Final Fantasy: Revisited
Disclaimer: Even though the idea of Rikku in my next birthday cake sounds appetizing, I can't do it! Cause I don't own her, or any other part of FFX.
Chapter 7: Rosetta
Bruce sighed as he sat atop another crate, already bored with flipping coins. "They've been down there forever," he groaned to no one in particular. He glanced down at the sea below, where Tidus and Rikku dove to activate the ancient ruins some time ago. He managed to convince her to remain on the boat, where he would be monitoring the crane's pressure once they were ready to pull it up. 'Too bad it won't go that far,' he thought, drumming his fingers methodically on his crate. Most of the Al Bhed, by this time, were inside, waiting for the two to get back, leaving just Brother outside, fiddling with the crane's controls.
Sighing again, he leaned all the way back, resting his head on the cold steel before sighing again. 'I could always go for that chest again,' he thought, putting his hands to his eyes. He remained there for several more seconds before standing to his feet. 'Beats the hell out of sitting here.' After a quick look over to Brother, who was now using a wrench to force open a control panel, he moved silently over to the chest, careful not to step on any of the various tools strewn about the ship.
'Finally,' he thought as he squatted at the front of it, resting his hands on his knees as he eyed the front. After taking a quick breath, he lifted the rusted latch with a soft squeak. He took another precautionary look around, then lifted the latch up all the way. Bruce moved onto his knees as he rested his hands over the wood, and pushed it open. Surprisingly, it didn't take a whole lot of effort, even though it looked like it was rusted shut. 'Money in the bank,' he thought in his head, peering into the chest intently.
Inside, placed atop some old red rags, were three vials, each one holding blue liquid, and a deep blue pouch, which looked like it was made of silk, with a golden drawstring to keep it shut. He grabbed the potions quickly, placing them inside his pocket. 'Now, what's inside the pouch?' he thought. As he grabbed it, however, his question was answered as he felt the weight drop to the bottom with a clink. 'Okay, who doesn't need more money?' Careful not to make any noise, he just put the whole pouch in his larger pouch. That could wait until later. He closed the chest softly, and turned to go back to his perch, when something caught his eye, placed right next to where he woke up.
Something was on the ground. 'A pamphlet?' he wondered as he moved closer to it. As he got closer, he noticed that it was, contrary to the rest of the ship, in really good shape, as if it was just dropped there not long ago. All that was on the cover was a blue '1'. Bending over, he deftly grabbed it, turned, and went back over to the iron cast crate, resuming his steadfast gaze over the ocean.
'What do we have here?' he glanced down at the pamphlet, now at his side. Bruce fiddled with the pages for several seconds, but still wasn't able to open it. 'Damn gloves,' he grunted as he grabbed one in his teeth, and pulled it off, exposing his hand for the first time since he put them on. 'Wow, these gloves sure are airy,' he thought sarcastically, wiping it on his shorts before returning to the pamphlet. With a casual flip, he opened the first page.
Two letters, one on each page. A on the left, and Y on the right. Nothing else.
'Uh, okay…' he scratched his head before moving his attention back to the leaflet. After flipping to the next page, however, he figured out what it was. Listed on the second page were two lists of words, right next to each other. Listed on the first page were about 25 words, still in the barely legible script, but still able to understand. Words like 'hello' and 'you' were the first on the page, with the words 'rammu' and 'oui' listed right next to it. 'Oh, a primer! Sweet, something to do' he gazed at the words intently, as the ship moved in time to the waves slowly.
He was so lost in the pamphlet, he almost missed the lights coming on under him, deep in the sea. As if waking up from a trance, he snapped to attention when the light hit his eyes. 'Jeez, how long have I been staring at this?' he thought to himself as he gazed past it to the sea floor, seeing the airship begin to glow to life. It was only a matter of time, now.
Suddenly, all of the Al Bhed that were inside the ship moved out the door, all of them talking energetically. He didn't need to know the language to know they were psyched at their find. He placed the Primer inside his pouch, noting quickly that it was getting pretty heavy.
