54: A Place In The Sky
Wind blew across the vast expanse of jagged prairie; blades of grass swayed in the breeze, vivid green against the shockingly blue sky. Some were as tall as Rikku herself, and most hid the dizzying variety of wildlife that flourished in a land untouched by civilization.
Fiends also moved within the grassy sea, but the ones who didn't get lost in the thrush were the worst.
Rikku shielded her eyes against the bright sunlight. This untamed version of the Calm Lands looks as bad as it did before Argent settled into it. Rin's Agency had yet to open, nor was there any sign of the chocobo trainer. This place is way too pretty to be so cruel.
"...So you call this place the Calm Lands 'cause it's so peaceful-like out here?"
Auron adjusted the strap on his sword. "It is hardly peaceful. Some of the deadliest fiends in Spira gather on these plains. Be ready."
"Yes," Braska agreed. "The Calm Lands are indeed dangerous, but they are also the chosen battlefield for most summoners who face Sin."
Jecht frowned. "This where you summoners have your smackdown? The hell's so calm about it then?"
Rikku lowered her hand, a surge of anger overtaking her. Gone… everything we worked so hard to change in the future, it's all gone. "The summoners bring the Calm to Spira when they die here," she said. "So, it only looks pretty on the surface. Once you stop looking at all that grass, all you can see are the scars."
Auron shot her a look, and she lowered her head, trying to control her frustration as they crested the hill. She'd hoped it wouldn't be as horrible as she remembered. I'm right. It's worse.
"Come now. It really isn't as bad as you make it," Braska said.
It was exactly the wrong answer, given by exactly the wrong person, and all her attempts to reign in her panic-induced temper flew out the window.
"I hate this place!" she exploded.
"Whoa, Blondie!" Jecht yelled, ducking her flailing fist.
Auron turned around and looked at her, concern writ across his face. "Rikku?"
She blew out a heavy breath. "Sorry. I'm a little mad, okay? I don't like being here."
"Please, calm down, and try to enjoy your time here," Braska said. "I grant you it is dangerous, but this untamed wilderness is, in a sense, also raw and beautiful."
What about death is beautiful?
"I would not mind making our stand against Sin here," Braska continued. "It is a fine tradition."
An uncomfortable silence descended.
Well, this is great. Just like the first time with Yunie, Rikku thought bitterly. Being surrounded by all the supposed beauty of the Calm Lands and registering none of it, because she was too busy freaking out about saving her fatalistic summoner's life.
"Ya had to go an' make it awkward, didn'tcha?" Jecht grunted, crossing his arms.
"It's not a summoners' graveyard in my time anymore," she said.
Braska's expression fell.
She balled her hands into fists. "We took it back and made it ours. It became a place for people to have fun and relax. And now it's all gone! Back to square one."
"Oh, so in the future it becomes a nature preserve?" Braska said, brightening.
"Eh… not exactly," she hedged.
"We took it back?" Auron snorted. "You mean the Al Bhed settled here. Knowing your people, they likely turned it into an amusement park."
Rikku made a face. " 'We' as in 'all of Spira,' for your information! The Al Bhed might have opened an Agency here, but it was actually settlers from Bevelle who set up the games – "
"Games?" Auron looked over the sweeping planes again, an expression of disbelief on his face. "You really turned it into a carnival?"
She wilted a bit. "Well, it's sorta permanent…" Her voice shrank at Auron's incredulity and Braska's pained grimace, but gained a last hurrah from Jecht's rapt attention. "... and there's some betting games, too."
"Gamblin'!" Jecht cheered. "What else did ya do? You guys invent some kinda land Blitz to bet on, maybe? Where you have to play it with your feet or somethin'?" He scratched his head. "What would ya call it? Blitzfeet? No wait, football?"
"That sounds so lame! Who'd want to watch a dumb idea like that?" Rikku rolled her eyes. "No, people come to bet on the lupine runs."
Braska choked. "You… you host dog races on this sacred land?"
"Don't knock it!" she shot back. "I loved the way we changed things! We made enough noise so you could almost forget about all the people who died here."
Another uncomfortable silence fell.
This time, Jecht glared at her. "Alright. Enough broodin', you two. You know how Auron gets when you leave him outta yer private parties."
"Jackass," Auron muttered. "Thank you for reminding me of their time together."
Braska cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should get a move on, after all."
"Yes. Why don't you go ahead and scout for fiends," Auron replied.
"And dinner," Rikku added, pushing a surprised Jecht towards Braska. "Now be sure to take your time, you two! Bring back something good!"
"What? 'Ey, it ain't my turn today! Quit it, Blondie, you ain't the boss of me!"
"Oh, but I am," Braska cut in, grabbing the Blitzer. "I believe I shall require a Guardian to assist me during my task, and I choose you, Jecht." He frowned at her. "So tell me, Rikku. How far out would be wise for us to venture?"
"The hell you askin' her for?"
"Rikku should be more familiar with this area than any of us," Braska said reasonably. "I trust her discretion in this matter."
Behind him, Auron turned and studied them. After a moment, the crease between his eyes disappeared, replaced by amusement.
"I'll send up a signal when we've found a good place to camp. You can turn around then, okay?"
"Of course," Braska said, prodding Jecht towards the greater plains. "You will remember to do so in a timely manner, I hope," he added a bit nervously. "Don't get carried away by your… search."
"Buh-bye!" Rikku replied, winking and waving at them.
They disappeared into the sea of grass; she wondered briefly if she was shirking her duties as a Guardian by sexiling her companions.
Naw, Braska and Jecht can take care of each other. … Okay, that sounded totally wrong.
Auron's arms wrapped around her waist and he rested his chin on her head. "You don't actually intend to look for a campsite right now, do you?" It wasn't a question. "Should I even ask what method you used to chase off Braska this time?"
Smirking, Rikku spun to face him, returning his embrace. "Don't worry about it. You know, if we turn around and run, we might even make it back to Macalania before they notice!"
