63: A Summoner's Intuition
Rikku squinted; the sun was just a little too bright. She considered shading her eyes with her goggles, then scoffed.
I'm going soft.
Skipping outside, she grinned at the monkeys playing across the suspension bridge, then tripped to a halt as she caught sight of Belgemine, waiting at the foot of one.
"You're still here?"
Belgemine turned around slowly. She folded her hands into her voluminous sleeves. "I should ask you that. You don't belong here. What are you, girl?" She placed one hand over her mouth, her eyes thoughtful. "Where are you?"
Rikku opened and shut her mouth, caught flat-footed. "... I'm right here?"
Belgemine's head tilted to the side, and her eyes narrowed. "No, you're not. You're not from this world. But moreover, I can feel it..." She trailed off, her eyes critical and searching, stopping on Rikku's garment grid. "Something has slipped through with you. Something which should not be here. That belt allows you to harness powers that aren't really yours, doesn't it?" She stepped closer.
Rikku took a reflexive step backwards, her hand coming up to cover the grid. How did Belgemine know? Was it because she'd been Unsent for so many years? Or because she was a summoner? Braska had always seemed to have a sixth sense about her, but surely this Belgemine couldn't know about the future...
"The power of a summoner," Belgemine finished.
"Well, yeah, I mean, I can turn myself into these alternate versions of other peoples' skills, but it's just Al Bhed tech! It's not-"
"No," Belgemine said, pushing Rikku's arm away and peering at the spheres on her belt. Her hand stopped, hovering over a dressphere, then drew away quickly. "Not something. Someone."
Lenne? "Why do you want to know?" she asked suspiciously, feeling protective of the other woman.
"You carry a being very much like me with you. Older, even. Perhaps more powerful," Belgemine mused. "Neither it nor that belt should be here. The ghost that rides with you lends you its power, and you use it to feed off of other peoples' dreams." Her eyes rose to meet Rikku's. "But then, do you even know what you are?"
"Look! I know I'm a little special, but I don't like what I think you're getting at here," Rikku said hotly, feeling pressured and confused. "Why do you Unsent like to talk in riddles so much anyway? I'm totally not like you! For one, I'm alive, and I -"
"Do not lie!" Belgemine's eyes met hers, cold and hard. "Summoner Braska said this was a party of miracles. I can see why. You and the other one; you are both not possible, yet here you stand. The only true guardian Braska has is the warrior-monk."
Rikku hissed, teeth clenched. "How dare you!" she seethed, seeing white. "Jecht and I, we're just as much his guardians as Auron is! You don't know what we've been through together! Maybe Braska should've sent you after all, you sore loser!"
Through the anger, though, there was the ever-present pulse of doubt fueling her bitter diatribe. She couldn't deny that Belgemine was on to something; that the woman quite possibly knew something which Rikku herself couldn't.
Still, Rikku realized she wasn't completely in sync with this world of the past, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe it was the dissonance of time travel and knowing the future; she still didn't know the reason the Fayth had the ability to communicate with her. Control her, even, when they wanted. But she thought back on her last dream of the future; of her conversation with dream-Tidus.
You need to finish up and come back home soon.
A shiver ran down her spine. That… that was a dream, right? He wasn't really Tidus, just an overactive figment of her imagination, or a manifestation of her homesickness, like Yuna and Paine had been. He couldn't have been real. Because if he was…
A memory tickled at her. Of pain. And then nothing. And Auron, white hair gracing his temples, kneeling in a field of flowers, reaching. Not yet, he'd said. Not yet.
Belgemine was still watching her. "You don't want them to know, do you, Dream Eater? That you are wrong here. But you feel it, just as I can. That the spiral of death can only be stopped when we stop the dreaming." She backed away, and some of the tension left Rikku's shoulders.
"You're the one who's wrong," Rikku replied, though she reached out and grabbed the edge of the bridge. Her knees felt like they would give out beneath her.
"I am not your enemy," Belgemine said after a long moment. "I also wish to remain here for just a little while longer. I want to see the end. To know that my sacrifice had purpose. But it gets harder to leave, the longer you stay." She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Rikku's shoulder. "You've chosen an interesting path, girl. The King grows desperate, if you are his gambit. I wonder if he'll succeed."
Rikku started. "I'm… I'm not Bahamut's pawn," she protested. It sounded weak, even to her own ears. Then she smiled, a tired smile, and brushed off Belgemine's touch. "No wonder Yojimbo worked with you for so long. You're against Bahamut too, aren't you."
"Spira should not belong to the deathless. But I have caused you distress. Maybe you were not ready to hear the truth." She turned her head slightly, looking back at the temple. "So I will give you some advice, as an apology. Your large friend with the mark on his chest should be careful. That one… no matter what happens, he will unfailingly draw Yu Yevon's attention."
Does she know about Jecht? "Do you know the future?" Rikku couldn't stop herself from asking, the words tumbling out in a rush. There was fear behind them, and also hope.
Can I finally talk to someone about everything? That fleeting hope for a connection, one she hadn't even realized she'd wanted so badly, crumpled when Belgemine shook her head.
"I can't see the future, but I do know the past. And when you have lived as long as I have, you begin to realize they are not so different from one another after all." Belgemine's smile was sympathetic, rather than cruel. "Once again, I am sorry."
"Yeah," Rikku whispered, swallowing her disappointment.
The sound of the stone doors scraping open made both women turn. Auron stepped out, holding a hand up to shield his eyes from the light. He spotted them, and frowned at Belgemine as he approached.
