So lets see how many chapters I can update before my fickle attention span leaves me again.
::Chapter Twenty-Four: It's Just Sand In My Eyes::
The first few things I was aware of was the crackling of fire and the soft warmth that radiated from the floor. A soft humming melded with the sounds of the fireplace, while a hand gently smooth my hair.
I knew this. I opened my eyes and saw the fireplace of my childhood home, my sister about ten years old sticking a skewer with half a dozen marshmallows into the dancing flames.
"My two treasures," my mom said softly as I sat up, meeting her burgundy eyes. "This was the best time of life, when all I had to worry about was my little sorceress and my mudpuppy."
"Am I dreaming?" I asked her. It felt like a dream meshed with a memory, but something was weird about it. My rare lucid dreams were never like this. They were far less...normal.
My mom shook her head. "No, I am. You're almost fully awake now."
Yeah...that made absolutely no sense. Maybe I was dead. I remembered falling into a freezing abyss when Sin appeared. Well, at least I wasn't cold anymore. "I suppose the Farplane could be worse," I muttered to myself. I could be stuck with Yunalesca. Or with Wakka. Or both. Dear Alexander that would be horrible.
Mom chuckled lightly. "You're not dead. Just sleeping."
"You said I wasn't dreaming!"
"I meant the Dreams that gives the Aeons strength."
I glared at her. "You make as much sense as Auron, you know that?"
She just grinned, and I could see a resemblance between us in the expression. "You just need to use your brain instead of merely following your gut."
《○》《●》
I knew where I was from pretty much the moment I opened my eyes. Bright cloudless sky, the sun unnaturally bright and nothing but golden, burning sand as far as the eye could see.
How the heck did I end up in Sanubia?
"Crap," I whined as I flopped back into the dune I had woken up in. Now what was I going to do? Stuck in the middle of the desert by myself, with just a gun and a handful of potions. "Crap on a stick!"
A familiar squeak answered my curse, and I shot up to see a young Cactuar looking at me warily. Or I think warily; its hollow eyes were expressionless and more than a little creepy. It spun its arms and squeaked again.
"Sorry, I don't speak Cactuar." If it really was a language as Mom and the priests of Phoenix claimed it was. The little guys seemed fond of the fiery bird and often came to the temple with odds and ends that were supposedly tributes.
I claimed they were like cats and brought things just because they liked to freak people out with dead birds and mice. And also had a fixation for shiny things as well.
It squeaked again and dashed off a few feet before stopping and squeaking. I glared at it for a moment before it dashed towards me, squeaked, and dashed away again.
"I'm not going to follow you!" I shouted at it. "I'm just gonna sit here and...Ow!" I was cut off as it shot a few of its needles. I tried vainly to block but the needles cut like razor blades, slicing effortlessly through my clothes and skin, leaving dozens of shallow stinging cuts.
"Really?!" I shouted back. As if my day couldn't get worse. Though when it squeaked again, almost threateningly, I decided it wasn't worth antagonizing the pin cushion.
"Fine! I'm coming!"
Following the Cactuar for several hours finally convinced me of a few things, such as: the pin cushions were actually sentient, rather sadistic, and they were also a major pain in the butt. Both literally and figuratively.
"Squeaky, slow down!" I shouted as it dashed up the tall sand dunes without a hint of struggle. I, on the other hand, was huffing and puffing as I scaled the dune, hands burning and aching as I scrambled at the sand. It was two steps forward and one back the entire way. Squeaky only squawked and fidgeted impatiently. "I'm hurrying as fast as I can!"
I wanted Macalania back. I may have hated the cold but this was worse. Dripping with sweat, every inch of skin burnt, and not a drop of water anywhere. I think my mouth was honestly drier than the dunes.
There was nothing but endless sand and a burning sun. I was pretty sure I was going to die following the pipsqueak. And it was probably fill me with needles when I did, thinking I was being lazy. It seemed rather like Belgemine in that regard, actually. What was with slave drivers and the color green?
