Author's Note: Holy crap, I'm back with another chapter! -shock- Like the last one, this one is un-beta'd, though I have read through it a few times to try to catch any mistakes I might have made. I'm currently working on Chapter 39, so hopefully I'll have that one up soonish, as well.

Chapter 38: Keep Moving

When Charlene woke the next day, she was rather disconcerted to find herself on the floor after passing out from her first use of Pmylgfydan, but quite pleased to see that the demon she carried was quiet and subdued. She wondered if the fact that the stuff had dust from the Farplane in it might have had something to do with it, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind as the Airship landed in Kilika. Their stop in the temple was uneventful, although Charlie noted with a pang of regret that Ifrit's fayth bore an uncanny resemblance to Gatta. He made mention of Jecht when he spoke, but said nothing of what happened in Baaj, nor did he speak of her demon the way Valefor and Bahamut had done. "It's not as though he'd be telling me anything new if he did, though," Charlie thought to herself as the seven of them exited Kilika Temple.

Their next stop was Luca, where the blitzball season was still going strong, and the Aurochs, gaining confidence from their victory at the tournament, were doing very well for themselves, though they still sorely missed Wakka's presence. "Cap'n, why don't you join us for the new tournament?" Datto suggested, after Wakka explained why they were in Luca and the plan for defeating Sin. "They're giving out a really weird-looking prize this time, but it'd make a lot of our fans happy, ya?"

"I dunno…" Wakka began, turning to check everyone's expressions to see what they thought. "I mean, I want to, ya? But do we really have time?"

As the others discussed the situation, Charlie found herself drawn to the display case where the trophies lay waiting for the tournament winners, pulled there by the same strange sensation that led her to the various Celestial artifacts already discovered throughout her journey. The 'call' came from the first place trophy, a rather ugly bronze statue holding a coin engraved with what looked like a stylized number 4 in its center. Charlie quickly dug in one of her pouches and pulled out her bronze disc, holding it up next to the trophy. "Yep, this is the one," she muttered, before turning to look at her friends. "Wakka, join the tournament," she told him, causing a halt to their ongoing discussion.

"Seriously?" Rikku asked, looking at the other girl as though she had suddenly sprouted an extra head. "I like blitzball as much as the next girl, but we have to spread the word around about our plan, not sit around watching the games."

"I know, but the first place trophy has one of the coins we need. The Jupiter coin, in fact. I figure Wakka and the guys can play the tournament and win, while in the meantime, we can spread the word around Luca."

"Huh…" Lulu smirked, raising an eyebrow in mock surprise. "That actually is a good idea."

"Hey, I'm allowed to have good ideas every once in a while!" Charlie shot back, before sticking her tongue out at the Black Mage.

The older woman smirked again, but said nothing, instead walking sedately out the door. Charlene and the rest, except Wakka, followed her back outside, where they split up into two groups so they could cover a wider area of the city. Yuna, Lulu, and Rikku were one group, while Auron, Kimahri, and Charlie formed the other one. "Yeah…stick me with the two strong and silent types," Charlie thought, rolling her eyes as she followed said companions down their chosen street. "Because I totally love talking for everyone else. Yep, I'm the official spokesperson for 'Auron and Kimahri: Ass-Kickers at Large'."

Surprisingly, Auron did do quite a bit of speaking, telling people about the plan without glaring at or threatening anyone. Charlie did her part, of course, and while Kimahri did not speak much, he did do his part by passing the word on to several Ronso they met while walking the city. After about an hour, the three of them stopped in a bar for a small break, and it turned out to be the same bar Charlie, Yuna, and Kimahri had visited in their previous excursion through Luca. Once inside, the barkeep looked them over, rested his gaze on Charlie, and said, "You're that girl who played for the Aurochs in the Yevon Tournament, right?"

Cautiously, she looked back at Auron and Kimahri. The Ronso was passive, as always, while Auron just gave a noncommittal shrug, though his dark gaze still darted about, as though looking for trouble. Finally, she turned back to the barkeep and replied, "Yeah…is something wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nah…I just wanted to make sure I was talking to the right person is all. Wakka really impressed me last time he played, and I wanted to make sure this would get to him."

"This? What are you talking about? I don't see anything."