The men on the ship seemed to pay him no mind as they moved frantically over to the side of the ship, gazing down at the airship with wonder. 'Well, at least they killed that octo-thing,' he continued to stare at the sea, waiting for the two to return. 'About time they got it done, I am bored to tears here!' Stretching his arms out, he let out a loud yawn and jumped off the crate, moving towards the back of the boat, where Tidus and Rikku dove off of, and where he wouldn't get in the way. "Bored…" he said aloud, sitting on the edge , where his feet dangled above the water's edge.
Man, who knew that the adventure of a lifetime could be so unbearably boring?
Just then, one of the voices could be overheard across the ship. "Rikku ryc nadinhat!" was what it said. Bruce looked over to see a bunch of the men running towards the sound of the voice. He didn't understand Al Bhed, but he knew the word Rikku. 'Finally,' he thought as the splashes of water were heard on the other side, followed by cheering and applause. He resumed his gaze on the water, trying to ignore the now grumbling stomach of his.
It wasn't long before he heard Tidus behind him, the sound of wet boots squishing on the metal along with mild panting. "Whoo, that was interesting," he said, joining him at the edge. Bruce looked over to him. He looked just like he did in the ruins, his platinum hair dripping with water, him a little flustered. Bruce let out a 'hmm' and looked again at the sea before him. He really had no energy for small talk.
After a little moment of silence, Tidus spoke again. "Well, aren't you gonna ask what happened?" Tidus asked. Bruce already had a great idea of what happened down there, considering he knew just about everything about Spira. However, he didn't want to sound like a jerk, so he nodded slightly, and put his 'oh, that's interesting' look on his face, ready for Tidus to go off.
And off he went, explaining to the detail the sheer size of the ruins, how technologically advanced it was, the many fish fiends they had to fight, and oh the girl's really good at swimming, she even had grenades she used to make it easier, and oh there was this huge fiend and they had to go on either side to kill it. Bruce made occasional comments to keep him moving on with the story, but he was more interested in the fact that the ship went deathly silent shortly after they surfaced. Turning his head slightly, he saw that the ship was deserted, save them. Everyone else was inside, probably eating themselves a feast. On cue, his stomach rumbled loudly.
Tidus heard it, too, putting a screeching halt to his story. "Gee, thanks, Bruce, now I remember that I'm hungry, too," he said, clutching his hands to his stomach, which was rumbling very loudly. "Man, I haven't eaten since I was in Zanarkand." Bruce clenched his fist.
Bruce made a mental note to kill his sisters for eating those Lunchables.
Gritting his teeth, Bruce stood up, unable to sit while his stomach did numbers on his system. "Well, talking about it won't make it any easier, Tidus," he winced, smoothing his clothes absent-mindedly. "Trust me, I'm sure they won't forget about us. I mean, you did help them out and everything, and they're not completely heartless." He sighed audibly, making Tidus look over his shoulder at him. "And how are you so sure? It's not like they've been especially nice to us so far." Tidus said, rising from his perch to join Bruce, now walking towards the closed metal door.
"Well, I think that for all the bad, good makes its place right next to it. So," Bruce replied, leaning on the metallic door idly, "for all the crap you go through, there's gotta be something good that comes from it." That, and he knew that Rikku was right on the other side of the door, at anytime coming out with some food. "We should just chill out here for a little bit. Try to get some sleep or something, ya know, to get the hunger out of our minds?" Bruce slipped down to the floor, his knees in front of him. Tidus went to the other side, leaning on a crate as he yawned. "Yeah, I am kinda tired from fighting that thing." He rested his head on his knees. "You got it really easy, you know…" he muttered.
"Yeah, I know."
"I mean, sure, the fact that you don't like to swim is all right, but both times I had to, you were safe somewhere, lying around." As an afterthought, he muttered, "I was a star, you know…" and with that, Tidus's eyes drifted closed, and with a few more incoherent mumbles, nodded off to sleep.
