A Generation of Aeons
Chapter Eighteen
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2
Last Time:
"Lenne's gone. I don't know where she is. She didn't bring her sword, and she takes it everywhere. Have you seen her?"
Seru shook her head. "No, I'll go wake up Kiron and ask him."
With a nod Takoire began running throughout the compound, his head frantically turning back and forth. The sun was a fourth of the way up when Takoire head Seru yelling to him.
"Takoire! Kiron's gone too!"
"Zaon! Zaon! Get up! Kiron and Lenne are gone!" Takoire banged on the last guardian's relentlessly, continuing to shout. "Zaon!" Coming out from his room, the former blitzball captain was able to see the warrior without his armor. His light brown hair was arranged messily, a little long but not going past his ears. He had piercing blue eyes that his helmet had covered and high cheekbones giving him a very dignified look. Zaon wore a loosely fitting navy blue shirt, whose long sleeves were unbuttoned with simple brown, bloused pants and a pair of boots.
"What do you mean?"
Takoire looked at him most angrily. "I mean they're gone! No note! They left their weapons, and there's no sign of them!"
Zaon nodded. "All right, we should check up on Yunalesca and her guardians. We can probably use Alor, Tanay, and Ralia's help in a sweep of the city and make a perimeter." With a nod, Takoire started to leave but felt Zaon hold him back by the arm. "Takoire, the important thing to remember is to stay calm and think clearly. Don't let your personal feelings get in the way."
He nodded. "I know."
Takoire started running off. Could they have? Would Kiron do something like that? Was he that jealous of his sister? But where would he take Lenne? Would he tell her before he had the chance?
Running towards him, Takoire saw Seru coming his way. "Takoire! Have you found anything?"
Both stopped for breath panting, but Takoire sadly shook his head. "No, I just woke Zaon up. We were going to find Yunalesca and the others for help."
Seru nodded in the way she just came. "I just passed them." Following Seru, the two of them both ran back west. "Takoire, I've been asking some of the priests and servants, but no one will talk to me. When I ask them if they've seen Kiron or Lenne, they just ignore me."
Takoire grimaced as Yunalesca and her guardians came into view. "We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get to it." The two stopped by Yunalesca and her group. "High Summoner, have you seen Kiron or Lenne?"
Yunalesca looked at them grimly and shook her head.
"Alor? Have you seen anything?" Seru insisted.
He shook his head. "No, sorry."
"Well, come on!" Takoire said, motioning in the direction of the temple. "Help us!"
Alor shrugged. "Sorry. Can't."
"What do you mean you can't!" Seru replied angrily. "What is it with everyone!"
Yunalesca looked down. "We can't interfere."
Losing his temper, Takoire's voice began to rise but was stopped by an oncoming Zaon. "What is the meaning of this?"
Takoire nodded in Yunalesca's direction. "They won't help us look for Kiron and Lenne."
"Yuna…" Zaon drifted off.
Alor grimaced "We can't help, sir."
Seru was about ready to retort once more before a loud, but gentle voice broke the morning air. "From sunrise to sunset do you have, to search your summoners in this land."
"What was that?" Seru asked.
"For no more than one revolution can I keep them from danger's view. In that time, a guardian's sacred duty you must do."
The forest began to shake in a continuous pattern, the birds flew from the trees, the trees near the edge of the forest began to bend slightly, and out of the clearing came a giant creature, a turtle. Its leathery skin a pale green color while its shell was a muddy brown.
"Curious to see. Eager to know. Only time is your real foe."
"Genbu…" Takoire breathed. "What are we supposed to do?"
"For no more than one revolution can I keep them from danger's view. In that time, a guardian's sacred duty you must do," the aeon repeated, moving back into the forest. "From sunrise to sunset, do you have, to search your summoners in this land."
