Love Her and Despair Remaster [15]
Mar. 22nd, 2019 07:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
auronlu
Chapter 15: "Attack of the Cactuars"
Final Fantasy X
Characters: Auron, Isaaru, Maroda, Elma, Wakka/Rikku
Rating: G
Word Count: 2400
Summary: Isaaru and Maroda arrive at Wakka and Rikku's house.
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The Story So Far: Following a disastrous Crusader operation at Djose, Sin transports Summoner Isaaru and some of his companions to the desert island where Rikku and Wakka are raising a family.
Auron stepped out into the late afternoon sun, ears ringing from Wakka's marching orders. Isaaru and Maroda were waiting under the shade of the fruit trees, the one meditating, the other pacing.
Maroda tensed at the scrape of the door. "Oh. It's you." He kept both hands on his spear as Auron trudged towards them. "What's going on?"
"Sir Auron," said Isaaru. "I had faith we would meet again. What is this place? We seem to have flustered the natives."
"Bikanel Island," Auron said. "Former Home of the Al Bhed."
"Ah! That would explain their alarm. Sir Auron, have you seen Pacce or the rest of our party?"
"Elma's inside. No sign of the others."
"Elma!" Maroda said. "I thought we'd lost her. That's something, at least."
Isaaru exchanged an apprehensive look with his brother. "May we come inside? The man we met at the oasis seemed uneasy, but he invited us to follow. He told us to wait while he spoke to his wife of our arrival."
"And you don't look like the wife," Maroda said. "Say, am I crazy, or wasn't that Sir Wakka? He shooed off the kids and bolted before we had a chance to talk."
"Correct," Auron said. "Isaaru, listen. Wakka has renounced Yevon. His wife is Yuna's cousin Rikku, an Al Bhed. They blame Yuna's death on Yevon."
"That is unfortunate," Isaaru said. "I had hoped we might solicit the aid of the Al Bhed. Maester Baralai has been working towards an alliance with them for months. Our need is now imperative. Without aeons, we must look to other weapons."
"First things first," Maroda said. "Are they going to let us in? I want to start searching for Pacce, but we need information and supplies before we tackle this desert."
"You may enter," Auron said, "as long as you promise not to mention summoners, guardians, or anything to do with the pilgrimage in front of the children. After losing Lulu and Yuna, Wakka is determined not to let his children follow in their footsteps."
"Lulu?" said Maroda. "Isn't that the gal—"
"Another of Yuna's guardians," Auron said. "It would be best not to mention her, either."
"So, basically, we should take a vow of silence," Maroda said.
"Nay, we need merely follow Sir Auron's lead," Isaaru said, eyes twinkling. "Say little and offer more questions than answers. Maroda, please leave your weapon outside. A show of good faith may ease their fears."
As they filed into the living room, there was a burst of giggling from several pieces of furniture. Only one person was visible: Etta, standing stiffly in the hallway with his back to the door. His arms were spread, bent at the elbow with one hand up, one down. He spun around as they entered. "Muug uid! E's y Cactuar!"
Two beanbag chairs and a pile of pillows tittered. Isaaru stepped forward, smiling. "Oh? Well, I'm very pleased to meet—"
"Zap-zap-zap-zap-zap!" Etta crowed, leaning towards them and pointing with outstretched fingers. "Oui suja, oui muca!"
"You move, you lose!" echoed the mound of pillows.
Isaaru was not caught off-balance for long. He clutched his chest and staggered sideways, gasping, "My brother, help! The needles, they burn!"
"What the—?" Maroda grabbed his elbow to keep him from crashing into a rack of goggles and sand-jackets hanging by the front door.
Shrieks of laughter erupted. The other children popped out from their hiding places. Stepping into the doorway behind Etta, Rikku set her hands on his shoulders. "Great job, Etta! Welcome, guests! It's Isaaru, right? Sorry for the sticky reception."
Wakka appeared behind her, frowning. He had exchanged his towel for baggy blue trousers. Old battle scars on his bare chest were a silent warning as he folded his arms.
"Lady Rikku. Sir Wakka." Isaaru bowed deeply, offering Yevon's sign. "It is an honor to meet you. My brother Maroda and I are grateful for your hospitality. We will not speak of sad memories, but please tell your people that the maesters offer formal apology. Yevon wishes to atone for the injuries it has done your people in the past."
"Oh, yeah?" Wakka said. "Kinda late to be sayin' that now, eh?"
"Weeeeell, actually, they've said it a few times lately," Rikku said. "That Baralai guy's been kissing up to Pops for months. I think he wants something." She shook her head. "Wakka and I aren't really into politics, but thanks for the thought."
