A Generation of Aeons
Chapter Thirty-Six

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2

Last Time:

With a shrug, Darka left for the short trek back to the city, and Lenne continued to climb. She reached the top and found herself looking at her sanctuary. She moved aside some brush and climbed through a small hole that gave Lenne access to the cliff. The summoner stopped to look around for a moment before she began to rip off vines from a lone wall.

Finding what she was looking for, Lenne traced her fingers over the chokin of her summoner's brand on the wall.

"Takoire…"

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It was dark, and the sun had still not risen. Lenne stood alone in her sanctuary, unable to find sleep.

She was finally home. Lenne was finally in a place where people knew her, and she knew them. Lenne was in a place she knew since she had been born. She didn't have to depend on anyone if she wanted information. Lenne was finally in control.

But it didn't feel like it.

Lenne couldn't help but play those last moments with her guardian over and over again while she lay in bed.

'I'll find you!'

Did she imagine it? Or did he actually say it? It could just be out of desperation and wishful thinking that she thought he said it. He couldn't come with her; it wasn't possible. The Cheribum said so.

It was only yesterday since Lenne saw him last, but the loneliness was more than she could bear. She didn't feel him anymore. She didn't know whether he was sad or happy or guilty. She didn't feel anything.

For all Lenne knew, he could have been dead for a thousand years.

No, she couldn't think that. It would hurt too much to think that.

Lenne remembered returning to the city the day before. She knew the way by heart, but it still seemed strange to her. It still didn't feel quite real. A part of her hadn't registered she was home yet.

She returned to her house to find everyone waiting. Her parents, Uncle Wakka, and Aunt Lulu sat at her dinner table while Garren and Gaia stood together by the door with Vidina. Although he acted as discreet as possible, Lenne knew Darka was hiding in a corner, listening as intently as possible.

It had taken her over two hours just to go over the most important facts: the aeons, summoner hierarchy, how to summon each one, etc. She briefly mentioned she had a guardian named Takoire that she had been close to and let the subject drop from there. She told them she had traveled with the prince of Zanarkand, Yunalesca's brother, a mage, and the infamous Lord Zaon.

Her parents, uncle, and aunt had asked what the actual man had been like, and Lenne answered truthfully. Zaon was a man of few words.

Lenne didn't feel comfortable telling them of her relationship with each one. She didn't tell them how Kiron and Takoire constantly bickered in the beginning. She didn't tell them how assassins had been sent after Kiron. She didn't tell them how her guardian and friend Seru had kept secrets of their past from her. She didn't tell them how she watched Kiron and Seru fall in love. She didn't tell them how she fell in love with her guardian. She didn't tell them how her best friends Kiron and Seru had died while she lay unconscious. And she didn't tell them how Takoire's brother had murdered his entire family before his eyes.

Garren and Gaia were spending the night at her home. She shared her room with her cousin Gaia, just like Lenne remembered. But Lenne had lay awake for hours staring at the ceiling. She couldn't stop thinking about him.

Was there something she could have said or done that would have allowed him to come with her?

Lenne felt cold in every part of her body but not because the sun had not risen. She felt cold because she couldn't feel Takoire's arms around her. She wouldn't.

She still remembered the night she found out Kiron and Seru had died. The way he had held her in his arms and the way she felt safe from everything…

"I should have known you'd disappear up here."

Lenne quickly turned to see her cousin Gaia standing there. The Al Bhed Gullwing stood with half open eyes and yawned loudly.

"I didn't want to wake you up," Lenne answered.

Gaia shrugged. "You know your mom is going to go into a panic when she doesn't find you in your room, right?"

"Probably."

"I don't remember this," Gaia said, finding the chokin on the wall, "do you know what it is?"

"It's called chokin," Lenne answered. "Besaid was famous for it before Sin destroyed everything. It involves melting different metals together to make different designs."

"This would look great once the sun hits it."

"It does," she answered distantly. "Before it was destroyed, every building in Besaid had chokin in the walls, and every sunrise and sunset, when the light hit them, it turned the ocean a million different colors. It was so beautiful. I watched it on this very spot…"

"The ocean, sun, and moon," Gaia commented, "do you know what it's supposed to mean?"

The summoner nodded her head. "It's my summoner's brand."

"How'd it get here?" her cousin asked.

Lenne shrugged. "I touched the wall a thousand years ago."

Gaia shook her head and approached Lenne, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She handed her a sphere. "I found this in the Bevelle vault. I haven't shown it to anyone."

Lenne turned and held the sphere in her hands for a moment before it projected an image. Lenne recognized it right away.

It was her Zanarkand, but she saw herself standing there with Takoire.

She nearly dropped it in shock.

It was the same sphere Sareth had stolen. Lenne stared at it hard. It was old; a crack ran through the center, and Lenne took it in both her hands.

She felt fresh, hot tears splash her face.

Gaia swallowed the cold, hard lump caught in her throat. "Did you love him?" she asked.

"What?" Lenne quickly asked.

"Come on, Lenne," Gaia said uncomfortably. "I know you. We've known each other since I was born. I know sometimes you thought I was a pest because I'm younger, but," she bit her lip hesitantly, "I've always thought of you as a big sister. I know I have Garren for a brother, and don't get me wrong, I love him, but having a sister's different. I can tell you're happy to see everyone, but what happened to you? What really happened to you?"

"I always did think of you as a little sister, Gaia," Lenne answered with a small, sad smile. "You're always there for me when I need you with a big cheery smile. For awhile, I was a little jealous of you. Everyone was doing something with their life except me. Garren was the Crimson Knight of Bevelle, you worked for the Gullwings and became head of the historical spheres department… not to mention Vidina became a guardian. I was still plain old Lenne. But now that I've done something worth anything, I don't want it anymore…"

Gaia frowned. "What happened, Lenne?"

