Shadow of Darkness
Oh dear…I do truly apologize for the lateness of this chapter. It was VERY difficult to write. Everything I came up with at first was changed and I was fighting with various plots because it all felt rushed, but I think (I hope, actually ; ) you all will enjoy it.
Chapter 18:
"Wh-what… trap?" Rikku stammered. She suddenly felt nauseous. Of course it was a trap. Gippal was dead! She saw him fall with her own eyes. 'But you didn't actually see him die, did you?' a small voice asked inside her head. No, no, no! He was dead! He… had to be.
Gippal- was it a fake? She didn't know anymore- was still shouting at her to get out of there.
There was a great sigh in her ear. "I think you've shouted quite enough, Gippal."
She froze. No… She turned her head. "E-Effram?" He had to be kidding… this was a sick joke, right?
Effram was looking at the body on the cross. "Watch, your highness, as your boyfriend dies another death." He muttered a word under his breath and sparks of white-hot lightening raced up the crimson cross. Gippal let out an all too real yell as the lightening washed over his skin.
"No!" Rikku screamed. "Effram, stop it! What are you doing? Snap out of it!" In vain, she struggled to get out of his grip.
"Snap out of what?" he asked, deceitfully pleasant. "You sense no darkness on me, do you?" He gripped her wounded side and her vision flared red with pain.
"Then… why…?" she asked weakly.
He sighed. "Rikku, Rikku, Rikku… Why else? The two of you were getting in my way. I couldn't let you stop me. I wish I didn't have to, but I have work to do." He released her side and, grabbing her arms, shoved her up against one of the boulders. "Do you see now?"
"Then it was you…" she wheezed, trying to draw in a breath.
"Yes… it's about time you realize it wasn't Seymour. I didn't realize you would be so oblivious, but it helped me get you here, so I thank you. Since you know it all now," he flexed his fingers, "you can die."
Before she could even process what he'd said, an icy wave washed over her, chilling her to the core. Darkness threatened to overcome.
"No…" she croaked. "Effram… stop…." This couldn't be happening. Her ears rang, drowning out the sound of Effram's voice, insisting she give up, insisting she die. Every nightmare she'd ever witnessed ripped to the surface of her mind. The destruction of Home, Sin's assault on the ship that took her mother's life, the destruction of the Machine Faction of Djose… Rage filled her. It was all at the hands of the filthy Yevonites! They had to die, all of them!… No, not them… And as fervently as she loathed the Yevonites, she suddenly loathed herself. She deserved to die! She helped guard a summoner. She betrayed her own people. She was a traitor and traitors deserved nothing short of death! Her hands trembled over the handles of her daggers. She had to die!
'Do you?' a small voice in the back of her mind suddenly spoke up. Why should she die? Whether or not the Yevonites were cruel, they needed her help. She couldn't just abandon someone in need-
Die! Rikku cried out in pain as though the thought seized her physically. But the pain cleared her mind, if only for a moment. "No!" she shrieked, breaking the hold of the darkness. With a mighty wrench, she pulled free of Effram's hold and held her fists out to keep him back. "I trusted you!"
"I know. It is unfortunate. Did anyone ever tell you that you were too trusting?"
"Stay back!"
"Or what?" In a swift moment, he elbowed her injured side and grabbed a hold of her arm. Another wave of darkness washed over her.
It was easier to resist this time. She turned the rage that filled her against him in a powerful fire spell.
Effram gave a startled yell, dancing back. He avoided any serious burns, but it was singed. He glowered at her.
"You thought I wouldn't fight back!" she snarled. "How stupid are you?"
"Oh, now you think you can mess with me?"
"Shut up! I trusted you! That old guy Deek- he trusted you? How could you betray that!"
"The same way they betrayed me! This second-class existence is no life for the Al Bhed! I would have left you alone, but no, you had to stick your nose in business where it didn't belong! So …" he looked particularly proud. "So I trained you and earned your trust…"
"You … you trained me to kill you," she said, staring at him. Was he insane? 'Of course he is, if he's trying to destroy all of Spira like this…'
"Kill me? Ha! If you can." He looked awfully relaxed being near someone he trained to kill him.
"What do you mean if I can? Of course… of course I… can."
He sighed and shook his head. "You see, your highness-"
She clenched her fists. "Don't you call me that…" she growled. Though it hadn't bothered her before, now the nickname she hated was being sullied every time he said it. Only Gippal could get away with calling her that.
"I know your type," he went on, ignoring her. He circled her like a vulture with its eye on fresh killed prey. "You are the sort who values a life, even the one that screwed you over." His eyes narrowed. "You disgust me."
