A
Generation of Aeons
Chapter
Fifty
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or X-2
Last Time:
Thinking back on the Guardian of the Ages' Prophecy, it made sense if it was Takoire. Given all they could want at the moment of birth… But what was given, was not what the guardian of the ages hoped for…And so led a life too small for their destiny… It made sense. Takoire never wanted to be Bevelle's lord marshal but inherited it by right. The last few lines could have referred to after he ran away from Bevelle and became a blitzball player… Overcoming obstacles once thought gone… The guardian of the ages must face his past… The future and past crashing together… Determining their path… Was that when he was hiding his secret? The guardian of the ages must face his past…
Could the Divination of the Destructor of Ages apply to Sareth? It made sense…. Didn't it? For most of their life, second to another's shadow… Didn't Sareth complain of always being compared to his older brother? Was that what it meant? Demanding to have what is not theirs, those bound to the ancient cannot see past the divine… Was this the last formal council the Bevelle royal family ever had? Sareth demanding to be named Guardian of the Ages while his family agreed? Was this what the prophecy had foretold? The destructor of ages will cerate beings not natural to the world, forcing them to become slaves for all who beckon, enslaved for generations to come… The aeons…
Lenne stood up wearily and opened a window, overlooking the temple. The streets were flooded with refugees looking for shelter to stay the night, and the peace and quiet that normally engulfed the city once the sun was gone had fled.
Cheribum… had she done the right thing?
If the prophecies actually foretold the future… could she overturn destiny?
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To say the least, Lenne was a tad bit aggravated. Okay, maybe not a tad, she was incredibly aggravated. She had already gone to the temporary council chamber of the Council of Factions, the refugee tents, the Gullwings' building, and the temple. Everyone she had spoken with at each location had all told her the same thing. She found her guardian's disappearing act aggravating. Incredibly aggravating.
For the first time since she had been released from being declared bed-ridden, the Council of Factions had actually closed early enough to be able to start other work. It must have been the only blessing the Cheribum had actually bestowed since Sareth had appeared.
The first place she had headed to was the Gullwings' building where her cousin Gaia was hard at work. She finally had a day to spare where she could look over each of the prophecies and all of the historical records and make sense of it all… but there was a catch. Gaia had told her that she needed Takoire to fill in some of the discrepancies she had between some of the spheres and records that even Lenne couldn't help with.
So, she went to look for him. Today was one of the few times Takoire hadn't made an appearance at the council session, which usually meant he was getting tired of them and was taking an unofficial holiday… or at least what he called a holiday.
Three days had gone by since the initial rescue attempt in Bevelle, and both Lenne and her guardian had been allowed out of bed only yesterday, but even though she had been declared bed-ridden, Lenne had still demanded that her work be brought to her.
Lenne had offered Takoire her guest room, and he had reluctantly agreed, having no other choice. An interesting turn of events Lenne thought. At one time, he had offered her shelter when she was out of place with his time. Now, she was doing the same for him. Although, there was one slight difference between the two situations. Instead of giving her daily tours of her time, or seeing him it at all, he disappeared every day before sunset. Lenne knew exactly what he was doing because before Sareth came… she had done the same thing.
The situation between herself and Takoire had come to a stand still. He was doing exactly what he had said he would do. He was neither cold nor warm towards her when they spoke, and even when he did speak, it was only of tactical information or historical events. Not to mention someone else has to initiate the conversation before he would start talking. He was calm, quiet, helpful… and just that.
His face told her nothing of what he was feeling and did not help to answer the questions burning so vividly in her mind.
Was the night of the festival all just a fluke? Had she been so childish to keep the feelings she had for Takoire all these years? He said it had been five years since he had last seen her… was he the same guardian she had fallen in love with? Did he even exist anymore? Or did Sareth kill him?
What was it about her guardian that had made her fall in love with him in the first place?
"Oof!"
"Uh…"
"Shit!"
A strange look taking control of her face, Lenne stepped off the main street and towards the cliff where most of the guardians were generally placed. Seeing her guardian, she took a step back in an attempt to hide herself.
Takoire fastened his sword on his back while three young guardians attempted to stand, their weapons lying uselessly on the ground. The former blitzball star helped each one back on their feet.
"Here," he motioned to a Besaid guardian, holding his right arm out, "when I swung out my sword out to you like this, you should have hit me here. While you," Takoire said, turning to the other Besaid guardian behind him," you could have taken the opportunity to attack me from behind. And you," he finished, turning to the last one, "you had it easy. All you had to do was watch the situation play out and take advantage of any weaknesses you saw as a result of me fighting two others at once."
