*coughs* okay, this update isn't my usual 2-chappie one, but pity me!!!! i'm sick!!! *hack hack hack* alrighty, just a warning, this chapter gets a little, uh, more FANTASTICAL than the previous few. no flames, please! i hope you enjoy! ~~~sa~~~
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Ch. 6 Born of This Chaos...
Rikku growled and plopped down onto the cold stone floor of the Djose Temple. Members of the Machina Faction were buzzing around, apparently REALLY busy. Too busy to even give the sputtering Gankee a second glance. He was hurrying around, shouting out phrases in extremely clumsy Al Bhed and no one was paying any attention to him. Rikku crossed her arms and glared at the nearest Faction member who had been staring at her in a rather gross fashion for quite some time. He jumped and looked away, pretending to be busy with a malfunctioning machina. Gankee came over, sighed, and sat down next to the angry blonde. "SO?" Rikku spat, ignoring the frustrated look on Gankee's face. "So, what?" He spat back, anger flaring in his eyes. Rikku's eyes widened slightly, shocked that he was actually losing his temper. He NEVER lost his temper; he was an extremely even keeled man. Rolling her eyes to right off her shock, Rikku stood up.
"Rikku, what are you doing? They're not going to listen to you." Gankee's slightly angry voice was lost in the sounds of an airship landing just outside. The Al Bhed in the temple all scrambled for the door at once. In the chaos, Rikku found herself pushed all the way outside, to where the Celsius was parked. Screeching, Rikku pulled away from the crowd and bolted for the temple. Gankee, who stood right in the doorway. got dragged along her flee-path all the way into the Cloister of Trials. Gankee glared at his short companion and yanked his arm away from her clingy grip. "What the hell, Rikku? We could've hitched a ride on that airship!" He yelled, stomping through the Trials to the pedestal elevator. Rikku jumped a little, not expecting him to yell. "Well, excuuuuse me! That airship just so happened to be the Celsius, which meant that Rikku's brother and all the rest of the Gullwings were on board! Getting a ride from them is the last thing Rikku needs!" Her voice gained volume until an abandoned sphere in the wall fell to the ground and shattered with a sizzling snap.
They both jumped, staring at the sphere like it had awoken them from their trance. Pushing his black hair out of his eyes, Gankee strode towards Rikku slowly. Her small frame was shaking slightly, whether from the tears she was fighting or the anger she felt, who knew? "Rikku," He whispered, gently touching her bare shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. That was out of line. Its just that, I mean, I didn't know the Celsius was following us. I'm sorry." He said sincerely, attempting to get Rikku to look him in the honest eyes. She pulled away from him and took a deep breath. He felt a seperation stretch between them, spanning a huge gap of their friendship. Rikku's defense was to push people away; he knew that from experience. But, this time, he felt like he had gone too far by yelling for no good reason. She got enough of that from her Pop and Brother.
He was about to suggest they head farther into the temple to escape the Gullwings when a shockingly angry voice yelled from the other side of the door to the Trials. Gasping, Rikku rushed past Gankee and onto the elevator, motioning for him to follow. "Who was that?" Gankee asked as the elevator brought them to the upper level. "Gippal." She squeaked, hurrying up the stairs. Gankee glared down at the floor below him like he was actually glaring at Gippal. He knew the story of Gippal and Rikku and he knew that the one eyed Al Bhed had been following them. He most likely clued the rest of the crew onto their location. Feigning cluelessness, Gankee hurried after her. "Rikku! Is Gippal the one eyed one?" He asked as he entered the room before the Chamber of the Fayth. Nodding frantically, Rikku leapt onto the windowsil. "Come on!" She motioned him up, too.
He guessed she meant that they could leapt to their rocky deaths on the spear-like, jagged stones below that temple window. Shaking his head, Gankee rushed the door to the Chamber. Rikku made a frustrated noise and followed. Gankee peered down the hole left by Vegnagun. Rikku gasped when she saw it. She figured when they defeated Vegnagun and freed the aeons again, the fayths when at least repair their temples. Guessing that was a big "NO!", she joined Gankee at the hole's edge. "Are you thinking we could...?" Rikku went through the hand motions of diving down into the Farplane Abyss. Gankee nodded and then smiled bitterly. "Hey, its the only way we can get out of here without dying, right?" Snorting at his lame attempt at humor, Rikku braced herself for the jump. No matter how many times she leapt down those creepy holes, she never got used to them.