The barkeep smiled broadly, then ducked under the counter and pulled out a large box and unlocked it before turning it to face the three guardians and flipping the lid open. Inside laid a blitzball, but it looked nothing like an ordinary ball. The sphere itself appeared as though it was originally red, black, and gold, but the colors had faded to dusty, greyish hues over time, while several sets of blades set into the top, bottom, and equator of the ball appeared dull and lusterless. Charlie peered closely at the tiny writing near one of the blades and read it aloud. "World Champion. Is that what this is called?"

The barkeep nodded and said, "This used to be Lord Ohalland's favorite weapon. One of my ancestors witnessed Lord Ohalland's battle with Sin, and brought his weapon back here to Luca afterward. Rumor has it that it'll only shine again when in the hands of someone destined to fight Sin, so I figure if anyone can wake up this relic, Wakka can."

Charlie reverently took the ball out of the case and tucked it under an arm. It felt rather ungainly to her, and she looked back at Auron and Kimahri and asked, "How in the world does Wakka use these things, anyway?"

"You never asked him?" Auron replied, looking slightly surprised.

The swordsman's look clearly screamed 'I'm surprised you didn't ask because you're nosy as hell', and Charlie glared at him. "No, I never thought to ask. So do you know or not?"

"Magic," Kimahri rumbled, ending the impending argument. Both of the other guardians turned and gave the Ronso a quizzical look, so he continued to speak. "Wakka has small gift, much like Charlie. Fighting skill is Wakka's own, but magic makes blitzball return when he calls it."

"Really?" she looked down at the World Champion, then back up at Kimahri. "So if we manage to wake this thing up, will his 'small gift' keep this thing from slicing him open on accident?"

"Kimahri not know."

…

Sometime later, the three of them made their way back to the stadium, where they found Lulu, Yuna, and Rikku watching the Aurochs battle the Kilika Beasts in the final round. The game was tied 2-2, and the final minute was quickly ticking down, but with some rather creative acrobatics, the Aurochs managed to slip one last shot past the Kilika goalie, and ended up winning. After the awards ceremony, the group met the team back in the locker room, where Jassu handed the trophy to Wakka. The blitz captain removed the coin from it and turned to hand it to Charlene, but paused when he saw the blitzball tucked under her arm. "Whoa…where'd you get that?" he asked, his tone only slightly envious.

She quickly passed it to him in exchange for the coin. "One of the bartenders here in town had it. He said it used to belong to Ohalland, but that he wanted you to have it."

She paused, having dug the bronze disc out of her pouch, slipped the coin into its opening, and then pulled out the map. As she thought, the map had changed again, with all of the Jupiter symbols gone from their usual places, and a smaller orange one near the star symbol of Macalania Woods. "There's that one finished, at least…but it looks like we won't actually be able to do anything more with it until we get to Macalania."

…

Since they could travel in the Airship now, traveling to Mushroom Rock and Djose wasn't nearly as long as the first trip, but still took several days, during which Charlie practiced hard during her sparring sessions and took Pmylgfydan to sleep at night. She tried going without it whenever she could, but after the first attempt, in which the demon attacked her with renewed ferocity, she resumed taking it. "At least I learned how to not end up passed out on the floor…" she thought bitterly upon waking the morning they reached their destination.

Their search in Mushroom Rock turned up two more weapons: a huge, dusty red gauntlet called Godhand, and a massive but dull executioner's blade called Masamune. Godhand reacted with the completed Mercury disc, creating a small green dot on the map, while Masamune did nothing, until Lulu attempted to check it as she had the Onion Knight. As with Onion Knight, a symbol appeared above Masamune, but instead of Venus, the symbol of Mars, a circle with an arrow sticking out of the upper right side, appeared. When Charlene checked the map for it, she let out a small sigh of disappointment when she saw that the coin was located in the Calm Lands, along with the Moon coin and the Sun weapon…whatever it was. "I just hope it's going to be something I can use, because we don't have time for me to learn another weapon. I'm just now getting good with the sword…thanks to the fayth."

From Mushroom Rock, the group made their way back to Djose, where they ran into Dona and Barthello. "Oh, it's you again," the former summoner said, looking at the group appraisingly as her guardian ran off, presumably to busy himself with something.

"You're still traveling?" Charlie asked, keeping her voice polite, though she dearly wanted to say something scathing.

