Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Square-enix and are used here in a non-profit fanwork.
Summary: This story focuses on Rikku's time in the Thunder Plains between X and X-2 where she stayed to over come her fear of thunder and lightning.
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To say that Rikku hated the Thunder Plains would be to woefully understate her sentiment towards it. She was unusual among Al-bhed for her fear and hatred of thunder and lightning, but she had good reason, namely Brother being a poor aim. It was almost akin to torture for her to go through it during the Pilgrimage, and a year later, she still stewed with irritation at how she acted while there. Now she had to endure Brother's teasing and the amused glint in Paine's eye as the Gullwings traveled around every time they neared here, and she was sick of it.
Which was why she was currently huddled under a rocky outcrop in the middle of the place she hated the most, sulking at the front of her tent as she managed to keep a fire going. Personally, to her line of thinking, she had been rather courageous all the times before, being afraid and yet still going through, but she didn't like being afraid, she hated that more than she hated how she'd be looked at by others. And finally deciding to do something about it, she figured that camping out here until she was no longer afraid was a better idea than having Lulu constantly cast magic at her, though she was beginning to wonder if it was pointless, she was still flinching and felt stabs of fear each time lightning struck, and it had been nearly two weeks, now. Sleep was something she almost forgot how to do, having to use items to put herself to sleep lest she go insane, but even with those, she figured at this point that she hadn't slept more than three hours a night since getting here, left now with nothing but her memories to keep her company, having given up talking to herself about a week ago.
Going through her mind, she couldn't help but constantly go over the reasons she was afraid in the first place. She had been attacked by a fiend when young, and though Brother meant well in trying to defend her, his spell casting abilities were less than stellar, his Thunder spell missing the fiend and striking her instead, and literally killed her, she too young to have handled it. Brother -did- get her back in time for the healers to use a Phoenix Down on her, but of course she was going to be terrified of thunder from that point onwards, and people did understand once she told them. It was just so embarrassing! She could think back to whenever Lulu had to use Thundara against a fiend, or Yuna summoned Ixion and how she would tremble, thankful that when the Aeon's came out, she got to back off and get well away from the great thunder beast.
She smiled faintly. It was a shame, actually, to have been so afraid of Ixion. After battles, if the Aeon was still present after the fiend was destroyed, Yuna would let the Aeon stay out for a while, a basic reward for their service, and often the other Guardians would be able to approach the powerful beings. Valefor had a liking for her braids and would often tug at them, Ifrit and Bahamut were surprisingly gentle when not in the midst of battle, and the more 'human' aeons seemed to just enjoy company, especially Anima, and Yuna would keep her out as long as she could, even if her mere presence could be heartbreaking. Ixion acted like a big chocobo, Tidus and Wakka even able to get on his back at one point, and seemed to fancy being rubbed around the edge of his horn. At least, that's what Rikku observed as she would stay far, far away from him, wanting so badly to approach, but so afraid to get near the occasional crackles of lightning that would flow down his horn. He was beautiful, strong and tall, just the sense of something different radiated from him, and she could swear that many times, he would look directly at her and try to soothe her, but she'd quickly hide away. He was the favorite of nearly all Al-bhed, even more so now that the Machine Faction had set up in his former temple, Gippal actually showing respect for him and all of the summoners who had gone through there by keeping the chamber of the Fayth sacred. Gippal was an idiot, but at least he was a thoughtful idiot. So many people asked her what it was like to be near Ixion, and all she could ever say was 'nice' or 'tingly'.
Rikku flinched and trembled when the storm in her part of the plains seemed to intensify, her exhausted body hardly able to draw up the trembling fear that shook her inside, and she felt herself unable to stop the tears that welled up in her eyes. Curling back in the tent, she pressed against the back wall and held her head in her hands, covering her eyes as she cried, and started to mumble to herself. "This isn't worth it, how can I stop being afraid of being killed by it? Why shouldn't I be afraid of it! I don't care if it's just the natural form of the energy that works machina, I don't like it!" Another strike of lightning hit so close that she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, the resulting thunder so loud it deafened her for a moment and set her ears ringing, Rikku not quite aware that she screamed because of it. Again and again the lightning struck the ground around her until finally, she could take no more of it, slumping over to the side as she passed out.
