Let me just say how much writer's block sucks. I got about five pages done and then was stuck for about two weeks in the middle of a sentence! Not a good place to stop. But I persisted and finally added more. Maybe I can get back into this yet. On a side note though, I found my computer will not allow me to review. For some reason my browser is blocking all pop-ups. Even the good ones! So if you get a pm from me, that's probably why. Until I can get it fixed at least. Anyway... enough of my rambling. That's not why you are here, is it? Enjoy and remember the disclaimer. Gining does not own these or any other characters from Final Fantasy. They are the sole property of Square-Enix.
---
The next time he opened his eyes, all he could feel was cold. Wind gusted and attacked his face and hands. His body was sore from whatever happened to him. The man sat up and leaned against a cliff wall behind him. He looked around and cursed. "Could this possibly get any worse?" He muttered. The wind picked up knocking snow from a ledge above him. Auron cursed again, "Damn."
--
At the urging of Yuna, Tidus was up early and ready to head for Guadosalam. They packed light to be able to travel quickly. The Liki was at the docks now and taking passengers for boarding. It was due to leave by mid-morning so that it could arrive in Kilika by dusk.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Tidus asked her one last time before they left. He wanted to make sure she was ready for the challenges ahead.
She thought it over for only a second. She knew this was needing to be done and soon. But to be confronted with the decision was another matter. "Yes, I am ready. We will go to Guadosalam and try and speak with Rikku. Only once I see her there will I feel at ease."
"That's my girl." He kissed her deeply not knowing if he would get the chance again soon.
They set out meeting up with Lulu and Wakka at the gate of the village.
"Off already?" Wakka asked as they approached.
"Yes, We have to hurry so we can see Rikku."
Lulu moved closer as she placed one delicate hand on Yuna's shoulder. "Do be careful. You know how I worry about you. Don't do anything rash now." She turned to Tidus next. "And you make sure to keep her safe."
"Don't worry. Yuna will be safe. I'll protect her with my life."
"That's good to hear, ya. But don't go and be a fool and make her cry by dieing on us now. We all fought too hard to get where we are. Let's not ruin it."
"I agree. We want to see you come back."
After parting, the young couple made their way down to the shore, but stopped when something soared loudly overhead. They looked up at the same time as a flash of red flew over them.
"What...what was that?" Yuna asked first.
As Tidus used one hand to block the sun from his eyes, he followed where it was heading. "I'm not sure, but it's landing at the beach. We should be able to catch it if we hurry."
"Let's go then." They took off quickly and arrived just in time to see two people step off an airship.
"Cousin Aniki?" Yuna gasped when she saw the tattooed man. The man in question turned at the sound of her voice.
"Yuna! So good to see you again. What do you think of our airship?" He asked as he spread his hand out in show of the vehicle behind him.
"'Our' airship?" Tidus questioned.
The dark skinned man answered for him. "Yeah, Brother thinks that just because he flies it, it's his as well. Haven't been able to convince him otherwise yet."
"Ah, Buddy! That hurts! My heart, it breaks." Aniki made a show of falling to the ground dead.
The small group laughed at him, even if Buddy did roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Get up. Would the Lady Yuna like a ride in her?"
Yuna glanced over at her husband before they nodded at the same time. She faced Buddy once more, "We would love to. Can you take us to Guadosalam?"
"Guadosalam, sure we can do that!" Aniki cut in.
But Buddy was hesitant. "I'm not sure. It is underground. But what we might be able to do is drop you off nearby. How does south of the city near the moonflow sound?"
"That...would be perfect!"
--
He grunted as he tried to pull himself out from under all the snow. It was not an easy job given how tired he was. His body felt as if he hadn't slept in days. Just as he pulled himself out, a figure appeared in front of him.
She wore very little clothing, but even so, it did not look as if the weather bothered her in the least. "You have made it. That is good." She spoke.
"You call this good?" He snapped.
"Oh dear. I'm afraid your condition seems to be bothering you already."
Auron sighed. His condition. He scoffed at the very notion. He wasn't quite alive, yet not dead either. The fayth had suspended animation on his body. "Just tell me what I need to do so I can get this over with."
Shiva was not looking at him though. Her gaze was directed off to her left where another figure was approaching. "Good day, Anima. Is this not lovely?"
The woman addressed as Anima took one glance at Auron before turning to Shiva. "Does he not remember yet?"
"I'm afraid not. Must be Bahamut's doing. He does his job a little too well sometimes."