"Do you really hate this place that much?" he asked. "The future you described hardly sounds better than what we see now."
She exhaled, deflating. Yunie had thought so, too. Her cousin hadn't been at all pleased to be drawn into Rikku and Paine's heated competition over their favorite Calm Land factions. Yuna had been bitterly disappointed by many of the changes her Eternal Calm brought about. I wonder if that was Auron's touch shining through.
"Ok. Maybe what we did was a little disrespectful." She shuddered. "But this whole place is worse, you know? It's not right to sacrifice people for a little bit of peace!"
"The sacrifices we've made here were never in vain," Auron countered.
"You really believe that?" She clenched her teeth. "A thousand years, and we're still putting all our hopes into Yevon's fairy tale. It would've worked by now if it was gonna work at all. It's a false hope!"
Auron's arms tightened around her. "But it's the only hope we have." He seemed to be struggling; she knew he didn't want to know how this Pilgrimage was meant to end, but if she was a Guardian in her own time, he could easily draw his own conclusions. "... It's the only hope I have."
As much as she wanted to yell that he was wrong to place his faith in a belief that would only betray him, there was something in his voice that stopped her. His eyes were hard, but his expression pained.
Free will, she reminded herself. Don't take that from him. Frustrated, she dropped her forehead against his chest. "Being here makes me wanna puke. Maybe we should leave. Maybe it'll make Braska think twice about this. You heard him. He's gonna kill himself right here!"
"We can't abandon him," Auron murmured. "He'd continue the Pilgrimage without us."
"I know," she sighed. "I just hate this place. I wish we could all just... run away. Go back to Besaid and live there instead, y'know?"
Auron bent down and kissed her; it was fierce and quick, as though he wanted to force them both to forget why they were in the Calm Lands.
He drew back and smiled as Rikku scrabbled to catch her breath. "Enough. I have no desire to dwell on the distant future when our immediate one is still uncertain. We still need a campsite, regardless of your motivations. Shall we start looking?" he rumbled, still leaning in; it made it hard to concentrate on his words.
"There's good," she managed, pointing in a random direction.
"... you aren't even looking," he said, amused.
"It's a big flat plain. Pick a spot, build a campfire, and we're good. What did you expect?"
"You to be slightly less transparent than Braska," Auron answered, releasing her. "I'm not about to strip naked at the entrance to the Calm Lands simply because you are impatient."
"Well, if you want to be all Serious Business right now, I guess we can look for a better place," she complained, crossing her arms. "But if we don't find a good spot in half an hour tops, I'm calling it a day!"
Auron grabbed her hand. "I'm sure we'll manage," he replied with a smirk.
She let him lead her away, grinning from ear to ear. Auron had always had a powerful aura of self-confidence, conscious or not. It was infectious; whenever they were together, none of their problems seemed insurmountable. She gripped his hand as they pushed their way through the tall, sweet-smelling grass and let herself relax.
A short while later, they'd covered a fair bit of distance over the fields, and the silence between them was beginning to stretch. She looked up at him, worry tickling at her. "Auron?" she prompted.
Something slightly lost had replaced Auron's usual expression as they walked down the hill hand-in-hand. "... This doesn't have to become Braska's grave," he said eventually. She could practically see him stamping out his rising self-doubt. "We will find a way, no matter what you believe lurks in the future." His hand tightened around hers. "We'll find a way to save you both."
She couldn't deny the flush of warmth that flooded her at Auron's words; even with his doubts, he clung to the steady belief that everything would end well if they just tried hard enough.
I wonder if putting on the Samurai sphere would make me less cynical these days? It said nothing good when Auron became the optimistic one.
Comforting as his conviction felt, however, it wasn't one she could completely share in. She'd tried to cling to that sort of blind faith during Yuna's Pilgrimage, after all, and it… hadn't ended well.
Clenching his hand, she let Auron pull her deeper into the valley, trying to silence her own doubts.
.x.x.x.
The stars shone brilliantly, almost as if the vast emptiness of the plains had coaxed them out to fill the void below. As much as she missed the hustle and bustle of Argent's gaming stations, Rikku had to admit the Calm Lands were pretty.
They'd set up camp along the cliffside – a spot where the winds that swept across the open fields were blocked by both the mountain at their backs and the crumbles of a few fortuitously placed ruins. It wasn't quite as exposed as the rest of the plains and, with the addition of a small fire, easily defendable against wandering fiends.
That was apparently something they'd all needed, judging by the state Braska and Jecht had returned in. Though they'd been successful on their hunt, both men looked worse for wear. In particular, Braska's robes sported more than a few new tears; he must have taken her directive to look incompetent to heart.
Feeling somewhat responsible, she'd offered to patch his things up. He'd agreed only after giving her a stern warning not to deface his ceremonial belt, peppered as it was with Yevon's holy symbols.
He should've known better.
Squinting in the fire's light, Rikku pulled her needle through the cloth and stifled a grin. As if I'd back down from a challenge.
Putting the finishing touches on the garment, she shook out the belt and admired her handiwork: Yevon's all-seeing eye was looking decidedly more bloodshot than before, thanks to the decorative Al Bhed curse words she's sewn in red thread.
Tailor tax, she thought with smug satisfaction. Braska can complain about it when he starts fixing his own clothes. She dropped the belt back into her lap and gazed around the campfire.
Jecht was meticulously cleaning his sword – a habit he'd picked up from Auron – so carefully, it was clear he was still uncomfortable with it. Braska was conversing with Auron in low undertones, looking mildly worried. Sounds of their quiet conversation drifted by; they seemed to be discussing Belgemine's challenge and how to go about meeting it.
Drawing her legs up under her chin, Rikku frowned. We need a better plan. Her brief talk with Auron earlier had set the cogs in her mind turning; Braska was going to charge forward regardless, and Auron and Jecht would follow him. Sure, they'd gotten better – a lot better – since the start of the Pilgrimage, but they were still going up against Sin. And this time, they wouldn't have an Al Bhed laser cannon to back up their encounter. We need to do more than just better.
