Author's Note: Okay, so I've been gone a long time, and words cannot express how sorry I am for that. A bunch of factors, including my ongoing battle with depression and loss of ability to play Final Fantasy X at all sucked out most of my creativity for a very long time. This story is not dead, I promise you. I absolutely intend to finish this one, even if I'm old and grey by the time that finally happens. I can't promise that it won't be a while before the next chapter comes along, but it hopefully won't be another two years before that happens. The chapter is unbeta'd, so any mistakes you see are entirely my own.

Chapter 40: Hell of Her Own Making

Charlie lay in the darkness, drifting and disoriented. How she came to be there, and for how long, she did not know. Despite the niggling sensation in the back of her mind insisting she had forgotten something, she could not figure out what it was. All she knew was that she was tired, had been for so long, and finally had a chance to rest.

"Charlie? Hey, Charlie, it's time to wake up," a voice whispered in her ear.

That voice…it was tantalizingly familiar, and made her heart ache just to hear it, but why couldn't she place it? "Don' wanna get up yet," she murmured, her words slightly slurred. "It's still dark, so it's too early."

A chuckle of amusement filled the room. "Charlie, it's still dark because you're hiding your eyes with your arm. As cute as you are that way, we are going to be late if you don't wake up."

Groaning a little, Charlene finally gave up and moved her arm, wincing as the bright sunlight streaming through the nearby window attempted to blind her. She groaned again, and finally opened her eyes, her mind stopping as her shocked gaze met the source of the voice speaking to her. Grey eyes filled with sleepy amusement, a wide, slightly-crooked grin, and a tumble of auburn hair that always stayed messy in spite of attempts to tame it…

…not possible…

"Marcus?"

…am I dreaming…

"That's my name, unless someone's changed it without telling me," he chuckled softly.

…I don't want this to be a dream…

"I don't want this to be a dream," she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut against the tears suddenly pricking them. "I don't want you to be gone."

Marcus lay back down next to her and pulled her close. "You're not dreaming, Charlie, I promise…I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

…

After Ramuh's defeat, the storm his presence summoned subsided back to the normal level found in the Thunder Plains, and the group carefully picked their way through the wasteland, heading for the shelter of the Travel Agency. Auron carried Charlie, who had lapsed back into unconsciousness, while Kimahri carried Ramuh's old spear, the Venus coin, and the slagged remnant of Charlie's sword. It did not take long for them to find the building, though a pair of well-armed Al Bhed met them upon arrival. "Rao! Rao! Fana oui eh dryd cduns zicd huf?" one of them asked in their own language, either too excited or unknowledgeable in Common to speak it. "Fryd rybbahat?" (Hey! Hey! Were you in that storm just now? What happened?)

"Ramuh rybbahat, pid fa tavaydat res," Rikku replied, her voice wavering slightly. "Uin vneaht fyc rind pytmo, druikr, yht fa haat cramdan vun y frema." (Ramuh happened, but we defeated him. Our friend was hurt badly, though, and we need shelter for a while.)

The other Al Bhed carefully looked everyone over for several moments, and then stepped away from the door, gesturing them inside. Once there, they hastily cleared off a nearby table, and Auron placed Charlie on it, stepping back to allow Yuna room to work. The summoner's eyes were tearful, but her expression was determined as she cast a single Cure spell, watched its effects, and then cast another. "How come she's just using Cure?" Wakka asked Lulu, pitching his voice low to avoid distracting Yuna as she cast the spell a third time. "She knows Curaga…that'd be better, ya?"

"Curaga would probably kill her at this point," proclaimed a heavily accented female voice from behind them.

Wakka and Lulu both turned around to see Rikku and an older Al Bhed woman standing there. "Rikku told me of what has happened…how your friend defeated Ramuh and nearly died. The damage done is like a lightning strike. Too much healing at once could make her heart fail, or keep her nerves from functioning properly, crippling her. The Lady Summoner waits until the effects of the current spell ends before casting another. She is quite talented."

