Hi all! Thank you sooooooo much to everyone who reviewed! I love you all! I'm sorry this chapter was so long in coming; Saranomy and I both had some serious school issues. Damn high school teachers… won't let us have any life to speak of. Just work, work, work. Ok, that's my rant for the day. ~_^
To those who said I'm moving the story a little too fast, please let me know if this chapter is an improvement or not. I'm trying, I really am! Your feedback is majorly appreciated and I thank all of you who've helped so far! ::glomps all reviewers:: And thanks to Saranomy for betaing! ::glomps her, too::
I have no idea if the antics with the chocobos in this chapter are really possible, but I'm treating the chocobos like horses, and on horses they're entirely possible, albeit somewhat dangerous. ^_^
***
Shattered Dreams
Chapter 3
Cracked
When Wakka woke the next morning, Rikku was nowhere to be seen. He immediately did the first rational thing that came to his mind, and panicked. "Rikku…? Rikku?!"
"Right here," she said cheerfully, her head dropping out upside-down from the foliage overhead.
Wakka took a step backwards and gave his patented shocked expression, throwing his arm across his face. He recovered quickly, yelling, "Don't DO that! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Rikku giggled. "Chill, Wakka! Geez, what's with you? You're so tense lately!"
Wakka resisted the urge to make a snide comment in return and settled for a shrug instead. "We'd better get movin', ya? I wanna at least reach Mt. Gagazet today."
They packed up camp silently and made it out of Macalania, again noting the strange lack of fiends. Several times Rikku checked to make sure she hadn't equipped the Devastator by mistake, but always found that she was wearing her Godhand as usual.
They had just topped the crest of the ridge overlooking the Calm Lands when a woman astride a chocobo rode up to them. "Good day," she said cheerfully, "We don't get many travelers up here anymore. You planning on crossing the Calm Lands?"
"Yeah," Rikku answered, eyeing the woman warily. She wore a brightly colored heavy coat and wool hat, even though it was hardly autumn and still quite warm out. Rikku couldn't understand why anyone would put themselves through such torture.
"Would you like to rent a couple of chocobos? Fiends avoid them, and it would make your journey much faster. Only 100 Gil apiece. Though," she added as an afterthought, "there haven't been any fiends lately…"
"Yeah!" Rikku cried, her face lighting up. "Let's rent chocobos, Wakka!"
"Wait a sec, ya? We don't 'ave a whole lotta money…" he protested.
"It's only 200 Gil, Wakka! We've got enough!" insisted Rikku.
Wakka was still skeptical. "But… once we reach Mt. Gagazet, we can't just turn around and ride the chocobos back to return 'em!"
"Oh, don't worry about that," the woman on the chocobo assured him, "Just leave them there. They're tagged, so I always know where they are."
"Come on, Wakka! You said yourself you wanna reach Mt. Gagazet by nightfall!"
Wakka frowned, realizing he'd effectively backed himself into a corner. "All right, all right," he grumbled, digging through his pockets for the cash. He finally dredged up the Gil and handed it to the chocobo lady. She gave a piercing whistle and two chocobos appeared at her side, squawking happily in that way that chocobos do.
"Here you are," she announced, "Enjoy your trip." She turned and trotted off down the slope.
"Easy for her to say," Wakka muttered under his breath, eyeing his chocobo warily.
Rikku grabbed hers and swung herself easily up onto it's back. "C'mon, Wakka, What're you waiting for?"
He glared at her. "I dunno how to ride," he said sulkily.
Rikku trotted in a circle around him, laughing. Wakka frowned and muttered something about "excessive perkiness" under his breath.
"It's not that hard," Rikku said, "I've never ridden one before either, but they can't be that different from machina bikes. Just grab it's neck feathers- you won't hurt it- and swing one leg over, then use your momentum to hoist yourself up."
After a few agonizing moments, Wakka was perched rather uncomfortably on the chocobo. Rikku grinned at him. "Great! Now let's go."
~*~*~*~
"Abandoned…" Rikku muttered as she circled the rest stop, only to find all entrances boarded up. The colorful hangings and posters had all been taken down and removed, along with the pots and other strange artifacts that usually littered the area.
"I guess they left now that no more summoners and their guardians are gonna be comin' through here, ya?" Wakka thought aloud.
Rikku snorted, "Great. And they took all their stock with 'em. Just when we were running low."
"We'll be fine, ya. We got chocobos to get across the Calm Lands, and it's just a day's trip to reach the summit once we're on Mt. Gagazet."
Rikku nodded, shivering involuntarily. She was getting bad vibes from something… she just couldn't put her finger on it. "C'mon, there's no point in hanging around here," she said, glancing around them nervously. She climbed back onto her chocobo and set off at a quick trot, wondering what exactly was making her feel so uneasy.
Wakka rushed to catch up to her. "Hey, Rikku, you okay?" he asked in concern. She glanced up in surprise, then nodded, realizing she must have looked really unsettled if he had bothered to ask.
