Wedding Bells at Besaid's Temple

by Renmiri

How peppy Rikku teaches moody Beclem, from Gunner's Gauntlet Mission on Chapter 2 FFX2, a lesson that he won't forget. Neither will Rikku! When they find out she has to face deadly Vegnagun... Update 122105 Chapter 6 has Tidus and Yuna reunion & wedding

5. Chapter 5 Till death parts us tomorrow

Chapter 5

---A Weighty Decision

At the bridge Brother fretted and fussed around Yuna but she was relieved upon learning the reason behind Lenne's periodical hijacking of her body. Having loved Tidus just as much as the unfortunate lovers she could understand Lenne's urgency to contact Shuyin and had a good idea of his regrets. She had harbored similar thoughts about the loss of Tidus, Sir Auron and her Aeons for the last 2 years, until that day in Spira when she was finally able to make peace with her and Tidus sacrifice for Spira. Shuyin's spirit had been adrift in sorrow and regret for the last 1,000 years never able to make peace with his and Lenne's sacrifice, never able to understand that it wasn't his fault things turned out so dire, never hearing Lenne's absolution and her love for him regardless of the tragic fate he brought them both. That for 1,000 years! 100 would be enough to drive anyone insane. Only Lenne's love had a chance to heal Shuyin's tortured soul.

Yuna felt she could give Shuyin and Lenne the gift of closure and redemption. And as with Sin's destruction. Yuna was pretty sure no one else could do it but her. She just knew. Being who she was, the daughter of a man who gave his life for his fellow men without hesitation, Yuna could do no less. And just as before with Sin, Yuna was committed to give all of her strength and skills to bring relief to endless grief and sorrow. She would disarm Vegnagun and heal the lovers spirit or die trying.

Back at the bridge, Yuna didn't even need to explain to her friends what she decided. They knew her too well. Even Paine who was not there 2 years ago at the pilgrimage already knew Yuna enough to see it. One look at her and they all knew. And like before, they were all prepared to die by her side, aiding Yuna in her new quest with all their strength, until the very end. Brother just asked Yuna "Where to ?", while Paine and Rikku pleaded with her to - if possible - wait a month before starting her battle with Shuyin and Vegnagun to allow for them to take care of their pending problems in Spira.

---Getting invited to the League Tournament

Being about to embark on yet another of Yuna's death defying quests, Rikku was eager to talk with Beclem one last time. She missed his caresses and was having some wild dreams about him and her making love lately. She just couldn't wait any longer to do it for real, Gullwings rest or not…

Rikku got the Youth /League HQ on the commsphere network, but got Commander Lucille instead. The Commander informed Rikku that Beclem and Elma were out in the field coordinating a League-wide Team Fighting tournament. This was an idea Lucille had recently to improve morale because although the troops mood was calmer after Yuna's concert the foot soldiers were still a bit on edge. Lucille said she could use the tournament to better train her people and calm their thirst for a fight.

"That sounds like fun!" cheered the ever preppy Rikku

"Well, the Gullwings would be welcome to join us. We would be honored to have our best 5 teams do battle against the High Summoner's team" said Lucille delighted

"Give Beclem some R&R and you got yourself a deal!" said a enthusiastic Rikku before she could stop herself.

"Huh ? Who ? My aide Beclem ?" asked the Commander puzzled. She could not picture blustery and cheerful Rikku anywhere near her very serious and strict Master Sergeant

"Don't Ask! Will be there next week for the Tournament finals" said Yuna and Paine laughing at a flustered Rikku and a puzzled Lucille

---Visiting Baby Vidina and hearing a lullaby

Rikku kept on pestering Shinra asking to get on his commsphere network to see where her beloved "Bee" was. Shinra had to do the tracking as Rikku would only call Beclem when Brother wasn't looking. Finally he located him in Besaid, getting ready to return to Mushroom Rock. Fortunately this was the day after Lulu gave birth so Rikku had the perfect excuse to ask Buddy to drop them in the island: to see the new baby. Yuna was ecstatic at the news, feeling like "aunt Yuna" twice as she had always thought of Lulu and Wakka as her older siblings.

When they landed in Besaid's Beach they met the Aurochs and Beclem getting ready to board a ship to Kilika. Lulu and Paine went to talk to Keepa and Botta to get the latest news: the new mom and baby were doing fine but Wakka was a nervous wreck and had not even been able to pick his newborn son's name yet ! Rikku went running to Beclem excitedly but he walked past her and gave Yuna a movie sphere with a resentful face

"Please give this to Wakka. This is a memory of one of my war buddies, Chappu" said Beclem to Yuna

"You fought with Wakka's brother Chappu ?" asked Yuna surprised

"We fought in the Crusaders together. He always talked about Wakka, saying, "My brother's the greatest person in Spira!" Imagine my surprise to find out the legendary Wakka's nothing more than a wishy-washy wimp. There are so many things I'd wanted to talk to Wakka about... But not anymore. Chappu was 10 times the man Wakka is" said Beclem

"OK, I will give this to Wakka" said Yuna, determined to ignore Beclem's insults, for Rikku's sake

"Knock some respect into your grouch of a boyfriend, will ya ?" whispered Paine to Rikku, who felt like kicking Beclem. Why did he have to always pick on Wakka ? And why didn't he even smile at her ?

Fuming Rikku started slowly following Yuna and Paine up the hill, going to see the new baby boy and leaving Beclem to his eternal moodiness. Beclem watched her leaving angrily. Once more people sided with the older guardian. Didn't they listen to him telling them how Wakka was not even better than his own kid brother ? Sheesh! He and Chappu could run circles around the paunchy guardian! How could people prefer Wakka's befuddled big bear affability over his professionalism and dedication ? Despair started to seep into his righteous anger. Nine months after he arrived here people still didn't like him, despite all his efforts to train the slacker Aurochs, to secure the village, to teach Wakka some courage. It was obvious no one was sorry to see him leave. The Aurochs were here more to play blitz than to wait for his boat, he thought. And now the only person in the island who liked him - no - who loved him - was leaving him to go to Wakka!

That was when a stray blitzball hit his feet and without thinking Beclem did an incredible half Jecht shot with a double spin, sending the ball whizzing past Rikku's head , missing her by mere inches.

"Hey! Watch where you shoot this thing, you blind bat!" Rikku turned around yelling at Datto, who was the Auroch's worst shooter, only the see the whole Besaid team looking at Beclem astounded and begging him to repeat his super cool blitz shot.

"Slackers to the very end" Beclem said looking at Rikku with a sheepish grin and a "forgive me" plea in his dark green eyes

That was all the encouragement Rikku needed to come running down the hill and throw herself into his arms, completely oblivious to the entire Besaid Aurochs team watching stunned. For a mere fraction of a second Beclem thought about pushing Rikku away because there Aurochs were looking but he didn't. Beclem couldn't bear the thought of seeing her turning her back on him again! Oblivious to the onlookers Beclem kissed her eagerly

"Hey Rikku, what is going on ? Who is this guy you are kissing ?" piped a tiny voice - Brother's - from the nearby commsphere

"Buzz off you peeping Tom!" she said, kicking sand on top of the sphere and pulling herself even closer to Beclem's strong chest.

Beclem started caressing Rikku passionately and they both completely forgot about the world at large. Keepa gestured the Aurochs to quietly leave the beach to the young lovers. He and Datto stood guard at the beach's trail, ensuring Beclem and Rikku had a private reunion.

"So THAT's why the Sergeant had us camp out in the woods that night and was so smiley after Lady Yuna's last visit! Son of a Gun" laughed Datto

"Dang! The Sergeant does know how to pick them, doesn't he ? She's HOT!" said a wistful Keepa

Back at the village Yuna gave Wakka the sphere she got from Beclem. It was a letter saying goodbye to Wakka, recorded by Chappu right before he left to fight Sin and died.

"Hey, Wakka, remember that time... Nah, you probably forgot. Something' I told you back when we were kids, ya? There's a sphere on the island, I said. Showing Mom and Dad. I lied. Truth is, there's no such sphere." starts Chappu

"I'm sorry. Back then, you'd lecture me no matter what I did. "Someone has to keep you in line, ya?" I guess I was kinda bitter. When I come back you will need to knock it off with the surrogate parenting and give us both a break. I just need you to be my brother." pleads Chappu on the sphere recording

"I love you brother, take care of Lulu for me if I don't come back…" says Chappu as the sphere recording ends

Wakka fought back tears when he watched but felt much better after he finally heard Chappu's last words to him. Marrying his brother's fiancée had always felt to Wakka a bit like he was betraying Chappu's memory, but this letter told him Chappu would have wished them the happiness he and Lulu had today. A newborn baby boy, a beautiful and loving wife and forgiveness from his brother, this was turning into a pretty good day, thought Wakka to himself. Now if he could only decide on a name for the little guy!

Wakka met Beclem and Rikku when they were coming up the hill, heading towards the village.

"Guardian Wakka, if I may have a word" said Beclem formally

"Sure! What's up ?" said Wakka

"Well… I.. err. I wanted to apologize for my behavior with you" said Beclem embarrassed, keeping his promise to Rikku, although he would rather wrestle a Behemoth fiend completely unarmed than ask for an apology, particularly from the old guardian

"No need to apologize, man. You always had Besaid and our safety at heart, and I appreciated it even when we argued" said Wakka

"Guardian, I was so rude and disrespectful.. And you never once called me on it… " Beclem said sheepishly, surprised at Wakka's forgiving reaction

"Well, I knew that if I was to keep Besaid safe for my kids I had to give Besaid's new generation of protectors some latitude and confidence to function properly" said Wakka grinning

Beclem was stunned at the real reason Wakka had humored all his rude insults: For his - Beclem's - benefit! All this time he had thought he was teaching Wakka how not to be a wimp, Wakka was teaching him ? Embarrassed, Beclem now realized that the older guardian had the courage to let himself be insulted, just to train Besaid's new generation. By doing that Wakka allowed them to build their confidence on themselves, starting with a very defiant and petulant new pup, still wet behind the ears, named Beclem. He had been wrong. He and Chappu were but kids compared to Wakka. There all kinds of ways to show bravery, he now realized. He made an internal vow to let go of his prideful arrogance and to open himself to learning from others from now on.

No wonder Wakka was adored by his men! His gentle touch and his apparent clumsiness made them have the confidence to rely on themselves, while he watched from a distance, making sure his men were heading on the right track. Correcting them but never making them lose confidence in themselves

"Guardian, if I may ask, how did you KNOW ?" asked Beclem

"I had a little brother just like you, and I never gave him space to grow so he had to leave our village to turn into a man" said Wakka sadly with a sigh

"I thank you for your kindness and wisdom, Guardian. I am sure Chappu is proud of you wherever he is and that you will be an excellent father for your newborn" an embarrassed Beclem said softly.

"Thank you" said Wakka with a lump on his throat, deeply touched by the young man's words. He had been reminded of Chappu ever since he met the young Sergeant, so dedicated and eager to prove himself, just like his kid brother had been. Remembering Auron's sage advice, this time Wakka gave the young man some space and that had worked out splendidly. This was turning out to be a perfect day!

At night the people from the village were reunited around a campfire, when Wakka introduced his new baby boy, giving him the name Vidina - Future in Al Bhed - just like Lord Mi'hen's famous son.

That's when Beclem surprised everyone at the campfire by singing Lord Mi'hen's favorite song - the faith hymn. He said it was his gift to baby Vidina - a lullaby. With a perfect pitch and a powerful tenor voice Beclem sang: (like the Ifrit hymn on the game)

I ev yu I

No bo me no

Re n mi ri

Yo ju yo gov

Ha sa te ka na e

Ku ta ma e

Rikku looked at him mesmerized. Her hot stud of a boyfriend could sing like an angel ? The man was full of surprises! She wanted a private recital!

Yuna was puzzled. She had heard that singing before, but where ? Was it at a faith chamber ? No, that wasn't it, although Beclem's voice was good enough to rival a faith's. She remembered the day she thought the faith hymn was beckoning her to the temple hill, the day she had made peace with Tidus loss. That was where she heard it! And sure enough she had met him at the top of the hill. She decided to thank him for that song, one of this days.

Just like Yuna, a lot of the Besaidians recalled hearing that melody, usually late at night near the temple. They now realized they had the culprit - a shy tenor who only sang secretly - right in their midst. And the gifted tenor was the Auroch's moody, snarling drill sergeant. No one would have ever guessed that! They joined Beclem's singing in a chorus. Sure enough, the beautiful hymn and the warm fire put Vidina to sleep in no time.

---I think we should send Wakka next time…

Later Lulu and Wakka snuggled together, watching little Vidina dozing off contently by the light of the fire. Yuna, Rikku and Paine watched them happily, satisfied at the way Wakka and Lulu's story had turned out. Rikku trotted away from the town square, saying she just wanted to give the new parents some privacy but Yuna and Paine weren't fooled for a second. They had seen how Rikku had looked at him while he sang and knew she must be with him now. But would she be listening to lullabies , joked Yuna

"This time you go wake up the airhead before dawn!" said Paine to Yuna yawning mightily

"That's right! You had to wake up the lovebirds last time.. How was that ?" asked Yuna

"Beclem has some hot buns and some very good ears…" said Paine grimacing, telling Yuna how she had to jump of the Youth League tent in a hurry before Rikku's boyfriend stood up in a frontal nude

"I think we should send Wakka next time" said Yuna howling with laughter

It turned out no one had to wake the lovebirds this time, as they both disappeared from sight completely until next day's lunch time, when they showed up at the Celsius landing ramp holding hands. Brother was furious but the sight of Beclem's large bulk and his steely looking eyes made Brother choose caution instead of anger:

"So you are Rikku's new boyfriend, yes ?" Brother said casually to Beclem when they met at the Celsius ramp

"Master Sergeant of the Youth League Beclem requests permission to come aboard, Captain" said Beclem respectfully But there was a slight edge to his voice. He wouldn't take no for an answer

"Me ? Er.. Why. yes, of course, permission granted soldier.. Err.. carry on, stand down.. At ease.. " said Brother feeling very satisfied that his sister's brother was calling him Captain. Well, why not ? He had a ship after all. Now all he needed was a cool uniform and some medals

"Thank you Captain" answered Beclem and proceeded to board the airship, carrying his and Rikku's rucksacks with ease.

---Getting A Cold on the Celsius Deck

Beclem wanted to show respect to the Gullwings leader but at the same time some steely resolve. He would not be denied his trip with Rikku. Not after learning of Rikku's imminent participation on very risky mission with Yuna. He wished Rikku would tell him more about it, but the usually affable Rikku had a determined streak and was fiercely loyal to the High Summoner, so all he got out of her was that it was extremely risky, possibly even deadly, but not nearly as hard as defeating Sin.

Talking about defeating Sin, this was another thing Beclem had recently been puzzled about: how could a small and soft speaking summoner like Yuna have done the impossible task of defeating Sin for good ? Before his recent learning experience with Wakka he used to think Sir Auron had done it all, and then let the daughter of his old friend Lord Braska and her friends take all the glory. But if Wakka's strong leadership skills had evaded his notice for so long it was also possible that he had underestimated the rest of Yuna's guardians… Could that have been the case ? Beclem wondered while he felt the strong wind hit his face on the deck of Rikku's ship. He was glad he had accepted her offer to take him to Mushroom Rock. Not only due to their unforgettable lovemaking the night before but because the ship was truly amazing. He wished he could stay longer but Commander Lucille would have his hide if he didn't report back soon.

"What are you thinking about ?" asked Rikku, hugging him from behind happily

"Nothing much, just enjoying the view and the breeze" Beclem answered, pivoting around to see her

"Wow!" Beclem gasped transfixed with the way she looked. Rikku had switched her favorite shorts and shirt attire for a tight yellow leotard which showed her sof skin through it's many tempting holes. Rikku looked just like a famous singer or dancer. She had no weapons he could distinguish, yet he could see the bulges in her belt and knew this was a dressphere of some kind, the magic garb the Gullwings used to do battle.

"I was wondering if would help me break in this new dressphere" Rikku said naughtily

"Break it in or take it off ?" Beclem asked, his blood starting to race at the prospect of..

"Oh Behave!" Rikku said slapping her fan on his arm

"Yuna just won this sphere in Luca's Sphere Break Tournament and we need to level up on it. So we are thinking about stopping by Kilika Woods to do some fiend hunting. You are welcome to join us" said Rikku

"Yuna this, Yuna that" Beclem said mocking her voice and rolling his eyes

"Oh! You are such a jealous little boy sometimes! One of this days I will have to beat some sense into this thick skull of yours!" Rikku said exasperated

"You tried that once, remember?" Beclem said grinning, his eyes alight with mirth

"No, as a matter of fact I don't. Perhaps if you remind me… " Rikku said sassily and jumped into his arms

Shinra deactivated the deck's commsphere with a smile. It wouldn't do to have Brother see the lovebirds antics. Brother was already freaking out enough as it was. Good thinking of Rikku's guy to call Brother a "Captain", he won Brother's approval instantly. But flattery could only do so much, particularly where Brother's protectiveness of Rikku was concerned. Once Gippal almost lost his second eye just by mentioning to Brother how hot Rikku looked. Nowadays Gippal limited himself to commenting on "Cid's little girl" funny antics..

The sun was now hidden behind many clouds making her cold but again Rikku couldn't bring herself to leave Beclem's embrace. His heart beating under her made her fell all warm inside but her skin had goosebumps due to the chilly wind on the deck. She switched into a White Mage dressphere to get warm, the movement waking him up.

"Why, hello there sleepy head !" she said while Beclem looked at her blinking

"Didn't you have on a yellow outfit ?" he asked looking puzzled at her long white fur coat

"Too cold for it! This is warmer" Rikku answered

"Ahhh But there are better ways to get warmer" he said pulling her closer and kissing her slowly

Rikku was ready to abandon herself into their lovemaking when she distinctly heard Beclem whisper in her ear, very softly:

"I love you, my warrior goddess" Beclem said, almost too low for her to hear

"I love you too" she whispered back shaking at the weight of the revelation

"You are trembling, love" Beclem said

Beclem was trembling too looking at her with his wide green eyes full of wonder.. Love ? Did he really say that ? he asked himself surprised. It had come out of his mouth before he could register the meaning of his own words… And she had heard it and returned the feeling.. He entered her with a burning need that made the entire world disappear from their minds

---- Kilika Woods

Down in the woods of Kilika, Yuna and Paine had to work hard at pretending Rikku was there with them. Good thing Shinra helped with his taped bits in Rikku's voice or Brother would have suspected something was amiss! And battling an Ironman fiend with just two Gullwings wasn't easy either so an exhausted Yuna and Paine tanked Donna heartily for helping them finish their wood exercises. As usual Donna acted like she was doing something extremely droll and complained mightily in her scornful voice, but Yuna and Paine could see Donna was working hard at pretending she wasn't having fun. The new dresspheres were not as powerful as the old Aeons that Donna was used to, but they had some pretty nifty magic skills and some killer defensive barriers. And although Yuna missed her Aeons heartily, being able to actually perform the attacks herself was a lot more fun than just watching the Aeons battle while staying in the sidelines, giving orders. They both could see Donna was having a ball!

