"Yes, it would, but the truth is I saw you from behind and couldn't help it, you know how I am Rikku!" the boy smiled delighted, blue eyes sparkled so happily, so delighted, and the way the smile was so warm and pleased.
"Tidus, big meany!" snapped Rikku, punching his chest playfully, hands still resting on his shoulders, and his very own hands engulfing the girl's waist protectively.
"I know!" they boy grinned at Rikku with a playful smile, but his joy was so great he felt his heart growing until it would burst.
"But I saw you leaving with Yuna, why did you come back?" Rikku inquired, caressing the jewel that was hidden beneath her clothing.
"Because I realized she is a fantastic woman, loving, caring, innocent, pretty…!" Tidus began with a voice of slight monotony, but feigning somewhat amazement.
"Oh, then I don't understand what you are doing here!" the girl commented in a low, deceived voice, looking down and letting her grip loosen.
"Hey, she is pretty, and innocent, and kind and all that Rikku, but she wasn't you!" Tidus said now with a voice so soft, so loving, there was so much fire in it, Rikku felt shivers crossing her spine. His words were accompanied by the gentle movement of his fingers under her throat, pushing her head up such that his eyes would link with hers.
Understanding dawned upon him, disbelief and somewhat a blooming joy that threatened to push behind her effort into a violent outburst. It would never happen, as that adrenaline was released and flowed into other actions less neurotic. The two locked eyes, gleaming, sparkling, the wind teasing them with the playful hands ruffling the golden locks. Tidus leaned in, Rikku parted her lips eagerly, breathing nervously, and finally it occurred, their deepest desires, their hidden feelings. Lips united, hearts fused, and the wind sparkled with drops of humidity as both souls became one in a gentle, sweet and passionate representation of their love, the kiss so innocent and so full of meaning it spoke for itself.
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The proud captain, an experienced Al Bhed, breathed in a cooling, night breeze and let his lungs be filled with the pleasure of salty ocean. The sea was a bit shaky, waves rose higher than usually, which was normal considering the enormous moon that would illuminate the night.
"Hello Captain, how is work?" inquired Cid, approaching the man from behind.
"Good Evening Lord Cid!" the captain had been startled, but moved mno muscle except a slight, rasped breath that escaped his lips, "the work is getting along just fine!" he answered truthfully.
"Fantastic, increase speed until its maximum." Cid ordered with authority.
"But sir, I can't do that, the water in this area can become shallow, coral reefs grow very high!" explained the captain, staring at the man with a slight tremor.
"Nonsense, I can see no reef! And anyways, this ship is indestructible, not even Sinh himself could destroy it!" Cid pointed out sharply, staring at the man with a look that imposed his obedience.
"Yes sir!" the captain, against his will, agreed complacently and saluted at the man, who fled as soon as the order had been given. IT was egoistical and selfish, only purposes of a mayor glory than he had already got, and although the captain knew this he had no position to argue. Cid would get his glory after all.
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"Well, what now?" inquired Rikku, her eyes lost in the horizon, piercing the setting sun with her sparkling green eyes.
"I don't know, maybe I'll go back to Yuna, I could have my very own haren with all the money she could give me!" Tidus said, smiling jokingly at Rikku.
"Ti-dus, you big meany!" Rikku complained punching his chest playfully. The young boy broke into a delighted fit of laughter, and his joy was contagious to the girl, who had soon joined in the game.
"I don't know Rikku, all I know is I want to stay like this forever!" he said glancing at the sky, which was sparkled with star and tinted in blue velvet.
The Al Bhed might have responded, such was her intention as she pressed slightly stronger to the boy's waist. Everything had been so perfect and glorious that the consecution of events that would come in the following two hours would pass way too dashing for the both. Their races in the streets to steal some food would soon become a race to nowhere in order of surviving.
A collision was all the passengers felt. An enormous, thunderous sound that boomed across the halls and shook the entire machina like an earthquake. Plates fell to the floor and shattered, food lay sprawled everywhere, elders had soon fallen and one or two gained a considerate damage in their old bones. People screamed, gasped and glanced around in search of an explanation and comfort.
Cid had taken little time in reaching the control room. He extended a plan of the ship on a freshly polished wooden table. His spiralled eyes glanced at the other Al Bhed, the report had been sent from the Machine Room instants after the collision, so the afliged captain could explain, not without feeling a certain disdain towards the ignorant.
"What was it?" inquired Cid wanting to know why they had collided against water, for nothing seemed to bloom from the oceanic surface.
