Disclaimer: I own no rights to this or any other game out there. I merely own a copy of the game.
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"Rikku, wake up!" Auron shouted the next morning. Fiends had come into the cave looking for shelter. Unfortunately Luzzu was still unaware that they were there.
Within moments she was standing up and casting fires at them. She stopped when one of the fiends dodged and she almost hit her friend. "I have to lure them out somehow." She thought.
The flame woke up the crusader and he jumped up in place as well. Problem was his sudden movement caught the attention of the fiends as well. "Bashuras, great." He muttered as they came at him.
"Protect!" Rikku shouted seeing he was in trouble. In her hand she held her daggers, one out stretched as she cast the defensive spell.
The bashura hit the barrier, but Luzzu barely noticed it. He moved so he could grab his weapon.
"Hey you! Come and get me!" Rikku had to lure them out fast. They were getting closer to trapping Luzzu in the back of the cave. They turned hearing her taunts and chased after her as she ran out.
Luzzu was right behind her but stopped at what greeted his eyes. A behemoth stood waiting for them. That was odd. They never came this far away from the mountain caverns. Rikku saw it as well and attempted to summon.
Light surrounded her as she stood waiting for the aeon to respond. Valefor came rushing down to help in the fight. Within minutes the bashuras were gone. All that was left was the behemoth. Valefor flew in close to attack, only to be caught in mid-flight. The purple fiend crushed him in his clawed paws until all that was left were floating pyerflies.
"Luzzu, I think it may be time for a swift retreat." Rikku suggested when she saw what happened to her aeon.
Already thinking the same thing, he had gone back into the cave and retrieved their bags. They now hung over his shoulder. The behemoth was coming closer to them. Rikku saw him running and began another spell.
She concentrated all she had and put it into the spell. Bringing both hands over her head she waited until Luzzu was close enough and the fiend still far enough where they would not catch the edge of the spell. "Ultima!"
Green and purple light form around the fiend and attacked it from all angles. The behemoth roared in anger and pain. But he was not quite finished yet. He had to get the summoner. One last roar and Rikku found herself standing in the middle of a swirling flame. She knew what this was, flare.
She screamed as the flames licked at her skin threating to burn every part of her. After they were gone she fell to the snow in pain. She managed to see Luzzu running for her, and behind him, pyerflies flew lazily in the sky. At least she had managed to defeat the fiend.
"Rikku? Rikku? Are you okay?" He shouted hoping to hear something, anything from her.
"Luzzu." She breathed deeply trying to pull much needed air in her lungs. "Stand back." She wheezed. "I'm going to summon."
"No, Rikku! It's gone. You don't need to do this anymore." He dropped to the snow next to her and grabbed her shoulders shaking her slightly.
"My magic is gone. I can't even heal myself." It came out raspy and rough.
"Here, I have a potion. It's not much, but it will help." He reached behind him and pulled it out of his sack.
She took the blue-green liquid and dumped it down her throat. "You're right. It wasn't much. But I can at least stand enough for a summon."
"Why? You need to rest. If you summon now, it could kill you."
"Trust me." She gave a weak smile and winked. After some fancy motions Phoenix landed beside her. A wing tipped her cheek as he saw her condition. She still did not have the energy to stay on her feet and had fallen as soon as he had appeared.
"I don't believe it. That aeon. It's a firebird." He said not believing his eyes.
"It sure is." Rikku was proud of her friend. "Go ahead, touch it. He won't hurt you."
Slowly he stepped out with one arm outstretched. The bird looked at him, but allowed him to come close. Luzzu's hand patted the spot behind his head. He noticed that his fatigue was slowly going away. "What is this? I don't feel as tired as I was after that fight."
"Phoenix has the ability to refresh when touched. But only when I allow it. Otherwise I would be healing my enemies instead of hurting them." Another laugh escaped. "Now help me up. We still have a ways to go. I don't want to be on this mountain any longer then I have to."
The trio (now that Auron, in aeon form, was walking with them) made their way through the Gagazet caverns. Luzzu on guard for any attacks took care of fiends that chose to take advantage of their weakened state. Rikku had customized his weapon with a death strike and counter attack abilities. It made the battles that much simpler.
They arrived at the summit before evening. Luzzu listened silently as Rikku explained about the wall of the fayth. He was quite stunned to hear about it being there to begin with. But now they stood overlooking the lost city of Zanarkand. It looked just as depressing as it did the last time she was there.
From on top of Auron, Rikku felt a lone tear falling down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away with the back of her hand. "Let's just go down there and get this over with." She declared.
Auron let out a screech from below her in agreement. He knew that whatever it was they needed to do, it was down there. It would be best to get this over with as quickly as possible.
"Rikku, are you sure you want to do this?" Luzzu asked from slightly below her. (Being on an aeon made her sit a little higher then he was tall). "We can always go back if you want."
"Now you're beginning to sound like me when I journeyed with Yunie." She lay her head down on the bird in front of her. "I may be weakened from those spells, but I will do this. I do know of a place to rest for an hour where the fiends won't bother us."
Auron turned his head to look back at her. Was she hinting what he thought she was? Rikku saw the gaze and knew what he was thinking. "Yes, I mean there. It may be the last chance we have to rest before moving on. I think we should take it while we can." She explained.
He nodded once and continued on. Luzzu took the lead after a moment though. Someone had to keep watch.
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The Ochu didn't work. The Giants didn't, the tonberry didn't. And now even the Behemoth. What would it take to bring her down? Yu Yevon search Spira for something that would give him the answers he needed. He soon found himself on the shores of Besaid. He drifted by the people who played in the sand of the beach, searching.
A woman with long black hair and a man with red hair came down. In the woman's arms was a small bundle, a child. Another woman, a brunette, ran up to her. Yevon recognized her. This was the woman who had thwarted his plans after a thousand years of a dreamful wake. If he could just get close enough to her, he may be able to succeed.
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Rikku dismissed Phoenix and lay down to rest. She would need to conserve energy for the battles ahead. Luzzu lay next to her. She closed her eyes and thought about her journey so far. For some reason just being here brought those thoughts to mind. Luzzu glanced over and knew she wasn't asleep, her body language alone told him that. She was talking to that aeon friend of hers. He could only sit and wonder just what they were talking about. A smile spread across her face and a small giggle escaped. Whatever it was, he wasn't sure if he wanted in or not.
"You should rest too, Luzzu." She spoke up addressing him. "If you are not rested, you won't be able to fight." Her eyes never opened yet she still seemed to know.
What was she, his mother? But she was right. Staring at her was not going to help him in the long run. He would take a small nap. Enough to charge himself he told himself.
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Arrgg! Way too short, but I had no other choice but to stop it here. Oh well. I just hope the double chapter updates will make up for that. Up next: Zanarkand.
Man I began this story thinking it would only have five or six chapters; boy was I wrong. Here I am going on fifteen, and I still don't see an ending in sight. Aiya!