There were two halves of the same answer glaring her in the face, reluctant though she was to address them. Belgemine was the lesser of the two evils; but to confront her, they'd need to find Yojimbo first.
And the other...
She could almost hear the wispy, deceptively frail voice. "Nostalgia makes the heart feeble. It is the heart's… nemesis."
Trema's words haunted her. When they'd finally discovered who – or, actually, what – he really was, she'd been overwhelmed by her fear and anger at his betrayal. He'd fooled them all, wearing the mask of the harmless, friendly old Arena caretaker, and used that trust to destroy so many people's hard-won spheres. She'd been happy to help Yuna send him to his final rest, confident he'd made a terrible mistake.
Now, in hindsight after her time with Auron and the others, she wasn't so sure he was wrong anymore.
Right now, he's still just the friendly old guy tending the Monster Arena; Yuna's Eternal Calm is what broke him and twisted his purpose. As long as I don't kick up any trouble about him being dead, he'll help us train.
She thought about Trema in the Via Infinito, effortlessly defeating fiends that had given the Gullwings no end of trouble with his bare hands.
You know, on second thought, maybe I don't want his help.
"Yo, Blondie! What's with that look?"
Rikku quickly scrubbed whatever expression she'd been wearing off of her face. She couldn't tell the truth, especially when it sounded so crazy. We're stuck in a massive summoner graveyard, on our way to visit two of the most powerful Unsent in Spira to find couple of lost aeons strong enough to take down Bahamut, that's what.
"Blondie?" Jecht asked again, setting down his sword when she still hadn't answered.
Focus, Rikku! Gathering Braska's robes, she threw them at the summoner. "I just hate thinking about this place, that's all," she said tersely. "But we still need to be here."
"Now that is a change from your previous attitude," Braska noted. He donned his robes, pausing to inspect the belt. "... I can read these, you know," he groused.
"I know," Rikku said, regaining some of her cheer.
Braska sighed. "Why have you suddenly decided to support my journey when you so obviously detest this place?"
She swallowed down her unease. "Trema," she said, glancing at Auron, whose brows drew together.
"The former trainer of the crusaders? He's still alive?"
For a given value of the word. Stifling a mad giggle, Rikku nodded at Auron. "He's gotten old, but he should still be running Lord Mi'ihen's Monster Arena near here. That's where I trained to fight Sin when I got my Godhand. I bet Jecht could use that place to practice with his sword."
"More fightin'?" Jecht groaned, putting away his weapon. "I was already doin' all the work out there by myself! We don't need no Arena when this place is crawlin' with fiends like that!" He glared at her. "And you're catchin' dinner tomorrow."
Braska laughed uneasily. "It was not that bad. And a bit of training could benefit us both. Even with that sword, you had no idea what you were doing against the Malboro earlier."
"C'mon, it was a solid idea," Jecht grumbled.
"You tried to counter its breath attack with a sprig of mint."
"You what?" Rikku blurted.
"...It might have worked if it'd landed in that thing's mouth like I planned," Jecht complained, flushing. " 'Sides! Wasn't like you were doin' any better, B! You kept tryin' to clobber me with your staff after it spit at ya!"
Auron was looking between the two of them, as though he couldn't decide who to lay into first. "You both should know better than to take unnecessary risks!"
"I quite enjoyed myself today," Braska said valiantly, and Rikku had to give him credit for sticking to his end of the deal. If she hadn't known better, she might have actually believed Braska wasn't lying through his teeth.
As it was, he was wearing a belt that depicted a crude Chocobo squatting over a roundish-shaped holy symbol on his belt with great aplomb.
"It was invigorating," Braska finished.
Jecht was having none of it. "Really? You feel that way before or after the Chimera Brain knocked you out with the flamin' meteor?"
"What!" Auron yelled. "Jecht! What were you doing?"
"Dodgin'?" Jecht answered incorrectly, and yelped when Auron smacked him on the back of the head.
Braska's smile tightened. "I appreciated the learning experience. And I will duck next time..." He peered at Jecht. "... behind you. We are going hunting again together tomorrow, whether you find the endeavor agreeable or not."
Jecht met his stare, before swinging around to face Rikku. "A learnin' experience about how not to make bets with Blondie, right?" He glared. "Thanks for draggin' me into this, man."
Rikku inspected her fingernails. "I'm not the one who lost the bet."
"Technically, neither am I," Braska added. "I hope you'll forgive me for placing too much faith in your battle prowess, Jecht. You might even be able to say… you brought this upon yourself. By not training enough, perhaps."
"Pull your own weight then, B!" Jecht growled back.
Auron cut them off. "You two are ridiculous. There is a reason I've told you not to gamble, my lord," he said to Braska, earning an annoyed tongue click. "Forget about the wager. From here on we hunt, travel, and camp together. As a team."
"Aww!" Rikku complained, but silenced herself when Auron gave her a quelling look.
"Serves you right," crowed Jecht. He froze mid-fistpump when Auron's glare landed on him.
"And you," Auron continued. "A visit to the Monster Arena would not be a punishment. You need to learn to control that sword. Visiting Trema is an excellent idea, if he's really here," he said. "The Arena was traditionally used to prepare warriors for battle against Sin. Your opponents would be powerful fiends, but in controlled conditions."
"Yeah," she agreed. "You guys could train safely without holding anything back."
"You guys? Ya say that like you wouldn't be comin' with us," Jecht said suspiciously.
"I wouldn't," she replied, decision made. I'm gonna avoid Trema if I can, even if he is still 'sane.'
"Wait, what?"
Ignoring Auron's surprise, she pressed on. "I've done my time at the Arena, thank you very much! Besides, I've got something more important to do here."
"What is more important than accompanying Braska on his Pilgrimage?" Auron asked, incredulous.
She couldn't meet Auron's eye. He's not gonna like this. Casting around for any excuse to delay the inevitable, she latched onto the first thought she had. "Well, finding a way into Remiem Temple, for one."
