Well, it's actually been about a week between this chapter and the last, although you can't really tell…
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Darkness Falls
Chapter 13: Guys! A Little Help Maybe!?
Rikku stood on the bridge of the airship, watching the clouds fall past them as they flew through the air at several hundred miles an hour. After they had went full-speed the engines had nearly feel apart, and Cid had ordered a much slower pace, lest they shake themselves to pieces. She sighed and tapped the dials. Apart from the occasional winged fiend, nothing showed in the viewscreen except for clouds, clouds and more clouds. Oh, and had she mentioned the clouds?
Rikku jumped to her feet and stretched her legs. Lulu and Tidus looked across at her, then looked back at the viewscreen. Wakka seemed to be cowering in perpetual terror that the airship would suddenly realise that no, nothing metal flew, and would fall out of the sky. So far the ship was playing dumb. Rikku walked out of the bridge and went towards the observation deck. Even watching the clouds fly sideways instead of towards them would be a nice change. She reached the lift in silence, and was about to go out when…
"Rikku, wait."
Rikku turned around to see Auron walk towards her, sword on shoulder. What was he doing here? "Yeah?" she asked him.
"I want to talk with you," he said seriously.
"Suits me fine," she replied, leaning on the wall.
To her surprise, Auron shook his head. "Not here. In private."
Rikku blinked at that. What could it be? She nodded and stepped onto the elevator, Auron following close behind. They rode the lift up to the deck in silence. Rikku glanced across at Auron, but as usual he just looked blank. As the door to outside cycled open she breathed in fresh air for the first time in hours. She wondered why she had not come out here earlier.
She walked out halfway onto the deck and turned to Auron. "So?" she asked lightly.
"I need to know you have your mind on the task at hand," he said.
Rikku looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I need to know you will not be distracted by Seymour when the time comes."
"You figured that out huh?"
"It was obvious."
"The others don't think so. They haven't figured it out."
"They are suspicious, especially after Macalania. How were you fooled?"
"He knows my secrets."
"You are unsent."
Rikku stopped dead and turned around on the balls of her feet, glaring at Auron maliciously. "How did you know?" she asked, voice as cold as ice.
Auron shrugged. "The fiend at Home, your comments a few hours ago."
Rikku cursed. She knew she shouldn't have said that. Outwardly containing her turbulent emotion, she asked; "Do the others know?"
"I did not tell them. That is your own decision."
Rikku bowed her head and looked at the ground. "Thank you."
On his part, Auron was surprised. He had expected denials and shouting, then a demand not to tell Wakka and the others. Instead she was being remarkably calm about the whole thing. Maybe he had misjudged her. Had the whole cheery-airhead-teenager routine been just an act? "When?" he asked.
"The Moonflow. I didn't think you would understand…"
"I understand better than you know," he said simply. He wasn't going to tell her about himself, not quite yet.
Rikku walked up to him. "Show me your face," she asked.
Against all his instinct, Auron did, and Rikku looked into his eyes. Her scrutiny was unnerving. It reminded him of something…
Rikku looked into Auron's eyes. He stared directly back at her, and through all her differences, their viewpoints on life, and their completely opposite demeanours, Rikku sensed that here was a kindred spirit. She didn't know how right she was. Auron was the first to look away, and Rikku grinned. Not such a cold-hearted guy after all are you? She thought to the man's back. Suddenly Auron turned around and looked back at her.
"Care to spar?" he asked.
Rikku looked confused for a second. She could have sworn she had heard something in his voice then. Must have been her imagination. She nodded once. Auron looked away, not letting Rikku see his face, or the fact that he had went slightly red. He was embarrassed? Him? He counted ten steps, then turned and faced Rikku, who was drawing her glove from her thigh-sheath and checking the points.
Rikku looked back at Auron, and specifically the sword on his back. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea… But then a little voice in her told her she would be all right.
Auron turned back to Rikku and bowed. The young Al Bhed did the same. He straightened back up, just in time to see her swipe at his head. Unfair. He didn't have time to bring his sword up to bear, so he just ducked, Rikku's fist passing over his head. He swung his sword from his hip at her, but she easily dodged it.
At first glance, it looked like a horribly unfair fight. He was much taller than her, and his blade was bigger, but it took time for him to prepare his swings, while she could slip in and out of his defences. She jabbed him in the side with her fist, and he had to ignore it to prepare his swing. He hated to admit it, but she was going to win. The match ended after about ten minutes of sharp jabs in the side.
Rikku was tired though. Her style of fighting was much more tiring than his. She looked up at Auron. The man seemed to have infinite stamina. "How do you do that?" she asked, out of breath.
"Do what?" he asked, not tired at all.
Rikku sighed and was about to go inside for rest when a distant roar sounded. She spun around to where the sound had come from, which happened to be somewhere in the clouds. "What the hell was that?" she asked. Then she heard the ship's PA crackle to life above her and Cid's voice speak in Al Bhed.
"Rikku? What's going on up there?"
Rikku looked around for the PA's speaker. She saw it, and the microphone next to it.
"Vydran! Something shouted through the clouds!"
"Get back inside! We're approaching Bevelle!"
