"A World of Fragile Things"
By Broken_Dreams
[AN]:I wrote this out of boredom. Auron is in this as well. It isn't meant to be romance, but you can take it in many ways. Contains flashbacks.
===========================
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light,
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind.
Your face, it haunts my once pleasant dreams;
Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me.
-- "My Immortal," Evanescence
Chapter I: Understanding
There it was. The Farplane. Rikku brushed her long blonde bangs out of her eyes and began to walk in slow, deliberate steps toward the entrance. She approached the young Guado standing before it, who was watching for any signs of trouble that might result from visitors.
“Good morning, Lady Rikku,” he said, nodding his head in respect. “Will you be visiting the Farplane?”
She hesitated a moment before replying, “Yes. Thank you.” The Guado man nodded again before stepping aside to let her pass. There was a short tunnel that opened onto a series of stone stairs. As she ascended the steps Rikku glanced down over the side. An endless abyss of darkness lurked far below, and her stomach twisted in nervousness inside her.
Why am I doing this? Al Bhed don’t belong in the Farplane, she thought. On her last visit here, she had been too occupied with the business of the Gullwings to think of anything else, or to fear this place.
But that day, she had felt something. Or… someone. She thought she had heard a voice inside her head, urging her with soft words and telling her not to give up, not to lose hope. And she had thought--though it seemed ridiculous to admit--that she recognized that voice. She had heard it before...
She was standing in front of the swirling portal. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through. A feeling of icy cold gripped her insides, and she clenched her teeth in fear. But in a second it passed, and she was now standing in the Farplane.
What will I see? she wondered. She felt somewhat sick. Would the Fayth be angry that an Al Bhed was among them? Would they trap her there among the dead, never to return to the waking world?
“I can’t do this,” she whispered to herself, eyes still shut tight. “I’ll go back.”
“Rikku…”
Her breath caught in her throat. Had she imagined that voice? Were hallucinations a normal thing in the Farplane?
“Don’t be afraid…”
“I can do without creepy disembodied voices, thanks,” Rikku said to herself, since no one else was there. Or, at least, she didn’t think so. It’s so cold here, she thought, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself. She had foolishly worn her Thief dressphere today.
“Open your eyes, Rikku.”
“I know I’ve heard that voice before,” she whispered.
“Look!”
She obeyed, her eyelids fluttering open. Her mouth dropped open in amazement at the sight before her.
She stood high up on a round stone platform, and below her was what seemed to be a huge valley. Pink fog drifted amongst waterfalls gleaming like crystals. Bright flowers in unnatural colors swayed in a nonexistent breeze. And pyreflies... Billions of them, everywhere she looked. They danced and twirled in the air like luminous ribbons.
“Welcome.” She spun around, her heart beating rapidly. Floating a foot from the edge of the platform was a figure she instantly recognized. Oh Spira, how glad she was to see him. And frightened. He was no longer the man she once knew. Heck, he wasn’t even dead. He just… was.
“Aur-,” she choked, her throat refusing to work. The ghostly figure of the former guardian was silent, his eyes fixed upon her face. Unmoving, unspeaking. Eyes?
“Hey, you look… different. Like in Jecht’s sphere!“ Rikku exclaimed, and then clapped a hand to her mouth, looking around uneasily. Would the spirits be angry with her for being loud?
But wait, was this really Auron? She thought she had heard his voice, but she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps that was what her heart had wanted, and so her mind made her believe she heard him. The Al Bhed believed that the figures in the Farplane were only images created by the pyreflies. Could this really be Auron’s soul?
“Sorry,” she said, her voice lower this time. “Um… I feel kinda silly. I mean, who knows if that’s even you.” The ghost-Auron remained silent.
He was actually kinda handsome when he was younger, Rikku thought absently. This was how he had looked when he died, so it made sense for him to be this way on the Farplane.
“Uh, I mean, hello,” Rikku said. Spirit or not, she had to say something. “You’re probably wondering why I came here. I mean, Al Bhed usually don’t, right?” Silence. Rikku sighed, and continued.
“Well, I mean, I… I thought, the last time I came here, that maybe I’d heard your voice. And it kinda got me thinking, you know? I’ve never come to see you since you… since Yunie sent you.”
She paused for a moment to look into his eyes. She thought (or maybe she imagined it) she saw something there, an emotion that she couldn’t quite understand. Was it sorrow? Regret?
