I'll try and get another update out in a week or two.
Summary: What if Yuna chose the final aeon and Sin wasn't defeated? What if Rikku and the surviving guardians go on a new pilgrimage? What if Bevelle had claimed that Rikku had sabotaged Yuna's pilgrimage and was after her? This is that story. Rated T. Oh it will be Aurikku before the end, so if you don't like, you don't have to read. Characters may be OOC.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X.
Journey of the Hunted
Chapter 5: Battle with Sin
Sin was attacking Luca! As we got closer I could see Sinspawn falling off its back and going into Luca. People were panicking just like in my dream.
"Kimahri speed up! Head straight towards it!" Auron yelled.
"Auron what…
"There's no time to explain." he yells, "Follow me!" I follow him to this big catapult looking thing. "Rikku make two of your most powerful mixes!"
"Okay." I say and dig in my pouch. I mix a Potato Masher and a Cluster Bomb. Auron has put a small rock on the catapult looking thing.
"Attach one of the mixes to the rock." he says. I stick the mix to the rock and Auron pulls a lever. The rock goes flying through the air crashing into Sin's back and BANG! Auron loads another rock on the catapult, and I stick my second mix on the rock. Auron pulls the lever and the rock flies through the air and smashes into Sin's back. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! "Make another mix Rikku!"
I mix another Potato Masher and stick it to the rock on the catapult. Auron pulls the lever and the rock hits Sin's back. BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Want me to make another mix?"
"No. Hold on!" Auron yells as he grabs my arm. Seconds later we're crashing into Sin. The impact knocks me forward almost causing me to fall over the railing. As soon as I get my balance I move closer to Sin. It looks like the front of our ship has pierced Sin's armor. A couple of Sinspawn fall off onto our ship and we begin killing them. As we kill one another one takes it place. "They just keep coming! Kimahri flare, Rikku mix! I'll keep the Sinspawn off of you!"
I mix a Burning Soul and throw it at Sin, it hits. Kimahri flares. I search in my pack and mix a Fire Storm. Kimahri flares.
"Auron, we're running low on items!"
"Cast on it!" he shouts as he slashes through another Sinspawn. I cast Thundara, then I cast it again, and again. Suddenly Sin hits us with some kind of water attack before diving under the water. The water attack throws me into the ocean.
The water seems to be pulling me farther down. I struggle to reach the surface. Suddenly something wraps around my ankle. I look down and see a Sinspawn trying to pull me down. I slash down with my claw. It shoots something at me. I dodge a little too late and a spike hits my shoulder. OUCH! I slash at it again, killing it. Then I swim towards the surface.
Now that I don't have a Sinspawn trying to pull me down, and the water has settled it doesn't take too long to reach the surface. I surface and look around. I don't see our ship anywhere, and I don't see Auron or Kimahri anywhere.
"Auron! Kimahri!" I yell as I dive under once more looking for them. I go as deep as I can stand before stopping and looking for them, I don't see them anywhere. Finally I return to the surface and swim to Luca. As I approach the dock I see a crowd of people watching me. I swim up to them and they help me out of the water.
"Are you alright?"
"You saved us!"
"Thank Yevon you came along."
"Sin could have killed us."
"Can I get you anything?"
Everyone of them tries to talk at once, asking me questions, telling me their stories, telling me what happened before we got here, but the only thing I can think about is where Auron and Kimahri could be. Not Auron and Kimahri too. First Yunie and Tidus, Lulu and Wakka, and now Auron and Kimahri too. They can't be dead. I push my way through the crowd squeezing between people, who are all asking questions. Finally I see a soaked Ronso standing off to himself.
I walk over to him and hug him. "Are you alright?"
"Kimahri fine. Kimahri don't like water." he says shaking the water from his fur and splattering several people standing near by.
"Kimahri have you seen Auron?"
"Rikku…
"Auron, are you alright?"
"Yes." Auron says as he wrings the water from his shirt. "Rikku, they will need a summoner to perform a sending…
"I know." I say as I turn towards everyone. I walk towards this elderly lady in the crowd. "I am a summoner."
"Lady Summoner would you perform the sending for us?"