"A peak, a sharp, coral edge!" the captain responded, staring at the man with a slight anger, "and you can't see anything because we were going very fast, and the water is too high!" the man finished.
"Well, which is our situation?" inquired Cid glancing at the plan with worry.
"Very critic, the peak has caused a very deep gash on one of the sides. The gash is many metres long, so water is entering in compartment one, two and three!" the captain responded, pointing at the sketch of the ship.
"Then close the emergency doors!" snapped the ideologist of the great machina, plummeting his fist on the table strongly, his voice furious.
"It's not so easy sir, you see we can stay afloat with compartment one and two completely flooded, but with the three of them at the front there is not much we can do. The weight will make the ship lean, and the water will flood to the other compartments through the corridors!" the captain explained, staring at the drawing worriedly.
Now Cid was visibly affected, his skin was pale and his eyes glanced at the infinity. "How much time?" he inquired coldly, distant and worried.
"Two hours, maybe three!" the captain explained glancing at the front of the enormous being he was driving, seeing as it had slowed down from the impact. "we must begin to evacuate!" he finished.
"There are not enough lifesaving boats for the passengers, there is only room for half of them!" Cid explained, now his voice trembled very noticeably, his guild penetrating his heart.
"What?" gasped the captain staring at the man as if he had shape shifted into Sinh himself.
"There are not enough lifeboats, I thought the ship was safe enough, and would not need them!" the Al Bhed explained letting all his guilt pour onto his sweaty and trembling hands.
"May the Aeons assist us!" the Al Bhed captain prayed, not daring to look at the monstrous and ignorant being that had planned this criminal machina.
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Rikku gripped Tidus' shirt tightly as the earthquake below her feet made her loose balance momentarily. Tidus also maintained his balance thanks to the embrace he had forced upon the smaller figure protectively.
"What was that?" Tidus inquired looking back and forth, realizing that the Titanic had slowed its speed.
"I think we hit something!" Rikku was altered at such affirmation, knowing well the damage a machina could suffer if it had a strong enough collision.
"You don't think it is serious, do you?" Tidus inquired worriedly, staring at the woman and seeking comfort in her eyes.
"I'm not sure, I can't see the damage from here!" Rikku leaned over the railing, trying to see something, but the gash was submerged underwater.
"Well, well, isn't it Tidus and his bitch!" a venomous, familiar voice spoke disdainfully behind the two.
"Ah, the thing might be serious Rikku, the rats are already climbing up the deck!" Tidus commented with a sigh, not even turning to gaze at the man behind him.
Rikku had turned around, here eyes were glancing with mistrust at the guado, flanked by sir Auron (who simply seemed miserable) and one of the policemen who secured the ship's civil safety. And Rikku saw the evil, horrid intentions gleaming with cruel delight in the Maestre's eyes.
"Tidus, watch out!" she warned exaggeratedly, sharply and loudly.
To no avail. The Guado had made some kind of order with his hand, pointing at the boy. Obedient like a dog, the policeman pounced over the boy and, quicker than eyes could see, he had placed a pair of handcuffs gripping both arms behind his back. The boy only gasped, and his eyes landed on his trap, then onto his captors, angrily, that was doubtless, but principally confused and inquiring.
"You are under arrest, accused of robbery." The young police said with a dull voice, while his eyes glanced at the guado standing besides him.
"Of robbery?" snapped Tidus, staring at the Guado with a burning look of hathred, "I stole nothing you blubber headed slug!" the boy finished nearly biting at him, and he would have had it not been for the inconvenient that he lacked the fangs of a Vihur.
"Indeed, where is my precious Star of Spira?" the man hissed, glancing at the boy venomously, codiciously, all gentleness he might have once had gone.
"The Star of Spira?" gasped Tidus, "I don't have it you dimwit, why would I want a Summoning Stone I can't even use?" Tidus argued, his eyes landing briefly on Auron who seemed to be restraining himself from slashing the guado from head to toe, and in channel.
"Tidus!" gasped Rikku, whose eyes had been following the situation attentively, and who was now catching the drift. Unconsciously she felt a hand clutching the heavy rock which rested below her clothing.
"Rikku, don't worry, it's just a mistake ok? Go find a lifeboat, I'll join you in Zanarkand!" Tidus said, his blue eyes sparkling reassuringly, and his voice eager to make her flee from scenery.