When the girls and Donna reached Kilika's temple right before sunset there were already a lot of Kilikans there. They were all talking happily with their New Yevon friends and family members, taking advantage of Donna ending the Youth League idiotic blocking of the temple wood trails a couple of hours earlier. As soon as Donna saw Barthello she adopted her trademark scowl and started scolding him:

"You seem to be forgetting who it is that you are supposed to be guarding Barthello. Perhaps I should fire you.." Donna had just started reciting her prepared speech when a desperate Barthello bellowed

"Donna!" Barthello cried with his booming voice and the crowd burst with laughter at the obviously distressed giant, shaking with fear at the thought of losing his beloved Donna, while everyone but him could see she was crazy about him

---- The "Drill Machina" Slacking off ?

Up on the deck Beclem watched Rikku's peaceful slumber. Pretty soon it would be nightfall and tomorrow they would already be at Mushroom Rock, the end of his journey. He did not know how Commander Lucille had the idea of giving him today off for R&R but he had been enjoying every minute of it. He didn't get much rest but oh, the Rx he got ! And traveling on the airship had been fascinating. He already had devised a myriad of ways an airship could be used in battle or for re-supply missions. The advantages would be enormous. He wanted to have a talk with Buddy, the Celsius resident pilot/ mechanic to explore some ideas but not today.

But not now. Now , Beclem decided, he was just going to enjoy his warrior goddess, her warmth, her spirit, her cheerfulness. Beclem was enjoying every part of being with Rikku: Even when they were angry at each other. Fencing with her was fun, particularly when he knew how quickly they both could flip from anger to passion. It was like nibbling on those piping hot delicious pies his sister used to make at the bakery. They were too hot to eat but each hot morsel delivered a small taste of the delicacy awaiting him, until he finally dove in headfirst. Fencing an argument with Rikku was like that. The way her face glowed when she got you good just gave him a hint of the delicious love that awaited. His joy at seeing her fume with anger yet unable to disguise her longing for his embrace. The way she melted at his touch regardless of what they were talking about, until none of them could hold off any longer and everything else faded away…

Beclem sighed heavily. It was not going to be easy to leave her side. Life without Rikku was livable, but barely so. She brought the sunshine and spice he had been craving for so long and never had found before her. At her side he found himself smiling and forgetting his biting irony for hours on end. His ever present anger was gone, as was his need to prove himself since he could always tell how much she wanted him . And God, how much he wanted her! He cursed softly. Beclem had never expected the power Rikku, a summoners "pet", had over him. Good thing he could trust her, as Rikku could not hide that the power he - Beclem - had over her was just as intense.

Before meeting her he had spent most of his young life avenging the death of his family at the hands of Sin. He had joined the Crusaders as soon as he was able to lift a sword. But after 12 years at the Crusader force he arrived at the conclusion that his vengeance would not be achieved until Sin was defeated. He threw himself heart and soul into Operation Mi'hen, the first real chance he saw to do anything concrete to defeat Sin. And he had spent the last 2 years reliving that fateful day at Mi'hen, blaming himself and that useless High Summoner Yuna for the massacre.

Beclem seethed with hate at any sign of his old weaknesses the ones that had caused his men's death. He would never again allow them to surface on himself he had vowed countless times. The same was true for those leeches on Spira's modern times: the summoners that lived off exploiting old glories, most of them lies, deceit , gross exaggerations or all of the above. Even at the times of Sin, very few among those leeches had any courage or skills at all. Yet the people of Spira were expected to show respect and subservience to the false heroes. They were forced to pretend that all of the leeches had the same courage that Lady Yunalesca the first one to defeat Sin had. It was all a sham, surrounding a faint nugget of fact, just like the old Yevon order.

Beclem threw back his head annoyed, but careful not to wake up Rikku nestled in his lap. That little minx had bewitched him! Usually by this point in his mental rant against summoners, old Yevon and his own weaknesses he was ready to run a grueling battle drill, blasting up as many fiends as he could and only stopping when all the anger leached out of him. With Rikku lying her soft skin against his, calming him down he couldn't even muster enough anger to stand up and go punch some exercise pods at Brother's little Gym. He was one pitiful lovesick fool, Beclem thought, absently caressing Rikku's silky hair, still unable to anger himself into action. Even after all their furious lovemaking, her body smelled like moonflower lilies.

Beclem lowered himself closer to Rikku, to get a little more of her inebriating smell. He was turning into such a slacker! He gave up on trying to regain his angry edge. "Well if you can't beat them, join them" he thought sleepily, remembering Wakka's saying. Beclem nestled himself against his warrior goddess and dozed off into a peaceful slumber.

----Brother sees more than you think

Brother looked at the lovebirds sleeping in the deck through clenched teeth. So this is what Rikku's been up to lately! Well, at least this one did not look like he was a reckless ladies man, not like Gippal, Brother thought. He jumped back into the lift and punched the cabin button angrily. He needed a stiff drink from barkeep! Yuna and Paine thought they had fooled him but they didn't know Rikku as well as he did. He had suspected something was amiss when he had let out his usual flirt at Yuna and got no angry response from his sister. So he let out an even more direct flirt and instead of being knocked on the head by Shinra or Buddy, or chewed up by Rikku on the commsphere, he got a flirty response back from Yuna!

"Yuna told me she would be glad to swim with me at Galgazet's hot spring!" Brother moaned to the hypello

"Now you know how I lust for Yuna, but only her backside", Brother said to barkeep

"Backshiidde ?" puzzled barkeep

"I know Yuna is not for me, I just like to have someone as beautiful heroic and gentle as her close by" groaned Brother

"I love specially to see her looking longingly at the window, like she gets whenever anyone mentions Tidus or we stop by the Macalania campsite" he continued

"Brother likeshhh Yuna misshing her Tidushhh ?" asked the hypelo

"Yes! Yuna looks just like a painting of the Farplane. Beautiful, eternal, precious to admire from a distance but perhaps not the place you would chose to live. She is too perfect for me!" said Brother

"I like being a bachelor, being able to spend my nights at Leblanc's or fly to Luca's many bars without having to tell anyone when where or what I'm doing. And particularly not having to explain with who I'm going and who I'm meeting" Brother said downing several gulps of barkeep's Ochu special juice with a grimace

"Now if Lady Yuna stops being a distant beauty and starts looking at me with a flirt, pretty soon. I will have to start explaining things, abandoning my favorite Leblanc she-goons, turning respectable, having to spend my nights reading or studying! What a nightmare! " lamented Brother and took another large sip of the drink

Now I know Lady Yuna still hopes the Blitzguy is alive, I know she is waiting for him. And that is the way I like her. So I knew rightsh away that Yunash was doing thish to coversh for.. hic.. Rikkush.. You geths what I'm saying barkeep ? We bachelorrshh understand eachs othether" said Brother a little woozy and immediately slipped down from his chair, dozing off even before he hit the floor

"Shhhpeak for Yourshellf Brothershh" answered the barkeep hugging his fiancée, which had been there during the entire confession, but Brother was too disturbed to even notice.

Shinra looked at the scene and chuckled. Pretty soon Brother would have to rename the Celsius to "the Love Boat" if things kept up this way. Grownups! He was glad he was "just a kid"…

--- Hurt my sister and you are dead meat

"Atchoo!" sneezed Rikku the next morning at breakfast

"Ouch! Keep it down, will ya ?" moaned Brother with bloodshot eyes

"Looks like someone has been to barkeep's Ochu juice stash" snorted Paine

"Well, if someone else didn't decide to sneak up to the deck and get sick, I wouldn't have.." said Brother unhappily

"You knew ?" asked Yuna amazed, while a red faced Beclem looked down and Rikku covered her face with her hands embarrassed

"Of course I knew, I'm the all seeing Brother! The king of the midnight escapades" said Brother and turned to face Beclem

"Next time you come to my ship see that you don't let my sister catch a cold. We have cabins here, you know ?" he said to Beclem

"Yes sir, I am sorry.." said Beclem looking down, his face showing embarrassment but relief that their escapade had not caused Brother to kick him out of the ship

"And you three have to help Buddy in the engine room today, for having trying to con me" said Brother pouting at Shinra, Yuna and Paine

"But Brother.." complained Shinra half heatedly

"Don't "but Brother" me or I will make you all scrub the deck clean with barkeep's dishrags, you mutinous scurvy dogs!" said Brother

"Aye, aye, captain" said Yuna, Paine and Shinra and doing a mock salute

Beclem was the last one to leave the table. As he stood up to leave Brother pulled him aside:

"Hurt my sister and you are dead!" said Brother fiercely

"I understand, but I assure you that my intentions are.." Beclem started to say

"Yes, your intentions. What are those intentions of yours with my sister ?" asked Brother

"I…" started Beclem but couldn't finish because right then Buddy called on the commsphere to tell them that they were about to land on the League headquarters at Mushroom Rock

"Go, go, permission to leave the ship granted" said Brother hurriedly dismissing Beclem. He had asked Beclem's intentions on a whim, but he wasn't sure he was ready to hear the answer. His baby sister was growing up way too fast!

--- Sighs are not included on the League salute

After a long kiss to a sick Rikku, laying on the cabin's couch getting pampered by barkeep and his "fianshee", Beclem left the ship hurriedly. Dang! Brother had asked a question that he had no answer for. Not yet, anyway. The thought of spending the rest of his life with Rikku was a luxury he could not afford before avenging the death of his comrades. And would she still love him after his revenge was done? Beclem mused. He felt miserable: Damned if he did get revenge, damned if he didn't get revenge. He was so confused! Summoner Yuna was nothing like he had expected. Her caring and dedication came off as genuine and pretty much every one of her close friends simply adored the woman! He had imagined her a vacuous celebrity living off the glories of her father and her friends a bunch of cynical glory seekers, surrounding her as moths attracted to the limelight. But Rikku was not like that and neither were Wakka and Lulu.

Beclem had long noticed the Besaid couple was actually uncomfortable with their celebrity status and played it down every time they could. Yuna had to have some good qualities for eliciting so much loyalty from her friends, who clearly liked her. He let out a deep sigh.. Not everything was turning out to be as he thought so long ago in that fateful day at Mi'hen. His time in Besaid had certainly been an eye opener - and heart opener. Beclem thought with a pang of guilt. Meeting that little minx was making him mad! Beclem sighed again.

"Sighs are not included on the regulation greetings, Sergeant" chastised an amused Elma

"My apologies Commander!" he said, coming to attention and doing a crisp salute this time

"Report to Commander Lucille at once, Sergeant!" Elma said and looked puzzled at the Sergeant speeding up the hill.

Elma wondered which one of the 3 beautiful Gullwing girls had captured his heart. The always serious and strict Master Sergeant, "The Drill Machina", as his hapless soldiers called him, looked like Clasko after seeing a Chocobo and not at all like himself. Well, Lady Yuna and her friends turned quite a lot of heads everywhere they went with their good looks and their heroic deeds, Elma thought. The Gullwings reputation was only surpassed by their skills in battle. She was eager to test herself against them in today's match. She had fought hard for the honor, as only the top 5 tournament finalists would have the chance to face the Gullwings, and every single team wanted to "beat the famous Lady Yuna". They were in for a surprise she thought. Elma had seen Lady Yuna in action already. The Summoner and her team were flawless, delivering graceful and skilled attacks at a dizzying pace, while their defense never broke. Elma had seen the trio making their combat with a deadly 9,000+ points Tomberry. The girls made it seem like a relaxing drill with a water flan.

The battle Elma had witnessed was over in a matter of minutes, without a single use of healing potion or phoenix down by the Gullwings. They took the Tomberry' s fierce knife attacks as nothing more than a tickle, while they landed some powerful blows on it non-stop. And what WAS that magical attack Lady Yuna used at the end ? It had killed the still strong Tomberry with a single sweep. A strange red light that looked like a river of blood started pouring out on the field, emanating from Lady Yuna and when it reached the fiend it was over, the fiend dissolved into pireflies as easily as a flan. Elma knew she was in for a beating at the hands of the Gullwings but she hoped she could get some good jabs out before the inevitable defeat. She wondered what on earth could she use to block Lady Yuna's "river of blood" attack. Not likely she had anything on her stash that could, but maybe she could deflect part of it and quickly apply some healing potion. Testing herself against such speedy and skilled warriors would get her reflexes honed even further she thought. Elma could hardy wait!

--- The Drill Sergeant is Late for duty

Arriving at the League Headquarters mountain Beclem felt his familiar anger surge in. He welcomed it's return as the return of a familiar friend. Here he felt more like his older self, even if he could still feel Rikku's moon lilies scent in his clothes and he could still taste her eager lips.. "Stop it!" Beclem chastised his fast beating heart. Not here, he thought. Mushroom Rock was the place were his men were slaughtered right in front of his eyes 2 years ago. The place were fate had shattered his dreams of achieving a final revenge for the killing his parents and siblings. The place were he found out how weak he was and the place were he made his vows to purge himself of his weaknesses and avenge the Crusaders betrayed by Yevon and the Summoners.

There, that was better, Beclem thought to himself. Anger, contempt and no daydreaming of Rikku's lips. Rikku's lips… this morning they had been warm with fever and she looked sick in that couch huddled up in blankets, sniffling. He knew it was just a simple cold and that barkeep and his hypello fiancée had her covered but he felt a pang of guilt for not bringing her into the ship last night. His body was used to the elements after countless survival drills in the Kilika jungle, Mt Galgazet's snowy trails, the Thunder Plain rains and Bikanel Island scorching deserts. But Rikku's body wasn't... "Dang!" Beclem cursed softly. Why did he have to remember Rikku's delightful body! Beclem shook his head furiously, almost dislodging his warrior mask, trying to clear his head. "Strange.." Beclem mused, looking at his surroundings. "I should have ran up to some fiend already" he thought, as usually the Mushroom Rock inner trail was left almost unguarded to provide some sport for the passing warriors. This time the trail was clean, there were no fiends crawling up from the crevices attempting to get a Youth Leaguer to snack on .

"The Tournament!" Beclem said aloud, trotting up the trail in a mad rush.

Beclem had forgotten that today they would have the finals of the League Tournament! He had been instructed by Commander Lucille to observe the final matches, writing down each team's weaknesses and strengths, for a later review. "The finalists are battling a group of Spira's best warriors. The information we can gather on how to improve our own teams will be priceless" Commander Lucille had said. Beclem wondered again who would be the elite fighting team his men would face. When he asked Commander Lucille yesterday on the commsphere she had just said that the information was "classified and only released on a need to know basis", with her traditional inscrutable smile. Arriving at the stone lift Beclem found a crowd talking excitedly about the finals, Sergeant Yaibal among them.

"Well, good morning slacker!" teased Yaibal amused. This was the first time he had seen his fellow Master Sergeant late for anything!

"What did I miss ?" asked Beclem worried, while they both went up, cursing himself silently for having forgotten the Tournament

"Nothing Much. The Commander has just posted the name of the 5 finalists. I'm in!" Yaibal said with a smug smile

"Huh ? You were competing ?" asked a puzzled Beclem. He had thought the senior officers were barred from competing

"Of course man, how could I miss a chance to battle Lady Yuna ?" said Yaibal

"Lady Yuna's team ?" said Beclem gasping surprised. He felt like he had just been hit on the gut by a seedpod attack.

"Why yes, all 5 finalists will battle the Gullwings. Captain Elma competed too, she is the top finalist Man, you were off duty alright! Where did you go yesterday that you completely forgot everything about everything ?" Yaibal asked amused

"The Celsius" Beclem answered smugly, figuring it would be a matter of time before everyone in the camp knew anyway. Scuttlebutt spreads around a warrior camp faster than lightening and pretty soon everyone here would know that he had been seen coming down the ship's ramp this morning.

"The Gullwings Ship! You are one lucky SOB! Come on, spill it man, how does that thing look from inside ?" asked Yaibal awed, so excited about the ship that he even forgot to ask how on earth Beclem had been invited into it

Yaibal and Beclem proceeded up the trail to the League Headquarters animated discussing the ship and how it could be used for this or that, with Beclem feeling a little bit better from the stunning revelation that the Gullwings were in the Tournament. Not only they were in the Tournament, but they must be the elite fighting team Commander Lucille had mentioned, he concluded surprised

--- Beclem's Tale: How Auron met Braska

"Elite fighting team!", Beclem snorted when they arrived at the trail's last turn scowling, and told Yaibal that he could bet Rikku and Paine did the fighting and useless Lady Yuna did the posing for the video spheres!

"Lady Yuna a poser ? She killed Sin!" gasped a shocked Yaibal

"Certainly Sir Auron, did most of the work!" answered Beclem . After all the legendary Yevon Warrior Monk / Guardian , was the former Commander of Yevon's Warrior Priests and the Crusaders and was truly a legend among legends

"The guy was good, I grant you that, but no warrior in Spira could defeat Sin without a Summoner! Don't you remember Mi'hen ?" asked Yaibal angrily

"Well, yeah, Lord Braska was certainly a big part of Sir Auron's team. But Summoner Yuna ? She was useless at Mi'hen!" Beclem sniffed in contempt.

"Take those words back immediately or I'll feed you to the resident Tomberries" said Yaibal hotly already looking at the cave mouth where the green fiends used to show up to attack the League people passing by

"All I'm saying is that any team that had Sir Auron had a huge advantage! After all, the man once led both the Warrior Priests and the Crusaders on the battle for Bevelle making Sin retreat, and then proceeded to defeat Sin not only once but TWICE!" said Beclem feeling he had already said too much.

