Pierson is sad. Pierson is sad because he wants to play Chrono Cross. Pierson is even sadder now because Square never released Chrono Cross in the UK. Please help him.
If anyone has a copy of Chrono Cross that works, and they don't want it anymore, please get in contact with me. It doesn't matter what country you live in as long as you're prepared to ship to England. I will pay for it. I need that game.
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Darkness Falls
Chapter 20: Because It's There…
"Tell me again why I joined with you guys?" Rikku asked Tidus.
"Because you wanted to protect Yuna?" the blitzer replied.
"And why did you let me?"
"Because we like your perky sense of humour and your, ehem, unique abilities?"
"And why am I still with you guys?"
"Because you got the hots for Aur… OW! You kicked me!" Tidus exclaimed, rubbing his foot.
Rikku didn't waste any more breath, and instead concentrated on moving up the path away from the other Ronsos. The meeting had been long and boring (if you weren't Khimari, otherwise it had been long and painful) and had entailed her standing around in the cold for an hour listening to Yuna argue theology with the Ronso Maester. She ran up the path, not so much to catch up with the others as to stay warm. She knew she should have gotten a coat in the trading post! But now the opportunity was lost and she had to run up and down the snowbound paths to stay warm. She shivered and ran up to Auron. He heard her coming and turned in time to have her run up to him and hug him tightly.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"S'cold," she said through gritted teeth.
Auron put his arm around her and hugged her to his chest. She sighed in thanks and stayed there. She shifted her body around so that she was under his left arm, but still wrapped in his coat, and the two moved off together through the snow.
"S'it this cold last time?" Rikku asked quietly through clenched teeth.
"Mostly. It rained that time though," Auron said. "It was cold, but it was also damp. We had the misfortune to come during summer, and…"
"Wait, hold on," Rikku said, "It only rains here in summer? What happens during winter, which is what it is now?" she asked.
"It's just damn cold."
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Several hours later, and with no sign of the summit in sight, Auron noticed that the others were becoming very sluggish, and Rikku was seriously lagging behind, to the point where she occasionally had to lean against him for warmth. Her attire was doing her no favours. Auron noticed a dip in the path, leading to what he thought he remembered as a small cavern. A small sheltered cavern, and he immediately started to move ahead of the rest, leaving Rikku behind slightly. He motioned for the others to follow and they all angled towards the dip, wondering what he had seen. When they moved under the protection of the cavern then, they were all relieved. Lulu went over to a moderately dry patch of floor and raised her hand, casting a large fireball onto the bracken on the floor. It sprang to life, and the others all moved towards it. Rikku came in last, several seconds behind the others, and she went over to the fire with only a small "hi" to the others and sat down next to it, trying to get as much warmth as possible from the small blaze. Auron sat down next to her and she leaned into him, resting her head against his forearm. She as asleep in seconds, and Auron smiled at the peaceful look on his face from under his collar. His look did not go unnoticed by the others and they all secretly smiled at the couple the two made. Somehow, it worked, and Tidus was glad to see that the old guy had some feelings left in him. They all sat there, in the small warmth the fire provided, and sank into their own silent reveries, as the blizzard raged outside.
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Rikku awoke in relative warmth, wrapped up in part of Auron's coat, the rest of it wrapped around Auron himself. She stood up groggily and looked around. The others were all standing and preparing their equipment. Rikku realised that they were getting ready to head out, and went over to Lulu. "How long were we asleep?" she asked.
Lulu looked up from packing her small set of potions and ethers. "About five hours, we all needed it," she said. She jerked her thumb, and Rikku looked across at see Tidus laid against the wall, Yuna's head against his chest, both still sleeping.
Rikku went back over to Auron and shook him awake. She had never seen the legendary guardian wake up, and it was an amusing process.
"Wht? Whzzat?" he whispered. Then his eyes snapped open, and he was instantly alert. "Rikku?" he asked, voice betraying none of his momentarily sleepiness.
"We're going," she said, gesturing towards the others. Auron looked across and swept his cloak back around himself, ready in seconds, and once again waiting for everyone else, as he always seemed to be. Rikku realised that he was always ready first, bit because he was more alert or up earlier, but because e had nothing to get ready. She giggled at this silent observation and drew looks from the others.