Braska blinked. "I thought you knew where it was?"
Nodding, Rikku picked at her boot laces. "Well… kinda. In my day, it was pretty accessible. You needed a Chocobo to get there, though, and I haven't seen one around here in ages. Not even wild ones!"
"Chocobos would be devoured by the fiends here more quickly than they could breed a sustainable population," Auron said. "... The same fate that could await you, if you tried to venture through the Calm Lands alone. I know you have confidence in your skills, but who is to say you wouldn't benefit from training at the Arena again with us as well?"
"Look, I can handle myself!"
"So you say," Auron murmured. "But this is about teamwork. There's always room for improvement."
"That's right! You don't get to slack off after what you put me through today, Blondie!"
"It's not exactly like I did nothing, either!" she huffed, gesturing at shelter they'd found along the cliffside. "If I hadn't been looking, we'd be camping out in the open right now. Do you really wanna do that now that you've seen for yourselves what's hiding in the grass?"
"It truly was fortunate that you managed to find this… den," Braska said placatingly. "I would have thought you too preoccupied with other matters to search. How did you come across it?"
Rikku scratched the side of her cheek. "Well, it's funny, see…"
Braska's efforts to undo the stitching on his belt slowed, and he looked up.
"…This is where they host the dog races in the future."
Auron chuckled as Braska spluttered.
"Well, it'd be silly to let all this good space go to waste," she explained quickly. "They built the holding pens here. It's good shelter from the wind, and with that cliff right above us, you can have extra seats on top with a view of the entire course from above."
"We landed in the doghouse, ya mean," Jecht yawned and closed his eyes, leaning back into his bedroll and scratching an armpit.
"I can't think of a more appropriate place to kennel you, really," Auron deadpanned.
"Grateful as I am for the effort, must you really trample over all of Yevon's sacred beliefs?" Braska mumbled as he returned to restoring his defaced belt with renewed vigor.
"I was being thoughtful!" she protested.
"I am sure," Braska said, annoyed.
Her mood darkened. "You could be thoughtful too, you know," she muttered. "Like, ever think about calling this whole Pilgrimage off?"
"Rikku," Auron warned.
Braska held up a hand. "To be honest, yes. I did, once." He gave her a meaningful look. "It was a poor decision, as I believe you and Auron agreed."
Rikku dropped her face into her palms and groaned.
"And just when we were havin' such a nice time," Jecht called out, arms behind his head. He cracked one lazy eye open. "The hell is wrong with you people? We're already here now. Stop worryin' about the future so damn much. I'm too tired for another fight. Let's save all the plannin' for tomorrow, alright?"
"I hate you all for forcing me to agree with Jecht," Auron added, taking up his position for the first watch. "Lord Braska. Rikku. Drop the subject."
Easier said than done, she thought, but kept her mouth shut. Braska said nothing, plucking furiously at his belt with a deep frown etched across his face.
The ensuing tense silence, broken only by the sounds of the popping fire, wasn't much better than the budding argument. After a few moments, Jecht swore and sat up, rubbing his head. "Well, sleep sure as hell ain't happening now, so why don'tcha tell me 'bout them games they have here in the future."
Rikku crossed her arms. "I thought you didn't want to worry about the future."
"You put us up in dog pens and then started barkin' at B about his shitty life choices when he complained, Blondie. C'mon, stop bein' a bitch and throw us a bone here."
Auron twitched, and even Braska's grimace turned pained.
"Ugh, fine, just stop with the puns," she said. Maybe it was a little wrong of her to needle Braska about his beliefs so much – whether with her words or his altered clothing – at least, in this place. "There were two agencies competing for business, so it was pretty lively. There were marketing campaigns all across Spira! Argent was led by a bunch of older people, while Open Air was run by kids younger than me – some former crusaders and Al Bhed working together. I put my weight behind Open Air, obviously," she added, "but Argent won and took over the entire industry."
"What? You didn't manage to get your way?" Auron cut in from where he was leaning against a stone pillar at the edge of camp. "I've always found you to be unstoppable when you have a goal in mind."
She flushed in pleasure. Jecht made gagging sounds.
"Well… it wasn't my decision in the end," she said. "Yunie wanted to give the older people something to look forward to, to help them embrace the changes going on. Open Air thought up most of the games, but they were still just a bunch of teenagers. She figured it'd be easier for them to start over if they lost, not like the people working for Argent."
Braska's hands stilled on his belt.
"When Yunie asks, it's hard to say no." She smiled half-heartedly. "And, sure, I liked Open Air better, but I guess I understood." More of her bad mood dissipated as nostalgia took its place. "The Al Bhed… we're used to starting from scratch, and the crusaders have always been pretty open-minded. But the Yevonites… they're kinda set in their ways." She shrugged. "Everyone deserves a chance to be happy, and even Argent's stodgy old handlers made things better than the way this place is right now."
She thought back on all of the times she'd spent with Yuna and Paine here – especially Paine's mad scramble to get away from Argent's hapless heir once she realized he was going to ask her to marry him. That had done more to ease the sting of losing than any of Yuna's heartfelt explanations about the people, really. Those times were fun.
She came out of her musings to the stares of the other men. "What? You asked."
"Yunie?" Auron said slowly, looking between her and Braska. "As in Yuna? Braska's daughter, Yuna?"
Rikku's throat closed.
"Whoa," Jecht said, blinking. "This story just turned trippy. So you and Yuna are like, what? Best buds in the future or somethin' ?"
"No, no, wait! You got it all wrong!" she said, waving her hands frantically. "It's not the same Yuna – "
"Rikku," Braska interrupted. "It's… fine." He turned to the others. "She told me before. Although..."
She gulped; she'd never really talked about her relationship with Yuna to Braska, and she didn't want to start doing so now.
His tone sharpened. "You never did mention why Yuna might have need of a Celestial Weapon."
"You know?" Rikku blurted, then clapped her hands over her mouth. Damn that man and his ability to suss her out! Okay, so maybe he's still a little mad at me.
