Magnificent, glimmering like the very first day he saw her, glowing with highlights of silver where the bright, pale light caressed her wine body. The sharp head, the thin tail, the low back, and the black leather inside, everything was the same. Tidus floated fearfully towards her, as if she would vanish like his life and his memories had. The ghost floated around the car, drinking with craving every inch of her beauty.
"This was…" Tidus began commenting.
Memory flooding into his mind, thoughts filling him rapidly, his father, Garcy and Martha.
"This was…" the young ghost spoke again as realization dawned in him, the memories flooding in his mind.
Rikku observed with a smile, grinning so gently and happily as the boy floated and experimented his car. The ghost placed a caring hand over the metal, caressing it with the tender care of someone petting a baby.
"This was mine!" Tidus exclaimed happily, floating high up with glee, "I remember!" he yelled with joy, making Rikku laugh at him.
"Come inside!" Tidus told her, descending from the ceiling to land inside the car, at the driver's seat.
Rikku obeyed and sat at the passenger's seat, looking at the ghost with fascination and happiness. Tidus held the steering wheel as if he could feel the pure bliss of driving. His hand lowered to the gear lever, his imagination flying to the time when he was a man. He stopped dry as soon as his ethereal hand touched the leather cover of the lever, his expression changed to shock as his mind absorbed the last memories that remained missing.
"Tidus? What's wrong?" Rikku asked carefully, her own joy fleeing and slipping through her fingers upon seeing the ghost looking so terribly depressed.
"I begged and begged my father to buy me this car. He said he wouldn't because it was very strong, and that I didn't know how to drive that well. The morning of my birthday, my father gave me a box. I opened it and saw the keys, the Hyundai H carved in it. I raced outside, and there it was, and it was mine!" Tidus smiled happily at this memory.
"Months after…" the ghost began telling, his expression changing to sadness, his eyes glimmering, almost teary. "I went to a party with my friends, Garcy and Martha. I drank a lot. Then I drove the car. I began running. Lost control. I put my friends in danger because of my stupidity!" Tidus looked down, half furious, half depressed.
"What is dying like?" Rikku asked curiously, trying to call the boy's attention.
"It's like…sleeping and waking up!" the boy commented after a second, "I remember… I should have been sent, but I didn't go, I ran away. I didn't want to die just yet, and thought that maybe, by staying here, I could find a way to come back to life." Tidus explained staring at the girl, now more relaxed.
"Lazarus!" Rikku snapped all of a sudden, the youth staring at the wall, past the car's glass.
"What?" Tidus inquired glancing at the girl with confusion glimmering in his face.
"I've been working on an essay about Legendary Machina, come!" Rikku exited the car, slamming the door slightly stronger than she should have.
Tidus winced at the feeling of his precious car shaking under such force. Sighing, he exited the car trespassing through it without causing any damage. The two friends raced outside the garage, going up the stairs speedily.
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"Look, there are many Legendary Machina." Once in her room, Rikku took out a large, thick book. "I wrote the essay about another one, that's why it didn't call my attention, but I remember reading the description of this machina!" the young Alchemist explained throwing the book with a big slam on the table, and opening it rapidly.
"What is Lazarus?" Tidus inquired curiously, peeking at the book from over Rikku's shoulder.
"Lazarus:
A thousand years ago, Machina were commonplace in Spira… bla bla bla… the Al Bhed , also known as Alchemists, were furiously researching for the cure of mortality. In their seek of immortality, an Alchemist called Jaeth Anders built a machina, which would supposedly grant her the so desired immortality. However, what the machina did was resurrect the spirits of the deceased. Pursued by those who wanted to conquer the only way to live eternally, Jaeth hid the Machina and killed herself after, carrying her secret to the grave. The Lazarus has remained hidden until nowadays, for nobody has been able to find it." Rikku read vehemently, concentrated on every inch of the story, seeking for clues of its situation.
Tidus was glancing at the pictures of the Machina, his eyebrows narrowing, recalling the familiarity of such item. Where had he seen it?
"It's just a myth, but it is worth searching for it!" Rikku explained shrugging, hence the excitement had began to flood through her veins.
"I know where it is…" Tidus whispered all of a sudden, immersed in remembering the exact place where he had seen the Machina.
"What?" gasped Rikku staring at the young ghost with shock and excitement.