Neither guardian replied to that, but turned back to watch Yuna as she continued her slow work. Minutes passed by like hours, and eventually, Charlie's eyes snapped open, but instead of their normal deep blue, they were an oily black with two purplish-grey pinpricks of light replacing the pupils. She sat up and looked around, as wisps of what looked like charcoal grey smoke drifted around her, forming a silhouette of another person around her body. The smell of flowers and rotting flesh filled the air, and Kimahri quickly pulled Yuna away from the table as she softly called her friend's name. "Charlie, are you okay?"

Charlene's dark gaze turned toward the summoner, and she slowly smiled, a sharp, hard smile that held none of her usual warmth. "I am sorry," she began, her voice a mix of her own, and someone else's, as if two people spoke in unison. "Charlie cannot come out right now, but I will be more than happy to play with you."

The smoky silhouette moved, and then, a split-second later, Charlie followed, her movements a jerky echo of the shadow surrounding her. She slid off the table as all of the Al Bhed in the room recoiled in horror, as though she was a snake suddenly dropped in their midst. "Y Rammbibbad?" one of them cried, shooting Rikku an accusatory glance. "Oui pnuikrd y vilgehk Rammbibbad eh rana?" (A Hellpuppet? You brought a fucking Hellpuppet in here?)

"I didn't know!" Rikku screamed, staring at her friend in disbelief. "Charlie, chyb uid uv ed, bmayca!" (Charlie, snap out of it, please!)

Charlie, or rather, the thing controlling Charlie, laughed loudly. "She is not going to wake up. She is never coming back. The Master gave her to me and I own her now."

"No you don't," Yuna coldly replied, refusing to be intimidated by the fiend. "No one owns Charlie, and you will let her go."

"I think not, summoner," Not-Charlie hissed. "She is MINE! I saved her worthless life, the one she was trying so hard to get rid of, and now she will never be rid of me. She does not want this body anymore, so I will put it to good use, just as my Master wanted."

She took another shaky step forward, and Auron stepped between them, though his sword remained sheathed. "Everyone, leave," he barked, not taking his gaze off her.

"Fru tu oui drehg oui yna?" another of the Al Bhed snapped. (Who do you think you are?)

Rikku halted the angry Al Bhed by placing a hand on his shoulder. "Tu hud ynkia fedr res. Fa lyhhud ramb. Fa femm uhmo pa eh dra fyo." (Do not argue with him. We cannot help. We will only be in the way.)

Everyone except Auron hurried back outside into the storm, with Rikku barely flinching despite the thunder rumbling overhead. Most of the Al Bhed watched the Agency door as though it might turn into a wall of venomous snakes at any moment, though the same Al Bhed from earlier turned on the group and, in heavily accented Common, yelled, "A Hellpuppet! Why would you have a damned Hellpuppet anywhere near your summoner! Are you out of your minds?"

"Cdub ed, Baku!" Rikku screamed again. "I told you we didn't know!" (Stop it!)

"Hey!" Wakka shouted, getting between the two Al Bhed before things could escalate. "Anyone mind telling us what's going on? What in the world is a Hellpuppet, and how come you Al Bhed know so much about it?"

No one spoke. For some time, the only sounds were those of the eternal storm, as everyone from both sides looked first at Wakka, and then at Rikku.

"Wakka…you remember what I said back on Bikanel Island?" the little thief asked.

The blitz captain thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "Yeah, you said something about Yevon doing something bad, ya?"