"Humph! You got a point there, but don't you ever call Lady Yuna names in my face again!" said Yaibal hotly, jumping into the machina lift

As they went up the lift Beclem was fuming angrily. He wondered for the 1000th time why the Spira people couldn't let go of their superstitious reverence to those Summoner leeches. Not even their power to summon Aeons was gone! It was true, Sir Auron had been an amazing warrior, he was one of the very few who had managed to stop Sin from destroying a city. Unfortunately, not before the beast killed many bevellians on the outskirts of town, including Beclem's entire family. Sir Auron had then left the Yevon order to guard an underdog summoner who had only one Aeon. It was a stunning move at the time, but nowadays the conventional wisdom was that Sir Auron had seen through Yevon's lies and hypocrisy and that is why he had left the order to take part on a pilgrimage.

As an orphaned child in Bevelle's care, Beclem had been privy to the details of the story, so he started to tell it to Yaibal as they walked up Mushroom Rock, to appease the angry Sergeant:

"Peace Yaibal! Growing up in Bevelle I bet I know a thing or two about Auron and Braska that you don't" said Beclem

"Yeah ? Like what ?" said a mollified Yaibal turning around and waiting for Beclem

Beclem proceeded to tell Yaibal how as a grieving young boy he had been fascinated by his attendant priests tales of bravery and valor. He had wanted to learn everything he could about being a warrior, to avenge his family. From the priests Beclem learned that Braska was anything BUT an underdog. . People seemed to forget that Lord Braska's first Aeon was Bahamut the towering behemoth not that wimpy Valefort dragon from Besaid, Beclem said. Very few summoners STARTED their pilgrimage at Bevelle. Bahamut with his 20,000+ points overdrive attacks and powerful 3-4,000 strength punches was not something to underestimate. Beclem explained to Yaibal that most summoners started off with a weaker Aeon, and then brought that Aeon - or several Aeons - to battle and tame Bahamut the mighty Aeon at Bevelle's temple. Braska's years of training with the Al Bhed and his countless battles with the desert fiends must have forged him into a formidable battle mage, or he would not have attempted it, Beclem said

"Lord Braska was trained by the Al Bhed ?" asked a surprised Yaibal

"Why yes, he even married an Al Bhed! Your precious Lady Yuna is part Al Bhed!" said Beclem and then it hit him: Rikku and Brother were Al Bhed! Could Yuna and the siblings be related ? She didn't have Rikku's gorgeous Al Bhed eyes but if the girls were related it would explain Rikku's dedication to the useless summoner. Those golden eyes! Beclem felt himself drowning into a spiral of light whenever he looked at them…

"Hey wake up! How does the story go ?" said Yaibal interrupting Beclem's daydreaming

Apparently, continued Beclem, the Yevon priests were about to deny Lord Braska's request to battle and tame Bahamut, despite Bevelle's tradition of leaving those kinds of decisions to the summoners. Having Bahamut kill an overconfident apprentice wouldn't look good, particularly in the service sheet of the priests and Maesters who authorized the trial. That is when Commander Auron got wind that a certain summoner apprentice had requested to battle and tame Bahamut without possessing any other Aeon. Legend says Auron burst into the meeting, immediately volunteering to be present at the trial.

There had been 5 years of incessant Sin attacks, and no other summoner looked promising enough to be a sure bet at getting Sin this year, said Beclem, telling the story just as the old priest had told him long ago. Yevon priests were getting anxious. Commander Auron's assurance that he would contain the Aeon if things got out of hand appeased them and they allowed the trial to proceed.

"It is a long shot, but Spira is starting to lose hope, so why not let Braska succeed or die trying ?" said ambitious Yevon priest Kinoc, according to the old priest.

Kinoc, the priest said, made a passionate case for the trial to proceed and talked the ruling Maester into it, in the hopes of getting rid of a sacrilegious Al Bhed loving summoner and his unbeatable competitor in one fell swoop. Kinoc coveted the Warrior Monk's Command post held by Auron. His devious scheme almost backfired: To everyone's surprise, including Commander Auron's, Braska defeated Bahamut, winning the Aeon's undying loyalty. ..

"They say Lord Braska was amazing at that battle, and that he could heal himself very quickly… Rumor says that he got that skill in his desert exploits, that Braska had faced and survived an encounter with an Angra Manyu ghost" Beclem said

"A what ?" asked Yaibal

"It is a Sin sized desert fiend that existed a very long time ago. Al Bhed legend says his ghost still hounds the desert, killing the ones it encounters with ease" said Beclem

"Very few people survive an encounter with that enormous ghost of a desert fiend, but Al Bhed legend says that if you are able to hold out long enough and prove your valor in battle, the beast will not kill you. It will vanish and award you a prize - a very powerful magical treasure: a bottle of all healing MegaElixir potion - for having the skills to endure his attack during 20 turns" explained Beclem to Yaibal

He had added the bit of that legendary desert fiend to the story, just as the Yevon priest had done. No one knew if Braska had met it. No one but the Al Bhed even knew if the Angra Manyu legend had any basis or how many turns it took to get the prize! But it was his favorite part of the story. He almost could see himself and the attendant priest putting him to bed on those first painful nights. The old priest pushing away the little orphan's enormous grief with his tales, the amazing stories of the heroes at the mighty Bevelle temple, telling to a mesmerized Beclem, his green eyes no longer tear filled, but alight with enthusiasm, the stories of valor and battle and legendary magical prizes that awaited those who decided to take their destiny on their hands. It was like a healing salve to a confused boy who had just lost everyone he knew. He had felt so lost, the Sin attack to Bevelle had been so unexpected! When they were alive his parents used to tell him and his big sister how fortunate they were to live in the shadow of the mighty Bevelle temple, where not even Sin dared to thread… Later on life he found out that Sin had attacked Bevelle a couple of times during the last Millennium, but very rarely.

"Wow! Really ? A bottle of MegaElixir ? I could certainly use THAT today !" said Yaibal interrupting Beclem's daydreams

"If I had something that healed my entire party fully both in energy and in magic points, I'd have a shot at defeating Lady Yuna's team" said Yaibal wistfully

"So what else ?" asked Yaibal

"Braska's courage, determination and skill also won Auron's respect and loyal friendship. Both left the temple soon after, joined in their pilgrimage by a crazy drunkard that had been found on the Bevelle's shore and arrested for his sacrilegious boastings that he was from Zanarkand. And the rest is history: Lord Braska, Sir Auron and Sir Jecht, the former drunkard defeated Sin nine months after, and brought 10 years of Calm to Spira…" telegraphed Beclem, quickly wrapping up the story now that they were entering the Youth League headquarters

"Cool! So Sir Jecht really was a crazy drunkard when he started the pilgrimage ? I had heard rumors.. You have to tell me this story, Beclem! I may even forgive you for offending Lady Yuna if you do a good job of it" whispered Yaibal in his ear, while the fort's attendant directed them to meet Commander Lucille at the Observation Deck at once

His telegraphed delivery of the last part of the story didn't do the old priest's justice thought Beclem as he and Yaibal rushed up the stairs of the deck. The old man had literally saved his life finding him alone at the burned up bakery and protecting him from the Sin spawn until the Bevelle's soldiers arrived. He never even managed to learn the old man's name, Beclem lamented. After Sin died, a recently promoted "Maester Kinoc", the so called genius who had seen Braska's potential, proceeded to expunge the temple of all the people who liked Sir Auron or had fought with Sir Auron, as soon as he could. Kinoc quickly got a hold of the old priest and transferred him away from the city to protect the summoner at Djose temple, despite the old priest's advanced age. Of Sir Jecht and Sir Auron's whereabouts no one knew. They had completely vanished, leaving another guardian , a Ronso, to escort Lord Braska's only child to Besaid.

---- At Youth League Headquarters

Beclem remembered feeling some sympathy for the younger girl, losing her mom and then her father in just 2 years. Being himself an orphan and devastated with the priest's transfer, so soon after his family's death he knew how that felt. He had begged the old priest to take him to Djose but the old man had told him that Djose Road and Mushroom Rock were no place for a child. He would come back when he could to take Beclem to visit Besaid, Luca or Kilika the old priest had said. And never did, remembered a bitter Beclem, but this time he managed not to sigh as he crisply saluted his Commander and Captain Elma.

"At ease !" said the Commander to Beclem and Yaibal and immediately dismissed Elma and the younger Sergeant

"Go prepare yourselves for the match with the Gullwings this afternoon. I want a good show from my teams" Lucille said

"Commander, if I may ?" said Beclem

"Yes Sergeant ?" she answered

"Why wasn't I allowed to participate, Ma'am ?" asked an edgy Beclem

"I told you I need a trained observer to grade our teams, didn't I ?" answered the Commander calmly

"Understood Ma'am! Please Forgive me for asking" said a very mollified Beclem looking down guiltily

----Vegnag.. who ?

Lucille had been a lowly Sergeant before in her life and understood his pain. Being the only official barred from an event like the Tournament was rough for the young Sergeant. And on Beclem's case, it denied him the chance to battle Lady Yuna and her beautiful teammates, one them his girlfriend Rikku. The poor man must be besides himself with it thought Lucille

"Besides, I couldn't very well send you to fight your girl now, could I ?" said a smiling Commander Lucille, taking pity on him

"Ma'am ? You know about…" said Beclem looking up astounded. She knew !

"Of course I knew! How do you think you got the day off yesterday with Meivn Nooj missing and a Tournament going on ? It was the only way I could get the Gullwings to join our exercise! They are very busy preparing to battle Vegnag.." Lucille stopped herself before she said too much.

"Vegnag.. who?" inquired Beclem His Rikku was very busy doing what ? Beclem just HAD to know more

"Drop it, Sergeant! You know way too much already" said Lucille with a stern face

"Commander, if I may.. This is a need to know information and I just NEED to know it" said Beclem before he could stop himself

"Humph! I suppose it won't hurt our cause if there is another official informed about Vegnagun now that the Meivn is missing… But this is absolutely between you and me, do you understand ? You are not authorized to discuss it with anyone else on the League nor outside, Gullwings excluded." said Lucille

"Understood Ma'am!" said Beclem crisply

But wait.. Did the Commander say that he could talk to Rikku about it ?

"Ma'am did I hear you say that I CAN discuss this matter with the Gullwings ?" asked Beclem, eager to clarify that point

"Yes. They know a lot more than we do, possibly even more than the Meivn himself. You are ordered to give the Gullwings any and all assistance they request on this issue." said Lucille

"Will do Ma'am, but it will be hard if I don't even know the mission's name" said Beclem impatiently

That Drill Sergeant sure liked to get on other people's nerves thought the Commander rolling her eyes. He failed to see that his bad attitude had kept him a Sergeant in spite of being a superb warrior and a very efficient aide… Oh, well! Some things you just had to wait your men to grow out of… thought the wise Commander

"Listen closely: Vegnagun is a colossal machina . A deadly weapon that has been hidden for centuries by the Yevonites. The existence of it was revealed on an old sphere found recently, the one the Gullwings gave to the Meivn last month. We suspect there are other spheres with Vegnagun information but we can't be sure. It sure seems like the probable reason New Yevon's first praetor Trema has refused to let anyone see the old spheres he recovered." Said Lucille

Beclem was worried. Just what was his goddess getting herself into , he fretted

"Just recently Meivn Nooj got word of another Vegnagun sphere and departed to verify it. And that was the last time anyone on the League saw the Meivn" Lucille told Beclem.

"What about the Gullwings ?" asked Beclem, unable to contain himself

"THAT is the only reason I am telling this to you not to Captain Elma who outranks you: In light of your close rapport with the Summoner and her team" Lucille said sternly

"Ma'am, Understood. Ma'am!" said Beclem crisply, looking at the floor. That barb the Commander had sent him about Elma's higher rank smarted.

---- The Temple Fiends problem

Commander Lucille continued telling Beclem of what she knew about Vegangun and it's link to their recent fiends problems at all of Spira's temples:

"The Gullwings have been finding old spheres all over Spira, and they have seen our sphere with Vegnagun even before it was ours. As you know they plucked it out of the Yevonites hand at Kilika's temple. They told us that after they watched the sphere they decided that it was a very serious matter, that the Youth League should be informed of. The Gullwings donated the sphere to Meivn Nooj, who somehow, already knew about the deadly weapon and it's name - Vegnagun - even before watching it and recognized it immediately. The man has eyes everywhere and the knowledge of a scholar!" gushed Lucille, proud of her leader's knowledge.

Biting his tongue Beclem patiently waited for the Commander to finish telling him the information wondering how on earth his Rikku was still involved in all this. Surely after presenting the cursed sphere to the League Meivn, the legendary Crusader "Nooj the Undying" the Gullwings did not need to concern themselves further with the matter! Like Commander Lucille, he held their Meivn in the highest regard. Now that Sin was dead, nothing else in Spira was beyond Nooj's powers, at least that's what Beclem thought.

"Lady Yuna mentioned to me her conviction that Meivn Nooj has not been kidnapped by the Yevonites, and that he is currently in hot pursuit of Vegnagun's trail which the Gullwings lost in Djose temple" Lucille continued

"Djose ? We should send a team there!" Beclem blurted out

"Hold your Chocobos! I have sent Elma already, there is nothing to see but a large hole in the faith chamber. Plus, Gippal, the Al Bhed commander is missing and his men are as baffled as we are about our missing Meivn" Said Lucille

"A large hole in the faith chamber ? I saw one like that in Besaid. The High Summoner told me that there used to be a thing called "the faith stone" where the huge hole was, but all I could see was some shards of something that must have been a huge crystal, surrounding a hole where pireflies came out. It is on my report on the fiend invasion" said Beclem

"Yes, I've read it Sergeant. The same thing was found at all 4 existing temples apparently. Lady Yuna mentioned having had reports of a large shape moving below Lake Macalania, close to the submerged 5th temple, right before a huge stream of fiends rose out from the frozen lake. The High Summoner and the Meivn suspect that Vegnagun might have had something to do with our recent fiend problems at all the other temples…" Lucille added.

--- Thinking about Dresspheres and Guardians

The Commander and Beclem heard a bugle calling in the distance

"It seems it is time for the afternoon Tournament to start Sergeant. Go watch your girl do battle but don't forget your duties. I still want those battle notes and they won't write themselves" said Commander Lucille

"Yes Ma'am, Right Away Ma'am! I request permission to leave the fort Ma'am!" said Beclem

"Granted. And don't forget: Not even Elma has clearance for the Vegnagun information. You are only authorized to discuss it with me or the Gullwings. Also, you must keep me informed of the girls discoveries as soon as you hear of them. You are assigned to be my liaison with the Celsius effectively immediately. Dismissed!" said the commander

Beclem left the fort running like a Galgazet Wolf. He just HAD to talk with Rikku before the match. The little minx had been the one to get him his very opportune leave yesterday! Initially he had been a bit angry that the girl had told his CO about their affair, but his anger subsided quickly. After their show to the Aurochs in Besaid and his arrival on the Celsius it was just a matter of time someone blabbed… Besides, Beclem thought, he got a great shore leave and plum mission in close contact with Rikku thanks to Commander Lucile being on the know. That was going to be very opportune, as if he had already been feeling edgy even before learning how dangerous was the girl's next opponent. Now Beclem was a lot more worried.

Ha! He had been fretting about Rikku's puny cold while the girl had been preparing to fight the top 5 fighting teams of his league, and then jumping smack in the middle of Spira's next fight of the century! Beclem mused, laughing at himself. She was one strong, hot, and fearless warrior goddess, his Rikku! For the first time Beclem marveled at his good fortune of being loved by her. He had been so busy cursing his infatuation with a "summoners pet" that he had failed to see what an exceptional girl Rikku was. His lovelorn heart and wild lust were not to blame, Beclem realized. Now that he knew more about her he was sure he would have fallen for Rikku regardless of when, where or how they met. For as long as he lived. Beclem bristled at that inner revelation, again feeling like his stomach had been hit by a seedpod attack. He approached the machina lift a bit dazed, being met by an excited Yaibal and an apprehensive Captain Elma:

"Hey Sergeant ? Have you ever seen a magic attack that looks like a river of blood coming out of the mage ?" Elma asked Beclem

"A river of blood !" Beclem and Yaibal asked in unison puzzled

"Never mind.. You will see it soon enough when the Gullwings hit you with it" said Elma to Yaibal

"I can hardly wait. I'm the first one to face the Lady Yuna!" Yaibal said happily, bouncing down the trail to meet his challenger as soon as he could

Knowing a little bit more about the way the girls did battle - at least Rikku's way - Beclem asked Elma to describe the way the summoner was dressed when she cast the attack.

"Her outfit ? Why ? Does it matter ? It covered her from head to toe and showed no skin if that's what you are interested in" said a suspicious Elma. Men! All they ever thought was..

"The Gullwings use a kind of magical armor / costume that changes the skills they can use in battle. They call those outfits "dresspheres". From what you told me I can remember two very powerful dresspheres I have seen the girls use. What color was it ? Was it like a fur coat ?" explained Beclem, thinking of Rikku's long winter coat dressphere that she had yesterday on the ship's deck and feeling his heart race

"How interesting! No, it was a dark black leather armor, and Lady Yuna had a flat, long sword with it" Elma recalled

"Ahhh! A wide sword with round cuts all over the edges, right ? And the leather outfit had leather spikes coming out of it all over, did it not ?" Beclem said, remembering the way Rikku was dressed in their first battle

"Exactly! How did you know ? Do you know what I can use to block that attack ? That thing made a Tomberry fall like a log, and the fiend still had at least 3-4,000 energy points in him! Plus the girls were acting like his fierce knife attacks were just a little tap!" Elma asked curious. How did he know so much about the Gullwings anyway ? Could it be that Lady Yuna herself was the source of her friend's wistful sighs this morning ? Nah, thought Elma recalling that the crusty drill Sergeant wasn't very fond of summoners..

"All I know about it is that it is a very strong defensive armor. It is dark proof for sure and I have seen it block an L-bomb like it was just a little firecracker…" said Beclem, remembering his battle with Rikku.

