A Generation of Aeons
Chapter Thirty-Four
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2
Last Time:
"Milady," Lady Kaira said, "you and my son need to get out of here. You need to take the Cheribum's test. Lady Doma and I will hold off Sareth as long as we can and give you enough time."
Lenne shook her head. "But Sareth's your son."
Lady Kaira cut her off. "That monster is not my son. Now go!"
Lenne felt herself nod. "Takoire." He quickly looked at her, and the look she gave him told her guardian everything he needed to know.
He fixed a last shot at a guard and raced to Lenne's side. He turned to Lady Kaira. "Mother-"
"There's no time," she said, "go!" She paused. "The family's proud of you, Takoire."
The guardian could only nod his head; he took Lenne by the hand and raced from the chamber.
Making it into the main hall, they heard two shots accompanied by two screams.
They kept running.
Lenne and Takoire ran as quickly as they could to the Cheribum's seal, the circle in front of the temple-palace… the circle where Sareth had revealed Takoire and Seru's identity.
More death. Why did more people have to die? Kiron and Seru were dead, and now his own brother had murdered Takoire's entire family before his eyes. Sareth had been the one who had sent the assassination attempts against Kiron during their pilgrimage. What kind of man was he?
Sareth was a bitter, carping young man who happened to be her guardian's only brother. He claimed that the army was loyal to him now… was this how any why Bevelle and Zanarkand went to war? For Sareth's quest for glory? He spoke of always being in his older brother's shadow, and he had never been able to break free of it.
Perhaps Lenne and Sareth were not as different as Lenne thought.
Sareth wished to break free of his brother's legacy and reputation. Didn't Lenne want the same thing? To finally stop being compared to her parents?
No, Lenne didn't want it anymore.
Their path was free of soldiers, and Takoire could only speculate the rest of the palace guard was still unaware of what had just occurred in the council chamber. Together they stopped, reaching their destination. Takoire turned to Lenne, trying to determine just how hurt she was. He brought his hand to her head and grimaced. "Cheribum, what did they do to you?"
She tried to joke with him. "You don't look so good yourself."
He sighed and let his hand fall. "I shouldn't have left you."
Lenne was unsure of what to do and tried to imagine if her family had been murdered in front of her. She couldn't fathom it. "I'm sorry about what happened to your family, Takoire." She held him close in an effort to comfort him.
Takoire put a sad smile on his face. "Thanks, but don't worry about me right now."
She gazed up at him almost angrily. "You're a hypocrite. You say it's not good to bottle things up inside, and here you are trying to hold back the ocean."
"Now," Takoire swallowed hard, "now isn't the time. Right now it's about you."
"What-"
"I don't know how many times I've told you this, but you don't give yourself enough credit." The guardian paused, looking into Lenne's eyes for the right words. "You're the Summoner of Yore, Lenne. I know that now. Everything that I am tells me that you are her."
Lenne shook her head. "Takoire…"
"No, listen to me. Everything fits. Everything in the prophecy fits with what's happened to you." He sighed. "I ran away from home trying to escape from some pre-set destiny, I didn't want it and yet I ended up choosing it."
"Takoire," Lenne repeated, "what did you mean when you said she doesn't love you?"
The guardian looked away. "The last stanza of the Prophecy of the Summoner of Yore and the Guardian of the Ages' Prophecy indicates that the Summoner of Yore is female while the Guardian of the Ages is male…"
"And?"
"And," Takoire became hesitant, "they're supposed to be in love."
Lenne paused. If Takoire was calling her the Summoner of Yore, and he knew everything there was to know about the prophecies… did he? Could he?
"Takoire," she heard herself say hesitantly, "do you love me?"
