FDB- Hope you liked last chapter. Did you think I'd end the whole thing like that? Maybe, if I was too lazy to complete the fic and just wanted a scapegoat to end the whole thing. But no, I intend to see this through to the end. Besides, I have some kickass ideas about the sequel, if there is one.
Chapter 11: And it won't leave me alone.
I opened my eyes, surprised by the light that met them. It looked like late morning, but the place where I was with Rikku was still shaded. I felt tired, but not enough to go back to sleep. I looked to Rikku, still asleep, with that lock of my hair still wrapped around her finger. She looked so beautiful. I didn't want to disturb the sleeping angel next to me, so I didn't move. I just lay there and gazed at her lovely face. I smiled and kissed the fingers that held my hair. I frowned when I saw her eyes flutter open, but smiled again as she released my hair, set her hand on my face and kissed me again.
"Morning, Jamie." No idea why, but that reminded me of a joke I heard once: A good stewardess says, "Good morning, Captain." A great stewardess says, "It's morning, Captain." I chuckled softly to myself, but she still heard.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing," I grinned as I sat up. "Just remembering everything that's happened. You know, last night was incredible, and I never said it last night, but I love you, Rikku."
"And I love you," she said as she sat up. Some time the previous night, her hair had fallen loose from the braids, and the golden locks cascaded in streams around her face, coming to rest around her bare breasts.
"You should keep your hair like that, Rik," I said, slipping a hand through it to caress her face. "It makes you look so beautiful."
She giggled and kissed me on the cheek. "Daddy says the same thing, but I think it just gets in the way."
I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close, resting my chin on her shoulder. "Thank you so much, Rikku. You made me realize that though I may not feel I have worth, there are plenty of other people that care about me, that care whether I live or die. And you know what?" I asked, pulling back to gaze into her eyes, the same eyes I had gotten lost I last night. "For once, I'm glad I had shitty luck at Paper, Rock, Scissors."
She laughed loudly, but not wanting her to attract the others to us, ruining our moment together, I silenced her with my lips. I almost wanted to go another round, to belong to each other once again, but last night's activities took a lot out of us, and I feared that we may not be able to move if we went again.
"Maybe we should get dressed and join the others. They're probably…"
"Rikku!" I tensed up when I heard Yuna call out my lover's name. They were already looking for her?
"What do we do, Jamie?" she asked.
I thought for a while, and then came up with a brilliant idea. "Get dressed and follow my lead. If there's one talent I'm proud of, it's lying on my feet."
We both began to sort through the clothes on the ground, tossing them to their proper owner. When we were finally fully clothed, Rikku quickly gathered the blankets after checking them for any…ahem…evidence of…certain activities that had taken place. She found none and I aided her in folding them up.
"Rikku!" I heard Tidus call out. "Jamie!"
"Why are you calling for Jamie?" I heard Lulu ask. "He's more than likely gone home already. I saw Rikku in camp last night red-eyed, as though she had been crying."
"But…Jamie can't be gone," Yuna argued. "I can feel it, he's still alive."
Lulu just sighed and muttered, "Face it, Yuna, Jamie jumped."
Rikku and I peered around the cliff and spotted the others walking away from us. Auron was picking up the rear, and I heard him grunt, "Good. One less hide to worry about."
I looked around on the ground, found a good sized rock, and chucked it at the back of Auron's head. His hand went to where it struck him and he whirled around, to look me in the face, Rikku behind me, looking over my shoulder. His eyes went wide, but only for a second. The others heard him call out and turned to see what had happened.
"Is that so, you old man? I don't know, but I seem to be alive and kicking." I caught a glimpse of his belt and added, "Soon to be kicking your ass. Now, give me Tetsusaiga."
He mumbled something I don't think I wanted to hear, and tossed me the sword. I tucked it back in the spot it had rode ever since Mushroom Rock and heard Wakka say, "What a minute. You said you'd jump, ya? Why'd you stop?"
"Rikku asked me something that made me stop and think. She asked, 'Would Stephanie want you to give up?' I was tired of waiting and went to go home early. Rikku said that since I didn't wait a full day, she got to stop me. When she asked me that question, I got to thinking. Stephanie wouldn't want me to give up on this. I'll get to go home, in due time, but for now, I'll stick it out."