As the aeon began to move off, Zaon, Seru, and Takoire chased after it into the forest. Reaching the beginning of it, there were two trees, one on each side of the river. On the east side, was a white ash burned with the outline of Zanarkand with a sword in front of it, while on the west side of the river was a blossoming sakura, out of place with the rest of the foliage, burned with the symbol of an ocean with a rising sun and a setting moon.
"Why do I have a feeling," Takoire began to question, "that Kiron is on the east side of the river while Lenne is on the west?"
Seru looked around, her mage's staff secured on her back. "Whoever finds their summoner first helps the other, all right?"
"If we can," Takoire agreed.
Zaon looked to Seru. "You know how to send up sparks don't you?"
"Don't insult me. It's one of the most basic things in magic. It's too simple for me not to know."
"We'll split up then; we can cover more ground that way. If you run into trouble, red, and white if you find Kiron." Seru nodded and Zaon turned to Takoire. "Will you be all right by yourself?"
The former blitzball player nodded. "It's not as if anyone's chasing after my summoner. I'm more worried about you guys."
Securing his sword on his back, Takoire started his run through the forest on the west side of the river. He could always run long distances in a short amount of time, ever since he was a boy. He always could, no thanks to his father of course.
It was hours later, and the sun had passed its highest point. Takoire had been to every point within the forest's west side inside Genbu's Keep. Kicking the ground, Takoire frustratedly made a dust cloud. He was in the deepest part of the forest, and barely any sunlight was reaching the ground. "Damn it, Takoire! You should have found her by now! But then again," he paused, "Zaon and Seru haven't found Kiron either, and there are two of them."
Bending his knees slightly and stretching, Takoire walked over and leaned himself against a nearby tree. "I can't keep running around forever, Lenne. Hope you don't mind if I catch a few minutes of sleep. I'm no use half-dead."
Crossing his arms, Takoire felt his eyes droop and finally fall down. Unbeknownst to him, the summoner brand on his shoulder began to glow.
"I hear something," Takoire murmured to himself, half-asleep, "water, running water, but it sounds like it's bubbling over. And I'm a little warm, like there are rays of sun hitting me, but I'm still cold."
Takoire's eyes shot open. "The spring."
As quickly as Takoire had opened his eyes, he was running. Near the edge of the forest, Takoire began to slow down. Was it a dream? It felt like a dream, but it felt like something else, something that had made it real.
Hearing the sounds of the spring, Takoire jogged past one large, peculiar tree and saw it. The water, clean and crisp, the guardian squatted down and took a sip and splashed it on his face, refreshing him. Looking up, he spotted a large, mossy rock, and the moss had his summoner's brand burnt onto it. Takoire ran his fingers over it. "I don't remember this being here."
Standing up, Takoire breathed out sharply. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't a dream, but what was it? All right… let's see if we can't do this again. But how is the real question."
Closing his eyes, Takoire let himself fall into the darkness.
There were tons of water rushing by quickly, much faster than the spring, the occasional branch or twig splashing in. Somehow, Takoire could tell there was more sunlight. He seemed to be feeling the river's edge, and the wind was blowing almost directly east.
Opening his eyes, Takoire bolted through the forest, running to the center where the river ran. Swimming through water couldn't be compared to running on land.
Reaching the river, Takoire looked around. "There was a sign last time. What am I looking for?" From his point, Takoire felt the wind blowing slight off southeast. "The wind…"
He began to run upstream until he came to a stop, beginning to feel the wind coming up against him strongly but still slightly off. There were so many things bothering him... What did Genbu have to do with all of this? Were Kiron and Lenne taking the test right now? Or were there more assassins after Kiron and Genbu had managed to shield them somehow? Why didn't the priests help? Why wouldn't Yunalesca, Alor, or the others help? Especially after the debt the heir to Zanarkand owed, not that he was counting. It wasn't as if he could ever take her up on it.
Stopping, Takoire glanced around the spot where he was standing, it seemed… strangely familiar. "Talk about your déjà vu. Now if this isn't a dream, then Lenne's summoner brand should be around here somewhere. Hopefully I haven't been running around like a complete idiot."