"In the past two months, I made some really close friends. I felt as comfortable with them as I am with you. I traveled with Prince Kiron of Zanarkand, he was so cocky at first… but eventually he changed. And Seru, Seru was calm and patient, and it was like she was my big sister. Zaon never talked much, but he'd open up little by little everyday."

"And Takoire?" Gaia asked hesitantly. "He was your guardian, wasn't he?"

Lenne sighed loudly and bit her lip. "I met him at his last blitzball game. A fiend attacked the stadium, and I helped him. He took me in and told me how to become a summoner. He quit his blitzball team when he became my guardian." She paused. "During the pilgrimage, Bevelle sent assassins after Kiron. The one who had sent the assassins was Takoire's brother. His brother murdered his entire family in front of him. He wouldn't have had to see that if he wasn't my guardian. He put his entire life on hold for me, and I didn't even realize it until right now. He gave me everything he ever had, and I never thanked him for it."

"And that brings me to my earlier question," Gaia said. "Did you love him?"

She nodded dumbly.

"Did you tell him?"

She nodded her head again. "In the last seconds I saw him."

"I can't try and imagine what you're going through," Gaia said. "And I know this must be tough for you, but you have to understand. I'm a sixteen-year-old history geek who probably won't get any higher than she already has. Lenne, look at yourself. You are the first summoner of our generation. You're going to make changes to Spira that are going to last for generations. I know you're going to make a name just as remembered as your parents. But you know what I envy most about you?"

"No."

"You're in love, Lenne," Gaia said softly. "I can see it in your eyes, in the way you talk, the way you linger when you see certain things." She sighed. "What's it feel like?"

Lenne turned and watched the sphere change to the image of her sanctuary, the very place she stood now. She couldn't tell the difference between what was being projected and what she could touch. She watched herself with Takoire. She watched herself laugh with him.

"What are you doing… selling it for me?" she heard herself ask.

She watched Takoire put on one of his infamously sly grins. "Maybe…"

"It feels like you'll never be alone. Whenever you see him you're so excited you wonder why you don't just burst. You always want to be with him, and you never stop thinking about him." Lenne paused and brought a hand to her lips. "When I kissed him, it's like the world would stop, and Takoire and I were the only ones in the whole world. Gaia," she said, "do you think I'd be selfish if I said that if I could choose, I'd have stayed in the Spira from a thousand years ago? I would have been happy spending the rest of my life with him?"

The Al Bhed shook her head. "If I ever had what you did, I wouldn't want to let it go either."

The sphere closed, and Lenne stared at it for a moment longer before she spoke, "I miss him, Gaia…"

"I know you do," her cousin answered, "but you need to focus. You have to think about the here and now."

"I know," Lenne answered, nodding her head.

"Come on," Gaia said, her tone softening, "let's get back to the city before your mom freaks out…"

Lenne held up her hand. "In a couple minutes." She pointed a finger at the water. "Look, the sun's coming up…"

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"I wasn't able to find much on your friends Prince Kiron and Lady Seru," Gaia said.

It was noon now, and the sun was at its peak. Lenne and Gaia shuffled through the endless amount of records Gaia had brought with her from Djose. Spheres of every color were scattered through her room: on the table, her bed, and the floor, along with computer software that held statistical information.

Lenne's room wasn't as grand as the one she had in the temple-palace, but it was definitely homier. Her walls were painted an ocean blue, and still spheres decorated them: Tidus carrying her up on his shoulders when she was four, or the image of herself, Garren, Gaia, and Vidina when she was nine, having fun on the beach.

"And Takoire?" Lenne asked.

Gaia shrugged. "Everything I have, you have. I couldn't find a lot on background when I searched for him as the blitzball player, and even when I looked up the Bevelle royal family, he dropped off the charts just after he turned fourteen…"

"When he ran away from home…" Lenne sighed. "What about Sareth? What happened to him?"

"Like I said earlier, historical records from that time period are really vague."

"Convenient…"

"Extremely," Gaia replied. "From what my department's been able to gather though, Sareth's one of the reasons everything is so vague."

"Why?"

"We think he destroyed all trace of the Bevelle royal family when he came into power in order to strengthen his position. While he ruled, the Zanarkand and Bevelle war took place, but he suddenly disappeared just as Maester Yevon created Sin."

"Convenient…" Lenne repeated.

"Extremely," Gaia replied automatically. "Do you really think this guy's such a big deal? You think he's this Destructor of Ages person?"

"Gaia," Lenne said, "I've seen two prophecies come to pass; I really don't wanna risk a third…"

"Hey," a male voice said, entering the room. Vidina popped his head in curiously before bringing his whole body inside Lenne's room noticing the mass chaos. "You guys aren't starting any trouble now, ya? 'Cause since I'm a guardian and all now, I'd have to do something…"

The Al Bhed girl rolled her eyes. "Please. Garren got into as much trouble as we did, and he's the head Crimson Knight."

"Ya got a point," Vidina answered. "Anyway, whatcha workin' on in here?"

Lenne shrugged. "Trying to answer some question I still have."

"I'm gonna guess that's not workin' out too good," Vidina answered.

"No, not really," Lenne answered.

"Whaddya plan on tellin' the council?" he continued.

The summoner leaned her head against the wall. "I'm working on that…"

"Well, Sir Darka wanted me to tell you that you can hitch a ride on the Valefor to Bevelle if you want."

"Tell him I said thanks," Lenne replied.

Her male friend frowned uneasily. "And those things… they were aeons, ya?"

"Yep…" she countered simply.

"And you plan on buildin' a new temple for the one in Bevelle, ya?"

"Yep…"

"How do ya plan to do that?"

Lenne shook her head. "Still working on that, too…"

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Author's Notes:

Final Revision