So, FF is acting up again. I'm getting nothing from them. So many alerts, still nothing. What makes it worse, I have trouble logging in. The last chapter took me almost ten minutes to upload because of it. I hope the rest of you have more luck then myself.
Well I was thinking back on that last chapter. I guess it was still rated T, but perhaps if I hadn't changed it it might have come close to going up. I'm sure you can guess who I didn't like in the game. They are always the ones who do the most horrible things. This chapter is a bit more relaxed, nothing graphic here. But the scenes change often. So following may be tough until the end. Let's see, what else? Nothing? Time for the disclaimer then. Eh, perhaps next time. Don't feel like it.
--
"Just what is he doing here?" After his conversation with Kimahri outside, Auron had entered the airship and went straight for the bridge. As soon as he stepped foot on it, he found a finger pointed in his direction.
"Hello to you too, Cid. I have come to request a favor from you." He replied ignoring the fact that Cid was glaring at him willing him to die several times over.
Cid lowered his hand before replying back. "As if I would want to do anything for you." He snapped.
Auron sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I did not come to pick a fight. All I ask is a ride to Besaid. I hear you are headed that direction anyway."
Cid growled. Ever since the day Braska died, he did not like the man in front of him. In his mind if it had been Auron with him, then his daughter would not have been killed four years ago. He had allowed Jecht, a drunkard, to protect his brother-in-law. "Fine. Do what you want! Just make sure I don't see your ugly face until after we land."
"You are the captain." Auron turned and walked off the bridge ready to find an empty room and rest until Besaid.
--
Seymour lay in the mud as rain poured down on top of him. He could make out voices around him all of them questioning if he was even alive. In response, he moved his finger.
"Look, sir. He is alive!"
"Well don't just leave him there. We have to get him back home. We must tend to his injuries."
Tromell? Seymour questioned to himself on what his servant was doing here. He struggled and rasped out the name himself.
"My lord. Don't speak. You might injure yourself farther. We are taking you back to Guadosalam. There we can treat you. When I heard that there was a boy asking about you, I had to come out and make sure you were alright."
Seymour understood now. The kid that attacked him gave himself away by asking for his whereabouts. As soon as he was well, he would be making sure he did not get away with this. The boy had taken Rikku away from him, and he resolved to get her back by any means necessary.
He felt as arms were moved under him before lifting his body up. He was carried like that for the next hour back the way they had come. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had left home. It could have been anywhere from a few hours to a few days. But with the report he got, he was sure it wasn't that long. His strength gave out and he allowed himself to fall back into peaceful bliss.
--
Tidus ran while holding Rikku's hand making sure they were not being followed. Seymour and his aeon had been tough and he wasn't up for another round. Right now he just wanted to reach the agency and call Cid to come get them as soon as possible.
It felt like they had been running forever before he saw the roof of the building just ahead. "Just a little further. You can do it, Rikku." He said over his shoulder as he pointed ahead of them. Together they ran in the attempt to get out of the rain.
Once they reached it, Tidus stopped to catch his breath and to give a quick warning to his friend. "I'm going to get us a room while we wait for the airship. While inside, don't remove your hood. If anyone comes searching for you, they won't know who you are that way."
Rikku nodded in understanding. She clung close to him needed the reassurance that she was now safe for at least a little while.
"I would like a room for the night please."
"With one or two beds, sir?" The woman asked him with a wink.
Tidus almost smacked himself. Of course she would need that information. He had just made it seem as if they were a couple. "Two please. And do you have a communication sphere? One that can contact airships?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact each room is supplied with one. Out here we need them. You never know how the weather might be from day to day. Here is the key to your room. Last door on your left. Enjoy your stay."
Tidus took the key from her and took Rikku's hand and led her to their room. He locked the door behind them and started the fire first. "I don't know about you, but I'm soaked!" He exclaimed as he began taking clothing off and hanging it over the flame. "Don't you want to get dry too?"
Rikku lowered the hood and nodded. But yet she still pulled the garment closer to her body. She was scared of what he would think of her if he were to see the leather dress she was wearing.
"Rikku, is it true? Is what Seymour said about you being mute true?" Though he wouldn't put it past the man to lie, his friend hadn't said one word since he rescued her.
Rikku lowered her head before looking away. Her hair flowed down and covered her face from view.
