A Generation of Aeons
Chapter Forty-Five

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

Last Time:

Lenne gasped audibly.

She was barely able to take the few steps off the platform.

He heard whispers among the crowd.

"He's a guardian. I wonder who his summoner is…"

"He bears High Summoner Lenne's summoner brand."

"But how can that be? Everyone knows that High Summoner Lenne has no guardian."

"I heard she used to, but something happened to him. No one's ever seen him."

"But they do seem to know each other."

Lenne approached him so that she was close enough to touch his face.

He heard Gaia gasp. "That's…"

"Who is that?" Garren asked.

But his Al Bhed sister remained silent and gaping.

He watched Lenne swallow hard and wear a face of complete disbelief. She could barely speak.

For that matter, neither could he.

"Takoire?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

The guardian grimaced. "Hi."

Lenne approached him hesitantly and lifted her hand inches from his face, afraid he would disappear if she dared touch him. A million emotions were consuming her at once, but fear was winning the battle inside of her.

She stared into his stormy gray eyes. "Tell me I'm not dreaming."

He shrugged. "I don't know… you can have some pretty weird dreams, Lenne. I mean… some kid wearing purple clothes shows up in one of your dreams, and the next thing I know is that you're telling me that you want to become a summoner."

Lenne's face couldn't help but crack into a smile. Her hand touched his rough face, and it nearly melted there.

In an instant she was in his arms, and a breath of relief escaped her.

Takoire couldn't help but hold her fiercely close and feel as if everything in his life had been set right in that one moment. For some reason… he had to smile. "So," he whispered into her ear, "do I still get that dance?"

She drew away from him just far enough so that she could see his face, a tear of joy falling out of the corner of her eye. "Oh… I think you get something a little better than that."

And then she kissed him. All of Spira was watching… but they didn't exist. Garren, Gaia, Vidina, and Darka all stood nearby watching… but they didn't exist. Her parents, Aunt Lulu and Rikku, and Uncle Wakka and Gippal were watching… but they didn't exist. All that existed was Takoire and the kiss they were sharing.

The way he cradled her neck with his calloused hand, and the way she would run her hands through his hair. They way he was always gentle when he kissed her. The way he made her feel like she could melt into his arms when he so much as held her.

She had moved on in the past three years, but a small part of her hadn't. A small part of her always secretly hoped he would someday find her, while the rest of her had accepted it would be impossible for such a thing to happen. But the first part of her was now taking over, relishing in the fact it had been right.

Takoire pulled away, but not before they were both breathless.

He leaned his forehead against hers. "Lenne…" his voice was filled with pain, "I-I can't stay."

She took a step away from him. All of her hopes were disappearing, and she wouldn't let them go. "What-What are you talking about?"

He looked at her, guilt-ridden. "I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't realize…"

"What is it?" Lenne asked. "What's wrong?"

Takoire suddenly froze where he was. His eyes widened. "No…" He closed his eyes, and his breathing quickened. "No… it's too soon. It shouldn't be happening this soon."

"Takoire," Lenne said in panic, trying to reach him, "what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong! I love you…" she finished in a softer tone.

Instead of answering, he pushed her to the ground. "Get away from me!" He fell to his knees, and Lenne watched him clutch his head. "I don't want you to get hurt..." he said in an inaudible whisper.

He yelled aloud in agony, clutching his head and withering on the ground. "Get away from me!"

Not a full second had passed before Lenne screamed out, falling to her knees.

She had felt this pain before… but this time, she was not the cause of it.

"Lenne!" she heard her cousin yell.

She felt people trying to comfort her, but all she could think about was Takoire.

And then there was darkness.

"Lenne!" Takoire shot up from bed with beads of sweat rolling down his face. He looked around.

Where was he? He didn't recognize this place. He was lying on a couch in someone's house. What had happened to him?

"Easy there," a man's voice said. "Don't strain yourself too much. You've been out since last night."

He looked into the face of a man with blue eyes and shortly cut blonde hair. Like an older version of his blitzball heir…

"Sir Tidus?" he gasped as another woman entered the room. "High Summoner Yuna?"