Finally I reached the top of the dune and promptly collapsed next to Squeaky to catch my breath. Below I could see a rubble of ruins, faded but yet still familiar. This was all that was left of Lenne's home? Of the temple where my Mom slept? The city my sister and I spent five agonizing years before we returned to Zanarkand?
Somehow, even in the middle of the desert, Sin destroyed it. Or so I assumed.
Something thumped dully as it hit the sand, distracting me from the desolated ruins. I looked over to see a familiar necklace at Squeaky's feet. A rainbow bird clutched to a fine golden chain, a ruby set in its body that sparkled with an internal flame. I would know that necklace anywhere, mother treasured it above all else, and never took it off. Not even when she gave herself to Phoenix.
I picked it up gingerly, astonished. The gem was just as warm and smooth as I remembered. But Mom had been converted to a Fayth with it, so how did Squeaky find it? Unless….
"She sent you." How did she even know I was here? Some said the Fayth were aware of the living, but I thought that only pertain to the Summoners that visited them. Not estranged daughters a thousand years out of place. Had she been relieved of her duty as a Fayth, and Sent to rest in the Farplane? Or was she still a Fayth after all these years too?
When I looked up, intent on demanding answers, even if I couldn't understand the answer, there was only a green dot a few dunes over.
"WHAT?! HEY! YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME HERE!" I screeched, but the cactuar kept running. I kicked at the sand and moped for a few moments before good ol' Sol became too much to bear. I pocketed my mother's necklace, still feeling that old taboo of not being able to wear her jewelry, before trying to find shelter. The ruins looked nice and cool, if a bit hazardous. A not quite controlled slide and a haphazard tumble later and the remains of a sky tower not only provided relief from the heat, but a treasure chest full of water and MREs.
And a note. In Al Bhed. Of course.
Even though I couldn't read it, it affirmed my belief they were definitely the good guys as opposed to Yevon. Maybe they had a settlement around here? Did that mean I should just wait here in case somebody came to check the area? But there were no other signs of life or recent activity besides my own footprints in the sand. Granted, even those were fading as the sand shifted to fill the pits.
I plopped myself against the relatively cool stone and guzzled a bottle of water. Seriously though, now what? What happened to the others? Were they here, or scattered across Spira? Or worse? What if Sin really was a time travelling fiend and I was another thousand years away from home?
And just when I had found Tidus and Auron...or rather discovered they were the same as the ones I remembered. Just as I was a little closer to finding out how we ended up here, and maybe a way home.
Though, things weren't quite adding up. Belgemine said the Magus Sisters had me brought to Remiem. And the fact that I had these memories semi-consciously suppressed, and plus I looked years older than the night Sin had appeared whereas Tidus didn't, as far as I could tell. And I knew Auron didn't. So why was I different?
I brought mom's necklace out of my pocket and rubbed the central gem as she had done when she had worried. If the Fayth were able to speak to one another...maybe she knew what was going on. Could she give me answers, even if I wasn't a Summoner?
But how could I find a temple in the middle of the desert? If, and I meant if, I found another cactuar, would it lead me there? Did they even understand Spirian, or Al Bhed? I placed the necklace back and glanced at the Al Bhed note. For all I knew, it could be directions. Or a note that said essentially I was screwed and enjoy the MREs cause they were my last meal.
I curled up closer to the wall, my heart plummeting as the situation sunk in. I was lost, alone, and far, far away from anyone or anything familiar. I wanted to go home. The homesickness that I had evaded overwhelmed me again as I sobbed into my knees. All I wanted was to go home. To see my sister, my friends. And I really, really wanted my mom here chiding me softly not to cry, assuring me that everything would be okay.
《○》《●》
It was near sunset when I woke from the post-cryfest nap. At first, I wasn't sure what had woke me until I heard the crunch of feet in the sand. My first instinct was a fiend, springing me to my feet with Penny in hand and ready to fire.
"Woah! Watch it!" Wakka popped into view and dodged the instinctive shot. He clutched his chest as he panted for breath, before turning to someone out of view. "Well, we found Terra!"
