Chapter 39: In the Heart of the Storm

After the event just outside the Farplane, the group decided to head to the Thunder Plains and not risk another attack from any of the Guado, physical or verbal. For once, Rikku did not make any sort of protest, her rage at Tromell's verbal attack on Charlie trumping her astraphobia, though she did flinch slightly as she heard the first rumbles of thunder signaling their arrival at their destination. The Thunder Plains were the same as ever: black as night with only the omnipresent lightning revealing the lifeless landscape around them. Crossing the plain was relatively easy at first, aside from the fiends, but when they made it halfway across, the eternal storm suddenly grew worse as the steady downpour became a torrent, while the winds howled and lashed at the group as they took shelter near one of the lightning towers. "What the hell is going on?" Charlie asked, shouting so that her voice carried above the roar of the wind.

Everyone else looked around warily, as though expecting an attack at any moment, but Auron then stopped, looked at the younger guardian with a grave expression, and replied, "Ramuh."

Charlene looked at her friends, clearly confused by how nervous they all seemed, and said, "I'm sorry, but what's a Ramuh?"

Yuna shook her head. "Not what…who. Ramuh is an unsent."

"In life, he was a Black Mage with an incredible talent for Thunder magics," Lulu explained, going into teacher-mode. "But instead of using that power to help people, he twisted it to his own ends, attacking people attempting to cross the Thunder Plains and demanding tribute. The attacks went on for years, until another Black Mage challenged him to an arcane duel. Ramuh accepted, of course, but in his arrogance never believed that any challenger could defeat him. When that mage defeated him, however, Ramuh could not bear the loss, so he called the storms down on himself and his challenger in an attempt to destroy them both."

Lulu fell silent then, but Charlie could not help but exclaim, "Don't stop there! What happened to the other Black Mage?"

"He went on to become High Summoner Gandof," Auron replied as a particularly loud crack of thunder roared overhead. "Unfortunately, Ramuh's final attack prevented Gandof from sending him, so he still roams the Thunder Plains when the storms grow violent. Jecht, Braska, and I met him once."

"So did you fight him?" Rikku asked, looking around nervously as another roll of thunder boomed close by.

The swordsman shook his head. "Jecht wanted to, but Braska refused and bribed Ramuh, instead. I do not know what he might demand this time. It is different for every group."

Charlene opened her mouth again, wanting to know what else an undead lightning sorcerer could want, but then several bolts dropped down around their sheltering tower, and booming laughter rang out even above the crash of the ensuing thunder. Once the last reverberations died away, a very tall, thin, and pale-skinned man dressed in dark purple robes with a shiny copper medallion draped around his neck stepped out of the gloom. The stranger pointed a long, dull-looking spear at the group as he surveyed them with eyes that flickered electric blue-white. "A summoner's group, eh?" he said, staring intently at Yuna. "Never saw one quite so large before, though. It is just too bad for you that you came into my domain at the wrong time, my dear."

"Ramuh, I…"

"Lord Ramuh," the sorcerer corrected, his eyes flickering brighter as the tingle of static filled the air. "Be courteous now, summoner. After all; I hold all of your lives in my hands."

Yuna steeled herself, and then replied, "Lord Ramuh, we apologize for our intrusion, but please let us pass."

"As I said, it is too bad you came now," Ramuh smirked. "Maybe I will let you pass…if your tribute pleases me."

"So what is it that you want?" Auron growled, clearly losing patience with the unsent.

Ramuh stopped smirking at Yuna and fixed the swordsman with a stormy glare. "Ah…I remember you," he finally said. "The 'legendary guardian' of Lord Braska. You have grown cranky in your old age."

Charlie winced at that comment. "Dude, undead sorcerer or not, calling Auron old isn't exactly a safe thing to do if you want to walk away with all of your limbs intact."

Auron said nothing, but glared back at the Black Mage as though he would love to do something violent to him. Deadly silence ensued, punctuated only by the rumbles of thunder and the sound of the wind hissing over the barren ground. Finally, Ramuh stopped glowering at Auron, and turned his attention to the rest of the group. He studied each of them in turn without saying a word, until his gaze rested on Rikku, who cowered in the back, white as a sheet and quivering with absolute terror. "You," the mage said, pointing at the terrified Al Bhed.

Rikku stared at him and froze, her expression similar to a deer caught in the headlights, and let out a small squeak, but she said nothing. "I like your fear, little girl," Ramuh announced, leering at her. "I think you will do quite nicely as a tribute."