Auron glanced at her. "What?" he asked.
Rikku smiled at him. "Oh nothing, just the great Sir Auron just became suddenly less mysterious," she said.
"I'm sure you'll tell me what that means later," Auron said, and moved out of the cave. Rikku followed, and gasped when she walked out. The fire had given the illusion of warmth, but only because out here it was so tysh cold! At least this time there was no wind. Thank the Farplane for small favours.
The group trudged through the vast icy snow cone that was Gagazet, occasionally stopping when a small cave or overhang could shield them from the cold, which wasn't often. Mostly they eschewed them, and carried on, most wanting to just get the hell off this mountain. Everyone was thinking the same thing, how could the Ronso live in a place like this? It defied all common sense. Even Khimari was shivering, the farther up they went, and the thinner the wind got.
Rikku was doing the worst. Al Bhed were not adapted for high altitudes like most of Spirans, and her clothes were not helping. BY the end of what seemed like the twentieth mile, but was actually the third, she was wheezing and had to be helped along sometimes by Auron, By the end of the next, Auron was seriously worried for her safety, and was staying permanently at her side as she walked along. It was a relief then, when they finally reached the near top of the mountain, and their destination came into view.
Rikku stared up at the summit of Mt Gagazet, one hand over her eyes to shield her from the sun's glare, and another to steady herself against what she thought was the wall, but was in fact Auron. She was too far-gone to realise.
"And we have to climb around that monstrosity of snow and rock?" she asked Auron incredulously.
"The heated tunnels straight through the centre are blocked off in winter," Auron replied deadpan.
Rikku looked across at him, momentarily forgetting her near-frostbitten condition. "Did you just make a joke?" she asked in disbelief. Auron said nothing. Rikku grinned. "You did! Wait till I tell the others!" She would have bounded ahead, but Auron put his hand around her and held her back.
"Let… me… go!" she said, trying to wriggle under his grasp.
"As you wish," he said, and released her.
Rikku squealed as she fell headfirst into the snow. She blew it out of her mouth and stared at him, not believing that he had just done that. She got up and brushed rapidly melting snow off herself. She bent down and carefully scooped up a handful of the stuff "I'll get you for that!" She started to draw her hand back, then frowned in concentration. Auron realised his mistake instantly. Near-frostbitten already, he had let her fall into a freezing snowdrift.
Idiot! He scolded himself.
"Auron?" she said sleepily.
"Yes?" he said, seeing the dreamlike look on her face. He started to move forward almost unconsciously.
"Help…"
Then she toppled, and Auron ran forward, reaching out to catch her as she fell into his arms, shivering uncontrollably. Auron grabbed her around the waist and hugged her to him. He couldn't feel any heat coming off of her and her lips were turning blue, eyes following suit. He drew her back slightly and looked into her eyes and saw that they were staring into space, not really looking at anything. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Lulu pushing him aside. He yielded reluctantly and moved her away from his body. Rikku convulsed slightly, and he resisted the urge to hold her closer to him. Lulu held up her hand and a small fireball sprung from it and hovered just above Rikku's head. Instantly some of the blue colour left her features and her frost-coated eyelids fluttered open. She coughed lightly, and Auron did the only thing he knew would help. He kissed her.
He ignored the cold sensation of her lips on his and pressed her mouth against his, breathing in warm life giving air into her lungs. He felt around for a response, any response. He felt a hand at the back of his head, and disengaged to find a very shell-shocked looking Rikku staring at him. He breathed a silent sigh of relief. Before he could say anything though, her hand pressed him back against her, and they kissed again, but this time both were active participants. Auron vaguely knew he should be pressing on, but at this moment, he honestly couldn't find the time to care.
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Rikku and Auron moved up the mountainside together, neither moving away from the other. The rest moved either ahead or behind, but none strayed more than a few metres from the others. After Rikku's apparent close call they were staying together. The group moved around the next bend, and then suddenly Tidus shouted something gleefully and ran ahead. Wakka sighed in exasperation, then he moved around, and his face also looked relieved. A moment later they knew why.