"It wasn't difficult to extrapolate," Braska chided her. "The forest spirits could see into the future. Your future. Bayra's own words were that I was familiar to them, but not yet the chosen avatar." He smiled faintly. "I must admit to feeling very proud of my daughter, but… why her? What did you two face that required such strength? Was she also a Guardian in your time?"
Rikku could feel Braska's suspicion sharpening, and glanced over at Auron, who was watching her, stone-faced.
Sorry, Auron, she thought with a twinge of guilt. "Ok, I'll tell you a little, if you promise not to push. There are some things I just won't say. It'd make things… complicated."
Braska's face lit up, but Rikku couldn't ignore Auron turning away from her. "Auron, c'mon. I know you don't think I should say anything, but this is important. Braska has the right to ask about his own daughter."
Auron snorted. "Do what you want," he told her, his disappointment almost tangible.
She questioned her judgement for a brief moment, before shrugging off his concerns. I've already made my decision. Sorry, Auron.
Rifling through her memories for a safe story, she settled on their second-to-last mission as Gullwings – last, if she didn't count the grueling reunion Paine organized at Iutycyr Tower. "So," she began, licking her lips. "You guys never heard of Vegnagun before, right?"
As soon as she mentioned the name, her belt flared to life. Everyone started, and surprised, she looked down.
No; it wasn't her belt, it was Lenne.
The sphere pulsed erratically before fading, and Rikku sighed. "I guess this is actually Lenne's story, to be honest."
"She's an Unsent, right?" Jecht asked. " 'Cept with no body, 'cause she's livin' in that sphere?"
"Yes," Braska mused. "I thought I felt something different about that sphere. Another consciousness. It was almost as though she recognized me."
"Not you," Rikku explained. "Yunie. I found Lenne's sphere, but I didn't know what it was then, so I gave it to Yuna. And then Lenne, she… well, she kinda…" There was no polite way to say it, she figured. "She possessed Yuna."
"What?" Braska yelled, leaping to his feet. "My daughter was possessed by an Unsent?"
"It wasn't that bad! Calm down!" Rikku waved Braska back to his seat. "Only temporarily. All Lenne did was make her dance and sing a few times. And only because she wanted to warn us of a new threat to the world. One as big as Sin."
"How many deathtraps does this place have?" Jecht asked in disbelief. "What can be worse than a flyin' man-eatin' super-whale fiend?"
"... the machina the people from Lenne's time built to defeat it. It went out of control and started destroying everything in sight." She cupped the Songstress sphere, which was radiating warmth. "Lenne died trying to keep Vegnagun – that's what they called it – from being used, and her boyfriend, Shuyin, was beyond mad about it. He was so angry he came back from the dead as an Unsent and went around possessing people, too. His spirit got sealed in a cave, but a thousand years later he broke out and tried to start a new war. He didn't realize that Lenne's soul was still here, trapped in this sphere. So, when we found her, Lenne asked Yunie and the rest of us to help her stop him."
Rikku fidgeted nervously, realizing she had everyone's attention. "... and, uh… we said okay, sure thing. It took over a year of Yunie, me, and our friend, Paine, running all over Spira before we managed to find Shuyin and Vegnagun, but… we did in the end, and then we killed it and sent Shuyin to the Farplane for good." She smiled sheepishly. "Y-R-P to the rescue! That was it, really."
The others' rapt attention faded into grimaces of annoyance.
"You suck at tellin' stories, Blondie," Jecht complained. "Where's the buildup? The drama? You can't save the world with Braska's little girl and leave us hanging on the details like that!" He paused. "And what the hell kind of a team name is Yerp? Disappointin', man."
"We called ourselves the Gullwings, dumbo!" Rikku seethed.
"Rikku's description was brief and to the point. We shouldn't press her for more," Auron argued, despite the dissatisfaction plain on his face as well. "But, there's one thing I don't understand. If Lenne's job is done, why is she still here?" His eyes dropped to the sphere in her hands. "Unsent are said to be tied to this world by an obsessive desire to accomplish a goal they failed to achieve in life. Why would Lenne's spirit still haunt that sphere after you defeated her enemy? Why was she still here in the first place?"
It was the same question Yunie had, and one of the main reasons she'd been eager to pass the Songstress sphere onto someone else. After all Lenne had done for them, it didn't seem right to try and Send her, or break the sphere – something Rikku was pretty sure would kill Lenne for good, no matter what she was. But her presence was still unsettling and her motives unclear, even if the spirit had been an asset so far.
"I don't know," Rikku answered reluctantly. "But I can tell you that she's always helped me out, even here. I think she means well."
"The undead breed malice in their souls," Auron countered. "Especially if left to their own devices for too long. People fear them for good reason – it's inevitable that they'll develop a deep resentment of the living. You can't control that power, Rikku. That thing possessed you at the Moonflow, didn't it?" He trailed off, but his thoughts on Lenne were clear – he wanted the spirit gone.
Was that the real reason why Auron left? He didn't want to stick around and see what he'd turn into? But, what about Maechen, or Belgemine? They'd left willingly after Yuna had fulfilled their desires.
No. Not all Unsent are evil. You weren't bad. Her eyes narrowed at Auron. And with Lenne's help, maybe you'll never be Unsent, either.
"She's not evil and we're not gonna Send her anywhere," Rikku said stubbornly, trying to ignore the doubt Auron's words had raised.
In the end, Lenne had tricked Shuyin into leaving by promising to go to the Farplane with him. And while there was no question that Shuyin himself was a gigantic raging ball of hate while he haunted the living world, the way Lenne had betrayed him still left her cold.
"I'm with Rikku here," Jecht said. "Sure, the dead chick is creepy, but she gets things done, yanno? Maybe that's a good thing. Havin' someone on the team who ain't afraid to break a few eggs to make the omelette."
"Just wait until you're the egg," Auron ground out. "I wonder how you'd feel then."
