Chapter 13: Sleep Well
9 years ago………
The clear blue sky hung over head, clouds wistfully passed over, the waves crashing into the side of the cliff. A young Rekks sat on the edge of the cliff fiddling with a flute, his parents sitting together on a rock behind him.
"Why do I have to learn to play this stupid thing." Lamented Rekks as he placed the instrument on the ground next to him
His mother smiled warmly at him, then smacked him on the head lightly.
"Because you can't just Blitz all the time. You need to expand your mind, acquire other skills, broaden your horizons." Replied Yuna
"But the flute is a wimpy instrument." Groaned Rekks
"I don't doubt that but hey if you can get through this who knows what you can accomplish?" laughed Tidus as he handed his son back the flute
"What the heck do you mean?" retorted Rekks
"You already know how to blitz, that's in your DNA, it comes naturally. The true test of yourself comes when you come to understand a part of yourself you didn't know was there before. To do something you didn't think you could do, to do something that doesn't come so naturally. Looking at that challenge straight in the eyes and breaking through it, that's something truly great." Smiled Tidus
"Whatever." Sighed Rekks flopping backwards onto the ground
Rekks stared up at the clouds watching them pass over head. He placed the flute to his lips and began practicing the flute, badly.
"See doesn't it feel good to be challenging yourself. Don't you feel a sense of accomplishment?" smiled Yuna
"Not really, I just feel…..bored." remarked Rekks
"Yeah well that flute was a gift from your Great Uncle Cid, so keep practicing boy." Laughed Tidus as he mussed up Rekks' hair
"I'd rather be hanging out with the others, this is stupid." Whined Rekks
"Well you're still in trouble for you know what, so back to practicing." Tidus shot back
Rekks sighed and continued to practice. He looked up in to the sky and watched the clouds again. As he watched the peaceful sky, he felt a sense of relief was over him. Never before had he just taken the time to see how peaceful the sky was on a day like this. He took a deep breathe and continued to practice. Never going to know when this was going to come in handy he thought, either way that faster he got through this the quicker it'd be over.
-Present Day, 1 day after the big battle-
Rose sat quietly in the medical tent. Early this morning reinforcements arrived from Bevelle. They brought medical supplies, food and building materials to help the village. Rose had punched the commanding officer in the face when the forces arrived. She screamed at them for being late, for letting her friends and the others fight and suffer alone.
She heard the sound of squeaky wheels and looked up to see Vid and Shay walking into the waiting room area where she was. There were both bandaged up pretty well, Vid's arm was in a cast and Shay was sitting in a wheelchair. Rose leapt up from her seat and hugged Vid and Shay. Vid groaned slightly as he smiled at the panicked woman.
"I was so worried about you guys. How are you doing?" asked Rose
"Da doc said I'd be fine. Some minor injuries, da arm, other dan dat I just feel drained so it will all pass." Replied Vid
"As for me I got lucky the wound didn't pierce any organs, few broken bones, nothing that can't be washed away with time. What about you?" smiled Shay
"Just some cuts, scrapes and bruises. Nothing too bad, I've been mostly worried about you guys. Did you hear anything about the others?" asked Rose
They shook their heads. One of the doctors who arrived this morning walked up to them with a report.
"Hey doc, what's going on wid our buds?" asked Vid
"Come with me?" asked the doctor
They all followed him to the treatment ward to see Tev, Cana, Zialas and Rekks laying, unconscious on their hospital beds, bandaged up, attached to monitors and machines.
"You three were lucky, nothing but minor injuries. These four are in need of the most care. The woman is the lowest, few injures, slight concussion, but mostly she suffered a massive energy drain which put tremendous stress on her body. With time she'll wake up and with some rest she'll be fine." Stated the doctor
"Cana." Whispered Vid as he rubbed his temples
"This guy had bite marks all over him. And some burns from the explosion. We had to peel the metal arm thing he had attached to find out that the arm was broken and some of the muscle tissue was damaged. He's pretty drained so it will take longer for him to wake up. But with all the medical equipment we have and all the doctors we can treat him and with time he'll be fine." Stated the doctor pointing at Tev
Shay held back the flood of tears. The three of them looked over at the last two beds. Rekks and Zialas were so bandaged up it was hard to recognize them at first. It was unreal seeing them in such a position of such weakness.
"These two were the worst. Massive blood loss, cracked ribs, to name a few. I'm still surprised they are alive. But these two are fighters. Before today I would have said I would expect them to survive the night, but they seem to be exceeding all expectations. They might just make a full recovery." Stated the doctor
"Even now, Dey kicking death's ass back." Smiled Tev as the tears rolled down
Rekks felt himself floating, floating in the middle of a sea. But everything was dark, he could see. He felt himself curled in to a ball floating around. Everything felt cold. He heard voices calling out in the distance, but they were muffled in the darkness.
"REKKS!!" it was a man's voice……his father
Rekks began to stir.
"REKKS!!!" this time it was a woman…..his mother
Rekks felt a slight warmth in the distance.