He still didn't look at her. "I hate the way you try to carry the world on your shoulders. I hate the way you never give yourself enough credit for anything. I hate the way you don't let me protect you even though it's my job." Takoire's voice softened. "I love how whenever I beat you at something you get a funny look on your face. I love that whenever I pretend to put on an ego you try to figure out what I'm hiding underneath. And I love how when I'm with you everything is a thousand times better." The man bowed his head in defeat. "I know whenever I think about you my heart beats a little faster. I know when I see you I feel like I can't breath. I know that whenever I make you laugh it feels like someone just handed me the keys to the world. And I know it would have been impossible not to fall in love with you." Takoire had to force the next words. "The only thing I don't know is if you feel remotely the same way I do…"
Lenne didn't know whether to cry or be angry at him for not telling her sooner. The only thing she could think of was the only thing she could possibly answer.
"How could I not fall in love with you?" she asked.
Takoire brought Lenne close with his arm and kissed her.
They were both in pain and bleeding. Takoire wanted to wrap both of his arms around her, but his injured arm wouldn't allow it. But that didn't matter, because the world was perfect at that moment. Lenne knew how Takoire felt about her, and Takoire knew how Lenne felt about him.
It was over too soon, and Takoire pulled away. "We don't have time." He grimaced. "You need to take the Cheribum's test." Lenne became hesitant. "We're in this together, whatever happens to you, happens to me. Either way, we'll be together."
Lenne nodded confidently. "Okay… How do we summon it?"
"Blood," he answered bluntly.
"I think we have enough of that."
Takoire shook his head. "Our blood has to mix before it touches the Cheribum's seal." He took out the knife he had used to pick Lenne's hands free and ran it across his arm. He handed it to Lenne, who did the same. They brought their forearms together and watched their blood trickle onto the tile seal, which pictured Suzaku, Byakko, Genbu, and Seiryu with only a dark outline in the center.
A bolt of lightening split the sky, and a crack of thunder shook it. The sun disappeared behind rolling black clouds that caused the city of Bevelle to succumb to absolute darkness.
The High Summoner Lenne looked around, confused, and could see nothing at all, not even her guardian, who was still standing beside her.
"I am the Cheribum," a deep voice boomed. "I am the first of the five natural aeons. Suzaku of air, Byakko of fire, Genbu of earth, and Seiryu of water. I am the Cheribum, aeon of time. I am the one who has existed since time began. I am the one who will exist until time ends. I am the Cheribum Kokon. Who are you?" the voice asked.
Lenne stopped to think for a moment. Who are you? What did it mean? Lenne was Lenne. And then she remembered what Takoire had said. 'You never give yourself enough credit.'
"I-I am the High Summoner Lenne of Besaid, daughter of High Summoner Yuna and the Guardian Tidus, summoner of the fayth and natural aeons. I am a summoner from a time when Zanarkand is no more." She hesitated. There was still one thing left for her to say. In doubt, Lenne felt her guardian's hand hold hers reassuringly, washing away all doubts in her minds. "I am the Summoner of Yore."
Suddenly, a great gust of wind blew away the darkness, and Lenne and Takoire stood together in the middle of the Cheribum's seal before the temple-palace. A dozen guards were frozen in place, trying to reach them.
"This is good," the Cheribum's voice said. "No more and no less of who and what you are."
A large figure began to come into view, and the pair strained to see.
It had the face of a man… maybe even a king, for it wore a grand crown. For a body, the creature was like a great horse whose hooves could crush a man with a single step. It had the wings of an eagle that spanned as far as the temple-palace was wide. The creature emanated a powerful aura that contained infinite wisdom, power, and strength, but as it looked down on Lenne, it wore a gentle, even paternal smile, a smile a parent gives a child when thinking of all the things they have yet to experience.
"And you're the Cheribum?" Lenne asked.
It nodded. "You have passed my test, Lenne. I only ask who you are. If a person does not know who they are, how can they hope to pretend to lead people?" The Cheribum paused. "Suzaku tests yours power. Byakko tests your wisdom. Genbu tests your guardians. Seiryu tests your faith. Summoners need power to keep order. Wisdom ensures that you know how to use that power. Summoner and guardians must work together as a team, they must be one; one alone cannot stand what the aeons give. And if you have no faith in the aeons, why, then, are you a summoner?"
Lenne stopped, taking in all the information. "But Kiron and Seru are dead…"
"Your friends understood what they were doing when they summoned me for my test. Your third friend still lives."