At the word 'Bevelle' Auron's head swung around to look at her. "What about Bevelle?" he asked Rikku quickly.
Rikku turned to look at him. "Cid says we're getting nearer, why?"
"Evrae."
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Tidus and Lulu looked out at the clouds, specifically at a small dot on the horizon that seemed to be getting bigger. The young blitzer turned to the Black Mage. "And that is..?"
"The guardian wyrm Evrae. It defends Bevelle from intruders."
Tidus squinted, then turned back to Lulu. "And exactly what is the point of having a flying guard when there are no flying attackers?"
Lulu frowned. "No-one is sure. Fiends was the explanation until now. The only people to attack this way in the last century have been, well, us."
"Hedging their bets?"
"Maybe…"
Cid turned to look at the four remaining guardians. "Well?" he said.
"Well what?" Wakka asked.
"Are you going to go and fight that thing or what?" he asked, as if it was obvious.
Wakka looked like he was about to complain, then shut his mouth and sighed, walking off to the hanger. Tidus looked at Lulu and shrugged, following.
"Doesn't want much does he?" he whispered under his breath.
Cid waited until they had left before turning to Brother. "Are the missiles prepared?" he asked him. Brother nodded.
"All we have left."
"Good. Give them their chance first, then fire on the thing when it gets close." He turned to the PA system.
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Auron and Rikku looked at the dot that was Evrae, one that was rapidly turning into a line. "And Evrae is…?" she asked him.
"It protects Bevelle," he replied.
"Oh. Well, that clears it up, thanks." She turned to go back to the elevator, and was surprised when it didn't open. She nearly whacked into it. Looking back up at the PA's mic, she cupped her mouth in her hands and shouted to it: "Hey Cid! Open the door!"
She waited for his reply. None was forthcoming.
Auron watched Rikku try and hail her father, and then walked over to the door. When her shouts didn't hasten it's opening, he reached down and tried to work his fingernails under the door. Seeing what he was doing, Rikku bent down and tried the same thing. After about a minute of heaving and straining, all they had found out was that it wasn't designed to open like that. Rikku fell back against the door, looking out at the approaching form of Evrae. She turned to look at Auron.
"I think we have a problem."
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Tidus stood next to the heavy-duty door leading to the lift. "Cid, open the door please," he said for what must have been the third time. He tapped his foot on the floor to emphasise the fact, looking up at the PA. Cid might not be able to see him, but he knew he could sure as well hear him.
Wakka ran up beside them from looking out the window. "Er, guys? That things getting mighty close now, and I wouldn't want to be there when it gets here," he said.
Lulu instantly looked around at him. "Aren't Sir Auron and Rikku…?" she asked quickly.
Tidus just stared back at her for a few seconds, and then ran back towards the bridge as fast as he could go.
Wakka looked at Tidus. "They up there?" he asked. Tidus nodded.
"Rikku went to cool off. Auron followed."
Wakka cursed. "Great. That huge thing coming at us like a bat out of the Farplane and we stuck here inside…" he kicked the nearest wall, and got a stubbed toe for his trouble.
On his part, Cid was wondering why the door to the deck wouldn't open. He could have sworn that he seen Brother cycle the lock, but he couldn't see them. And no-one was speaking to them on the PA. He was about to ask Brother to run a test when Tidus ran back into the bridge, looking upset. "What now?" Cid asked.
"Door… won't open." Tidus panted. He paused to get his breath back, then continued. "Auron and Rikku are on the deck, and we can't get out there." Cid's face went slightly paler, and he instantly turned back to Brother, shouting a stream of Al Bhed at him. Tidus only picked up about half of it. Something about the door and a 'system-check', whatever that was. Brother shouted down to the Al Bhed to his left, who took the controls. Brother immediately walked over to the next panel and ripped it from the wall. Revealing a mass of circuits and wires. Tidus couldn't see a thing, but he knew something must be up, as Brother turned back to Cid holding two wires that Tidus thought looked the same, but must have had some importance to Cid, because he turned back to Tidus.
"The door and PA are broke," he said simply.
Tidus groaned. "Can you fix 'em?" he asked.
Cid nodded. "Give us a minute. Tell the other sot be ready. That thing will be here in about…" Cid turned back to see how close Evrae was to the ship, but didn't finish the sentence, because at that moment the entire ship shook, and they saw Evrae's claws slicing at something on the deck.
"Rikku…" Cid whispered, then went back to trying to fix the door mechanism.
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Rikku dodged below Evrae's claws, hearing them gouge through the metal behind her. She ran away from the huge creature to where Auron was still trying to open the door. "Any luck?" she asked.
"Guess," he said, still calm.
Rikku groaned and turned back to where Evrae was trying to wrench it's hand from the deck. She looked at the PA. "Where the hell are you!?" she screamed at the small black object, willing the others to appear. Rikku cursed her father. She had told him to make sure everything worked before they flew it! He hadn't listened of course, and now she and Auron were trapped, alone on deck, with a huge monster entirely capable of reducing them to a bloody pulp. She saw it raise it's tail and swing it around at the deck. She ducked, and then felt the air over her whoosh past as the tail whirled over her head. She rolled and stood up, Evrae watching her from a distance. Suddenly it bared it's teeth at her and sunk under her field of view. She was about to go when she heard Auron behind her.