Dona nodded as her muscle-bound guardian returned with a heavy bag slung over his brawny shoulders. "Yes, but we're not going to Zanarkand. We are going to Barthello's homeland. Let the other summoners deal with Sin." She hung her head and let out a small sigh. "I…I'm scared."

Charlie felt a sharp stab of pity surge through her at what had to be a painful admission for the stuck-up ex-summoner. "Don't worry, Dona," she told her kindly. "We'll deal with Sin."

Dona looked up sharply at that and gasped. "You mean…the Final Summoning?"

Charlie shook her head. "No. We aren't using that. We've come up with a different way, so that no one else has to die."

She shared their plan with Dona, and asked that she and Barthello help spread the word, and the ex-summoner readily agreed, surprisingly enough. "Do your best," the dark-skinned woman replied. Then she gestured to her partner and said, "Barthello, time to go."

Charlene watched the pair leave, and only looked away when Yuna walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "That was very nice of you," the summoner told her, a smile lighting up her face.

"Shh…don't tell anyone," the guardian quipped. "We don't want to spoil my reputation by letting anyone know I'm nice."

Yuna giggled at that, but said nothing else as they all made their way inside the temple. The Cloister of Trials was much easier this time around, since they knew how to complete all the puzzles, and when they finally made it to the Chamber of the Fayth, they found a statue of a man holding Ixion's horn lying under the glass on the floor. A deep baritone voice rang out through the room, singing the Hymn of the Fayth as a ghostly image of Ixion briefly appeared, before taking on the form of the fayth. This one was an older man in his late fifties or early sixties, but Charlie fought hard to choke down her laughter when she saw his clothes. "Don't laugh, Charlie…don't laugh…just because he looks like a Jolly Green Pirate doesn't mean he can't hit you in the ass with a lightning bolt for making fun of him."

Ixion looked at each of them in silence, and apparently knew that Charlie was trying not to laugh at him, because the look he gave her was sharp enough to cut a diamond. He eventually stopped glaring at her, however, and finally spoke. "For a long time, we had forgotten how to go forward. You reminded us we must go forward. Yes, we must run. Let us go, you who share our dreaming. Come, and we will run until the dream's end."

Ixion then faded away, and the group turned to leave, but as Charlie turned to go, the fayth's voice rang out in her mind. ::I hope you realize you aren't fooling anyone with that drug.::

"I know…I just use it to sleep is all. It seems to make the shadow shut up quite nicely, though."

::Yes…but as your Al Bhed friend said, it is made with dust from the Farplane. It works because it calls that thing back to its place of origin every time you take it.::

That gave Charlene pause, and she turned back to look at the empty air above the statue. "So it could pull it out of me and back to the Farplane if I took enough of it?"

::Yes…if you wanted to die along with it. But remember what happened to you last time you set foot in the Farplane?::

Charlie shuddered at those memories and then sighed in regret. "So much for hoping for that," she muttered.

::Find another way, child,:: Ixion told her, sounding much like Auron. ::No one ever promised you it would be easy.::

…

After leaving Djose Temple, the group made up their minds and headed up toward the Moonflow on foot, after Rikku asked her father to meet up with them in the Calm Lands. "There are more people up this way, so it'd be easier to spread the word about our plan if we walk the whole time," the little thief explained.

"What about the Thunder Plains?" Yuna asked, her expression slightly worried. "Will you be all right?"

Rikku winced and flinched hard, but replied, "Yes. I made it across once…I can do it again, I promise."

Charlie wasn't particularly happy about the decision, as she did not want anyone else knowing she was taking the Pmylgfydan, but did not raise any protests. "It's just a few nights," she told herself, trying hard to calm down. "A few nights without it won't hurt."

Traveling up to the great river was far easier this time, as they all knew what to expect from the local fiends, but by the time they reached their destination, the sun had set and the Hypello had already shut down the shoopuf ferry for the night. "Shoopuf shleepin. Come back tomorrow, yesh?" the frog-like creature told them, looking vaguely apologetic for the inconvenience.

Apparently, Charlene wore an open look of dismay, as Wakka threw a brotherly arm over her shoulder and said, "Hey, don't get so down! At least you get to see the Moonflow at night like you wanted, ya?"

The younger guardian smiled weakly, but steeled her resolve and replied, "You're right, Wakka. Thank you."