"You're still here?" he echoed, and Belgemine laughed.
"I am done with many things here. I only wished to say goodbye. Until we meet again, Guardian," she said to Auron, bowing deeply. Rikku half-expected her to fade into nothingness and pyreflies, just like her aeons, after that, but instead, Belgemine simply turned and left for the bridge, walking away at a stately pace as any normal person might.
"That woman is disturbing," Auron murmured, watching Belgemine leave.
"You don't know the half of it," Rikku agreed, rubbing her arms. Auron, of course, noticed the motion.
"What did she say to you?"
"N-nothing important. She noticed Lenne, that's all." It wasn't really a lie if it was partially true, right? "Maybe summoners all have this sixth sense for each other, even if they're dead."
"Then the fact that Lenne chose to stay dormant under her scrutiny means it was nothing truly important," Auron replied, drawing her close. His arms were warm and comforting, as were his words, but she couldn't shake the core of coldness that had settled in her chest.
Dream Eater.
Shuddering, she buried her face in Auron's red coat, breathing in deeply. His warm, musky scent surrounded her, and her heart slowed. She put on her best smile, looking up when she felt ready.
"Is Braska almost done?"
"Jecht is keeping watch," Auron said absently, though his gaze was sharp. His eyes tracked her face, as if memorizing every microexpression she was making. "Rikku -"
"It's fine," she said softly, putting her finger up to stop Auron from continuing. "Like you said, she's creepy. I'll shake it off by tomorrow."
Though he still looked disturbed, Auron gave her the faintest of nods. "We'll have larger problems to deal with by then anyway."
"Well, with Braska's new army of aeons, we should be able to steamroll right across the Calm Lands now, right?" Rikku said.
"The Calm Lands aren't the issue. Our next destination is Mount Gagazet. We will have to scale that mountain." He blew out a low breath. "They call it the granite altar upon which summoners are sacrificed," he murmured, glancing back at the door to make sure Braska and Jecht weren't in earshot. "And that is before we factor in meeting the Ronso."
"Maybe the Fangs came home already. The Blitz season's over, right?"
"I wouldn't count on it. Exhibition games not only make a lot of gil, but also act as training camps. The Fangs took the cup this year, so they'll need all the practice they can get to make next season's expectations. They're probably not going to have you and Jecht to lean on, either, and they know it."
"Well… one problem at a time. Kelk became a Maester so they shouldn't be hostile to us. And I mean, Braska still has his reputation from Djose. I don't think the Ronso will be a problem," RIkku declared. "Especially not for you. They love the strong, silent types."
"That may be true. But the mountain judges everyone equally. It's going to be difficult climbing it," Auron said. He trailed off as the sound of the doors opening echoed, and Jecht came out, supporting Braska.
"'Ey! He did it!" Jecht yelled at them, waving with his free arm.
"As if there was ever any doubt," Braska mumbled, though he looked even paler than normal. Still, he pushed Jecht away and managed to stand on his own two feet. It still looked like a stiff burp from Jecht could knock him over, though.
"Look! If Braska can keep on collecting aeons like that, the rest of us can climb a mountain. We'll manage somehow," Rikku promised.
"I hope you're right." There was something in Auron's voice that made her glance back at him, but his face gave away nothing as he stared at Braska. She thought about pushing, but he's given her space when she asked, and he obviously wasn't feeling like talking.
We're building walls between us again. It was pretty clear why, though. Gagazet was the harsh final test, before reaching Zanarkand. It was where reality had to be faced, for each of them. Auron's growing desire to abandon the Pilgrimage and live with everyone; Braska's resolve to see Sin defeated at all costs, even his life. They'd grown completely separate goals, and were competing with each other to reach them - and she had a personal stake in both of the men's fates. And Jecht, their wild card, devoted to one thing above all others - rescuing his son from the prison of Zanarkand.
"We can rest here. There's no hurry to get to Zanarkand, and this place is as safe as it's going to get," Auron said when they regrouped.
"I'm in no rush," Braska agreed, leaning on his staff. "Mount Gagazet will still be there regardless of our pace."
"An' Zanarkand after that, huh," Jecht said, his eyes distant as he scanned the horizon.
Rikku tapped her boot into the ground uncomfortably. "We made it this far, right?"
Jecht snapped out of his melancholy first, giving her a grin. "Ain't no stoppin' us now!"
Braska raised a hand. "Hardly, Jecht. I am stopping us right now. We should set up camp in the temple. Do you know how hard it is to convince three aeons to join you at the same time? I do."
"Take all that energy and go find us something to eat," Auron interjected, coming to Braska's aid. "The monkeys have to live off of something here."
Jecht's enthusiasm deflated at the mention of monkeys. "But Rikku's quicker-"
"You can bring Rikku if you want, but they like you," Auron repeated. "So you're going."
Jecht let out a little whimper, and Rikku giggled a little, giving Auron a thumbs-up.
It doesn't matter if we're not all being truthful… we'll get through this. We always do. She smiled at her boys, the comfort of their friendship melting away more of that cold hardness Belgemine had left inside of her. Like Braska said… if we need miracles, then we'll make them happen.
"C'mon… let's go, monkey boy!" Rikku cheered, grabbing a reluctant Jecht by the elbow and dragging him towards the bridge.
A/N: I've noticed some errors in the past two chapters and there are undoubtedly more, but I'm going to put off refining them in favor of actually getting stuff published somewhat along NaNoWriMo's ~2k per day fashion, hence the shorter chapters. There may be some heavy editing going on afterwards when all is said and done.