Tidus and Yuna stared at each other with confused eyes before speaking.

"I suppose you could call us that…" Tidus drifted.

Wait… if these were High Summoner Yuna and Sir Tidus… Could there be a chance…?

"Where am I? Where's Lenne?" Takoire immediately bombarded. "How is she?"

Yuna pointed to another room. "You're in our home. Lenne's still unconscious and in her old room."

Takoire felt his head fall into his hands. "I didn't want her to get hurt. I never meant for her to get hurt… I just wanted to see her again. I should never have let her see me. I had no right to do this to her."

"Calm down…" Yuna soothed.

"First of all," Tidus interrupted, "what happened to you two?"

The guardian took a deep breath before starting. "When Lenne was in my time, she would have horrible headaches."

Tidus seemed to stop for a moment, as if judging him. "In your time? A thousand years ago?" He paused. "You're her guardian."

Takoire nodded his head. "Yes. When I became her guardian, her brand linked us together. Whenever she had a headache, I would feel it, too. As time went on, her headaches got worse, and by the time we reached Bevelle and the Cheribum, Lenne would have died if she hadn't returned."

"Where do these headaches come from?" Yuna continued.

"It happens when something doesn't belong. It's like the universe is trying to destroy what shouldn't be there," he answered. "Ever since I began traveling, the headaches started happening to me. Now that I'm in a time with Lenne in it, she feels my pain through her summoner brand." The young man paused. "I need to leave." He moved to stand.

"You're in no condition to go anywhere," Tidus insisted.

Takoire ignored him and found his bag on the floor. "I'm not going to put Lenne in danger by staying." He paused suddenly and turned back to Tidus and Yuna with a guilt-ridden look on his face. "Would it be all right if I saw Lenne before I go?"

Yuna nodded. "Of course, take as long as you need."

He nodded to them. "Thank you."

Moving his way past them, Takoire entered the room Yuna had pointed to moments before. Quietly, he shut the door behind him and glimpsed Lenne sleeping in her bed.

He felt guilty beyond all belief.

Takoire took a seat nearby and placed it by Lenne's bed, sitting down. The room was barren and contained only the bed and chair. But Takoire didn't care about any of that. He was focused on the figure lying on the bed.

He took Lenne's hand in his. "I'm sorry, Lenne. I didn't mean for this to get so out of hand. I didn't want things to end this way." He paused. "Cheribum… this is so much easier when you're unconscious. I've thought about you everyday since I last saw you. I couldn't seem to get you out of my mind." He squeezed her hand. "It's time for me to go. I'll always care about you, Lenne." Takoire hesitantly released her hand but couldn't walk to the door. He placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, too."

Takoire quickly left the room, closing the door behind him, and bowed his head to Tidus and Yuna. "Thank you, again, for your kindness. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you."

Yuna just nodded. "You don't need to. Just take care of yourself."

"I will."

The guardian walked to the doorway, opened it, and stepped through.

His heart and his head were at odds with each other. Everything in his heart told him to stay with Lenne, no matter what the circumstances were. His heart told him to ignore everything that would happen if he stayed. His head on the other hand told him that was just being selfish. That he couldn't think about just himself, he had to think about Lenne. He had to sacrifice his happiness for Lenne's life. Cheribum alone knew he wouldn't mind dying if it meant spending the rest of his life with Lenne but not at the cost of her life, too.

"Hey, you, where do you think you're going?"

Stopping in his tracks, Takoire turned and saw an Al Bhed woman glaring at him.

He paused. "You're Gaia."

"Yeah," she confirmed, stepping towards him and pointing a finger at him, "and you're Takoire."

He raised an eyebrow. "I was under the impression that no one knew who I was."

Gaia shrugged. "Up until yesterday, Lenne and I were the only ones who did, or at least about the relationship you had. I was just under the impression that you had died a thousand years ago." She stopped. "So, you wanna tell me where it is you're going exactly?"