As it turned out, the Moonflow at night was just as beautiful as Lulu's description so long ago. The moonlilies all gave off a faint violet glow, but the pyreflies that wheeled and flashed just above the water's surface mostly outshone them. It looked so peaceful, and Charlie could not help but relax as she sat and watched the lightshow. She did not know how long she stayed there, but was surprised when Auron actually walked over and sat down next to her, and she noticed he was not wearing his collar, for once. He did not touch her at all, but she was suddenly so hyperaware of his presence that even his occasional glances felt like caresses. "God, I hope he can't see me blushing," she silently begged, not taking her gaze from the river.

If he could see it, he chose to ignore it, as he did not say anything about it. Instead, when he finally did speak, he said, "You should get some sleep, Charlie."

She flinched at that and her heart pounded. "Does he know that I haven't been sleeping well? Does he know why I haven't been sleeping?" Her thoughts raced on, but she managed to keep calm and responded, "I know…but it's just so beautiful here. It feels like a dream."

Auron chuckled softly at that, and then reached over and took her hand, squeezing it briefly before letting go. Surprised, Charlie found herself gaping at him; as he never struck her as the 'touchy-feely' type, save for combat practice. She knew he cared about her, but never expected even that brief display of affection from him. The gesture, while extremely touching, also made her feel horribly guilty, as she was still desperately afraid to tell him…or anyone, really…about her problem. "Auron, I…I need to ask you something."

::He'll kill you if you tell him, you know…:: the shadow whispered. ::He'll kill you, and then I'll get to keep you forever…unless you just cease to exist, of course. You are an alien, after all…::

Charlie shook her head and started to change her mind, but something about Auron's curious expression made her press forward. "What do you know about demonic possession?" she blurted, getting the words out in a rush.

The swordsman raised an eyebrow at that. Whatever question he was expecting, that clearly was not it. "I trained as a warrior monk. We fought and killed fiends and things that you might call demons, but if it was something that needed to be driven out of an innocent, we had to call the services of a summoner. Braska was called into that service once, before his pilgrimage. I went with him, of course, but it was extremely dangerous and it nearly cost us both our lives." He paused in his explanation and gave Charlie a strange look. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh…no real reason, really. It's just that there are stories about that sort of thing where I come from, but I've never heard of anyone it actually happened to. I just wondered if there was anything about it here in Spira, since it's so interconnected to the Farplane and all." She climbed to her feet then, and quickly dusted herself off. "It was just a silly question, that's all."

He looked as though he did not believe her, but she leaned down and kissed his cheek, near the corner of his mouth, and then said, "Thanks for answering it. Good night, Auron."

With that, Charlie walked back to where the others had gathered, flopped down onto her bedroll, and fell asleep. Auron watched her go, and felt a sharp pang of regret as part of him railed at not kissing her back, not carrying it further. "It isn't a good idea," he told himself stubbornly. "Even if I was not an unsent, it is still not a good idea to become so attached when I do not even know what will happen to her once Sin is gone…"

…Flash…

Charlie thrashed wildly on a table, her arms and legs bound in a spread eagle position as Yuna stood nearby, dancing as she performed the Sending. It hurt. It felt as though someone slowly tore her soul from her body and shredded into tiny pieces as it emerged. She let out a terrible, high-pitched scream, but Yuna kept dancing. A cloud of oily black smoke erupted from her torso and solidified into a long, sharply pointed tentacle that writhed like a dying snake, but Yuna still danced. The summoner danced and paid no mind to the danger as the tentacle shot forth. She kept dancing until that tentacle's dagger-sharp tip speared through her chest and out her back. Then she danced no more, instead going limp as her life ebbed away. Charlie screamed again, this time in anguish, as the tentacle threw her friend's corpse away, causing it to smack into the far wall with a dull thud before collapsing to the floor in a heap. "The exorcism failed," she heard an unfamiliar voice say. "The demon was too strong. Kill the host. It's the only way."

Charlie did not even have time to beg for her life before the shining steel of a massive sword swept down at her neck…

…Flash…

Charlene awoke with a jolt, but managed to choke down the scream rising in her throat. She wanted to cry, to break down in wracking sobs, but she knew that if she did, it would worry the others, causing them to ask awkward questions she did not want to answer. "They have enough worries as it is…we're going back to Guadosalam today, and we have no idea what sort of reception we'll get. Not a warm one, that's for sure, but will they avoid us, or try to kill us?"

