Final Fantasy Fun

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 41: "No Matter How Dark the Night"
Final Fantasy X/X-2
Characters: Auron/Lulu, Rikku, Elma, Isaaru, Pacce.
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Word Count: 3600
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The Story So Far: Thirteen years after Yuna falls in the Final Summoning, Auron and friends have brought down the Final Aeon. Yu Yevon pounces Auron as a last-ditch substitute.


Illustration by author

The Farplane promised longed-for release. Auron was so tired, a husk of secondhand pyreflies glued together by phoenix down and scars. Rest, sang the sky beyond all skies. Your journey is at an end. Yu Yevon promised nothing, but its dissonant, teeth-cracking whine turned every thought to despair, to the frenzied attack of the maddened hive. Defend, defend, defend, destroy, came the mantra, and he wanted to lash out at something, at anything, as if the violence he had just committed on Lulu's body had unleashed the ravening fiend within. All that held him back was pain, the pangs of childbirth magnified a hundredfold. Why was Erinyes screaming into his mind?

A pressure on his hand, light as the swish of a braid on bare skin, was proof against chaos. Choose, Auron. Choose. This is your story.

A fiend was still a man, as long as he remembered his name.

Auron jammed himself back into his body like an ill-fitting shoe. Rikku, shaking him frantically, gave an indignant, "Hey!" as he elbowed her aside and stood, feeling the weight of sword against callouses.

Lulu's garden was lost. In its place, brackish waters lapped from horizon to horizon, flooding the ruins of a ghost city under a bruise-purple sky. Jumbled stone blocks were scattered, patternless, a puzzle that could never have formed a coherent whole. Bolted to them were rusted pylons and transformers, a maze of drooping cables and catwalks leading nowhere. Bleached, coralline huts teetered on rotting piers, side by side with soulless skyscraper façades. A few dying Macalania trees glowed pale and dim in the shallows. Over the dome of Baaj Temple, carrion birds wheeled in an endless gyre.

No, not Baaj. Erinyes.

Seymour's aeon had sprouted from the temple foundations like an unholy mushroom, its flesh stained and gangrenous, its reflection mirrored on stagnant water. Around it orbited a pair of misshapen monoliths, last remnants, perhaps, of Lightning Mushroom Rock. At the aeon's foot stood a small figure in an old red coat.

Auron began to run. ( Read more... )

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 39: "Cloister of Guardians"
Final Fantasy X/X-2
Characters: Auron, Rikku, Elma, Isaaru, Pacce.
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Word Count: 1600
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The Story So Far: Auron and companions venture into Sin's eerie depths, where its host memorializes the fallen.


"Venus Crest" by author

Yu Yevon seemed to have called a truce. The fiends had disappeared back into the mists. Auron wondered where they had been diverted. Sin had gulped down half the pyreflies of Guadosalam, and he doubted Yu Yevon had applied them only to Sin's outer hull. But that was a matter for later. Now...

Now he had to resist the gnawing regrets that threatened to add him to the local fiend population.

Rearing out of the fog, an enormous dome rested on four piers of stone. Yevon's banners, tattered and begrimed, hung from it like cobwebs. Below it lay a wide circular mosaic, scuffed as if from centuries of ordinary foot traffic. Lulu's memory was as meticulous as ever. She had copied the floor of Besaid's shattered temple to the last tile. Around the perimeter stood four monumental sculptures, twice the height of ordinary summoner statues. Reversing the usual arrangement, they faced outwards like sentinels, each one framed by a vaulted archway.

Only one was a summoner.

( Read more... )

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 31: "The Council of Yevon"
Final Fantasy X/X-2
Characters: Lucil, Elma, Shelinda, Rikku, Cid, Pacce, Isaaru, Auron, Nooj, Paine, Baralai
Rating: PG-13 (Language)
Word Count: 3300
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The Story So Far: Sin has destroyed most of the temples and their fayth, putting Isaaru's pilgrimage in jeopardy. The leaders of Yevon and Al Bhed convene a meeting to discuss options.

Weary as he was of piecing himself back together, Auron still resented unsolicited aid.

Gravity had been hijacked. A subtle realignment of currents had swapped Spira's core with his own heart, drawing bone and sinew and spirit towards it like so many nested shells. The prayer was a variant of the Hymn of the Fayth, the one recited in temples to renew the bonds of fayth to statue. Two voices rose and fell in a plodding chant, weaving the binding prayer around him: once for Yevon, once for Spira, once for the end of Sin.

Auron wondered whether Yojimbo had gone mad before or after the priests stopped coming around to burnish his chains.

His body was no statue, but the pull of the Farplane lessened, as if he had fetched up on a sandbar in the midst of a torrent.