Minutes passed, and Takoire found nothing, checking the area twice over. Out of frustration and exhaustion, Takoire fell over purposely and closed his eyes, breathing out deeply. "Where are you, Lenne? I'm worried about you."
There was an echoing sound in his ear. It was like the sound of echoing water that was rushing in the walls, and there wasn't a lot of light. The walls were damp and rough, and one edge was sharp enough to cut him. It felt like beads of water were rolling off his skin and clothes.
Takoire opened his eyes slowly to see the sun lower than he remembered. "What the heck? How long was I asleep?" He grunted, struggling to sit up. He moved over and dipped his hands in the river water. Takoire flinched slightly, the temperature being slightly colder than he was accustomed to. Looking at the water's color, the sun was beginning to dim. He looked up and to his right to see a doe and her fawn.
The former blitzball player felt a smile creep up on him. Sights like this were rare. There were little or no forests left in Spira. Most of the land had been developed and large, complex cities now stood where towering trees once did. Zanarkand and Bevelle had nothing like that left; the only places left in Spira with dense, thick forests were the two temples of Byakko and Genbu and just outside of Kilika.
As quietly as he could, Takoire turned back to the water and took another drink. He blinked. There was a shape at the bottom of the river, it was shiny, probably metal, but what was it? Looking around, he spotted a nearby tree. "Sorry, Genbu, but I need to borrow this."
With a quick and efficient stroke, the guardian cut off a piece of the bark from the tree with his sword and looked at the under side. Going back to the river, he sheathed his sword on his back. Finding the reflection, Takoire angled the smooth side of the bark onto the reflection and looked underneath it. The reflection was Lenne's summoning brand: The ocean with a setting moon and a rising sun.
Without a second thought, Takoire dived into the water. Bobbing his head, he shivered; it'd been awhile since he'd been in the water, and water with a strong current no less. Takoire took a deep breath and headed down, a few minutes before he reached the bottom of the river. Glancing at it with his hand, Takoire attempted to grab the object from the darkness. He brought it to his face and saw it was Lenne' chokin necklace with the images of Suzaku and Byakko. He grimaced and clenched it in his hand.
He swam a little ways and saw a ledge where he landed softly, his feet touching the stone. Pushing against the water, Takoire made his way into the darkness. Eventually the water began to recede, and the guardian could take a breath of air. He was walking in pure darkness, but after sometime, his eyes sensed a small amount of light as the water continued to drop until Takoire was stepping in nothing but small puddles, and his footsteps were echoing.
The sound of rushing water came back to Takoire's ears as more and more light became visible. After a walk, the guardian had his full eyesight back. The sound of water was fully in Takoire's ears as more and more light became visible. He brought his hand up to what seemed like a moving wall in front of him. It reflecting a million different colors along the cave walls. "A waterfall?"
As his fingertips touched, Takoire walked through the water. Immediately he shielded his eyes. The ground… it was so soft. His eyes three-fourths closed, he looked down. "Flowers?"
Takoire blinked several times as his eyes continued to adjust; he looked around. There were waterfalls all around and endless, endless fields of flowers. He started running. "Lenne!"
He looked around. "Lenne! Where are you?"
Suddenly, Takoire's right hand grew slightly warm as well as his pocket. Bringing his hand to his face, Takoire saw his silver ring, his family crest burned into it glowing. Confused, he pulled out of his pocket Lenne's chokin necklace, the outlines of the aeons and her brand behind them glowing as well. "What the hell is this?"
Takoire blinked hard once, supporting his head with his hand. He was starting to feel a little lightheaded, like his body didn't weigh anything. Everything seemed wrong, but then, it seemed like it was how everything was supposed to be, how everything was meant to be. But there still feeling like there was something missing. A key thing missing.
"Hey, you! I was beginning to think you weren't going to find me!"
Author's Notes:
Final Revision