"The one who's disgusting is you!" Through the time he had talked, she had slowly, slowly been edging her way away from the boulders. In one quick motion, she hauled her blades from their holsters and slammed into him, arms flying. She managed to gouge a deep cut in his arm before he kicked her feet from beneath her.
"You could've been spared, you know. I don't like to kill my own people." He readied his crossbow.
Rikku scrambled back weakly, gripping her side as it bled freely once again. She couldn't get her feet beneath her. Her heart was in her throat. This was it. She was going to die. 'Man… I don't wanna die here…' She wanted…
Effram smirked, leveling the crossbow. "Any last requests?" he asked.
"Last requests…" Rikku paused. "I don't suppose you'll honor my request to stay alive."
"Nice try, but you know too much. I'll give you another shot though. Any last request?"
She gripped her bleeding side. Whether he shot her or she was going to bleed to death, she was going to die here anyway. There was really only one thing she could think of- though she didn't know why she thought of it in the first place. Perhaps it was all the blood loss. Well, what the hell? It wouldn't hurt.
She took a deep breath and looked in the direction of the cross. "Gippal, I-" Then she stopped and stared blankly at the jewel.
"Come on, I don't have all day here. Hurry up, or I'll kill you anyway."
She simply stared.
Effram frowned and lowered his crossbow. He glanced over his shoulder to see what she was staring at so stupidly. "What the hell are you-" Then he, too, stared. "What? Where the hell did he go?" He swore violently under his breath. Gippal's body no longer dangled from the cross. In fact, it was nowhere in sight. The stone that bound him appeared to be broken.
Rikku came to her senses first and lashed her foot out at Effram's ankles, knocking them out from under him. She used his fall to her advantage and took off running in the direction of the cross. It seemed to be her only escape, for the time being. Adrenaline kept her going- it was the only thing that kept her going.
She reached the cross, drawing in painfully labored breaths. Where was he? Did he really die this time? She saw no pyreflies… "Gippal?"
She heard a yell of anger. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Effram had gotten to his feet and was tearing off after her.
"Oh no oh no," she moaned. She should have killed him when she knocked him flat. But Effram was right. She couldn't kill him. He had been her friend- or so she thought. She started to run again, but it hurt a lot more this time around. 'Oh man oh man, I'm really gonna die this time!'
She rounded an expanse of bounders and, without warning, she went flailing to the ground with a loud 'oomph!' As suddenly as she had fallen, something seized her ankle and, with a mighty pull she was dragged into a narrow crevice between the boulders. She nearly screamed in fright when a hand clamped firmly over her mouth.
"Don't scream. He'll hear you," a hoarse voice whispered in her ear.
She looked up. "Gippal?" she squeaked, though it came out more like "Gigah?" She looked at the hand grasping her ankle. It was furry and very likely blue. Kimhari too? How did he get in this place?
"Can you be quiet?" Gippal asked.
She nodded and he uncovered her mouth. "I thought you'd died!" she whispered anxiously. "What's going on here?"
"Shh…"
Kimhari scooted around Gippal and Rikku to block them from any potential view as Effram walked by. He peered into the darkened crack and stayed there for a long time. Rikku clamped her hands over her mouth for fear that her breathing would give them away. But, apparently, he saw and heard nothing so he walked off.
They waited a minute and then she, Gippal, and Kimhari let out a collective breath of relief.
"What happened?" She glanced at Kimhari. "And how did he get in here?"
"Kimhari follow Rikku," the Ronso grumbled quietly. "Not trust friend." He gave her a severe look. "Kimhari saw 'friend' injure Barthello and knew something would happen to Rikku. Kimhari was right. Rikku did not listen."
She gave a melancholy sigh. "I know…" Finally, she turned to Gippal. "I thought- I thought you had died."
"I thought so too," he muttered.
"I saw the fiend push you in, though!"
He shook his head. "The fiend didn't. Effram did. It was just timed right." He was silent for a moment, listening for Effram's footsteps. Then he continued. "I fell and broke my leg again." He glared at the offending limb, which looked a bit crooked, as if someone didn't bother to set it before healing it. "I guess I fell unconscious because when I next opened my eyes, I was stuck on that red… thing."
"Cross," Rikku replied absently. "But why did he push you? He should've pushed me. That would've ended all of this real quick."
"Well, I came up with three possibilities. First, I figured out that he was the one controlling the Plague. I knew when he gave it to me. He knew, too, when you cured me, even though neither of us said anything. Two, he figured out what I knew all along. You can't kill what you'd befriended."
She sighed. "I wish I could change that… It'd be really useful right about now."
Gippal snorted. "Like you'd ever change." She swatted him. "Anyway, he knew that, even if you died, I'd still be around to kick his ass." Then he smiled. "And three, you're in love with me."