When Rikku opened her eyes again, everything was dark, very dark, and silent. Far to much of either for her to still be in the Thunder Plains, and she started to panic some, pushing herself up to feet and looking around, crouched down in her attack stance. The ground was featureless, smooth brown stone that stretched out into the darkness, only about twenty feet around her visible, as if she was lit from above, but glancing up, no light source could be seen.
"Oh Fayth...what if I'm dead again?" Rikku spun about, taking a step to her right, freezing when she noticed that the light hadn't moved with her. Nothing seemed like what she remembered from the times that she died, Rikku unfortunately quite familiar with the sensation of death and hoping to be pulled back with a Phoenix Down, too often had she approached the point of no return. She approached the edge of the light with a wary stance, reaching out and almost but not quite moving her hand past the barrier of light and dark, her curiosity and fear warring with each other for control. In the distance she heard a rumble of Thunder, confusing and frightening her as she pulled back to the center of her circle of light, squinting out into the darkness.
"What's going on!" She called out into the darkness, blinking when she heard what she could only define as the running approach of two chocobos, but the fall of feet didn't sound quite right. She fumbled for her daggers, another shock of fear going through her as she couldn't find them, or any items with which to defend herself, and glancing down, she saw that her belt was gone. The sound approached, closer and closer, the direction she wasn't quite able to tell, until abruptly, she knew it was behind her, and spun about.
Her breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of the source of the sound. Standing at the edge of her circle of light, in a second circle, stood Ixion, the Aeon pawing at the ground. He was just as she remembered him before the final battle with Sin, proud and tall, complete with the small shocks of lightning that rolled down his horn and along his body, his hooves occasionally striking up sparks against the ground. She made a soft sound and backed away, trying to get to the edge of her area of light, surprised as it moved with her, as did Ixion's as he moved forward as well, keeping up with her motion, yet not approaching any nearer. Rikku paused as she noticed this, then tried moving off to the right and left with the same result. Eying the Aeon, which at this point was calmly staring at her, Rikku tried the last direction, taking a step towards him. He didn't move, nor did the circles of light, making it the only direction she could approach without everything else moving at the same time. With a huff, she crouched down where she was, getting herself into a staring match with him.
Never being the most patient of people, Rikku blinked first and wrinkled her nose, looking away. She flinched each time the lightning would crackle over Ixion's horn, and couldn't look up to him. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she curled and hid her head against her knees, sighing and listening to the sounds of the Aeon as he shifted bout in his stance, and eventually, laid down. Peeking up over her arm, Rikku tilted her head slightly as she looked at Ixion laying, the Aeon now not quite so towering over her, though his head was now just level with hers, and she wasn't sure if that bothered her or not. He looked so calm, and seemed so patient with her, like he had always been when Yuna would let him stay out for a while. She tried to figure how long it had been since she woke in this place, but she knew it was way longer than it would have been for him to normally be out, this would have drained Yuna far to much. Glancing around again, she had to wonder if this is what it was like when Yuna would go into a temple to earn the right to summon an Aeon. Tilting her head the other way, she looked at Ixion.
"You know, you're not supposed to exist anymore."
She got no answer, but then, she wasn't expecting one either.
"I cried for you when we had to fight you. When Yu Yevon tried to take you over...I'm glad we won, and you didn't get turned into Sin. But really, you shouldn't be here now. Unless I'm dead again and you're greeting me in the Farplane." She looked around again. "But this really doesn't look like anything I ever saw before being brought back. Aw man, I'm not dead for good, am I?"
Ixion snorted and shook his head, shaking his mane about, and Rikku sighed lightly, relieved, fairly certain that he didn't just shake his head because he felt like it.
"Okay, good. I hate being dead, things hurt afterwards."
