Return of Light
"Shit! Fucking son-of-a-bitch!"
"Chappu! Will you stop cussing so da—ack—much!"
"Would you like me—ARGH!"
"Both of you, quiet!" Rikku roared, looking very menacing indeed with a welder's helmet and torch in one hand, which she brandished threateningly at them, baring her teeth in a snarl.
"Sorry, Rikku," Zeoron and Chappu chorused, both shooting the other a heated glare as soon as Rikku had lowered her shield and went back to fixing… well, whatever it was that she was fixing.
"Whose bloody idea was it to rent a boat from that old sleaze anyway?" Zeoron muttered, rolling her eyes to the sky. She sighed and tugged again on her dark braid, though haphazardly thrown back together. Bits of nearly-black hair stuck out of the normally well-done braid at odd angles.
"Mine, so shut up, Zeo," growled Rikku through clenched teeth. The boat rocked and Chappu gripped the rail to keep from going down. Zeoron, however, slipped on the wet rail and went sailing neatly over the edge—and straight into the fiend-infested waters.
Chappu leaned over and seized the back of her shirt, hauling her up just in time to save her from being bitten by a water fiend. The look in Zeoron's eyes as she placed, standing, back on the deck, was murderous.
"THUNDAGA!" she shouted, pointing down at the water. "THUNDAGA, THUNDAGA, THUNDAGA!" For good measure, she jumped and down in a fury, watching fiends vanish left and right.
Chappu blinked but Rikku ignored her. She didn't have time to spare to watch Zeoron throw a temper tantrum right now; the broken engine was first in her priorities at the moment.
"Zeo!" Chappu snapped after the thirteenth round of the Thunder Spell, snatching her wrist in midair. "I think you've killed enough of them for now."
Zeoron made a very un-ladylike noise in throat and jerked her wrist out of his grasp before flinging her sopping braid over her shoulder and pointing a finger in Chappu's chest.
"I blame you," she hissed, before turning on her heel and stalking—as best she could on the slippery wet deck—and disappeared into the cabin.
Chappu only raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Must be that time," he muttered under his breath, eyeing Rikku warily.
The blond Al Bhed straightened up and stood, flipping the shield back and squinting down at her handiwork.
"Zeo!" she called. "Give it a try!"
The engine sputtered and Rikku frowned before flinging she held in her hands to the deck and, with a loud yell of outrage, kicked the metal with all she was worth.
The engine roared to life and Chappu heard Zeoron give a loud whoop from inside. Rikku dusted her hands off and grinned. "It'll do for now."
—
"Land ho!" Zeoron called, running back to the rear of the boat. She jumped a few crates and skidded to a halt, grinning at Chappu, who was sharpening the Spirit Keeper.
"I know."
Zeoron's grin instantly changed to a scowl. " 'Gee, Zeo, thanks for telling me. I'll get my stuff together so we can go right along'."
Chappu snorted. "Like I'd actually ever say something that shitty."
Zeoron flung her hands up. "Once again with the swearing! When did you turn into such—such a chauvinistic egotistical—male?!"
Chappu smirked and held his own hands out to the sides. "It's a gift; what can I say?"
"Asshole," Zeoron mumbled under her breath, scowling even deeper. She spun on her heel and hurried inside the cabin where Rikku was busily gathering her supplies.
"Ready, Zeo?" Rikku asked over her shoulder, shoving a few Al Bhed potion bottles into a bag.
"Yeah, I'm set. I dunno about Chappu, though. Something's…" Zeoron bit her lip and shook her head, turning her eyes out over the softly churning sea.
"What is it, Zeo?" Rikku said nonchalantly, pausing to study a book before tossing it aside. She reached down to tie up one brown boot, hissing as she remembered the Godhand was buried in one of the cabinets.
Zeoron noticed Rikku's preoccupied state and didn't comment. Instead, she opted for exiting the cabin and readying a few lines to throw to the dockhands.
Nice one, Zeo, she thought lamely, knotting one line expertly.
She spotted Chappu out of the corner of her eye, staring out at Besaid with a glinted steel look flashing across his eyes then replaced with a sad… longing?
Zeoron shook her head, pushing it away. Why would Chappu look at Besaid like that? Unless…
Zeoron's hands froze in their movements and she closed her eyes, mentally kicking herself. Tida. Tida had grown up in Besaid. That's where Chappu had first seen her.
The boat skimmed over the water and came up directly beside the dock. She tossed a line to a dockhand who quickly snatched it from the sea air and tied it securely to a post. Rikku jumped out onto the dock and had a few words with a man who appeared to be in charge. After a moment, he nodded and Rikku motioned to Zeoron.