Rikku nodded, but did not look at him. "Sin destroyed the island we all used to live on…and that Vydran—Father—brought everyone back together. I told you that part already. What I didn't say is that we gathered together twice. The first time the Al Bhed tried to rebuild…we did so here on the mainland. We just wanted to live in peace. We weren't going to bother anyone else. Then the maesters invited us to send a delegation to Bevelle, to engage in peace talks, or so they said. We believed them, and sent seven of our own to speak. A week later, they came back to our encampment…"

"And when they did, they looked just like that thing in there!" spat Baku as he pointed an accusatory finger at the door. They slaughtered nearly a hundred of us before we could stop them! We had to kill all but one of them before they stopped! The last one…we managed to capture her alive and force that thing out of her, but it didn't matter! She still killed herself because of what she had done!"

Rikku burst into tears as Baku and the rest of the Al Bhed glared at the party, daring them to say something out of the way. Wakka, who had gone pale underneath his tan, said, "We didn't know…"

Baku scoffed, "Why would you know? When has Yevon ever been open and honest about what it does?"

"Is there any way we can help Charlie?" Lulu asked, holding onto Rikku and letting the younger girl cry on her shoulder.

"Yeah, if your friend is strong enough, and that thing isn't rooted too deeply by now, a Sending can force it out."

"Yuna?" Wakka turned to look at the summoner, but found she was not among the group. Horrified, he cried, "Don't tell me she went back inside!"

…

Not-Charlie grinned at Auron again as everyone else retreated from the room. "You won't do it. You can't bring yourself to harm her, even though she is not here anymore."

"Charlie is still in there somewhere, or you wouldn't be," the swordsman coldly replied. "I don't know who put you in there, but you are not staying, I promise you that."

She leered at the swordsman, and then cackled, "Oh, she didn't tell you, Wanderer? Oh wait, I forgot; I wouldn't let her tell you. I wouldn't let her tell anyone…not that it mattered, really. She was so afraid you would call her a liar or turn on her that I almost didn't have to keep her from speaking. As for who my master is, Wanderer…he is the one who got to kiss Charlie before you could." She laughed again, and then shot Auron a lecherous grin. "It was just too bad she is so alien. If I had been able to take control right away, the Master could have had more than that kiss...and I would have made her LOVE it!"

Auron's blood turned cold, and for a moment, he found himself hoping Charlie could not hear what was going on. "Let her go, demon," he growled, shifting into a combative stance. "This is your final warning."

Not-Charlie cackled wildly, apparently amused by the swordsman's threat. Then her laughter faded and she darted forward like a striking snake, one arm tipped with shadowy claws. Auron, however, sidestepped the attack, grabbing Not-Charlie's arm and using her own momentum to send her crashing into the nearest wall. The possessed guardian let out a sound somewhere between a screech and a hiss, and then pushed away from the wall and slashed out again, only to scream with rage as her second attack missed, as well. "Stand still and die!" Not-Charlie snarled, slashing shadow-claws in a frenzy.

Instead of answering, Auron evaded several strikes before getting in close and elbowing her hard in the stomach. The demon let out a wheezing grunt and started to back away, but the older guardian caught hold of her arm and flipped her, slamming her into the floor with enough force to drive the rest of the breath from her stolen body. Before she could try to get up again, Auron pinned Not-Charlie to the floor, causing the demon to grin widely. "Is this what you've fantasized about, Wanderer?" she asked, writhing beneath him in an enticing manner. "We both know you have wanted her for a long time…is this how you imagined it? Rough and on the floor?"

"Stop it," Auron growled through gritted teeth.

Not-Charlie laughed again, squirming and wriggling until she managed to work a leg free, which she then hooked around the swordsman's waist. "Why? You know you want this. Go ahead and take it, then. Rip her clothes off and take what you want. She wants it, too, you know."

Auron fought down the urge to wipe the lecherous smirk off the demon's face with his fist as he snapped, "She's not exactly here to tell me that, now is she?" "Charlie…how can I make her hear me?"

The sound of the door shutting and locking caught his attention, and the swordsman looked up in dismay to see Yuna standing there, a determined look on her face.