“Uh, sorry I didn’t come sooner. I’ve been pretty busy, with the Gullwings and everything. You’re probably wondering what the Gullwings are. Well, we’re a group of spherehunters. Yuna and I are members, and so is a woman named Paine. She reminds me of you a little bit. She doesn’t talk much, and she’s very serious. And she’s got a big sword, like your Katana.” Rikku’s mind was telling her to stop being foolish and just leave this bizarre place. This ghostly image was just a product of her imagination brought to life by the pyreflies around her. But hadn’t he become pyreflies?
“Er… You missed quite a lot while you were here. Shuyin brought this huge machina Vegnagun to life, and… Oh, you, were you there? I thought I heard you that day. You said to me, ‘This is your time. You have to defend it.’ Well, that’s what I did. And what I’ve been doing. I’ve been helping Yunie the whole time, because of what you told me after we beat Yu Yevon. Remember?
===========================
With Sin destroyed, Rikku felt as though a weight had been lifted from her heart. She twirled around, giggling crazily.
“It’s over! It’s finally over!” she exclaimed, beginning an impromptu jig on the deck of the airship. She caught sight of Auron walking towards her then, and did something surprising even to her. She ran up to him and gave him a giant bear hug, for what reason she didn’t know. She felt him tense in surprise, but he did not push her away, either.
Breathing in the smell of his coat, she said, “I’m so glad Yunie’s safe.”
“I know,” Auron replied, and she could feel his voice vibrate beneath her ear. Suddenly she frowned in confusion, pressing her ear harder against his chest.
“Hey, you - You don’t have a heartbeat!” she exclaimed, pulling away. She looked into the older guardian’s single russet eye, suddenly afraid. He stared back, his expression soft. Finally he said, “I am Unsent.”
She stared back, bewildered and shocked.
“But, but, I… I never knew!”
“Neither did anyone else. Only Tidus knows. Soon I must inform everyone else,” was his reply.
“How long have you been--?”
“Dead?” he answered, closing his eyes as though remembering. “Ten years.”
“How?”
“Yunalesca.”
If his quick responses to her questions were uncharacteristic of the stoic warrior, it went unnoticed by both. Rikku, for her part, was having trouble dealing with this new piece of knowledge. All those months she had known him, and he hadn’t given the slightest clue that he was no longer of the living. And Auron had found himself feeling responsible for this bubbly young teenager, just as he felt responsible for Yuna. The reason was unknown, but something about her attitude, though annoying at first, was refreshing.
And Rikku had changed how she felt about the old man, too. She didn’t know why, but she found herself respecting him and looking up to him. His advice, though seldom given, was always worthwhile. It wasn’t until they would become separated forever that she would realize her true feelings.
“There is something I would like you to have,” Auron said, breaking the young Al Bhed from her thoughts. He took the hilt of his Katana from its scabbard against his back and laid it into her hands. She almost dropped it. The weight was formidable, and she wondered at how he could carry it with him everywhere.
“Y-you’re giving this… to me?” she stammered, tracing her hand across the long blade.
“I cannot bring it with me where I am going. You may do what you wish with it. This was a sword I have had since I was a young boy.”
Rikku had been comparing her height to the size of the Katana (there wasn’t much difference), when she snapped her eyes back on him.
“’Where you’re going?’” she repeated quizzically. Auron nodded once, his face firm.
“I cannot stay here any longer. My duty is fulfilled.”
“What about Yunie?! What about us--Tidus and me? Just because we beat Sin doesn’t mean we won’t need you anymore!” she nearly shouted.
“Rikku, I am dead. I do not belong here. I must ask Yuna to send me. I have no other choice,” he replied, his voice expressionless. Rikku suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes. She sniffed and blinked furiously. She wouldn’t let herself cry in front of him. She didn’t want him to think of her as an immature child. She would have to let him go.
“So, what about Yunie?” she muttered, staring at her feet.
“She will need a friend. Stay with her. Give her a shoulder to cry on,” Auron replied, placing a gloved hand on her arm. She glanced up at him quickly.
“Why would she -?” He cut her off.
“Promise me you will be there for her, as I cannot.”
“I promise.”
After the sending was performed, and after Tidus had gone, Rikku found her cabin on the airship, curled up on her bed, and cried.
===========================
[AN]:I don't know if I'll finish this or not. Just tell me if you like it. If Rikku is less "bubbly" than in X-2, it's intentional. It's a very solemn moment for her.