"But why did Rikku come back to camp crying?" Lulu asked.
"I thought Jamie was going to leave," she said. "I…didn't want him to go because…"
"You love him."
This came from the most unexpected source imaginable. And if you're thinking Kimahri, you're wrong. If it was him, he would have referred to us in the in the third person, like, 'Rikku love him' 'Rikku love Jamie.' No, it came from Auron. The last person I would have expected to understand emotions.
"…Yeah, I do."
"Well, now that that's cleared up," Auorn grumbled, "let's move on to Gagazet."
I never would have guessed things would go that fast. I gave Rikku a thumbs up before she ran up to walk beside Yuna. Maybe yesterday lapsed into today, and when I say yesterday I mean tomorrow because tomorrow is yesterday and that means that this is tomorrow's tomorrow but tomorrow lapsed into today which is tomorrow but not the tomorrow and…SYSTEM OVERLOAD! ERROR! ERROR! BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH!
Sorry, now that I've recovered from my momentary stupidity, I can get back on the right track. Train of thought derailed, CD skipped, the little fuzzy platypus gnomes gnawed on my brainstem, pick your take. Anyways, we walked along, and I thought I was out of the woods, but Auron just had to plop his arm around my shoulders and lead me a short distance away from the others.
"So tell me, lover boy," he said with a sly grin on his face, "what really happened last night?"
"What? You think something happened last night we aren't telling you about?"
"Yeah, I do." He pulled something out of his pocket, which turned out to be a sphere, like the one we found of Tidus' dad back in Macalania. "Something along the lines of this," he said, grinning evilly as he flicked the sphere on.
It was me and Rikku, last night. We were still clothed, but we were progressing pretty fast. I saw Rikku pull my shirt off, and Auron switched the sphere off.
"Don't you just love home movies? There's more, but I'm sure you're aware of that. Maybe we should show the others…Cid maybe."
Was Auron really capable of blackmail? Was he really threatening to show Cid a recording of me and Rikku…going at it? Wait…what the fuck?
"You are a dirty man, Auron. Recording two children doing something like that."
"Not entirely sure that's what Cid would think…"
"Alright. I'll bite. What are your demands?" I groaned impatiently.
"Three things. One: Stop insulting me. That includes calling me an old man, old fart, old geezer, etc. Two: Apologize to the kid for calling him a 'dumb fuck'." At least he's not mentioning 'personal lackey'. "Three: Stay with Yuna until the end. Don't take the easy way out."
"Is that it?" When he nodded, I shook his hand, walked up to Tidus and apologized. Yuna looked at me funny, but I didn't think much of it.
We crossed a couple of bridges, and were met by a couple of Guado.
"Halt!" one of them shouted. Original…
"Summons from Lord Seymour. Come with us!" the other said. And they expect us to do so…why?
"We have nothing to discuss with Maester Seymour!" Yuna shouted back. Man, Yuna's getting feisty.
"Yeah, so out of our way!" Tidus shouted. If not for that stupid sphere…
"Lord Seymour's commands must be obeyed. You will come! I warn you, the maester doesn't need you alive." After he said that, a huge friggin robot walked up. I guess they weren't kidding about the 'doesn't need you alive' part.
They just walked off and left us to contend with the huge mech. This is not good. Sure it was eight to one, but it was huge and metal, and…wait a minute. Don't I have the Tetsusaiga? I can just fuck it up with the Wind Scar.
And that's what I did. "Wind Scar!" I watched as the golden streams arched over the huge mech, supposedly tearing away at panels, gears, circuitry, and other…stuff that makes up huge killer mechs. The streams of the Wind Scar faded, and…instead of ashes and piles of scrap metal, the thing was still in one piece. What the fuck?
That's all I had time to think, because I've found it's extremely difficult to think when you're smashed into a cliff face by a huge hunk of metal. I should know. It's happened to me before. And that's exactly what happened. I don't think beating this thing is going to be so easy.
Rikku rushed over to where I was slumped over, bleeding to death. "Jamie! Oh, God, Jamie! Are you okay?"