Jecht only smirked. "Been there, done that. We worked out our differences a while ago."
Rikku cut in before Auron could question him. "Look, Lenne was a summoner, just like Braska. Maybe that's why she's so good at reaching out to us from the sphere. She's been trying to beat Sin for a thousand years! Maybe that's her focus. Shutting her out just because of our superstitions would be as bad as what the Church does! If Lenne wants to offer us her power, then I'll accept that risk."
"I do not like the idea much, but… she has proven to be a valuable aid to Rikku in the past, has she not? We will let her stay for now… and remain vigilant, for if she slips."
Auron's shoulders dropped in defeat. "Yes, my lord."
She chose not to point out that it wasn't their decision to do anything to Lenne. Her ghostly companion seemed to have a will of her own, and no qualms about imposing it on whomever happened to pick up her sphere. Better to keep her close than throw her away. Who knows what trouble Lenne might get up to on her own?
Braska turned back to Rikku. "But, now that you've told us of the threat this Vegnagun poses… perhaps we can do something to neutralize it? Now, before Yuna will be forced to face it?"
Rikku smiled faintly. This was what Auron was really worried about, wasn't it? The human desire to meddle. And that changing the future might destroy me.
"Yunie can protect herself, Braska," she answered. "Besides, she'll have friends to help her out. She's good at that – making friends, I mean. It's not all that hard to save the world when you have your best friends supporting you." She beamed at the three men, bouncing in place. "Am I right or what?"
"Hnn," Auron said. Despite his attitude, even he was placing his fragile hope for Braska's Pilgrimage on her theory being right. "I suppose you may be, this once."
"Yo, I got a question for ya," Jecht said. "How'd you find Lenne's sphere in the first place? Just got lucky?"
"Not luck, skill," Rikku said with a note of pride. "The Gullwings were a sphere hunting crew. That was our job, to find and collect spheres."
"Sphere hunting? That is what Yuna chose to do in the end?"
Rikku nodded at Braska; this was safer ground. "She wanted to help Spira preserve its past, its history. Sin destroyed so much of it. You were a part of that effort for her, you know? She didn't want any of the High Summoners to be forgotten. Collecting spheres filled with other peoples' memories was the way we thought we could do that."
"I've always wondered why you were so fixated on spheres," Braska murmured with a note of admiration. "And here I thought it was because of your special belt. I hadn't realized your cause was so noble."
At this, Rikku reddened. Maybe not such safe ground after all. "Well, uh, about that…"
Auron groaned. "Spit it out."
"... I wasn't lying when I said sphere grid technology was widespread where I come from. I mean it's not now, but it happens eventually. That's why sphere hunting is such a lucrative job. People want more than just the memories, they want the power, too. But spheres are pretty hard to find. The ones you make on your own aren't as good as the old ones that have been around for a while." And with Macalania Forest dying, new spheres are a limited resource anyway.
"Nobility tempered by pragmatism. Why am I not surprised?" Auron turned a critical eye onto her belt. "That invention sounds like a worse idea the more I understand it. Human nature is driven by greed and self-interest. If they're widespread in your future, then it won't be long before people attempt to harness that technology for warfare."
"We don't use them to fight each other!" Rikku protested, then bit her tongue. Fighting other humans was actually the first thing Leblanc did after she got her mitts on one. Copying the tech and selling lower quality grids en masse had been the second thing she'd done. But even Leblanc came around in the end, right?
Auron shook his head. "Granting overwhelming power to the undisciplined will almost always lead to irresponsible usage and needless violence. Who invented this device anyway? How could anyone think spreading it to the population at large would be a good idea?"
Though it wasn't aimed at her, she still shrunk a little. It wasn't like he was exactly wrong, but – "... the Gullwings invented these," she mumbled. At Auron's widening eyes, she shook her head, braids flying. "No-no-no, not me! I'm good, but I'm not that good! My friend Shinra invented them. He's the genius behind the original grid technology. But he never meant for it to get out the way it did! It was stolen from us, and by the time we got it back, well… mass-produced grids had already hit the market and it was too late. Sphere hunting got pretty cutthroat after that."
"Sounds like trouble in the makin' if you ask me," Jecht observed. "I gotta say, your future ain't lookin' so bright." He looked around. "Well, 'cept for them games, that is."
Rikku thought of Sin and Vegnagun. "The future's what we make of it. And I liked mine, even with all the sphere grids floating around," she added wistfully.
"Thank you for sharing that with us," Braska told her, before she could begin any more trips down memory lane. "I understand being so open does not come naturally for you, but we all appreciate your candor."
Blinking, she returned his smile. It seemed revealing a little more about herself to the others had smoothed over their minor spat, and she felt herself relaxing. "And… sorry about your clothes, I guess. I mean, I like them better now, but I didn't mean to tick you off that much, you know?" Digging through her pouch, she handed Braska her tooling knife, which he accepted with a nod.
"So," Braska began as he resumed picking at his belt, "Now that cooler heads are prevailing, we really should discuss where we are to go from here. Rikku, I know you value your independence, but Auron is correct. It isn't safe to travel these lands alone."
Stalking closer to the fire, Auron still wasn't looking her in the eye, but he seemed mollified by her reconciliation with Braska. "We'll visit the Arena together first. Perhaps we'll find a solution to breaching Remiem without Chocobos during that time."
"I'm not going with you," she insisted, and the line of tension returned to Auron's shoulders.
And we were doing so well…
There was no getting around it. Swallowing, she faced him. "I didn't say I'd be leaving on my own."
Auron sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Despite the events of today, I suppose Braska and Jecht would be fine by themselves, thought what you expect us to accomplish – "
"I didn't mean I'd be leaving with you, either."
There was a beat of silence, broken abruptly when Braska cursed, the knife slicing into his hand.
"... uh, Blondie? You ain't makin' no sense here. You mean you're thinkin' of sending me an' Auron to the Arena and runnin' off with Braska?" He squinted at her. "You got a deathwish or somethin'?"