Rikku was not all too delighted with the idea of leaving Tidus to his luck. She knew well however that she was carrying the precious item that man keened, and was bound to become a suspect soon enough if she didn't vanish. So, sending Tidus a glance of security, love and concern, Rikku nodded and fled away from the deck, seeking a free lifeboat.
"Let's go, take him down, to the Police Department!" Seymour ordered with the supremacy of someone very important, which he was.
"Yes sir!" the policeman obeyed complacently, treating Tidus as if he was some kind of miserable fiend that had not rights of existence, and which's only presence was merely used to be humiliated. Auron simply stared at the scene and shook his head sadly, then, without directing the faintest word at Seymour, he turned around and walked away.
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"Tidus!" Rikku felt the tears well up in her eyes as the boy was carried away by the policeman. It could have been her fault, but she knew this jewel had been a gift from Yuna, and whoever gave it to her was of no importance. Now, however, the boy was being taken away, and she ignored where to. The ship was so enormous that searching for him would take her weeks, and following, although expert in such ability, was all to risky. Getting the two of them captured would not make the situation any better, so she simply observed how her beloved and best friend was being taken away, and how her ideas were drained, eaten away by fear and desperation.
"I can take you to him, I know where they are taking him." A voice said next to her, friendly, although dry and slightly sharp.
"Help me then, please!" she begged at Auron, who stood besides her with a look of complicity, and worry, and some inner fire ignited with violence towards the miserable guado.
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"You will stay here until the captain decides what to do with you!" said the policeman, cuffing his hands onto a tube, some conduct that probably served to carry gas, or electricity, or who knows.
"You can't leave me here, the ship is sinking!" Tidus argued desperately, pointing at the window which was already half submerged into the water.
"Don't tell me, I'm only following orders, as absurd as they may be!" the police shrugged, staring at the boy almost pitying him. Without a second glance, or thought for the misery of the half Al Bhed, the policeman walked away, taking the keys of the cuffs with himself.
"Damn it, NO!" Tidus hit the tube violently, desperately, making all the noise his fury could muster. He felt tears in his eyes, but forced them back as he remembered the words his father used to tell him about crying, that it was weak, and solved no problem. However, right now he was afraid, truly afraid, he wondered where Rikku was, and he didn't want to die himself. That rush of emotions tore him deep inside, and he was eager to see the Al Bhed so keenly, and so profoundly did he wish she would be safe.
So absent had his mind been, so profound and deeply submerged into the lost memories he had just recovered that the thunderous echo of a door slamming against the metal wall passed in adverted to him. But the eager call of his name hadn't, so his eyes darted towards the door, were a figure clutching a long, thin sword occupied the integrity of the gap with the immense figure.
"Sir Auron?" Tidus stared at the man who had sliced open the lock of the door with the enormous katana.
The man only nodded, assuring the veracity of Tidus affirmation. From behind leapt a cheerful girl, a golden blur that raced towards him and embraced his musculous body lovingly, with the tightness of someone who feared loss.
"Tidus, I thought I'd loose you!" Rikku gasped, staring at the boy closely, almost as if it was a dream, or perhaps a rest into a terrible nightmare.
"From here our paths part, hurry and board a boat, or find your…own ways of saving yourselves, but honestly, leave everything behind and get away from here quickly. This thing is sinking, and it will drag as much as it can along with it!" Auron explained seriously, staring at the couple with sympathy.
"Yes, thank you!" Rikku said, smiling gratefully at the man. Tidus only smiled reassuringly, and nodded briefly, imperceptibly at the older man.
"Farewell, and good luck!" Auron mustered dryly before he vanished across the silent corridor.
The boy nodded his farewell, although he knew Auron would not see him, for he had already retired. His eyes darted to the woman so lovingly, caring, and also so furiously, although this last emotions was only the shadow of what he pretended it to be.
"Rikku, what are you doing here? You should be on a lifeboat!" snapped Tidus staring at her with gentle eyes.
"I couldn't leave you here, it's all my fault, I have the Star of Spira!" Rikku moaned, placing her hands on his face, and staring at him with a pleading look.
"It's yours, Yuna gave it to you! Seymour is only an egocentric, obsessive trout, who has lost his precious treasure and yearns a second one to replace it economically!" Tidus explained, staring at her and smiling weakly.
"Whatever, we have to get out of here!" Rikku said flinching lightly.
Tidus looked down, at the floor, and couldn't help but gasp silently. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped and his whole body trembled ever so lightly. The whole floor was flooded, water moved like a slithering snake, silently, with a gentle hiss. It began licking their ankles, and the half Al Bhed knew this fluid would not until it swallowed the whole ship greedily.