"I think I'm gettin' the hang a' this, ya?" Wakka remarked, indicating the chocobo he sat upon. "How about a race?"
Rikku understood that he was trying to get her mind off whatever was troubling her, and she appreciated the gesture. "How far?" she asked gamely.
"Uh… how 'bout to the Arena?"
It was a long way, but about the only landmark they had to use as a finish line. Rikku squinted into the distance and was just barely able to make out the brightly colored balloons that marked their destination. "Yeah, okay. What're the stakes?"
"Huh?"
Rikku rolled her eyes at his ignorance. "What do I get if I win?"
"Uh…" Wakka faltered. He didn't really have anything to offer should she win.
Rikku giggled suddenly. "A date!"
"What!?" yelped Wakka.
"I get to go on a date if I win!" Rikku grinning evilly at him and suddenly took off at full speed, leaving a bewildered Wakka in the dust.
"Hey! Wait! What… gah!" Wakka spurred his chocobo into a gallop and after a few minutes he neared Rikku, who was giggling uncontrollably. Reaching down, he grabbed the reins of her chocobo and pulled back, at the same time urging his mount to go faster.
"Hey!" cried Rikku indignantly as he passed her.
Suddenly Wakka felt something land heavily behind him, and he turned his head to see Rikku, who stuck her tongue out at him. His chocobo squawked at the extra weight, while Rikku's- now without the burden of a rider- sped up. Rikku jumped back on it as it passed them, making sure to push Wakka's chocobo backwards as she did.
Rikku crossed their imaginary finish line just before Wakka, turned around, and promptly dissolved into laughter. Wakka slowed his chocobo as he passed her and wheeled around as she fell off her chocobo and rolled on the ground, laughing hysterically. She paused long enough to point at him and gasp out: "Your… face… priceless!"
Wakka 'hmphed' and turned away, not enjoying being laughed at. Rikku was just beginning to calm down when she suddenly heard a noise behind her. Without warning, a huge fist reached down and grabbed her by the leg, lifting her into the air upside-down. She screamed as it shook her and then flung her aside. The cliff wall made its presence known to her very quickly.
'Oh, cred,' she thought, and then the world went black.
~*~*~*~
Wakka heard Rikku's scream and turned just in time to see her thrown into the cliff wall. There was a sickening 'crack' and she slumped to the ground, eyes glazed.
"RIKKU!" yelled Wakka, but then the monster was on him, swinging a huge fist. The chocobo Wakka was mounted on nimbly dodged the blow and Wakka took the opportunity to fling his blitzball at the creature, loading it with a darkness technique and hoping for the best. The monster flailed blindly and Wakka used the distraction to duck behind it and get to Rikku.
Which would have worked perfectly except for one small detail:
She wasn't there.
"Hastega!" a voice yelled, and a moment later she appeared next to him, again mounted on her chocobo. He gaped at her as she winked. "SOS Regen," she grinned, "I knew it was worth all those Healing Springs. Now-" she turned to look at her attacker, "I thought that woman said monsters avoided chocobos!" she said angrily.
"D'ya see this kinda thing runnin' around on a daily basis?" Wakka countered, feeling his pulse quicken and the familiar adrenaline rush as Rikku's spell kicked in. "I'll bet it escaped from the Arena, ya?"
By now the… thing… had stopped prancing around and rubbing its eyes and had turned to face them, giving them their first good look at their opponent. Colored silver and gold, it had a large head and arms compared to its torso, though to Wakka and Rikku it was by no means small. It snarled hungrily at them, revealing two purple tongues, and Wakka was suddenly reminded of a similar monster the group had encountered during Yuna's pilgrimage… A monster at Mi'ihen Highroad… A monster with a taste for chocobos…
'Aw, crap,' he thought as it lumbered towards them, swinging its massive fists. His chocobo easily avoided the attack and he tossed his blitzball again while Rikku lobbed a couple of grenades at it. The Earth Eater, as he had now identified it, snarled and swung again, this time clipping Rikku's shoulder as she tried to duck. With a cry, she tumbled off her mount and hit the ground hard, rolling forwards onto her feet.
The Earth Eater rushed her again, but this time she was ready. Throwing down a smoke bomb for cover, she ran under the fiend and thrust the Godhand into its belly, pulling down and tearing the flesh as she ducked between its legs and emerged behind it. It roared in pain and Rikku grinned triumphantly.
"Look out!" Wakka yelled.
Rikku's smile faded and she yelped as the monster spun around, thrashing wildly. She ducked and crawled out of the way while Wakka threw his blitzball again and hit it square in the face, catching it off balance and knocking it onto its back. It kicked its legs and flailed, but didn't right itself.
"I think it's stuck…" Rikku whispered to Wakka as he rode up beside her. "Y'think maybe we should go now?"
Wakka nodded mutely as Rikku's chocobo trotted up and cooed happily at her. She smiled weakly and hoisted herself up, gripping the reins tightly.