"Rikku?" She looked up at him. "I wish there was something I could do to help you speak again." He took a deep breath before smiling at her. "At least you can relax and take off that cloak now. Sit by the fire and get warm." He walked over behind her and gently pulled it from her shoulders. His eyes grew wide when he saw what little she wore. "Whoa! Just what had he been doing to you?" The coat was hung over the fire quickly. When he turned around he could see tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said it like that. Come here." He held his arms out wanting to comfort her the only way he knew how in the moment. Rikku threw herself at him and sobbed silent tears. It had been a long time since she had been able to just cry like this. "That's it, just let it all out." Tidus cooed to her as he pet her hair. He slowly lowered them to the floor while still cradling her in his arms. "Let it all go. It's alright. I'm here for you."
Rikku wept until she was out of tears. With Tidus to her front and the fire on her back, she felt safe and warm. All the tears made her tired and she closed her eyes for only a minute, but that was she needed. Soon enough her soft breathing could be heard. Rikku had fallen asleep.
Tidus kissed her a top her head before gently picking her up and laying her down on one of the beds. "Sweet dreams." He whispered before moving away and calling Cid.
--
It only took a day before Seymour felt better. The injuries Tidus had dealt him were quickly healing. He was back home overseeing affairs before expected. But something was wrong, he was on edge and all of his household could tell. They all walked around in fear that they may be the next person he lashed out at.
Seymour sat in his office looking over files on the desk. From time to time he would slap one back down after looking through it.
Tromell watched this go on for over an hour before speaking up. "My lord, if I may suggest. Perhaps we can find you another slave girl?"
Seymour dropped the file in his hand before standing and glaring at the servant. His patience had snapped. "I do not want another girl. I want Rikku! I did not spend four years preparing her only to end up starting all over again!" He sat back down roughly. "I do not have the time to waste on another girl. I need her!"
"But sir, I thought she was only..."
Seymour interrupted before he could finish. "Yes, there was the fact that I used her for my own pleasure. And she pleased me well. But it was more then just that. I have found a way to bring back Sin, and I need her to do it."
"I'm sorry, sir. I don't understand."
Seymour smirked as he began explaining his plans.
--
"Come get you? What are you crazy? It's the middle of the night and I'm almost to Besaid. You expect me to just turn the ship around for you?"
"Fine. Keep going then. Just hurry up. I don't want to be out here any longer then I need to. But you're paying for the room for as long as it takes for you to arrive."
Cid growled. Tidus was more trouble then he wanted to admit. "Fine! I'll be there as soon as I drop everyone off!" He cut the communication off as soon as he finished speaking. He growled in agitation before he heard Yuna behind him.
"Is everything alright, Uncle Cid?" She asked quietly.
"Huh?" He turned around. "Oh, just you. That was your boyfriend. After I drop the lot of you off, he wants me to come pick him up from the Thunder Plains. Can't imagine what he's doing there."
Yuna tapped one finger on her chin in thought. She knew he had gone back to Guadosalam, but why wasn't he there now? What had he taken to get himself in trouble? "I wonder." She said softly.
"Hey, don't let it bother you. Whatever he went back for, I'm sure he's fine." Cid placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close. "Go get some rest. By the time you wake up, you'll be home."
Yuna stepped back from the embrace and agreed. "Alright. I will. You get some rest too. You look like you could use it."
"Don't worry about me."
Yuna smiled as she headed for her room. As she walked the halls she was met with a familiar face. "Sir Auron? Couldn't you sleep either?"
Auron stopped his pacing and stared at her for a moment before answering. "I suppose not. Shouldn't you be in bed yourself?"
"I was just heading there. I went to see if Uncle Cid heard from Tidus yet?"
"And?"
"Well, he just finished talking to him before I entered the bridge. We are going to be dropped off in Besaid before he goes and gets him."
"I see."
"It's not because of you!" Yuna quickly added. "It's because we are so close that it would be pointless to turn back now."
"I never said it was me."
"Oh. I guess you didn't. I guess I was just worried about Tidus. He had gone back to Guadosalam because he said he forgot something, but now Uncle Cid has to pick him up from the Thunder Plains. I was worried something may have happened."
"I can understand that. However, no matter what may or may not have happened, I'm sure Tidus can take care of himself."
"I suppose you're right. After all it was you who taught him how to fight."
Yuna could see the slight ghost of a smirk on his face.
--
Two people were playing by the beach in Besaid as the airship came down and landed splashing sea water everywhere. One of them quickly scooped up her child before he was caught in the waves.
"That was a close one, ya?" The man asked while laughing.
"Wakka. That's not funny. Your son could have been hurt." The woman scolded.
"Ah, sorry, Lu. Vidina okay?"
"He's fine, but someone has to say something to Cid about that."