Auron and Rikku walked over to the two blitzers to find themselves at Gagazet's summit, staring down at the mountain. Two final peaks made a natural canopy and the ground was only partly snowbound. It was, quite literally, all downhill from here. The pair moved to the edge to stare down at what they had walked across and Rikku gasped.
"No way did we do that," she exclaimed in disbelief, and so she should.
Below them lay the most torturous and twisting sets of pathways she had ever seen. They winded in and out of each other, none staying straight for more than a few dozen metres. Wind howled down through them, and they could hear it's passage through the clefts and loops in the mountain as it flew through the sacred land. Rikku looked back to see the others staring out as well, equally spellbound. It did look beautiful. She would have enjoyed it more if she hadn't just had to climb it though. She looked across at Yuna, who seemed to in some sort of trance. Rikku's mood instantly deflated when she remembered why they were here, and where they were going.
The others began to move off silently, all too tired to speak. Eventually Rikku was left alone, with Tidus.
"Hey?" she shouted to him.
The blitzer looked back. "Yeah?" he replied.
"Any ideas yet?" she asked hopefully.
The boy shook his head. "None."
"It's just we're nearly at Zanarkand, and I can't think of anything!" she said grimly.
Tidus looked down, but wasn't beaten yet. "We'll figure something out in Zanarkand. Everything will come together there. I know it," he said confidently.
Rikku looked at him critically. "Hey, just then, you sounded like a leader!" she said, amused at the blitzer's mood.
Tidus struck a pose. "Star of the Zanarkand Abes, didn't anybody tell you?" he said, grinning.
Rikku gave a short bow as the blitzer passed, showing mock deference to his 'talents'. The man she saw when she stood back up was not who she had expected.
Seymour stood before her. He had his arms by his sides and was smiling evilly at her. He was dressed in his normal blue robe, and he looked like he should be ridiculously cold. He didn't seem to be though.
"Tidus!" Rikku shouted.
He turned. "Yeah? What's wro… whoa!" he exclaimed when he saw the Maester. He turned to Rikku. "Get the others, go!" he whispered at her. Rikku turned to run, but had not gotten 10 steps when she hit something solid. She stumbled backwards and stared as something faded back into transparency.
"Would you mind leaving us for a moment, boy?" Seymour asked. Tidus stared at him for a few seconds, then at Rikku. She nodded, not taking her eyes from Seymour. Tidus took off, slowing as he approached the place where Rikku had been halted. He reached his hand out and took another step forward. As he did so, something flowed around him, and he came out of the other side of the barrier unharmed. He took one quick last look at Rikku and Seymour, and then ran to fetch the others as quick as he could. He dreaded having to tell Auron he had left Rikku alone with a killer. He ran faster.
Rikku stared at Seymour, hatred in her eyes. "What is it you want this time?" she asked dangerous, glove on her hand and ready to be driven into the Maester's windpipe.
Seymour smiled at her tolerantly. "I had great hopes for you," he said sadly.
"Happy to disappoint you!" she shouted back.
He started to pace up and down the cliff-edge. "We could have done so much together, you and I. We could have conquered death, and controlled it. I would have ended the suffering of Spira, and you could have been there to watch. Instead you chose them, and to follow your useless concept of hope." He nearly spat the last word out, as if it was something contagious. Rikku kept a good distance away from him as he ranted. "We could have saved the world together Rikku."
"I would never have helped you," she said.
"That will be your final mistake," Seymour said quietly. "Do your friends now about your unusual condition yet?" he asked, smiling.
For a second Rikku might have stopped breathing. She was so still. "If you dare…" she began.
"Do not worry, your secret is safe with me, but how do you think they will react when they find out?" he asked rhetorically.
"Seymour!" she warned him.
He carried on regardless. "Poor little Unsent girl, she doesn't belong anywhere. Can we trust her? Maybe she'll turn into a fiend!"
This time, Rikku did stop breathing. "What did you say?"
Seymour smiled wickedly. "Oh? You didn't know? Been feeling ratty lately? Strange things happen?" he asked.
Rikku shook her head. "What are you taking about?" she shouted at him.
"Being unsent is only one step away from being a monster. You feel it in your heart. Allow me to demonstrate!"