"It's not a deathwish!" she huffed.
Jecht looked up at Auron's thunderous face. "Well, besides the fact that the Stiff is ready to kill ya, you gotta realize you and B are the worst fighters on the team. The monsters here are gonna cream you without us."
Rikku and Braska scoffed at the same time, then shared a look.
"Creepy," Jecht muttered.
Sitting down with a thump next to her, Auron glared. "Explain yourself."
"This wasn't my idea," Braska protested, stopping to cast a healing spell over his sliced palm.
"Not you. And shut up," Auron ground out without looking away from her. "Jecht has a valid point. You can't keep the Samurai sphere active for your entire time here, and you can't travel if Braska is in Rapture." He tried to modify the severity of his tone, with limited success. "I don't understand."
"It's not because of any of you." Sighing, she scuffed her boot into the ground. "Look. It's just… it's Trema, okay? I mean, I know him. The future him."
The displeasure on Auron's face eased into confusion. "Why? Is there something wrong with him?"
She was almost quick enough to stifle the hysterical laugh, but not quite. What's right with him?
Auron leaned back, and even Braska was paying attention now.
"We had a… little falling out," she said. "I know it hasn't happened yet, but… he's not the man you all think he is. He's not a good person. Not really."
The crackling of the fire filled the silence.
"Can we trust him?" Auron asked slowly.
"For now. He won't let Jecht get hurt, I don't think. But I don't wanna take any chances. That's why you have to go, too."
"Whoa whoa whoa! You think this Trema guy's gonna try somethin'?" Jecht sat up, looking worried.
"I hope not, but if he does, you both have to promise to run, not fight." She grabbed onto Auron's arm, gripping it tightly. "He's not as good as they say. He's better."
"Better than me?" Auron asked, serious. He exhaled heavily when she nodded. "So you don't trust him around Braska either, then."
"Well, it's not that. I'm sure Trema would protect any summoner who fought in the Arena. You guys might actually be safer with him there. It's just that Braska needs to prepare for the visit to Remiem, too."
"You mean my duel with Lady Belgemine," Braska cut in. "But wouldn't that be best accomplished at this Arena, then? I could train my aeons to fight more efficiently there, alongside the rest of you."
"It's not about training. It's about Yojimbo." At their blank looks, she sighed. "Belgemine's secret aeon. His Fayth stone is hidden near the Arena, too. Sorry, but you need to be there," she told him. "You can't beat her without that aeon, and I'm the only one who can take you to find it. Besides, we're going to have to backtrack across the entire length of the plains once you've gotten him anyway, since Remiem's in the opposite direction."
Jecht let out a low groan at that. "My feet are hurtin' already."
"I still don't see why we can't all do this together," Auron said. "It would be worth delaying the Pilgrimage for your safety. We've all battled Sin enough to know we'll need every advantage we can get. Or we can just avoid the Arena altogether, if you feel so strongly about Trema."
"No, we can't. Trema… he's kind of working with Belgemine," she said slowly. "You know that scepter she gave Braska? It really is a key… well, half of a key, and Trema's got the other half."
Auron slumped over. "Let me guess. It's the key to Remiem Temple."
She nodded. "If you can prove to Trema that you've got the will to fight Sin, he'll let you have the other half of the key. He's even tougher than Belgemine, though. She only tests the summoners. He tests the Guardians."
"So you mean we ain't just fightin' to train, then," Jecht said. "This is gonna be a real battle for Braska's sake."
"Listen, I know I'm not a close combat specialist like you guys," she told them. "But if we want Braska to have a chance against Sin, he needs us. I can't help you guys out in the Arena, but I can help Braska find his next aeon. I have to do this."
"I still don't like it," Auron replied. "It's too dangerous out there. You and Braska are both masters of support magics, not direct attacks. Even with his Holy spell and your Samurai sphere, you'll be hard-pressed to defend yourselves against the fiends here."
"You might be surprised. We managed to get by somehow on Baaj," Braska said quietly. He'd resumed picking away at his belt.
Silence descended once more. Finally, Auron let out a low breath.
"I wish there was some way to keep you safe," he said.
"Well, hang on a minute. We still got other options, yanno," Jecht cut in. An evil grin bloomed on his lips. "What if Blondie here had another costume to choose from?"
"What other costume?" Auron glanced at Rikku's belt with a frown. "She has four outfits, and only one of them is made for actual combat."
"Yeah, yours. See, she's got one of her, one of you, one of Lenne, an' one of me."
"Your point?"
"My point is that somebody's missin'," Jecht finished, crossing his arms and looking smug.
Everyone's stare landed on Braska, who froze. "Eh?"
Rikku choked. "How is making a dressphere based off of Braska supposed to help us in combat?" She ignored Braska's hiss of annoyance and squinted at Jecht. "You're not actually trying to help us out here, are you? You just wanna see what I'd turn Braska's personality into!"
"I have to agree. While it may be entertaining to see just what exactly Rikku would create…"
Braska's hiss turned into an indignant squawk.
"...I don't see how adding another white mage to the party would help them survive the Calm Lands without us."
"But, you know you wanna see it," Jecht sing-songed, still looking smug. "C'mon, everyone but Braska's had to put up with it at some point. Don't you think he should get a turn?"
"Put up with it?" Rikku huffed. "They're your own personalities, you know!"
"Hnn," Auron said blandly, poker face straight.
Clearing his throat, Braska shook out his belt. "Well, this has all been very enlightening, but I'm afraid we can't test your theory, Jecht. Rikku would need to have made a decent recording of me before she could test it as a dressphere, and that just hasn't happened – "
The words seemed to die in his throat, and Rikku avoided his sudden gaze with a guilty look.
"You didn't."
"Didn't what?" Auron asked, eyebrows rising. "Wait, you have a sphere recording of him?"
"You should have destroyed it!" Braska spluttered.
"Well, I couldn't exactly throw it away!" Rikku stage-whispered at him. "It sounded like your last will and testament!"