"Rikku!"
Rikku turned, and saw that Auron, instead of trying to open the door, had smashed a nearby panel, revealing a bunch of wires. Rikku sighed and ran over to it. Here was something she could do. Shooing Auron away she sat down on the floor and went to work on the panels.
Auron smiled and turned away. So serious when she had to be… He turned back to the now-empty sky and scanned the horizon. He walked up to the side and looked over the edge. He heard a crackle and turned back to where Rikku was smiling and pointing at the PA. Seconds later they heard Cid's voice boom out from the speaker.
"You OK?"
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"We're fine!" Rikku's voice shouted back, and Lulu and the other let out a sigh of breath. They could have both been killed and there would have been no indication. Tidus turned back to Lulu. "How long 'till he gets the door open?" he asked her. As if she knew.
Lulu shrugged, and went back to looking out of the window. She saw a shape slide by her and looked down to see Evrae flow under the hip. She whirled. "Cid! Let them it's coming out from under them!"
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Rikku was back to trying to fix the mess of wiring and boards that this ship had as an excuse for automatic doors when she heard Cid's warning. She turned to where Auron was standing and was about to shout him when…
Auron didn't even see it coming. He felt a sudden breeze on the side of his head and was about to turn when something hit his side with the force of an angry mountain. The world spun and he seemed to fly through the air, landing painfully on his side near the edge of the airship.
Rikku dropped what she was doing and ran to Auron's side. She couldn't see any blood, but the red coat was probably hiding it. She slid to a halt and knelt next to Auron's prone form, reaching into her pockets for a potion, and realising she had only expected a friendly match, and not to be fighting for their lives. She screamed in exasperation to the air and looped her arms through Auron's, dragging him off to the (relative) safety of the doorway. She forgot about the huge dragon-beast behind her.
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Everyone looked around as the door slowly began to cycle open. In relief they all ran forwards and got on as it began it's slow trip upwards.
"I hope they're both alright," Lulu said under her breath. As one the others nodded. They all reached down to their weapons to check that everything was there. Although Khimari didn't seem to have pockets he always seemed to be able to keep much the same inventory as the rest. Tidus wondered how this was. The lift ground to a halt and the door slid open. Tidus instantly ran out, to be greeted by Rikku dragging a wounded Auron towards them. She looked at them through gritted teeth, and no-one had ever seen as great an expression of relief as the others saw on her face. Tidus smiled back, then looked behind her. His expression turned from greeting to horror as he saw Evrae puling its head back and taking a deep breath. Rikku looked back in time to see Evrae throw it's head forward, and covered Auron with her body just in time for a flow of poison washed over them both. The other could only watch as they were engulfed by Evrae's breath. Khimari roared at the creature and charged straight toward it, ignoring the stinging pain from the foul liquid and throwing his javelin straight at Evrae. It caught in the beast's eye, an it screamed in rage and it altered it's path, flying parallel to the ship, but several hundred metres away. Lulu and Wakka instantly ran to Rikku and Auron's side, Lulu taking Rikku and Wakka taking Auron they hoisted them up by their arms and supported them to the doorway, getting them safely out of harms' way. Two Al Bhed who had nothing better to do were waiting there with expressions of terror on their faces, and Lulu walked right up to the nearest one. "Spiran?" she shouted.
The first Al Bhed nodded. "I know… a little."
"Good! Take them below! Care for them!" she said, slowly so they would understand, and loudly so she could be heard over the engines and Evrae's screams of pain. The Al Bhed nodded and took the weight off Lulu's arm, leading Rikku off. His companion did the same, and Lulu whispered a small prayer to Yevon for their recovery before turning back to the battle.
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Rikku opened her eyes, and saw green. She frowned and reached up to rub here eyes. She felt an unpleasant itching all over her skin. She tried to scratch, but moving only made it worse. The itching turned to heat, and the heat turned to burning. Rikku whimpered, and tried to see through the green haze in front of her eyes. She felt something grab her hand, and looked sideways to see a shape in, probably, red grasping her hand. Rikku squeezed back, trying to compress the pain and the burning into the space in front of her. She felt Auron's hand squeeze back, and she leant back and closed her eyes again, trying to block out the green burning substance. She didn't know when she feel asleep, but she must have, because the last thing she remembered was her hand going limp in Auron's.
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Tidus wandered into the medical bay after the battle, looking for the closest thing this ship had to a healer. They had barely beaten Evrae, a lucky strike from Khimari's lance knocking out the thing's other eye and sending it crashing down to Bevelle, dead or useless, who knew? He walked into the bay, using his sword to prop himself up. He looked around for the medic, and saw Rikku and Auron lying on separate beds, hands clasped together. Tidus smiled and turned to walk out. He would find the medic later. There were still a couple of hours till they reached the Holy Capital's temple. Right now he would sleep.
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Ouch. I really need to stop writing these chapters at 11pm at night. 0_o
And so the Aurikku kicks off. Slow at first, but it will happen.