Anima leaned over until she she level with him. "You need to find Rikku and bring her back. I'm afraid we can't tell you where she is though. Even we, with all our power, can't tell you that. You have been given a second chance at life to do this. Very few get an opportunity like this. Use it wisely, we can't bring you back again." She warned him gently.
Nodding in understanding, Auron pulled himself to his feet. He looked around to get a bearing on where he was. "Gagazet." He noted.
"Yes, we had to return you to where you died." Shiva explained.
"It is...fine." Without another word he began his long trek down the mountain.
The two woman glimpsed at one another before disappearing.
Auron struggled as he traveled down. This was much simpler the first time when he came up here two years ago. His thoughts drifted as he walked. He never imagined that he would be here now searching for Rikku. But a promise was a promise, even if it was tricked out of him.
"You have come. Are you ready to hear our plan now?"
"I am interested in no plans of any sort. All I want to know is what have you done with Rikku. I have come for answers, nothing more."
"I am sorry, Sir Auron. We cannot give the answers that you seek. But isn't that why you have come?"
"Fayth, I warn you. I have all of eternity to make this place hell for you."
"We are aware of that. However, we are also aware that in order to do that, you would need access to..."
"I don't care about that!!" Auron interrupted.
Bahamut fell silent. He knew how man could be. When pushed far enough they could do very unexpected actions.
"I promise you, even without your knowledge, I will do everything inside my power to find Rikku myself and bring her back."
The two female fayth behind Bahamut leaned in and began to whisper into his ear. He nodded once in agreement before addressing Auron. "Sir Auron, you vow to do all you can to find her? If that is true, then you will need our help. You cannot find her alone. And while we may not know where she can be found, we fayth believe one such as yourself will be able to do what we could not."
"Meaning...?"
The woman leaned in once more and began to giggle lightly. Suddenly Auron began to wish he had never asked.
One stood up and moved in closer to him. "Meaning, Sir Auron, you are going to have a glimpse of life again." The world around grew dim before going dark completely.
They had used his words against him, and now here he was. But Bahamut was right in one regard. He would not have been able to do this on his own. He did not have the power himself to leave the farplane. Watching as his breath made clouds of vapor as he walked, Auron kept putting one foot in front of the other as he climbed down the mountain.
--
"You look lovely, my dear. Must you fuss so much with your hair?"
"I'm sorry, but you said that all these important people were coming. I wanted to make sure I was presentable." She huffed as she glanced in the mirror one last time.
"Rikku, dear, you are simply perfect the way you are. If these men know what is good for them, they won't stare at you in the same way I do." He leaned over her and placed a gentle kiss on the side of her neck.
Rikku smiled. She was hoping he would support her in some way like that. "Thank you, Seymour. Now if I'm not mistaken, your guests will be here soon. Shouldn't we be going?" She stood from her seat and hopped from the room.
Seymour rolled his eyes at her antics. Even though he had managed to replace most of her personality with what he wanted from her, once in a while a small glimmer of her past self would peek through. It was proof enough that he still had some work to do.
With an air of confidence, he left the large room and followed her downstairs. He found her already talking to one of his guests. He smirked seeing no sign of her previous actions from upstairs. She was blending in well. The fayth would have a hard time finding her.
As if sensing his presence, Rikku turned enough to smile up at him. She held one dainty hand out for him to take. He did so gracefully. "Seymour, I have just been talking with Mika here. He says that he knows of something that would benefit you and what you are trying to accomplish. However, he would not give me any details until after you arrived."
Seymour took in the appearance of the aforementioned man. He was older, quite older, and slightly hunched over from age. But his eyes shown with information that only those years could have given him.
"Rikku, love, would you be a dear and mingle with some of the other guests? Make them feel welcome. I will be joining you after I am done here."
With a quick nod, she released his arm and waltzed off. When he was sure she was out of range, Seymour began. "So what is this information you have for me? I trust it involves our little blond friend?"
"That it does. Does she know she is not really alive? One can smell the death that pours from her."
"She does not. And I have given orders for none to mention it either. That is why we are meeting here in Zanarkand instead of my home in Guadosalam. I cannot risk her being so close to the farplane."
"An understandable reason. But also in your benefit. A lab on the east side of the city has made a huge discovery in the field of alchemy."
"Do tell. I have heard of this lab. They specialize in medics I believe."
"Yes, that is correct, but that is not all any more. It seems as if they have branched out into other fields as well. They have perfected the item known only as Aeon Soul."