Bruce, however, didn't go to sleep right away. Instead, he rested his arms across his knees, serving as a place for him to set his head. Feeling the wind slowly swirl around him, he concentrated on the horizon, now an endless sea of gray resting on top of the ocean. He listened to the waves as they chopped against the boat, a steady resonance that was the only sound that Bruce could hear.
As he sat there, stray thoughts began to slowly surface themselves in his mind, ones that were late in coming for this new predicament he was in. So far, he was able to escape with little more than a scratch, but he hasn't had to fight the likes of Seymour, Jecht, or any serious guys yet, anyways. What would death feel like? What if he was petrified? How did he get in Spira? When will he leave? When will Rikku show up with the food?
His eyes changed in a moment, intensity focusing on the horizon.
Rikku.
Even with playing through the whole game with her at the forefront of almost every battle, he still hadn't been prepared to actually meet her face to face. It was one thing to see someone, and another to actually see someone, especially one who didn't really exist.
Nonetheless, an hour ago, she was thanking him for saving her life.
The notion almost made him laugh. It was absurd. The whole thing was. He was sucked into a television, given a weapon, and told to scour the depths of a world that was entirely fictional, with an 'elite' team of a witch, a jock, a dream, a zombie, a girl destined to die, an overgrown cat, and a mechanic, and it was all thought up by a team and some nerds with too much knowledge on how to make water fall just the right way. This couldn't be happening.
But, those scratches didn't cut themselves, and he was too hungry for it to be a dream.
His gaze over the sea transferred, moving towards Tidus, who was now in a state of unconsciousness, towards the crane, and down to his arms. "Am I losing it? Is this even real?" He asked out loud, to no one in particular. The only answer given was a cry of a gull in the far distance, before it was swallowed up by the waves yet again.
At first, he was thrilled to be a part of one of his favorite games. Heck, nothing else was going on in his life that couldn't have waited for a month or so. Graduation was long gone, and he did little else with his time other than working or sleeping. Life as a whole was getting duller by the day, even with his sisters making a few irregularities every now and then. This was a considerable change of pace for him. He wasn't in a relationship, either…
Considering what happened on that day, the day after graduation.
Bruce's face darkened as he remembered each detail of that day, the three waffles he had for breakfast, the stray dog that he almost hit on the way to work…
Before he could dwell any further on that subject, the metal door next to him clicked loudly, quickly bringing him out of his thoughts with a jolt. He heard a muffled "hmm?" next to him, and saw that Tidus was awake as well, blinking the excess fatigue out of his system. "Hope it's food," he said, still fighting his way out of his nap as the door opened to reveal Rikku, holding two plates in her hands. "hot, hot, hot, hot," she said as she quickly bent over to drop the two plates of food at the feet of the two, as she blew on her hands with short breaths. She noticed the two staring at her incredulously, before she shyly spoke. "Hehe, hot plates, hot hands."
Tidus, however, was no longer listening to her. He was enamored with the plate at his feet. Had he been a dog, he'd be drooling. Then, the aroma hit his nostrils, making them flare up a bit. Abruptly, he changed. "Food!" he yelled out, scaring both Bruce and Rikku, who were looking at him oddly. Without any other premonition, he dove, literally head first into the array of items on his plate, his lips smacking audibly as he began to scarf everything up.
"Woah, man, its just food," Bruce chuckled to himself, then looked down to see what was on the plate, ending his newfound humor. 'eew,' he cringed mentally as he saw the contents: Something vaguely resembling chicken, some orange sticks, most likely carrots, and some yellowish goop. 'Oh, well, I guess beggars can't be choosers,' he thought with a grimace as he began to plunge his ungloved hand into the goop, before a feminine voice stopped him.
"What are you doing?" Rikku asked, prompting Bruce to look up at her. He gulped before replying. "Uh, eating."
"With your hands?"