…

She did not want to, but eventually, Marcus was able to convince Charlie to crawl out of bed and join him at school for the day. Strangely enough, however, she could not recall why, exactly, she did not want to go. Keith and Johnny were there, and she did well enough in her classes, so why was she afraid to go? When Charlene and Marcus arrived, she flinched a bit as a couple of other students shot hateful looks at her, though nowhere close to what she expected. "See, Charlie? I told you everything would be okay," Marcus said, punctuating his words with a playful nudge.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," she replied, feeling rather sheepish. "I don't know why I felt so afraid."

…

"Yuna, what are you doing here?" Auron demanded as he struggled to keep Not-Charlie from breaking free or molesting him further. "I told you to leave."

The summoner shook her head in violent denial as she brandished her staff. "Charlie is my friend, Auron, and I won't let you make me abandon her."

Not-Charlie looked over at Yuna and let out a vicious snarl, struggling even harder to free itself. "You should have run, you little bitch. You should have run far and fast, and hoped that the Wanderer here granted you enough time to escape. Now you will die while I make him watch."

Instead of replying, Yuna began the Sending, her brow knitted in fierce concentration as she fought to save her friend. Almost immediately, Not-Charlie howled in terrible agony, calling the summoner every filthy name it could think of and thrashing violently. Auron found himself stuck riding the possessed girl's flailing as though she were a bucking chocobo, even as he felt the Farplane beckoning to him. He fought hard to keep himself together, but knew he'd lost at least one pyrefly when heard Yuna's gasp and felt her power falter. Before he could tell her to keep going, however, a different scene suddenly appeared before him.

…Flash…

Charlie sat at a table in the cafeteria with three boys Auron remember from the flashbacks he'd witnessed in Zanarkand. While two of them appeared to be normal, however, the one he knew was Marcus sat shrouded in deep shadows that no one else appeared to notice—shadows that reached out and caressed Charlie's face like a lover. "Charlie, snap out of it!" he yelled, hoping that she might hear him.

…Flash…

The scene vanished as quickly as it appeared, and Auron quickly turned to look at Yuna. "Don't stop!" he told her.

"But you're…"

"That doesn't matter now, Yuna. I might be able to reach her, but only if you keep going."

…

Charlie froze as she heard a man's voice yelling at her. "What? What is it?" Johnny asked, looking at her with some concern.

She looked around without answering, and then gasped when she saw the ghostly image of a man in a red coat appear, only to vanish a moment later as a flash of memory shot to the forefront of her mind. "Auron?"

"Auron? Who is that?" Marcus asked, his purple eyes full of confusion.

…purple…his eyes aren't supposed to be purple…

Charlene looked at him with wary confusion. "Marcus, what's wrong with your eyes?"

…

In the waking world, Not-Charlie let out a terrible, inhuman roar, and her back arched so hard Auron half-feared her spine would snap. "Yuna, keep going!" he yelled, fighting to keep his grip on the possessed girl beneath him.

Instead of arguing, Yuna started the Sending again, focusing all her intent on driving the fiend out of Charlie. Auron let out his own cry of pain, hearing the Farplane calling to him and feeling as though he was being torn in half. He fought past the searing agony as the demon howled again and nearly bucked him off, and slammed a ghostly hand against her forehead.

…Flash…

Auron found himself in the cafeteria once more, just as the fiend disguised as Marcus spoke up. "What are you talking about, Charlie? Nothing's wrong with my eyes."

"They're purple," she answered, "They're supposed to be grey."

Shadows extended from Fake-Marcus and reached out to brush her face again. "You're just imagining things," he chuckled. "Maybe we should've just slept later, if you were going to hallucinate like this."

Charlene looked doubtful at first, Auron saw, but the longer those shadows brushed against her, the less doubtful she appeared. "Charlie, wake up!" he shouted, "He is not real!"

Not-Marcus whipped around to glare at him with glowing purple-grey eyes. ::You should have minded your own business, Wanderer…:: it growled, shadows ripping away from Charlie to lash out at Auron.