Takoire dropped his head. "I can't stay. I want to, more than anything, but I can't."

She nodded her head. "I heard you, Uncle Tidus, and Aunt Yuna talking."

"Gaia, you have to understand. Leaving is the absolutely last thing I want. If I could choose, the only life I could ever want would just to be with her. If I could see her smile and make her laugh everyday for the rest of my life, I'd be the happiest man in Spira."

Gaia couldn't help but grin a knowing smile. "I'm having some déjà vu right now. Do you know why?" She watched him shake his head. "When Lenne first came back, all she could think about was you. And she told me, that if she had a choice, she would have stayed with you for the rest of her life."

Takoire put on a small smirk of his own. "I told her to move on…"

"What?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

"No," Gaia insisted, "what was it? What did you say?"

"I-I, uh…" Takoire struggled, searching for the right words. "About a week after Lenne left, I had a dream that I saw her on the Farplane. I told her to move on…"

"I should have known…"

The guardian looked up. "What?"

"If I'm remembering correctly," the Al Bhed answered, "Lenne had the same dream around the same time. She said you told her to move on with her life." Takoire looked up. "I'll tell Lenne you said good-bye, but I can't promise she'll listen to me."

Takoire stopped for a moment before nodding his head. "Thank you."

Without another word, the former blitzball player stalked off towards the airship dock.

"Interesting conversation," a voice commented. Coming out from one of the streets was the Crimson Knight Darka, joining Gaia and watching the guardian leave.

"Darka!" Gaia jumped. "Where'd you come from?"

He shrugged. "I was around and happened to hear the conversation between you and Sir Takoire."

Gaia looked up at him. "I never took you for the eavesdropping type, Darka." He shrugged. "Well, things just got a whole lot more complicated." She paused. "You're not jealous are you?"

"Me?"

"No, the other Crimson Knight of Besaid."

Darka frowned. "I'm perfectly fine. I got over that a couple years ago."

"That's good to hear…"

He looked at her curiously. "Why?"

"I'm just saying," Gaia answered. "I mean, back when you had a crush on her, it kind of didn't go that well."

"Oh."

Gaia watched Takoire disappear behind a line of buildings. "Hey, Darka?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you get the Valefor prepped up?"

"Why do you need the guardians' personal airship?"

The Al Bhed sighed. "I have a feeling that Lenne's going to ask for it when she wakes up."

"What the hell?"

Looking out a window, Takoire watched a pillar of smoke rise into the air over Guadosalam.

He grabbed an attendant by the sleeve. "Take me to the pilot."

She nodded.

He was still wearing his guardian's uniform.

She led him past rows of seats until they finally reached the cockpit. Two men sat in the confined space; one busy with steering the airship for a second run around Guadosalam while the other was busy talking into a sphere.

"What's going on?" Takoire questioned. "Do you know what's happening down there?"

The second shook his head. "We've been trying to contact the port for the past hour. It's like there's no one there."

Takoire looked around. "All right. I want you to get to the edge of the city and about thirty meters off the ground."

"Thirty meters? Are you crazy?" the first asked.

"A little bit, but I'm going to check things out. If you don't hear anything from port in fifteen minutes, I want you to get back to Besaid. Got it?"

"Yeah," the second answered.

"All right, I've moved into position," the pilot informed him. "If you're going to go, go now."

The attendant showed him to one of the doors and opened it. Wind gusted throughout the airship. She grimaced. "Good luck."

He nodded. "Thank you."

Without a second thought, Takoire jumped off the airship and into a run. From the ground, the guardian could see the damage accurately. The most severe of the damage was coming from the entrance to the Farplane. What was happening?

Suddenly, a gust of wind came from above, and a black figure landed before him.

Bahamut…

What was Bahamut doing here? This was a time when the aeons had been gone for years. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to happen…

From Bahamut's shoulder, a looming figure dropped in front of Takoire and straightened to full height.

With long, purple hair and a silver ring on his finger, he smiled vindictively. "Well, well… hello, brother."

Author's Notes:

Final Revision