"I know. Hey look! Here comes Yuna!" He pointed to the airship bay as Yuna was the first to exit the ship. She was closely followed by Kimahri and Auron. "And Auron is here too. Is it that time of year already?"
"I suppose it is. But where's Tidus? Didn't he go with them as well?"
Yuna ran through the surf eager to greet her friends. She had a lot to tell them about. "Lulu, Wakka!" She shouted while waving.
"Yuna, good to see you again. But what happened to my brudda?" He asked referring to Tidus.
Her good mood suddenly seemed to vanish. "He stayed behind. Uncle Cid is leaving now to go get him."
"Stayed behind? Why?"
Yuna glanced to the woman and shrugged. "I'm not sure. He didn't say. He said he forgot something and left without saying anything more." Her smile returned. "But I'm sure it's no big deal." Her attention traveled to the child in Lulu's arms next. "Hey there Vidina. Did you miss Aunt Yuna?" She took the child and began walking back to the village.
"She's hiding something." Lulu noted.
"Yuna is worried, but doesn't want us to be worried as well. If that is what she wants, then we as her friends should respect that."
The couple looked up as Auron approached. "Hey, Sir Auron. Good to see you again." Wakka greeted.
Auron nodded once before heading the same way Yuna had gone. More water was splashed as the airship took off once more. The jets screamed as it shot across the sky heading back the way it came.
"Yes, someone should say something soon." Lulu said as she looked down over her drenched clothes.
--
Two days. That's how long it was supposed to take Cid to fly back from Besaid. He hadn't told Rikku yet who was picking them up. He didn't know if she was ready for that information yet or not. Right now she was still sleeping, and had been for the past thirteen hours. He sighed as he watched her. She looked so sweet and innocent, but he was sure she had seen much more then any of them could imagine. But with her unable to speak they would never know any of it.
He couldn't imagine the burden she must be feeling. It was hard enough when he heard about his father and then watching his mother dieing right in front of him. If it hadn't been for Auron and Yuna, he didn't know what he would have done. And yet, Rikku had no one. Well he was going to be there for her no matter what.
He stood up when Rikku began moving. Maybe she was finally starting to wake up, but something was wrong. She had a scared look on her face as if she was having a nightmare. Tidus moved closer to her bed and tried to wake her out of it before it got worse.
Rikku tossed and turned violently on the bed. Tears began streaming down her face, and he called out to her several times trying to shake her out of the dream. "Rikku. Rikku!" He started to panic when she didn't respond to his voice. Suddenly she bolted up in the bed and grabbed onto him. Her breath came out in rapid gasps and he could feel her heart beating quickly in her chest as she pressed herself against him.
"You're safe now. Whatever it was, it was only a bad dream."
Hearing his voice, Rikku turned her head and looked at him. Her lips moved in a question, but there was still no sound. She let go of him and covered her face with her hands and cried. The dream had felt so real.
Rikku walked by herself through Macalania woods. It seemed so peaceful here and she smiled as she reached out to touch one of the crystals that grew naturally. It was cool to the touch, but not freezing. She stared at it mesmerized by the beauty of it. Suddenly another face began to appear behind her own. She hardly noticed it at first, but soon it took shape. Recognizing who it was, she dropped the crystal where it shattered. But the face was now in each piece instead of just the one.
She turned to run away, but he stood behind her blocking her path. "Naughty little girl. You should not have run away from me."
"Seymour." She whispered in fear as she fell to the ground.
"I own you, Rikku. Did you think it would be that easy to escape?"
She opened her mouth to scream out but it was quickly covered by his own as his hands trailed over her body. They began ripping the clothing from her trying to get to the flesh under them. Tears ran down her cheeks during the attack, but she was powerless to stop him.
"I will find you." He warned.
--
Seymour smiled to himself as he came out of the trance. The plan to project himself into Rikku's dream had worked better then expected. Granted she had woken up before he was finished with her, it worked better then he expected. Next time he would be able to hold her in that state longer.
"Was it successful, master?" Tromell asked when he saw the eyes of his master open.
"Yes, very well in fact. Now I only need to find her. It shouldn't be a difficult task as we are connected, but it will take some work. If you will excuse me, I would like to be left alone now." Seymour stood from the floor and back to his desk. He picked up a file and glanced through it waiting for Tromell to leave.
"As you say sir. I will be downstairs if you need me."
Seymour waved him off, not really caring what he was doing. He needed more information about how to reach Rikku again. Now that he knew how to do so while she was asleep, he needed knowledge on how to do the same while she was awake.
