A Generation of Aeons
Chapter Forty
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2
Last Time:
'You need to move on. Lenne… I'm holding you back.'
What had he meant? Or was it just a dream? It was so real!
"I should go apologize to him," Lenne repeatedaloud. "I can figure out what I'm going to say on my way back."
The high summoner regretfully stood and turned in the direction of Besaid. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, the wind began to blow, and a beam of red light suddenly shot down from the sky.
"Oh no…" she said, jumping off the ruins. "Please, not again."
-------------------
The Crimson Knight Darka reached for balance as the earth quaked and the wind tried to blow him down. Only moments ago, he had been wandering the city and was passing the temple on his way home. Now what was happening?
Suddenly, a beam of red light came down from the sky. Where was it coming from? The sky was as black as the sea.
Within the light, the outline of a giant figure began to form, and Darka strained to see. It had the shape of a bird, feathers the color of blood, a crown of golden feathers, and a golden beak. It had equally gold, piercing eyes that stared down on him. It was the creature that had been attacking Besaid for the past two months. It was the aeon Suzaku.
'The Crimson Knight Darka,' a booming voice seemed to say in his head.
The blonde-haired young man whipped around searching for the source of the voice but only found the great bird. He stared at it hesitantly. "You're the aeon, Suzaku, aren't you?"
It nodded. 'I am in need of my own head summoner, and I have chosen you.'
"Summoner?" Darka asked. "Me?"
Suzaku nodded its head. 'I have peered into your soul, and you will help Spira into the new age.'
Darka shook his head in disagreement. "I'm no summoner."
'I will make you one. You will be my head summoner, and all of my summoners will answer to you.'
"Why?" the Crimson Knight asked skeptically.
'Your experiences have given you much wisdom, Crimson Knight Darka. You are a well-trained warrior, and your emotions give your power. You will make a good head summoner.'
The young man heard the sound of light, fast footsteps and turned to see Lenne watching a few feet away, short of breath.
'Lenne!' Suzaku's voice seemed to say, 'this man will be my head summoner. I expect you to train him.'
She nodded dumbly. "I will."
'This one shall be a manifest summoner. He will help you lead this new generation.'
"I understand," she answered.
Suzaku turned back to Darka. 'You, do you accept the honor that I have bestowed upon you?'
Darka shrugged. "I really don't think I have a choice, but I have a question. If I say yes, can I stay a Crimson Knight?"
'Of course.'
"All right, then," the young man answered.
'Very well, prepare yourself.'
A bright light suddenly focused on Darka's neck, and Lenne watched her friend fall to his knees. She quickly ran the rest of the way to him. He yelled as he clutched his neck, falling to the ground just as Lenne caught him. She stared at his neck and saw the image of Suzaku being burned there. Suzaku seemed to suddenly release his hold on the Crimson Knight. Darka collapsed.
Suzaku faded from view…
---------
From a corner of the room, Lenne watched her friend stir. He groaned as she watched him attempt to sit up.
"Don't try to sit up too fast," Lenne cautioned. "Trust me. I know."
Someone had removed Darka's clothes while Lenne was out, and she could see his muscular chest and abs. The sight made her blush.
He reached for the towel on his neck, grimacing as he slowly peeled it off. "How long have I been out?" he asked weakly.
"A day," Lenne answered, helping him the rest of the way.
Darka looked around at his surroundings. It was a small room, rather dark with no windows. It looked like it had been emptied out a long time ago, for there were cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling.
"Where am I?" the Crimson Knight asked.
"One of the spare rooms in the temple. As you can see, we haven't exactly started renovating it yet," she said simply.
Darka frowned. "I don't suppose it was a dream, was it? Especially the part where I kissed you…"
She grimaced and looked down. "Sorry, but the whole Suzaku popping out of nowhere, you becoming his head summoner, you kissing me, and me running away was pretty real."
"Oh…" he drifted off. "Look, I need to-"
"Darka," Lenne interrupted, "I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I shouldn't have run off like that when you kissed me, and I wanted to apologize to you because it wasn't right and-"
"No," Darka cut off, "I'm the one who's sorry. I had no right to kiss you like that-"
"It was my fault-"
"No, it was mine-"
"Darka, really, it was-"
"Lenne, I was the one-"
"How 'bout both of you be quiet right now, kiss, and make-up," Gaia said, appearing out of nowhere. She suddenly paused. "Oops. I didn't mean it that way… Cunno. Sorry. Very sorry. I just meant that you should make up, not kiss because that's what you're both trying to apologize for so if you both kissed again that would probably complicate the situation even more, and then none of us would ever leave, Darka couldn't get to the council meetings, and Lenne couldn't help rebuild the temples-"
"Gaia…" Lenne began.
