in a diamond metal piece and rivets. The back of these pieces snapped into place on the ombre pants. Over the knee high boots were stiffened leather guards that laced up the front and buckled around the top. The rounded shoulder armor pieces were connected to a harness that went under her armpits and buckled across the back. Strapped to her side was a rather large sword.

"It's not all sand and dust." Rikku said from where she sat on Sookie. "There are wadis and oasis with a few palm trees. We get storms from time to time and the wadis fill up with water forming streams. The desert blooms and then fades away. There is life."

"You wouldn't think of it to look at it." Lucil said.

Rikku nodded. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to Lucil.

Lucil took it and opened it. She frowned at it. "What's this?"

"The exact anatomy of a sand worm." Rikku said. "Don't ask."

Lucil studied it. She passed to Elma.

The chocobos trotted into the desert. It didn't take long for them to run across their first fight. It was fairly standard for a fight in Sanubia, a few of the desert wolves, a big plant that shot seeds at them, a Zu. But, it as Rikku feared, called a sandworm.

The Chocobo Knights milled around it, hacking and shooting and poking at it with their weapons.

The sand worm eventually burst into pyreflies, but not before they all needed medical attention.

Rikku switched to her alchemist dress sphere and mixed up a few Al Bhed potions, using them liberally on the entire group.

Lucil wiped her sword. "I see why you gave us the diagram."

"Sandworms are attracted to noise and vibrations of the ground. We've noticed an increase of them in the area since the port went in." Rikku said and then grimaced. "Or, it could just be an increase of pyreflies over all. This way."

They started out again.

Lucil seemed to be in thought.

They caught up with the Chocobo Knights escorting a caravan into the desert.

"Commander Lucil!" Captain Accalia saluted with a hand across her chest. "Major Rikku. Welcome to Sanubia."

"Thank you," Lucil said. "We're honored to be here in the land long protected by the Al Bhed."

"It may not be worth much to outsiders," Accalia flushed. "It is our home."

"Tell us your situation." Lucil said.

Accalia fell in beside them. "This is a family caravan. This one is specifically going to the area where Cid is putting the new town. They wish to settle there and have received approval from the Council to do so. This particular group is going to be one of the first to settle in that spot. They have the skills needed to start the building."

Lucil looked over them. "There are children."

"Yes, and one of the parents is an Al Bhed teacher." Accalia beamed. "Actually, it's my father. We're very proud that our family has one of the first chances to settle. Once this group settles, we'll be moving on to meet up with another group at one of the oasis. They're traders and need an escort to the Port. With them we'll bypass the town and bring them directly here through dune country."

A cry went up from the riders. Fiends had been spotted.

"Zu," Rikku grimaced. "They like to nest in the ruins and they have wide hunting territories. Gunners fan out! Protect the caravan."

Lucil blinked as Rikku's outfit changed yet again and she charged away from the caravan, shooting at the black dots of Zu in the sky.

Once the gunners brought the Zu down to the ground, the warriors and lancers were able to move in and help defeat them.

The caravan never slowed and the Chocobo Knights were forced to catch up.

Lucil frowned. "Why didn't they stop?"

"You don't halt in the open desert." Rikku said. "They also have weapons if the Zu are accompanied by ground fiends or machina. They can handle those on the ground while the Knights take care of the real threats. Don't forget to drink your water." Rikku said raising her voice. "The best place for water in the desert is inside of you. Your suits will hold it in your body better than keeping it in a water skin."

Rikku shifted back to her knight weapon sphere.

Lucil looked around. "I never thought a place could be so featureless."

Rikku nodded. "Because our home places don't have to be a secret anymore, Pops has insisted that each of them have a beacon. We've placed beacons at the oasis too. The biggest problems we've had so far is making sure each beacon has a unique frequency and that the fiends don't eat them. Otherwise, we must use the stars or our compasses to navigate."

Accalia spoke up. "We used to travel more by night than by day. It was cooler and with the stars as a guide it was easier too. The increasing number of fiends has made that impractical."

Rikku nodded. "If they must stop in the desert at night, a camp complete with lights out into the desert is set up so night fiends will be scared away by the light and noise." Her voice was slightly muffled by the mask.

"But that also attracts sandworms." Accalia said. "We are doing our best to make sure that the caravans can travel as far as possible in one day and risk less going between safe points."

"If I'd realized that the desert was so perilous, I would have assigned a more experienced crew and had you start training in Kilika."

Accalia blanched.

Rikku whipped her head about.