There was no doubt that he had changed in the past few years. His hair had grown longer and covered his eyes sometimes when he was fighting. His stormy gray eyes gave off no emotion, and the scar beneath his right eye gave him a rugged look. The shadow on his face added years to him, but in its own unique way, made him look even more handsome. He now gave off a mysterious and powerful kind of aura instead of the carefree one he once gave off as a blitzball player living in Zanarkand.
"But, Sir Takoire," one of the guardians insisted, "what you're saying is good and all, but what about fighting with honor? I don't like the idea of attacking someone from behind."
Takoire nodded his head. "I understand where you're coming from. I also happen to believe firmly in always fighting with honor, but you have to remember, your opponent may not always share your views. Your opponent may not fight with honor, and he will not go any easier on you just because you have morals he doesn't. If you have a window of opportunity, you take it."
"What's going on over here?" a voice called out.
All of the guardians in the area that had been standing in a circle moments ago watching were now standing in attention, their arms raised in a salute. The blonde-haired Crimson Knight of Besaid automatically rendered a salute in return.
"Sir Takoire was just showing us a few moves, sir," a guardian answered.
Darka turned to Takoire. "I didn't see you at the council meeting today."
He shrugged. "I didn't feel like going. You know how it is. Where would you rather be? Training young guardians or watching a debate between politicians?"
Darka let out a small chuckle. "Fair enough, but if I didn't go, your summoner would beat me over with something hard enough to crack my head open."
"I wouldn't put it past her," Takoire answered with a small smile.
Darka nodded in appreciation. "So, what have you been teaching them?"
Takoire shrugged. "Nothing, really. Just a few moves here and there to improve their efficiency. They're a pretty well trained group."
"Well, I've personally trained every single Besaid guardian and inspected every summoner's guardian that has passed through this city, and if there are flaws," Darka began, pulling out his sword, "I want to know how fix them."
Takoire gave a glint of fake confliction. "I can't really tell you how to fix it without teaching you, and that would require me to fight you, which I really don't want to do."
"Come on, Sir Takoire," Darka continued to insist. "If you're not even willing to teach me, then I'll put up the argument that I've inspected every summoner's guardian that has come through this city, and you, Sir Takoire, are no exception."
The black haired summoner guardian raised an eyebrow. "Would you just believe me if I told you I was more than capable?"
Darka shrugged a second time. "Probably, but I can't start giving you special treatment, can I?"
For the briefest of moments, Lenne thought she saw a glimmer of old mischief spark in the guardian's eyes.
"If you insist," Takoire answered.
At this point, the group of guardian that had formed a circle around the two had double in size. Lenne saw Vidina and Gaia make their way through the crowd and watch intently on the situation that was unfolding. Both of their faces told Lenne they were obviously amused.
"Ready?" Takoire asked, his sword still sheathed on his back. Darka nodded. "All right. Lesson number one…" in the blink of an eye, the former blitzball captain was gone. Darka looked around frantically for any sign of his opponent, but it appeared as if he had left no trace. Takoire's image seemed to be appearing in more than three places in once, and his voice made no distinction on its source. "… never trust your eyes. They tend to lie to you every once in awhile." Suddenly, Takoire was attacking with rapid blows, and each time Darka was barely able to parry them and keep his balance. Lenne's eyes were hardly able to keep up with her guardian's attacks, and she had no doubt in her mind that he had achieved such speed from his time playing blitzball. "Lesson number two…" he began, still attacking Darka relentlessly, "… always trust your instincts." It was obvious Darka was beginning to tire. "And lastly… always put yourself in the mindset of your opponent." The fight ended with those words with Darka holding up his sword with both hands as Takoire pressed down with only one hand and a pistol in his other aimed at the Crimson Knight's forehead.
Darka couldn't help but pant loudly. "Nice pistol, is it loaded?"
"Don't know," his counterpart answered, not the least out of breath, "it's yours."
The Crimson Knight of Besaid quickly looked down at his belt with wide eyes, and true to his opponent's words, one of his two pistols was missing. With a defeated grunt, Darka pulled back as Takoire handed it back to him. As he fastened it to his waist, he said, "If you don't mind me asking, where'd you learn to do that?"
Takoire let out a small chuckle. "A thief taught me."
"A thief, Sir Takoire?" Garren asked, coming out from the crowd and Gaia and Vidina's company.
"Mhmm," he answered in response. "Let's just say that my father provided me with every kind of training possible… except magic. I'm useless with magic."
Garren laughed. "Well, at least I don't have to put you up on a platform that says god, just super human."