Rikku never thought to question how they would get back out of the Farplane since Gankee seemed so confident while they battled down the Road to the Abyss. He always had some brillant plan to pull out of no where when in danger. So, when they got to the Farplane Glen, she expected him to pull off some incredible scheme. Right? Nope. Instead, he sheepishly turned to her and asked if she knew a way out. Falling over, Rikku covered her eyes with her hands. 'Why did I get stuck with the "Do first, figure it all out later" guy? URGH!' She thought, mentally kicking herself for jumping down that frickin' hole in the first place. "Rikku!" Gankee cried, his voice a little panicky sounding. Rikku ignored the note of panic and rolled onto her stomach to stare at the inside of her eyelids. "Rikku? RIKKU!" He cried again and again, making Rikku more than a little pissed at him. "What, what, what?" She screamed, standing up and glaring at him.
He was pointing in the direction that she and the others had gone to chase after Vegnagun. A little yelp escaped Rikku at sight of all the chaos in front of her. It was just like that simulation Gippal had shown them on the airship. A whirling mass of energy crackling and surging around mingling with thousands of pyreflies. "What in the-?" Gankee began, stumbling away from the whirling mass as an explosion rocked the glen. Screaming, Rikku attempted to jump off the edge of the glen as it crumbled away. "Rikku!" Gankee screamed, reaching out for her to grab his hand. "I...can't...reach!" She cried, frantically scrambling as more of the clifflike edge crumbled beneath her. Soon, the platform she was trying to escape fell away from the main glen all together. Leaving Gankee to watch her fall into the valley below and all its pyrefly chaos.
When Rikku woke up, all she could remember was falling into that weird mass of energy and feeling cold all over. She opened her eyes and gasped at the face she saw there. "Auron?!?" She cried, scrambling away from the solid apparition of her mentor. He stood all the way up to his full height, fixing his one-eyed stare on Rikku as she stood shakily. They seemed to be floating in a black void. "Rikku." Auron said, his voice echoing oddly in the blackness around them. He took a step towards her, a few pyreflies flitting past randomly. Rikku fought the conflicting urges in her head. Her first instinct was to run to him and hug him back to death. (AN: punny, no?) But, at the same time, she felt a mistrust of this whole thing. Why would he be back? They WERE in the Farplane, right? So he wasn't really back, right? Right?
"Rikku, don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. And I am really Auron." He chuckled, reading her thoughts which were clearly displayed on her face. Rikku's eyes filled with tears of joy and relief. Without a word, she threw herself at him, hugging his solid form with all her might. In an extremely fatherly manner, he held her, humming the Hymn gently. When Rikku finally looked up at him, she was grinning happily. "Are you really back or is this just a one time thing?" Auron, in his usual mysterious manner, stepped away from her and sighed. "Its hard to say." Hands akimbo, Rikku scoffed at his response. "What's THAT supposed to mean?" She screeched. Auron shook his head. "Rikku, the Farplane is in shambles and a lot of the dead are regaining solid forms. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones to come away with a body."
He paused briefly, his voice cracking like he was speaking through an old sphere. Rikku looked around, staring at the massive numbers of pyreflies swarming around them. "Rikku! Get down!" Auron's voice was a little clearer as he placed himself protectively in front of her. She covered her head with her arms and closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them after the roar of the pyreflies had died down, Rikku was surprised to see that they were standing back in the glen. Gankee was staring at them, open mouthed, while Auron helped a shocked Rikku to her feet. Before anyone could say anything, the whole Farplane seemed to buckle under the powerful energy's grasp. Everything around them burst into blue flames and then pyreflies, leaping and dancing through and around them. Their collective shouts were drowned out by a large whooshing noise. Then, it all went black.
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AN: *flinches* wait, no throwing of the rotten veggies! whoo hoo!!! well, i'm gonna go sleep or something. please be patient with my sickly self!!! the next update might take a while. but, but but!!! the story is going to speed up...a LOT!! and a few, ok, ALL of the questions you may have will be answered...soon...i leave you with this one survey (please answer with your lovely reviews!): who do you think Gankee REALLY is??? peace! ~~~sa~~~
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Ch. 6 Born of This Chaos...