Then Seymour stepped off the cliff. Rikku stood there, not daring to see him hit the ground. She didn't have to. A second later a rumble sounded through the cliff, and a sharp point rose up from the edge. It rose further, and Rikku saw that it was just the tip of a huge lance, and the creature holding it was… Well, it was Seymour, but only barely recognisable, his hate turning him into something huge and intricate, like a massive sculpture, but with swords. She stared at the massive thing as it looked down at her, and it hissed at her.
"SeE YoUR FaTe."
"NO!" Rikku screamed at the thing, and turned to run. She hadn't gotten a step when she hit something. She looked up expecting it to be the invisible wall, but it was Auron, staring at Seymour's form and holding Rikku across the shoulders. The others ran ahead.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, concern in his voice and relief that she was all right.
"I'm fine," she said, staring back as the group set upon the Maester for the third time. "He said things," she whispered.
"I'm here now," he said reassuringly, hugging her closer to him. Rikku accepted the comfort he was offering, and the two sat back, watching the battle. Yuna called her Aeons, only to see them be destroyed one by one. Finally she called the one she had not yet used, because after all, ice wasn't much good on a mountain, was it?
Yuna stood back from the rest of the group as three huge icicles slammed into the ground behind her. They shattered, the fragments missing the team by a mile, somehow. A woman stood in the centre, throwing her cloak aside into Yuna's arms. She stood up to the Maester and raised her arms. Then she paused.
Rikku frowned as the aeon Shiva did not attack, and instead looked around her surroundings, as if searching for something. Her gaze fell over the others, who were all wondering what was going on. Then her eyes fell on Rikku, and the young girl shivered. She hated that Aeon. Back to the incident at Macalania Temple, she had always got the feeling that the Aeon, when summoned, had been staring at her. She hated that thing.
It didn't last long anyway. Shiva made just one attack before being blasted back into the ether by Seymour. Rikku hated to see them go like that, but was secretly relieved that the frosty Aeon was gone.
Auron stood up. "I have to help," he said. Rikku nodded and he moved towards the battleground, swinging under Seymour's lance and scoring a blow against the strange symbiotic creature that was wrapped around him. The thing screamed and suddenly thin beams of light emerged from it and flew towards Seymour. The man/fiend suddenly looked drained, and Auron sliced at Seymour's head. The man didn't see it coming, and the blade scored a deep cut against his head. Seymour screamed, and exploded. Pyreflies emerged from his body and flew off into the air as the monstrous hulk sank below their view.
Tidus stared at Auron, panting. "And you couldn't have done that earlier? Would have saved us just a little bit of trouble you know, with the fighting and the aeons and everything."
Auron did not reply, but moved back towards where Rikku was sitting against the rock wall of the mountain. "Can you walk?" he asked her. She nodded and stood to her feet, stumbling into Auron. He steadied her then let go, letting her make her way down the mountain by her own steam.
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"What the ramm are those?" Rikku asked, jumping back from the figures glued to the wall.
"They are fayth," Auron said for the benefit of everyone except Yuna.
The walls of the mountain were covered in bodies. They were stuck there, faces turned in to stare at rock, a blue glow flowing over them.
"Who is using them all?" Lulu whispered.
"Whoever it is, they're summoning something big," Yuan whispered. For some reason everyone found himself or herself unable to speak normally, like the same effect a church has on people, trying to whistle. Your mind can't bring the mouth to do it.
"Freaky," Tidus said.
Auron glanced at Rikku. "What's the matter?" he asked, seeing the pale look on her face.
"I hate fayth. I always think they're going to reach out and grab me. They look so… alive…" she said.
"You're seen fayth before?" Auron asked, surprised.
"Once, I snuck into Besaid, while we were on a scavenging trip. Cid would have killed me if he had known."
"What did you see?" Auron asked, curious.
" It was large, had wings, and it was stuck to the floor. I ran. I was never so freaked out in my life," she said. Auron chuckled and she hit him on the shoulder. "It wasn't funny!" she said angrily.
"Yes it was. Fayth can't move, even if they wanted to. They are eternally trapped in the Chambers. They can't get out."