Elma choked. "Pardon me, Commander." She said. "But it seems to me the Al Bhed know more about the desert than we do. If you don't mind me saying that. I would be lost in a minute out here by myself."

Rikku agreed with Elma. "Lucil, the desert by itself is dangerous. It doesn't need to be populated with fiends to kill you." She said in a low voice. "Every Al Bhed you see over the age of four has had intensive survival and orienteering training in order to live here. It's why it is highly discouraged to move camps and posts without informing the Council and other leaders whether there is a sand storm or not. It's very easy to die of dehydration, hyperthermia, and sun exposure."

That's partially why Rikku highly disliked Nhadala. The woman ignored all Al Bhed protocol when it came to her camps. It irked Rikku intensely. The woman knew better. People could die if she kept at it.

Lucil nodded. "I stand corrected. I apologize. I didn't mean to insult your troops."

Accalia laughed. "We aren't insulted Commander. You're trying to protect us, keep us safe and make sure we're ready for whatever Spira can throw at us. You want us to live. That's a lot more than we can say for other people we've served under in the past. Not all Al Bhed are as virtuous as Rikku or as altruistic as Cid."

"Now, if you'd like some of your people to come out here and gain experience in the desert, then we'd be more than willing to welcome them. As long as they followed our protocols." Rikku said.

"I might," Lucil said. "I can see the advantage of training on every terrain."

Rikku nodded. "Then, we'll keep it in mind. Especially if it mixes Al Bhed and human crews together. I wouldn't recommend sending Guado out here due to the dryness and Kimhari complained constantly of the heat and sand in his fur. Well, as much as Kimhari complains about anything. If he mentions it once, you know it is important."

Lucil laughed. "He is a Ronso of few words."

"Sometimes, it's a relief. I can go to Mt. Gagazet, say hello to Kimhari, Lian and Ayde and then it's silence, blessed silence. I can hear myself think and not have Anikki constantly chattering in my ear." Rikku breathed.

"Hey, that's not nice," Anikki retorted through the radio. "You chatter a lot too."

"And he eavesdrops," Rikku said.

Dachi spoke up. "It's more entertaining than staring at the clouds."

Rikku smiled behind her mask. "Lucil, how did you enjoy Iola's performance? She and Dachi are a thing you know."

Dachi yelped and the radio squealed and turned off.

Lucil laughed. "I didn't know."

"I love being the little sister," Rikku sighed.

Accalia's eyes widened. "Dachi and Iola are a thing."

Rikku leaned over towards her. "Yeah, she got up the courage the night of the concert and jumped him."

"Oh drat," Accalia said. She reached into her pouch and passed Rikku some gil.

Rikku let it jingle in her hand. "Thank you." She said and put it away.

Accalia pouted. "Araxie warned me not to bet against you. Did I listen?"

"Araxie can be very wise."

"Yeah, but she's not your older sister." Accalia grimaced.

"Nah, she's just my friend." Rikku smirked behind her mask.

"Speaking of which." Accalia turned in her seat. "She wants a weapon sphere system. She is willing to pay almost anything. She's that jealous."

Rikku held up her hands. "I'll make her one! I'll make her one. And then charge her for it."

Accalia lifted her chin. "Thank you. She'll stop bugging me and stop complaining that I'm rubbing it in her face that I have a system and she doesn't and she's your friend and-"

"You're my friend too?" Rikku asked.

"I told her that! And I'm a chocobo knight. She's not listening. I am planning revenge. Sweet revenge."

Rikku moved Sookie away. "Yeah, that's the little sister coming out."

"I won't drag you into it."

"Thank you." Rikku breathed. She made a list of young Al Bhed women who were her friends in her head. "I think I better get busy before they mob me." She glared at Accalia. "You've been showing off deliberately."

"You deserve the business!" Accalia said. "You've got this wedding to plan with Gippal and you can stash some gil away for it. It's gonna have to be huge."

Rikku groaned. "Can we get through Anikki and Leila's wedding first before we start planning mine?"

"No. I have ideas. A long row of chocobo knights, a parade…" Accalia held her hand out. "Drummers."

Rikku winced. "I'm not listening."

"Oh, and the other girls have ideas too."

Rikku clapped her hands over her ears.

"Sen has appointed herself the wedding planner." Accalia shouted.

Rikku fell off Sookie.

Lucil looked back. "That sounds like quite an event." She said dryly.

Accalia giggled. "Oh, we're just getting started with the torment. Just getting started."

Rikku struggled to sit up, grabbing Sookie's reins. "I heard that, Accalia!"

Accalia rubbed her hands together in glee.