"…that's what you're supposed to do, right?" Even as he was asking that question, he knew he would regret it. Rikku stood, dumbfounded for a second before exploding in laughter, grabbing her sides as she tried to keep herself up. He began to feel the heat rushing to his cheeks, before her laughter died down into giggles. "No," she said while giggling, "that's what these are for," she broke into another laughing fit, moving one hand from her side out to him, displaying a utensil, something that vaguely resembled a spoon. He let out a weak 'oh' before taking it from the girl, now bent over with silent giggles, her body shaking as she tried to control herself.
Tidus was still engrossed in his food, taking handfuls at a time and stuffing it into his mouth. Vague sounds of pleasure escaped his mouth in between bites. "fss ish goo," he murmered in between smacks. 'Like he's never seen food before,' Bruce thought, slightly embarrassed at his partner's actions.
Then, he stopped eating, right in the middle of reaching for more food. His eyes shot up to Bruce, and he looked alarmed, even panicked. Bruce cocked his head at him questioningly when Tidus didn't say anything more. His face began to grow red. Bruce's eyes widened.
Tidus was choking.
His face was now a deep red, and he let out a strangled cry as he began to pound on his chest, trying to force something down. Then, he looked over to Rikku, moving his hands towards his mouth, then pointing down his throat. Rikku looked over to Bruce. "Uh, what's he doing?"
"Uh, I'm not sure…" he said, hiding a grin. "Maybe he's trying to play a game?"
Rikku's eyes lit up. "Ooh, a game! I love games!" Tidus's eyes widened as he heard her, letting out another cry. "Okay, um…" she looked at Tidus. "It's a guessing game, right?"
Bruce joined in, trying not to laugh out loud. "Uh, okay….throat? Jackal? Horse?"
"Oh, oh, it's blitzball!" Rikku said, emitting another cry from Tidus, who was now beginning to turn purple, shaking his head quickly. "No? Okay…your mouth?"
Bruce decided to give in, considering his eyes were fluttering slightly. "You're choking?"
Tidus nodded furiously, his body sinking to the floor.
"Hey, Rikku, I think he wants a drink of water."
"Oh. Okay!" she took her canteen off and handed it to Tidus, who yanked the cap off and began downing it fully, rivulets running down his chin. Bruce let out a sigh as he saw the water flowing, then trickling off until there were only drops coming out. That was his water, too.
Tidus let out a big breath when he finished the water, coughing in between breaths. He tossed the canteen away, landing to the ground with a loud 'clink' as it skittered to a halt in front of a crate. "Are…you…people…dense?" He gasped, holding his throat with one hand while supporting himself with the other. "I…could have…died…" he wheezed, glaring daggers at Bruce and Rikku, who in turn looked at each other for answers. Rikku's apologetic look did nothing for the situation, so Bruce decided to answer.
"Well, if you didn't eat the food too fast, then you wouldn't have choked, Tidus," Bruce extended a hand to Tidus, who in turn stared at it, then back to Bruce. "Hey, you know I wouldn't have let you choked to death right? I mean, were buds! Compadres!" Tidus made no move. "…and besides, you were still making noises, if you were really choking, you wouldn't have been able to speak at all."
Tidus looked on solemnly for a moment more, then broke into a grin. "Dude, next time you do that, I won't hesitate to mess you up, I'm serious," he said, grabbing Bruce's outstretched hand and pulling himself up. "I'm just glad she had her canteen when she did," he looked over to Rikku, who looked away sheepishly.
"Hey…"
Tidus' face furrowed with confusion. "Hey, who are you, anyways?"
Rikku gave a small quick wave to Tidus. "I'm Rikku," she said, giving a quick wink.
Tidus let out a whoop. "You really do understand!" he exclaimed, beaming. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
She looked to the floor, then back to Tidus. "I didn't get a chance to! Everybody thought oui were a fiend." Tidus immediately gave her a look of confusion. "Uh…'we?'"
Bruce, who before was watching the familiar dialogue take place, decided to step in. "Oui is Al Bhed for 'you,' Tidus." They both looked at him, shocked expressions plastered on both their faces. Then, Bruce realized his mistake. "Erh, it was in context. I just deciphered it," he said, giving a weak chuckle. He mentally chastised himself. He had to be more careful with what he knew. Think twice, speak once.