"I will keep that in mind, thanks" Elma said

Beclem was speechless. So Rikku had a 3,000 point attack spell that night and had limited herself to hitting him with the flat side of her sword ? From what Captain Elma told him, each "real" hit with that sword took you down an astounding 1,000 points! He realized his girl had been holding back, not using any of her sphere's ferocious magic attacks, or it's strong physical attacks with the large sword, relying only on the armor's strong defense to defeat a cocky opponent that had no idea how close he had been of an humiliating defeat. Not until today… And she had never even gloated about it… God, he loved her so much! "Warrior Goddess" he had called because of her fierce beauty by the moonlight. He had had no idea how close he had been from the truth that day…

While he waited for the first battle to start, Yaibal's team versus the Gullwings, Beclem started reconsidering his past conviction that Yuna and most of her guardians were weaklings… He remembered how an infatuated Chappu had told him over and over of Lulu's skills in battle. Lulu was a very skilled Dark Mage, according to Chappu, which he was inclined to believe, having met the fierce woman in Besaid. Yuna's main guardian, Kimahri Ronso had the fangs and the size to be a fierce lethal warrior, not to mention being an heir to the famed Ronso tradition of excellent battle skills. Sir Auron - THE Sir Auron - was another of Yuna's guardians that Beclem knew was without match. He had also played blitzball against Tidus, one of the casualties of the Summoner's final battle with Sin.

Beclem had been amazed at the ease, speed and skill the guardian had on the blitzball pool. Tidus reflexes were faster than lightening, he swam like a fiend and had a strong tackle when needed, which with the man's speed was not very often, but it was there (And how, Beclem remembered grumpily of his having spent 3 games on the bench due to Tidus). And the athletic way the guy scored goals! For 2 years Beclem had been trying to reproduce the guardian's trademark shot, to no avail! He just couldn't get that upside down volley to work without someone throwing a ball at his feet no matter how hard he tried. Tidus was able to do it all by himself, disabling two opponents in the process AND get his upside down volley out so fast and powerful that no goalie of the blitzball league had been able to stop it!

With so many skilled guardians, Yuna, Wakka and the younger girl guardian didn't have to lift a finger to defeat Sin, Beclem had thought. So he had concluded that they were just along for the ride and the glory. Big mistake - at least in regards to his Rikku, he thought now. Rikku had lightening fast reflexes, lots of endurance and was amazingly athletic - of that he had proof - as a matter of fact every time they met he had wonderful and extensive proof of that, Beclem thought smiling to himself, his pulse racing..

---Revenge or Bust ?

Beclem thought about abandoning his plans of revenge against the High Summoner for the first time. He may have been too hard on the "useless Summoner" Beclem mused. Perhaps she didn't lift a finger at Mi'hen because she couldn't have, never had, never could defeat Sin. He knew neither Rikku nor Paine had been there, Rikku had told him so. Maybe her other strong guardians were also far away from her on that fateful day. By herself, the weak Summoner couldn't or was too afraid to help, and was limited to doing what she knew best: look important, a pretty face hiding behind the real warriors, just like all summoners did with their Aeons… He finally felt a little bit of empathy for the famous Lady Yuna. Sin was a formidable opponent. He too had been completely outmatched that day at Mi'hen.

Beclem still had no idea how he survived the ordeal. All he remembered was waking up at Djose shore surrounded by his men's remains, and seeing one of Yuna's guardians, the blitz player Tidus, fearlessly swimming after Sin uttering a fierce battle cry like a crazed, berserked fiend going after his prey. He tried to join in but he had been unable to move, his leg broken in 3 places. That was the end Beclem's blitzball career, not that it mattered anyway. After that day all his energy was spent on getting healed, at least well enough to avenge his fallen comrades. At the temple unable to walk Beclem even thought about - Yuck! - trying the summoner's path, if that meant his only way to kill Sin. Mercifully, Sin was killed for good long before he left Bevelle's healing temple. So he joined the Youth League, as he would never side with anything Yevon related. Of that Beclem had been sure very early in his life, due to his time at the orphanage in Bevelle and now his recent stay at the healing temple had sealed it. A band of useless posers, sucking up the life of Spira, hiding behind Aeons and Summoners, lying through their teeth to keep their pitiful posts at the mountain of lies the Yevon Church was!

"What's that grumpy face for ?" asked Rikku running up the hill to meet him

"Nothing… Wow! You got that hot skin tight dressphere again ? Won't it make you worse from your cold ?" asked Beclem, fretting over Rikku's skimpy red dress and her exposure to Mushroom Rock's cold winds. Surely that wasn't good for someone who was feverish just this morning!

"Oh, all right… I just wanted to level up on this thing today, since SOMEONE made me miss yesterday's training…" said Rikku petulantly while she donned on her cozy White Mage dressphere

"Much better… But why don't you use that brown letter outfit you had on when we fought ?" asked Beclem, wanting her to be well guarded by it's strong defense

"Oh, the Dark Mage one ? It is too strong, it wouldn't be fa.." Rikku said letting the world "fair" unfinished when she realized she was saying too much.

"You held back that day, didn't you ? asked Beclem

"Well… Not really, I just was low on magic points.." lied Rikku

"You are a bad liar, you know ?" he whispered in her ear, as they met the other girls

Ever honest Rikku wasn't fond of lying but she didn't want to hurt her lovers pride. She had tried to avoid letting him know how easily she could have won their first battle if she had just wanted to humiliate him. One Darkness spell - which she could have done even with low magic points since it was a "freebie" .e. a spell you could cast with no magic points - would have probably done it, and that was just one of that dressphere many powerful attacks. She doubted Beclem would have been able to nullify the outfit's most powerful blow, also a "freebie", called Charon. Only the most powerful fiends could, and even then, not all of large fiends could block a Charon spell. Before "things happened" at their battle, she had just wanted to teach Beclem a lesson by letting him exhaust himself trying to break her defenses and then she had planned to make him to retract his insults or get clobbered by her bare hands… Well, she DID get Beclem exhausted that day, remembered a wistful Rikku, barely controlling her urge to plant a long kiss on his tempting mouth. God, he looked HOT today on his dress fatigues!

---Gullwings versus Yaibal

Yaibal was getting his men on position and the Gullwings were getting ready to don some of their weakest dresspheres, to give the Yaibal's team - top level a mere 30 - a fighting chance against the girls 60-70 levels. Rikku considered using her "trainer" suit, the one where only her trained chimp "Ghikki" fought but gave up. Too obvious! Besides, Beclem had wanted her to dress warmly. The White Mage suit was perfect: It was a healing dressphere that only had one attack move - Rikku's trademark "Mug" attack and Rikku had been wanting to level up on it anyway. And it was soo warm and cozy!

"Don't hold back Lady Yuna!" pleaded an enthusiastic Yaibal, completely clueless to the girls true fighting skills

"Sure thing!" said a gentle Yuna, blushing because of the little white lie she had just told. Of course they had to hold back! Their warrior skill level was more than double of his!

Beclem observed the fight closely, awed at the ease the 3 girls blocked and nullified the attacks coming from Yaibal's team. Just like in his fight with Rikku, the girls were concentrating on keeping an impenetrable defense and holding off on issuing any strong attacks. Rikku's dressphere was probably giving her some White Mage abilities and all she did was heal the party with her freebie "Pray" spell. Yuna had on a skimpy black dress and danced a strange magic melody that also seemed to be healing the party. Paine was the only one attacking, using powerful Dark Mage spells but hitting a single opponent by spell. Was she refraining to do party wide attacks or was she unable ?. Yaibal's team attacked and attacked but the girls didn't even seem to feel it. Yaibal's White Mage healed the others furiously, but Beclem could see the team would not hold out much longer. Didn't the man have the most powerful White Mage spell - a Holy spell - to attack girls?

Suddenly Yuna's dance changed into a frenzied jig that seemed to speed up the actions of all of her team. Fast as a white wolf Rikku trotted up to Yaibal's mage, knocked him with dizzying speed and stole his protective Regen Bangle before the poor man could even put up a Shell barrier. Paine's spells started coming up at a frenzied pace and Rikku kept on doing her quick stealth attacks. Yaibal's team had to stop attacking and concentrate on healing, to no avail. In 3 more turns the hapless Youth Leaguers were sprawled on the floor panting exhausted.

"Lady Yuna it has been an honor. You make combat look easy" said an exhausted Yaibal

"You guys held up well" said Yuna, while Rikku presented him all the items she pilfered during the battle. Thanks God, Yaibal thought weakly, that Regen Bangle had cost the League a fortune at the merchant caravan on Bikanel !

The other battles proceeded swiftly, with the Gullwings giving the same rhythm to them: The girls defended strongly for a couple of turns, with sporadic attacks, then they launched a volley of attacks at dizzying speed and it was over in 3-4 turns.. It almost seemed like they were dancing not fighting, thought Beclem All 3 girls had amazing skill and definitely a very high warrior level. Could they be higher than his level 50 ? It had been his pride and joy that his warrior level was only surpassed at the League by Captain's Elma 54 and Commander Lucille's 59, not counting the Meivn's 60+ level. Well, he was about to find out, Beclem thought, as the girls were about to face Captain Elma.

---Captain Elma versus the Gullwings

"Lady Summoner, please be gentle" said a tense Elma. Losing to the summoner's team would be no dishonor since everyone could see the 3 girls "rocked" in combat, but Elma was determined to last longer than the other teams and perhaps land a few blows. That would increase the respect she had at the camp 10 fold.

"Why Elma, don't be so modest!" said Commander Lucile amazed at her Captain's lack of confidence. It was a rare sight for the fierce Elma who once crossed the entire Moonflow atop a Chocobo on a dare

"I take it back, my Lady. Please don't hold back. Why don't you use that dark leather armor you had on the time you defeated that Tomberry ?" said Elma, her pride winning over her caution

"Huh ? The Dark Mage armor ? Sure!" said Yuna.

"I'll be the dancer!" said Paine tired of using her Black Mage dressphere. She had mastered and surpassed that dressphere's skill level long ago.

"What about you Rikku ?" asked Beclem interested on seeing her clad on another one of the girls cool suits, his over protectiveness of her suddenly forgotten over the prospect of seeing his girl shine in battle

"Well… Dress warmly you said ? I guess I could get my Berserker dressphere." Rikku said and started to change. "I need to master it soon anyway" she thought, already planning for her Vegnagun mission

The Youth League soldiers and a mesmerized Beclem and Yaibal looked on as the girls did their magic dance to change dresspheres. Even Captain Elma and Commander Lucille enjoyed the fascinating spells the girls used to get in and out of their dresspheres, though obviously not for the same reasons as "the boys"… "Men! They are hopeless against a girl in tights" whispered Elma to the Commander, smiling, She now knew which one of the girls had captured her young Sergeant's heart, as she observed Beclem look at Rikku's tight pink leotard fascinated. Rikku did look very cute with that outfit Elma thought. Rikku's war painting and the outfit's mock tail and ears made the girl look like a charming bear cub but that didn't fool Elma. She doubted Rikku's cute and cuddly looks would prevent her from battling skillfully. Elma wondered what kind of attack skills that dressphere would have in battle. She was about to find out first hand!

The Dark Mage dressphere wasn't a bad choice for this battle. Yuna thought. Elma was a low level 50 so she could take one or two blows of the outfit's long sword. Besides the dressphere had extremely strong shielding all auto activated, so she didn't have to tip off the prideful Captain on how much she was holding back . Still sticking to their heal / shield / defend routine but casting no visible spells the Gullwings easily withstood some strong attacks from Elma, but Yuna stuck to using healing potions on her turn. Elma's attacks were slipping easily off her armor like rain off the Celsius windows so all Yuna's potions were just being wasted, but using them made it look like Captain Elma was savaging the team's health points and allowed Yuna to abstain from any attacks.

Having an outfit imbued with auto-Regen and auto-haste, Rikku was being healed constantly and she could parry and attack at dizzying speed. Her outfit was also equipped with a strong shield, so the girl simply didn't get tired. As a matter of fact, Rikku bounced around doing back flips and summersaults, so full of energy she was. Paine danced her MP dance, so all the team's spells were "freebies" now. Yuna thought about launching her costly Dark Sky attack now to take advantage of Paine's spell but reconsidered. She should have done so at the start of the battle. By now Elma's health points would be too depleted to take the fierce attack. She wondered if a Darkness spell would be too much also. It probably would. Oh well, better stick to her healing potion ruse and let Rikku's Berserker attacks chisel at Elma's Health points. If she waited long enough that would allow her to finish Elma up with a harmless and gentle dull sword attack.

Yuna prepared herself. It seemed close now. There! Game over and an unharmed Elma was getting up from the ground. Elma was grinning widely for having been able to withstand 15 rounds with the Gullwings, 5 more than the other teams best match.

Beclem was astonished. He felt embarrassed at all the insults he had lobbed at the "useless summoner" during his time on Besaid. Observing the speed that Yuna twisted her blade sideways at the last minute, felling Elma just with the sword's impact and then flipping the sword's edge up again to make it look like she had used the fierce blade's magic force was eye opening to Beclem. There was obviously much more than Aeons to Lady Yuna's skill and power. He only caught her lightning fast trick because Rikku had tried to use the same trick on him on that day in Besaid. He was expecting something like it so he had been looking right at Yuna's sword. She did it so fast that he almost missed the telltale glint of it's flat side that shined just for the briefest interval before she twisted it edgewise again… Amazing speed, amazing strength, felling Elma's last health points with a dull blade! Having battled the Captain many times Beclem knew that Elma was no slacker. Seeing Elma defeated so handily was almost unbelievable! Yet Beclem was not done learning about the Gullwings true skill level.

----Commander Lucille faces Rikku, Paine and Yuna

"Great show Lady Yuna! I wonder if your time is not too tired to face me on combat. I'm eager to see what kind of skill you girls are going to use to help us find our Meivn." pleaded Commander Lucille

"No at all. Bring it on Lucy!" said Rikku bouncing around excitedly.

"Game, set, Match!" said Elma as soon as the commander entered the match field and settled herself down carefully - she was a bit sore from Rikku's attacks - to watch the next battle.

It seems Rikku's current "dressphere" -was that the right name for it ? wondered the Commander - made the peppy girl even peppier. Rikku was almost bouncing up the walls, doing summersaults, front and back flips, twirling and jumping around like a blitzball in a Luca Goers game. And Rikku was hitting the Commander with a dizzyingly fast attack at the end of every one of those antics. Lady Yuna seemed to be preparing a fierce magical attack. Lucille could see the concentration on the summoner's face, gathering energy for a spell. Better put up all her shields thought Lucille and she took some magic items that infused her with Shell and Protect. Lucille was glad Rikku had not thought of pilfering her stash yet, as her Regen Bangle was surely going to be invaluable soon. A spell that took 3 turns to gather energy like the one Lady Yuna was casting was bound to be very powerful. Lucille struggled with her next move. Should she heal herself or attack ? Attack, she decided. Better land some blows before I lose all my energy, Lucille thought and thrust her sword at Paine who seemed to be only dancing.

Beclem looked at Paine dancing. It was a curious dance that didn't heal or sped up the team like the other ones he had seen the Gullwings use today. As his CO lunged at Paine the Sergeant wondered what was the dance's power. It wasn't any shielding as Beclem had seen Lucille's sword arm reverberate with the strength of her blow. Beclem was sure all the attack's damage had made it to the girl's arm but Paine didn't seem affected at all. Such strength and endurance! Very few on the Youth League could withstand a direct attack like this one from the Commander. He knew as he was one of the few. His arm still remembered the pain and blunt force of one of those he got last spring. He was glad it had been Paine not Rikku receiving the blow. So far the Commander had been flawless but he too was worried about Yuna's impending spell. Would it be Elma's much touted "river of blood" ? He hoped not, he didn't think the Commander had 3,000 health points left on her and the Commander's Regen bangle could not heal her as fast as Rikku pelted Lucille with her lightning fast blows. Lucille should have used her last turn to heal herself instead of attacking Paine. Her Regen bangle was simply not enough and besides, it was obvious that their attacks were no match for the Gullwings shielding, not even the Commander's fierce sword thrust, feared by all in the Youth League.

Yuna was done gathering energy and released her Dark Sky attack. She had wanted to give the Leaguers a taste of the kind of magic required to defeat a Sin sized fiend, and Commander Lucille was the perfect target, being one point shy of level 60 she could take a 4,000 point attack. She hoped Rikku had not depleted the Commander too much with her counter attacks. She waited too long to cast it! Yuna fretted.. The spell would now be too strong for Lucille but it was too late to stop it without making it obvious. She lamented the fact that she had had no way to tell Paine to do a stealth healing and shielding of Lucille after the Commander attacked instead of healing on her last turn. That had been a mistake. Oh well, the spell would not kill Lucille or harm her too much.. She would get KO'd and sore, and would lose in front of her team in measly 5 turns but Yuna hoped everyone would see that she had been pelted with a much stronger spell than what they used on the other teams.

It was time. The sky at Mushroom Rock acquired a dark tint and a hazy look, right above their field. All of a sudden intense balls of energy started raining from the dark haze, pelting the Commander with fierce blows, one after another, like a meteor shower. The Youth League soldiers looked at it stupefied, scarcely believing their eyes. Here was the High Summoner casting an attack similar to a Chocobo's "Meteor" attack, one of the strongest they had ever heard off! That thing must have taken 3-4,000 points of their Commander in it's chained blows! The falling energy stones pelting a hapless Lucille savaged her health points and she fell to the floor unconscious

"Commander ?" jumped Elma in the ring, worried that her friend looked hurt

"I'm OK" said Lucille standing up with Paine's help and leaving the field limping noticeably

"Sorry Commander, you should have healed instead of attacking. Here, take this" said a worried Yuna, passing a strong healing potion to Lucille

"You are absolutely right Summoner, I guess I was a bit over confident " said Lucille smiling weakly and gulping the medicine with a grimace

". I knew your spell was going to be a doozie, but never expected a Chocobo's Meteor" said Lucille feeling a lot better after taking Yuna's healing potion.

"I'm so sorry!" said Yuna

"Don't blame yourself, It was mostly my fault Summoner . Elma had told me of your "river of blood" spell and that was what I was expecting. Not a 4,000+ chained attack. My poor Regen Bangle gave up by the 10th meteor…" said Lucille humbly

"Yes, I had thought about using Darkness, the one that looks like a "river of blood", but we wanted to give you Leaguers a little taste of some fiend killer spells. I'm sorry, I should have stopped it.." lamented Yuna

"Forget it my Lady, no harm done. Me and my men got a superb demonstration of elite fighting skills. We shall redouble our efforts and perhaps things will be different next year" said Lucille smiling

"How are you feeling now after my healing potion ?" Yuna asked fretting

"That was no simple healing potion, summoner! All my magic and health points are back, and the pain is starting to go away. Was that an Elixir ?" asked the Commander

"Yep" said Rikku

"I'm honored that you would spend such an expensive item on me Lady Yuna, but you didn't need to…" protested Lucille

"Oh don't worry, we didn't pay for it, we pilfered it of a desert fiend. We can get more any time we want to!" said Rikku smugly

Rikku's revelation made Beclem jump in surprise. Could it be that the girls had battled the mythical desert fiend his old priest had told tales about so long ago ?