"-and if Lenne can't help with the temples then the Cheribum could get all mad and crazy again, and then all the aeons could attack again, and that would be really bad considering how things turned out last time-"
"Gaia…" Darka tried to say.
"-and then Lenne would disappear again for a couple months, and Aunt Yuna would start worrying all over again, and then everybody would have to go back to the Farplane-"
"Gaia!" Lenne and Darka finally yelled together.
"Huh?" the Al Bhed looked up, hopelessly confused.
"Gaia," her cousin answered, "you were getting a little off topic…"
"Oops."
"It's all right," Darka reassured her. "Could you… uh… Gaia, could I have my clothes?"
Both Lenne and Gaia blushed a bright red, and the Al Bhed held out Darka's clothes to him.
Gaia grimaced and shut her eyes, leading Lenne out of the room. "Okay, we're just going to leave them."
Darka nodded, obviously embarrassed. "Okay, you do that…"
The two girls moved from the room and entered the temple's main hall. Lenne found her way to the statue of High Summoner Braska and looked up into her grandfather's face.
"Hey, Gaia," Lenne said, "my father's father was a guardian, and my father was a guardian. My mother's father was a high summoner, my mother was a high summoner, and I'm a high summoner. Do you think if I ever have a kid, they'll be a high summoner?"
Gaia put a comforting hand on Lenne's shoulder. "I dunno. They might be a guardian."
"Thanks," Lenne answered jokingly, "you're a lot of help, you really are."
The Al Bhed girl shrugged innocently. "Hey, I'm just saying." Gaia paused. "So things between you and Darka, how are they working out?"
"Well," the high summoner said in reply, "as soon as he feels up to it, I should probably start his training. Then we need to figure out what to do next because I've decided that all the head summoners are the ones that will be with me on the council, and Darka can't be on two councils at once."
"Uh… Lenne? I meant how are things working out after the whole kiss thing?"
"Oh," Lenne scratched her head, "that… I don't really know." She stopped. "Gaia, you know how I fell asleep yesterday?"
Gaia nodded. "Yeah?"
"I had a dream I was on the Farplane, and I saw Takoire. He said he was holding me back and that I needed to move on…"
"A dream?" Gaia asked. "But you never have dreams."
"I know," her cousin agreed. "I don't know whether or not it was just a dream or if it was really him, which I know is impossible, but…"
"But what?"
"It seemed so real," Lenne said, touching her lips. "He kissed me, and it felt so real."
"Well, if it was real, what do you think he was trying to say?"
"Oh, I don't know," the high summoner said, turning away, "that's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't understand what he meant when he said he was holding me back. What did he mean when he said I needed to move on? Did he mean to forget about everything that happened in the past two months? Did Takoire mean to forget about him?"
Gaia didn't answer her cousin but looked into the face of High Summoner Braska. "What if he meant you should stop living in the past? What if Takoire meant that he was holding you back because you think about him every minute of every day? Maybe he doesn't mean to forget about him completely, just enough so you can get back as much of your old life as possible, or maybe even start a new one."
Lenne stayed silent, and without a word, gave Gaia a hug. "You know, Gaia, for someone who I think of as a little sister, you have your moments."
Her Al Bhed cousin just smiled brightly. "That's what I'm here for, cuz."
"Lenne!" Darka's voice called as Lenne and Gaia turned. They watched the Crimson Knight come out from the temple's room in his uniform with a different cape that he held in his hands. "Lenne, what is this?"
Reaching them, Darka turned to Lenne for an answer. "Back in the old days, summoners wore different kinds of clothes to show their rank."
He looked at her skeptically. "I don't see you wearing anything special."
Lenne held out her chokin necklace in return. "I have a convenient little necklace that changed every time I passed an aeon's test."
"So where'd this come from?" Darka questioned, staring at his new cape. It was made up of red and white with the image of Suzaku in flight in the center.
"I had it made while you were asleep," Lenne answered. "I know you wouldn't give up wearing your uniform completely so I just replaced the cape."
He looked at her unsurely.
Gaia just smiled. "Well, I think it makes you look handsome."
Darka raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, Gaia." He turned to Lenne. "So when do I start this training of yours?"
She smiled. "I'm in danger of being a hypocrite, but once you've fully regained your strength. Besides," Lenne added, "I have to figure out what Byakko, Genbu, and Seiryu are up to. Suzaku can't be the only one who's chosen a head summoner…"
-------------------
Author's Notes:
Final Revision