Rikku growled and plopped down onto the cold stone floor of the Djose Temple. Members of the Machina Faction were buzzing around, apparently REALLY busy. Too busy to even give the sputtering Gankee a second glance. He was hurrying around, shouting out phrases in extremely clumsy Al Bhed and no one was paying any attention to him. Rikku crossed her arms and glared at the nearest Faction member who had been staring at her in a rather gross fashion for quite some time. He jumped and looked away, pretending to be busy with a malfunctioning machina. Gankee came over, sighed, and sat down next to the angry blonde. "SO?" Rikku spat, ignoring the frustrated look on Gankee's face. "So, what?" He spat back, anger flaring in his eyes. Rikku's eyes widened slightly, shocked that he was actually losing his temper. He NEVER lost his temper; he was an extremely even keeled man. Rolling her eyes to right off her shock, Rikku stood up.
"Rikku, what are you doing? They're not going to listen to you." Gankee's slightly angry voice was lost in the sounds of an airship landing just outside. The Al Bhed in the temple all scrambled for the door at once. In the chaos, Rikku found herself pushed all the way outside, to where the Celsius was parked. Screeching, Rikku pulled away from the crowd and bolted for the temple. Gankee, who stood right in the doorway. got dragged along her flee-path all the way into the Cloister of Trials. Gankee glared at his short companion and yanked his arm away from her clingy grip. "What the hell, Rikku? We could've hitched a ride on that airship!" He yelled, stomping through the Trials to the pedestal elevator. Rikku jumped a little, not expecting him to yell. "Well, excuuuuse me! That airship just so happened to be the Celsius, which meant that Rikku's brother and all the rest of the Gullwings were on board! Getting a ride from them is the last thing Rikku needs!" Her voice gained volume until an abandoned sphere in the wall fell to the ground and shattered with a sizzling snap.
They both jumped, staring at the sphere like it had awoken them from their trance. Pushing his black hair out of his eyes, Gankee strode towards Rikku slowly. Her small frame was shaking slightly, whether from the tears she was fighting or the anger she felt, who knew? "Rikku," He whispered, gently touching her bare shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled. That was out of line. Its just that, I mean, I didn't know the Celsius was following us. I'm sorry." He said sincerely, attempting to get Rikku to look him in the honest eyes. She pulled away from him and took a deep breath. He felt a seperation stretch between them, spanning a huge gap of their friendship. Rikku's defense was to push people away; he knew that from experience. But, this time, he felt like he had gone too far by yelling for no good reason. She got enough of that from her Pop and Brother.
He was about to suggest they head farther into the temple to escape the Gullwings when a shockingly angry voice yelled from the other side of the door to the Trials. Gasping, Rikku rushed past Gankee and onto the elevator, motioning for him to follow. "Who was that?" Gankee asked as the elevator brought them to the upper level. "Gippal." She squeaked, hurrying up the stairs. Gankee glared down at the floor below him like he was actually glaring at Gippal. He knew the story of Gippal and Rikku and he knew that the one eyed Al Bhed had been following them. He most likely clued the rest of the crew onto their location. Feigning cluelessness, Gankee hurried after her. "Rikku! Is Gippal the one eyed one?" He asked as he entered the room before the Chamber of the Fayth. Nodding frantically, Rikku leapt onto the windowsil. "Come on!" She motioned him up, too.
He guessed she meant that they could leapt to their rocky deaths on the spear-like, jagged stones below that temple window. Shaking his head, Gankee rushed the door to the Chamber. Rikku made a frustrated noise and followed. Gankee peered down the hole left by Vegnagun. Rikku gasped when she saw it. She figured when they defeated Vegnagun and freed the aeons again, the fayths when at least repair their temples. Guessing that was a big "NO!", she joined Gankee at the hole's edge. "Are you thinking we could...?" Rikku went through the hand motions of diving down into the Farplane Abyss. Gankee nodded and then smiled bitterly. "Hey, its the only way we can get out of here without dying, right?" Snorting at his lame attempt at humor, Rikku braced herself for the jump. No matter how many times she leapt down those creepy holes, she never got used to them.