I gave her a look that answered the question. The look said, 'Does it look like I'm okay?' Anyways, she got right to work trying to piece me back together. She started mixing the contents of small vials and bottles, seeing which mixtures would help. Though my vision was blurred, I saw the others tearing into it. Doubt they'll be able to do anything. If the Wind Scar couldn't do anything, what can they do?
"Here," Rikku said. "Drink this." I did, and it burned on the way down. My stomach started burning, then my limbs…and my shirt. WHAT THE FUCK! I'm on fire! Rikku did her best to bat out the flames, while I sat there screaming, feeling like a complete goober.
"Sorry, I'm new to this."
"I suggest you test what you're mixing before you use it on me. With my luck, next one will drench me."
And it would have. And the next one: shock therapy. Next: defragmentation. And so on. She finally found one that actually healed on the…ninth try. She had been testing most of them on the mech, and by number seven, she had single-handedly reduced it to a fine powder. And to think, that could have been me.
I drank the concoction that actually worked, and felt good as new. My cuts closed up, and my dislocated joints realigned themselves. I stood, still a little groggy, and nearly fell, but Rikku was there to catch me. She helped me on up the mountain, where she said the others had headed after she nuked the mech.
We got there just in time to see Kimahri kick one of the Ronso we saw around Moonflow into the cliff. Go Kimahri. We trudged up, as one the one that wasn't wall-kicked stood and spoke in a loud voice.
"Strong is Kimahri. Biran is happy." After that, he turned to the mountain, spread his arms and shouted, "Sacred Mount Gagazet! I honor the name of strong warrior who defeats Biran. Remember always, Gagazet! That name is Kimahri!"
The other limped over, apparently still feeling the cliff. I understand where he's coming from. "Mountain knows Kimahri strong. Kimahri may pass."
"Summoner!" Biran said. "We Ronso will stop pursuers from temple. Penance for breaking Kimahri's horn, long ago."
"We crush enemies following behind," Yenke said. Ha! I remembered his name! Booyah!
"Kimahri crush enemies standing before," Kimahri said.
"You are most fortunate summoner," Biran said.
The others noticed us not long after, because I heard Yuna ask, "Are you alright, Jamie?"
"Nothing I can't handle."
"For a second there," Wakka said, "we thought Rikku was gonna kill you, ya? She use any of their machina on you?"
"I'm fine, Wakka. And keep in mind: I still have enough strength to slam my fist into your jaw if I need to." That shut him up.
It was only after we had been walking for a few minutes, me still using Rikku as a crutch, that I noticed the snow. It was snowing. I began worrying about how Rikku would fare with her…short-shorts. She's not exactly dressed for the weather.
"You gonna be okay, Rikku? It's not too cold, is it?"
"I'm fine. Your warm, and that helps. I still have those blankets, so I can wrap up if I need to. Plus, I heard that there's a hotspring near the summit. That would be so cool!"
Hotspring. Every guy who knows anime knows the near mandatory 'hotspring episode'. Peeping toms, accidental run-ins, false alarms, all leaving the hero in pain from all the slapping and/or things being thrown at them. Not. Gonna. Happen. To. Me.
We had been walking for about a half-hour, and reached a small cave. More like a tunnel. We came through on the other side, and I fell t my knees. The others had moved on, but Rikku was still with me.
"What's wrong?"
"Just feeling weak. After-affect of that medicine maybe."
"Let us hope you have more," came that eerily familiar 'shivers down you spine' voice from behind me. Lo and behold, it was Seymour. "Those…what did you call them?...Wind Scars were rather painful. I intend to make you feel the same pain."
"Rikku. Run ahead and get the others. I'll handle Seymour Butts here."
She didn't want to, but she finally ran for the others. "You wanna feel them again, Seymour? Maybe you need a point of reference for the pain you 'intend' to inflict on me."
"Brave. Foolish, yet brave."
"Save some for Kimahri!" Three guesses who said that. Yuna tried to send Seymour again, but he stopped her.
"A sending, so soon? Allow me to say something to the last Ronso before I leave. Yours was...truly a gallant race. They threw themselves at me to bar my path. One...after another..."
Did he just say 'last Ronso'? He killed the others? I could tell Kimahri was pissed, and so was everyone else. How could he kill people like that and not feel anything?