--
"What was it, Rikku?" Rikku was trying to tell Tidus about her dream without the use of words. Instead all she was doing was flailing her arms around. "Your dream. You want to tell me your dream?" She nodded glad that he managed to understand that much. "Was it about Seymour?" When she nodded again he wanted to cry himself for her. Even now it seemed as if she was burdened by his presence.
"Don't worry about it. We will keep you safe. But first, maybe we should get you some new clothes."
Rikku looked down over herself and agreed. She couldn't walk around Spira wearing only this. If people saw her with Tidus they might get the wrong idea about them. And she couldn't do that to him. She pointed at him wanting him to tell her all about what she had missed in the past four years. Tidus stared at her like she was crazy until he figured it out.
"Tell you about me? Oh, all of us." They smiled together as he began. It was nice to see Rikku laughing once in a while as he spoke. She looked so much more relaxed with the longer he spoke. When he had finished with all the stories he stared at her before a frown crossed his features. His friend was nothing like he remembered. Somehow Seymour had managed to change her hair and eye color. Even though he knew it was Rikku, it was hard to accept that fact.
Rikku was looking at him confused now. She had seen his smile fade only to be replaced by a frown. She pointed to his face to ask what he was thinking.
"Oh, nothing. Hey! I just remembered something! Guess what today is!"
Rikku thought hard, but she could not think of what it could have been.
"Come on. Think!" Tidus waited until it looked like she gave up before answering. "It's your birthday! Today you are sixteen!"
Her face brightened after the reminder. It really was her birthday, and Tidus had given her the best gift she could have ever ask for. He rescued her from Seymour. Thinking about it that way made the day seem so much brighter. She launched herself at him and hugged him with all she was worth. Tidus grinned himself glad to see her happy again.
The sound of an airship approaching was heard then. Tidus let her go and shouted how relieved he was. "Cid's here!"
Rikku paused. Cid was her father's name. Was Tidus talking about the same man?
Tidus stopped cheering when he saw her worried face. He scratched the back of his head. "Oh, right. Guess I forgot to tell you. Your dad uses his airship to fly us around Spira. I told him to come pick us up after stopping in Besaid. What's wrong? Don't you want to see him?"
Rikku shook her head no. How could she face him now? She couldn't even tell him anything about what she had been through. And knowing her father, he would become so angry that he would probably bomb all of Guadosalam just to get even with Seymour. She didn't want to be responsible for the death of all the innocent people because of it.
"I get it. You're scared of what he might think." She shook her head letting him know he got it right. "He'll probably be happy to see you. Who cares what he thinks?"
She brought her hands together in a begging motion.
"Alright, alright. I won't tell him. But you will have to face him eventually. You can't hide forever." He stepped away and grabbed the cloak she had been wearing from above the fire and slipped it over her shoulders. "Let's get going then."
--
"Now what was so important that you insisted on leaving alone?" As soon as Tidus entered the bridge Cid began shouting at him. He never did see the person who was standing behind the blond.
"I can't tell you now, but it was important that I went. Just set a course back for Besaid. I'm eager to get home."
"Why you little...!" Cid continued yelling as Tidus walked away.
Rikku waited for a few seconds staring at her father from under the shadows of the hood. She wanted to run to him and let him know she was alright, but the truth was, she really wasn't. And he wouldn't be able to understand that yet. With a sad shake of her head she followed after Tidus.
Cid didn't seem to notice her as he had his attention focused on Tidus instead.
Rikku was going to find Tidus, but decided to explore the ship instead. She had never been on this one and was fascinated by all the gadgets on board. Cid must have put everything he had into building this. She smiled weakly as she remembered how obsessed he always was by anything mechanical. This was the dream he always told her about. She was happy knowing he finally achieved it.
Her hand ran along the cool steel of the walls and she knew he did a good job of putting this together.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Someone was shouting at her.
Without realizing it, she had made her way to the engine room. She gasped before trying to use her hands to explain what she was doing. They didn't seem to understand as well as Tidus did. The grabbed her arm roughly and tried dragging her out.
"You shouldn't be in here." He scolded her. "If Cid were to find out there were people in the engine room, he would not be happy."
He threw her through the door and slammed the door behind her. Rikku sighed as she looked around. If only she could have told him who she was, she was sure he wouldn't have been so mean then.
--
He had found it. The one file he had almost overlooked. It explained how he could reach his slave even while she was awake. Perhaps now he would be able to find out where she was. Seymour left the office with the file tucked safely under his arm. He was going to do this in his room where he would not be worried about being interrupted.
Locking the door behind him, Seymour lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. He smiled as he used his mind to reach out. He was pleasantly rewarded moments later when he found her.