"He's a Yevon?" Vidina demanded, crawling out from under the pillows.
"Yeah, but don't worry," Wakka said. "He's not the really bad kind. Otherwise I woulda zapped his butt when he first showed up."
"Zap-zap-zap-zap!" said Mbela, launching herself at Etta as he hopped up on the sofa. A tickle war erupted. Squeals, thumps, and more giggles provided a surreal distraction for those lately come from the devastation of Djose.
"Are they Auron's friends?" Yuna asked, edging away from the free-for-all as Vidina flung himself onto the other two with a shout.
"Yes," Auron said.
"Hm." Wakka massaged the back of his neck. "Well, uh, have a seat. Dining room's safer until the cactuars run out o' juice. I'll get some drinks, ya? You gotta be dying in those robes."
"Thank you," Isaaru said.
Maroda cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but have you some way to search the area? We had two more people with us before we got dragged here, and we haven't seen either of them. One's our baby brother."
"Aw, shoot." Wakka's face fell. "Rikku, can we break out the hover?"
"Hang on!" Rikku bounced towards the commsphere, rescuing it from flailing limbs. "We can't scan the whole desert, but I can check the spherecams at all the emergency shelters. This won't take long. In the meantime, shouldn't you be checking on Chocobo Lady? She's at the end of the hallway, recuperating. I bet she's itching to say hello."
"Recuperating?" Isaaru said.
"Ya, you new maesters should take better care of your Crusaders," Wakka said. He waved towards the hall. "Through there. Last door on the right by the baby crib."
Etta and Mbela came tumbling off the sofa to try their luck on their sister, since Vidina had climbed into the windowsill and was keeping them at bay with his feet. "Safe zone!" Yuna squeaked, diving under Auron's coat. "No noogies!"
"Awww," Etta and Mbela said in unison, staring up at the imposing figure.
Auron looked down and dropped a hand to the girl's hair, recalling another tousled blond head. "I'll wait here," he told Isaaru.
"You'll have to introduce us later," Isaaru said with a smile.
Sitting cross-legged on the floor with the sphere between her knees, Rikku fussed over dead channels while the tickle-war rolled around her. About the time the "cactuars" were reduced to limp, giggling heaps on the floor, emitting an occasional "ow" or "meanie," Isaaru and Maroda returned with Elma. Wrapped in a bathrobe, the woman was moving tentatively but under her own power.
"Hey," Wakka said, setting a tray of iced drinks on the dining table. "Guess magic's still better for some things, eh? You look pretty good."
"Her face is green," Etta said, peering at her upside-down from the floor. "Is she a cactuar?"
Elma laughed. "Green is good, sir?" she said to Wakka. "I suppose it's better than being chopped steak. I should thank Lady Rikku for putting all my parts back in the right order."
"Ya, she's good at fixin' things," Wakka said. "Soon as she's finished checkin' spherecams, she can help you out of those bandages and show you how to work the shower."
"Great!" She looked at Auron, who was holding Yuna in his arms above tickle-range of her siblings. The girl had wrapped herself around his neck and seemed to be falling asleep, face mashed against his collar. "Looks like you've found a friend, sir."
"Yuna."
"Yuna?" Isaaru said, turning to peer at her. Wakka scowled.
Rikku sat back with a sigh, switching off the sphere and setting it back on the charger. "Sorry. I got nothin'. Are you sure the rest of your gang came here?"
"When it comes to Sin, we cannot be certain of anything," Isaaru said.
"Telling me." Brow knotted, she gestured towards the dining room table. "Go on, folks, drink up. It's the desert, you know."
"Is there a problem?" Auron said.
"Oh," Rikku said with forced cheer. "We've lost the signal from Home."
"What's that mean?" Maroda said.
"It means Sin's between us and them, or they've lost power, or..." She shrugged. "All we can do now is wait."
Wakka took Maroda out in the family hover to search for Pacce and Lucil. They returned after sunset, tired and discouraged, just as Rikku was setting out a meal for twice the family's usual size. Wakka waved off Maroda's apologies for a fruitless afternoon, saying that family came first, and brothers were brothers.
The children were fretful over dinner, sensing their parents' unease. Etta and Mbela, the youngest, took turns sticking their fingers in the platters being passed around. Vidina received a dressing-down from Wakka after talking back to his mother. Yuna, reduced to monosyllables, refused to eat more than a few bites. Elma finally came to the rescue with tall tales that set the children laughing. Her dramatic recital of Clasko the Hapless' quest for the Golden Chocobo helped end the evening on a merry note, although Wakka and Rikku would probably tire of the addition of "kweh" to the children's vocabulary before Mbela did.