"Oh thank Alexander!" I launched myself at Wakka without thinking, enveloping him in a bear-hug. "I thought I was dead!"
"Uh, it's okay," he carefully patted my back. "Um, Rikku says her home isn't too far from here. So, it's all going to be okay." It was strange, even though Wakka was one of the people I got along least with, those words were still really comforting. I gave him one last squeeze, deciding maybe I wouldn't target him as much as I had been.
When I let go, I looked up and saw everyone. Well, not everyone. Yuna was missing from the wearied band of Guardians, but I assumed she was around the corner. "Seriously? You live around here, Rikku?"
There was a large smile on her face as she nodded. "Yep! We had been hoping someone had found you and Yunie already and took you to Home."
"You haven't seen her, have you?" Tidus asked quickly before I could asked the redundant question. I felt horrible when I shook my head and erased the hope on his, and everybody else's, face.
"All I've seen is sand dunes and a squeaky cactuar."
Rikku wince sympathetically. "Yeowch."
"Shouldn't we continue if we want to reach Home before nightfall?" Lulu gently reminded, though the look on her face was anything but. Her usual frosty expression seemed strained with stress and worry. And with Yuna missing, I could hardly blame her.
"Right! It's just a little farther, follow me!" Rikku took off like a dart. There was no friendly chatter, the usual amiable mood tense and anxious. The sky continued to darken, and what started as a faint light on the horizon grew brighter and brighter. But it wasn't the stable glow of a town's light; it flickered and dimmed as smoke obscured the view. Even Rikku's fake cheeriness that rivaled my own started to dim the closer we got, until finally we crested a dune and was able to see the fire properly.
We all froze at the sight. A huge machina city, engulfed in flames. "NO!" Rikku shouted before taking off in a sprint, the sand not impeding her one bit. Faintly we could hear shouts in Al Bhed, the words obscured by the explosions and the roar of the the flames.
"C'mon! Yuna's down there!" Tidus' words snapped us out of our stunned silence and into our best attempt at running in the soft sand. I couldn't help but wonder why, since joining these guys, there had been nothing but chaos. Was my luck that bad? Or was it just them?
As if fate was answering, a Bomb dropped out of the smoke and bombarded us while we were still a few meters from the gaping entrance of the hodge-podge giant fortified city that had ominous smoke billowing out. Lulu wasted no time before casting her strongest ice spells while Wakka's ball had a definite chilly bite as it smacked the fiend in its face. But it wasn't enough. The fiend swelled to twice its size and guffawed as it shot fire back at us.
"That thing is going to explode, isn't it?" I groaned. I already felt like a twice-baked potato. It it tried to roast us, I was convinced I would turn into a burnt Terra-casserole.
"It wishes," Lulu stated coldly before casting again.
And again.
And again.
And for a fourth, fifth, and at last a sixth time before the Bomb exploded into Pyreflies instead of flames. Lulu looked rather drained yet proud. And I couldn't blame her, that was pretty awesome.
"A little overkill, ya?" Wakka grinned at the mage's dark look.
"Next time I'll let you try to finish it," she huffed before storming on as if she knew exactly where she was going. Which was nice, because I for one was completely lost. Rikku had disappeared into the smoke along with Tidus before the Bomb had appeared. So while Lulu and Kimahri led the way, I kept close to Auron, well aware of the monsters lurking in the shadows.
Not just literally. The smoke and sounds of gunfire unsettled me far more than it probably should. It was like something dark and vile was creeping up my back and invading the base of my skull, making me feel even more on edge and jittery. My heart pounded in fear as we drew near to the gaping maw that led to the interior. Dozens of bodies of both Al Bhed and Guado littered the ground. Gunshot wounds riddled the Guado bories while the Al Bhed bore the mark of magic and fiends goring them. All I could smell was burning flesh and hair mixed with oil. Wakka, or maybe it was Auron, said something, but I understood none of it. All I could hear were screams and the rattle of war machinas being pitted against Aeons. Blood, fire, and death surrounded me, as thick as the smoke.
"Terra, move!"
I followed Lenore's command and ran.