"He's only going to die uselessly and become Sin," Lenne insisted. "All this time I knew what was going to happen to him, I've known all the time I got to know him, and I can't change it."
The Cheribum closed its eyes. "Such is the burden of beings like us."
She had to ask. "Am I the Summoner of Yore?"
"You know the answer to that question."
The summoner shook his head. "What if I don't want it? What if I don't want to be the Summoner of Yore? What if I want to choose my own destiny?"
"You have," the aeon answered, "and you must live with the consequences."
"But-"
"Did you not choose to take Suzaku's test? Did you not choose to give into the feelings that you have for your guardian?" The Cheribum turned to Takoire. "And you, did you not choose to run away from home and forsake your family? Did you not choose to finally face your family again when Lenne informed you she wished to take my test?"
Lenne tried to argue. "But I didn't choose to come here."
"No, you did not, but someone else chose to bring you here. The universe is not the clear water of the ocean, the sun, the moon, or the stars; it is made of the decisions we make. One somehow affecting another. Destiny is nothing more than living with the consequences of our actions."
"Are you the one who brought me here?"
"No," the Cheribum answered simply.
Takoire stepped forward, finally speaking, "Her headaches, where do they come from?"
"She does not belong here. The universe is trying to destroy what does not belong."
"So, if she stays here any longer," he continued, "Lenne will die?"
The Cheribum nodded gravely. "You both will. Lenne, it is time for you to go home."
She bit her lip and looked to Takoire. "All right… let's go."
"Your guardian cannot go with you…" the Cheribum said.
Lenne heard it, the words she had been afraid of hearing. Takoire couldn't go with her. She remembered thinking that she could live years in this Spira with Takoire… she couldn't picture going back to her Spira and spending one day without him. She couldn't do it. She wouldn't.
"Why?" Lenne asked through clenched teeth.
"He does not belong there."
The summoner turned to her guardian and embraced him tightly. Hot, fresh tears fell like a river from her eyes.
"No, I don't want to lose you," she cried, "I can't make it without you."
Takoire kissed her forehead and held her fiercely close. "Yes, you can, Lenne. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met. You don't need me."
Lenne shook her head. "No, Takoire… I can't do it without you. I need you."
He pushed her away from him so that he could look into her eyes. "Your Spira needs you. The people you left behind in your Spira need you."
"I don't care."
"Yes, you do, Lenne," Takoire insisted. "You care. If you didn't care you wouldn't have become a summoner, and you wouldn't have thought about your family everyday. I know how much you miss them."
She turned desperately to the Cheribum. "Can I come back?"
"No," the aeon answered.
Takoire held her close. "This isn't easy for me, either. You're the only thing left that I care about. Do you really think I want to let you go?" Lenne looked up at him and saw a tear fall from the corner of his eye. "I love you, Lenne."
He kissed her desperately, as if he would never kiss her again, and Lenne kissed him back with the same amount of desperation and wanting.
The guardian reluctantly pulled away, and the Cheribum spoke, "I will open a gateway, but I cannot hold it for long."
The Cheribum reared back on its hind legs and fell onto the seal. The ground beneath it was smashed, the seal was utterly destroyed, and a rip made of light appeared in the space above. The crack grew wide enough for one person to go through.
Takoire grimaced. "Go!" Lenne looked as if her duty and her heart were tearing her to pieces. "Lenne!"
"I don't want to leave you!" she yelled, a harsh wind coming from the rip.
He looked just as torn as her. He caught her in a tight embrace and whispered so she almost couldn't hear him. "I don't want you to…" He kissed her gently and whispered into her ear, "I love you," and pushed her into the crack.
She stayed visible for a moment, and he watched her whisper back, "I love you, too…"
"I'll find you!" he yelled. "I'll find you!"
And then she was gone.
The rip closed, and the Cheribum disappeared. Time resumed where it had left off, and a dozen soldiers came running towards him.
Takoire fell to his knees, his eyes welling with tears.
"I'll find you…"
Author's Notes:
Final Revision