The sorcerer's words and lascivious expression sent chills down Charlie's spine, but those chills quickly turned to burning anger as Rikku let out another whimper and took a step back, clearly intending to bolt. "No," Charlie snarled, stepping between Rikku and Ramuh, her sword drawn and ready to strike. "You can't have her. We aren't playing your perverted little games, you sick son of a bitch!"

The unsent actually gaped at her, apparently surprised that anyone would speak to him in such a manner. Then fury replaced the surprise, and his eyes blazed brightly with captured lightning. "Girl, do you have any idea what I could do to you?" he growled, his hand clenching tightly on the dull spear he carried. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Yeah…a pathetic bully who gets his jollies by terrorizing other people," she replied without pausing. "I don't know what you'd even want a girl for…it's not like you'd know what to do with one."

Ramuh let out a scream of incoherent rage and raised his spear as though he might throw it, but Charlie moved quicker and cast a Fire spell at him. When it reached him, however, a small silvery-green flash appeared between the spell and his body, and the magic bounced away, erupting harmlessly into a burst of purple-grey flames ten feet to the right. It still served its purpose and startled the sorcerer long enough for Charlie to dart forward and lash out with her sword. Ramuh managed to bring down his spear in time to throw off her aim, but the edge of her blade still managed to graze his side, causing a small cut that bled freely and shot tiny sparks of electricity. "You stupid little whore!" he screamed, a crack of thunder emphasizing the last word.

"Your mother!" Charlie snarled in return, whipping her sword around for another strike.

Ramuh slashed at her with the spear, and this time managed to block her attack with one hand and blasted her away with a Thunder spell with the other. The spell was only a low-level casting, but it still threw Charlie back several paces and knocked her off her feet. Ramuh then made ready to fire a stronger one at her, but then Kimahri stepped in and sent him flying with a great gout of water from his jaws, similar to the one used by the Chimeras of Macalania Woods. Wakka and Auron quickly tried to follow up with attacks of their own, but the Black Mage was faster, and managed to bat Wakka's ball away before bringing his spear up to block Auron's blade. At the same time, Charlie struggled back to her feet as Lulu and Yuna hurried over to her side. "I'm fine," she grunted, as Yuna cast healing spells on her.

At the same time, Lulu tried to assist the others by casting Watera at Ramuh, but it bounced away just as Charlie's Fire spell had done. "He has something with a Reflect enchantment on it," the older woman said, her crimson eyes narrowing at the unsent. "It's on something he's wearing, and not something he cast on himself."

"How can you tell?" Charlie wanted to know.

"Because you cast magic at him first," Yuna answered. "If Ramuh had cast the spell on himself, it would have dissipated after your spell tried to hit him. That is the drawback of Reflect: it only works against one spell at a time. It's more effective to enchant an item like a ring or a bracelet, though it takes a very long time to make the enchantment last through more than a few battles."

"Which would be why there aren't many enchanted items around, and why they're so very expensive," Lulu finished.

Charlene did not reply right away, but watched the fight, which seemed to have become a stalemate, as Auron, Kimahri, and Wakka were unable to do any major damage, but kept Ramuh from casting any formidable spells, as well. Finally, she looked back at Lulu, and asked, "What about a weapon?"

"What?"

"Can the Reflect spell deflect magic cast through a weapon? If one of us manages to stab Ramuh, could you channel your magic down the blade and into him?"

Lulu looked at Charlie as though she suspected she was mad, but finally answered, "If you can stab him and if you can keep him from getting free, then yes, I could channel spells through your weapon, but if you're thinking what I think you're thinking, it's going to have to be your sword to be truly effective. Water and Ice magics don't channel as well through metal blades."

"Understood. Wait until I give the signal, and then blast as many Water spells as you can manage through my sword." Charlie said, and then turned her attention back to Yuna. "Yuna, I want you to concentrate on healing and defense for right now, but be ready to perform the Sending at any moment. If things go bad, then summon Bahamut or Anima and squash that bastard, but no matter what, make sure he goes to the Farplane, all right?"

"W…what about me?"

Charlene turned around to see Rikku standing nearby. The Al Bhed was still very pale, and obviously terrified, but on her feet nonetheless. "Rikku, stay here and protect Yuna and Lulu," Charlie told her. "I have no idea if any other fiends will try to jump in or not, but keep an eye out just in case."