"What desert fiend ?" Beclem asked the girls urgently as soon as the Gullwings were out of the field

"An Angra ghost" said Paine

"Are you telling me you girls have defeated an Angra Manyu ghost ?" asked Beclem stunned

"Oh no, no one defeats those! We just pelted the Manyu with the meteor shower spell you just saw and some Darkness attacks - the one Elma called "river of blood". After a couple of rounds alternating those attacks the beast gets tired, sends you flying a few hundred yards and goes back into hiding" said Rikku sounding like a temple priest instructing her kids on how to cook a healing potion

"And leaves behind a MegaElixir for your valor" said Beclem

"Huh ? No, the cheapskate fiend doesn't drop anything at all! He doesn't even give out experience points! I have to pilfer the MegaElixir out of him" said Rikku making a face

"You are going to have to tell me all about in one of this days" said Beclem, running up the hill to meet with the Youth League officers

---Memories of a Massacre

As he went up the lift Beclem mulled on all the new information he had gathered today. Lady Yuna was no slacker! Far from useless, she was a very strong and skilled mage. Perhaps even a level 60 or more. She had some fierce skills and knew unbelievably powerful spells, for attack, healing and shielding. But why didn't she use them at Mi'hen ? Beclem was confused. Earlier in the day he had decided to abandon his misguided plans about getting even with the High summoner, thinking she was just a frightened poser, a Yevon poster girl. Now he knew that she would have been a great help at Djose beach, with her powerful shielding and healing spells, plus that speed up dance. It may not have kept HIS men alive but it would have saved lots of lives on that fateful day. Why didn't she ? After being wrong about so many things Beclem was leery of casting more blame. Acting and speaking without knowing all the facts had gotten him a long list of things to be embarrassed about. This time he would gather all the facts first, and decide who to hate later. Wow! Beclem mused. He was starting to sound like Wakka…

On the Youth League headquarters, in spite of a gorgeous view of the sunset over the sea, Yuna felt that familiar mix of sorrow guilt and anger she felt whenever she visited a recent Sin grave. At places like this Yuna's trained summoner senses could hear faint echoes and laments left behind by the dead. And here at Mushroom Rock the echoes were much worse for her. Yuna had seen them die. She had been the summoner performing the sending of the Operation Mi'hen dead, in that very spot 2 years ago. Her hands shook slightly, she could still remember the sounds sights and smells of that tragic day, just as clearly as in the day she had been forced to witness it. She could still hear Luzu's easy laugh consoling a disappointed Gatta because the boy was assigned guard duty and couldn't fight. Gatta had been one of the very few who survived that day while Luzu's body was found torn in half. Swallowing hard Yuna entered the League Headquarters followed by Rikku and Paine.

Beclem was the first one they saw. There was High Summoner Yuna with that haunting look again, Beclem thought looking at Yuna's barely concealed tears

"What brings the Summoner to our humble Headquarters ?" he asked softly, not scowling or using his biting irony this time

"We seek Commander Lucille" said Paine quickly, eager to take Yuna away from this place which had the Summoner pale as a ghost.

"Two doors down" said the door guard while Beclem walked slowly with them to the Commanders office

"Thank you" said Paine dragging a dazed Yuna around the large center table

---A certain table on Youth League Headquarters

Rikku approached Beclem but she could barely recognize him. Unlike the last time they saw each other, there was no sign of his perpetual anger in his face. He hadn't even scowled at Yuna! She was so relived that she wanted to kiss him right then and there, but this was the place he worked and his CO was right there, so she didn't.

- "Aww poopie!" lamented Rikku softly

- "What is wrong my warrior goddess ?" whispered Beclem in her ear

- "I want to kiss you soo much! But we can't, can we ?" asked Rikku, equally whispering

- "Me too, I want it so bad that I can almost taste it.. But I'm afraid you are correct. Not here, not now" said Beclem frustrated, sighing wistfully

- "Can't we hide under this big table ?" asked Rikku, feeling a bit crazy after getting so close to him. Out of impulse she proceeded to pull a stunned Beclem down to the floor

- "Are you out of your mind ?" hissed Beclem as Rikku kept on caressing him and pulling him under the table

- "Completely out of my mind. I just HAVE to kiss you! It's here or on top of the table, your choice" said a slightly mad Rikku caressing him in a way that he could not resist for long

- "Well, if you put it this way… " said Beclem, who was also no longer able to think straight after her wild caresses. He joined her under the table and started to kiss her passionately

A few minutes later Yaibal arrived at the League Headquarters and saw a very red faced watch guard looking at the ceiling.

"What's up man.." started Yaibal but the watch guard signaled him to shush and pointed at the center table with a sly grin

"Holy shoopuf!" whistled Yaibal softly, incredulous at the scene developing under the table. There was the Youth's League most strict slave driver, "The Drill Machina", getting ready to do some very different kind of drill with the Summoner's best friend!

"Har- rumpf! Yaibal coughed, knocking heavily at the center table, determined to stop his colleague's "drill" before things got even more out of hand

A red faced Rikku and Beclem jumped up from under the table, fixing their outfits.

"Err… Hmm.. What's up Sergeant ?" said Beclem sheepishly while Rikku trotted out to the Observation deck to hide her embarrassment at being busted by Yaibal

"Watch out man! Commander Lucille is right there… Are you two insane ?" said Yaibal in a hushed voice

"My apologies Sergeant" said Beclem, with a red face

"No apologies needed. I have done my share of insane love stunts. I just don't want you to get in trouble man!" said Yaibal with an amused grin

"I thank you Sergeant" said Beclem

"Heh! Call me Yaibal. We should be in first name basis now that I've seen.." started a teasing Yaibal

"Yaibal then. What did you see… Did anyone else see us ?" asked an embarrassed Beclem

"Turn around" said Yaibal and pointed Beclem to the watch guard winking at him with a sly grin

"What a hot girlfriend Sarge! Does she have a sister ?" asked the guard

"Yeah Beclem, don't hold out on us!" said Yaibal

"Nope! A 6 ft tall jealous brother" said Beclem

"Never mind then" said the guard and Yaibal and the 2 men started teasing Beclem and telling him what a lucky dog he was

---- Beclem's new assignment

Commander Lucille came out of her office with Yuna and Paine at her side, and she requested that Beclem joined them, asking about the 3rd Gullwing.

"Get Lady Rikku and report to me at once" she told Beclem

"Yes Ma'am" said Beclem and headed towards the Observation Deck

Beclem found a red faced Rikku looking at the sunset, hugging her knees.

"Commander Lucille is calling for you" he told her

"Ooh! What did I do ! Do you think she will throw me on the brig for seducing one of her men ?" fretted Rikku rocking from side to side

"Brig ? There's no brig here, goddess, this isn't a ship. And I seem to recall I didn't need to be seduced. I gave it as good as I got.." Beclem said, caressing her, trying to relieve the tension on Rikku's shoulders

"You think this is funny ? I'm sooo embarrassed! Why do you have to bewitch me so!" lamented Rikku, feeling miserable

Beclem held her chin, tilting it up so she could look at him. He started kissing her slowly, deeply, thoroughly. Rikku's knees turned into Jell-O and she hugged him tight, kissing him back with wild abandon

"Truce, warrior goddess, truce… Slow down… We need to save it for later" he said looking tenderly at her golden green eyes

"I know.." Rikku sighed deeply and followed him, feeling calmer after that long kiss

Yuna, Elma and Paine were already in the Commander's office when the two arrived. Brother's voice piped in from the commsphere.

"Oh hell, permission granted, Commander, just fix the details with Lady Yuna!" Brother said and signed out

I called you here to discuss Sergeant Beclem's new assignment, Captain" said Lucille to Elma

"Yes Ma'am" said Elma

"I'm afraid I will have to leave you shorthanded Captain. I have just pleaded with Lady Yuna to allow our Sergeant to accompany the Gullwings to their ship, where he will be on an special assignment reporting directly to me" said the Commander

"Ma'am ?" said Elma puzzled while Beclem and Rikku looked at each other stunned

"In light of his… err.. close rapport .. with the Gullwings, developed during his time at Besaid Island, the Sergeant is uniquely qualified to be our liaison to Lady Yuna's team. The High Summoner has graciously accepted my request that her team aid us in finding our Meivn's whereabouts" continued Lucille

"And since Brother, the airship's captain has also accepted to have you on board, that's where you will be stationed effectively immediately Sergeant" Lucille said to Beclem

"Yes Ma'am" said Beclem, still unable to believe his good fortune. An assignment on the Celsius!

"Of course you are expected to be on your best behavior, as you are there representing the Youth League. Integrity, honor and respect for the ship's personnel is a must. Did I make myself clear Sergeant ?" asked a steely Commander Lucille wanting to make clear to Beclem he should not go on insulting summoners as it was his habit

"Yes Ma'am, Understood" Beclem said, flushing furiously. Had she heard about their exploits under the table already ?

"Dismissed Sergeant. Go pack for a month long assignment at the Celsius" said Lucille

"A month Ma'am ?" inquired Beclem

"Yes. Lady Yuna has just informed me that she has an important mission after that. A mission where the Gullwings fear your life may be endangered if you accompany them. I expect you back here with a full report before they leave next month" Commander Lucille said, dismissing Elma as well

Beclem left feeling ecstatic. A month on the airship ? A month close to Rikku ? Paradise had a name and it was called Celsius he thought happily, whistling to himself while he packed his clothes and weapons. His fellow soldiers were speechless. The Drill Machina smiling and whistling happily was NOT something they had expected to see in this millennium. But one could hardly blame him, the lucky SOB had just taken a ride in the famous Gullwings airship, where rumor said he had been dating one of the 3 beautiful Gullwing girls. Man! Some guys had all the luck!

After packing Beclem headed downhill, as Buddy preferred landing at the entrance to Mushroom Road, not at the top of the mountain, where the League Headquarters were located. He asked Buddy why the fuss with landing on the top

"So why do you land down there. Isn't it easier to land at the summit ?" asked Beclem

"A lot easier, but Lady Yuna refuses to land there said Buddy"

"Really ? Why ?" asked Beclem

"You are going to have to ask her. Something about that Mi'hen operation 2 years ago" said Buddy nonchalantly

---Remembering Operation Mi'hem

Beclem awoke early next morning, unable to sleep after yesterday's revelation by Buddy. He sneaked out of his cabin and went to the bridge. He met Yuna there, talking with Buddy and Shinra

"Summoner, if I may ? Why do you dislike landing at Mushroom Rock's summit ?" asked Beclem, determined to get the full story of Mi'hen this time. His sanity, his relationship with Rikku and his time aboard their ship depended on it

"Two years ago in that very spot I was forced by Seymour to watch Sin blow up almost the entire Crusader force, along with a sizable contingent of Al Bhed warriors, without being able to cast a single spell, summon a single Aeon." Beclem heard Yuna answer gravely. He turned to face her intensely

"Seymour knew the Crusaders would die, but pretended to support them. He and Maester Kinoc allowed the operation to proceed when they knew it had no chance at all of succeeding" said Yuna.

"Why would they do that ?" asked Beclem

"Sir Auron thought it was to eliminate all the brave men who dared to cast Yevon's lies aside" Yuna continued, tears welling up behind her eyes, brought on by the guilt she felt

"I should have seen how evil and twisted he was then and there, but a lifetime of devotion to Yevon's teachings blindsided me. If I had stopped Seymour here the Ronso would still be alive and so would so many more people from Spira, perhaps even Luzu and the brave men and woman who died that tragic day" Yuna said no longer able to fight tears

"You knew Master Sergeant Luzu ?" asked Beclem

"He was a dear friend from Besaid and I was powerless to stop his death." Said Yuna

"You powerless ? I have just seen your raw power at the tournament. Surely you could have saved many on that day!" said Beclem unable to contain his accusing words no longer

"We were only able to shield the very few soldiers that were with us at the summit, protecting the Maesters. There wasn't enough time for me to go down to the beach. Not until it was too late" said Yuna

"What do you mean not enough time ?" shouted Beclem angrily

"Sin sent his spawn to kill the Maesters. Two of them, each one larger than any desert Mayu and stronger. Slower too thankfully. Even with Seymour's help it took us - me, Sir Auron, Lulu, Kimahri, Wakka and Tidus - at least one hour to defeat the pair. The 150 soldiers that were there protecting the Maesters, those we could save. The rest will haunt me forever" said a pale Yuna

"You said Gatta was there. Did he survive ?" asked Beclem, barely controlling his urge to scream at the summoner all the names he had prepared for this occasion for the last 2 years

"Yes, Gatta survived. And so did Captain Lucille of the mounted Chocobo squad, now Commander Lucille of the Youth League" said Yuna and left

Buddy and Shinra were looking angrily at Beclem. How dare he talk to Yuna like that ? Shinra called Commander Lucille on the commsphere, trying to issue a formal complaint. The guy was here for 12 hours and had already reverted to his rude self ? Give me a break!

"What's going on Sergeant ? I did not expect you to rekindle your obsession with insulting summoners so soon" asked a weary Lucille. Perhaps this mission had been a bad idea, she thought

"Commander, if I may ? I was just asking the Summoner about some events we both witnessed at operation Mi'hen 2 years ago. I.." Beclem left the unfinished sentence hang in the air

Lucille looked at Beclem with dawning comprehension and profound pity. She knew he had lost many men that day, as she had. She knew how those losses felt, particularly the first time you commanded a team. She remembered the pain, the anger, guilt and blame she had felt on her first unsuccessful command mission. It dawned on her that it must have been the source of his prejudice against summoners. Well, on this case Beclem was 100 wrong to blame a summoner, thought the Commander. Two skilled summoners had been there, Seymour and Yuna, but they were unable to defeat Sin. Lucille felt guilty. Now the reason for young Sergeant's bad attitude was glaringly obvious. She should have noticed it sooner and sent him to counseling at a temple!

Lucille told a rapt Beclem, Shinra and Buddy how after obliterating the attack forces in a mere second, Sin proceeded to vaporize the cannon, the Al Bhed, large portions of Mushroom Rock and everything in it's path. The tragedy would have been complete - no survivors - if it wasn't for a young summoner's team and Maester Seymour. With their brave attacks and powerful Aeons the summoner's team and Maester Seymour forced Sin to retreat.

"Lady Yuna made Sin retreat ?" asked a stunned Beclem, fully aware of how rare that was

"Yep! The one and only" said Lucille

Having lost her summoner brother to Sin long ago, Lucille knew that not even a skilled Summoner could stop Sin's attack. Not without all the Aeons obtained in a complete pilgrimage. Lucille explained to the 3 guys how her brother had died because he faced Sin before he completed his training. She proceeded: Sin's retreat gave the survivors at the headquarters and Djose shore some crucial time, allowing the survivors to frantically transfer the wounded out of there via Chocobo. It was nothing short of a miracle that they were given the opportunity to evacuate the wounded, the Commander said. Just the fiends that came attracted by Sin had decimated her Chocobo mounts. Lucille shuddered to think at what would have happened if the big beast had decided to finish it's attack while they were taking care of their wounded…

She then told them how Lady Yuna had been there, a mere 200 yards from Sin, patiently performing the sending of all the dead, lest they be turned into fiends, without a single complaint, without a shielding spell, her Aeons and Magic points all depleted. Why Sin had stood quietly without attacking was a mystery! Yuna spent 2 hours at the beach, healing and sending, under the watchful eye of Sin, everyone aware that she could be killed at any minute if Sin wanted too. Lucille told them how she had witnessed Seymour forcefully restrain Lady Yuna from attacking Sin and then he ordered her to smile, amid thousands of bodies littering the Djose shore. "A summoner is the beacon of hope of Spira. Beacons don't cry Lady. Get a hold of yourself and do your duty to Spira's people. Show some happiness" Seymour had ordered Yuna, in front of the Commander. When Lucille finished her tale Buddy spoke

"I was there also that day. Not at Mi'hen, but at Djose temple, standing by to fix our machina cannon if needed" Buddy said

:At the temple we could hear the attack form Sin, then an eerie silence. We thought everyone was dead, as usual, but wounded started trickling in. The temple's no good son of a shoopuf summoner had left the temple even before the attack started, cowering in his boots." said a disgusted Buddy

"We were running out of healing potions and our healers had depleted their magic points when Lady Yuna's team arrived, bringing in supplies, healing our people. Yuna sat there healing the wounded for 24 hours straight, without bothering to eat, drink or sleep." Buddy continued

"Although everyone could see how pale she was, and how her hands shook, Yuna was adamant. She would not leave her post until another healer could be found" Buddy said

"So I and my friends left to Bevelle, as fast as we could, and hauled a couple of healing priests to Djose to relieve the Lady" Buddy said

Beclem was speechless. He had been so wrong! He trusted Commander Lucille with his life, he knew she wasn't lying. Buddy's story also made sense. The Lady Yuna he had seen was always ready to help and heal, just like Rikku had said long ago. Beclem felt dead tired. He needed to some time to think but Shinra started to talk

"I was there…" he started but Beclem cut him off

"Mercy! I apologize to you all and I will beg Lady Yuna for forgiveness on my knees for as long as it takes for her to accept it, but please, I beg you, let me think! I'm so confused.. I was so wrong.. ! " Beclem pleaded anguished

"You have my forgiveness already. Go rest and meditate for as long as you need. Rikku awaits" said Yuna behind him and Beclem rushed out of the bridge relieved

"Lady Yuna, I'm so sorry… " started Lucille in the commsphere

"No need. Like Beclem, all citizens of Spira suffered the unbearable pain and despair of seeing their loved ones perish under Sin's endless violence. That was the real insult, that is the real crime. It is time to bury our past grief and regrets, to let it go, lest it destroy us" said Yuna, remembering Shuyin's madness after 1,000 years of regret.