"Yes." I say and begin walking out in front of everyone. I have never really liked doing anything in front of large crowds ya know, but sometimes I guess its necessary. I pick up a staff that was lying near a wounded man and begin the dance. Ya know I thought I would be more prepared for it the second time around, but I guess I wasn't. As I danced I could feel all the lost souls gathering around me, grabbing at me, clawing at me, and some of them were even biting at me. I danced anyway.
"Don't make me go."
"I want to stay."
"My family needs me."
"I was too young to die."
"I shouldn't be dead, I just wanted to save my children."
"Please Lady Summoner we tried to protect our families, don't make us leave."
"There was so much I wanted to do while living, now I can't do any of it."
"I have so many regrets."
"Don't make me leave my mommy."
"My son is only four, he needs me."
"Let us stay."
"Please Lady Summoner, leave us be."
"YOU ARE A TRAITOR, YOU KILLED YUNA! Now you are making us leave."
"You killed Yuna."
"You caused Yuna to die."
"My parents were killed in Operation Mi'hen, I was left to take care of my baby brother, I'm all he has left… Please Lady Summoner don't make me go."
As I danced their voices continued, each voice breaking my heart with it's story or almost scaring me into wanting to stop dancing. I didn't talk, I didn't even think, I just danced. I don't know how long it lasted. Some time later, it was over and I was on my knees sitting on the dock when Auron walked over and helped me up. "Good job."
I didn't feel like I had done anything that was good or right, but everyone else seemed to think so… at least until several Warrior Monks came running towards us. We backed up to the edge of the dock looking for an escape route but there wasn't one the Warrior Monks had us cornered.
"Rikku of the Al-Bhed, we are under orders from Bevelle to arrest you for sabotaging Lady Yuna's pilgrimage, and two counts of piracy." One of them said. I stood back shaking my head and grabbed Auron's arm. He pulled his sword and waited. Kimahri got on the other side of me and pointed his spear at them. I made sure my claw was still on right and looked at them. "We can either take you back peacefully, or we can do this the hard way… really its your choice."
"I always preferred the hard way."
"Bevelle wants you dead or alive… either way we will be taking you to Bevelle."
"I don't think so." Auron says as he darts forward. "Rikku, run!" He takes out the Warrior Monks directly in front of us and we make a break for it, Kimahri behind me, and Auron in front. We run through the crowd, into the streets of Luca, and passed the blitzball stadium. I've never ran so fast in my life. After some time of running Auron runs towards a dock. We run for the first ship we see and get on it. No one else is on board.
Kimahri starts driving the ship away from the docks, and as we are maybe 10 feet away the Warrior Monks make it to the edge of the dock. I look at them and wave.
"Make that three counts of piracy!" I yell. Auron chuckles, and the ship speeds up. The Warrior Monks stand there firing at us until we are too far away for the bullets to hit the ship. Its been a long day, and Auron is going to let me wait until tomorrow to practice my magic.
I sit down on the deck and watch as the clouds go by. One cloud looks like Auron! After a while I fall asleep. I wake up and its dark. Auron is leaning against the wall above me.
"What is it?" I ask as I get up.
"Kimahri thought you would want to sleep in an actual bed." he says.
"Okay." I say as I look up at him. "Auron?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think we could have saved more people if Yuna had of been the summoner?"
"I don't know. We did everything we could." he says.
"Yuna would have had more aeons and…
"Rikku, you shouldn't compare yourself to your cousin. She did the duty of a summoner, but like the past thousands of summoners she chose her fate. She chose tradition over life. Rikku what do you believe?"
"I believe we will find a way to defeat Sin for good."
"Rikku, you have already surpassed Yuna as a summoner."
The next morning we are heading for Kilika. Kimahri says it'll take us about twelve days to get there. I don't know what will happen in the next twelve days, but I do know we saved a few lives at Luca. I guess if you can save a few lives by doing something its better than doing nothing.
Auron has had me practicing magic all day. I think I finally may be getting the hang of being a black mage. Eventually he says we'll practice summoning. I wonder how Valefor will feel about being called during practice. Sometimes I am tempted to call her anyway, just to talk. There's some things that I don't really feel like talking about to a man or men… even if one of them is a Ronso.
The days seem longer now. Maybe its were we are on the ocean and there's not too much excitement… except for when Auron finds something missing out of his pockets. Sometimes I just like to look out at the ocean and wonder how could something so peaceful hide something like Sin… but then again you never know what lies beneath the surface.