Rikku nodded, and Charlie threw herself back into the fray as Ramuh managed to shove Auron, Wakka, and Kimahri away with a wall of crackling static. She darted past the three men as they stumbled backwards, and struck at the Black Mage, but he quickly parried her blow and then followed up with a vicious stab, which she barely avoided. "I hope you realize you have only made things worse for your friend," Ramuh snarled, tossing a Thundara at Charlene to keep her at bay. "Once I am finished with you, her screams will echo across these plains for weeks before I finally let her die!"

The spell missed, but the bolt's close proximity still made her skin tingle, though that sensation quickly faded beneath the towering rage that flared up at the unsent's words. Her only response was a wordless growl, and she slashed at Ramuh again, this time aiming high and throwing her weight behind the blow. He tried to force her back, but the two of them locked in a stalemate, unable to overpower each other. They remained that way until Wakka managed to recover as Yuna cast curative magics on him, Kimahri, and Auron, and the blitz player quickly scrambled to his feet and slung his blitzball at the two of them with all his might. The sphere rocketed just over Charlie's head and smashed into Ramuh's face with enough force to knock him back several steps. Charlene stumbled as well, but recovered as she noticed the Black Mage was vulnerable and she charged forward again, this time stabbing him through the gut until her blade emerged from his back.

As she struck him, the familiar tugging sensation of a Celestial object washed over her, and she realized that the medallion on Ramuh's chain had the symbol of Venus engraved on it. Without even thinking about it, Charlie reached up and snatched it, easily snapping the chain and tossing it over her shoulder toward the others. Surprised and a little confused by both the attack and the sudden robbery, Ramuh dropped his spear and grabbed the sword impaling him with both hands, trying to pull it free. The long barb at the end of Brotherhood's blade, however, kept him from doing so, even as his attempts to get away grew more frantic. Charlie started to let go of the hilt as she noticed tiny arcs of electricity sparking across the metal gauntlet on her right arm, but quickly tightened her grip again as she remembered her plan. "Lulu, now!" she screamed, holding onto her sword for dear life.

In response, Lulu and her Moogle doll both raised their arms in unison, a marine blue aura shimmering around them before shifting and swirling around Charlie and Brotherhood. The crystal blade flared brightly, and then a huge burst of water exploded out of it, slamming into both Ramuh and Charlie. The sorcerer let out an unearthly shriek of pain, while the guardian gritted her teeth and held on for dear life as a second Waterga spell exploded, followed by a third, and then a fourth. Auron watched in stunned astonishment, and took a step forward as though he intended to pull Charlene out of the fray, when Yuna said, "Sir Auron, don't."

The swordsman turned to look at the summoner, clearly intending to argue, but she cut him off before he could protest. "If Charlie lets go of the sword, or if you pull her away, Lulu won't be able to keep casting through the blade."

"Through her sword?" Auron raised an eyebrow. "Whose idea was that?"

"Charlie's. When Lulu tried to cast at him after she did, we knew that he had an enchanted item on him, so…"

"So her idea was to use herself as a way to cast from the inside," Auron concluded, his tone now flat and emotionless.

Yuna nodded, but said nothing, as Lulu cast spell after spell and Charlie somehow managed to hold onto her weapon, though she could barely breathe and felt as though a truck had hit her. "It doesn't matter. If that rat bastard's still kicking, then I can't let go."

After what felt like an eternity, Lulu finally ran out of energy to cast, but by that time, Ramuh's appearance had changed. Bluish-white cracks radiated from his eye sockets and covered his entire body, releasing pyreflies and arcs of lightning in all directions, and upon seeing that, Yuna immediately began the Sending. The sorcerer let out a hideous shriek at the feeling of his pyreflies draining away, and tried summoning his magic one last time. Once he did, however, the cracks in his body grew even wider, and he promptly exploded. The force of the blast shattered Brotherhood's blade and sent Charlie flying; the sword's hilt still in her hand as she flew several yards, hit the ground hard, and did not get up again.

Rikku was the first one to reach the fallen guardian, and let out a yelp at what she saw. Charlie's clothing and hair looked badly scorched, while angry red burns spotted her bare skin in abstract patterns. She still held onto Brotherhood, but all that remained of the weapon was a partially melted and broken blade attached to the hilt. "Charlie, lusa uh, fyga ib!" Rikku cried, pulling out a Potion and pouring it on her skin. (Come on, wake up!)

The Potion partially healed the burns, but Charlie's skin remained ashen beneath them, and she still did not wake. Now very worried, Rikku held a hand close to Charlie's mouth and nose, and then choked back a sob as no breath came out. "She's not breathing!" the Al Bhed cried, clearly on the verge of panic.