Sometimes the frail and gentle summoner floored her friends with her inner strength. This was one of those times…

---Revenge Plans Shattered, New Plans Drawn

Down in the cabin Rikku told a chastised Beclem how they had had to kill each Aeon to be able to defeat Sin. Beclem was astounded. His Rikku and the "useless" lady Yuna had defeated the powerful Bahamut and every other Aeon ? Including ones far stronger than Bahamut ? Wow! Rikku also told him the price Yuna and her lover paid willingly to give Spira some peace. How even Tidus love for Yuna had bent to her resolve to defeat Sin. Tidus had asked once, only once, for Yuna to forget about giving her life to defeat Sin. When she refused he never asked again and stood by her side ever loving, ever protecting until the end. But a cruel trick of destiny took his life away, not hers Rikku had told Beclem. Tidus was taken away. He who had loved Yuna so completely that he understood why she couldn't quit, he who had accepted her sacrifice. And Yuna, who was quite ready to give her life for others but never expected to be the one left behind mourning was forced to see her love vanish right in front of her eyes. And they did it all for Spira.

Beclem dozed of in the middle of Rikku's many tales but not before he heard Shuyin's and Lenne's tale of woe, the poor lovers dying without ever telling each other how they felt. He woke up in the middle of the night, the bright moonlight seeping trough the cabin's window… His mind was reeling, his convictions and focus for the last two years had been shattered and all the bits and pieces were dancing about in his head. He stood motionless looking at the window, singing the faith hymn to the stars, waiting for his thoughts to finish their mad dance. The haunting way he was singing the melody made it resemble a faith singing it. Upstairs in her bed Yuna started dreaming about Bahamut's faith, the little boy that liked Tidus so much.

Singing, particularly singing that hymn always calmed Beclem down. It had been his sole solace at Bevelle's orphanage, after the old priest was transferred. Singing transported him to a different word, devoid of the violence, loss, betrayal and sorrow he usually found in Spira. It brought him to a place only he could go but didn't feel alone, and that was always there for him. But as usual the Yevon church's greedy schemes had spoiled it for him. A Maester's protegee who couldn't sing half of what Beclem could sing got jealous of his voice and wanted him out of the way. No problem for Beclem, who wanted to be a warrior not Yevon's Church pet singer. So he left that viper's nest and joined the Crusaders keeping his singing to himself, lest he make more enemies. When he was feeling particularly sad or confused Beclem would look for secluded places where he could just let his hurt and confusion leach out with his songs, the whirlwind in his head finally subsiding succumbing to the hymn's calming powers.

After some time Beclem stopped singing. The hymn had made its magic and he was left feeling a calm certitude. Beclem felt that there was something important he HAD to do, and soon. It was not revenge. His burning anger wasn't there anymore. His troubled past that had always been his guiding force, the source of his fighting spirit, did not seem that important all of a sudden. Rikku's tale about Yuna's lover haunted his thoughts. Like the summoner he had always expected to be the one sacrificing his life on battle but instead had been the one left to mourn. He imagined what he would feel if he was forced to see his love vanish right in front of his eyes and shuddered. Now he understood the summoner's haunting look. This pain he had been spared at Mi'hen, thankfully.

Beclem looked at his Rikku sleeping, her serene face bathed by the moonlight. Beclem had no doubt that he would be devastated if he lost her. He himself was not sure if he could bear a sacrifice as big as the one Yuna and her lover did two years ago. Now that he knew what was to love someone so much that he would end up under a table only 2 feet away from his CO… "What if she or I die tomorrow ?" Beclem asked himself. Had they said all they should say to each other ? He knew he had not. He had told Rikku he loved her and he had meant it. But at the time he had said it, Beclem was treating each of his encounters with Rikku as the last. He thought their love was like a fever that would end soon. Now he couldn't bear the thought of a last encounter. Particularly if he didn't get to tell Rikku how alive she make him feel. How he felt he was a better person when she was at his side. How she had been a healing balm for his tortured heart, a ray of sunshine in his darkness.

He remembered Brother's question: What were Beclem's intentions with Rikku. An image of Wakka and Lulu holding little Vidina formed in his mind at the thought and he suddenly realized how much he wanted to have this with Rikku: A beautiful and loving marriage, good friends, a child… A lifetime ahead of them to see their children grow. For that future he would move mountains and kill Sin daily if necessary. He had been fighting for his past, instead of fighting for his future. No wonder he had always ended up bitterly disappointed! The past could not be changed, but the future ..

A lifetime together with his Rikku. That is what he wanted, Beclem mused. Yep, there was no way to deny it, he was hopelessly in love with the cheerful guardian and would do whatever it took to be by her side… Feeling finally at peace with his internal demons an exhausted Beclem collapsed into deep slumber, knowing that he would ask Rikku to marry him the very next morning… He wouldn't make the same mistake as Lenne and Shuyin.

---- Morning

"Marry You? Meee ?" asked a sleepy Rikku siting up shocked

"Yes goddess, you" said Beclem smiling at her

"Are you sure ? You used to curse the day we met." asked Rikku, trying to buy some time to think all the implications of his question.

"I used to be a hard headed fool" said Beclem still smiling

"But, but… When ? How ? What about my friendship w/ Yunie and Wakka ?" asked Rikku

"Your friends are my friends. I will never insult them again. When and how we will figure out later. Please goddess, don't leave me hanging… Yes or No ?" fretted Beclem

"Yes, yes, yes, 1,000 times yes" Rikku said, fully aware that there was no other answer her heart would accept. Time would take care of the details, Rikku thought and jumped up to hug him, dizzy with happiness

Beclem, also deliriously happy, kept on holding Rikku in his strong arms and twirling her around delighted at her answer

---What was it about girls and weddings ?

Brother entered the cabin at this moment and saw his sister in PJ's being spun around by a PJ clad Sergeant. Now THAT was going too far!

"RIKKU!" Brother bellowed furious

"Hm ? Oh, Hi bro !" answered a dizzy Rikku, she wasn't sure if dizzier from the words she had just heard or from the pirouettes she and Beclem had been doing

"Stop this indecency immediately! This is a family ship!" said Brother fuming

"Captain, If I may ?" asked Beclem

"No, you may not! This is family business. Stay out of it!" said Brother furious at the audacity of the corrupter of sisters

"Captain, I have just requested your sister to join the family" said Beclem firmly

"WHAT !" said Brother stunned

"I am asking for your sister's hand in marriage Captain" said Beclem

"Rikku ?" Brother pleaded

"I love him Bro. I really do. We want to get married. Will you help me talk to Pops ?" asked Rikku

".ahh.. baahhh." Brother grunted speechless

"May we take that as a yes ?" pressed Beclem

"Hmm..rrr… It's up to Rikku and Pops" said Brother still in shock

"Come on, let's go tell Yunie and Paine!" said Rikku running down the stairs

"You go ahead love. I need to talk to Brother" said Beclem

Beclem had noticed that Brother was in shock, thrown completely off balance by their news. Putting himself on Brother shoes Beclem felt sorry for the "boy" and decided to stay behind and help the blonde lug of a man get back on his feet. He liked the Celsius flamboyant Captain. Brother had received him very well, if you considered the circumstances. He had been little when his sister died, but he still remembered the deep bond they had. Brother had given him a fair chance, allowing Beclem on the ship and giving him and Rikku a wide berth. Now it was Beclem's turn to return the favor.

"Hmm… Mr. Barkeep, do you have something that will put some color back into Brother's face ?" whispered Beclem to the hypello

"Rightsh Awayshh" said barkeep pouring 2 large cups of Ochu juice and handing them to Beclem

"Thanks!" said Beclem

"Mishh Rikku marry ?" asked the hypello

"We hope!" answered Beclem

"Congratulalationsh" said barkeep

Beclem approached Brother carrying 2 large mugs of Ochu juice and said:

"Look Captain, I really do love your sister, and I believe she feels the same towards me" Beclem said pleading, pushing a mug to Brother

"Heh ? Ahh… Call me Brother, man. I'm no Captain…" said Brother absently

"I will call you brother if you prefer, but you are wrong, you are a Captain, and a good one" said Beclem

"No need for flattery man. You got my sister already" answered Brother gulping his drink with a grimace

"I did not GET your sister Brother, she got me. Can't you see how I'm down on my knees for her ?" Beclem said putting his "If I die tomorrow.." plan in motion. Rikku and every one on her family would know his feelings for her

"What do you want from me ?" asked Brother annoyed

"Your approval, your friendship if possible" said Beclem

"Approved, stand down, carry on… You don't need my approval man. This is between Pops …" started Brother but Beclem interrupted him

"I want YOUR approval. You gave me a fair chance. You let me come aboard your ship in Besaid, you accepted Commander Lucille's request, you allowed me and Rikku to be together. I am grateful. Give me the chance to prove to you I am worthy of your generosity and that I'm worthy of your sister's love" said Beclem

"Ahh Forget it man, you are OK. It is just hard, you know, she's my baby sister!" sighed Brother

"You are OK too Captain. I wish I could do more to put your mind at ease…" said Beclem

Sensing Brother was needing some time alone now, Beclem got up and left, leaving Brother alone with barkeep

"Barkeep! Get me some more Ochu juice here" yelled Brother

"Brothershh shhad Mishh Rikku marrying ?" asked barkeep

"Not sad.. I'm happy for her. But I worry, you know ? He is a good guy but she is so young… And I know Pops will freak out. It's complicated" Brother lamented

"Shargent Beclem good for Mishh Rikku" said barkeep

"What do you mean ?" asked Brother

"Mish Rikku much happier now, Grow up fashht" said the hypello

"Yes, she IS happy, isn't she ? I guess that is what is important" said Brother feeling a bit better about the situation

He had been feeling left behind, his protectiveness not needed any longer. Plus he was so used to having Rikku around! Seeing her so happy while having her and Lady Yuna around was worth enduring some kissy-gooey in front of him, thought Brother. As for not being needed anymore, he was mistaken. Brother remembered Pops would freak at the news. "Brother to the rescue!" he thought smugly. The realization that his Rikku protecting days were not over just yet made him feel immensely better. He left the cabin and went to the bridge to spread the good news around

When Brother arrived at the bridge he saw a silent Beclem looking amused at the 3 girls, who were talking excitedly, fusing with the engagement and wedding news. What was it about girls and weddings ? moaned Brother to himself. Mention a wedding preparation and women of all ages flip out, start babbling "teal", "burgundy" and other weird color names, while endlessly discussing identical choices and fussing about esoteric details like a "bath set". Bath set ? Brother had one bath towel in his cabin and that doubled as hand towel, washcloth, tissue, shoe polisher, carpet, toga… The girls had all kinds of towels in different colors and sizes and washed them incessantly! Brother decided to retreat from the bridge, to avoid being dragged into the girls discussion. He signaled Beclem and Buddy to come with him to the deck

"What's up ?" asked Buddy

"You have heard the news, yes ?" asked Brother

"Yes, congratulations on your sister man" said Buddy

"Heh, no problem, did you congratulate the Sergeant yet ?" Brother asked Buddy

"Both of you can call me Beclem, please" said the Sergeant

"Well, Beclem and Buddy…Wait a minute: we are Beclem, Buddy and Brother ? I guess we can call ourselves the 3 Bs!" said Brother amused at his own joke

"Anyhow, 3B's, we need to strategize the way we deliver this news to my Pops" said Brother

"Yep. He is going to freak out. No doubt about it" said Buddy

"Freak Out ?" asked Beclem

"Well, you don't know my Pops. He was the leader of the Al Behds on Bikanel Island, until our Home was destroyed 2 years ago. He is way too used to get things done his way" said Brother

"And he is kind of old fashioned.." said Buddy

"Yeah, no deck adventures and pajama meetings in his ship" said Brother looking straight at Beclem

"Definitely not! He doesn't even approve of Rikku being a Gullwing and flying all over Spira" said Buddy

"Yeah, but he says it is because Rikku should stay at home and have babies, being someone's good wife. Maybe he would like the idea of Rikku getting married" piped in Shinra from the commsphere

"Hey kid! You eavesdropping ? " asked Brother

"I want to help Rikku too" protested Shinra

"Sure, the more the merrier!" said Buddy

"Well, anyway, this is the situation. Pops will freak out unless we find a good way to break the news to him. Let's split up and think. Anyone can call a meeting if we figure out a way" said Brother

"Thank you Brother, Buddy, Shinra. I appreciate the help you guys are giving me and Rikku" said Beclem

Beclem was feeling a bit dizzy with the speed the events were unfolding. He badly needed to be with Rikku, alone. God, now he couldn't even withstand being without his little minx for more than an hour ! Pathetic he thought. He truly was a love slave… Beclem thought, trying unsuccessfully to get angry at his lovelorn self, while he went to the Bridge.

--A Tiger in the Engine Room

At the Celsius Bridge Beclem tapped Rikku on the back and started caressing her neck stealthily. Rikku excused herself and met him at the lift, jumping into his arms with a raw need that matched his. Beclem punched the Engine room and dove into his lover's arms hungrily. When Beclem and Rikku arrived at the engine room they shed their clothes hastily, their urgent need too strong from them to fuss with buttons, laces… Beclem started kissing Rikku's neck and breasts with passion while Rikku held his desire on her hands. Unable to hold off any longer Rikku straddled Beclem and he moaned and writhed with pleasure at her exploits. Rikku bit her lip. God, he was sooo good!

She wanted to shout with pleasure and this time she let herself do it trusting that the noisy engines would cover the sounds of their lovemaking. She and Beclem were completely absorbed on their entwined bodies when Rikku felt herself climax. She let out a wild howl, like a caged tiger who had just been released. Her howl brought a feverish Beclem to his own climax and they both shook with a pleasure so intense that it seemed to last forever, an earthquake of lust, with strong aftershocks … Their hunger for each other was such that they proceeded to their second round immediately, unable to stop.

Much later Rikku was playfully running her fingers through the ridges on Beclem's well defined muscles. What a hot body! Rikku thought contently as she traced the muscles on his chest, his well defined tummy, his biceps and shoulders…

"You know something ? The girls used to tease me calling me Mrs B" Rikku said to Beclem

"Prophetic, heh ?" said Beclem kissing her hands

"Did you tell your Commander yet ? asked Rikku

"Not yet" Beclem said

"I wonder if she will take it as badly as my Pops will" fretted Rikku

"Commander Lucille ? Why would she take it badly ?" asked Beclem

"Well… She may have a crush on you. You have a HOT bod, you know ?" said Rikku teasing

"All yours, goddess, all yours" he said caressing her lazily

"Or she may realize the obvious: You have not worked a single second since you came on board. That's right, you slacker! You have been here for 2 days and all we have done is hanky-panky" Rikku said teasing

"Hmmm.. You have a point there, goddess. I need to have some work done before I talk to the commander" said Beclem

"Better start working" Beclem said, getting dressed and hurrying upstairs

A languid Rikku took her time to go up … Her skin still tingled with Beclem's kisses and her body still felt his presence. Besides, it's not like the Gullwings were doing something this exact moment, she thought. She needed some time alone to reflect on the news. Marriage! She knew that she wanted it, but Beclem had surprised her this morning… One week he is saying she is a curse, next week he wants to spend the rest of his life with her? Beclem did look serious though. He had a different air about him, his eyes were more gentle, he smiled at her from across a full room, not only in private like their first dates. And he seemed so happy! Her current Beclem looked like a younger, kinder version of the crusty, rude slave driver she had met 5 months ago in Besaid. Wow! So much had happened in 5 months! Good thing too, because she didn't think she had much time left… Vegnagun was a fierce opponent, Rikku thought and shuddered

---Blitzball season starts

At the bridge Rikku found out that Wakka had decided to miss the imminent blitzball tournament, and so did the Aurochs who were all full of aches and pulled muscles after a their first practice. It seems that they were slackers after all, they had done nothing in their last 2 weeks without Beclem. He pleaded Buddy and Brother to play in their place.

"I would love to but we need more players Wakka. Me and Buddy and who else ?" asked Brother

"I can catch!" said Shinra

"Isn't the Sergeant at the Celsius ? He has a killer goal shot!" said Keepa

"I can play defense!" said Rikku

"Attack for me!" said Paine

"I can do defense now. I have been practicing.." Yuna said

"That leaves one player.. We can scout one in Luca. Gullwings ? We have a blitzball game to play!" said Brother excitedly

---Till death do us part, next month

While Beclem showered he obsessed about what to tell his CO. Yeah, he had been slacking off the last 2 days, but it was not like the Gullwings had done anything about Vegnagun or Nooj's whereabouts in that period. What could he do to speed up the process ? Djose! He could ask the girls to have a second look see in Djose. Perhaps they would find some clues that had been missed the first time.. Beclem donned on his uniform but not his warrior mask (Rikku had told him she liked him better this way) he trotted out to the bridge.

They were all talking excitedly about the pending blitzball tournament when he arrived. Although he was delighted at the thought to play again, and with his Rikku to boot, Beclem was disappointed. More slacking ?

"Captain.. errr Brother if I may ?" he asked

"What's up, oh sister stealer ?" said Brother but he had a smile in his face that softened the mock insult

"I was wondering if we should not go to Djose temple again, to see if we could get clues on Vegnagun or where we can find the Meivn" said Beclem

"Clues ? We don't need no clues! All we are waiting for is for Yuna to give the go ahead" said brother

"No clues?" Beclem said confused

"Come here hottie and I will tell you all about it!" said Rikku signaling for him to join her at her pilot seat

"Yes Ma'am" said Beclem with a mock salute

At her seat Rikku proceeded to tell him about their decisions:

"We know where the Meivn and Vegnagun are. We just need time to prepare" said Rikku

"Where ?" asked Beclem shocked

"Can't tell ya!" said Rikku pouting

"But.. why wait a month ? And how does blitzball fit with preparations ?" asked Beclem still shocked at the casual way the Gullwings behaved before a mission. This was NOT the way he was used to work

"Not here. Meet me at barkeep's" said Rikku

At the cabin Rikku ordered some shoopuf milk for her and Ochu juice for Beclem

"Listen.. You want to marry me. I want it too. But the truth is that we may only have this month together.. Let's enjoy what we can, while we can, blitzball included" said Rikku whispering

"What ? Goddess, please tell me you are not giving up your life to defeat a monster like that guy Tidus did.." asked a frightened Beclem

"Not necessarily. We are not sure if we will make it back. Vegnagun is extremely dangerous and Shuyin is even worse.. He has gone mad with despair. We hope… But we can't be sure" said Rikku

"Why didn't you tell me ?" asked Beclem softly

"Until yesterday all you wanted was to get rid of me and my cursed powers over you" said Rikku making a face

"Oh my warrior goddess… I have been such a fool!" said Beclem feeling like he had been punched in the gut. He felt something stinging his eyes

"I know… But a very sexy fool!" said Rikku trying to make him laugh but failing

"Why did you say yes this morning ?" asked Beclem rubbing his eyes and feeling warm wet tears on his hand. Tears ? The last time he had them he was 8!