"I know just where it is, I've seen it through my wanderings, come on!" Tidus bellowed excitedly, tugging at the woman's hand.
The young ghost became the eagle again, wings expanded with pride, head up high with anxiety. He was not sure if the machina worked, he had never tried, but Rikku had managed to fix his terribly deformed and useless car. The light of hope began to illuminate him from deep within his soul.
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The two were standing right before the glimmering lake, illuminated by the millions of floating pireflies, under the glossy cover of the Macalanian woodlands. Rikku dismounted the eagle, and walked lazily towards the hazy surface of the lake. She looked into the illuminated, crystalline depths with a slight apprehension.
"It's right there!" Tidus said with a smile, pointing with a stubby finger into the depths of the water.
"How did you find it?" Rikku stared at him curiously, but she was making an enormous effort to restrain her excitement.
"The Summoners pursued me. I had to hide so I found this cave underwater… and the machina." Tidus explained, staring at the depths of the lake. "I never imagined this could send me back to life…" his voice was blurry, hazy, mysterious, floating from the depths of another time.
"Come on!" Rikku urged Tidus on, her eyes sparkling with a blooming excitement, and her light body springing up and down eagerly.
The young woman leapt into the water and began diving towards the depths, containing her breath as much as she could. The tiny ghost floated next to her, apparently unaffected by the water. Pointing into the most profound depths, Tidus signalled at the source of a sparkling luminosity. Rikku nodded and pushed her body down, deeper into the lake, sinking into the murky shadows, being engulfed momentarily by a veil of darkness.
Immediately, the two friends emerged into a silver light, so bright and pure that it almost blinded them. Rikku knew they had entered a cave. Looking up, her green eyes spotted the oily glimmer of the water surface. There was air in this cave! Pushing her body upwards with all the strength her arms and legs could gather, the water surface broke into a million liquid stars, which sparkled in their descent like diamonds.
Rikku inhaled a deep gulp of air, and she looked around. Pireflies were floating about like luminous bats, yet granting the cave with a far more magical sensation. Crystal stones formed the spherical area of the cave, each small rock was a sharp edge pointed inside. A geoda, the girl knew they were inside an enormous geoda of violet and glassy colours.
In the middle of the room, towering proud and strong, was the machina, the Lazarus. It seemed old and rusty, but the gears and the engines seemed well oiled, such that the metal still glimmered in a silver sparkle, under the sneaking intrusion of pireflies. Tidus was floating next to the metallic monster, which resembled a mixture between a ship, a metallic cottage, with two towers which looked like the horns of a dragon.
"This is it!" Tidus said beaming, and motioning at the thing.
"The Lazarus…" Rikku's eyes sparkled with wonder, a slight ambition, and the touch of complete passion that she felt for all mechanic.
Tidus floated down while Rikku approached the machina, only to take a closer look and verify that the thing worked. The ghost flew towards a wooden shelf that had long crumpled and fell, collapsed with nothing but the weight of a few flasks. This vials resembled bulbs, having the shape of a crystal pear. All of them had broken, shattered when the shelves had fallen. All except one.
Tidus picked it up delicately, but hope faded when he saw there were only the last remains, like the last spoonfuls of soup you can't pick from the plate. The red, ruby like liquid slithered back and forth as Tidus moved towards the young Al Bhed. Rikku was kneeling under the machina, examining the gears, touching each little piece of metal with love and care.
"I think this will work perfectly." Muttered Rikku to herself, standing up and rubbing the sweat out of her forehead.
"Rikku… er… "Tidus began, glancing at the flask in his hands with an enormous deception shading his clear eyes.
"What is it?" Rikku stared at the boy curiously, and suddenly spotted on the empty flask.
The Al Bhed's eyes panicked lightly. She looked across the ghost instinctively, seeking for that full hope which might have evaded the spirit's eyes.
"There is not enough. And the other flasks are broken! The liquid has long evaporated…" Tidus looked down sadly, letting his hands fall to the sides, still gripping the flask on one of them.
"But Tidus…" Rikku began, perhaps sadly, but her voice was chirpy, inflated with hope.
To Be Continued…
AN: Sorry for the impossible delay. Apart from the feasts that have occupied all my time, the large picture I've been working on, I've been perfecting my latest story A Life to Live. I would more than glad if you ever got to read and review that one, I have a feeling you will enjoy it. Well, keep up, I'm going to try finish this soon enough.