No one said anything as they broke camp and headed back to the shoopuf ferry, so Charlie assumed that no one had noticed her nightmare, which suited her just fine. The trip across the river was uneventful this time around, with no Al Bhed ambushing them or attempting to kidnap Yuna, but the seven of them stayed on edge as they drew closer to their destination. Once they reached Guadosalam, they expected the Guado to attack them, but while the elfin beings eyed them with deep suspicion, mistrust, and in Charlie's case, outright fear, none of them said or did anything as they headed up to the Farplane portal. Charlie, Auron, and Rikku all stayed outside, but before the rest of the group went in, Charlie handed Yuna the map. "This should show you where the Venus item is," she explained. "I don't know if it's the disc or the coin, but I think I didn't sense it the last time we were here because the Farplane didn't like me being in there."

She looked around at the few pyreflies drifting about and had the feeling they were watching to make sure she didn't go too close to the portal. Yuna noticed her apprehension, and said, "We'll try to hurry, I promise."

With that, Yuna, Wakka, Kimahri, and Lulu stepped through the portal and vanished, leaving Rikku, Charlie, and Auron waiting in silence. The quiet did not last long, however, before Tromell Guado appeared, looking torn between fury and terror as he glared at the three of them. His eyes alighted on Charlie, and he spat, "Why are you in Guadosalam? What business does a demon like you have here? Did you come to finish what you started in Macalania?"

His words, and the venom in them, cut her deeply, but before she could even try to defend herself, Rikku jumped to her feet, took on a combative stance, and yelled, "You wanna make something of it?"

Tromell did not even look at the Al Bhed. Instead, he kept staring at Charlene as though she might go berserk at any moment. "If it would please you to harm a defenseless old man, then burn me, boil me. It matters not. Lord Seymour is gone, and no new Lord rises to take his place. We Guado merely wait to die…whether by your hand or by Sin's, it makes no difference to us. None of us will try to stop you."

When Charlie did not reply, Tromell resumed walking, striding past Rikku and vanishing across the portal's threshold. Once he was gone, the Al Bhed angrily shook her fist at the portal and shouted, "I oughtta come in there and…"

Whatever it was Rikku planned to do never came out, as Charlie burst into tears, completely distracting her from her threat. The little thief whipped around to find the dark-haired guardian curled up into a fetal position, her arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried against her knees as she cried. "Charlie?" she hurried over to her friend's side and wrapped her arms around her. "Charlie, please don't cry."

"He's right, Rikku…" she sobbed, not looking up. "I butchered all those Guado! They were running away at that point, and I still chased them down and slaughtered them! He has every right to call me a demon!"

"No, he doesn't!" Auron barked, speaking for the first time since they entered the city.

Charlie stopped crying then, and she and Rikku both looked at the swordsman as though he'd just breathed fire. He did not look too far from it, if his expression was any indicator. When neither girl made another sound, he continued, "The Guado pursued us first, and it was only then that you snapped, Charlie. You lost control. That does not make you a demon or a monster. The simple fact that you feel any kind of guilt about it at all means that you are not what Tromell accused you of being. If those Guado had left us alone, they might still be alive now, but they did not and they paid for their choice."

Charlie stared at Auron then, torn between more tears and the desire to kiss him, but she did neither. Just then, Yuna, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri exited the Farplane, looking rather pleased with themselves. "Hey, we found the thing we were looking for, ya?" Wakka proudly stated, holding out a bright copper disc with snowflakes etched around the outer edge. "I don't know what the word Nogah means, but…" He trailed off then, seeing the distraught look on Charlie's face and the angry expressions Rikku and Auron both wore. "What happened?"

"That stupid jerk Tromell happened!" Rikku growled, glaring at the Farplane portal as though trying to set it on fire with her thoughts. "He came in here and said all kinds of nasty things to Charlie! He called her a demon because of what happened in Macalania!"

The big blitzer's expression darkened and he turned away slightly, as though he intended to go back into the Farplane and teach the elderly Guado the error of his ways. "Wakka, don't…" Charlie said, her voice subdued. "It's not worth it. We've gotten what we came for, so let's just go, all right?"

Wakka looked mutinous, but finally replied, "If you say so."

She smiled weakly, and nodded. "Thank you."