"You could end the suffering of this poor Ronso, Yuna," Seymour whispered. "Allow Kimahri to die, and release him from his pain. Spira...is a land of suffering and sorrow caught in a spiral of death. To destroy…to heal…Spira, I will become Sin. Yes, with your help."
He actually wants to become Sin? This guy is still a psycho. He started floating again, went through the usual transformations, and ended up getting in this weird chariot thing. He is still ugly.
He began attacking us fast and furiously. It took all we had just to dodge his attacks. He was floating over a freaking abyss, so the only ones who could reach him were Wakka and Lulu. I could have torn him apart with the Wind Scar, but after Evrae, I learned that it couldn't cross gaps. Too bad. Everything Rikku mixed up, including some of the things she had nearly used on me, Seymour batted back.
He kept swinging his spear wildly, only stopping to heal himself. Not like he needed it, we weren't hitting him that hard anyways. Then, a shot of inspiration struck me. I pulled Rikku and Kimahri over to the side and discussed my plan with them. They seemed to like it, though Rikku didn't want me to go through with the part that involved Kimahri.
We were ready. Kimahri told the others to keep Seymour busy while we worked. Rikku was busy mixing up the biggest bomb she could, I was discussing the angle to Kimahri, and everything was working perfectly. Seymour stopped to heal himself again and then was the time to strike. Rikku shoved the bomb into my arms, Kimahri picked me up, and chucked me right at Seymour's spear.
It was all perfect. I grabbed the spear, swung around, and set the grenade right behind Seymour. He was done healing himself, so I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned his head just in time for me to bring Tetsusaiga right across his face as I jumped from him to the cliff. The bomb exploded and somewhat boosted me towards the cliff. I heard Seymour screaming as I wheeled my arms, feet on the edge of the cliff.
Auron reached over and grabbed my shirt, pulling me back on solid ground. I was met by Rikku's arms.
"Jamie! Oh, God!" she cried into my chest. Then she pulled back and slapped me. "Why did you do that? You had me worried sick!" So much for gratitude. I understand why she reacted like that. I guess it means she really cares about me.
So, we walked on. And we, of course, came to the hotspring. We almost had to. Rikku, Yuna, and Lulu went in first, so they could relax, and unwind. Just watch. One of us is gonna get lured in there, see the girls, and get attacked. But not me. Nope not gonna work.
And lo and behold, I heard the girls start to scream. I just sat there and let them. Nope. Not gonna get lured in. No sir. Just let them keep screaming. They're tough, they can handle it.
"You gonna do anything?" Auorn asked me.
"Nope. I've seen this before. Any one of us guys gets sent in there, we get attacked. Simple as that."
"Sorry, but we took a vote. You are going in."
I think it was Kimahri and Auron that dragged me to the hotspiring cave. That's what it would have taken. They just carried me to the entryway and tossed me in. I remember hitting water…hot water. I rose to the surface gulping air, and felt something on either side of my face. I opened my eyes, and I was staring at Lulu's chest. Looking up, I saw the fury in her eyes. One of those 'if looks could kill' scenarios.
"Uh…herloh Lurlur," I said, muffled by her…ahem…yeah.
She was pissed. More so than back around Mushroom Rock. She blasted me with a fire spell, which would have torched me if I wasn't drenched. It blew me against some rocks, stunning me. I kept my eyes closed, and reached out for something to hold me steady. My hand went over rock, then skin. It felt…familiar.
"Oh…uh…h…hi, Yuna…"
She can get mad sometimes. I think Lulu and Yuna were playing tennis with me for about five minutes, before I got carried out of there by Yuna's latest Aeon: Bahamut. He dropped me on the ground, looking like a piece of ABC gum. You know, Already Been Chewed? It hurt like hell.
The others were laughing their asses off. Because I was in pain, I never got my turn in the hotspring. Didn't matter, I was already soaked to the bone, and freezing my ass off. Rikku came out and sat down next to me. She mixed up another batch of the medicine I had taken earlier, and I felt better. She concocted a small fire liquid to dry me off, then she unrolled the blankets, spread them over the two of us, and laid down to rest.
It could have been -93 degrees out here, and I still would have been warm.
FDB- I want to apologize to Anbu713. I should be grateful for any reviews I get. Review whenever you want buddy. Just don't overload, okay. And to the rest of you literate bosephi…REVIEW!