By Broken_Dreams
[AN]:I wrote this out of boredom. Auron is in this as well. It isn't meant to be romance, but you can take it in many ways. Contains flashbacks.
===========================
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light,
But now I'm bound by the life you left behind.
Your face, it haunts my once pleasant dreams;
Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me.
-- "My Immortal," Evanescence
Chapter I: Understanding
There it was. The Farplane. Rikku brushed her long blonde bangs out of her eyes and began to walk in slow, deliberate steps toward the entrance. She approached the young Guado standing before it, who was watching for any signs of trouble that might result from visitors.
“Good morning, Lady Rikku,” he said, nodding his head in respect. “Will you be visiting the Farplane?”
She hesitated a moment before replying, “Yes. Thank you.” The Guado man nodded again before stepping aside to let her pass. There was a short tunnel that opened onto a series of stone stairs. As she ascended the steps Rikku glanced down over the side. An endless abyss of darkness lurked far below, and her stomach twisted in nervousness inside her.
Why am I doing this? Al Bhed don’t belong in the Farplane, she thought. On her last visit here, she had been too occupied with the business of the Gullwings to think of anything else, or to fear this place.
But that day, she had felt something. Or… someone. She thought she had heard a voice inside her head, urging her with soft words and telling her not to give up, not to lose hope. And she had thought--though it seemed ridiculous to admit--that she recognized that voice. She had heard it before...
She was standing in front of the swirling portal. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through. A feeling of icy cold gripped her insides, and she clenched her teeth in fear. But in a second it passed, and she was now standing in the Farplane.
What will I see? she wondered. She felt somewhat sick. Would the Fayth be angry that an Al Bhed was among them? Would they trap her there among the dead, never to return to the waking world?
“I can’t do this,” she whispered to herself, eyes still shut tight. “I’ll go back.”
“Rikku…”
Her breath caught in her throat. Had she imagined that voice? Were hallucinations a normal thing in the Farplane?
“Don’t be afraid…”
“I can do without creepy disembodied voices, thanks,” Rikku said to herself, since no one else was there. Or, at least, she didn’t think so. It’s so cold here, she thought, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself. She had foolishly worn her Thief dressphere today.
“Open your eyes, Rikku.”
“I know I’ve heard that voice before,” she whispered.
“Look!”
She obeyed, her eyelids fluttering open. Her mouth dropped open in amazement at the sight before her.
She stood high up on a round stone platform, and below her was what seemed to be a huge valley. Pink fog drifted amongst waterfalls gleaming like crystals. Bright flowers in unnatural colors swayed in a nonexistent breeze. And pyreflies... Billions of them, everywhere she looked. They danced and twirled in the air like luminous ribbons.
“Welcome.” She spun around, her heart beating rapidly. Floating a foot from the edge of the platform was a figure she instantly recognized. Oh Spira, how glad she was to see him. And frightened. He was no longer the man she once knew. Heck, he wasn’t even dead. He just… was.
“Aur-,” she choked, her throat refusing to work. The ghostly figure of the former guardian was silent, his eyes fixed upon her face. Unmoving, unspeaking. Eyes?
“Hey, you look… different. Like in Jecht’s sphere!“ Rikku exclaimed, and then clapped a hand to her mouth, looking around uneasily. Would the spirits be angry with her for being loud?
But wait, was this really Auron? She thought she had heard his voice, but she couldn’t be sure. Perhaps that was what her heart had wanted, and so her mind made her believe she heard him. The Al Bhed believed that the figures in the Farplane were only images created by the pyreflies. Could this really be Auron’s soul?
“Sorry,” she said, her voice lower this time. “Um… I feel kinda silly. I mean, who knows if that’s even you.” The ghost-Auron remained silent.
He was actually kinda handsome when he was younger, Rikku thought absently. This was how he had looked when he died, so it made sense for him to be this way on the Farplane.
“Uh, I mean, hello,” Rikku said. Spirit or not, she had to say something. “You’re probably wondering why I came here. I mean, Al Bhed usually don’t, right?” Silence. Rikku sighed, and continued.
“Well, I mean, I… I thought, the last time I came here, that maybe I’d heard your voice. And it kinda got me thinking, you know? I’ve never come to see you since you… since Yunie sent you.”
She paused for a moment to look into his eyes. She thought (or maybe she imagined it) she saw something there, an emotion that she couldn’t quite understand. Was it sorrow? Regret?