Zeoron leapt down after grasping her own bag and signaling to Chappu. Chappu followed, slinging his own bag over his shoulder as he walked carelessly down the dock after Rikku's retreating back.
Zeoron snorted and then tagged along. Duty first with him, it seemed.
It was quite a ways to travel to reach the actual village of Besaid. Zeoron kicked at rocks along the way to amuse herself as neither Chappu nor Rikku said much—although a few fiends attacking did bring them out of their reveries long enough to fight back.
The young Black Mage sighed and shifted her backpack again. "How much longer?" she groaned, forcefully kicking another rock.
"Down this hill," Rikku called back. Zeoron glanced at the statue on the crest behind her and then burst into a run for the village, racing down the steep trail.
"Zeo!" Rikku shouted, stopping as the girl flew past her. Chappu looked behind them.
"Holy shit! Run!" he yelled, stumbling to turn around and then gathering his legs beneath him steadily, bolted.
"What? Why?" Rikku said, starting to turn around. Chappu didn't give her a chance. He seized her arm as he sprinted by, dragging her along behind him. Rikku caught something out of the corner of her eye and yelped, digging her feet into the ground to put on a fresh spurt of speed.
"Behemoth King!" she shouted, the Godhand flashing onto her arm. She leapt into the air, kicked off the Besaid gates, and flipped just as the Behemoth smashed the entrance into splinters. It reared back and roared.
People began screaming and running, heading for the safety of the temple. Rikku skidded her boots in the dirt and stopped, jerking around to stare at the Behemoth King.
Chappu flung his back aside and unsheathed the Spirit Keeper, gritting his teeth and taking up his stance. Zeoron ran between the two, clutching the Pararin, her eyes burning—she'd embraced her magic already.
"Wait!"
Wakka and Lulu raced toward the trio though their eyes were trained readily on the Behemoth. Wakka held World Champion under one arm and the Onion Knight was cradled in the crook of Lulu's right arm.
"Its eyes are glowing red," Zeoron muttered.
"Shadow. A Shadowfiend must be nearby," Chappu growled, his eyes darting, searching for the black-shrouded figure that was more than likely lurking close by.
"We'll deal with the Shadowfiend in a minute, ya? Right now, let's save Besaid from this thing," Wakka ordered, directing Chappu's attention back to the Behemoth.
"Right, then. Lulu and I'll cast Demi right off," Zeoron said, looking unhesitatingly to the elder Mage, who nodded swiftly in agreement.
"Then Chappu and I'll attack. Rikku, you be the Healer unless you've got an Overdrive. You're the one with the Al Bhed potions anyway," Wakka instructed. Chappu's grip on his blade grew tighter as Rikku nodded, stepping back out of the way.
"Now!"
"DEMI!" Zeoron's and Lulu's voices fell in together as two purple clouds erupted from the pair of them, encircling the Behemoth King, who roared and then retched as his power was reduced.
"Chappu!" Wakka shouted, flinging the blitzball as hard as he could at the Behemoth. Chappu rushed forward, leaping. He dodged the returning World Champion and slashed out with the Spirit Keeper with a cry. He landed awkwardly and stumbled back in the line.
The Behemoth snarled and swung out with a fist, catching them all by surprise. Zeoron screamed and Chappu dove, shoving her to the ground. The Spirit Keeper fell with a clatter as Chappu was hurled back, crashing into the trees. He slid the ground and groaned, his lead lolling onto his chest, as blood appeared running down his face.
"Chappu!" Zeoron shrieked.
"I'll tend to him! Beat it!" Rikku yelled, already racing toward Chappu.
The Behemoth cast something over them, they weren't sure what. All they knew was that it hurt. It felt like they were being torn apart on the inside; their skin felt like it was aflame. Something was stinging their eyes.
Zeoron reached out blindly, searching for the magic. "THUN—"—she choked—"THUNDAGA!"
Something howled—the Behemoth King. She heard Lulu's voice—"FLARE!"
Something whizzed by her ear—World Champion.
"Help! Please help!" she whimpered. Oh, Light, how it hurt!
CRASH!
PING!
"What the—"
Something bright was blinding her now. But it was… heavenly. It was warm as well, filling her from head to toe with light. Her voice—
"SILENT SCREAM!"
Vastness engulfed everything—her world, her friends' world. It was so powerful—
And then she knew nothing.
Disclaimer: All belongs to Squaresoft. You people know what's mine, okay?