"What other answer could I give ? The answer is Yes, I want to marry you with all my heart. I want to be with you for as long as I live. Which may not be long at all…" said Rikku, tears welling behind her eyes too

"Can't you stay with me ? Leave Lady Yuna to do the fighting…" pleaded Beclem

"I can't let Yunie face this alone. Besides, it is no good! Shuyin will use Vegnagun to destroy Spira and ALL IN IT if we don't stop him." Said Rikku, tears streaming fast down her face

"Goddess, oh my goddess! I have been so blind!" said Beclem kissing her tenderly

"You must not tell anyone else in Spira this" said Rikku looking at him

"Not even the commander ? Why ?" asked Beclem

"Your Meivn didn't tell her, did him ? He didn't say anything about telling Lucille when Yuna talked to him last week. Living with a death sentence on your head is not something people handle well. Do you want widespread panic ?" Rikku said

"You are right.. " sighed Beclem.

God! moaned Beclem to himself while he kissed her gently. His Rikku and her friends were so brave and dedicated to Spira! He felt like feeding his own self to an Ochu for being so rude to them all this time. Now he understood the fierce loyalty, the defensiveness Lady Yuna and her friends had for each other. They HAD been to hell and back, and they were going to return to hell as many times as necessary, without hesitation, just to protect Spira. He looked at the Gullwings relaxed atmosphere and their playful banter in a whole different light. He remembered how he and his men exchanged playful banter right before a particularly dangerous mission, to relieve tension and keep their imminent death out of their minds.

"Beclem ?" asked Rikku

"Yes my love ?" he answered

"We don't have to get married.. It wouldn't be fair to you since.." she started

"Never, my love, never! I asked you to be my wife till death do us part, didn't I ? Nothing has changed. I still want to be with you for as long as we live" Beclem said holding her hands

"But.." protested Rikku

"You didn't think I was going to let you face that thing alone, did you ? " asked Beclem

"But you can't! You will die! What good will that do ?" said Rikku

"What good will be life without you ? I'm going with you or die trying" Beclem said firmly

"He is a Gullwing alright!" said Paine behind them

"C'mon, we have a blitzball tournament to play" Paine said dragging both out of barkeep's

"And a wedding to plan" said Beclem rubbing off Rikku's tears, understanding the message left unspoken

The girls were right, thought Beclem. If they had only one more month then it wouldn't do to waste it fussing about the inevitable. Better enjoy what they could and prepare to die with no regrets. "Today is a good day to die", Beclem thought, remembering Sir Auron's battle cry. He was now sure that his Rikku and her friends had been worthy members of Sir Auron's team, not the "posers" his childish musings had concluded 2 years ago. Or was it a lifetime ago ? He wondered if he and Rikku could find time to do a movie sphere in Luca. If any of them survived without the other it would comforting to have one. Now he understood little minx impulsiveness. Under a table! What a hot tigress she was, Beclem thought wistfully.

---Beclem quits the Youth League

Beclem wondered about what to say to his Commander. Rikku was right, he should not tell anyone the heavy burden the girls faced. Nooj had kept Lucille in the dark too and Beclem trusted his Meivn's judgement on this. But how could he disobey direct orders from his CO ? There was only one honorable option: He had to resign, effectively immediately. This way he could ignore any order the Commander gave him. Resign ! He sighed heavily. He had been a Crusader or a leaguer his entire adult life! And a sizable part of his young life too.

At the bridge he told the news to Rikku and mentioned that he had been a soldier so long he wasn't even sure if he even had enough civilian clothes to last 4 days without a uniform. "Leave it to me! I just know the hottest place to buy clothes on Luca. You will look so cute I'll have to lock you in a closet to keep you for myself" she said excited. Cute ? Beclem almost regretted mentioning it. What if the girl made him dress like a moogle ? "Oh well, she was going to be his wife one day. Better start getting used to obey his next CO!." thought Beclem amused at his complete surrender to his "little minx". It felt strange to let himself go that way, but it also felt surprisingly good. Liberating… He felt a burning need to kiss Rikku and had to steel himself into calling Commander Lucille on the commsphere instead.

"Do you have a report for me Sergeant ?" asked his Commander

"Permission to speak freely, Ma'am" requested Beclem

"Huh ? Granted Sergeant, what is going on ?" said Lucille puzzled.

"Ma'am, I feel I no longer can serve the League. I'm requesting a discharge from my duties" Beclem blurted out

"Beclem ? Don't tell me you are still nursing a grudge against the High Summoner!" said Commander Lucille worried. She had had high hopes his infatuation with Yuna's friend had cured him of his obsessions

"No Ma'am, nothing like that. It is because I have just asked Lady Rikku to be me wife" said Beclem

"Huh ? Well that DOES complicate your ability to perform your current duties. I don't suppose you would accept a transfer ?" said Lucille relieved, wanting to keep her loyal and efficient Master Sergeant on the League

"Ma'am, as you already know my future wife is about to accept a very dangerous mission. I may not have another chance to be with her before that, and I wanted…" started Beclem

"Call me Lucille, Sergeant. Your discharge is accepted. We will miss you here at the League, particularly the watch guards. It seems you built quite a reputation among them " said Lucille winking

"Command… err. Lucille?" asked a red faced Beclem. She knew !

"You don't get to be a good Commander if you don't have eyes everywhere, even under tables Sergeant" Lucille said with a smug smile

"I…" started Beclem

"Never mind Sergeant. Congratulations to you and Rikku. And if you want my advice, stay away from those antics from now on. Your future father in law has a well known temper. It is a wonder you are not on Cid's brig now, chained to an iron ball. " said Lucille smiling

It was a wonder Beclem was not on HER brig Lucille thought and sighed deeply. She wondered what Meivn Nooj would have done in her place. She missed her leader's serenity and wisdom. The man just KNEW what to do, always. Lucille had chosen to give the young Sergeant some space over disciplining him. His men had always had deep respect for his skills but begrudged his stiffness and his tendency to put them down. Now that Beclem had showed a human side, the men were showing admiration and even fondness for the crusty drill sergeant. So Lucille had opted for tolerance, eager to let the young men let his human side show out more often. . She felt it would be beneficial, as a leader that was loved by his men went a lot farther than a leader that was feared and begrudged by them.

Well, she had wanted to see Beclem's human side more often but perhaps not so recklessly, chuckled an amused Lucille. At the League Headquarters and under a table ? What were the young lovebirds thinking !. "They weren't thinking" Lucille concluded, as she had been young and in love once and remembered how that felt..

"Call me Beclem, Ma'am. I am thankful for your advice and your.. err. .. discretion ? Cid has not been informed of our plans yet. Rikku fears he may react badly" said Beclem interrupting her thoughts

"Oh don't worry about Cid. His growl is worse than his bite. He reminds me of a certain crusty Drill Sergeant I know.. A pain in the neck on the outside but a warm hearted softie inside" said Lucille smiling broadly

"And that would be..?" asked Beclem puzzled

"You Beclem! Take a look at the mirror once in a while, will ya ? I'm sorry Ser.. err.. Beclem but I need to get back to my duties. Warm regards and congratulations to all. Lucille out" said the Commander shutting down the commsphere and getting back to work

---Blitzball!

His resignation from the Youth League had gone better than he expected, Beclem thought relieved. He still considered himself duty bound to find the Meivn and aid the Gullwings quest, but he just could not divulge the facts he had learned recently to the Commander or anyone else on the League. He made his way to barkeep's where the Gullwings were having lunch, animatedly discussing their imminent blitz Tournament. Playing blitz again would be a delight, thought Beclem as he joined them.

In Luca the Gullwings found a player named Biggs to join their attack, which would be composed by Beclem, Paine and Biggs. Brother and Buddy would be midfielders, leaving Yuna and Rikku as defense and Shinra the goalie. After their first practices Beclem started strategizing: Shinra stunk to high heaven at the goal but he was too small to play in any other position. Yuna and Rikku were good at catching and passing but lacked speed and were weak against tackles. Definitely not good for any attacking position but they could be useful in defense. That left the Gullwings team entire hope on him, Paine and Biggs for scoring and on Buddy and Brother for defense and for starting any plays.

Sure enough, Buddy and Brother were exhausted after their first match against the Guado, with him and Biggs only slightly less tired. Paine had good endurance, a good shot and was a fast swimmer but he and Biggs had been forced to work double protecting her from tackles as the girl was weak against them. She scored at the last minute and the Gullwings moved to the next phase. Beclem was thankful the Al Bheds had eliminated the Ronso from the tournament, as the huge lions were fearsome in a tackle. The Ronso would have made mincemeat of the girls in his team. And mincemeat of his Rikku! Beclem thought alarmed.

The Al Bhed team used their dizzying speed and excellent control of the ball to win matches but Beclem's team also had Al Bhed in it - 5 to be precise - so their match was more balanced than what the Al Bhed were used to. Their surprise was their downfall and Beclem's team won by 2-0 with 2 goals from Beclem. Their luck didn't hold on the final, unfortunately and the Luca Goers simply creamed the inexperienced Gullwings team with a 4-0 win. Oh well, they had put on a good show, thought Beclem resigning himself to the results.

---Remembering Tidus

"Good show ? You guys rocked!" said Wakka and the Aurochs

"Well we could have blocked the Goers a little better, perhaps even scored if that miracle goalie Nimrook of theirs.." started Beclem

"The guy is amazing, isn't him ? They all are! Me and the boys had to sweat blood to get a win against those guys. At least before Tidus decided to use his Jecht shot.. Then it got easy" said Wakka

"Jecht shot heh ? That "kill 2 attackers and shove the goalie with ball and everything into the net" shot of his ? Yeah, I imagine one or two of those and the game was over." said Beclem.

"Ouch! And how!" said Buddy and Brother, who had played against Tidus, Wakka and the Aurochs 2 years ago. Being on the receiving end of a Jecht shot smarted!

"Wasn't Tidus in the team at Master Mikka's commemorative tournament ? I know you guys got 1st place but I don't recall seeing that amazing shot until later in the season" asked Beclem

"That's what I told you man. We had to sweat blood to win that final. Tidus was holding out on us to give some sphere time to yours truly" said Wakka, remembering how Tidus had kept the match tied until the end then had left the field pushing Wakka into his place, giving Wakka the opportunity to score the winning shot and the limelight for that first Tournament victory of the Aurochs long ago

"He did that ?" said a surprised Beclem

"Said it was my "moment" and that he didn't want to spoil it. The guy was amazing…" said Wakka and left the sentence hang.

There was an awkward silence as Wakka, Lulu, Rikku and Brother remembered how much they missed their friend Tidus. The boy had been so amazing during the pilgrimage and the blitz season! He played like a blitz star and had the looks of a blitz star but none of the arrogance one would expect from such a talented athlete. As a matter of fact, Tidus had been very down to earth and surprisingly sweet and loyal. As peppy as Rikku, but with much funnier jokes and amazing tales from Zanarkand. Tidus had never put on airs about himself, despite having immediately achieved stardom after his first blitz game. And how he and Yuna got along well with each other! Yuna's friends had been delighted at how happy the boy made their beloved Lady Yuna during her pilgrimage, and how fiercely protective he was of her. Good thing Yuna wasn't at the bridge now or she would be sporting that haunting look her friends tried so hard to keep out of her face daily with their antics..

"You guys miss him a lot too, don't you ?" said Beclem realizing the summoner was not the only one who missed the deceased guardian dearly

"Humph! Well, water under the bridge, Sin was worth it… " coughed Wakka looking down

"Yeah, let's change the subject before Yunie gets here" said Rikku rubbing the corner of her eye stealthily to get rid of the moisture there.

---We can't take you anywhere!

Upon seeing his Rikku attempting to hide her tears Beclem hurried to get his hand on her shoulders, lending her his strength. He wasn't jealous of the boy, he knew Rikku's feelings for Tidus were not the intense feelings she had for him. He tried to move the conversation away from their sadness:

"Hey? Didn't you say you would help me choose some new clothes ? I'm running out of civilian clothes to wear and this shirt is starting to reek " Beclem said to Rikku teasing

"P-U! You are right, you reek!" said Rikku mockingly and sniffing his tummy playfully. Hmm.. She loved his musky smell. It made her want to… Rikku kept on sniffing him entranced

"Get a room you two!" teased Wakka and bade them farewell

"Rikku, Beclem, have some manners will ya ?" said Brother annoyed at their antics in front of Wakka and Lulu

"We can't take them anywhere" said Paine with a droll smile

"You said it!" said Shinra and Buddy, laughing at the red faced young lovers

"What did I miss ?" asked Yuna arriving at the bridge, causing a burst of laughter and an embarrassed Rikku to run out of there, ranting aloud at what mean old gossipy friends she had

"What else ?" said Shinra pointing at a red faced Beclem running after his girlfriend

"They are hopeless.." said Paine rolling her eyes and smiling at the infatuated couple's antics

Beclem hurried after Rikku worried. He didn't want to have her ashamed in front of her friends because of him. He apologized as soon as he stepped out of the lift

"Sorry for getting you into trouble goddess" he said remorsefully

"Those meannies! And you, seducer of proper decent ladies, did you have to make me smell your bewitching scent ? I almost jumped at you on the spot!" she pouted

"What proper lady ? All I see here is my saucy little minx. A hot tigress that makes me howl with pleasure and jump at her every command" said Beclem kissing her neck slowly to make her wild with lust. A wild lust he was himself having trouble to control

"Come here hottie!" said Beclem and pushed himself on top of her

"Hey! That's my line" said Rikku happily, opening herself for his burning need, proceeding into their lovemaking as hungrily and hotly as he was

---Wedding Bells at Bevelle Temple

Later on, satiated, the lovers stood side by side looking at the ceiling, breathing heavily.

"Wakka is right love, We should get a room. All this sneaking out is making me crazy. Besides, my knees and my back are getting sore from all the floor action they have been getting " said Beclem slyly.

"Me too, my tushie is all chaffed from that rough engine room. But can we do ? I can't very well ask Brother for a room without being married. He would not refuse me but he would be very upset" moaned Rikku miserably

"That is it! You are a genius goddess!" said Beclem with a strange light in his eyes

"That's what ?" asked Rikku puzzled

"Let's get married. Now. Today. Then no one will be able to tease us and we will stop embarrassing your brother" said Beclem

"But my Pops ?" protested Rikku weakly

"Won't he come around ? After all, I'm doing "the right thing" and marrying his daughter, isn't that right ?" asked Beclem

"He would come around. But not before blowing up like a bomb fiend, and just as hotly" said Rikku grimacing

"I've dealt with bomb fiends before. I can take the heat. Besides, we may only have a month, we don't really have the time to do a formal ball at Bevelle Tower, do we ? Let's get married first and figure out the rest later" said Beclem

"Huh! Can we do it at Besaid Temple ? Can we ? Pleeease ?" begged Rikku

"Of course love, wouldn't have it anywhere else" said Beclem

"And you wanted to torch the place!" teased Rikku

"Well, I had to protect… Will you stop reminding me of that day ? You are a big meanie!" said Beclem in mock anger

Arriving at the bridge they went their separate ways. Beclem to hunt for Yaibal to invite him for his best man and Rikku to whisper her plans to speechless Yuna and Paine. They had decided to only tell Brother at the last minute, lest he have a fit and try to stop their plans. As usual Shinra and Buddy helped the conspirators by keeping Brother distracted until they landed in Besaid. Buddy left to get Yaibal, Lucille and Elma while the girls went to talk with Lulu and Wakka. Beclem stayed behind to inform Brother about what was going to take place in 1 hour.

"Captain ?" said Beclem

"Heh! What do you want ? Didn't I already say I support you marrying my sister ?" said Brother, eyeing Beclem suspiciously

"I am very happy to hear it Brother because Rikku and I will do so in one hour and she wants you as best man" said Beclem deciding to just let it all out at once

"WHAT ?" yelled Brother

"Well, we couldn't very well keep on sneaking into your deck forever, could we ? She and I may only have this month together Brother, have a heart!" said an exasperated Beclem. How many times would he have to tell the big lug how much he loved the guy's little sister ?

"Yes but…. In one hour you said ? I better get some fancy clothes on. It won't do to have your best man in coveralls will it ?" said Brother resigning himself to the inevitable

Those crazy lovebirds! Brother thought annoyed. He had greasy coveralls on and Buddy was nowhere to be seen with the Celsius and a clean change of clothes in it. AND he badly needed a shower, after having helped Buddy on the engine room. Son of a gun! Buddy had requested his help with a tricky engine lube job for the entire afternoon. He had thought nothing of it at the time but now he realized it was probably to keep him out of the bridge while the lovebirds and his entire mutinous crew conspired behind his back. Scurvy dogs! He ought to send them all to the brig, except that the Celsius didn't have a brig… Grrr I'll build one with my bare hands!… Brother thought and fumed at the Besaid shore, waiting for Buddy to be back from whatever rotten son of a shoopuf place the wedding conspirators had sent him.

Brother didn't have to wait long, thankfully, as soon Buddy and Shinra were back with Lucille, Elma, Yaibal, Calli and Clasko. He rushed up the stairs to get changed, yelling at Buddy and Shinra that they would pay for their shenanigans. To his surprise he had a clean set of clothes, shaving cream, his favorite cologne and a spotless new bath towel waiting for him at his cabin. Well, Brother thought mollified, perhaps building a brig on the Celsius could wait… Besides, he would need the time and parts to build a room for the newlyweds.

There was a sizable crowd already at the Besaid Temple, when Brother finally arrived clean cut and shaven, with a white tunic covering his traditional Al Bhed diving suit, a diving belt fastening it at the waist. His people had spent the last 1,000 years diving to salvage and refurbish the machines of Spira's industrial past, and considered diving gear to be their traditional garb, just like uniform to a soldier. Shinra never used anything else but his deep sea diving armor, complete with respirator and today was no exception. But he must have given it some elbow grease as the boy's suit was glistening in the temple light, polished to a shine. Buddy had on bright blue diving gear, his favorite. Even barkeep the hypello had dressed up to the occasion, donning a wide red tie, that almost reached the floor. A sight to behold!