Seymour smirked. They had achieved just what he had been searching for. "Thank you. You have helped me in ways you cannot imagine." He walked away from the older man and approached Rikku while sliding one arm around her waist. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear so that only she could hear. "When we are finished here, I have a job we must do."
--
He was tired and weary by the time he made it to the bottom of the mountain. His strength left him just outside of the Ronso village. It was there that a young Ronso found him and carried him inside where he would be able to recover.
While his body was able to rest, his mind was not. Auron was plagued by haunting dreams of what was going to happen next. While he knew any number of things could happen, his mind seemed to only want to focus on the negative. Yet, not matter how hard he tried, he was unable to wake up from the dreams. At least not until the sun began rising over the mountain.
The Ronso who had found him was there when he opened his eyes. They stared at one another until recognition hit Auron. He closed his eyes again.
"Sir Auron has come back. What has happened to bring this about?" The Ronso known as Gerrik asked. He stood passively waiting for an answer.
This was the same Ronso who had found him two years ago on the mountain. The same one who had come to warn him that Cid was also on the mountain. How much he had grown in that short time. "I would rather not talk about it. It is a ... personal matter."
"Gerrik understands. Many have secrets they cannot share." He left the room leaving Auron alone with his thoughts. But he made sure that it would not be for too long. Once back in the main room of his residence, Garrik made a call to Cid. Seeing as he was the last man to see Auron alive, it was only fitting that he should be the first (besides himself) to see him alive once more.
--
Night fell over the city throwing shadows down alleys and side streets. Two figures moved together through them with practiced ease. They moved as if they were one person, each movement a perfect dance of motion. As soon as they arrived at their destination, the male of the two pointed to a door up ahead. She nodded once and left him behind, all the while keeping to the shadows. Her hand hovered just above the surface of the stone that made up the building. When she felt the pulse of static under her palm, she pressed it into the stone and created a small shock effectively shorting the security monitors of that area. Only when she had circled the entire building and ending up back where she had started, did she emerge from the shadows.
"Very nicely done, Rikku. Tonight you have made me proud. Now, let us enter inside and retrieve what has been stolen from me."
The woman who had been addressed as Rikku, smiled slightly at the compliment before moving on. While she enjoyed the attention, she was first and foremost a thief first. Old habits died hard and she moved as if she did this everyday. Then again, if Seymour had his way, she probably would.
He followed slowly behind her only moving when she gave a signal that if was safe to proceed. Mika had told him later where the item he wanted was stored. Of course he expected it to be under high security, but with Rikku in front of him, he knew they would be able to retrieve it quickly and efficiently. But if the worse case came up, perhaps he would escape and allow her to be the one caught. He smirked to himself as he thought of it. She was young, they would let her off easy. And then when they found out she was really dead, they would fear her and then that would be when he would make his move to save her and...His thoughts stopped there. He only brought her back to Spira to use her so that he could become immaculate. Why was he suddenly thinking on thoughts of he would do should the unheard of happened? He would rescue her? Free her? No!
"No!" He shouted without knowing.
Rikku turned quickly. She had just about to enter the room where the Aeon Soul was kept. She had an expression of confusion on her face. "Seymour, what is it?" She stepped closer to him and ran a hand over his cheek in comfort.
He slapped her hand away angrily. "It is nothing. I am fine, simply bad memories. Nothing more." He assured her as he lied through his teeth. How had he allowed himself to slip like that? Taking a deep breath to calm himself and send those thoughts away, he spoke. "Please, continue."
Still unsure, but wanting to please him at the same time, Rikku moved away and back to what she was about to do before. The door opened with hardly a sound, and they stepped into the room. Chemicals and other alchemy items lay strewn about on tables and shelves. Books and papers spread neatly throughout the room as if they planned on starting where they had left off the day before.
Seymour looked around searching for the only thing he wanted. Aeon Soul. A beaker on a back table of the room caught his attention and he moved closer to inspect it. The glass was dark save for a small window in the front. He peered inside as Rikku joined his side.
"What is that?" She questioned in awe.
"That is what we have come for." He answered before noticing the numerical lock at the bottom of the beaker. "Rikku, would you?" He pointed to the pad.
She smiled before hopping in front of him and hovering her hand over the numbers. A second later she was quickly imputing the code and the window opened up.
Seymour reached in and pulled out the small sphere that had been resting inside. It was a dark violet in color, perfect in texture, no flaws at all. He gripped it in his fist as he smirked evilly. "Finally, I have received what is rightfully mine."
--