She shifted from sitting to crouching, eying the Aeon again, having gradually become aware that she wasn't flinching so much from the lightning. A tiny part of her mind wondered if it was because she was likely hallucinating from lack of sleep or something, or if the soothing presence of Ixion was making her calmer. Taking a deep breath, she crept forward some, approaching the edge of her circle of light. Ixion lifted his head when she moved forward, tilting it slightly, and she realized that either he had no ears or they were hidden below his fluffy mane. She felt her curiosity growing stronger as she wondered if his mane was soft and fluffy, or if it was like that because of static. A flash of lightning shocked down his horn and she paused, smiling faintly when Ixion seemed annoyed with the lightning, rubbing his horn along the ground like he was trying to get it to stop sparking. Reaching out slowly, she reached through the barrier of her ring of light, gasping softly at the coldness of the darkness in between, and into the light around Ixion, blinking lightly as it felt warmer than where she currently was. Pulling her hand back, she looked down at it, the little hairs on the back of her hand and arm standing with the energy that crackled in the air about the Aeon. The air about Rikku began to get cold, and she began to shiver lightly, and ran her fingers through her bangs. Wrinkling her nose, she glanced up, sticking her tongue out. Ixion continued to look at her with a slightly turned head, and with a light sigh, she crept forward a little more. Biting her lower lip, she took a deep breath and held it, then tumbled forward out of her circle of light and into Ixion's.
She was immediately hit by how warm it was, though she still felt cold, and how it got much brighter than she expected. Glancing over her shoulder she noticed that her circle of light was gone, leaving it just her, and Ixion. Over her skin she felt the familiar light tingle that one would get while at Djose temple from the electricity in the air, the feeling just radiated from Ixion and frankly unnerved her as she backed up a bit, blinking when she bumped against something. Glancing over her shoulder, she sighed at finding that the edge of the light was solid, she no longer able to really tell if there was anything further out. "Oh, great."
Ixion snorted faintly, making Rikku jump, and she gave him an apologetic look, but stayed where she was. The Aeon started to seem a little impatient, nosing at the floor in front of him, chuffing lightly, his tail flicking about some. Rikku smirked, tilting her head from where she was crouched halfway between him and the edge of the light. "You know, that doesn't make me want to get closer any faster." She laughed as he glanced up at her without lifting his head, not wincing this time as lighting rolled down his horn again. Her curiosity grew again, the regret that she had felt in the past about not getting close to him creeping up on her. She shifted a little closer still, slowly lifting her hand up as she reached up to touch the little dangling...thing...that hung from the curve of Ixion's horn, his eyes watching her hand. This was likely not the place that she wanted to touch, considering the static that flickered from it to her hand, blinking lightly as she realized that there was no real pain from the static. She jumped slightly and squeaked as a stronger shock came down, this one she felt, her eyes widening as she jerked her hand back and gave the Aeon an irritated look, Ixion snorting and almost looking like he shrugged, in a very 'I didn't do it on purpose!' sort of way.
"Well maybe I can touch here without getting shocked..." She reached out again, very gently resting her hand on the end of Ixion's nose, her eyes widening some at the velvety softness there. "..Oh woah." She very softly stroked her hand over his nose, smiling at the feel of his breath and whiskers on her hand, moving a little closer as she ran her hand up over the smooth, soft hairs on the bridge of his nose. Running her fingers through his mane, she was pleasantly surprised to find that he was simply somewhat floofy, and not all from the static, fingers finding hidden perked up ears. She giggled faintly, feeling a very childlike feeling of glee building inside of her as she stroked her hand down along his neck, trailing her hand down over the metal collar that wrapped about his neck, tilting her head curiously at it. "I'd ask, but you can't tell me, huh?" She continued move down along his side, feeling the powerful muscles below his skin, playing at the tufts of hair at his shoulders, trailing her fingers down over the stripes that decorated his hide. She didn't notice the occasional flashes of lightning that moved down his horn or along his legs, too fascinated and thrilled with finally being able to get close to the Aeon.