"Love you? Excuse me?"
"Don't deny it." He smirked. "Effram probably figured that if you saw me die, you'd be more susceptible to the Plague."
She grunted didn't respond further to the love comment. He might have been right. 'Damn him.' She shook her head. "What do you mean that I'd be more susceptible to the Plague?"
He blinked at her. "You didn't figure it out? The Plague feeds off your personal agonies." He sighed. "That was how he got me. He killed everyone at Djose."
"But they were Al Bhed! He's doing all of this because he wants…" It dawned on her. "He wants the Al Bhed to be the master race!"
"Don't you get it? He'll do what he must to get what he wants, even if it means sacrificing his own people."
He had a point. She frowned. "But how did he give you the Plague?"
"When we were fighting in the Den of Woe. He wasn't healing me, he was infecting me."
Rikku groaned. They had to get out of this place.
"You can't hide from me forever!" came a shout.
"We don't intend to," Gippal muttered. Suddenly, he grabbed Rikku's belt.
She gave a startled squeak at the feel of his hands on her skin. "What the hell do you think you're doing, banjand :pervert:? Let go!" This was no time for him to get a rise out of danger.
"Banjand…" He suppressed a laugh. "Oh how dirty. Well, I'm game if you are."
"Not on your life!"
"Pity." He pulled the daggers from her belt. "Anyway, you have the wrong idea, see? I'm unarmed. And you're okay at magic- which I can't do. And… well, I've never fought with blades, but I'll manage. Now follow me." He began to crawl towards the crevice entrance.
"You're such an idiot," Rikku muttered, crawling after him. Kimhari was close behind.
"I know. One of my many charms."
Even out of the crevice, they crawled along the very edge of the boulders, an odd procession of boy, girl, and furry blue feline that would have been amusing in any other situation.
Gippal stopped before a wide gap between the boulders and motioned for the others to do the same. "If we can sneak up on him, it would be to our advantage."
"I suppose the same would go for me, should I sneak up on you," a voice said behind them.
Rikku whirled on her knees, combining a startled squeak with a wince of pain as the gravel ripped her knees. She found herself staring down the length of Effram's crossbow.
"It's about time you came out. And it looks like you have a friend too," he said, noting Kimhari.
"Effram, why are you doing this?" she asked, desperate to buy some time.
"Oh, like I'm going to sit down with a cup of tea and start on an informative monologue," Effram replied. "I'm sorry, but I have you on the ropes. I can't give you a chance to get away."
"Rikku, get behind me," Gippal muttered.
"Wha-"
"I said get behind me, dammit!"
"Quite manly of you, Gippal, for certain. I'd have thought you'd want to sacrifice Rikku or the blue carpet over yourself."
Kimhari growled menacingly while Gippal grunted, "Yeah, well I'm not you."
"Now, don't give me that. I have the upper hand here and my temper can be quite volatile."
Behind them, Kimhari roared in rage.
"Oh man!" Rikku squeaked. "Duck!" She grabbed Gippal's arm and hauled him to the ground.
"What the-?" Fireballs burst over their heads, straight towards Effram.
"Run!" Kimhari bellowed as Effram contended with the fireballs.
Rikku and Gippal clambered to their feet and took off. Moments later, Kimhari caught up with them. Arrows soared over their heads in pursuit.
"He's really trying to kill us, isn't he?" Gippal huffed.
"You think?" was all Rikku could spare for a retort.
"What the hell did he do back there anyway?" he asked, gesturing to Kimhari.
"Ronso secret technique, number four!"
"Wha?"
"Inside joke."
"Glad you can joke at a time like this…"
"It's a gift."
As they ran, it became apparent that Rikku was starting to lose stamina. 'I can't do this… not now!' She tried to push herself harder, but the effort made her physically ill. She had lost too much blood- she was faltering.
"Don't slow down now!" Gippal shouted, dodging the falling arrows as he ran.
"I'm… not," she wheezed. She collapsed next to the ruby cross. The ground seemed to spin beneath her feet.
"Rikku!" Gippal and Kimhari turned and ran back to her. "What happened?" Gippal demanded. Then he caught sight of her bleeding wound. He muttered curses under his breath. "How did you get that? Effram?"
She shook her head. "Fiend," she gasped.
"Oh man… oh man oh man… Can you get up?"
"I – I think-" She fainted.
Gippal grimaced. "I'll take that as a no."
Kimhari suddenly growled low. Gippal guessed the reason for the Ronso's irritation, but he looked over his shoulder anyway. Effram had his crossbow trained on them.
"Well, I think we've taken this game far enough. It's time you give up."