The Besaid Aurochs, Wakka included, had on their uniforms, but clean new ones, not the muddy garb they usually had on while practicing. Lulu had on her black maternity dress, being it that soon after she gave birth that she was still shedding her "baby fat". But little Vidina had on a very colorful and fancy one piece, that made it look like he had on a baby sized tuxedo. The little guy was indeed cute, thought Brother. Yaibal, Lucille and Elma had on their dress fatigues, the white and silver garb shinning under the temple lights. Paine had on her white mage dressphere, a fancy long blue fur coat. Brother looked at Yuna in the middle of the temple's inner stairs speechless. She had on an incredibly hot purple outfit with a feather fan and was getting ready to sing. That must be her knew Lady Luck dressphere thought Brother mesmerized.

Yuna asked for attention and said that she had a new song in honor of the lovebirds. She proceeded to sing:

Never know how much I love you

Never know how much I care

When you put your arms around me

I get a fever that's so hard to bear..

You give me fever, when you kiss me

Fever when you hold me tight

Fever in the morning

Fever all through the night

Lord Mi'hen and his Rikku

Had a mad love affair

When her daddy tried to kill him

She said, daddy, oh don't you dare!

"He gives me fever

"With his kisses

"Fever when he holds me tight

"Fever, I'm his missus

"So, daddy, won't you treat him right…

The crowd at the temple went wild with Yuna's spicy song, very appropriate for the sassy groom and bride who had just arrived and were looking at everyone a bit sheepishly.

Rikku looked cute and pretty in a round fluffy white wedding dress.

"How did you guys get a dress so fast ?" whispered Brother to Buddy

"Lulu. She said Rikku could fit in her old wedding dress if she did some alterations. Didn't you notice how it is a bit fluffy ?" answered Paine, also whispering

"Brother noticing anyone but Lady Yuna in her hot dressphere ? Fat chance!" snorted Buddy

"Well, I will have you know that I did notice how happy and cute my sister looks. We should get a sphere of this, Shinra" said Brother

"Way ahead of you. Look up on the corners" Shinra answered pointing at 2 sphere cameras, one on each corner, taping the action

"Ahhh! Give me a sphere of Lady Yuna singing that "Fever" song and you scurvy dogs may avoid the bridge today" said Brother excitedly

"Oh, it will cost you way more than that !" said Shinra

"Name your price! The Celsius ? My cabin ?" asked Brother greedily

"Nope. You will have to be the one to tell your Pops about this first thing tomorrow" said Buddy.

Pops! He would shoot fire out of his nose, thought Brother. Damn his mutinous crew! They knew him too well! Not only he would do anything to see the tape but he would also do anything to help his sister. They had him in a bind. Oh well, better earn his Best Man's post thought Brother resigned…

As Beclem and Rikku exchanged their vows Brother cried like a baby. Good thing he had on rubberized diving gear or he would have gotten his suit very wet.

"Do you need to borrow Vidina's bib ? Stop it, you are making a scene!" whispered Lulu in his ear exasperated

"Heh, Leave me alone, she is my baby sister! " said Brother oblivious to Lulu's attempts to silence him

"Keep this up and I will tell Yuna the deal you have with Shinra!" said Lulu unmoved

The threat worked and Brother stopped his blubbering immediately. That black dressed Zu vulture! Brother thought indignant. Now a man couldn't cry at his sister wedding in peace ?

---A Surprise for the Newlyweds

After the ceremony the Besaidians and the wedding guests had a campfire to commemorate Rikku and Beclem's wedding, but the bride and groom left as soon as they thanked all for coming. The couple was snuggling behind Besaid's temple, the site of their first "date" which started as a battle and had landed them in today's wedding.

- "I never thought I'd marry a "summoner's pet"" said Beclem wistfully

- "Watch it buster, I seem to recall I still have to teach you a lesson!" said Rikku defiantly

- "You have to, do you ? I'm all ears, oh lesson teacher!" Beclem said teasing

- "Come here hottie!" Rikku said pulling him closer

They proceeded to repeat the performance they had on that very same hill 5 months ago..

- "Owie! My poor tushie has tons of sand on it… Can't we go to the Celsius now ?" moaned Rikku

- "Better! The Aurochs told me they are having a drill tonight. It seems they are camping in the woods until dawn tomorrow…" said Beclem

- "And you let me get all chafed in this sandy hill ?" said Rikku in mock indignation

- "I thought we could revisit our old haunts for old time sake.." said Beclem slyly

- "Awww… You are so romantic! Come here hottie!" Rikku said but he stopped her

- "Time for a real bed now. Let's revisit the League lodge, shall we goddess ?" asked a smiling Beclem

- "My tushie tanks you from the bottom of it's.. Well from the bottom anyway" said Rikku and followed him to the Youth League tent.

When they opened the tent door they saw balloons, a fruit basket and lots of presents surrounding a bed made of soft white fur. The Aurochs and people from Besaid had prepared a surprise for them!

- "Awww.. You guys!" Rikku said happily, opening the presents like a kid at Christmas

- "Save the presents for later. Come here hottie!" Beclem said, lowering her on the soft fur bed and covering her with kisses

Rikku awoke with Wakka's whistling at the door.

- "Wake up sleepy heads! It's lunchtime already! The Celsius left this morning without you but they will come back at sunset if you can muster being up and dressed by that time" Wakka shouted from the door with an amused voice

- "Go away!" said a sleepy Rikku throwing a pillow at the door, wanting to enjoy that soft bed a while longer

- "Would like to princess, but Brother is bringing back your Pops with him so you and the other sleepy head may want to get dressed!" Wakka said and left them

Aaack, Pops here! Rikku thought alarmed. How could she explain her impulsive marriage to Pops ? Well, she could NOT explain it to Pops while naked, Rikku thought and proceeded to get dressed and wake up Beclem

- "Wake up sleepy head! It's lunchtime already!" Rikku said tickling Beclem's tummy

- "Hmmpf ?" Beclem said, opening a sleepy eye. Ever the drill sergeant, he never overslept but his little minx had gotten him exhausted last night. What a wildcat!

- "We have to get ready. Pops is coming here in a few hours. What can I tell him ?" Rikku said fretting

- "Here ?" said Beclem standing up alarmed

- "Yep, here. And if you keep on showing me your hot bod like that I will be in no condition to talk to him" said Rikku handing him his pants

- "Truce, goddess… I need to eat something before you seduce me again.." said Beclem and ducked the pillow Rikku threw at him

Lulu, Wakka and the Aurochs had a big breakfast / lunch waiting for them at the beach, with picnic baskets, flowers and some shiny fiend gems decorating it.

- "Awww.. You guys!" Rikku said happily and proceeded to hug each one of them thankful

- "Nahh.. No big deal. We were just worried you two ruined your back and couldn't play blitz for us anymore" said Wakka teasing

- "Oh shush, you big meanie!" said Rikku hitting Wakka with her banana

- "Talking about blitz.. Who's up for a doubles match ?" asked Beclem, eager to stretch his muscles and enjoy the gorgeous turquoise sea of Besaid for once.

- "I am !" said Wakka, Judah and Keepa in unison

- "Go ahead Bee, I want to gossip with Lulu" Rikku said

Rikku grabbed another passion fruit juice and sat by Lulu who was getting read to feed her baby. So cute! thought Rikku

- "So, how do you feel being Mrs. B ?" Lulu asked

- "Oh Lulu, I'm so happy! So this is what getting married feels like ?" gushed Rikku

- "Well, the intensity will vary with the times but yes, it does feel pretty good to know you and your guy want to be together for the next 20+ years.." said Lulu

- "Not sure if we have 20 years… We meet Vegnagun next month. Heck, I don't know if we have 24 hours! Pop is coming here tonight and he doesn't know anything about Beclem. He will kill me!" said Rikku grimacing

- "Oh, I think Cid might come around" said Lulu

- "Yeah, but not before making the stinkiest fuss ever!" said Rikku moaning

The commsphere chimed in at this moment, showing Buddy at the Celsius:

- "Hi gorgeous, how are you and Mr B today ?" asked Buddy

- "Never better! Thanks a lot for the tent, we enjoyed every inch of that fur bed!" said Rikku sassily

- "I can imagine! You two wouldn't awake not even with a Zu mating call this morning! Sorry we left you behind but… " said Buddy

- "So what's up ? When are you guys bringing Pops here ? Is he around the bridge ?" asked Rikku

- "Well, this is the problem… We are having a hard time finding Cid. And I went to get Nhadala on Bikanel, to help calm your Pops down and she is in deep dodo with a huge desert fiend. Plus Marnella sends word that she needs you guys to finish finding her cactuars ASAP" Buddy said

- "Time for Gullwings to the rescue ?" asked Rikku

- "I'm afraid so. We wanted to give you two more time but.." Buddy shrugged

- "I'm on my way" said Rikku doing a mock salute

- "Well, you two still have some time to say goodbye to everyone in Besaid. I'm picking Yuna and Rikku on the Thunder plains in a bit and then we will meet you at the shore. OK ?" asked Buddy

- "Leave it to Rikku!" Rikku said trotting out to meet Beclem at the beach

She told him about the change of plans and offered to leave him there playing blitz with his buddies until she and the girls fixed things on Bikanel.

- "And miss you 3 do battle with all the legendary desert fiends I heard so much about ? I'm going ! Can I fight too ?" said Beclem

- "Hmmm… Maybe you can give some help to Nhadala at the camp while we take care of Marnella and the cactuars" said Rikku.

- "Why can't I go with you girls ?" asked Beclem

- "It's too dangerous… I don't want to be a widow so soon" said Rikku with a pained expression

Soon Rikku and Beclem had packed all their wedding presents and were waiting for the Celsius at Besaid's beach.

- "We should get married more often, look at the loot we got!" Beclem joked

- "Great idea Bee, let's get married again next month" said Rikku happy

- "Don't remind me of next month.. " Beclem said pained

- "Bee… I told you , you didn't have to marry me" said Rikku sadly

At that Beclem turned to look directly at Rikku, saying calmly

- Never regret our marriage Goddess. I don't! No matter how much I will miss you if I ever lose you, I married you with no regrets. All anyone of us can count is this moment anyway. I will taste the tears when I have to, and not a moment before.

Rikku puled him closer to kiss him with wild abandon. What a poet her Bee was turning into! Wakka, Lulu and the Aurochs arrived at the beach to say goodbye to the couple and had to cough loudly to alert Rikku and Beclem to their presence. "Newlyweds!" Wakka snorted.

Yuna and Paine were waiting for Rikku at the Celsius ramp, eager to get the details on the presents, the brunch party, little Vidina's outfit… Buddy helped Beclem carry their stuff up the ramp, as there were lots of large rolls of Besaid fabric the couple had received from the island weavers. Good thing the couple didn't get married in Bikanel or they would be carrying refurbished machina, teased Buddy directing Beclem to the engine room.

- "Huh ? Aren't we going to the engine room ?" asked Beclem puzzled

- "Not exactly" said Buddy smugly and guided Beclem to a new door right by it

- "Ta-da! Meet your new home" said Buddy, showing Beclem a small cabin with a king size bed, a shower and space for his and Rikku's clothes

- "You guys did this for us ? Wow, thanks!" said Beclem

- "Yeah, now you don't have to sneak up to the deck anymore. Sorry it is so small but .." said Buddy

- "No problem, it has everything we need. Thank you Buddy, that is super!" Beclem said

- "And it is sound proof so you guys won't make me think I have a fiend in my engines like last time" teased Buddy

"Huh ?" said Beclem puzzled

"Let's just say one of you two made me think I had a Galgazet Wolf running loose around here the other night" Buddy said

"Oh!" said Beclem

"Heh, no need to get embarrassed, you lucky SOB! Your wife is hot!" said Buddy

"That she is" agreed Beclem with a satisfied grin

---Happy

Buddy left him alone and Beclem decided to test their new bedroom's shower. He was needing some hot water on his aching muscles, after last night's exertions and this afternoon's blitzball with Wakka and the Aurochs. Wow! They actually did get married! Beclem marveled at the speed and perfection their friends had made the arrangements and taken care of all the details, even finding him something to wear as he only had uniforms in his own closet. It was good to have friends like that. The last time he had close friends like Rikku's friends was when his parents were alive.

Beclem thought of his parents with a pang of sorrow. They should have been there yesterday. His sister too. She should have been his "Best Woman". She had been his favorite person on Spira when he was 5, always sneaking out some cake or sweets and giving it to him, and reading him stories from her books. His mom and dad would have been proud at the wedding. And he could bet they would have brought ham and cheese rolls, pumpernickel bread ... He wondered if anyone had ever rebuilt the ruins of the bakery. Beclem had never had the heart to check. Perhaps he and Rikku could go have a look see in the girls next Bevelle trip.

- "What are you up to ?" asked Rikku, arriving with the girls who were eager to show her the couple's new digs

- "Nothing much.. I was just thinking my parents would have liked you" said Beclem hastily putting his shirt

- "Oh Bee! I wish they were here yesterday too!" said Rikku trying to pinch Paine who was pretending to fan herself at the sight of Beclem's well defined naked muscles, indicating her friend's husband was hot

- "Stop it" Rikku whispered to Paine

- "Oops! Sorry! Just telling you that you are a lucky gal" whispered Paine back

- "What are you girls conspiring about ?" asked Beclem, eager to move the conversation on to happier topics

- "Oh nothing.." said the 3 girls in unison

- "Riiight.. And a shoopuf can fly. Never mind… Any news of Cid ?" Beclem asked

- "No news. We are told he is somewhere in the Thunder Plains but the towers are down and place is so full of fiends after Yuna's concert that we couldn't do a proper search" said Paine

- "The towers are down ? Yuck! I hate thunder!" Rikku said with a grimace

Rikku remembered how the Thunder plains had non stop lightning bolts, that could burn you to a crisp, but were quite safe wen the lightning rods in the towers were operational. She shuddered

- "Perhaps Beclem, Brother and Buddy could have a look to see if Buddy or Shinra can fix the towers, while we help Nhadala at Bikanel" said Yuna

- "Summoner If I may ?" started Beclem

- "Call me Yuna! You are part of the family now. Rikku is my cousin" Yuna said

- "Really ? I often wondered about that. I knew High Summoner Braska had married an Al Bhed.." said Beclem

- "He did, my Pops sister Rhava. Yunie, Brother and I are first degree cousins"

Wow! He had been right thought Beclem. Yuna and his Rikku were related. That would explain Rikku's dedication, the old Beclem would have thought. Nowadays he had learned to not rush to prejudge. It was obvious the 2 girls had a deep friendship, regardless of their blood ties.

- "I see... So .. err. Lady Yuna .. if I may make a request ?" Beclem pleaded

- "Spill it Bee, you are not on the military anymore. Talk normally" said Rikku already bossing her beau around

- "No military language involved, I was just trying to be polite to Lady Yuna for a change" said Beclem looking at Rikku with an annoyed glint in his eyes. Did she think she owned him already ?

- "I want to request permission to be with Rikku in her missions, at least until the one with Vegnagun. We don't have much time left and.." started Beclem

- "I understand Beclem but we had been fighting as a three-some for a long time. And our level is much higher than .. well.. We outrank Meivn Nooj by 10 levels at least, so we must outrank you by more than that. I'm afraid you would end up getting in our way" said Yuna

- "Are you trying to tell me you girls are level 70 ?" said Beclem amazed

- "Yunie is 70 for warrior but much higher for magic, I'm 72 on both and Paine is 74" said Rikku smugly

- "Wow! I'm glad I used my charm on you on our first battle then. You would have kicked my butt otherwise" said Beclem playfully to Rikku

"And for that you will pay tonight, you seducer of honest ladies" said Rikku shaking her fists at him

"We will see who does the paying tonight" Beclem answered teasingly

Getting back to his serious conversation, Beclem was forced to agree with Yuna's assessment that he would be disrupting a well trained team and possibly getting in their way, if he was to join them at battle. So he thought of a more modest idea.

- "Yuna, if I may continue?" said Beclem

- "I just want to be close enough to Rikku, not necessarily fighting in her team. Couldn't I be of help to that Al Bhed who pilots the hover ? Two guarding the hover is better than one, isn't it ? And I doubt there will be a shortage of desert fiends for me to get entertained while I wait for you girls" Beclem said

- "Sounds reasonable but.. Well, you may be tempted to jump into a battle that is above your level if you see Rikku down.. "

- "Summoner, did Wakka and Lulu not fight in your team, sometimes not together but with one on the sidelines ? I would like to convince you that my self discipline is at least akin to Wakka's" said Beclem icily

- "Well.. OK, I will give you a chance to prove yourself then.. " said Yuna.

Yuna didn't have the heart to point it out to her cousin's husband that in the matters related to Rikku his self discipline was zero, as a certain table at the League headquarters knew… After the wedding Yaibal had told them the tale and she and Paine were stunned. No wonder Rikku and Beclem came into Commander Lucille's office beet red that day..

Beclem had a point though, he and Rikku may only have a month together. So she relented. She remembered how much those last few weeks with Tidus had meant to her, how much the memory of those moments still sustained her today during troubled times.. It may put a burden on her and her friends to baby-sit Beclem in their missions, but she could not deny Beclem and Rikku that last month together.

Now Yuna understood why Lulu and Wakka were not very enthusiastic when she tried to add Tidus to her guardians..

Later that night, at their cabin Rikku and Beclem were busy "breaking in" their new bed. After they finished their lovemaking Beclem had a joyful, relaxed look that made him look at complete peace for the first time since she met him. Rikku couldn't help herself at the sight of him finally shedding his grief and sorrow. He had told her about his life in Bevelle, about his constant pain and sorrow and his anger at the world. She thought he would never be able to shed that heavy baggage, but now her love had done it. She loved him so much! Tears of joy streamed down her face.

- "But.. You are crying goddess ?" Beclem asked, suddenly worried that he had hurt her with his passion

- "Not from pain or sorrow" was all Rikku was able to muster as answer between sobs

- "Then why ?" Beclem asked, still alarmed

- "Be- because.. You looked hap-pp-py.. For the first time.. I have never seen how beautiful you look when happy before" Rikku said, still sobbing

- "I am happy. Like I haven't been for a very long time" Beclem said hugging her tightly, covering her tears with kisses, caressing her endlessly