It didn't look like either one bought it, but they let it slide, turning once more to each other. "I'm Tidus," he said, extending a hand to Rikku, who accepted it. "Nice to meet you. And this is…" he gestured to Bruce, who offered a hand to Rikku as he spoke.
"Bruce," Rikku said, grabbing his hand and squeezing it lightly before letting it go.
Bruce's eyes opened wide. "How do...how do you know my name?"
Rikku smiled. "Well, you did tell me when we were fighting ol' Spidey back in the ruins, right? I have a pretty good memory, ya know," she pointed to her head.
"Oh. Right."
Tidus jumped in, breaking the awkward moment. "Bruce said you were something… Ali Bead?" he asked, scratching his head. Bruce groaned.
"We're Al Bhed, Can't you tell?" She said, playfully batting her emerald eyes at him. "Wait…You're not an Al Bhed hater, are you?" She crossed her arms in front of her defensively, obviously ready for a verbal fight.
Tidus threw up his hands. "I don't even know what an Al Bhed is."
Bruce spoke up. "Well, you can tell an Al Bhed by their eyes. Only Al Bhed have the green eyes that Rikku has." He looked over to Rikku and smiled, who smiled back at him before returning. "And, well, they're not well respected around here, due to various reasons." Better let the story tell itself and not spoil it for him.
Rikku looked over to Bruce. "Well, you sure do know a lot more about us then Tidus does," she said, placing her hands on her hips. "Where are you from, exactly?" Bruce gulped. "Uh, you wouldn't even know it if I told you, hehehe…" he glanced nervously to Tidus, who also was looking at him questioningly. "It's pretty far away from here, so…" Bruce looked up at Rikku, his full poker face on. Maybe she would buy it.
She sighed loudly. "Okay, whatever you say, Bruce. And you," she turned to Tidus, much to Bruce's relief. "Are you also from a far away land, or do you actually belong somewhere?"
"Zanarkand," Tidus beamed, puffing out his chest for added effect. "I'm a blitzball player. Star player of the Zanarkand Abes!"
The silence that ensued after was not as much annoying as it was awkward. Rikku stared down at the floor, suddenly interested in her boots. Tidus still had his hands on his hips, but his confidence was wiped from his face, replaced with uncertainty. Bruce, on the other, hand, was looking back and forth between the two. Somebody had to say something, or he'd go nuts. He couldn't, or that would only be more questioning. Guess he just had to wait.
After a couple more seconds of silence, Rikku looked back up. "Did…did you hit your head or something?" she asked meekly, almost afraid to ask. "Well, you guys hit me," Tidus replied, as quiet and unsure as Rikku did. Rikku shifted her feet slowly. "Oh, right…" The concern couldn't be ignored from her face. "Do you remember anything before that?"
So, for the next ten minutes or so, Tidus spoke about life as a superstar in Zanarkand. He spoke with such enthusiasm and vigor that Bruce almost forgot that such a place with dazzling lights and gorgeous sunsets didn't really exist, even less than the ship he was standing on. He watched him talk about his team, and how they developed into a very close-knit family over the years of playing. He talked about the endless lines awaiting season tickets once every year, and how he was a fan ever since Jecht played.
He also talked about the game he was in before 'that blob thing' came and attacked the stadium, and he just barely caught a ledge, avoiding the initial blast and falling to the floor, where he hit the floor and rolled to stop the initial shock from breaking his legs. He continued to where he was confronted by Auron, and how he almost was attacked by a monster before a weapon fell from the sky, stopping it dead in its tracks, at which point Rikku looked at Bruce expectantly, who let out a sheepish "guilty", resulting in a small grin from Rikku before she turned back to Tidus, who was finishing up his story. "And after we blew up the truck, I ran across a breaking road, and then, all three of us were sucked up in this white light, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in those ruins, where I saw Bruce, and then met you."