Moving back around to his front, she bit her lower lip as she looked Ixion over, smiling as she leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against the side of his neck just behind his head. The Aeon seemed surprised by her motion, caught off guard as to how to exactly handle it before he lowered his head and pressed the underside of his jaw against her shoulder, in essence hugging her in return. Above her, his horn shone with lightning again, Rikku feeling the static charge in the air, and also realizing that she didn't get the usual shock of fear at the feel or sound. Glancing up over her shoulder at his horn, she turned around and sat with her back pressing lightly against Ixion's chest, her head tilted back as she looked up at the horn above her. Leaning his head down some, Ixion lipped at her scarf, Rikku giggling softly at the feel of his soft nose against her skin. Reaching up, she ran her fingers over the three lengths of mane that draped over his neck, pressing her hand softly to him.
"You came to me to help me get over my fear, didn't you?" She felt Ixion's ear twitch in his mane and smiled, taking that as a yes. "I don't know where the heck we are or how I'm going to get back, but, thank you..."
Ixion made a soft sound, a noise like nothing Rikku had ever heard before, but a gentle and pleasing one nonetheless, and rubbed his cheek against her. He shifted and stood, Rikku automatically following his motion, keeping her shoulders pressed back against his chest, closing her eyes, hanging her head slightly, a sad smile on her lips. "Time for you to go, huh?" Ixion rubbed his cheek to her again in a nodding motion as Rikku raised her hand up to hold against his neck again, murmuring softly again. "Thank you...for everything."
Hanging her head slightly, she sighed and felt tears coming to her eyes as she felt Ixion fading away from behind her, her hand dropping down as she heard the far to familiar hiss of the pyreflies, leaving her alone behind the darkness of her eyes. She sighed and sank down to her knees, keeping her eyes closed as she sat quiet and still in the silence.
Quite abruptly she got extremely cold, and realized that not only was she cold, she was soaking wet, and on top of all that, being carried. Squinting her eyes open, she was greeted with the sight of a very tense Paine, the warriors red eyes flicking about as she ran. Rikku arched some as she felt all of her muscles start to protest as if she hadn't moved for several days, and as far as she knew, she hadn't. When she groaned and moved, Paine nearly screeched to a stop as she felt the motion, looking down to her, worry shining in her eyes, but managing to block it from her expression. "Rikku? Hang on, okay? I told you this was a bad idea, how long were you out of it?" She glanced up and towards the hill that the road headed over to the Travel Agency, starting to move again, a little slower so she wouldn't jostle Rikku about.
Rikku smiled a little and closed her eyes, listening to the thunder all around her, and quietly reveled in the sensation of not being afraid. Opening her eyes again, she smiled up to Paine, murmuring lightly, her words not really forming. Lightning flashed and struck near the road four times in rapid succession, sounding like something running down the road. Paine glanced down to see Rikku's reaction, an eyebrow arching slightly as she saw Rikku looking completely calm, briefly wondering if the girl had gotten struck a few times, her worry intensifying when Rikku didn't answer right away, relaxing some when the thief spoke. "Yeah...but it worked...I'm...I'm not afraid anymore..."
"...I'm not afraid anymore.."
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Author's Note:
Well, this was a lot longer than I thought it would be. I intended to have this be just a one or two page story, and instead I end up with something the size I try to make the chapters of my running stories. This would technically come before 'Ruby and Emerald', and was inspired by a drawing I did up at my deviantArt gallery (ataramos dot deviantart dot com) of Rikku and Ixion. There are a few hints to the bits of Rikku's past that I get to make up, like the fact that Brother's bad aim outright killed her, which is why her fear was so bad, since I think that Rikku would have never told anyone that the incident was quite so serious. There are a few more things that link to that that I'm going to explore more in 'Ruby and Emerald', don't worry if you don't notice them now, I think you only would if I babbled on to you about my various 'what if' ideas concerning Spira. I hope you enjoy, please leave a review or send me an e-mail to let me know.