Rikku never thought to question how they would get back out of the Farplane since Gankee seemed so confident while they battled down the Road to the Abyss. He always had some brillant plan to pull out of no where when in danger. So, when they got to the Farplane Glen, she expected him to pull off some incredible scheme. Right? Nope. Instead, he sheepishly turned to her and asked if she knew a way out. Falling over, Rikku covered her eyes with her hands. 'Why did I get stuck with the "Do first, figure it all out later" guy? URGH!' She thought, mentally kicking herself for jumping down that frickin' hole in the first place. "Rikku!" Gankee cried, his voice a little panicky sounding. Rikku ignored the note of panic and rolled onto her stomach to stare at the inside of her eyelids. "Rikku? RIKKU!" He cried again and again, making Rikku more than a little pissed at him. "What, what, what?" She screamed, standing up and glaring at him.
He was pointing in the direction that she and the others had gone to chase after Vegnagun. A little yelp escaped Rikku at sight of all the chaos in front of her. It was just like that simulation Gippal had shown them on the airship. A whirling mass of energy crackling and surging around mingling with thousands of pyreflies. "What in the-?" Gankee began, stumbling away from the whirling mass as an explosion rocked the glen. Screaming, Rikku attempted to jump off the edge of the glen as it crumbled away. "Rikku!" Gankee screamed, reaching out for her to grab his hand. "I...can't...reach!" She cried, frantically scrambling as more of the clifflike edge crumbled beneath her. Soon, the platform she was trying to escape fell away from the main glen all together. Leaving Gankee to watch her fall into the valley below and all its pyrefly chaos.
When Rikku woke up, all she could remember was falling into that weird mass of energy and feeling cold all over. She opened her eyes and gasped at the face she saw there. "Auron?!?" She cried, scrambling away from the solid apparition of her mentor. He stood all the way up to his full height, fixing his one-eyed stare on Rikku as she stood shakily. They seemed to be floating in a black void. "Rikku." Auron said, his voice echoing oddly in the blackness around them. He took a step towards her, a few pyreflies flitting past randomly. Rikku fought the conflicting urges in her head. Her first instinct was to run to him and hug him back to death. (AN: punny, no?) But, at the same time, she felt a mistrust of this whole thing. Why would he be back? They WERE in the Farplane, right? So he wasn't really back, right? Right?
"Rikku, don't be afraid. I'm not here to hurt you. And I am really Auron." He chuckled, reading her thoughts which were clearly displayed on her face. Rikku's eyes filled with tears of joy and relief. Without a word, she threw herself at him, hugging his solid form with all her might. In an extremely fatherly manner, he held her, humming the Hymn gently. When Rikku finally looked up at him, she was grinning happily. "Are you really back or is this just a one time thing?" Auron, in his usual mysterious manner, stepped away from her and sighed. "Its hard to say." Hands akimbo, Rikku scoffed at his response. "What's THAT supposed to mean?" She screeched. Auron shook his head. "Rikku, the Farplane is in shambles and a lot of the dead are regaining solid forms. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones to come away with a body."
He paused briefly, his voice cracking like he was speaking through an old sphere. Rikku looked around, staring at the massive numbers of pyreflies swarming around them. "Rikku! Get down!" Auron's voice was a little clearer as he placed himself protectively in front of her. She covered her head with her arms and closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them after the roar of the pyreflies had died down, Rikku was surprised to see that they were standing back in the glen. Gankee was staring at them, open mouthed, while Auron helped a shocked Rikku to her feet. Before anyone could say anything, the whole Farplane seemed to buckle under the powerful energy's grasp. Everything around them burst into blue flames and then pyreflies, leaping and dancing through and around them. Their collective shouts were drowned out by a large whooshing noise. Then, it all went black.
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AN: *flinches* wait, no throwing of the rotten veggies! whoo hoo!!! well, i'm gonna go sleep or something. please be patient with my sickly self!!! the next update might take a while. but, but but!!! the story is going to speed up...a LOT!! and a few, ok, ALL of the questions you may have will be answered...soon...i leave you with this one survey (please answer with your lovely reviews!): who do you think Gankee REALLY is??? peace! ~~~sa~~~