Gippal and Kimhari made themselves a barricade between him and Rikku.
"Give up, my ass," Gippal retorted.
"You may as well. I see Rikku is unconscious. There is no way you could hope to defeat me. Besides the fact that she is the only one of you lot who knows the spell to finish me off, you two will be too busy protecting her to put in a good effort fighting me." His finger rested on the crossbow's trigger. "Now, who will be first? I won't be choosy."
Kimhari snarled in response. "For hurting others, Kimhari hurt you." With an agile leap, he soared into the air and crashed down, slamming his spear… into the ground. Effram had managed to skirt out of the Ronso's way. The ground split where the blow struck. Kimhari growled, annoyed.
"Hey, Ronso guy. Stand watch over Rikku. I want to be the one to send this guy straight to hell!" Kimhari paused and then, finally nodded in agreement. They switched places. "And you have to teach me those tricks sometime."
Kimhari simply harrumphed. "Fight."
Effram wasted no time in waiting for the two to complete their switch. He'd loosed an arrow in Rikku's direction and was already prepared to fire another.
Gippal, however, would not put up with long range fighting when he was stuck with a short-range weapon. 'Let's see how good you are at hand-to-hand.' He charged towards Effram without a second thought. He plowed hard into the man, knocking the crossbow from his hands, and the two men tumbled to the ground, fists flying.
Effram was more adept at close-quarter combat than Gippal had expected, but his style was too clean, too structured. It didn't give much protection against Gippal's own dirty tactics. He was unable to block at least half of his blows.
Gippal smirked, dodging Effram's fist, and slamming his own into the man's mouth. "You're going to have to fight a lot dirtier than this if you want to mess with me."
"You think you've got me, eh?" Effram grunted, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Gippal pulled out one of the daggers he had taken from Rikku. "Yeah. Yeah I do." He was going to get this man back for what he had done at Djose. He moved to slam the blade into Effram's throat, when the man caught his wrist and held him off.
"So naïve." Effram muttered the word again.
Gippal's spine stiffened and he yelped as lightening lashed across his skin. His hand spasmed and he dropped the dagger.
"Was that dirty enough for you?" he asked, wiping the blood from his mouth. He grabbed both the dagger and his crossbow. Hastily, he tucked the dagger into his belt and docked another arrow into his crossbow. He took careful aim at Rikku's side, which Kimhari- being only one beast- couldn't protect, and fired. But the shot went wide as Gippal recovered and seized Effram's ankle, pulling him down again. The arrow struck Kimhari in the shoulder and the Ronso howled.
Gippal hauled out Rikku's second dagger, but Effram was not unarmed. He held the dagger Gippal had dropped. Gippal harrumphed and slammed his shoulder into Effram's gut. The fight continued.
Effram faked a strike to Gippal's chest and, when he moved to cover the strike, slashed his blind, patched eye instead. Gippal gave a yelp of agony and fell back as his blood slashed red on the dusty ground. Effram smirked and moved in for the final blow. Despite his injury, however, Gippal would not be slowed. He stumbled out of the blade's way, delivering a powerful thrust kick to his groin, sending Effram crashing down to his knees.
Gippal gripped his dagger with both hands. This would be the final blow. He could not miss! As he lunged to strike, copious amounts of white light spilled from Rikku's motionless body. The light exploded into the area, blinding the three left fighting. Gippal gritted his teeth and blindly landed the blow- he hoped. There was a scream. Then, silence.
…………………..
oOoDancingQueenoOo: Look at Gippy's comeback, eh?
xInsanoBananax: Well, considering this update took so long, I hope you didn't lose too much brain
jen: Funny thing was, I hadn't even considered Kimhari until the previous chapter! And he wasn't even supposed to make an appearance in this one either. But thank you for your compliments! I'm glad I had written our dear Ronso guardian well!
green-eyed-blond: Curiously enough, I think the end of this chapter was a cliffy as well! And I hope this answered the Plague Master question! Laughs
The Al Bhed Known as Amaria: Yes! Cliffhanger! And… Another, perhaps?
bluetinkerbell: Hello BTB, formerly known as i don't know grin Okay, yes… how lame of me… haha, yes, you were right! Effram was bad! But he wasn't always meant to be the bad guy. When I started this story, I didn't know who was going to be the Plague Master- I'd considered things such as Paine, or truly Seymour- But Seymour was overdone and all of the readers started to wonder about Effram. So I thought on it… and wow, this story developed from there! Amazing what a review can do, huh?
Fanfic-Lover: I hope this chapter met your expectations!
Black Eyed Mistress: Well I hope this chapter made up for the meanest cliffy ever! Grin And I do hope you enjoyed it as much as you have the other chapters