Rikku was all but amazed at his story. The way her eyes lit up with energy almost made Bruce laugh with the delight in her features as she listened. But even with the sense of excitement she had about her, Bruce noticed a hint of melancholy under it all. Like she wanted to believe his story, but couldn't, no matter how hard she wanted to. The whole scene left Bruce feeling sorry for the both of them, and he sighed heavily into the frigid air to show his recent change of moods.
Rikku glanced at Bruce uncertainly, then back at Tidus. Tidus noticed it and slowly put his hands in his pockets. "Did...I say something funny?" he asked Rikku.
Rikku was very quiet. "You were…near Sin. Both of you were," she said, gesturing over to Bruce but keeping her attention on Tidus. "Don't worry, you'll feel better in no time," she said with more confidence than before, with a hopeful look. "They say your head gets funny when Sin is near. Maybe…" she shrugged. "…Maybe you just had some kind of dream?"
Tidus looked over to Bruce, who gave him a blank stare in return. When no answer was given, Tidus felt his head. "You mean I'm sick?" he asked.
"Because of Sin's toxin, yeah."
"You sure?"
Rikku went over and felt Tidus's head, then lowered her hand to his, clasping it firmly. "Yeah, there is no Zanarkand anymore." Tidus eyes widened. "Sin destroyed it a thousand years ago. So…" Tidus jerked his hand from Rikku's, as if he touched a stove. His mouth opened up slightly. "…Nobody plays blitzball there."
Tidus stood there gaping for a long time, his mouth trying to made words but failing miserably. The surprise was very evident, with him looking back from Bruce to Rikku, both looking at him with worry and concern. "Wha…" He cleared his throat. "What do you mean, a thousand years ago? But I saw Sin attack Zanarkand!" He exclaimed, pacing and fidgeting with his hands. You're saying that happened, a thousand years ago?!" He yelled, startling both Rikku and Bruce at his outburst. "No way!"
Everything was going like in the game, until Tidus pointed at Bruce. "Ask Bruce, he was there!"
Suddenly, Bruce felt very nervous. 'Oh no.'
Rikku looked over to Bruce, leaving him in a stalemate. 'Crap, here's a tough one,' he thought, feeling the sweat gathering on his forehead. 'Become the sane backstabber, or a loyal lunatic?' He looked at both of them. They both looked eager to hear that he was behind them and not the other. Best to come to a compromise.
"Uh…" Bruce looked over to Rikku. "Well, he is correct, we did fight Sin, and we were in Zanarkand, one that didn't exist as just ruins," at which Tidus beamed, leaving Rikku looking hurt. He turned to Tidus. "But," he started. Tidus's face fell. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but…" Tidus began to look betrayed, but he had to tell him, for his sake. "…Rikku is right. Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago."
Rikku narrowed her eyes. "Wait…how can that be possible? You couldn't have been there when it was destroyed, everyone died there!" Tidus joined in. "How can this be a thousand years in the future? And how can you know that?"
Shoot. between a rock and a hard place. He seemed to be doing that a lot. Think fast.
Bruce applied his poker face. "Well, I was definitely there when Tidus was fighting the things. I mean, I was there with him. But, uh, well, I don't think Rikku is lying to us, Tidus. I mean, she doesn't have a reason to, do you?" Rikku shook her head. "Well, then, I suppose that in a sense, you're both right."
Another long pause ensued, as everyone was thinking about the recent turn of events. Tidus was confused, reasonably, and Rikku was still debating on whether her newcomers were psychos or not. Bruce gazed upon the ocean, trying not to think about the awkward situation he put himself in. Not only did he have to explain it to Tidus and Rikku, but Auron as well.
Rikku broke the silence. "You said…you play blitzball?" she asked Tidus, who turned to face her. "Uh huh." "You know, you should go to Luca," she said, planting her hands on her hips. "Someone might know who you are, or you might find someone you recognize."
"Luca?" Tidus scratched his head questioningly.