"Ha! See? What'd I tell ya? She's got one!" Jecht leaned forward. "You have to do it now! Fair's fair!"
"Absolutely not!" Braska shouted, looking alarmed.
"Not on your life," Rikku said at the same time.
Auron and Jecht traded a knowing glance. "Grab her!" Jecht yelled as he leapt for Braska, tackling the other man.
"What– AURON!" Rikku screamed as he grappled with her, trapping her arms behind her back with one hand and rooting around her hip pack with the other. "This is betrayal! You're gonna regret this! You'll be sleeping alone if you do it!" she screeched, struggling to wriggle free of his tight grasp.
"I'd be sleeping alone if you left us at the Arena anyway," Auron countered. He pulled her pouch of assorted of spheres free and held them up. "Jecht! I have them!"
Rikku heard a muffled cry of indignation from Braska as Jecht's head popped up. "Great! Can you tell which one is his?" He grunted as Braska redoubled his efforts to escape from Jecht's full-body pin.
"Not really," Auron mused, doing his best to hold her back while sorting through her spheres. "We'll have to watch them all to find it."
"Wait!" Rikku yelled, abruptly stopping her efforts to claw off Auron's shoulder guard. If Auron watches that sphere, we're all dead! "I'll cooperate, just let me go!"
Smirking, Auron released her. "I'm glad you've come to see reason," he said amicably, holding out the bag of spheres. "But," and he lifted the bag away as she tried to snatch it, "No tricks. If Jecht and I had to go through this, so does Braska."
Grabbing the bag out of Auron's hands, she sulked and quickly found the sphere she'd modified in Baaj. Rolling it between her fingers, she made one last attempt to wriggle out of her predicament. "But you know, you said it – it's not like we need another white mage, right? What good will showing it do, besides embarrassing Braska?"
"That's good enough for me," Jecht said with a grin, helping a sullen Braska regain his seat by the fire. "Remember what I had to go through when you put on mine?"
"But that was you! Auron?" she tried one last time.
"Turnabout is fair play," he responded.
"Fine," Braska grumbled, doing his best to brush his robes out. "Do your worst. It's not as if the rest of you could humiliate me any more than you have already."
"Aww, c'mon, you know it won't be that bad," Jecht said as Auron joined them. "You're the most borin' square I ever met, B. No offense." The three of them watched her expectantly. "Well? We're waitin'," he added.
Rolling her eyes, Rikku removed one of her dresspheres and carefully slotted Braska's sphere into her grid in its place. "If this breaks my belt, I'm blaming all of you," she told them. Then, taking a deep breath, she activated the node.
A familiar cone of light surrounded her, and she felt the same sluggish resistance she'd first experienced when activating Jecht's sphere. The light wavered, and she struggled not to fight the energy that surged through her, to open her mind and accept the thoughts whispering through the recording on the sphere. She realized too late that it was a mistake.
I want, Braska's voice whispered to her. Hunger suddenly filled her; lust, of course, but more than just that – a crazed desire for everything she wasn't, everything she couldn't have. It felt like every part of her that could tell her to stop, wait, let's think about this was falling away into a self-destructive blaze of greed. I'm tired of being weak, she thought fiercely, licking her lips. If good girls finish last, then I'll do whatever it takes to win.
Stretching, she let the change finish and smiled provocatively across the fire at the three gaping men.
"B?" Jecht said faintly. "That don't look like no white mage to me."
"We need to talk," Auron growled to Braska, although his eyes remained glued on her.
Braska swallowed audibly.
"Whatever's the matter?" Rikku purred, stepping towards them. "You don't mind if I go a little wild, do you?" She pushed herself up into Auron's personal space, straddling his legs, and placed her claws on his shoulders. "Wanna try me out?"
Auron's throat bobbed. He managed to tear his eyes away from her skimpy white bikini top, though his hands grasped her tattooed thighs.
She growled in disappointment, however, when he only pushed her away. I'm not letting you off the hook that easily, loverboy.
"What are you wearing?" he asked, confused.
"Next to nothin'," Jecht helpfully supplied.
"And is that… a horn?" Auron added, staring at her head.
"So, you noticed I'm a little horny, huh?" she teased. "Give the man a prize. For your information, this is my Berserker costume." A coy smile lifted her lips. "You know us berserkers. I hear we're really good at pounding things."
Braska groaned in dismay; his head was between his knees. "Just kill me now and get it over with."
"Oh no," Jecht said, slapping Braska on the back, his eyes still glued on her. "If I had to live through it, so do you, buddy."
Rising to his feet, Auron whipped off his coat and threw it around her. "Take off that costume. We've seen enough."
"Excuse you?" Rikku stepped back, yanking off his coat and throwing it back in his face. "You haven't seen anything yet! You want me to take this off?" She smirked suggestively. "Then make me." Lifting a clawed finger, she beckoned to Auron as she sashayed backwards, away from the firepit.
Growling, Auron threw down the coat and stepped towards her. "I have no idea what Braska put on that sphere, but it doesn't suit you. Deactivate that outfit right now, or I'll do it for you."
"Ooh, now that's a promise I hope you'll keep," she purred, waiting for him to approach. Just a little closer, sexy. Right there – "Gotcha," she said, and he stopped, frowning.
Flipping backwards, she clipped Auron on the chin with her clawed foot. He went spinning, landing with a crash between a very surprised Jecht and Braska. Springing to her feet, she fell into a battle crouch, weaving back and forth and grinning madly.
"I told you to try me out," she sang. "Now now. Come on, it's not like I bite. Unless you want me to," she added, lifting her arms into a loose boxer stance.
Auron stood slowly, rubbing his jaw. "You want to fight me?"
"Well, what did you think I wanted?" she asked, batting her lashes. "Now, are you going to come over here and show me what a big, strong man you are, or do I have to tease it out of you myself?"
The title of this chapter comes from a quote by Erik Pevernagie:
"Is heaven a place in the sky? Heaven is what we wear in our heart and in our mind."