"REKKS!!!!" he heard it clear, Cana his sister
"REKKS!!!!!" Vid his best friend
Rekks felt the strength return to his muscles.
"REKKS!!!!!!" Tev his crazy Cousin
"REKKS!!!!!!!" Shay his level headed friend
"REKKS!" Zialas the loner no more
Rekks felt the light creep through the darkness.
"Rekks, please wake up." Rose
Rekks' eyes shot open. He straightened up and headed right for the light. Even if they weren't really around he could hear them call out to him.
Rekks awoke in his hospital bed in a cold sweat. His wiped his forehead a took a moment to calm down. It was just a dream. He felt sore all over, he looked down to see most of his chest covered in bandages and parts of his arms and legs. He took a hold of a nearby mirror looking at his face, only a few bruises left.
He looked around no one else was left in the room. He chuckled a bit before forcing himself out of bed. After locating his clothes he struggled to put him on as he felt his body ache. Rekks found his way out of the tent and in to the fresh air. He took a moment to soak in the warmth of the sunshine.
He continued on in to the village until he collapsed near the center of the village. Using a wall nearby he pushed himself back up again. He continued forward until he felt himself stumble again. As he fell he felt a pair of warm slender arms wrap around him helping him to his feet. He looked up to see the smiling face of Rose. Rose helped him over to a nearby bench and helped him sit down.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked
"I'm still a little weak. How long have I been out?" asked Rekks
"A month or so, but you didn't answer me?"
"A month? Dam, that's oversleeping."
"Actually the doctors were speculating that you could be in a coma for years. But we all knew better. Now why are you out here?"
"I guess I just had to see it. Make sure it all really happened, that it really is over."
"It's over alright."
"How's everybody doing?"
"There will be a few more weeks of healing, but everyone will be alright. We were all sort of worried about you. You were the last one to wake up."
"Last thing I remember was……defeating Yul. Now fill in the gaps."
"After Yul was defeated the fiends ceased their attack. We rounded up all the injured and began taking care of things. The next morning Spirain Government sent relief aid and doctors. Maybe you'd like to know, as soon as Cana woke up she performed a sending."
"That does sound."
"She performed one for everyone, even Yul. She said she could sense that you would have wanted it that way."
"What can I say my sister knows me."
"I found this next to you, I thought I should clean it up."
Rose handed Rekks Yul's flute. He looked it over for a few seconds before placing it in his pocket.
"Thanks. Where's everyone now?"
"Cana and Vid are talking with the Government's people. Shay and Tev are overlooking the rebuilding. And nobody's seen Zialas since he woke up, but he did leave a note."
Rose handed the note. Rekks opened it up to take a look.
Rekks,
You have proven yourself a true warrior. It has been my honor to fight along side you. You have shown me that I have a long way to go before I achieve my goal. On my journey I wish that we can meet again, but until then farewell.
"So he's gone. I hope he finds what he's been looking for. Where's Mr. Kurosawa?"
"In the main tent I think."
"Get a hold of Tev and Tell him to come meet me in there, okay?"
Rekks stood up and turned away from Rose. Her head lowered as she began to walk away. Rekks reached out taking a hold of her arm. He turned to face her and smiled bringing her in closer. She smiled back at him wrapping her arms around his body. His eyes focused on hers.
He leaned in bringing her into a hug. He soaked in her scent, felt her warmth, when he finally pulled away he looked into her eyes again and smiled. He whispered something into her ear then backed away slowly. She smiled at him as a single tear fell down her cheek. He headed off for the main tent she stayed there for a while longer before heading off.
In the tent Mr. Kurosawa sat alone looking over all his notes on the cavern. When Rekks entered he lifted up his head and smiled as he moved to greet him. They shook hands then Kurosawa offered Rekks a seat, but he declined.
"Thank you for all that you have done and sacrificed on our behalf." Stated Kurosawa
"You're welcome I guess. I need to ask you something." Replied Rekks
"And what's that?"
"I want you to seal the cavern and destroy all your research on it."
Kurosawa was taken back. He sat down and poured himself a cup of tea.
"I've spent a good portion of my life searching all over Spira for clues to the past. Things that can give us a better understanding of where we came from. That Cavern is a find like nothing seen before. If we continue to explore it there's no telling what we can find."
"I think that you can agree with me when I say that maybe some things are better left alone."
"Are you sure about your decision?"
"I have it planned I'm going to have Tev rig whatever explosives he can to blow the entrance. Once that's done I want a monument built on top, dedicated to everyone…and I mean everyone"
"Honorable, why do you want to do this. What's down there might be useful to future generations of Spira."
"What's down there is a bunch of people who had their dreams taken away from them and were forced to dream up someone's vision. I want them to rest in peace."
Kurosawa smiled at Rekks then scoped up all his notes placing them in a pile. He placed the notes in a special file and tossed it in to a trash can. Kurosawa took a match off his desk and used it to set fire to the file.