“Uh, sorry I didn’t come sooner. I’ve been pretty busy, with the Gullwings and everything. You’re probably wondering what the Gullwings are. Well, we’re a group of spherehunters. Yuna and I are members, and so is a woman named Paine. She reminds me of you a little bit. She doesn’t talk much, and she’s very serious. And she’s got a big sword, like your Katana.” Rikku’s mind was telling her to stop being foolish and just leave this bizarre place. This ghostly image was just a product of her imagination brought to life by the pyreflies around her. But hadn’t he become pyreflies?
“Er… You missed quite a lot while you were here. Shuyin brought this huge machina Vegnagun to life, and… Oh, you, were you there? I thought I heard you that day. You said to me, ‘This is your time. You have to defend it.’ Well, that’s what I did. And what I’ve been doing. I’ve been helping Yunie the whole time, because of what you told me after we beat Yu Yevon. Remember?
===========================
With Sin destroyed, Rikku felt as though a weight had been lifted from her heart. She twirled around, giggling crazily.
“It’s over! It’s finally over!” she exclaimed, beginning an impromptu jig on the deck of the airship. She caught sight of Auron walking towards her then, and did something surprising even to her. She ran up to him and gave him a giant bear hug, for what reason she didn’t know. She felt him tense in surprise, but he did not push her away, either.
Breathing in the smell of his coat, she said, “I’m so glad Yunie’s safe.”
“I know,” Auron replied, and she could feel his voice vibrate beneath her ear. Suddenly she frowned in confusion, pressing her ear harder against his chest.
“Hey, you - You don’t have a heartbeat!” she exclaimed, pulling away. She looked into the older guardian’s single russet eye, suddenly afraid. He stared back, his expression soft. Finally he said, “I am Unsent.”
She stared back, bewildered and shocked.
“But, but, I… I never knew!”
“Neither did anyone else. Only Tidus knows. Soon I must inform everyone else,” was his reply.
“How long have you been--?”
“Dead?” he answered, closing his eyes as though remembering. “Ten years.”
“How?”
“Yunalesca.”
If his quick responses to her questions were uncharacteristic of the stoic warrior, it went unnoticed by both. Rikku, for her part, was having trouble dealing with this new piece of knowledge. All those months she had known him, and he hadn’t given the slightest clue that he was no longer of the living. And Auron had found himself feeling responsible for this bubbly young teenager, just as he felt responsible for Yuna. The reason was unknown, but something about her attitude, though annoying at first, was refreshing.
And Rikku had changed how she felt about the old man, too. She didn’t know why, but she found herself respecting him and looking up to him. His advice, though seldom given, was always worthwhile. It wasn’t until they would become separated forever that she would realize her true feelings.
“There is something I would like you to have,” Auron said, breaking the young Al Bhed from her thoughts. He took the hilt of his Katana from its scabbard against his back and laid it into her hands. She almost dropped it. The weight was formidable, and she wondered at how he could carry it with him everywhere.
“Y-you’re giving this… to me?” she stammered, tracing her hand across the long blade.
“I cannot bring it with me where I am going. You may do what you wish with it. This was a sword I have had since I was a young boy.”
Rikku had been comparing her height to the size of the Katana (there wasn’t much difference), when she snapped her eyes back on him.
“’Where you’re going?’” she repeated quizzically. Auron nodded once, his face firm.
“I cannot stay here any longer. My duty is fulfilled.”
“What about Yunie?! What about us--Tidus and me? Just because we beat Sin doesn’t mean we won’t need you anymore!” she nearly shouted.
“Rikku, I am dead. I do not belong here. I must ask Yuna to send me. I have no other choice,” he replied, his voice expressionless. Rikku suddenly felt tears well up in her eyes. She sniffed and blinked furiously. She wouldn’t let herself cry in front of him. She didn’t want him to think of her as an immature child. She would have to let him go.
“So, what about Yunie?” she muttered, staring at her feet.
“She will need a friend. Stay with her. Give her a shoulder to cry on,” Auron replied, placing a gloved hand on her arm. She glanced up at him quickly.
“Why would she -?” He cut her off.
“Promise me you will be there for her, as I cannot.”
“I promise.”
After the sending was performed, and after Tidus had gone, Rikku found her cabin on the airship, curled up on her bed, and cried.
===========================
[AN]:I don't know if I'll finish this or not. Just tell me if you like it. If Rikku is less "bubbly" than in X-2, it's intentional. It's a very solemn moment for her.
But keep it up!