"Let's hurry, ya," Wakka urged, turning towards Mt. Gagazet. Rikku glanced back at the Earth Eater and frowned. It was still struggling on its back, but something wasn't quite right…
"Wa-" she stopped in horror as a flaming dome of white light surrounded Wakka.
"Ow," he croaked as the Flare spell faded.
There was a roar of triumph, and they turned to see the Earth Eater back on its feet, glaring angrily at them. The gash Rikku had torn in its stomach was still spilling a nasty yellowish liquid.
"Cred," Rikku muttered, wondering if she knew any spells that might do more than annoy it. She'd never really bothered to learn offensive magic, and she was regretting it now. How the hell could they… ah! Perfect! Rikku peered around the Earth Eater and grinned, an idea forming in her mind. During the course of the battle, they had somehow managed to work the fiend around so that its back was to The Scar, the great chasm that cut across the Clam Lands, created when a previous Sin was defeated by a summoner of ages past. Even better, Rikku noted, the monster was just a few feet from the edge- if they could just get it to take a couple steps back…
"Wakka!" she yelled. When he looked in her direction she pointed at the monster and made a pushing motion with her hands; he nodded that he understood. They shifted so that they were approaching in a pincer formation and began an all out assault of blitzballs and frag grenades. The Earth Eater howled in pain, but instead of backing up, it began to advance.
Rikku cursed and guided her chocobo around next to Wakka's. "I can do a mix," she told him, "But I'll need time."
He nodded, "I'll cover for ya." He charged forwards and to the right, flinging another blitzball infused with Dark Attack.
Rikku used the distraction to dig around in her pouch for a pair of pendulums. She had just finished fusing them together when she heard a cry, and she looked up just in time to see Wakka batted from his chocobo and sent flying to the ground some feet away. He slammed into a rock with a sickening crunch and lay still.
"NO!" Rikku screamed, hurling her mix at the Earth Eater. The chaos grenade exploded violently, launching earth and debris in all directions. The force of the explosion knocked Rikku to the ground, where she lay for several minutes. When she finally dared to get up, she only rose to her knees and crawled to the lip of The Scar. After glancing over the edge, she grimaced, shook her head, and made her way to Wakka.
He moaned slightly as she turned him over to inspect the wound. A large gash had formed in his right shoulder where he had hit the sharp rock, and it was bleeding profusely. Rikku swore and shook him vigorously. "Wakka! Wakka, wake up! You'd better not have a concussion…"
"Ow, Rikku! Cut it out, ya?" he yelped, opening his eyes.
"Oh, stop whining, ya big baby," chided Rikku as she pressed a cloth to his shoulder to stop the bleeding, "It's not that bad."
"But it hurts," he moaned.
Rikku rolled her eyes. "What, d'ya want me to kiss it and make it better?"
There was a pregnant pause as Rikku's words took a minute to sink in for both of them. She realized what she had just said and blushed. "Uh, I didn't really mean that…" she mumbled, and began digging through her pouch for a Hi-Potion.
"I wouldn't mind…" Wakka mumbled under his breath.
"What?" asked Rikku, only half listening.
"Nothing!"
Rikku might have retaliated, but she was too preoccupied with pulling a small blue vial out of her bag. "Damn. Down to my last Hi-Potion." She uncorked it and handed it to Wakka. "Here, drink up. You're not going anywhere with a hole like that in ya."
Wakka took the bottle and stared woefully at it. "This stuff tastes like shit," he said dejectedly.
"Tough. Drink now or I'll force feed you."
Wakka brought the vial to his lips and swallowed the iridescent liquid, grimacing as it went down. When he finished, he passed the empty container back to Rikku, who dropped it back in the pouch fastened around her thigh. "That'll take a few hours to fully heal," she said, "It's a pretty deep cut. I guess we'll have to walk the rest of the way. You can't ride in this condition."
"I'm fine, ya," protested Wakka, but Rikku wouldn't buy it. Putting his arm over her shoulders, she helped pull him to his feet and supported his weight as they crossed the final stretch of the Calm Lands. And in truth, he was grateful.
~*~*~*~
Oh, my head. How hard did I party last night?
Harder than you think.
…What… What happened?
I… I was celebrating our latest victory in the blitzball tournament…
Were you?
Wasn't I?
You tell me.
I… I wasn't. I was… I can't remember…
You can.
Who… who are you, anyways?
Does it matter?
I… no. I don't think so.
So tell me. What do you remember?
Nothing. I was playing blitzball… and then…I can't remember…
Think hard. Think very hard.
Tidus…What…? Who?
Tidus…Who are you?
Come back to me…
Where are you?
You promised, Tidus…
You… You… Yuna!
Very good.
Yuna! I have to get to Yuna!
*******
'Cred!', in case you weren't sure, is Al Bhed for 'Shit!'
Gah. It wasn't until I wrote that battle scene that I realized just how limited your resources are when you're only fighting with two people. ::sigh:: Until next time, then! Don't forget to review!!!