"I was going to burn them anyway. I wanted to make sure I had everything together first. A man doesn't give up his life's work easily. But tragedy has a way of making you re-evaluate your priorities. When Kambei died it made me rethink all this. The sins of the past are best left where they came from……in the past. Those were the last of the files."
"Thanks. I gotta say I'm surprised."
"I'm a little surprised myself. But things change it's a fact of life."
"I'm sorry for everything I put this village through. I was so stupid."
"When I first met you I was looking for the legendary Yuna and Tidus. When you agreed to help I was a little skeptical, but I was also desperate so I took any help I could get. If had allowed myself the proper time to think things through I probably would have said no to your offer and left."
"Desperation made you got with me. Fate is a btch like that."
"In retrospect I think things worked out the way they were meant to. After your first defeat, my aides and I got together. They said that we should have told you to leave then go back to begging the government. I said no…..Something told me that it was best to stay with you."
"Thanks for your confidence."
"It wasn't confidence. It was your guilt. I knew that you were the type of person, who after failing once, wouldn't let himself fail again. You'd push yourself and find a way to win."
"I guess you were right."
"No I was wrong. In the end it was your heart that won the fight. You're a good man."
"Do you really believe that?"
"Have to believe something. Think of it. You were up against seemingly endless odds, against a man whose powers even rivaled, what you were born with and had more time to learn to control said power. You didn't win by being faster, stronger, or more skilled, you won because you refused to lose. You had something to lose therefore you couldn't let yourself be defeated. Yul knew this."
"That's the thing I never got, why? In the end, I don't even think Yul knew why he continued forward with his plan. So why continue?"
"A man needs to have something to believe in. Something that is dear to his heart. He already lost that. So nothing else matter except his rage. He saw in you what he used to see in himself. A man who had nothing to lose vs. a man who had everything to lose. He wasn't fighting you he was fighting himself, so where you."
Rekks nodded his head then shook Mr. Kurosawa's hand. He headed out of the tent and looked up at the clear blue sky overhead. A single Pyrefly floated past him up to the clouds.
A few hours later Tev had collapsed the cavern entrance. The sun was now beginning to dip below the horizon. Tev was lugging around boxes one handed, loading them on to the Celsius. Right by the ship Cana and Vid had set up some chocobos for their trip back to the port.
Tev lugged a heavy box up the ramp, when he felt some of lift up part of it helping him. He looked up to see Rekks giving him a hand. Together the put the box in its place then shook hands.
"So how's the arm?" smiled Rekks
"Better, just a few more days and the cast comes off. Docs thought I'd lose the arm, but what do they know, huh." Replied Tev
"I'm going to miss you two. I was glad to have you here by my side."
"Anytime, anywhere. You'd do the same for me wouldn't you?"
"I don't know….I'd probably do a better job
"You son of a btch." Laughed Tev
"See ya later."
"See ya."
They quickly hugged and then Rekks headed down the platform. A few minutes Rekks watched as the Celsius lifted up and flew off in to the sunset. Rekks walked past the chocobos over to Rose who was leaning on a building.
"So how long are you staying?" asked Rekks
"Just long enough to make sure the village will definitely get back on its feet. What about you?"
"I'm heading back home with Cana and Vid, we wanted to make a few stops before home so we're taking a boat. When do I get to see you again?"
"Soon. After all this I think a little vacation is in order. Know of any good islands where a girl can have a good time?"
"You might want to try Besaid. I hear its quite nice."
"It's a date."
Rose leaned in to kiss Rekks. The locked lips for a few seconds before parting ways. Rekks headed back to his sister and Vid climbing aboard a Chocobo. He took a deep breathe and looked out over the horizon.
"So how ya feeling Mr. Hero?" asked Vid
"Shut Up." Laughed Rekks
"Lay off him Vid, he's just a love sick puppy." Giggled Cana
"Both of you shut up." Chuckled Rekks
"Come on we have a weddin ta plan." Smiled Vid
"Yeah we still have to explain that one to our parents." Chuckled Rekks
"That will be an experience." laughed Vid
"Let's ride." Stated Cana
Together the three of them headed off into the desert. Rose watched from a distance, smiling, as Rekks disappeared into the sunset.
The end
Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed this story. If you liked Final Fantasy X/X-2: The Magnificent check out some of my other stories. And remember the sequeal to the Magnificent will be coming soon. Also for fans of my Final Fantasy 7: The Advent Children series I have a big announcement. I will be putting up FFX/X-2: The Magificent II: Nightingale and a prequel to my The Advent Children sereis, entitled Final Fantasy 7: Before Advent: The Family Strife. It will take place years before the advenures of Alex Strife and take a look at how Cloud built his family, how he learned to be a father, how he became the man we saw in the Advent Children series, also you will get to see how Vincent and Yuffie got together and how Denzel, Alex and John Valentine became the men we know today. So I have plenty for you guys to check out. Remember to send in your reviews, thoughts, questions, opinions, suggestions, etc. and Keep reading!