Rikku stared at the people on the walls, and shivered, and it wasn't because of the cold. "How sad," she whispered. She shivered again, and watched as Tidus reached out to touch one. The boy just stood there for a few seconds. Then, without a sound, he fell backwards.
The others looked across when they heard the thump of him hitting the floor, and Yuna ran over to his side, feeling for a pulse. She visibly relaxed when she found one, and tried to shake him awake.
"It won't work," Auron said.
The others looked around at him. "Why not?" Yuna asked, worry in her voice.
"The fayth are talking to him," he said simply. Yuna looked puzzled for a moment, then realisation dawned on his face, and she settled back into a more comfortable position, and waited for Tidus to wake up of his own accord.
They waited for a while. Their occasional attempts to snap him out of it failed, and so it came as a complete surprise when he just woke up of his own will, jumping up and stretching his arms. Enquires were shrugged off, and he just kept walking. Yuna glanced at Rikku, who shrugged and continued to walk. The others all followed suit, and they moved into the last part of the mountain. At least this place was sheltered.
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By the time they approached the small, intricately decorated red diamond-shaped pad near the end of the cave system, she was ruing her last observation. Never had she had to walk through a more confusing maze of puzzles and tests. The damn place kept shifting around them.
"Tired?" Auron asked.
"D'ya think?" she replied sarcastically.
"We're almost out, get ready," Auron said.
Rikku looked across at him. "What do you mean 'get ready'?" she asked.
Auron shrugged. "Do you hear that?" he asked.
Rikku stopped dead and listened as hard as she could. She turned back to Auron. "Huge thing up ahead?" she asked. Auron nodded. "Cred."
"Guys! Come on, we're almost out!" Tidus shouted. He would have run on further, but suddenly a blue blur fell out of the wall and knocked him to his feet. Yuna gasped as the thing reared up behind of him and he scrambled to his feet, nursing a cut across the back of his head. Damn Grendels. The others drew their weaponry and prepared for a fight with the thing.
Wakka looked across at Rikku, as if expecting something.
"What?" Rikku asked him.
"Can you, erm, tell it to go away?" he asked, blushing.
Rikku just stared at him, then she sighed. "Alright alright! I suppose I could try."
The others watched in hope and disbelief as she walked ahead of them, weapon sheathed, and stood before the horned beast. As before, it did not attack, but just stared at her as if expecting something.
"Leave us alone!" she shouted at it.
It didn't budge.
Rikku sighed. Toughie. She had an idea. If coercion couldn't work, maybe bribery would? She reached into her pocket and withdrew a single gil. "See the shiny little circle? You want it?" she asked.
To her surprise, the attention of the fiend was rooted on it. She smiled. "I'll give it to you if you leave us alone," she stated.
Wakka looked across at Lulu. "Is she doing what I think she's doing?" he asked her. Lulu just shushed him and kept watching.
Rikku saw the fiend was not going to be convinced by a single gil. She reached into her pocket and withdrew more gil, moving her palm so that they were reflected in the light. "If I give you these several dozen shiny circles will you leave us alone?" she asked it tiredly.
In answer, the fiend stood aside. Rikku sighed in thanks to providence and dropped the gil on the floor, moving away from the fiend and towards the cavern door. The others soon caught up.
"Rikku, you have got to teach me that ya?" Wakka said enthusiastically.
"Me next!" Tidus shouted form near Yuna. She punched him playfully on the arm.
Rikku turned back to look at the others. "Lessons are fifty gil a time!" she shouted at them, smiling.
"Hey! Surely we get a discount for being your pals?" Tidus argued.
"That is a discount, usually I charge…" She didn't get a chance to finish a sentence.
At that moment, they emerged from the cave, and something huge, grey, and winged roared at them. Rikku covered her ears and ducked down slightly. The others instantly drew their weapons and backed away from it, Rikku not far behind.
Auron looked at her as she drew her claw and went down into a fighting position, ears still ringing as the massive creature opened its wings and roared again. "You're not going to try and buy it off?" he asked.
Rikku glared at him evilly, preparing her store of grenades for action. "I don't think he's for sale," she said, as it attacked.
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This was originally two chapters, but I combined them just for the hell of it.