The binding ceased, as did the stronger voice. The ritual shifted to healing magic, a deeper, more potent strain than Zuke's. Damaged organs and fractures missed by Cura were patted back into wholeness like clay wetted, shaped, and baked anew. All pain vanished except for the brand in his palm, and that was now bearable. Finally, a simple cleansing spell— petty magic, but useful on pilgrimages— sloughed off the stench from the gutter where Lulu had dropped him.

Auron sat up and gave a grudging nod of respect. "Thanks."

( Read more )

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 27: "Nightmare in C Minor"
Final Fantasy X/X-2 (Yes, both. AU.)
Characters: Auron, Isaaru, cast
Rating: PG
Word Count: 3000
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The Story So Far: Shuyin, a vengeful ghost, has possessed a new host and eluded his pursuers. Isaaru and his guardians resume the chase. Meanwhile, the estranged Crimson Squad members join forces to protect Vegnagun, the doomsday weapon Shuyin seeks.

The Cloister of Trials groaned and shuddered like a sinking ship. Bursts of sparks rained down. Auron cast a wary eye upwards, surveying the lattice of struts and moving light-paths.

Maroda, still squirming from his brother's parting shot, snatched up his spear and pelted towards the exit. "Pacce! We're right here! Pacce, wait!"

"Wake Elma," Auron said, blocking Isaaru's path.

Isaaru tried to shove past him, a rare, shrill note of anger in his voice. "While my brothers try to kill each other?"

A distant concussion rocked the tower's foundations. High above, a long span twisted loose with a squeal of shorn rivets, banging off others all the way down until it crashed to a halt just overhead, wedged between the wall and a support beam. Most of the pathways winked out, leaving them in near-darkness.

( Read More... )

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 24: "Juno"
Final Fantasy X/X-2 (Yes, both. AU.)
Characters: Auron, Paine, Baralai, Nooj, Rikku, Elma, Isaaru
Rating: G
Word Count: 2200
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The Story So Far: Isaaru's pilgrimage against Sin has been put on hold to deal with a new threat. Elder Cid has been possessed by a vengeful spirit bent on using a doomsday weapon against Bevelle. Isaaru's party receives a prickly reception from the warrior monks and Maester Baralai.

---

"Paine?" Isaaru said. "Nay, that is Juno, Captain of the Guard."

"That's all we need," said Elma.

"Lemme go, you big lunk!" Rikku said, squirming under Auron's coat. "They've got Pops!"

"Rikku, he's right," Maroda said. "They're bluffing. But they might shoot you."

Some kinder god than Yevon had kept anyone from tumbling through the gaping rent in the floor. The only serious wound among them was a bloody gash in Maroda's forehead. Isaaru was patching him with Cura and providing a patient ear to his swearing. A burst of static from the intercom suggested that someone, at least, was still alive on the flight deck, but whatever Gippal or Shinra had to say was unintelligible.

( Read More... )

Love Her and Despair
Chapter 22: "On the Brink"
Final Fantasy X/X-2 AU
Characters: Auron, Elma
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2300
Summary: Auron recalls his last pilgrimage during a lull in the next.
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The Story So Far: Isaaru's pilgrimage has hit a few snags: Sin is destroying the temples, Elder Cid of the Al Bhed is about to attack Bevelle, and Yuna's Sphere has revealed the lies of Yevon. En route to Bevelle, Auron grapples with his private demons and helps another soldier with hers.

---

The airship soared on through the night sky. There was no sign of Sin, save a thin stripe of corded cloud marching off towards Macalania. The flight deck had emptied two hours ago, after Shinra reprogrammed the autopilot to track their quarry. Now the running lights had dimmed, leaving no visible barrier between its sole occupant and the endless sweep of stars. Sir Auron sat with his back against cold glass, keeping vigil with only his jug of nog for company.

( Read More... )

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 18: "The Falcon Cannot Hear"
Final Fantasy X
Characters: Auron, Isaaru, Maroda, Elma, Rikku
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1600
Summary: Discussing the fallout from Yuna's sphere.
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Our Story So Far: En route to the Al Bhed Home to ask Cid for aid, Isaaru's party learns the truth of the Final Summoning from Yuna's Sphere. Maroda and Auron come to blows, until Rikku intervenes.

---

"What have you done to them?" Isaaru hurried towards his unconscious guardians, stumbling over his robes. "In Yevon's name—"

"Calm down. They're fine!" Rikku said, tapping the back of Auron's head. "Funguar pollen: works better than a hammer on skulls like his. They'll wake in a few. You'd better sit down till your head clears."

The intercom activated with a burst of static. "Rikku, what are you doing to my ship?"