After dishes and evening chores, the children were tucked in with bedtime stories featuring their new friend, the chocobo. Commander Elma also turned in early, before, as she put it, she got to "gnawing her own leg worrying about what's around the next bend or the last." Isaaru and Maroda stayed up, trading news with their hosts around the dinner table. Auron listened from the sofa. Turned towards the window, he kept the flickers of lightning on the horizon to himself.
Wakka, despite his exasperation with Yevon, was hungry for news of old haunts. When talk turned from Luca to the southern islands, Isaaru did his best to break the story of Besaid's destruction gently.
Wakka took refuge in disbelief. "No way. Must've been Kilika."
"We were there, man," Maroda said. "I'm sorry."
"We did not witness the attack," Isaaru said. "But we saw the signs. Sin must have struck swiftly: too swiftly for fear or suffering. I sent the dead when we arrived a few days later."
"Damn." Wakka sagged, cupping his face in his hands. "I can't believe it. Besaid Village. Our home. That's where our pilgrimage started."
"Exactly," Auron said.
"You shut up," Wakka said through his fingers.
Rikku scooted her chair behind Wakka's to rub his shoulders.
"We found Sir Auron on the dock," Maroda said. "He was waiting for us. I still want to know how he got there."
"A merchant dropped me off," Auron said. "Gippal."
"You're kidding!" Rikku said. "What was he doing there?"
"Returning a favor."
"Must've been some favor." Wakka said.
"Wait. Gippal? Weapons dealer, eyepatch?" Maroda said.
"That's him," Wakka said, raising his head. "He'll sell to anybody, even the Guado. You know him?"
"Sure. My Crusader lodge buys supplies from him a couple times a year. He's got a trading post on the north side of the Calm Lands." Maroda gave a lopsided grin. "Don't tell Commander Elma. She doesn't approve of grenade launchers."
"Gippal's a pain in the ass," Rikku said, "and his prices are steep, but he'll never sell you anything shoddy. He does custom work, too. Wakka's gun was a special order, made for bozos who can't operate anything more complicated than a blitzball."
"Hey, hey!"
"We should definitely get in touch with him, then," Isaaru said. "Without my aeons, I cannot hope to defeat Sin. But with powerful machina, perhaps—"
"Whoa." Wakka jabbed a thumb against the tabletop. "The only thing Yevon's teachings were ever good for is to keep people from messing with things too big to handle. Machina in Yevon's hands are a bad idea. All you'll do is stir up Sin worse than you done already, until some Seymour comes along and uses 'em to hurt people."
"Sir Wakka, I share your concerns, truly," Isaaru said. "Lord Seymour duped me as well. He showed me how far maesters may fall in the pursuit of grand designs. Yet how can I stand idle, when other places will suffer the fate of Besaid?"
There was a faint sniffle from the hallway. Making frantic shushing motions, Rikku tapped Wakka on the shoulder and pointed.
"Huh?" He followed her gaze towards the unlit doorway and stiffened. "Uh-oh." Rising to his feet, Wakka crossed the room and knelt, spreading his arms. A small figure in pajamas darted out and burrowed against his chest, shaking with mute sobs.
"Aw, Yunie." He wrapped his arms around her. "Another bad dream, eh? Sssh, it's okay. I've got ya, honey. You're safe. Sin's not gonna bother us here, and Pop-pops' machina keep the fiends away, ya?"
"But the Lady's upset!" she cried. Maroda and Isaaru exchanged startled glances. "She's upset and she's blowing up Home! She doesn't want to. But the dark mother's there, and the Lady has to make her go away."
"Another fay—" Maroda said, but Isaaru cut him off.
"Yunie, it's gonna be okay," Rikku said, coming over. "Pops evacuated everybody. No one's gonna get hurt. Once the Lady's gone, we'll just have to clean up the mess and rebuild."
"B-b-but I don't want her gone!" Yuna said, tears redoubling. "I know she's been bad, but she makes the garden! What'll we eat?"
"Oops," Rikku muttered. She combed her fingers through the girl's hair. "Yunie, hon, I didn't mean she's going to disappear. I just meant we'll fix Home after she goes back to the ocean, okay?"
"Nobody can make her go away, Yunie," Wakka said, glaring at Auron. "She's too strong."
"But," Yuna sniffed, her weeping starting to subside.
"That's better. See? You just gotta... h-hey!" As soon as Wakka relaxed, she squirted out of his embrace, darting across the floor towards the silent figure on the sofa.
"S-Sir Auron?" Yuna scaled his knees, clutching at his belt. "Are you going to make the Lady go away?"
Next Chapter: The Gippal Express
Author's Notes
Chapter renumbering: Originally posted as Chapter 19 in Dec 2008.