"Ah! But how?" shrieked the boy loudly, trying hopelessly to escape the water that pulled him down, "that son of his mother took the keys along with him!" he snapped shaking the cuffs so they clanged against the metallic tube with an strident sound.
"Tidus, hello, I'm Rikku, a thief, and an Al Bhed first of all!" the girl said rolling her eyes, and pulling off one of the hairpins that maintained her locks in place.
Her hand touched the boy's gently, and she felt him flinch lightly. Her eyes drifted to steal a glance, and smiled in her thought at the loving look he was sending her. Her features were contorted in a face of pure concentration, so her eyes darted back to their focus point, the handcuffs. She introduced one of the ends of the hairpin into the lock of the handcuffs, and once in there she proceeded to find the exact point, the place where the pressure added would make it give in. The silence was such, and so tense only the rushing of water, foaming viciously could be heard. Then, miraculous, a click, and the cuff released the metallic, tight grip on the boy. Rikku worked the other quickly, and soon Tidus was free, a relaxed, relieved smile on his face.
"Rikku!" he leapt forward as he was set free, engulfed her in a tight hug, and proceeded to place a gentle kiss on her lips.
"We have to get out of here before the water rises too much!" she urged him on, returning the kiss briefly and pulling back.
Tidus nodded agreeing with the girl, and both leapt into the corridor quickly. The water reached them up to their waist already, and it flowed quicker as the ship began leaning down more and more. The lights flickered on and off in intervals, and a sound of pressure against metal echoed throughout the empty place.
"It's this way!" Rikku pointed out, walking against the current.
She had only walked a couple of metres when the water threw her to the floor and swallowed her. Tidus pounced on the girl and pulled her out immediately, keeping his balance precariously. The Al Bhed coughed and spit the water that had sneaked into her lungs.
"The torrent is way too strong, we will never defeat it!" Tidus pointed out, then his eyes darted to the ceiling, where a labyrinth of metal tubes formed the perfect sustain for them to crawl away from the water.
Like monkeys, the couple climbed and crawled, back down, across the knot of metal tubes that conducted all of the basis of the ship's inner functions, like water and electricity. They found this tiring, but had soon crossed the corridor and found themselves with a new obstacle, the stairs. There were no tubes to aid them, so it was a one chance leap, or they would be carried away if their landing was bad aimed.
Tidus was first, and he leapt clean landing with security, and agility of a cat on the one steps that were not flooded yet. Then it was Rikku, who leapt fast, elegant like a gazelle. She landed on the clean steps as well, but lost her balance for a few seconds, and would have toppled down heavily, had it not been because Tidus gripped her hand and pulled her back into safety.
"We are close to the exit, lets go!" she urged him on and climbed the rest of the stairs, leaving the river behind.
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Breathing fresh air would have supposed a situation of glee, of pleasure to the pair, but one last obstacle would impede their emerging onto surface. Gates had been closed to keep them locked, and various other third class passengers argued with a police that was at the other side with the keys.
"Well, well, we meet again!" Tidus sneered at the man, clenching his fists threatening.
"How did you get free?" gasped the man as if he was seeing a ghost.
"That's irrelevant, open the damn gate!" Tidus snapped glaring at the man angrily.
"What is going on?" questioned Rikku to Wakka, who was also there.
"They have been given orders to lock us, yah, the lifeboats are for first class only!" the older man explained, shrugging defeated.
"What? You can't do that! We are living beings too!" Rikku snapped growling at the man.
"I have been given those orders, really miss, nothing is my fault!" the policeman stared at the group sadly and shook his head, turning on his heels and racing away.
"NO!" Rikku yelled, pulling her hand through the barriers and raising it, trying hopelessly to stop him.
The group brawled, growled and snarled angrily, but they all gave in at last. Sitting down and waiting for the obvious. Rikku could have tried opening the lock, but the hairpin was too small to open such a large lock, and she didn't have her material along with her, it was in her room, underwater. She collapsed against the door, defeated, punching it furiously, and moaning sadly at her hopeless situation. She felt so useless, so sad, and it made her sense as if all of this was her fault. Tears streamed down her desperate face, but those tears soon vanished with shock. She was not ready for what happened next.
To Be Continued…
AN: I think it's one last chapter and the story will be finished. I hope you are all enjoying the story. I surely am because I never thought of it turning this way. I have the end planned out and honestly, you are not expecting it, maybe a little, the little about…, but not what happens to them. Well, please read and review.