…Flash…

Charlene opened her eyes, sat up, and looked around in confusion as she realized that she now sat in her front yard, instead of the Thunder Plains. As she looked around, however, she noticed that everything seemed…wrong. Everything was cold and grey, and even as she watched, random things nearby slowly faded into fog or crumbled to dust, while huge walls of black ice out in the distance cracked with a sound like thunder. ::What…what's going on?:: a terribly familiar voice asked. ::Why is everything decaying?::

Charlie turned around to see the shadow lurking nearby, its appearance the same as the first time she saw it in the dreamscape on Gagazet. At first, its expression looked just as confused as she felt, but then it twisted, and it turned to glare at her. ::Charlie…what did you do?::

She opened her mouth, preparing to accuse the demon of their current predicament, but then she remembered what happened. "Ramuh…" she muttered.

::What?::

"I was fighting Ramuh, and he exploded," Charlene replied, brushing dust away as a nearby tree collapsed. She looked down at herself and noticed the severed remnants of a silver cord sticking out of her chest, and then she looked up at the demon and grinned, "I hate to tell you this, but I think I'm dead."

The shadow's glare slowly shifted, drifting through denial and then settling on terror. ::No! You can't be dead! You can't be!::

Charlie smirked as a nearby tree collapsed around her, turning to a large pile of dust and broken branches. "Well, it seems as though I am. Sorry, but you're just going to have to crawl back to whatever hellhole Seymour called you from without getting to hurt anyone after all."

The demon gaped at her, apparently stunned by her reaction, but Charlene just shrugged, turned around, and started walking away. Before she could go very far, however, the shadow grabbed her by both shoulders and violently snatched her backward. Charlie squirmed in its grip, but all she managed to do was turn so that she stood face-to-face with the beast. ::No, you are NOT dead!:: it snarled, its face mere inches from her own. ::I will not go back to the Master and tell him that I failed because you were a suicidal fool!::

"Well, that's just too damn bad," she spat back, sneering. "Oh, and when you get back to your beloved 'master', be sure to tell him I said he can go f-"

Charlie didn't finish her sentence, because at that point, the demon shoved her backward, and then impaled her through the stomach with the long stinger at the end of its tail. A wave of burning cold washed over her, starting from the point of impact and spreading outward and her mouth fell open in a silent scream as she tried to pull the stinger out. ::Live…:: it hissed, as the terrible chill poured through her. ::Live and destroy all that you love…::

The shadow withdrew its stinger then, and as it did so, its form faded from solid black to a deep, semitransparent smoke color, as though it had lost part of itself. While it faded, Charlene writhed on the ground, still choking on her screams as the searing frost filled her, and shadows crept out along the severed cord, filling in the missing places among silver with deepest black. As the cord slowly rebuilt, Charlie heard other voices, familiar ones, and they grew stronger as the world she lay in faded out.

"She's not breathing!" A young female voice, high-pitched with hysteria, called out.

"Give her to me, quick!" A male voice this time, one with an unusual accent, responded. It had a sense of command to it that Charlie had never heard before…at least not from that voice, anyway.

"Hey…that voice…is that…"

Charlene tried to finish the question, but the cord finished reconnecting, and a howling wind kicked up, drowning out all thought.

…Flash…

Charlie awoke to the sensation of someone's mouth on hers, and them blowing air into her lungs, and she shoved them away as she broke into wracking coughs as she sucked in deep breaths of rain-scented air. Her vision swam as pain seared what felt like every single nerve in her body. She tried to scream, but all she managed was a hoarse croak, and then the cool, soothing sensation of healing magic rolled over her, dulling it down from unbearable to merely intolerable levels. Slowly, Charlene opened her eyes, and she stared up at Wakka, Yuna, and Rikku hovering over her. She did not say or do anything at first, but eventually, she looked past them until she spotted Lulu and croaked, "Hey Lulu…Wakka's actually a pretty good kisser…thought you ought to know."

Rikku let out a burst of hysterical laughter, but quickly quieted herself as Charlie looked past her to Auron, who pushed his way past the Al Bhed and knelt beside her. "Auron, get the chain," she mumbled, drifting in a half-conscious state. "It goes with the disc from the Farplane…and the spear…"

"Enough," the swordsman replied, gently smoothing her hair away from her face before taking her into his arms. "Rest for now, Charlie. We aren't far from the Travel Agency."

"Whatever you say, Chief," she slurred as her eyes slid shut once more. "Just glad everyone's all right."