Return of Light
Zeoron's eyes opened slowly and she blinked before she bolted upright, her eyes darting from left to right. Her chocolate tousled hair fell around her shoulders.
"Whoa! Take it easy, Zeo!" Rikku laughed. Zeoron stared at the blond woman.
"What happened? What was that power?"
"Easy, easy! We won, that's what. And that power was you, silly girl! You pack one hell of a punch for such a tiny thing!" Rikku chuckled, eyes swirled green eyes twinkling.
"We won? And that power—it wasn't me. It couldn't have been me! There was something. I—I said help and then something happened… Oh, fuck, I'm losing my mind," Zeoron groaned, falling back onto the pillows and pulling the sheets up over her dark head.
"You're not losing your mind, Zeo. I felt it, too. We all did."
Zeoron flung the sheets aside and sat up again, her amethyst eyes seeking out the owner of the voice. They widened upon seeing them.
"Lulu? You felt it?" she whispered.
Rikku blinked. "That warmth? I thought it was just Zeo charging up. I guess not, then, if she's going crazy because she knows it wasn't."
Lulu shook her head. Wakka came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "I think I know what it was. Man, I've never felt anything like it before. It was like there was no sadness or anything like that, ya? It was awesome," he said.
"It was so warm and that pain was cold. I guess it gave me the power to Overdrive and kill the Behemoth King. How did—I mean, did it…?"
"Yeah, you killed it. But the Meteor attack did quite some damage to a few Besaidian houses. People are cleaning up, though. They're thankful to us for beating it. But…" Rikku trailed off and turned her head, focusing not on the bed but on the unconscious form in it, sheets drawn up over his bare chest and black hair untamed. There were no visible marks to the eye upon, but it was deeper.
Zeoron followed Rikku's gaze and covered her mouth with her hand before letting it drop, shaking her head as her eyes filled up with tears. "Oh, Chappu…"
"He—he hasn't woke up at all. Not a sound, either. I don't get it. It's like something's keeping him from waking up, but… well, we can't find anything physically wrong with him. He's perfectly fine as far as we can tell, but yet…" Lulu sighed and shook her head. Wakka squeezed her shoulder.
—
It was odd, bizarre—and just a little bit scary.
Chappu was staring at himself as he lay in bed. He was standing right beside the bed, but yet they couldn't see them or hear. He'd already tried to attract their attention. He'd even gone as far as to dance around the room singing to try and get them to look, but so far, he didn't exist apparently.
Chappu moaned and ran a hand through his hair, the other shifting to rest on his hip. He rubbed the back of his neck after combing through his raven's wing hair and exhaled loudly.
"This is so fucking unbelievable—yeah, maybe I'm dreaming. Light, I need a damn drink," he muttered. He would have kicked the floor but he was like his unconscious self in the bed—half-naked and without weapon. He laughed to himself, picturing how ridiculous he'd looked dancing and singing around the room in his boxers.
"Oh, come on, Chappu, you didn't look that bad. I thought you looked kinda sexy," laughed a female voice from somewhere behind him.
Chappu whirled around and felt the change as though something had swept over him. It was a red room now, and brightly lit, but…
His eyes widened and he nearly choked.
His golden goddess was slowly walking toward him, lithe hips swaying tantalizingly from side to side as she stepped, one booted heel in front of the other. Her blond hair was cascading over her scantily clad form, reaching down to her slim waist. Her colored eyes were dark with passion and Chappu felt heat beginning to fill him—and all of the blood in his head suddenly vanished and reappeared in his shorts.
"Tell me, Chappu…" She reached him, wrapped her arms around his neck. Instinctively, Chappu's arm went around her. One long leg found its way up to wrap around his waist. One hand moved to his shoulder while the other toyed with the hair on the back of his head. She smiled. "Did you miss me?"
"Light… Are you—is this real?" Chappu whispered hoarsely, gripping her wait in his hands.
Tida's smile widened and she kissed him. She pulled, her lips still against his, "Of course I'm real. The Shadow has so much power, doesn't it?" She kissed him again, her left hand drifting down—
"Shit!" Chappu broke the kiss off and gasped for air, his grip on her waist tightening. He tilted his head back, staring at the ceiling, as Tida smirked knowingly.
"Like that, sweetie?" she whispered, nipping lightly at his neck.
Chappu brought his head back down at looked at her, his own eyes now dark with sexual frustration written clearly with the intense blue orbs.
"Hang on, honey. Isn't this fun?" Tida said, giggling a little. "See what the Shadow can give to you, Chappu? It can keep us together, forever. Join with it. I did. The Shadow brought me back to life. I am part of it. Join with me, be part of the Shadow, Chappu."
Chappu smiled and kissed her again. "You know I can't, Tida."
Her lips formed into a pouty, sulky smile. "Please, baby. I want to be with you, always." She kissed him, her hands moving in motion as Chappu held her balanced.
"I want to be with you, too. Maybe the Shadow would be better…" Chappu nearly groaned. Light, she knew how to drive him mad!
Chappu looked in her eyes, left green and right blue.
And it clicked. The Shadow wanted him; it knew what he loved the most and now they were trying to use her as a tool to change him. Anger began to arise behind the smoky sex in his eyes and Tida pushed back, staring quizzically at him.
Light, how he wished it were really her. Join the Shadow? Please—Tida was Light all the way. She'd never called him "sweetie" or "honey," either. And fun? She'd say sweet. As for sex, she'd have waited for the honeymoon even though she'd known she wouldn't get to it. That was her, pure and innocent to the end.
And besides, her left eye was a shimmering Prussian blue and her right eye was a sparkling sea green.
"Get the fucking hell away from me, Shadowfiend. How dare you try to use Tida to turn me. You damn fucking—"
Tida disappeared and Chappu shouted; a blue blaze surrounded his body as his power erupted within him, filling the red-is-the-color-of-sin room. Everything seemed to explode as his force touched it.
"CHAPPU!"
—
"TIDA!"
Chappu jerked awake and sat up, clenching his fists and howling. The blue had surrounded his real body as well and its light filled the room.
Zeoron, Rikku, Wakka, and Lulu were all staring at him in shock as he stood up.
"Damn the Shadow and damn its fucking Shadowfiends." He ignored the tears falling swiftly from his eyes and trailing down his cheeks and bare chest. "Damn them for fucking using—using her! How could they?!"
He collapsed, falling to his hands and knees. A sob caught in his throat and he struggled for breath, his chest and throat constricting.
All the color in Zeoron's face drained out of it as Wakka and Rikku hurried forward to his fallen form. Wakka hoisted him to his feet and pushed him back onto the bed as Rikku darted to give him something to drink.
"The Shadow wants me. They—they tried to—" Chappu choked again.
"Shh, Chappu," Rikku shushed, shaking her head. Her lips were a thin white line as she struggled to comprehend what he was saying.
Zeoron and Lulu looked at each other. They'd used Chappu's only weakness against him, to try to turn him to the Shadow's side. How dare they use her purity for such darkness?
Chappu shook his head.
"Light, Tida…" Light, he wished it would've been her. Oh, Light, how he wished.
* * *
"Damn fucking Shadow," Tida muttered, scowling and flinging a glass half-heartedly across the kitchen where it shattered upon hitting the wall.
"Tida!" Yunalesca's head appeared around the door. "What on Spira—I told you no more breaking my glassware!"
"They used me to get to him! Damn it!" Tears sprang into Tida's eyes and she dropped to her knees. "I hate this, Yunalesca! I want to be with them! They need my help! I want to be with him!"
"Maybe he was right."
Tida's head shot up. "Who? Who was right?"
"Well…"
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