Rikku pressed her hands over her ears. "Nothing, Gip. Maroda and Auron got into a fistfight. I hit 'em with a nightcap."

"Oh, great. Hull breach? Dents in the deck?"

"Ummm..." She lifted Auron's feet, first one and then the other, letting them drop with a clunk. "Nope!"

"Keep it that way."

"Right-o!"

( Read More... )

Title: Love Her and Despair
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."

( Read More... )

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 11: "Her Favorite Color Is Death"
Final Fantasy X
Characters: Auron, Isaaru, Luzzu, Elma, Lucil, Maroda, Pacce
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2200
Summary: SHIT GETS REAL.
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The Story So Far: Summoner Isaaru, Auron and Maester Lucil are racing to save the temple fayth from Sin's destruction. In support of that mission, the Crusaders of Djose must once again take a stand against their old foe.

I want to show you the bouquet I've picked out for an old friend. It's just her color.

---

Luzzu's jest was salt for an old wound. Auron's time with Lulu had been brief, too occupied by their pilgrimage to permit much idle conversation, in which neither saw much point. Whereas her friends from Besaid had shared years of her life he had never known. Still, he had seen her in battle enough to know that Luzzu was right: lightning was her favorite color.

Lightning was fine, but Auron could do without the rain. The slow drip from his white forelock was growing maddening. How long must this charade continue?

It had taken the work-crews half a day to extricate the statue from the temple cloisters. Auron had kept Luzzu busy, suffering himself to be led in a meticulous inspection of Djose's defenses. The day had been a blur of names, introductions, handshakes, until the unexpected arrival of a maester had put his tour on hold.

Lucil must have emptied every storehouse in Luca, bringing her troops an entire cartload of armor, swords and medical provisions as "gifts of Yevon." Their hurried distribution threw the ordered frenzy of battle preparations into chaos. During the confusion, Elma's team trundled the covered statue into the back of the wagon without anyone noticing. It was neatly done, Auron had to admit. Now if only the engineers did not forget their oaths of silence.

( Read More... )  

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 9: "Memorial Gardens"
Final Fantasy X
Characters: Isaaru, Maroda, Auron, Pacce, Elma, Luzzu
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2850
Summary: Journey to Djose. At the Mushroom Rock Crusader Lodge, Luzzu and Auron discuss an old friend.
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Our Story So Far: Thirteen years after Yuna falls in the Final Summoning, Auron has joined Isaaru on a new pilgrimage. A Cult of Sin has arisen, and some now call Sin the Lady, both destroyer and benefactor. Whatever Sin's nature, she seems to be attacking the temples, and Djose may be the next target.

Three days out from Luca, they were approaching the turnoff to Mushroom Ridge. The Highroad had once been a beaten shelf of dirt exposed to the elements and scoured by the wind, but now berms or seawalls shielded it on the seaward side. Out of sight, leaden waves sighed against the rocks. Ahead, a finger from the cliffs arced down over the road to form a flying buttress. Beyond it, the land was transformed.

It was difficult to make out individual shapes in the growing dusk, but swaying dark fronds draped over the arch in a lush curtain. Nodding white flowers as wide as a woman's hand winked between broad leaves. A profusion of plants carpeted the path below, crushed or snapped by the passing prints of travellers, despite which they seemed to thrive: blue blossoms from Besaid and the coral-pink orchids of Kilika, ivy and hibiscus, lilies and irises, even the glassy trunk of a Macalania sapling with glowing seed-pods in the forks of slender stems.

"Yevon," Isaaru breathed, reining in his chocobo and gazing up at the floral tapestry in wonder. "What enchantment is this?"

"Nobody knows," Elma said. "Good thing it's so remote. Even so, we rescue a few tourists from fiends every month. They forget the danger. Speaking of which, be on your guard. Those vines can hide a full-sized iguion. Nasty buggers— their bite can paralyze. We try to keep the path clear up to the lodge, but the plants grow back fast."

She turned into a narrow cleft in the cliff-face which widened into a ravine. Sentries drew back spears and saluted as they passed.

The path was mostly cleared, but creeping vegetation spilled over the lumps and crags of the cliffs on either side. Sea-fog had collected on rocky shelves and dimples along the edges of the winding track. The larger basins held mats of dark-green pads with pale flowers illuminating the shadowy ravine. Glowing wisps of pyreflies spiraled up from their fragrant blossoms.

"I don't believe it," Isaaru said. "Moon-lilies. I thought they were unique to the Moonflow."

"Well, it rains here fairly often now." Elma spoke in a hushed voice. "Folks say it's Sin's doing. Who knows?"

( Read more... )