Rikku clasped her hands together, smiling. "Okay, leave it to me! I'll get you to Luca, promise!" She started for the door, then turned back. "You'd rather stay here?" Tidus nodded. She turned her attention to Bruce, who also nodded. "Okay, I'll tell the others." She started to open the door again, and turned around. "Oh, and one thing. Don't tell anyone you're from Zanarkand, okay?" Tidus's eyebrows rose skeptically. "Yevon says it's a holy place. You might upset someone." After Tidus's muffled agreement, she creaked the door open and disappeared, leaving them alone again.
Tidus let out a sigh, and sank to the floor, landing with a thud. Bruce didn't blame him. He just had a bombshell dropped on him, after all. If it were him, he doubted he would even be able to talk, let alone keep it together like that. Too bad it only got worse for him. After taking another worried glance at Tidus, he resumed his gaze on the water.
Funny, there were no more seagulls crying overhead. For that matter, there seemed to be a dark cloud in the distance.
Bruce looked at the cloud. It was very dark, almost black. Lightning could be seen every few seconds, violently jagging across the darkened patch of sky. At first, it just seemed like a normal storm cloud.
But then, it moved. Very quickly. Directly towards the boat.
The wind around him picked up a little bit as it moved towards him, catching at his clothes and whipping them against his skin. The water also began to get choppy, hitting the boat and spilling onto the metal floor. The boat groaned as it grew accustomed to the new wave of motion, swaying more with each passing moment.
Tidus got up, and gasped loudly. "What….is that…?" His tone became angry. "Why can't it leave me alone for once?" He unsheathed his sword from behind his back, ready to fight.
"No, Tidus, you can't hurt this thing. It's pointless!" Bruce yelled above the wind, now steadily louder. Reluctantly, Tidus put his sword back, grumbling incoherently.
In a flurry of movement, the door slammed open, and several of the Al Bhed, including Rikku, launched themselves out into the open, all looking at the incoming cloud, speaking in Al Bhed. Then, one of them cried out in terror. "Sin!"
At once, people began to scatter, some rushing to cover the crates with tarp, others just standing on the deck, watching the descending cloud, now almost over them. The sky grew very dark. All of them looked terrified.
Bruce could only look on as everyone was running all over the place, the lightning flashing across the sky, lighting up the boat for only split seconds at a time, showing the horror-filled faces of the Al Bhed as they ran past him. For the second time, hell broke loose because of that thing. He still couldn't believe that he could kill such a thing that struck fear into the heart of anyone who heard its name.
As he gazed on, he noticed the glint of a familiar weapon laying in the half open doorway. He ran over to the door, getting hit by frantic Al Bhed that crossed his path, he reached the doorway. 'Finally, some good luck,' he thought triumphantly, grabbing the swallow firmly and placing it in the sheath behind him, the buckles clinking with the new weight.
Suddenly, a hand gripped his, and he spun around defensively. "Who is that?" He yelled into the chaos, his hand still being gripped tightly. The lightning crackled across the sky, resulting in a loud 'eep' in the darkness and his hand being gripped tighter. Bruce used his other hand to feel the arm of whoever it was. It was small. "Rikku? Rikku, is that you?" He shouted, just barely even hearing himself now.
He thought he heard a feminine sounding reply, too muffled to be heard in the swirling winds surrounding him. Lightning split the sky, and she could be seen for a moment, her eyes wet with unshed tears, her expressions showing nothing but unbridled terror. She was looking straight into Bruce's eyes desperately. And gripping his hand.
Bruce felt himself feeling sorry for Rikku as he moved his other hand to hers, closing it around hers protectively. Poor Rikku. She was terrified of lightning. And, with Sin just below, too…. He felt her hands trembling, even under his heavy gloves. He knew that she would survive, of course she would. But, still, she needed him right then. By reaching out to him, she confided in him all of her fears, and he had to deal with it the best he knew how.