The swordsman let out a pained hiss through gritted teeth as Not-Marcus's shadows whipped at him, but he did not back down as he yanked at the dark tendrils that did not withdraw quickly enough. "Charlie, please listen to me! You have to wake up!"

::She doesn't have to do anything you say, Wanderer…:: Not-Marcus spat, continuing his furious assault. ::She's happy here, and doesn't require your interference any longer…::

Charlie stared at the two of them in wide-eyed horror as they fought in the cafeteria, completely unnoticed by anyone else, save her. "Marcus, what are you doing? Stop it, please," she begged, trying to understand the strange scene unfolding before her. "You're hurting him!"

::To save you!:: Not-Marcus yelled, his shadows still attacking Auron even as he turned to face Charlie. ::He wants to drag you back to your nightmares! Back to the world where everyone thinks you are a monster!::

"Everyone thought I was a monster here, too," she replied, tears pricking her eyes as her memories came to the fore.

…murderer…

::I can make it so you aren't one, Charlie…:: he told her, as his shadows finally overpowered Auron and flung him across the room. ::Give me a moment to finish off the Wanderer and I promise I'll make everything all better again…::

…you can't take it back…nothing can…

Auron did not get up right away, and when he finally did, Charlie could tell he did not have much strength left. "Charlie…" he groaned, his form flickering as though he could not keep it together. "Charlie, you aren't a monster!"

::Shut up! Don't speak to her! She is mine and you have no right to be here! You're dead, Wanderer!:: Not-Marcus roared, the darkness around him seething with barely-suppressed fury.

"So are you."

The thing posing as Marcus stopped then and stared at Charlene as though she just barked like a dog. ::What? What did you just say?::

Tears streaked down her face, but her voice was steady as she answered him. "You are dead. Marcus is dead. I know, because I killed him."

The scenery shifted as she spoke, changing to an intersection where two cars lay in a crumpled mess. "The drunk driver may have been the one who hit us," Charlie continued, a bitter smile twisting her lips, "But I'm the one who had us out there in the first place. We could've had the damn pizza delivered, but I insisted we drive out to pick it up. It's my fault. I can't ever take that back..."

Auron and Not-Marcus both stared at her as the world shifted again, this time to a replica of her front yard and house, with black clouds boiling above them. The storm howled and roared as lightning crawled across the sky, gathering to a point just overhead. ::What do you think you're doing, Charlie?:: Not-Marcus demanded.

"Get out," she replied, her voice still carrying that toneless calm.

::What?::

"Did I stutter? I said get out. Get out of my head. Get out of my life. I loved Marcus and he died because of it. I won't let anyone else I love die because of my actions. Not Yuna, not Auron, not anyone." The storm overhead grew louder and the light grew brighter as Charlie spoke. "I may already be a murderer, but I'm not a monster, and I will not let you turn me into one, do you hear me? Get the hell out!"

Charlie's voice rose to a shriek on the last few words, and the gathering energy exploded with blinding brightness.

…Flash…

In the waking world, Auron slumped over onto the floor, gasping for air and barely maintaining his form while an oily purple-black mist poured from Charlie's mouth, nose, and eyes, coalescing into a dark cloud above them that radiated ill intent. "Heh…I should've known," it chuckled weakly as its former host broke into huge, wracking coughs. "She has a big heart, but no soul. She shouldn't have been able to fight me off, even with the help she had, but she did."

Instead of answering verbally, Yuna replied with a blast of Holy, and the cloud dispersed with a final high-pitched scream and small burst of pyreflies. As the last vestiges of the demon vanished. Charlene rolled over onto her side, shaking with almost silent sobs as she reached out and flung an arm around Auron. "I'm so sorry," she wept into his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

Auron, still marshalling his own strength to keep from dissipating along with the demon, did not answer aloud, but wrapped his arms around the weeping guardian and held her close as Yuna unlocked the door to the Travel Agency and let everyone back inside.