And for the first time since he had found his way into her time, Lenne saw him laugh. It wasn't a smirk, half-smile, or a small, accidentally let out chuckle… it was a laugh. He was laughing. Maybe the man Lenne had fallen for years wasn't gone completely. Maybe he was just buried underneath.
"Hey, Darka," Garren began, "as head Crimson Knight, I'm supposed to know the abilities of each of my Crimson Knights, and if you have flaws, then that means I have flaws. Do you think if we work together we might stand a chance and figure out what we can do to fix this?"
"Maybe," the normally silent Crimson Knight answered.
Takoire raised an eyebrow at them. "You want me to beat you again?"
"We're looking for flaws in our system of training, Sir Takoire," Garren answered as slyly as possible.
Lenne's guardian couldn't help but stay smiling. Takoire quickly brought out his arms, and there was a glint of silver, but nothing more. "All right then," he began, "let's go."
Garren and Darka both moved at once to pull their swords out from their waists but instead found a sense of profound confusion.
"Lesson number four," Takoire laughed, "never rely on weapons alone."
Looking at their waists, a small knife had locked each sword into its sheath, making it impossible to pull their swords out.
That time, Lenne couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight of her cousin and friend's confused and lost expressions. She rounded the corner and came into full view.
What humor and fun Takoire had moments ago had disappeared at the sight of his summoner. Without a word, he rolled his sleeves, resetting the metal triggers on each arm as Darka and Garren handed his knives back.
Lenne continued to smile. "What are you boys up to?"
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Takoire felt his stomach drop out from under him. At the moment, he felt like the easiest person in the world to read as he watched Lenne continued to smile all the more.
The guardian had always taken it upon himself to never become attached to anyone or anything in any time he had come across. Four months after he had escaped his brother's grasp, Ryak had saved him from the bowels of society. The once head summoner of Byakko had begun an underground movement. Its sole purpose to negate the false leader of Bevelle.
After Ryak died, and Sin was first defeated, Takoire had found his way to the Farplane, beginning his journey through time. Over time, he had had learned to let everything go… including his hopes of a life with Lenne. As even more time passed, he eventually came to terms with the fact that once he found her, he could never keep her. And ultimately, he decided that once he had found her, he would only make sure she was all right and disappear again. She would never have been any wiser of his presence.
Way to follow the plan…
"Just, uh…" Garren began to answer, trying to cover the hole in his sheath, "Just some friendly sparring. That's all."
"Uh huh…" Gaia replied, joining her other friends with Vidina. "Is that you're way of saying you were getting your asses kicked by Takoire?"
Lenne and Vidina laughed. Takoire cracked a smile.
The Crimson Knight of Bevelle frowned. "Crid ib."
Gaia continued to laugh. "Oui."
"Oui ghuf... yc dra Crimson Knight uv Bevelle, E ryja y meddma bneta."
"Y meddma? Yna oui gettehk sa? Oui ryja suna bneta dryd drana ec cyht eh dra Bikanel Desert!" his sister answered.
Lenne had to intervene now. "E drehg pudr uv oui zicd haat du crid ib, ugyo? Sheesh… Just be glad that Vidina, Darka, and Takoire can't speak Al Bhed."
"Tuh'd pa cu cina," Takoire suddenly spoke. "E luimt ymfyoc dnyhcmyda vun dras," he ended with a smirk.
Both Gaia and Garren ceased to argue. Lenne laughed out loud for a second time that day, already rare, and Vidina and Darka stared at each other, oblivious to everything that had been exchanged.
Lenne turned to her guardian. "I don't remember you speaking Al Bhed."
"I learned it as part of my father's training," Takoire answered, the lightest smile on his face. "We never ran into any Al Bhed so I never had any reason to speak in it."
"I bet you used it in Zanarkand," Lenne continued, scoffing. "You probably had a larger fan population if you spoke another language."
"Well," Takoire cocked his head slyly, "I suppose it did come in handy every once in awhile…"
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Gaia watched Lenne and Takoire with a cheerful expression.
It had been a long time since the Al Bhed had seen her cousin's eyes without a glint of worry, if only for a second. For the briefest of moments, it was as if the aeons had never appeared and Lenne had never become a high summoner.
Gaia had also never seen Takoire the way she saw him now. Before today, her first and only impression of the guardian was a sullen, gloomy, and depressed man, who obviously cared about her cousin, but revealed nothing about his emotions or feelings. But now, he acted just like one of them. A little reserved, but still one of them nevertheless. Was this a small hint of real happiness? Even if it was only temporary?
Lenne and Takoire laughed again.
Gaia smiled. Maybe there was hope for her yet…
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Author's Notes:
Final Revision