So, he slowly moved his hand around to her back, pulling her towards him, and he embraced her in a cautious bear hug around her shoulders. He could feel her rapid heartbeat. She was shivering, from fright or from the cold, he couldn't tell.
Rikku moved her arms around to his waist, pulling him tighter against her. "I-I'm scared," he heard her whisper weakly.
Bruce lowered his mouth down to her ear. "Rikku, I know you're scared," he said soothingly. A bolt scorched the sky, and she jumped, emitting another high pitched scream. Bruce started to slowly rub her back, trying to calm her. "I know you're scared, Rikku. But I know you're stronger than to let this scare you." He felt her shaking fiercely with sobs. "Hey, you took on that fiend in the ruins without a second glance, and you fought hard." He felt her begin to lessen her grip on his waist. "And I saw how truly strong you can be. Use that same courage, Rikku. I know you can do it."
Even with all of the screaming and running around them, even with the winds whipping their hair around each other, even with the midnight clouds above them, shooting out white-hot bolts about, they didn't even see that now. Time seemed to slow down around them, and neither one wanted to leave the safety of the other. Rikku felt…nice. She was nestled in this spot, and she no longer was shivering. Bruce continued to hold her there, for as long as she needed it. It felt good, being wanted for protection. Even though he couldn't stop Sin from coming, he still enjoyed being looked at as a beacon of hope in the storm. Rikku stirred below him, and he looked down to see her…smiling. Even with the tears running down her cheeks, she still looked happy. Safe.
Time sped back up as she released his midsection. Reluctantly, Bruce released her from his hug. She pulled his head down and placed a quick peck on his cheek. "Thank you," she said into his ear. Bruce quickly felt his face get hot as he looked at Rikku, shocked. He then grinned shyly, trying to pass it off. "N-no problem," he responded, causing Rikku to blush as well. Neither one made a move to leave, so they just stood, both looking elsewhere.
Then, he heard Rikku shout. "Tidus!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a massive wave of water crash across the deck. Tidus screamed as the wave hit him, sending him falling to the deck. The wave then receded, leaving just water where he fell.
Oh man, now he had to swim.
He looked over to Rikku again, who looked back at him with concern in her eyes. This might be the last time he saw her, if he died before they met again. But, she couldn't think like that. He smiled, tucking a stray strand of her hair back to her ear. "I'll see you again, Rikku, I promise," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Then, without any warning, he turned on his heel, running full speed towards the edge of the ship. He heard Rikku shouting, but it was too loud to understand. He jumped over the fallen body of an Al Bhed, and launched himself overboard, letting the whirlpool below him suck him into its path.
Author's Notes: Wohoo! Another chapter finished. I know what you are all thinking: Jeez, took you long enough. Well, because I had valentine's day planning to do (can't forget my girlfriend, she kinda gets pissed 8v)) and a long list of to do's, I could only do a little bit at a time. Hopefully, I bribed you with the extra long flavor this week, it's about 90 percent longer than my usual chapters. Nonetheless, I apologize to you, the reading public, and I give you my word that it will get better, since my schedule is freer than it used to be.
The Rikku-Bruce thing is going nicely, yes? I'm trying to go for the 'harmless flirtatious friendship becomes something deeper when it takes root' thing. I hope I'm not pushing their relationship too far yet, for now, it's all in fun. I love writing about these guys. It sucks, though, all the things I wanna do have to wait until way, WAY later! Waaaahhh.
But, trust me, I've got a brain full of ideas for these two, and I plan on using them. But, for now, Rikku's gone, so no romance for a while, just adventures!
As always, feedback is not only appreciated, it is NEEDED. Thanks to all of you who have sent me compliments. I really need those for fuel when it gets tough to keep going. If you like the fic, tell a friend, I like publicity!
Oh, something I forgot! The Al Bhed parts, I need to know how to do those, whether to just put the translations after it, or just the translations, or none at all, so please email me your thoughts.
Any of you have issues or questions for me on the story, or anything you want, really, just email me. I like mail (I got mail, yaaaaaay!)
Thanks again!